Jill McKenzie Memorial Lecture | College of Arts

Jill McKenzie Memorial Lecture

Jill McKenzie was, along with her husband Alan, a prominent member of the Scottish Studies community for many years. Reflecting on his time with the Foundation and the Clan McKenzie, Alan wrote, "Jill was my wife for 48 years and I can say that one does not take on time-consuming charitable activities without the whole-hearted support of a spouse.” Jill McKenzie was an extremely talented artist and throughout her life she used her artistic talents for practical purposes around the house with her home designs. She was a phenomenal reader of books and had a great interest in history, which she passed on to her four children and nine grandchildren. "Above all", Alan adds, "she was a totally devoted mother and wife to her family and that is how we will all remember her."

Alan, of course, has been one of the mainstays of the Scottish Studies Foundation. A twenty-year veteran of fundraising, he has undertaken the roles of Secretary, Treasurer, and President of the foundation. It was Alan who recommended that the foundation be open to public membership, and undertook to produce the quarterly newsletter to keep members connected as the campaign evolved. While working at Barclays Bank of Canada, as Senior Vice President and Secretary, he was closely involved with Dr Ed Stewart who chaired one of the Committees of the Board. Alan discovered Dr Stewart's interest in Scottish History and persuaded him to join the Board of the Foundation and, later, to succeed Alan as President. "That", says Alan, "was one of my biggest contributions because Dr Stewart followed the important Scottish connections which he had."

In honour of Jill and Alan, the Scottish Studies Foundation created the Jill McKenzie Memorial Lecture in Scottish Studies at the University of Guelph. Each year, this lecture is delivered by one of Scotland's foremost historians at the Scottish Studies Fall Colloquium.

The lecture receives annual funding and the foundation is now fundraising to endow it in perpetuity. Our target amount is $45,000.  With this in place, we will be able to endow this lecture series in perpetuity by using the interest income to bring the most prestigious Scottish historians from abroad to the Scottish Studies Fall Colloquium.