Bishop’s University

    1998–2003

    Home > About B.U. > Historical Timeline > 1998–2003

    1998

    Archbishop Desmond Tutu is awarded an honorary degree at a special fall Convocation

    Although difficult to choose just one highlight from an event which held so many special moments, one to truly remember was Archbishop Tutu dancing down the aisle with Chancellor Alex Paterson to the strains of “When the Saints Go Marching In” – pure magic! It happened so fast and spontaneously, it was difficult to get a clear shot, but the picture shown conveys the feeling nevertheless.

    Archbishop Desmond Tutu with Principal Janyne M. Hodder, and Chancellor Alex K. Paterson.

    Other highlights of 1998

    • Gaiters men’s basketball team wins the National Championships.
    • CJMQ, Bishop’s community radio station is expanded to 500 watts, and airs live university sports for the first time.
    • Dobson-Lagassé Centre for Entrepreneurship is inaugurated.
    • Renovations to the student union building are completed, featuring the new “Jehoshaphat’s Loft” (student pub).
    • Over the years, 15 Rhodes Scholarships have been awarded to Bishop’s graduates, the most recent is awarded in this year to graduate Drew Leyburne.

    1999

    After many years as a popular student “watering hole”, the “G” (Georgian Hotel) in Lennoxville, is demolished.

    Other highlights of 1999

    • Congress of the Social Sciences and Humanities (Learneds) is held for the first time at Bishop’s University.
    • Richard Tomlinson, class of 1943, breaks the record with the largest donation in Bishop’s history of $3,800,000.

    2000

    Highlights of 2000

    • Motion picture Lost and Delirious directed by Lea Pool is filmed on the university campus.
    • The Chemistry Department celebrates its 50th anniversary with special events and a symposium.

    2001

    Dr. Lorne Nelson, Department of Physics, is awarded a Canada Research Chair in Astrophysics; the Government of Canada to contribute $1.6 million to his endeavor over the next seven years.

    Left to right: Mrs. Janyne Hodder, Principal; Dr. Jonathan Rittenhouse, Vice-Principal; Dr. Lorne Nelson, Chairperson of the Physics Department and Award recipient.

    Other highlights of 2001

    • Mona Blair Bandeen donates second Steinway piano to the Music Department.
    • Esther Farnsworth, Bishop’s oldest living graduate, Class of 1922, turns 100.

    2002

    On August 14, Quebec Premier Jean Charest and some of his cabinet attended the Quebec Young Liberals’ Convention held on the Bishop’s campus. Bishop’s Principal Janyne M. Hodder hosted the Premier at a special reception.

    Other highlights of 2002

    • Dorothy Dutton, oldest graduating class member (1920), turns 100.
    • Launch of $26 million venture-capital firm, MSBI: McGill – Sherbrooke – Bishop’s – Innovations, to help market scientific research – the first of its kind in Canada.
    • Golden Key Society inducts its first class at Bishop’s.
    • Bishop’s 170th Convocation.
    • The Rev. Canon Heather Thomson, who serves as the ecumenical campus minister to both Bishop’s University and Champlain Regional College, is appointed Archdeacon of St. Francis.
    • Bishop’s adds three names to its Royal Bank Wall of Distinction: Tom Allen, Ann Fitzgerald Rajan and Blair Shier.
    • Bishop’s hosts its first annual environment day, with a focus on recycling and including collection of hazardous materials.
    • Author Michael Ondaatje launches Literacy in Action with a reading at Bandeen Hall. Ondaatje attended Bishop’s briefly in the 1960’s.

    2003

    Canada Post Honours Bishop’s University With a Single Domestic Rate Stamp

    On January 28, 1853, Queen Victoria decreed, by way of “royal charter” that Bishop’s College “shall be deemed and taken to be a university”, authorizing the institution to grant degrees in the arts and faculties of Divinity, Law and Medicine. One hundred and fifty years later to the very day, Canada Post honoured this event with a single domestic rate stamp, which was officially unveiled at a Special Convocation. During the ceremony, Her Excellency the Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson, Governor General of Canada, and The Most Reverend Andrew S. Hutchison, Archbishop of Montreal and Metropolitan of the Ecclesiastical Province of Canada, received honorary degrees. A total of 3 million stamps were made available in booklets of eight. The framed document presented by Canada Post to Bishop’s University as pictured is now on display in the Old Library.

    At a Special Convocation held in Centennial Theatre, the ceremony also includes the official unveiling of a postage stamp honouring this university.

    Bishop’s is the first of five Canadian universities to be featured on stamps this year, including Université de Montréal, the University of Western Ontario (London), St. Francis Xavier (Antigonish, Nova Scotia), and the Macdonald Institute of Guelph University in Ontario.

    Framed stamp & documents

    The President of Bishop’s University Corporation, James Ferrabee, left, unveils the official stamp design.

    Governer General Adrienne Clarkson Visits

    Governor General, Adrienne Clarkson, visits Bishop’s University on January 28 to receive an honorary degree on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the signing of the University Charter by Queen Victoria.

    On the left, Principal Jayne Hodder, shaking hands with Governer Clarkson.

    Governor General Adrienne Clarkson receives honorary degree from Chancellor Alex Paterson.

    Left to right: Chancellor Alex Paterson, Her Excellency the Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson, Governor General of Canada, The Most Reverend Andrew S. Hutchison, Archbishop of Montréal and Metropolitan of the Ecclesiastical Province of Canada, and Principal Janyne Hodder.

    Other highlights of 2003

    • Bishop’s University celebrates the 150th anniversary of the signing on the Charter, January 28th, 1853.
    • Governor General, Adrienne Clarkson, visits Bishop’s University on January 28 to receive an honorary degree on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the signing of the University Charter by Queen Victoria.

    2004

    Florence May Foreman bequeaths to the Bishop’s University Foundation $4.3-million

    In September, Florence May Foreman bequeaths to the Bishop’s University Foundation $4.3-million, the largest single donation in the university’s 160 year history. As described by her cousin, Harry Smith, Bishop’s alumnus of 1953, Miss Foreman “was a steadfast believer in the enriching contribution of teaching and research to the country and to humanity as a whole.”

    The income from the trust fund created with her generous gift will be used to fund scholarships, research grants for faculty and to support the art gallery.

    In October, the art gallery was named “Foreman Art Gallery” in honor of Florence May Foreman.