The Transformative Power of a Gift Mcgill and Quebec -- 190 Years Of

The Transformative Power of A Gift McGill and Quebec ‐‐ 190 Years of History Heather Munroe‐Blum Principal and Vice‐Chancellor, McGill University Speech to the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal November 25, 2011 The Transformative Power of A Gift McGill and Quebec ‐‐ 190 Years of History Check against delivery Thank you so much, Michel, for that very generous introduction. I would like to thank you all for coming today, and would in particular like to acknowledge Minister Gignac, Minister Blais, Senator Smith and other members of the National Assembly, of the House of Commons and of the City of Montreal, as well as my fellow rectors and professors. I am very happy to return to speak at an organization that has provided such economic and business leadership to Montreal. Two‐thousand and eleven marks the 190th anniversary of the founding of McGill University. Two‐thousand and twelve will mark the 190th anniversary of the Chambre. Congratulations to McGill! Congratulations to the Chambre! It has been a memorable, even tumultuous year across the globe, from the Arab spring to major new crises rocking the world’s economies. Here at home, despite our prudent regulatory systems, we are feeling the economic effects of these crises across every sector, including universities. McGill has itself experienced a fall of ups and downs, with a difficult strike and significant campus demonstrations. And, engaging with these tough events can create an occasion to grow and learn, as these challenging times have both risks and opportunities. And in tumultuous times, it can be good to step back and remind ourselves how far we have come, and how we got here. A mere 50 years ago, there was no organized system of higher education in Quebec. But thanks to visionary leadership beginning in the 1960s, we have blossomed. Quebec is now home to a wonderful system of universities, and yes, one that has ranked, year after year, in the world’s top 20 of the QS World University Rankings. I think we can all be proud that one of our public universities is now mentioned in the same breath as Oxford, or Princeton, or Cambridge. Today, I’d like to share with you the story of McGill’s metamorphosis, from that first tiny class of medical students to the vibrant institution of today, changing lives in Quebec, in Canada broadly, and around the globe. McGill’s founder, James McGill, was not born into wealth, but his studies at Glasgow University in the mid‐18th century Scottish Enlightenment instilled in him a belief that education was nothing less than the key to progress ‐‐ the betterment of self, for the betterment of the world. 2 He left Scotland to build a new life in Montreal –a small town at the edge of an undeveloped continent. Skilled in French and aboriginal languages, he worked his way up, little by little, in the rough and tumble fur trade. And, as his toil began to make him a wealthy man, he committed himself to making a difference in his adopted home. James McGill served the public as an elected member of the very first Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada, he led the militia to defend Montreal in the War of 1812, and he also launched grassroots community projects, such as the creation of the volunteer fire brigade. Interested in sharing the gift of education that had served him so well, James McGill looked out at his land near the snowy slope of Mount‐Royal and envisioned a place where people could work hard to hone their intellects; a place where they could expand their worldview with new perspectives—and then use that learning to improve the world. His bequest of this estate, and 10,000 pounds, led to the creation of McGill University. One of my favourite chapters in McGill’s history is the story of its very first women graduates, the so‐called “Eight of 1888.” They weren’t just academic pioneers, they were positive social activists. In the late 19th century, life for many women in Montreal was simply brutal. If a man made $1.10 for a backbreaking 10‐hour shift at the local brewery, a woman earned only half that – then went home to backbreaking housework by night. The Eight of 1888 took it upon themselves to create change. They rented a house, hired a cook and offered affordable roast beef dinners and other hot meals to Montreal’s female workforce. By 1894, they were serving more than 25,000 meals a year. Now, jump ahead a century, and that spirit is just as strong. Some of you may have known the late Jim Lund, who served as McGill’s dean of dentistry from 1995 to 2008. Jim is one of the major reasons that our Faculty of Dentistry is today considered one of the world’s premiere dentistry schools for research. Jim also believed passionately that