THE KILLAM TRUSTS 2002 KILLAM ANNUAL LECTURE Published by the Trustees of the Killam Trusts THE KILLAM TRUSTS 2002 KILLAM ANNUAL LECTURE Building a Civil Society: A New Role for the Human Sciences Dr. Martha Piper, D.Sc., LLD President and Vice-Chancellor, The University of British Columbia; Director, Canadian Genetic Diseases Network; Director, Protein Engineering Network Centre of Excellence (PENCE); Member, Canada Foundation for Innovation; Board Member, Advisory Council on Science and Technology; Member, Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation Published by the Trustees of the Killam Trusts Izaak Walton Killam Born in 1885 at Yarmouth, Nova Scotia Died in 1955 at his Quebec fishing lodge Dorothy Brooks Killam, née Johnston Born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1899 Died in 1965 at La Leopolda, her villa in France 2 FOREWORD More than any of the seven that preceded it, Dr. Martha Piper’s 2002 Killam Annual Lecture created an instant “buzz” from one end of Canada to the other. The Trustees of the Killam Trusts (who sponsor these Lectures) know this first hand, having visited all six “Killam institutions”, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, during the week following the Lecture. We do not know for certain why this year’s Lecture struck such a chord, but we put forward three possible clues. First, Dr. Piper’s message is timely: a plea for more government support for research in what she calls “the human sciences”, the goal being to build “the civil society” in Canada. In recent years, all governments, but particularly the federal, have stepped up their funding for research in “hard sciences”, which for this purpose embraces the health sci- ences, the natural sciences and engineering. And although more needs to be done there, governments have surely taken on board the key point that the economic and industrial future of Canadian so- ciety – to say nothing of a large swathe of our intellectual life – de- pends on this support. But, by comparison, governments have neglected support for the human sciences; and this year’s clarion call from one as respected in Canadian academic and governmen- tal circles as Martha Piper – a “hard scientist” at that – bids fair to tumble down any walls of opposition there may be left. A second reason is the style and comprehensiveness with which Dr. Piper presented her thesis. Starting with a gentle, personal touch, she slowly builds the case to a crescendo of objective analysis. If we don’t know who we are and where we are going, she asks, how will we know when we get there? How will we even know where “there” is? A third reason why Dr. Piper’s message has been so widely and readily received, we believe, has to do with the growing maturity 3 of the Killam Annual Lecture series itself. Now in its eighth year and with a distinguished lineage of Lecturers, opinion leaders in government, academic and business circles are beginning to look forward to each year’s insights. So, for instance, among the 160 guests at this year’s Lecture at the National Library in Ottawa were a number of senior government figures, and as well the heads of some of the federal granting councils. And, of course, out in force were the Deans and Associate Deans of Graduate Studies of all Ca- nadian universities, who were meeting in Ottawa for their annual conference. (CAGS has become a kind of “partner” of the Killam Trusts in the presentation of the Killam Annual Lecture, and we are most grateful for their collaboration.) If the Killam Annual Lecture has indeed become a well recognized platform from which eminent lecturers can speak out on issues fac- ing Canadian research universities, that would please the Killam Trustees greatly. For it was with this objective in mind that they started the series back in 1995. And if Martha Piper’s brilliant and stimulating 2002 Killam Annual Lecture leads Canadian governments and Canadians generally to think more favourably about support for research in the “human sciences”, that too would fit our purposes admirably. Except for Björn Svedberg’s 1999 Lecture, which touched tangentially upon it, Dr. Piper’s theme stands out because it singles out the human sciences for sustained attention in a way that previous Killam An- nual Lectures have not. In short, it’s time! NNN For copies of this or any of the seven previous Killam Annual Lec- tures, you can write to Christine Dickinson, Administrative Officer of the Killam Trusts, at the address on the outside back cover. The Lectures are also found on our new Killam website: www.killamtrusts.ca, or (for a time) on our former website: www.dal.ca/killamtrusts 4 For a list of the previous Lectures and Lecture titles, see inside the back cover. NNN The Killam Trusts The Killam Trusts were established through the generosity of one of Canada’s leading