MacEwan University celebrated its 27th annual MacEwan Day on March 8. The day gives university staff and faculty an opportunity to reflect not only on their contributions to the institution, but also to think back to our namesake. Read more about MacEwan Day 2012 and its award recipients.
Small footprint. Big legacy.
Before "being green" became a common household phrase, Dr. Grant MacEwan was using his knowledge and passion for the environment to
educate Canadians about issues affecting the world around us.
As an environmental advocate, he shared his values through various publications including his 1966 book, Entrusted to My Care. Through his words, Dr. MacEwan expresses his concerns for various environmental issues including air pollution, forest protection, and petroleum and mineral
extraction. This book was the culmination of decades of experience - his advocacy for the environment and the use of natural solutions to environmental problems stretched back for decades. In fact, during the drought of the 1930s, Grant MacEwan discovered and then revealed to the media that Russian thistle weed could be fed to cattle as a survival strategy.
In 1985, Dr. MacEwan received the Governor General's Conservation Award. Along with his many accomplishments as an agricultural scientist, professor, historian, and politician, Grant MacEwan's belief that we are responsible for establishing a helpful, caring, sustainable relationship with nature will remain a huge part of his legacy.
As the only Alberta university named in honour of a real person, we are proud to carry the MacEwan name. Dr. MacEwan's legacy lives on here - and resonates in the words of his 1969 creed, a portion of which reads:
"I am prepared to stand before my Maker, the Ruler of the entire Universe, with no other plea than that I have tried to leave things in His Vineyard better than I found them."
