Margaret MacMillan offered no advice for today’s graduates, only hopes for the future.
MacMillan spoke to 457 graduates from the Faculty of Social Science and School of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies at the Tuesday, June 12 morning session of Western’s 299th Convocation. Western conferred an honorary Doctor of Laws, honoris causa (LL.D.) upon MacMillan in recognition as a leading expert on history and international relations.
“You have worked very hard over many years for your achievements. I want to congratulate you all,” MacMillan said to the graduates.
“My first hope is that you realize that leaning doesn’t stop here. You’re on a journey that should last until the end. Keep your curiosity. Learn new things and acquire new skills,” she said adding her second hope is that graduates develop an intellectual passion.
“And my third hope is, as you follow your passions and keep learning, that you’ll boldly go across boundaries. Too often in our disciplines we allow ourselves to get into small and tight boxes,” she said.
After graduating from the University of Toronto, MacMillan received her doctorate from Oxford University in 1974 and began teaching at Ryerson University the following year. She served as department chair and taught courses on the Cold War and international relations in the 20th Century to students in fields as disparate as journalism, nursing and engineering.
In 2002, she began a provost of Trinity College at her alma mater in Toronto, distinguishing herself there for her accessible leadership. She was invested as an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2006 and the following year became Warden of St. Antony’s College at Oxford.
In her citation, History professor Margaret Kellow said in addition to outstanding work as a teacher and author, MacMillan has made enormous contributions as a public intellectual. On both sides of the Atlantic, friends, family members, former students and colleagues have cherished her wit and generous nature.
“She is often quoted in the media and interviewed on radio and television,” Kellow said. “This is due in no small measure to her marvelous sense of humour and to her ability to distinguish between what is important and what only seems important. She not only makes history interesting to a broad audience, she is particularly adept at enabling people to understand why history matters.”
MacMillan added graduates must reach out to others, share what they know and remember to allow others to do the same.
“We must share our knowledge, not hug it greedily to ourselves,” MacMillan said.
Also during the ceremony, History professor Jonathan Vance was presented as a Distinguished University Professor while Political Science professor Elizabeth Riddell-Dixon was conferred with the status of professor emerita.