Gretta Chambers (''

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

'' Taylor; January 15, 1927 – September 9, 2017) was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

journalist and former Chancellor of

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

Life and career

Chambers grew up in Outremont and attended Miss Edgar's and Miss Cramp's School and Netherwood School. She received a BA in political science from McGill University in 1947. She worked in radio and television and wrote for several newspapers and magazines. From 1966 until 1980, she was the host of the weekly CBC radio show called ''The Province in Print''. From 1977 to 2002, she had a weekly column in the ''

Montreal Gazette ''The Gazette'', also known as the ''Montreal Gazette'', is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper which is owned by Postmedia Network. It is published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the only English-language daily newspape ...

''. Since its inception in 1991, until her death in 2017, she was involved with the Montreal Consortium for Human Rights Advocacy Training (MCHRAT) at McGill University. When a MCHRAT project, the McGill Middle East Program (MMEP), took off in 1997, Chambers became a co-chair of its executive and management committees. She was chancellor of McGill University from 1991 to 1999, the first woman to serve in this position. In 2003,

Martin Cauchon Martin Cauchon (born 23 August 1962) is a Canadian lawyer and politician in Quebec Canada. He served as a Liberal Party of Canada, Liberal Cabinet of Canada, Cabinet minister in the government of Jean Chrétien. He unsuccessfully ran for the 2 ...

, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, appointed her to the Judicial Compensation and Benefits Commission, effective until August 31, 2007. Her brother is McGill University philosopher Charles Taylor.Charles Taylor awarded Templeton
/ref> Her husband was

Egan Chambers Egan Chambers (March 22, 1921 – May 5, 1994) was a Canadian politician. Born in Montreal, Quebec, he was educated at Selwyn House School and Bishop's College School. He was elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the 1958 federal el ...

, former Canadian member of parliament. She was survived by her five children and eight grandchildren.

Honours and awards

In 1993, she was named an Officer of the

National Order of Quebec The National Order of Quebec ( French: ), also known as the Order of Quebec, is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Quebec. Instituted in 1984 when Lieutenant Governor Jean-Pierre Côté granted royal assent to the (Natio ...

. In 1994, she was made a Member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

, and she was promoted to Companion in 2000.

References

External links

* *
Chancellor Emerita Gretta Chambers, 1927-2017
McGill Reporter, 9 September 2017 {{DEFAULTSORT:Chambers, Gretta 1927 births 2017 deaths Anglophone Quebec people Canadian women journalists Chancellors of McGill University Companions of the Order of Canada Journalists from Montreal McGill University alumni Officers of the National Order of Quebec Writers from Montreal Canadian women non-fiction writers Canadian columnists Canadian women columnists