BOWLING GREEN, O. -- Dr. Roch Carrier, an author and the national librarian of Canada, will receive an honorary doctor of letters degree from Bowling Green State University during ceremonies beginning at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday (Feb. 25) in 101A Olscamp Hall on the BGSU campus.

Following the conferral of the honorary degree, Carrier will deliver the Pallister French-Canadian Lecture, titled "Exploring the Words and the World." The lecture is named for Dr. Janis L. Pallister, Distinguished University Professor Emeritus of Romance Languages, who established the lecture series four years ago.

Carrier, a native of Quebec, was appointed as Canada's national librarian in 1999-35 years after the publication of his first novel, "Jolis Deuils." His second novel, "La Guerre, Yes Sir!" was published in 1968 and later adapted for the stage and, in 1972, for the screen.

In addition to more than a dozen subsequent novels, Carrier's writing has included short stories, children's literature and poems.

He studied at the Sorbonne and received his Ph.D. in French literature from the University of Paris in 1970. That same year, he was named secretary-general of Montreal's Théâtre du Nouveau Monde, where he became a board member in 1983.

Carrier was director of the Canada Council for the Arts from 1994-97 and in 1998 was an arts consultant for the Auditor General of Canada. A recipient of the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour, he has also been a board member of the Montreal Book Fair and director of Quebec 10/10, a paperback collection of Quebec literature.

At the Royal Military College in Saint-Jean, Quebec, Carrier has served as head of the French department, coordinator of the Canadian Studies program and dean of Collegiate Studies.

He is a member of the Royal Society of Canada and an officer of the Order of Canada, and has received honorary doctorates from several Canadian universities.

(Posted February 02, 2003 )