Alastair Auld Mactaggart (March 11, 1928 July 3, 2017), known as Sandy Mactaggart or Sandy Auld Mactaggart, was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

-born

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 ...

educator and philanthropist. Mactaggart was born in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

. After being evacuated to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in the late 1930s, he attended schooling at

Lakefield College School Lakefield College School (sometimes called LCS, The Grove or simply Lakefield) is a private day and boarding school located north of the village of Lakefield, Ontario. It was the first Canadian member of Round Square, an international affiliatio ...

(

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

) and at

Choate Rosemary Hall Choate Rosemary Hall ( ) is a Independent school, private, Mixed-sex education, co-educational, College-preparatory school, college-preparatory boarding school in Wallingford, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1890, it took its present na ...

(

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

). He later attended

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, studying

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

and graduating ''

cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

'' in 1950 with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

. He would go on to attend

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...

, receiving a degree in business administration in 1952. That same year he would move to

Edmonton, Alberta Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

with Harvard dorm-mate Jean de La Bruyere to found Maclab Enterprises (/), a property development company. He would involve himself in the local arts and culture scenes of Edmonton, one of the co-founders the

Citadel Theatre The Citadel Theatre is the major venue for theatre arts in the city of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, located in the city's downtown core on Churchill Square. It is the third largest regional theatre in Canada. History It began in a former Salvati ...

in 1965, and a founder of the Edmonton Art Gallery. He is also involved with his alma mater, Harvard, serving on the Harvard Resources Committee and in the leadership of the Harvard Alumni Association as well as the directorship of Harvard Clubs in Canada. He has also served as treasurer of the

American University of Beirut The American University of Beirut (AUB; ) is a private, non-sectarian, and independent university chartered in New York with its main campus in Beirut, Lebanon. AUB is governed by a private, autonomous board of trustees and offers programs le ...

, president of the C.D. Howe Institute and Chief Executives Organization, and as a member of the Advisory Board of the Royal Society of Canada. Mactaggart served on the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta (also known as U of A or UAlberta, ) is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta, and Henry Marshall Tory, t ...

Board of Governors from 1983 to 1994, on the school's Real Estate Advisory Committee, and as chairman of the University of Alberta Foundation from 1989 to 1994. He was chancellor of the university from 1990 to 1994. During his term as chancellor, he oversaw a period of changes in government funding, and introduced the concept of visiting committees of community leaders invited to tour the campus, a concept he had become aware of via his alma mater, Harvard. He has donated an area of situated in the Whitemud Creek ravine, the Mactaggart Nature Sanctuary, as well as several pieces of Chinese costumes and art, worth $37 million; to the

. In 2010, he moved to the

Bahamas The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of its population. ...

with his wife, Cécile for health reasons, after donating his Edmonton home worth $23 million to the University of Alberta. He received the James L. Fisher Award from the

Council for Advancement and Support of Education The Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) is a nonprofit association of educational institutions. It serves professionals in the field of educational advancement. This field encompasses alumni relations, communications, marketin ...

in 1995. He was also appointed as an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1997, and the Alberta Order of Excellence in 1998. Sandy Mactaggart Award at the University of Alberta is named after him. Sandy Mactaggart married Cécile Erickson in 1959. He died on July 3, 2017, in Islay, Scotland, aged 89.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mactaggart, Sandy 1928 births 2017 deaths University of Alberta Harvard Business School alumni Harvard University alumni Members of the Alberta Order of Excellence Scottish emigrants to Canada Officers of the Order of Canada Chancellors of the University of Alberta