Johnston honoured

Cartoonist Lynn Johnston has been honoured by Nipissing University. Photo by Phil Novak, BayToday.ca.

Nipissing University has honoured Corbeil cartoonist Lynn Johnston.

Further information is included in the following news release issued by the university:

Nipissing University honoured Lynn Johnston for her outstanding commitment and contribution to the university in a special ceremony on Wednesday March 30.

Johnston raised the profile of Nipissing Univeristy exponentially through her enormously popular comic strip For Better or For Worse, when the character Elizabeth “Lizzie” Patterson attended Nipissing University from 1999 — 2004. Johnston allowed readers to experience the post-secondary journey first-hand through her eyes.

When Lizzie graduated in 2004, Johnston donated a For Better or For Worse colour print, depicting Elizabeth’s graduation, to each attending graduate, plus a personal letter congratulating the grads and wishing them well.

At the ceremony, the university unveiled a framed collage of For Better or for Worse comic strips featuring Lizzie’s graduation along with the letter. The collage will hang permanently in Nipissing University’s Alumni Hall.

Johnston was presented an honorary doctor of letters from Nipissing University in 2000.

“This is a great honour for me. I am touched that future students will be able to enjoy Elizabeth’s graduation through the collage in Alumni Hall,” said Johnston.

“I hope that future students will be inspired and will see some of themselves in her. I’d also like to thank Nipissing for being so welcoming over the past few years. It has been a pleasure every step of the way.”

"Lynn Johnston has been a tremendous friend and supporter of Nipissing University and we are extremely proud of our two-dimensional alumnus, Elizabeth Patterson. Lynn and Elizabeth helped put Nipissing University on breakfast tables around the world. On behalf of everyone at Nipissing, it gives me great pleasure to say thank you to Lynn for all she has done." said Dennis Mock, president of Nipissing University.

“As with all our students, I hope Elizabeth stays in touch with Nipissing as an alumnus. "And I'd like to point out that we also offer lifelong learning opportunities for teachers like Elizabeth, such as a Master of Education degree."