HISTORY

In 1952, McGill received a gift of $100,000 from Dr. Henry A. Beatty in memory of his brother, Sir Edward Beatty, who was president of the Canadian Pacific Railway for many years, and Chancellor and Chair of McGill’s Board of Governors from 1920 to 1943. The gift endowed a public lecture series intended to bring to the University top scholars, scientists, or individuals of international stature to address a wide range of subjects. The University annually fulfills the terms of the endowment by hosting the Beatty Memorial Lecture series.

The Beatty Memorial Lecture Series

The Beatty Memorial Lecture Series is a public service to the broader community as well as to the McGill community. The list of Beatty Memorial lecturers includes scientists, world leaders, philosophers, novelists, musicians, physicians, activists, historians, forecasters, educators and other persons of prominence. Their lecture topics have been diverse with appeal to a broad audience from the general public and from the McGill University community. Past topics include: AIDS, politics, Plato, physics, biography, chimpanzees, evolution, atmospheric change, comedy, technology, urbanization, environmental challenges and other interesting or provocative topics.

Beatty Lectures are most successful when they stimulate discussion or controversy on campus and in the media. The Beatty Lectures have been featured in newspapers and magazines, on radio and occasionally on TV, generating exposure that is beneficial both for the public and for McGill. Beatty Lectures should live on in the memory of their audiences – and have been available after the event since the early 1980’s on audiotape and since 2004 available on this page.

The success of the Beatty Lectures depends on the interest and involvement of many units and individuals at McGill. Members of the McGill community are invited to suggest future major lecturers and to organize activities for the Beatty Lecturer.

Expectations of the Beatty Memorial Lecturer

The Beatty Memorial Lecturer is expected to deliver a public lecture, to remain on campus for one or two days to meet with McGill faculty and students, and to participate in activities such as round table discussions, classes or other events that give faculty and students opportunities to interact with the lecturer. The lecturer is also expected to interact with the media, as requested, before or after the lecture, and to participate in social events associated with the lecture, such as dinners, receptions or other activities. The lecture(s) must be held while students are in residence, be open to the public and be well advertized.

The Beatty Memorial Lectures Committee

The Beatty Memorial Lectures are organized by the Beatty Memorial Lectures Committee, which is chaired by the Vice-Principal (Research and International Relations) (VP-RIR). The Chair invites as committee members representatives from Faculties, Departments and Institutes across campus, representing a balance of disciplines. The Chair also invites representatives of the general public, which has included in the past the attaché scientifique of the Consulat de France, and a representative of the Montreal arts/media/business community; a representative of the Post-Graduate Student Society, and a representative of the McGill Alumni Association. Ex-officio members are the Director of the McGill Media Relations Office; the Executive Head of Public Affairs; the Executive Director of the McGill Alumni Association; the Communications Administrator; VP-RIR, who serves as Beatty Committee Administrator. Committee members serve three-year term, which can be extended by a year or two. The Committee meets twice each academic year, in April and November after the “Beatty Talks” application deadlines of:

March 31 and October 31

Beatty Talks

In 1989, Beatty Talks were created with funding from the Beatty endowment in order to assist McGill units or departments in organizing lectures by visiting scholars, scientists, and other individuals of academic interest. The Beatty Talks allow the University to inform our community about the breadth of inquiry and discourse going on at McGill, and enable McGill faculty members to bring to campus individuals whose expertise would be of interest and benefit to the McGill community as well as the general public. Members of the McGill community may apply for financial support up to $5,000 for a “Beatty Talk”. Beatty Talks must be open to the McGill community and to the general public. Applications must be submitted to the Beatty Committee Administrator prior to one of the two annual deadlines for applications (see above). The applications are selected in a competitive process by the Beatty Memorial Lectures Committee at its next meeting. Due to the limited resources available for Beatty Talks, applicants are encouraged to seek supplementary funding from other sources and must have financial support from their own unit or department. The committee may offer partial funding of an application.

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Please refer also to Research at McGill.