2003 Fredericton Convocation
Meighen, Michael
Doctor of Laws (LL.D.)
Orator: Patterson, Stephen E.
Citation:
CONVOCATION, OCTOBER, 2003
MICHAEL MEIGHEN
to be Doctor of Laws
It is a rare thing for us to award honorary degrees to two people at the same time, but it is entirely appropriate when the two are a married couple whose service and public accomplishments are both intertwined and complementary. The Meighens jointly guide the T.R. Meighen Family Foundation, a philanthropic endeavour that has generously supported community based activities in education, health, social welfare, cultural development and environmental conservation. Since its inception, the Foundation has distributed more than 70% of its funding in New Brunswick. It is our privilege today to recognize their generosity and their broader public service which is national in scope.
The Meighens are a team, but they are also vibrant and distinctive individuals. Michael Meighen is a Member of the Senate of Canada where he has served with distinction since his initial appointment in 1990. Noted for his leadership in promoting national defence, he has served on standing committees on trade and commerce, national security and defence, and fisheries. He chairs the subcommittee on veterans’ affairs. He has also served on special joint committees on Canada’s defence policy and on a Renewed Canada. He has brought to the table his considerable expertise in litigation and commercial law, especially his notable achievement as Legal Counsel to the Deschenes Commission on War Criminals. In addition he has served on the boards of several business enterprises and a broad array of community organizations such as the Salvation Army, the Stratford Festival, and several universities (including McGill and Laval from which he has degrees). He is currently the Chancellor of the University of King’s College, Halifax. His ties to the Maritimes go way back. His mother was from Saint John, some of his early schooling was in Nova Scotia, and he has maintained his family’s summer home in St. Andrews which, for years, was the head office of the family foundation. In what little spare time he can manage, he loves skiing, golf, and fishing. The latter is reflected in his avid interest in the Atlantic salmon and the Foundation’s magnificent support of the Canadian Rivers Institute here at UNB.
Kelly Meighen is an equal partner. She is president of the T.R. Meighen Family Foundation. Under her leadership, the foundation has reduced overhead costs to a minimum in order to direct the bulk of its resources to worthwhile projects. She has often steered funding towards programs that can attract matching grants from others. Her ambition has been to use foundation resources as leverage to develop a broad-based community spirit of giving. Beyond that, she believes in keeping her hands off, sensing that local development is best left to people at the local level, who understand best what their needs and objectives are. Besides her foundation work, she has been a board member of Calmeadow; Upper Canada College, Toronto; the Stratford Festival of Canada, and the Writers’ Development Trust. She has been an active and enthusiastic supporter of her alma mater, the University of Western Ontario. She and her husband are the proud parents of three sons.
Together, the Meighens have, through their family foundation and as individuals, contributed enormously to the community. They made the largest single donation to the Stratford Festival endowment, were instrumental in establishing a program for the disabled at Mount Allison University, partnered with the Community Foundations of Canada to create Community Advancement New Brunswick (an initiative to support and promote the growth of community foundations in the province), and they provided essential funding to establish the Meighen-Molson Professorship in Atlantic Salmon Research at the University of New Brunswick. In every case, their thinking has been strategic. The object has been to make a meaningful difference now, in anticipation of an even greater impact in the future.
While it was Michael Meighen’s father, Theodore, who decided to concentrate the family’s philanthropy in New Brunswick, recognizing both the need and the capacity to make the greatest impact, it is Michael and Kelly Meighen who translated general principles into a powerful force for good. We salute them both for their civic-mindedness; for their courage in recognizing the needs and challenges that face our society, both locally and nationally; and for their leadership in matters social, cultural, and political. They are Canada’s philanthropic visionaries. With these honorary degrees, we welcome them most warmly into our UNB family.
From: Honoris Causa - UA Case 70, Box 4
MICHAEL MEIGHEN
to be Doctor of Laws
It is a rare thing for us to award honorary degrees to two people at the same time, but it is entirely appropriate when the two are a married couple whose service and public accomplishments are both intertwined and complementary. The Meighens jointly guide the T.R. Meighen Family Foundation, a philanthropic endeavour that has generously supported community based activities in education, health, social welfare, cultural development and environmental conservation. Since its inception, the Foundation has distributed more than 70% of its funding in New Brunswick. It is our privilege today to recognize their generosity and their broader public service which is national in scope.
The Meighens are a team, but they are also vibrant and distinctive individuals. Michael Meighen is a Member of the Senate of Canada where he has served with distinction since his initial appointment in 1990. Noted for his leadership in promoting national defence, he has served on standing committees on trade and commerce, national security and defence, and fisheries. He chairs the subcommittee on veterans’ affairs. He has also served on special joint committees on Canada’s defence policy and on a Renewed Canada. He has brought to the table his considerable expertise in litigation and commercial law, especially his notable achievement as Legal Counsel to the Deschenes Commission on War Criminals. In addition he has served on the boards of several business enterprises and a broad array of community organizations such as the Salvation Army, the Stratford Festival, and several universities (including McGill and Laval from which he has degrees). He is currently the Chancellor of the University of King’s College, Halifax. His ties to the Maritimes go way back. His mother was from Saint John, some of his early schooling was in Nova Scotia, and he has maintained his family’s summer home in St. Andrews which, for years, was the head office of the family foundation. In what little spare time he can manage, he loves skiing, golf, and fishing. The latter is reflected in his avid interest in the Atlantic salmon and the Foundation’s magnificent support of the Canadian Rivers Institute here at UNB.
Kelly Meighen is an equal partner. She is president of the T.R. Meighen Family Foundation. Under her leadership, the foundation has reduced overhead costs to a minimum in order to direct the bulk of its resources to worthwhile projects. She has often steered funding towards programs that can attract matching grants from others. Her ambition has been to use foundation resources as leverage to develop a broad-based community spirit of giving. Beyond that, she believes in keeping her hands off, sensing that local development is best left to people at the local level, who understand best what their needs and objectives are. Besides her foundation work, she has been a board member of Calmeadow; Upper Canada College, Toronto; the Stratford Festival of Canada, and the Writers’ Development Trust. She has been an active and enthusiastic supporter of her alma mater, the University of Western Ontario. She and her husband are the proud parents of three sons.
Together, the Meighens have, through their family foundation and as individuals, contributed enormously to the community. They made the largest single donation to the Stratford Festival endowment, were instrumental in establishing a program for the disabled at Mount Allison University, partnered with the Community Foundations of Canada to create Community Advancement New Brunswick (an initiative to support and promote the growth of community foundations in the province), and they provided essential funding to establish the Meighen-Molson Professorship in Atlantic Salmon Research at the University of New Brunswick. In every case, their thinking has been strategic. The object has been to make a meaningful difference now, in anticipation of an even greater impact in the future.
While it was Michael Meighen’s father, Theodore, who decided to concentrate the family’s philanthropy in New Brunswick, recognizing both the need and the capacity to make the greatest impact, it is Michael and Kelly Meighen who translated general principles into a powerful force for good. We salute them both for their civic-mindedness; for their courage in recognizing the needs and challenges that face our society, both locally and nationally; and for their leadership in matters social, cultural, and political. They are Canada’s philanthropic visionaries. With these honorary degrees, we welcome them most warmly into our UNB family.
From: Honoris Causa - UA Case 70, Box 4
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