(June 15, 2007 --Thunder Bay, ON) Today, students, faculty, staff, and special guests gather at the Centennial Building Courtyard to participate in a dedication ceremony honouring Dr. William (Bill) Tamblyn, Lakehead's first President and Vice Chancellor. The Centennial Building will now be referred to as the William (Bill) Tamblyn Centennial Building. As one of the first major buildings on campus during his presidency, the re-naming is fitting and symbolizes the role that Dr. Tamblyn played in building Lakehead.
Photo l-r: Larry Freeman, Cherie Tamblyn, Ruth Lepp, Carly Lepp, Mitch Lepp,
David Tamblyn, Robert Tamblyn, and Marguerite Tamblyn.
"Dr. Tamblyn gave a great deal to this University in its founding years" says Dr. Fred Gilbert, President of Lakehead University. "This event is being held to commemorate and recognize his exemplary leadership and vision during the early developments of the University, from 1965 - 1972."
In the University's early years, William (Bill) Tamblyn was integral to the growth and expansion of the former Lakehead College of Arts, Science and Technology into Lakehead University. He was involved in developing continued focus and emphasis on Lakehead's goal to achieve the advancement of learning, the dissemination of knowledge, the betterment of society, and the intellectual, social, moral, and physical development of the University's members.
Dr. Tamblyn's list of achievements is long and impressive. Among many of his lifetime accomplishments, he was named to the Province of Ontario Council for the Arts by the provincial cabinet in 1968, and he served as Executive Assistant to MP Robert Andres in 1973. He received his Honorary Doctor of Letters degree from Lakehead in 1981, and was later conferred as Fellow of the University in 1984. In May of 1993, Dr. Tamblyn was the only recipient from the Northwest to be awarded the Order of Ontario by Lieutenant Governor Henry N.R. Jackman.
Marguerite Tamblyn, Dr. Tamblyn's wife, and their children, David, Robert, and Cherie are among family members in attendance at the ceremony. David, Robert, Cherie, and their sister Sally, who was unable to attend the ceremony, all graduated from Lakehead University.
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About LakeheadLakehead is a comprehensive university with a reputation for innovative programs and cutting-edge research. With a main campus located in Thunder Bay, Ontario and a campus in Orillia, Ontario, Lakehead has over 7,700 students and 2,250 faculty and staff, and is home to the west campus of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine. In 2006, Research Infosource Inc. named Lakehead University Canada's Research University of the Year in the undergraduate category. For more information on Lakehead University, visit www.lakeheadu.caDedication Ceremony Speech
William (Bill) Tamblyn Centennial Building
Dr. Gilbert, Members of the Board, Lakehead University faculty and staff, friends and family.
Let me begin by saying that it is with deep regret that my father is unable to attend today's dedication ceremony. I am however pleased to have my mother with us today as well as two of my siblings and my own family. We are all very proud of my father and his achievements and honoured that we could be here today to celebrate his contribution to the university. Knowing that my father couldn't be here I would like to thank Debra McKever for making arrangements with the staff of the Technology Services Centre to have this morning's ceremony taped so that my father can watch it at home in the days to come.
A little over a month ago while visiting my parents in Collingwood I had the opportunity to sit down with my father to discuss what he would like to include in this speech. He began by stating that the Board of Governors had previously recognized his contribution to the University when the lake was named in his honour and with modesty he said it really wasn't necessary for him to be recognized again. However he pointed out that there were some, including students and faculty who were opposed to the idea of creating a lake in the first place and were more inclined to refer to the structure holding back the waters of the McIntyre in my father's name rather than the lake itself. Not wanting to be immortalized as Dam Tamblyn my father has gratefully accepted the dedication of the Centennial Building in his honour.
Construction of the Centennial Building began in 1967 and unlike the Lake was completed with out controversy. The Honourable Lord Bowden of Chesterfield, Vice Chancellor of Manchester University attended the ground breaking ceremony which was anything but ordinary. Sticks of dynamite had been placed at each corner of the building site and were detonated by Lord Bowden who was so impressed with the ensuing explosion that he turned to my father and said "I rather liked that might we do it again?"
The Centennial Building was completed in 1971 at the height of the University's expansion. It was my father who oversaw this period of rapid growth. During his seven years in office the institution grew from a small College of Arts, Science and Technology with an enrolment of less than 500 students, to a flourishing University with an enrolment of 3,000 full time students. The enrolment growth was matched by the development of new academic programs, at both the graduate and undergraduate levels, by the attraction of well qualified teaching staff, which grew from less than 50 to well over 200 and the addition of major capital facilities.
Bill Tamblyn was one of the few University Presidents who did not rise through the ranks of academia into administration. At the time of his appointment he was Chairman of the Board of Governors and had been an active member of the Board and the previous Advisory Committee since 1951. Although not of an academic background, my father felt that at the time, his experience in construction and management, were, perhaps more valuable in the role.
I myself credit the Board of Governors of the day for selecting from among themselves an individual to lead the newly created university. Each member of the board shared a vision and that was to build a university to serve the people of Northwestern Ontario. It was a vision that was deeply rooted in the psych of living in this region of the province. A manner of thinking that is as persistent today as it was then. Who better to lead the university then someone who shares this understanding and has the commitment to fulfill this vision?
In his Report to the Board of Governors at the end of his second year in office my father stated;
"Lakehead University was created to fill the void of higher education facilities which have limited the opportunities of young people and indeed the entire potential of Northwestern Ontario for so many years. Today we can see the physical change taking place as our new buildings rise to meet this long suppressed need. However, there is more important change taking place in Northwestern Ontario due to Lakehead University. You may call it the unseen hand of change - as yet intangible, but nevertheless, a working force. It is made up of many factors.
You may start with pride. The people of our region, from Kenora to Wawa, look to the university with pride - not as a status symbol, but as a living place of opportunity as a point of recognition of this area's potential.
Then you may turn to the young people, and particularly the small but growing body of graduates of Lakehead University. More than 80% of our graduates during the last three years have stayed in Northwestern Ontario to teach, to work in e industry, or to attempt further studies. They are helping to fill that the vast vacuum of young leadership which are region has lacked in the past.
You may then look to the University and Lakehead Community itself. The injection of a 120 members of the university teaching staff many qualified and recognized experts in their field, is bound to have an effect on the social environment as a whole. Further, research projects aimed specifically at Northwestern Ontario have been started in many fields and will expand greatly as our graduate programs begin.
He concluded by saying that;
Often, the awesome cost of building programs and impressive architect's sketches of multimillion dollar buildings tend to obscure the other more important human values that the university brings to an area. In a recent campaign for public support; we tried to explain realistically the range of financial benefits of the university will bring to the community. These benefits are important, but it is the intangible unseen benefits, such as new opportunities for human development and the search for new knowledge in all areas that this university must promote and foster.
In the last forty years Lakehead University has firmly established itself as a first class institution with recognition from across Canada and abroad for the quality of its programs and the calibre of excellence among its graduates. It has had a profound and far reaching effect both on the culture and the economy of Thunder Bay. The vision of creating a University to serve Northwestern Ontario has been fulfilled and continues to develop beyond the dreams of the original Board of Governors and first President and Vice Chancellor of Lakehead University for which we can all be proud.
Thank you.
David Tamblyn
