Agnes Benidickson, Queen’s first female chancellor, died last friday at the age of 86.
Benidickson served as chancellor from 1980 to 1996.
She graduated from Queen’s with a BA in 1941.
“Queen’s was a second family to her in the sense that she always believed in bettering that community,” said Nicola Benidickson, ArtSci ‘07 and Agnes’ granddaughter.
She was also president of the Canadian Council on Social Development from 1972 to 1974 and president of the National Association of Canadian Clubs from 1979 to 1983.
She was made an officer of the Order of Canada in 1987 and became a companion—a higher distinction—in 1998.
Many of Benidickson’s family members graduated from Queen’s, and were noted benefactors of the University for many years.
Her father was chancellor before her, and Agnes Benidickson Field was named after her. Richardson Stadium on West Campus was named after her brother, George T. Richardson.
The prestigious Agnes Benidickson Tricolour Award was established in her honour in 1990, and is presented to someone who has made a profound contribution to the University and to Canada.
“Chancellor Benidickson had a profound interest in the students at Queen’s in a variety of ways,” said Bill Leggett, former Queen’s principal.
“She set out to advance the opportunities they had, in terms of programming and scholarship programs.
“She was a wonderful asset, and students who knew her admired her greatly. She was someone to be emulated.” Ken Cuthbertson, Alumni Review editor, also remembers Benidickson fondly.
“As an alumnus, I would say that she is one of an old-fashioned breed—she lived, breathed and loved Queen’s,” he said. “There aren’t as many of those people around.”
All final editorial decisions are made by the Editor(s) in Chief and/or the Managing Editor. Authors should not be contacted, targeted, or harassed under any circumstances. If you have any grievances with this article, please direct your comments to eic@queensjournal.ca.