News Release

U of G receives $500,000 gift to support Scottish studies program, Goldfarb consultants CEO Kathie MacMillan named Scot of the Year

The Scottish Studies Foundation last night announced that it is
giving $500,000 to the University of Guelph to be used toward the
creation of a $2-million Chair in Scottish Studies, the first such chair in
North America.

The announcement was made by foundation chair Ed Stewart at
the Scottish Studies Society Tartan Day Dinner, held at the Old Mill
Restaurant in Toronto.

“Our unique relationship with Canada’s oldest established
Scottish Studies program, located at the University of Guelph, will be
further enhanced with the establishment of this endowed chair,” said
Stewart. “It is my honour to announce this gift of $500,000. This will
foster academic excellence in this discipline, in keeping with the
foundation’s mission to raise the awareness of Scottish heritage in
Canada.”

The Scottish Studies Foundation is a charitable organization
dedicated to the study of Scottish and Scottish-Canadian culture and
heritage through the active support of the Scottish Studies Program at
the University of Guelph.

“On behalf of the University of Guelph, I offer my profound
thanks to Dr. Ed Stewart and the Scottish Studies Foundation for this
magnificent and very gratifying $500,000 gift in support of an
endowed Chair in Scottish Studies,” said Mordechai Rozanski,
president of the University of Guelph. “This gift is a major step on the
way towards the $2 million needed to realize our ambition of
sustaining our position as one the world’s foremost centres for
Scottish Studies. Our program is without peer outside of the United
Kingdom. This is due to outstanding faculty expertise in research and
teaching, our unrivalled special library collection, our community and
Web-based outreach, and of course the invaluable support of the
Scottish Studies Foundation.”

The Scottish Studies Program, which dates back to the formation
of the university, is internationally recognized for its research
excellence.

“This gift will help secure the long-term academic future of a
unique humanities program,” says history professor Linda Mahood,
Acting Chair of Scottish Studies. “The University of Guelph currently
has the only graduate program in North America devoted to the study
of Scotland and the achievements of people of Scottish descent
around the world. The Scottish Studies Foundation’s gift represents a
culmination of over 15 years of effort by people interested in Scottish
history and culture. This gift will ensure that research and teaching in
the field of Scottish studies flourish.”

Besides establishment of the chair, foundation objectives include
funding scholarships, conferences and a scholarly journal, and raising
funds to obtain material for the rare book and manuscript collection at
the University of Guelph.

In addition to the foundation gift, the Tartan Day Dinner also
featured the announcement that Goldfarb Consultants’ CEO Kathie
Macmillan has been named Scot of the Year 2001 by the Scottish
Studies Society’s board of directors.

Since 1998, Macmillan has been president of Goldfarb Consultants
Limited, and on Sept. 1, 2000, was named president and CEO of the
company. Goldfarb is one of the world’s largest global marketing
research companies. Prior to joining Goldfarb, Macmillan was vice-
president, corporate marketing, at the Bank of Montreal. She has also
served as chair of the Association of Canadian Advertisers.

“I am honoured to be named Scot of the Year for 2001,” said
Macmillan, who currently chairs the Gender Portrayal Panel for
Advertising Standards Canada and is vice-chair of the board of
Mothers Against Drunk Driving. “Along with more than two million
Canadians who proudly celebrate their Scottish heritage, I want to
recognize the numerous contributions, both large and small, that the
Scottish people have made in deepening Canada’s rich cultural
heritage. Scotland has given the world many famous pioneers in the
arts, literature and the sciences, as well as some of our greatest
inventors, philosophers, explorers and educators. Through the
ongoing efforts of Dr. Ed Stewart and others in the Scottish Studies
Foundation and of the University of Guelph, we can be assured that
faculty and students will be given the opportunity to continue to
study and to expand upon these important contributions for years to
come.”

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For more information, media may contact
Alex Wooley, manager, media relations, University of Guelph,
519-824-4120, Ext. 6982.

For media questions, contact:
Communications and Public Affairs,
519-824-4120, Ext. 3338.

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