Scottish studies program, collection are Stanford Reid's legacy at U of G
BY RACHELLE COOPER
The first chair of Guelph's Department of History and the founder of its Scottish studies program is the subject of a new biography.
W. Stanford Reid: An Evangelical Calvinist in the Academy, written by Ottawa author Donald MacLeod, follows Reid's life from McGill University, where he taught history for 24 years, to his arrival at U of G in 1965. He died in 1996 at the age of 83.
“He was very supportive of younger faculty,” says Prof. David Murray, History, who was hired by Reid in 1967. “He encouraged scholarship and wanted to help younger faculty get their scholarship published.”
During his time as chair, Reid launched the master's and PhD programs in history and established the graduate program in Scottish studies. “It was one of Guelph's first graduate programs in the liberal arts and is still one of the most popular,” says Murray.
Reid was also responsible for initiating the McLaughlin Library's Scottish collection, which is now the largest collection of Scottish materials outside Scotland. He travelled abroad to gather materials for the collection, acquiring several original manuscripts and 40 letters by Scottish novelist and poet Sir Walter Scott.
Reid's biography also focuses on his career as a Presbyterian minister. “He was prolific in his writings, both on history in the areas of British and Reformation history and on theology,” says Murray.
