By Tracey Church, President, APRA-Canada and Senior Consultant, Research & Analytics, KCI
I was happy to represent APRA-Canada at the Canada Council for the Arts Killam Research Prizes held by the Governor General at Rideau Hall in Ottawa on 26 May, 2014. This was the first time APRA-Canada was invited to the event so it was a high honour for our association.
Five research awards - each of $100,000 - were given for lifetime achievement in the areas of Natural Sciences (Sajeev John, University of Toronto), Engineering (Andreas Mandelis, University of Toronto), Humanities (Jim Miller, University of Saskatchewan), Health Sciences (Francis Plummer, National Microbiology Lab & University of Manitoba), and Social Sciences (Fraser Taylor, Carleton University).
Having worked at Research Western (many moons ago), I was aware of the prestige of the Killam Prizes but unaware of their origins. Like many good stories, it started with a philanthropist. In this case two, and a special kudos to none other than the federal government.
When Izaak Walton Killam died in 1955, he was at the time considered the wealthiest man in Canada. Killam and his wife Dorothy had discussed what they wanted to do with their vast fortune (to support post-secondary research) but he had not put the plans in motion before he died unexpectedly.
At the time, Killam had amassed a fortune of approximately $100 million - half of it going to the government for inheritance taxes. At Dorothy’s request, the government used those funds to establish the Canadian Council for the Arts to support research and they agreed!
After her husband’s death, Dorothy established herself as a business woman and by the time of her death 10 years later, she had brought the family fortune up to its previous levels. Having no children, she donated her wealth to the Killam Trust, in her words to “help the building of Canada’s future by encouraging advanced studies”. The Killam endowment now stands at over $300 million.
The varied attendees at the event consisted of researchers, representatives from research associations (APRA for instance) and higher-education institutions, senators, retired politicians, and yes, other philanthropists - all of whom were very appreciative to be present and to see hard work rewarded. Listening to the incredible careers of the award recipients, you couldn’t help but feel satisfied that the Killams’ wishes were being fulfilled.
As a prospect researcher, it was wonderful to see the end results of true philanthropy.