Kenneth Kernaghan receives the Order of Canada from Governor General Michaelle Jean.

It was a moment Kenneth Kernaghan will never forget — walking to the front of Rideau Hall and receiving the prestigious Order of Canada.

The professor emeritus in Political Science was one of 43 Canadians to receive the honour from Governor General Michaelle Jean at an investiture ceremony April 7. Other recipients included Olympian Clara Hughes and Free the Children co-founder Marc Kielburger.

Kenneth Kernaghan poses with the Governor General. Photo: Sgt. Serge Gouin, Rideau Hall

“It was really one of the highlights of my life,” Kernaghan said, who attended the ceremony with his wife Helgi and two sons.

The Fenwick resident is a leading expert on ethics, accountability and the public interest. He has been involved with Brock’s Department of Political Science since 1968. He was also the founding director of the University’s Faculty of Business.

In 2003-04, Kernaghan served as chair of the federal Task Force on the Disclosure of Wrongdoing in Government. He also prepared a research paper for the Gomery Commission and recently completed a study on integrated service delivery in support of the work of Canada’s Deputy Ministers Responsible for Co-ordination of Service Delivery.

He was named a Member of the Order of Canada “for his contributions to public administration as one of Canada’s foremost scholars in the areas of ethics and accountability for more than 30 years,” the Governor General’s office said in a news release.

Kernaghan was thrilled to meet Hughes. But the Governor General was also “a really warm, wonderful person,” he said. “My wife and I were really impressed with her.

“It was a really splendid event.”

There are three levels to the Order of Canada — member, officer and companion.

Quick links:
• The Governor General of Canada — Order of Canada Investiture Ceremony
• Order of Canada for Brock prof — St. Catharines Standard
• Order of Canada for Fenwick man — Welland Tribune
• Media release: IPAC — The Institute of Public Administration of Canada

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