Chancellor
Canadian Entertainment Industry Powerhouse Stephen Stohn Appointed Chancellor of Trent University
Trent alumnus, entertainment lawyer and television producer to be installed as Trent’s twelfth chancellor in June 2019
Respected entertainment lawyer, award-winning producer, songwriter and author, Trent University alumnus Stephen Stohn ’66 can now add another esteemed title to his name – chancellor of Trent University.
Mr. Stohn’s appointment as Trent University’s twelfth chancellor was approved by University Senate on March 12, making him the second alumnus to hold the position in the institution’s 55-year history. Noted entertainment and copyright lawyer, Mr. Stohn was once described by the CBC as “the Forrest Gump of Canadian pop culture” as an instrumental figure in the Canadian entertainment industry throughout his career. A 14-time Canadian Screen Award (formerly the Gemini Award) winner, Mr. Stohn is well known as the executive producer of various iterations of the Degrassi television franchise and for his role as executive producer of The Juno Awards for close to 20 years. As an attorney, he has represented some of the most talented and successful artists Canada has produced in the last 30-plus years, helping to guide their careers to international success.
“The unique guiding principles of Trent have been foundational to my life,” said Mr. Stohn in speaking about the appointment. “The formal and the informal learning opportunities that I look back on propelled my own career, but are even more important for students today as formative and needed tools to help confront and adapt to our rapidly-changing economic, political and social times. In coming back as chancellor, I’m delighted that I will be promulgating these special qualities of Trent and, like we did through Degrassi, mentoring young people to become better citizens of Canada and the world, and energizing projects that will leave a legacy.”
Graduating from Trent in 1969 with a B.A. in Philosophy and Economics, Mr. Stohn has long been a supporter of the University. As a student, he co-founded Trent’s student newspaper, Arthur, as well as Trent Radio – both of which are still widely known to Trent students and the Peterborough community. Mr. Stohn’s transformational philanthropic support for Trent has been key in the development of several projects, including a $1 million gift to make the new Student Centre a reality. In 2015, he served as alumni-in-residence, participating and mentoring Trent students in workshops and seminars. The same year, he was awarded an honorary degree from Trent, the University’s highest honour.
“For decades, Trent has been fortunate to be associated with Stephen Stohn’s successes and generosity,” said Dr. Leo Groarke, president and vice-chancellor of Trent University. “His accomplishments include initiatives he pioneered as a Trent student; an enormously successful career as an entertainment lawyer; and his continued commitment to our students and community. He brings a breadth of experience and knowledge to the position of chancellor and combines it with a passion for Trent that is contagious.”
Since graduating from Trent, Mr. Stohn has enjoyed an outstanding career in the entertainment industry. He began his more than 50-year career in the industry as a performing artist and songwriter, before becoming a producer and a founding partner of a prestigious entertainment law firm.
Currently the president of Skystone Media Inc. and its related companies, Mr. Stohn has been the executive producer of numerous television series including, Degrassi, Instant Star, Open Heart and The L.A. Complex. In addition, Mr. Stohn served for nearly 20 years as executive producer and then chair of the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences who organize the Juno Awards, Canada’s music awards show.
An entertainment and copyright lawyer since 1979, Mr. Stohn has been an active lobbyist for the reform of Canada’s copyright laws. He has been instrumental in the creation of the Songwriters Association of Canada and was director and chair of the Strategic Planning Committee of Ontario Media Development Corporation. As founding partner in the entertainment law firm, Stohn Hay Cafazzo Dembroski Richmond LLP, Mr. Stohn provides strategic legal advice to performers, advertisers, agencies, merchandisers, recording artists, songwriters, multimedia/internet creators, broadcasters and film and television producers.
In 2011, Mr. Stohn was inducted into the Canadian Music & Broadcast Industry Hall of Fame, nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award, and won a Peabody Award.
Mr. Stohn will be installed as Trent University’s twelfth chancellor at Convocation ceremonies to be held Friday, June 7, 2019 at 2 p.m.
Download high-res images of Stephen Stohn.
Dr. Don Tapscott, C.M., B.A., B.Sc., M.Ed., L.L.D.
Don has been advancing groundbreaking concepts for over 3 decades. His 1992 bestseller, Paradigm Shift, helped coin this seminal management concept, and The Digital Economy, written in 1995, changed business thinking about the transformational nature of the Internet. Two years later he helped popularize the terms “Net Generation” and “the Digital Divide” in Growing Up Digital.
Don’s most recent and ambitious book was co-authored with his son, startup CEO and bitcoin governance expert Alex Tapscott. Blockchain Revolution: How the Technology Underlying Bitcoin is Changing Business, Money and the World was published in May 2016 and is, according to Harvard Business School’s Clay Christensen, “the book, literally, on how to survive and thrive in this next wave of technology-driven disruption.”
In 2017, Don and Alex co-founded the Blockchain Research Institute whose 70+ projects are the definitive investigation into blockchain strategy, use-cases, implementation challenges and organizational transformations.
Don is a member of the Order of Canada and is ranked the 2nd most influential management thinker in the world by Thinkers50. It is hard to imagine anyone who has been more prolific, profound, and influential in elucidating today’s technological revolutions and their impact on the world.
Don is a contributor to »The Huffington Post, »The Globe And Mail, »TIME, »The Wall Street Journal, and »Toronto Star.
Duties of a Chancellor
The role of the Chancellor includes conferring degrees and diplomas and sitting as an ex officio member of the Board of Governors and the Senate. In addition, the Chancellor represents the University in an official capacity at external functions from time to time. Each Chancellor brings his or her special talents and interests to the position, and enters into and enhances the life of the University. The term of the office is normally for three years but is renewable upon the recommendation of Senate Executive and the agreement of Senate and the incumbent.