Key facts and history

Humphrey Pickard
1843-69 (Academy), 1854-62 (Ladies’ College) and 1862-69 (College)

Born on June 10, 1813 in Fredericton, NB, Humphrey Pickard graduated from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut in 1839. He then served as a Methodist minister in New Brunswick before accepting an appointment as Principal of Mount Allison Wesleyan Academy in 1843. When the Female Branch of the Academy (later Mount Allison Ladies’ College) opened in 1854, he became Principal of both branches. Through his efforts, Mount Allison Wesleyan College (later Mount Allison University) was organized and he became its first President in 1862. He served until 1869 when he moved to Halifax and became the Editor of the Provincial Wesleyan. He continued to serve Mount Allison as a member of the Board of Governors. Wesleyan University conferred a DD on him in 1857. Rev. Dr. Pickard died on Feb. 28, 1890.

David Allison
1869-1878 (Academy and College) and 1891-1911 (College)

Pickard’s successor both as President of the College and Principal of the Academy was David Allison, cousin of founder Charles Frederick Allison. He was born in Newport, NS on July 3, 1836, and had attended Mount Allison Academy. He then went to Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, where he graduated with a BA in 1859. Beginning in 1860, Allison taught classics and law-related courses at Mount Allison Academy during which time he earned a MA from Wesleyan. He was appointed President and Principal in 1869. Allison was popular among the students, took part in many sporting activities, and always enjoyed a good horse race. He retired in 1878 to become Superintendent of Education in Nova Scotia. In 1891 he returned as President of Mount Allison College and, in total, he served 29 years as President. Allison retired to Halifax in 1911, where he died on Feb. 13, 1924.

James Robert Inch
1869-1878 (Ladies’ Academy) and 1878-1891 (College)

James Inch was born on April 29, 1835 in New Jerusalem, NB. After attending New Brunswick’s Normal School, he received a first-class teaching license in 1850. In 1854, he joined the faculty of the Mount Allison Wesleyan Academy and taught in both the male and female branches. When Mount Allison Wesleyan College was opened in 1862, he joined its faculty and also enrolled as a student. In 1864, the year he received his BA, he became Vice-Principal of the Ladies’ Academy. In 1869, two years after obtaining an MA, he was made Principal. Inch is best known as an advocate for a university education for women and his motion to the Board to admit women was passed in 1872. In 1878, Inch succeeded Allison as President of the College, but continued to teach mental philosophy and logic. During his Presidency he began a modest building expansion program and nearly tripled the University’s endowment. In 1891, Inch left Mount Allison to take the post of chief superintendent of education in New Brunswick, where he remained until retirement in 1909. Inch died in Amherst, NS on Oct. 13, 1912.

David Allison
1891-1911

David Allison served a second term as President between 1891 and 1911.

Byron Crane Borden
1911-1923

B. C. Borden was born in Avonport, NS on Nov. 27, 1850. He had taught in Nova Scotia public schools before attending Mount Allison and graduating in 1878 with a BA. He then entered the Methodist ministry and after seven years serving congregations in Bermuda and Nova Scotia, he was appointed Principal of the Ladies’ College in 1885; he shared his duties with Preceptress Mary Mellish Archibald. Borden also taught in the University and served as Dean of the Faculty of Theology. Borden became President in 1911 and steered the University through financial crises, war, and economic depression. He resigned in 1923 and was immediately appointed to a four-year term as Chair of the Board of Regents.  Borden died on July 17, 1929 in Annapolis Royal, NS.

