Professor Emeritus John Stager’s speech at St. John’s College
On January 27th 2015, the Department of Geography and St. John’s College hosted an event in celebration of Professor Emeritus John Ross Mackay’s life and career. The intimate gathering was held at the Fairmont Social Lounge in St. John’s College where approximately 50 of Ross Mackay’s colleagues and friends came together in remembrance.
After mingling and hors d’oeuvres, the guests sat down for speeches accompanied by a photograph slide show. Ross Mackay’s colleagues, many of them UBC Geography professors, outlined Professor Mackay’s contribution to the geographic sciences as well as shared their heartwarming stories about their personal interactions with him.
Graeme Wynn acted as MC connecting each speaker’s topic with some personal anecdotes of his interactions with Ross Mackay. As head of the department, Professor Marwan Hassan welcomed and thanked everyone for coming. The featured speaker was Professor Christopher Burn from Carleton University, who came to UBC in the mid-1980s as a Killam Fellow and worked with Ross Mackay, who was then the leading scholar in permafrost sciences. Dr. Burn gave a short biography of Ross Mackay as well as his many accolades, and a peek into how Professor Mackay enhanced the lives of his students and colleagues. Professor Emeritus John Stager spoke of Mackay’s rapport as a colleague and a scholar whose knowledge was not limited to the North; Professor Emeritus Olav Slaymaker noted that Mackay’s teaching is often overshadowed by his often groundbreaking research in the Arctic, but he “took a genuine interest in even the weakest student”. Professor Emeritus Michael Church highlighted Mackay’s great contribution to the history of scientific research. The Director of the Taiwan Economic and Cultural Office, William Cheung, highlighted Ross’s Taiwanese connection by pointing out that he was born in Taiwan to a famous Canadian missionary family whose legacy is still remembered. Finally, Professor David Edgington made some warm personal remarks at the close of the event.
Photo by Mimi Yu
[youtube]http://youtu.be/acL6Z26ICCw[/youtube]
