This notice is from the archives of The Notice Board. Information contained in this notice was accurate at the time of publication but may no longer be so.
The University of Lethbridge extends sincere condolences to the family and friends of President Emeritus Dr. William Beckel, who passed away in Vancouver on Oct. 15 at the age of 92.
Beckel joined the U of L as vice-president academic in 1968, after having met then-president Sam Smith when Smith was on a tour of new universities in Ontario. Beckel was dean of the newly built Scarborough College at the University of Toronto and he and Smith hit it off right from the start.
“I came in – some people said – as the ‘hatchet man,’” Beckel said during a 2006 interview. “They needed somebody who could keep track of the money that was being spent on the operation of the University and on the complex building program across the river on farmland.”
Beckel brought with him a commitment to the idea that a university education should be accessible to a wide range of students from different backgrounds — in short, anyone who could benefit from a liberal education.
He was acting president in 1971 and officially became the U of L’s second president in January, 1972, a position he occupied until 1979. Beckel was at the helm during those important early years when the U of L implemented new programs like management arts, education, Indigenous Studies and cooperative programs. He said he found the U of L involved all stakeholders in its activities and he felt fortunate to serve with people who had the best interests of students and the U of L at heart.
“I am particularly proud of the development of the fine arts at the University of Lethbridge. It was amazing what the University did – and continues to do today – in art, music and drama,” Beckel said in the 2006 interview. “And although I was not there for the building of the Centre for the Arts, I was there for its creation and its approval by the provincial cabinet at an extraordinary meeting at the University. Looking back, if it wasn’t for that building we may not have ever had the basis for the incredible art collection for which the University of Lethbridge is now famous.”
The 2006 interview with Beckel was featured in the 50 Years, 50 Voices oral history project.
A full obituary can be found online at the Lethbridge Herald.
A celebration of life will be held in North Vancouver on Saturday, Nov. 24. In honour of Beckel, the U of L will lower its flag that day.
Contact:
caroline.zentner | caroline.zentner@uleth.ca