all members of society—the homeless, the elderly, the working poor —deserve quality dental care, even when they can’t pay for it. Thanks to Jim, and now a very large group of students and professors, McGill dental students go to community centres and church basements, and fix the teeth of disadvantaged people right across the city. Working with the Welcome Hall Mission in Saint‐Henri, the Faculty recently opened the Jim Lund Dental Clinic, a permanent free clinic to extend the good work being done by the mobile units. In just 10 months, nearly 700 Montrealers have benefited from thjs clinic. Over 190 years, McGill through its people has had an extraordinary impact on Quebec, all of Canada, and the world. Canada’s first francophone prime minister, earned his law degree from McGill – Wilfrid Laurier – class of 1866. Physics professor Ernest Rutherford launched the nuclear age by showing that atoms can spontaneously decay. His Nobel Prize, the first given for work done at a Canadian 3 university, is one of nine Nobel Prizes received by McGill professors and alumni over the university’s history, three in the last three years alone. Canada’s first woman professor was McGill botanist Carrie Derrick – class of 1890. As part of the government’s Réseau Universitaire Intégré de Santé program, McGill provides specialty care to more than 60 per cent of Quebec’s land mass, including the Plan Nord territory. McGill Law professor John Humphrey wrote the first draft of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and our beloved and much‐missed Professor Paul Andre Crepeau led reforms of Quebec’s Civil Code and Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms. McGill professors Bernard Belleau and Mark Wainberg in collaboration with graduate Francesco Bellini developed 3TC, the treatment that changed AIDS from a certain death sentence to a treatable disease. McGill’s Dr. Wilder Penfield invented groundbreaking brain surgery procedures at our world‐renowned Montreal Neurological Institute. Professor Brenda Milner has followed in his pioneering footsteps, discovering that the brain has multiple systems for governing memory. While students at McGill, Thomas Chang invented the artificial blood cell, Alan Emtage, Peter J. Deutsch, and Bill Heelan created the world’s first Internet search engine, and William Chalmers discovered the main component of Plexiglas. And there’s still a whole other set of McGill people, such as William Shatner, Leonard Cohen, Matt Haimovitz or Arcade Fire’s Win Butler, who have made an indelible mark on the international performing arts scene. I could spend hours describing McGill’s daily contributions, but you’re hungry, so I’ll get to the point. What do all of these accomplishments, have in common? They started with James McGill’s gift. One gift. Just think of this. Immeasurable impact. So that brings us to community engagement, and philanthropy. It’s a timely theme for the holiday season. Quebec is a wonderful, vibrant, astonishing place to live. All of us as Quebecers are justifiably proud of our home, and you can see this pride in our very strong sense of community. I am especially proud to serve as co‐chair of this year’s Montreal Centraide Campaign, along with M. Pierre Beaudoin, because I know how much good work this organization does in our communities, especially at the holidays. The popular TV series Donnez au suivant, shows the chain reaction of kindness that spins out from Quebecers helping Quebecers. It shows generosity is an important part of who we are. But that community spirit doesn’t translate into volunteerism and dollars the way it does elsewhere in North America. 4 According to the federal government’s most recent “Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating”, we fall behind the rest of Canada in both volunteerism and philanthropy. we give an average of $219 per year, compared to $437 by the average Canadian. Only 37 per cent of us volunteer, the lowest rate in Canada. When it comes to taking care of society, we rely most heavily on the government alone. It is time to change that. Relying solely on government is a reflex we have gotten used to regarding universities as well. It’s time to change that as well. McGill’s strong tradition of philanthropy has been unique in Quebec until recently, and certainly it is important. However, many people look at our performance in international rankings and make a completely incorrect assumption: they think that if McGill can compete with wealthy schools like Harvard, McGill must also be a wealthy school, correct? No, we are not. Even with the welcome philanthropy we receive, McGill’s operating funding is weak in comparison to the universities outside Quebec with whom we compete.

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