J.I. MacDougall

Title: Professor Emeritus

Biography:

CLASSICAL ASSOCIATION OF CANADA

AWARD OF MERIT, 2013

The Award of Merit Committee is pleased to confirm that Professor Iain McDougall is the recipient of the Award of Merit of the Classical Association of Canada for the year 2013. This award recognizes Professor MacDougall’s notable services to Classical Studies in Canada as a dedicated teacher, mentor to students and faculty alike, as a gifted administrator, as a scholar of Greek History and as a dedicated servant of the Association.

Iain McDougall was born in Glasgow, Scotland; he received his M.A Honours from St. Andrews University in 1964 and his Ph.D. from St. Andrews in 1981. Under the supervision of Sir Kenneth Dover, he completed what by all counts must be the largest dissertation of its kind, which was subsequently published in 1983, A Lexicon of Diodorus Siculus, though perhaps it should be called The Lexicon, in two volumes of 1761 pages. This was no mean feat as it was completed before the dawn of the TLG and other digital tools. It was a mammoth undertaking, the result of almost twenty years of work on the language of the most voluminous of Greek historians. No mere compilation, this lexicon involves analyses and interpretations of Diodoran usage, and still remains an essential aid for the student of Diodorus. Given its length and the time devoted to completing it, this had to be a work of passion, or at least led to some passion, as it was often done in the pleasant summer months, with Iain sailing up and down Lake of the Woods with his lovely wife Val.

Iain began his teaching career in 1966 as a lecturer within the Classics Department at the University of Winnipeg, where he would spend his whole career. In those early years as lecturer, from 1966-1969, Iain also served as Don for the Men’s Residence. Stories could be told, but this is not the place to recount such tales. In 1969, Iain became Assistant Professor and worked his way through the ranks, being promoted to Professor in 1983. In 1976 he became chair of the department and continued in that role for 22 years. During that time, he oversaw the doubling of the department’s faculty, tripling of its enrollment and by the time of his retirement in 2005, it was generally regarded as the best undergraduate department in Canada. Iain was a dedicated teacher, the result of which can be seen in the number of students winning prizes in the Classical Association Sight Translation Competitions over the life of his teaching career. He was also a gifted administrator, not only dexterously guiding the department but also being called upon to serve on countless university committees. For his dedicated service to the University of Winnipeg, he was awarded The Robin H. Farquhar Award for Excellence in Contributing to Self Governance.

Iain’s dedicated service also extended to the Association. He began as Treasurer, in which role he served for seventeen years from 1979 to 1996. Under his steady leadership the Association was placed on a firm financial footing and was in good financial health, when his long tenure ended as Treasurer. Not only did he serve on the Executive in this key role, he also served as Vice-President, President and finally Past-President. Thus, for some twenty-three years, Iain played an active and influential role in the Association. Indeed, he single-handedly organized the annual meeting of the Association for 2000, which was held in Winnipeg. Those of us who attended that year, can’t forget the opening barbeque and reception, which was graciously held at his home. The food was plentiful, the wine flowed freely and the conversation was genuine. This speaks for Iain’s warmth and generosity. Finally we should note that Iain was also a founder of the Classical Association of the Canadian West, which he attended frequently and which still meets today.

For his dedicated teaching and award-winning service to his home university, for his mentorship to students and faculty alike, for his scholarship in Greek History, for his long-standing support of Classics in Canada, and for his long, dedicated service to the Classical Association of Canada, we hereby recognize that Iain McDougall mostly richly deserves the Award of Merit of the Classical Association of Canada for 2013.

(From the citation in honour of his Award of Merit in 2013: Classical Association of Canada)