UPEI honours former P.E.I. premier
Terrace named, endowment fund created in recognition of Alex B. Campbell, who played key role in founding university
UPEI has paid tribute to the man who played a central role in the creation of the university 50 years ago.
The university recently unveiled the new Alex B. Campbell Terrace in the UPEI quadrangle near the W.A. Murphy Student Centre and the creation of an endowment fund in the former P.E.I. premier’s name for entrance scholarships.
By the 1960s, the P.E.I. government began to acknowledge a serious shortage of educated and skilled workers and began a study of its post-secondary education institutions, Prince of Wales College (PWC) and Saint Dunstan’s University (SDU).
The Alex Campbell-led government concluded that forming a provincial university was the desired funding and service model for future students.
The P.E.I. legislature passed the University Act in 1969, incorporating the University of Prince Edward Island. In May 1969, the last classes graduated from PWC and SDU, and the institutions were transformed into UPEI, which opened in September.
UPEI is celebrating its 50th anniversary in a variety of ways.
Nearly $2 million of the new $5-million endowment has already been raised for the Campbell scholarships. The scholarships will be $2,000 each and will be awarded annually to first-time UPEI students who have graduated from a P.E.I. high school. The working group behind the scholarship was led by UPEI chancellor Catherine Callbeck and John Bragg. The group included Judy Bragg, Don McDougall, Anne Smith, Jo-Anne Schurman, Fred Hyndman, Joseph Spriet, Myrtle Jenkins-Smith and Christianna Dunn. The endowment and terrace were announced at a special ceremony recently.