business figures, Izaak Walton Killam, who died in 1955, and his wife, Dorothy Johnston Killam, who died in 1965. The gifts were made by Mrs. Killam both during her lifetime and by Will, according to a general plan conceived by the Killams during their joint lifetimes. They are held by five Canadian univer- sities and the Canada Council for the Arts. The universities are The University of British Columbia, University of Alberta, The Univer- sity of Calgary, Montreal Neurological Institute of McGill Univer- sity, and Dalhousie University. The Killam Trusts support Killam Chairs, professors’ salaries, and general university purposes; but the most important part of the Killam Program is support for graduate and post-graduate work at Canadian universities through the Killam Scholarships. In each of the Killam universities and at the Canada Council, they are the most prestigious awards of their kind. The Canada Council also awards annually five Killam Prizes, in Health Sciences, Natural Sciences and Engineering, and beginning in 2002, Social Sciences and Humanities. Worth $100,000 each, these are Canada’s premier awards in these fields. To date, close to 5,000 Killam Scholarships have been awarded and 63 Killam Prize winners chosen. The current market value of the Killam endowments approaches $400 million. In the words of Mrs. Killam’s Will: 5 “My purpose in establishing the Killam Trusts is to help in the building of Canada’s future by encouraging advanced study. Thereby I hope, in some measure, to increase the sci- entific and scholastic attainments of Canadians, to develop and expand the work of Canadian universities, and to promote sympathetic understanding between Canadians and the peoples of other countries.” John H. Matthews W. Robert Wyman, LLD, Chancellor Emeritus, The University of British Columbia M. Ann McCaig, LLD, Chancellor Emeritus, The University of Calgary George T.H. Cooper, QC, Managing Trustee Trustees of the Killam Trusts November 2002 6 MARTHA C. PIPER, PH.D. President and Vice-Chancellor, UBC Since 1997, Martha C. Piper has served as the eleventh President and Vice-Chancellor of The University of British Columbia (UBC), one of Canada’s largest and most prestigious research universities. Dr. Piper is deeply committed to working with students and faculty in strengthening UBC’s position as an international leader at the forefront of learning and research. Born in Lorain, Ohio, Dr. Piper received her B.Sc. (1967) in Physical Therapy from the University of Michigan, her M.A. (1970) in Child Development from the University of Connecticut, and her Ph.D. (1979) in Epidemiology and Biostatistics from McGill University. Upon completion of her Ph.D., Dr. Piper was appointed Director of the School of Physical and Occupational Therapy at McGill Uni- versity. In 1985, she joined the University of Alberta as Dean of the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine, and was appointed Vice- President Research in 1993. The portfolio was expanded in 1995 to include External Affairs. 7 Martha Piper’s teaching and research interests have focused on early identification of the developmentally delayed infant and assessment of specific approaches used in the treatment of physically and men- tally handicapped children. Dr. Piper has published extensively in her field and, in 1995, co-authored the book Motor Assessment of the Developing Infant. Martha Piper’s commitment to the advancement of research has identified her as a leader in the research community. She has served as a Board Member of the Alberta Research Council, the Canada Israel Industrial Research Foundation, the Edmonton Economic Development Board, Telecommunications Research Labs, the Cen- tre for Frontier Engineering Research, and the Interim Governing Council of the Canadian Institutes for Health Research. She is a Board Member of both the Protein Engineering Network of Cen- tres of Excellence (PENCE) and the Canadian Genetic Diseases Network of Centres of Excellence (CGDN). Prime Minister Chrétien appointed Dr. Piper to the National Advisory Board on Science and Technology in 1994 and, in 1996, to the Board of the Advisory Council on Science and Technology (ACST). In 1997, Dr. Piper was appointed as a Member of the Canada Foundation for Innovation. In 1998, she was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada, and became a Member of the Canada Millennium Scholarship Founda- tion. In 2001, Dr. Piper was appointed by the Premier of British Co- lumbia to the B.C. Progress Board. Martha Piper has been awarded four honorary degrees: a D.Sc. from McGill University in 1998, an LL.D. from Dalhousie University in 1999, an LL.D. from the University of Toronto in 2001, and a D.Sc. from the University of Western Ontario in 2002. In 1998, Dr. Piper was named B.C. Business Communicator of the Year by the B.C.