2015/2016 was another busy year for the James McGill Society. Our four meetings were well attended, attracting both members and general audiences. The newly introduced annual donation system has proven popular with members, and has kept us financially solvent. At the Annual General Meeting, October 6, 2015, members agreed to raise the minimum annual donation for membership to $25.00. The Society has enjoyed effective administrative cooperation and partnership with the Development Office, Martlet House, where we have the status of a McGill Interest Group.
The annual James McGill Society Recognition, for an outstanding McGill undergraduate paper on a McGill topic, or on a topic making use of McGill’s Heritage Resources, will be awarded this year to Mr. Dallon Kuprowski for “By All Accounts: the Affordability of Education at McGill University (1860-2005),” a paper submitted to Prof. Suzanne Morton. Thanks are extended to Professor Jarrett Rudy (President, JMS; History Department) and Mr. Gordon Burr (Former President, JMS; University Archives) for evaluating the submissions. Mr. Kuprowski will be invited to a meeting of the Society in the fall - to receive $100, and to speak briefly on his project.
For the coming year – 2016/17 - Council proposes the following program:
Monday, September 26, 2016
Prof. Jarrett Rudy – Presidential address, “An Ocean of Noise: H. E. Reilley and the Fight against Noise in Montreal.” 174th Meeting. Stanley Frost Annual Lecture. Joint Meeting with Sigma Xi McGill-Montreal Chapter.
Monday, November 14, 2016
Mr. Robert Peck on the Edward Lear (1812-1888) Collection in the McGill Library. 175th Meeting. Redpath Museum.
February, 2017
Ms. Julia Gersovitz on McGill’s Architectural Heritage. Maysie MacSporran Annual Lecture. 176th Meeting.
Monday, April 24, 2017
Dr. Richard Fraser, "Maude Abbott Medical Museum." 177th Meeting. Strathcona Anatomy and Dentistry Building.
Last year’s presentations, 2015/2016, were:
Tuesday, October 6, 2015
“A Conversation with Principal and Vice-Chancellor Suzanne Fortier.” (Stanley Frost Annual Lecture). Joint Meeting with Sigma Xi McGill-Montreal Chapter. 170th Meeting (Faculty Club, Ball Room)
Monday, November 16, 2015
“Hockey Sticks, Outdoor Rinks and Climate Change.” Prof. Lawrence Mysak. 171st Meeting (Redpath Museum, Auditorium)
Monday, February 15, 2016
“Royal Victoria Hospital: Heritage and Healing.” Dr. Jonathan L. Meakins. (Maysie MacSporran Annual Lecture). 172nd Meeting (Faculty Club, Main Dining Room)
Monday, April 18, 2016
“Sibling Rivalry: McGill’s Faculties under three Principals, 1970-2002.” Prof. Peter F. McNally. 173rd Meeting (Faculty Club - Main Dining Room)
One hundred years ago, 1916, McGill along with the rest of Canada was in the midst of World War I. Fifty years ago, 1966, McGill was in the middle of a huge construction program, and opened the McIntyre Medical Sciences, Otto Maass Chemistry, and Stewart Biological Sciences Buildings, and a new wing to the Pathology Building. Five years from now, 2021, McGill will be celebrating its bicentenary – two hundred years since receiving its first royal charter.
Among those who have passed away this year are Arnold Steinberg, former Chancellor; Faith Feindel, widow of Dr. William Feindel; Professor Jan Lundgren, Geography Department; and Professor Valentine Boss, History Department.
Two titles published recently in French and English, which include significant references to McGill, may be of interest to members: Robert Lacroix, et al. Leading Research Universities: Autonomous Institutions in a Competitive Academic World. Montreal, McGill-Queen’s, 2015. French title: Les grandes universités de recherche and Guillaume de Laubier and Jean Serroy. The Most Beautiful Universities in the World. NY, Abrams, 2015. French title: Les plus belles universités du monde.
Council will bring before the Annual General Meeting, Monday, September 26, 2016, nominees for Council – two-year terms. l would like to express thanks and appreciation to the Executive, Council, and Membership for their enthusiasm and continuing support. Special thanks are due to former presidents, Ms. Susan Button and Mr. Tom Thompson, whose loyal service to the Society since its founding over forty years ago, in 1975, has been a key ingredient of our success. Thanks are also extended to Ms. Ayesha Mayan for her helpful liaison work with Martlet House, which she left recently to pursue other opportunities in Ontario.
I look forward to seeing you at our meetings, during the coming year.
Respectfully submitted
Peter F. McNally
Executive Secretary