George Johnstone Trueman
1923-1945

George Trueman was born on Jan. 30, 1872 in Point de Bute, NB. He attended the Provincial Normal School in Fredericton in 1891 and then taught before entering Mount Allison in 1893. For a variety of reasons, Trueman did not graduate until 1902, with a BA. He then went to Europe where he studied the science of teaching at the University of Berlin and the University of Heidelburg.  Returning to Sackville, Trueman accepted a teaching position at the Mount Allison Academy.  While teaching, he completed an MA degree, which he received from Mount Allison in 1904. He next taught at and then became the Principal of Stanstead College in Quebec where he remained until 1920.  Through a leave of absence he was able to attend Columbia University and was awarded a PhD in 1919. After a term as the assistant secretary in the Education Office of the Methodist Church of Canada, from 1920–23, Trueman accepted the position as President of Mount Allison University. He was the first President to hold a doctorate. Trueman served for 23 years, until 1945. After his retirement, he served on the Board of Regents and on Sackville Town Council. He was elected Mayor in January 1949, but his term was of short duration because he suffered a stroke and died on Feb. 18, 1949.

William Thomas Ross Flemington
1945-1962

Ross Flemington was born in Newfoundland on Oct. 11, 1897. He attended the Provincial Normal College and graduated in 1916. He immediately enlisted in the Army and was sent overseas. Upon returning, he entered Mount Allison University and graduated with a BA in 1922 and a MA in 1923. In 1924 he accepted the position of vice-principal of the Mount Allison Academy and held it while studying in the Theological School from which he graduated in 1926. Next, Flemington took post-graduate work at Columbia and the Ontario College of Education and received a Bachelor of Pedagogy in 1930. That same year he became Principal of the Mount Allison Academy.  When World War II broke out, Flemington enlisted and ultimately became the Chief Protestant Chaplain Overseas. Flemington returned to Mount Allison to accept the position of President in 1945. He served in that capacity for 17 years, until 1962 when he became Director of Education in the federal External Aid office. Upon retirement from that position, Flemington became New Brunswick’s first Ombudsman, 1967 to 1971. He received an Order of the British Empire in 1944 and was made Companion of the Order of Canada in the late 1960s. Flemington died at his home in Port Elgin, NB on July 10, 1971.

​William Stanley Hayes Crawford
1962-1963 (Acting)

President Ross Flemington left Mount Allison a year earlier than planned to take a position with the federal External Aid office and William S. H. Crawford, head of the Mathematics Department, agreed to become the acting President for one year while the Board searched for a new President. See below for information about Crawford’s Presidency, 1975–80.

Laurence Harold Cragg
1963-1975

Laurie Cragg was born on Sept. 7, 1912 in Lethbridge, AB. He was a graduate of the University of Toronto, earning a BA with Honours in 1934, an MA in 1935, and a PhD in physical chemistry in 1937. From 1937 to 1943 Cragg was professor of chemistry at Brandon College. He then taught at McMaster University from 1943 to 1959 at which time he was appointed vice-president at the University of Alberta. He held that position until 1963 when he came to Mount Allison to serve as its seventh President. He remained at Mount Allison University until June 1975. Cragg was a well-known chemist whose research included blood plasma substitutes and the physical chemistry of high polymers. During his Presidency at Mount Allison, he oversaw the construction of the Mount Allison Chapel, the Ralph Pickard Bell Library, the Marjorie Young Bell Conservatory of Music, and Marjorie Young Bell Convocation Hall. He was the recipient of the Chemical Education Award from the Chemical Institute of Canada and a 1967 Centennial Medal. The L.H. Cragg Resource Centre at Mount Allison bears his name. Dr. Cragg died in Halifax, NS on Jan. 27, 2004.

William Stanley Hayes Crawford
1975-1980

William Crawford was born in Saint John, NB on April 17, 1916. He attended Mount Allison University and graduated with a double honours in mathematics and physics in 1939. Although selected as a Rhodes Scholar for New Brunswick, he was unable to accept because of the outbreak of World War II. Instead, he attended the University of Minnesota and received an MA in 1942. He remained there until Mount Allison University offered him a teaching position in 1946; he accepted and remained for the rest of his career. While at Mount Allison he continued his studies and received a PhD from the University of Minnesota in 1950. