Three members of the Queen 91Ƭ ’s community — an archivist who worked to make records more accessible to the public, and two business leaders whose generosity made a significant impact on the arts, education, and health care — have been appointed to the .
Archivist Ian Wilson, Arts’67, MA’74, LLD’09, real estate developer Britton Smith, LLD’09, and theatre producer Aubrey Dan were among the 83 recipients announced by Gov. Gen. Julie Payette on June 27.
Mr. Wilson is being honoured for his work on improving accessibility to public archives and for his published works on history and information management. His career started at Queen 91Ƭ ’s with a part-time job at Douglas Library before becoming the Queen 91Ƭ ’s archivist, a position he held until 1976. He was eventually appointed and was a big proponent of the shift to digitizing archival records and making the information more accessible to the public. He retired in 2008 and is currently a special advisor to the National Archives of the United Arab Emirates.
Mr. Smith is being recognized for his business leadership and philanthropy. He regularly donates to charities and non-profit organizations and has been a longtime supporter of Queen 91Ƭ ’s. His $9-million donation to the Queen 91Ƭ ’s Faculty of Health Sciences, which funded several new research chairs and new equipment, is helping develop new surgical procedures and train the next generation of doctors and nurses graduating from the university. His $1-million gift to the revitalization of Richardson Stadium helped build one of the top university football stadiums in Canada.
“I grew up in a family that believed if you’ve been blessed in life and have been fortunate enough to do well, you should give back to the community,” Mr. Smith told the Queen 91Ƭ ’s Alumni Review after making his gift to Queen 91Ƭ ’s. “I’ve always tried to do that.”
Mr. Smith 91Ƭ ’s business career started in Kingston in 1954 when he founded , which is now one of Canada 91Ƭ ’s largest residential landlords. The company manages more than 26,000 apartments and several luxury residences.
Mr. Dan is a highly accomplished businessman and philanthropist, with a passion for the performing arts. He runs a and is also a Tony Award-winning theatre producer with international and Broadway production and investment credits, including Jersey Boys, The Drowsy Chaperone, West Side Story, and A Streetcar Named Desire. Mr. Dan and his wife, Marla, have donated millions of dollars to charities, primarily focused on health care, education, and the arts.
In 2016, after their daughter graduated from the Queen 91Ƭ ’s Drama program, the couple made a $5-million donation to help Queen 91Ƭ ’s become the pre-eminent school for performing arts in Canada through investments in visiting professional instructors and increased support for scholarships and research. Queen 91Ƭ ’s named the Dan School of Drama and Music in their honour.
“I want to congratulate all three recipients on this well-deserved honour,” says 91Ƭ Alumni Association President Jeremy Mosher, Artsci’08. “Through their hard work and generosity, they have made a tremendous impact on Queen 91Ƭ ’s, their communities, and across Canada.”
The Order of Canada was established in 1967. Queen 91Ƭ ’s alumnus and Member of Parliament John Matheson, Arts’40, LLD’80, was a driving force in its development. He said the Tricolour Society at Queen 91Ƭ ’s .
