Interview with Rod Macleod
University of Alberta Official Historian
Book by Rod Macleod
"This book is a critical history of the university. In it my concern has been to understand how it differed from other universities and why it evolved the way it did. In doing the research and writing it became apparent that the history of the university was entwined with the political history of the province. For the first half century it completely dominated the intellectual and cultural history of Alberta. From its inception the university has had a powerful sense of mission, summed best in founding president Henry Marshall Tory's dictum 'the uplifting of the whole people shall be its final goal.' The university's remarkable extension activities led to the founding of CKUA radio and the Banff Centre."
Rod Macleod, April 2008.
Interviewee: Rod Macleod, PhD
Interviewer: Adriana A. Davies, PhD
Date of Interview: December 5, 2006
Read Rod Macleod's biography.
- What is involved in the role of official historian for the University of Alberta?
- You are following in a long tradition of “official historians” of the University.
Can you talk about the work of those who have gone before and how they viewed the University? - Could you tell us about your methodology?
- What is your sense of the University and the vision of its founders?
What has the University become a century later? - Are there any anecdotes you would like to share about Rutherford and Tory?
- What is the model of the University?
- Rutherford and Tory both had a vision of a civilized society and the role of the University, could you talk about that?
- How is the University positioned at the beginning of the 21st century?
- What is your experience with the University of Alberta as a student and then as an academic?
- As an academic, what have you contributed to scholarship and teaching at the University?
- What about students you have supervised?
Could you say a few words about them? - How have you seen the Faculty of Arts developing throughout your experience?