UPEI Founders’ Day ceremony honours four new Founders
The University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI) celebrated its extensive history and looked forward to a bright future at its eleventh annual Founders' Day ceremony on Friday, September 24. A special component of the ceremony was when PEI's Lieutenant Governor, the Honourable Barbara A. Hagerman, who also serves as Visitor to the University, presented and unveiled UPEI's new Coat of Arms, which has been officially granted by the Canadian Heraldic Authority.
On Founders' Day, UPEI honours its rich heritage and traditions, acknowledges people who have contributed to it in an exceptional way, and shares a sense of heritage and community with incoming and returning students.
'Founders' Day is an opportunity to welcome new colleagues and students, at the same time as we honour those who have made contributions over the years,' said University President Wade MacLauchlan.
Barb Mullaly, Ian MacDonald, and James Hancock were recognized as new UPEI Founders and AVC Founding Dean Reginald Thomson as the 2010 recipient of the Honourable Eugene F. Whelan Green Hat Award which pays tribute to individuals who have had a significant and positive impact on the Atlantic Veterinary College (AVC) and veterinary medicine in Atlantic Canada.
About the Founders
Barb Mullally joined Prince of Wales College in 1967 where she was both a lecturer and coach. When UPEI was formed in 1969, she moved on to begin a long career at the University, initially as the first women's basketball and field hockey coach, eventually serving 13 years as Director of Athletics and then retiring as the first Director of Wellness and Fair Treatment Advocate.
She is well respected among her peers and is past president of Atlantic University Sport and past-chair of the Canadian Interuniversity Sport Finance Committee. She is a Master facilitator in Coaching Theory and continues her life-long commitment to the development of student-athletes to this day.
Ian MacDonald was born in Charlottetown and moved into Dalton Hall, then a male residence on the St. Dunstan's University (SDU) campus, in 1956. Studying chemistry, biology and physics and after participating in student government, football and student theatre productions, he graduated in 1960 as class valedictorian.
After graduation, MacDonald taught in Saint John, NB, returning to the Island in 1963 to teach at Colonel Grey High School and SDU. But soon after, and following completion of his Master's of Adult Education, he was lured back to SDU where he was the first Director of Extension and Summer Services. In this role, MacDonald made significant contributions, including creating, in 1983, the Institute of Island Studies, a well-respected centre focusing on research, public policy, and issues facing residents of small Islands around the world.
Jim Hancock was born in Newfoundland and moved to Canada in 1943. Armed with Bachelor of Science and Education from University of Toronto, he joined IBM. After falling in love with PEI, he applied to become the first Computer Centre Director in 1972, later the Computer Services department, and orchestrated many of the networking initiatives on campus that are still in use today.
Hancock led many of the projects with partners such as Maritime Electric and Island Tel, including the laying of fibre optic cable that connects buildings on campus. After joining a committee of peers from Maritime universities, he recognized how the internet would come to play such an important role, and also registered the first .ca domain name in Canada, upei.ca.
Dr. Reg Thomson, Founding Dean of AVC, was recipient of this year's Green Hat Award, posthumously. Born in Woodstock, Ontario, he graduated from the Ontario Veterinary College (OVC) in 1959. After working in private practice, he taught at OVC and developed his quiet, intense, but well-focused approach to teaching, research, service, and administration.
In the late seventies, he brought his skill set to Prince Edward Island, where he was pivotal in bringing the dream of the Atlantic Veterinary College to fruition. He was tasked with developing the vision for the College and when funding for the facility was announced in 1982, he guided the team of architects, consultants and members of the veterinary community to construct what is now one of the most highly-regarded veterinary colleges in North America.
