Richard Alway, is a Canadian educator and a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

layman. He was the first lay President and Vice-Chancellor of the

University of St. Michael's College St Michael's College, officially the University of St. Michael's College, is a constituent college of the University of Toronto. It was founded in 1852 by the Congregation of St. Basil and retains its Catholic affiliation through its postgraduat ...

, a college at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

. He was formerly Praeses (president) of the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies in Toronto. Born in

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Hamilton has a population of 569,353, and its census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington and Grimsby, has a population of 785,184. The city is approximately southwest of T ...

, he graduated from the University of Toronto summa cum laude in 1962. He was a gold medalist in philosophy at St. Michael's College and has two graduate degrees in Modern History from the University of Toronto. He was a broadcast commentator on Canada's largest radio station,

CFRB CFRB (1010 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is owned by Bell Media and carries a News/Talk radio format. Its studios and offices are in the Entertainment District at 250 Richmond Street West. CFRB is a clea ...

, for ten years between 1976 and 1986, and acted as publisher of The Catholic Register, Canada's largest Catholic newspaper for two years at the request of Cardinal Emmett Carter, following the sudden death of Father Sean O'Sullivan. Alway was founding Chairman of the Cathedral Council of St. Michael's Cathedral and has taken a leading role in various initiatives to promote further understanding and cooperation between the Roman Catholic and Anglican Churches in Canada. At the request of the Anglican and Roman Catholic Archbishops of Toronto he organized and chaired a symposium on inter-Church relations that was attended by over 300 priests from the two church communities. As well as being President of the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies at the University of Toronto, he recently served in the additional capacity of Ministry Supervisor of the Toronto Catholic District School Board (2009–11). He is currently Chairman of the C.D. Howe Memorial Foundation. An active collector of Canadian art he has donated works from his collection to a number of Ontario Galleries. Dr. Alway has served on a number of boards of voluntary associations including the Canadian Educational Standards Institute, and currently is a member of the Board and the Executive Committee of St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto; Vice-Chair of the Board and Chair of the Executive Committee of the Canadian Catholic Bioethics Institute and a member of the Board of the Belmont House Foundation in Toronto. In 1986 he was appointed by Order in Council as Acting Director of the

National Gallery of Canada The National Gallery of Canada (french: Musée des beaux-arts du Canada), located in the capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, is Canada's national art museum. The museum's building takes up , with of space used for exhibiting art. It is one of the l ...

on leave from the University of Toronto. He remained in this position during the construction phase of the new gallery building in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

. While at the National Gallery he was also appointed Chairman and C.E.O. of the Ontario Heritage Foundation, the province's lead agency for architectural, archaeological, and natural heritage, a post he held for the maximum allowable two three-year terms. He is the chair of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada, a position in which he has served since 1996. In the past, he has served on a number of national cultural boards and advisory committees. A member of the Board of Trustees of the National Museums of Canada from 1979 to 1986, he was Chairman of the National Gallery of Canada, of the National Programmes Committee of the National Museums, and at one point Acting Chairman of the National Museum of Natural Sciences, as well as a member of the Board of the National Postal Museum and the Canadian Opera Company. In 1989, he was made a Member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

and was promoted to Officer in 1998. He was awarded the

Order of Ontario The Order of Ontario () is the most prestigious official honour in the Canadian province of Ontario. Instituted in 1986 by Lieutenant Governor Lincoln Alexander, on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier David Peterson, the civilian order is adm ...

in 2001. He was appointed Knight of Magistral Grace of the

Sovereign Military Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta ( it, Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme, di Rodi e di Malta; ...

, Knight of the

Order of the Holy Sepulchre The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Equestris Sancti Sepulcri Hierosolymitani, links=yes, OESSH), also called Order of the Holy Sepulchre or Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, is a Catholic Church, Catholic order of ...

, and Knight Grand Cross with Star of the

Order of St. Gregory the Great The Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great ( la, Ordo Sancti Gregorii Magni; it, Ordine di San Gregorio Magno) was established on 1 September 1831, by Pope Gregory XVI, seven months after his election as Pope. The order is one of ...

by Pope

John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

, the highest Church recognition for a layman. He is the first person from Toronto to receive this order."Richard Alway Appointed Head of Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies"
University of Toronto, June 23, 2008 He holds an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Toronto and is an honorary fellow of Trinity College, Toronto.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alway, Richard Living people Canadian Roman Catholics Canadian radio personalities Canadian university and college chief executives Members of the Order of Ontario Officers of the Order of Canada Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Gregory the Great Knights of Malta People from Hamilton, Ontario University of Toronto alumni Knights of the Holy Sepulchre Year of birth missing (living people)