Six alumni named to Order of Canada

By Adela Talbot, BA'08, MA'11

Six Western alumni, along with a prominent Western Biology professor, have been named to the Order of Canada, one of Canada’s highest civilian honours. Governor General David Johnston announced 95 new appointments last month including three new companions, 12 officers and 79 members.

The Order of Canada was established in 1967 to recognize outstanding achievement and dedication to the community and service to the nation. More than 6,000 individuals have received the honour.

Appointments are made on the recommendation of the Advisory Council for the Order of Canada.

Canadian businessman, academic and philanthropist James Douglas Fleck, HBA’53, and Canadian lawyer and former International Olympic Committee member Richard W. Pound, LLD’04, were named two of only three new companions.

Fleck earned a BA from Western and a DBA from Harvard University, before returning to Canada to help found the Faculty of Administrative Studies at York University. He has had a distinguished career in the private and government sectors, as well as academia, serving as a deputy minister and assistant to former Ontario Premier William Davis. He is the founder and former CEO of Fleck Manufacturing Co.

The Order of Canada Advisory Council cited Fleck “for his enduring contributions and strategic leadership as one of Canada’s leading arts patrons, and for endowing our national cultural institutions, notably by partnering business with the arts.”

Pound is one of Canada’s most-recognized figures in international sport. In his distinguished career, the native of St. Catharines, was a two-time vice-president of the International Olympic Committee and was responsible for all Olympic television negotiations, marketing and sponsorships, up to and including the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. As an athlete, Pound was a double Olympic swimming finalist at the 1960 Olympic Games, and captured four medals (one gold, two silver, one bronze) at the 1962 Commonwealth Games.

The Order of Canada Advisory Council cited Pound for “his contributions as a champion of fairness in sport and of the Olympic spirit, as well as for his engagement in civic, legal and educational causes.”

In addition, four alumni were named as members including George Cope, HBA’84; John G. Kelton, MD’73; Michael A. Meighen, LLD’13; and Gary Slaight, BA’73.

Cope, president and CEO BCE and Bell Canada, is leading the transformation of Canada’s largest communications company into an efficient customer-focused competitor. He holds an HBA from Western and serves on the advisory board of the Ivey Business School.

He was honoured by the Order of Canada Advisory Council for “his leadership in corporate social responsibility, particularly in the area of mental health, and for his contributions to the telecommunications industry.”

Kelton is an internationally renowned physician scientist; an active professor and a practicing doctor. He is also the dean and vice-president of the Faculty of Health Sciences and dean of the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine at McMaster University in Hamilton. Kelton graduated (cum laude) from Western in 1973. Following specialty and research training in hematology and internal medicine at Duke University and McMaster University, he joined McMaster’s Faculty of Health Sciences in 1977.

The Order of Canada Advisory Council cited Kelton for “his research into blood cell disorders and for his contributions to making Hamilton a hub for health science research.”

Meighen has practised law extensively in both Quebec and Ontario with an emphasis on administrative and commercial law, particularly litigation. He was a partner and subsequently counsel at the law firm Meighen Demers for more than 25 years. Since the late 1960s, he has held prominent roles on the Canadian political landscape, including being elected National President of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, a position he held from 1974-77.

He was honoured by the Order of Canada Advisory Council for “his contributions to public life as a lawyer, politician and philanthropist.”

Slaight continues to be a driving force in Canada’s music industry and is actively involved in artist development through Slaight Music that was established to develop Canadian artists. He was pivotal in creating the National Songwriting Contest and the Canadian Music Awards, and has been named Broadcast Executive of the Year on four separate occasions, and inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2005.

The Order of Canada Advisory Council cited Slaight for “his achievements as a business leader and for his generosity in the development of emerging artists.”
In addition to alumni, Western Biology professor Jeremy McNeil was selected as a member “for his contributions to the study of reproductive biology in insects and for his dedication to increasing public appreciation of science.”

McNeil, who holds a Distinguished University Professorship at Western, is known for his work in behavioural and chemical ecology, with an emphasis on reproductive biology and migration of pest species. He has published more than 200 peer-reviewed articles and trained dozens of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, many of whom now hold positions in universities and government agencies around the world.