The voters have spoken: Greatest ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔians are Chang, Cohen and Rutherford
After nearly 60,000 votes and months of sometimes furious debate, the results are in for the Greatest ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔians contest. In the end, voters gave the nod to a trio of illustrious ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔians whose achievements represent three different pillars of the universityβs excellence: Thomas Chang, BScβ57, MDCMβ61, PhDβ65, the inventor of the artificial blood cell, poet and singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen, BAβ55, and Nobel-prize winning physicist Ernest Rutherford, who carried out seminal work at ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ in the early 1900s.
Chang, who at 74 is still director of ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ's Artificial Cells and Organs Research Centre, reacted to the news by focusing attention on his work: βWhat the voters really did was vote for my Centreβs past and present members, who work so hard on this, and also for all the groups around the world that work so hard on this. Hopefully, their votes will encourage more support and more effort in this area, to make further progress for the treatment of patients.β
Chang has been active at ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ for more than 50 years, first as a student and subsequently as a researcher and teacher. (Click here to see a longer interview with Chang)
Through his publicist, Leonard Cohen commented that he was βdeeply honouredβ at having placed so high.
ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔβs Dean of Science, Martin Grant, who had championed Rutherfordβs candidacy, said: βWhat Ernest Rutherford speaks to, about ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ as institution, is our respect for, and recognition of, excellence. Remember, he was the worldβs first nuclear physicist.β
The contest, developed by the ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ Alumni Association as part of the celebration of the Universityβs 190th anniversary, called on members of the ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ community to first nominate candidates for the title, then vote on a final field of 20. Other nominees who collected substantial numbers of votes included William Osler, Wilder Penfield, Brenda Milner, John Humphrey, and, of course, the Universityβs founder, James ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ.
βWhat I think is wonderful is that the voters, in their wisdom, placed in the top three a cross-section of individuals who span a variety of disciplines and eras at ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ,β said Honora Shaughnessy, MLSβ73, Executive Director of the ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ Alumni Association. βRutherford is a physicist whose most notable work was done in the early 20th century; Chang, a chemist who did groundbreaking work in the β50s and β60s, and Cohen, a musical icon who has achieved some of his greatest glory in the early 21st century.β
The contest aimed to educate as well as to spark discussion, and Shaughnessy feels that these goals were accomplished. βThere are now thousands in the ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ community who are more aware of the achievements of someone like a Thomas Chang, or a Bernard Belleau, who co-developed the highly effective anti-AIDS drug 3TC. And a lot of people might not have known of Wilfrid Laurierβs ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ connection, that Canadaβs first francophone prime minister was also a ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ Law graduateβ.
The winners of the contest will be celebrated at the Closing Brunch for ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ Homecoming 2011, on October 16. ΜύAlso in October, all 20 finalists, and some 30 other Great ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔians, will be enshrined in a new web-based, historical timeline highlighting ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔβs history through its greatest achievers. Contest organizers plan to βinductβ a new set of ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔians into the timeline each year.
On the web :
About ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ
Founded in Montreal, Que., in 1821, ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ is Canadaβs leadingpost-secondary institution. It has two campuses, 11 faculties, 11 professional schools, 300 programs of study and more than 36,000 students, including 8,300 graduate students. ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ attracts students from over 150 countries around the world, with more than 7,200 international students making up 20 per cent of the student body. Almost half of ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ students claim a first language other than English, including more than 6,200 francophones.
Μύ