By Вen Li
“It’s not so much what you do but how you do it.”
In his own words, Jack Perraton summed up his four-year term as the University of Calgary’s Chancellor. U of C Senators wholeheartedly agree.
"He’s been an excellent, timeless ambassador to the university," said U of C President Harvey Weingarten. "He’s taken the time to know university issues quite well."
Weingarten notes Perraton was and continues to be enthusiastic about everything he does and will miss Perraton for his advice and consultation.
"He’s very good with students and has a very good rapport with deans and administration," continued Weingarten. "He’s a guy of considerable capacity and the university has profited immensely from him. He went well beyond his ceremonial role as Chancellor."
Perraton’s commitment to the university was demonstrated by his desire for continued excellence and his pride in students.
"World class results are coming out of this institution. Alumni are going to be all over this country and around the world," said Perraton. "What great ambassadors these students are.
"Calgary is the destination of choice for businesses because of the quality of life and the educated work force," he continued. "It is critical to the city that this university is here to provide both those things. The best programs give the best graduates. This community is hugely invested in this institution and believes in this university."
Board of Governors member Brian Bass believes Perraton’s commitment played a significant role in bringing the community closer to the university.
"He has an incredible passion for his work in representing the university to the community," said Bass. "What he’s done is enlightened the community immensely as to the value of the U of C, students, faculty and administration."
Students’ Union representatives and Senators Jane Alkhouri and Oliver Bladek concurred.
"He was a very visible chancellor," said Alkhouri. "He made himself available to the community, faculty and students."
"He’s fantastic," said Bladek. "He brings the community to the senate and I’m confident he’ll continue to do that. I now personally know someone who is a Member of the Order of Canada."
Perraton received that honour for his work as a lawyer and an educator.
"There’s a saying ‘First-class people hire first-class people,’" said Bass. "What you have in Jack is someone like that-he attracted first-class things to the university."
Perraton will continue to play an informal role by providing advice but will miss his volunteer role as Chancellor.
"I’ve been privileged to make new friendships among faculty, staff and students," he said. "I’m very proud of what we accomplished. I want to thank the senate for being part of that.
"The opportunity to participate in this institution is so grand, I hope each one of you will take this opportunity to share with the university as I have done. It’s been an incredible experience; it’s hard to believe four years are up. The senate has provided me with the four most special years I ever had, and memories I will cherish forever."
In his term as Chancellor, the lawyer and father of four presided over 28 convocations, conferring 20,135 undergraduate degrees and 38 honourary degrees. He has overseen groundbreaking at Cascade Hall and the ICT building, the renaming of Murray Fraser Hall, and most recently, the Haskayne School of Business.
William (Bill) Warren, Q.C. will take over as the tenth U of C chancellor on June 15, 2002.