Emily Carr President Ron Burnett on his knighthood, parents, and the ideal school

Only two months into 2012 and Vancouver's very own University of Art and Design – Emily Carr – has a promising year ahead. It has not only ushered in an e-book partnership with the Mozilla Foundation and is working on its move to a new campus in the False Creek Flats, but four of the school's graduates were honoured with Academy Award nominations for their three animated short films. It is hiring three Canada Research Chairs and rapidly growing the courses that it makes available to the community.

Behind the steady stream of progress at Emily Carr University of Art + Design is its President and Vice-Chancellor, Dr. Ron Burnett, who has been leading the university for the last 16 years. Born in England to parents who escaped The Holocaust, Burnett has led an illustrious academic career spanning over forty years. As one of the founders of film studies as a discipline in Canada, Burnett was named Educator of the Year in 2005 by the Canadian New Media Association and recently knighted by the French government for his contributions to the arts.

Soft-spoken but bold and forward thinking, Burnett has kept the school on the cutting edge of technology, design and art. The Vancouver Observer sat down with the president for a talk about his life and influences, as well as what lies ahead in the realm of education and media.

Here are key excerpts from our conversation:   

VO: You recently won a big award in France. They made you a knight?

Dr. Ron Burnett: Yes, well they call it a ‘Chevalier de l’ordre de des arts et des lettres’ which means a ‘knight of the order of the arts and the letters.’ France is the only country in the world that celebrates artistic and creative work with that kind of honour, which is really quite unusual. But they spent about four years doing a forensic on my life and career.

VO: When you were growing up, what were the values of your family?