Dr. E. Margaret Fulton's Lasting Legacy
Another Convocation season has come and gone – a
bittersweet time of year for us at the Mount.
Everything we do is for our students and while we proudly
celebrate as they cross the stage, we must also say goodbye as they set out to
make their own mark on the world. I
invite our 620 new Mount graduates to
join me in celebrating the mentors, teachers, and peers who have helped prepare
them for what’s to come.
Last month, we had the privilege of sharing our Spring
Convocation with a number of outstanding women. Poet Lorna Crozier, sociologist Arlie Hochschild, and soprano Suzie LeBlanc (pictured left) received honorary doctorate degrees and offered graduates compelling insights on
compassion, ambition, risk-taking and strength. Dr. LeBlanc, reflecting on the
Mount’s founding by the Sisters of Charity, noted that “finding your strength,
finding ways to make something happen that you really believe in, is the way
this university was begun.”
I hope our graduates take these words to heart as they
consider not only how the Mount came to be, but how it has remained true to the
Sisters’ original intent over the past 140 years. For an example of how our
history has been shaped by strength, creativity, and belief, we need look no further
than former Mount President E. Margaret Fulton.
While she wasn’t able to join us in person, I am
delighted that Dr. Fulton was recognized at our Spring Convocation in her new
role as President Emerita, in tribute to her outstanding contributions as the
leader of this institution from 1978 to 1986, and as a trusted friend ever
since.
Dr. Fulton broke new ground from day one at the Mount,
serving as our first President who was not a Sister of a religious order, as
well as the only woman President of a Canadian university at that time. In a
1999 interview she recalled how shared priorities with the institution turned
an unconventional pairing into the perfect fit:
“The goals and the statement fitted perfectly where I was
at that time: my commitment to the changes in the women’s movement, and the
development of a feminist perspective, and a desire to provide more
opportunities for women to get an advanced education.”
It was her passion for women’s education that drove Dr. Fulton
to usher in an era of great innovation at our university. While she’s quick to
credit her success to others, it was under her leadership that the Mount made
education more accessible by becoming the first university in Atlantic Canada to
offer televised courses. Further, it was
through her work with our dear Ruth Goldbloom that the Mount’s first major
capital campaign raised $3.5 million to fund the Rosaria Student Centre, the creation
of the first Chair of Women’s Studies in Canada, and the first Co-operative
Education program in the Maritimes.
And just this year, it was a gift from Dr. Fulton that
pushed Project TWENTY12 past the $12 million mark, proving that even
at age 90, she hasn’t quite finished shaping the future of the Mount for
generations of students yet to come.
In my conversations with Dr. Fulton, what always strikes
me is the wonderful curiosity and excitement she continues to feel about
everything to do with the Mount. She believes in us, she still expects a lot
from us, and it is our ongoing privilege to continue building upon her
remarkable legacy.
Congratulations, Margaret, and thank you.
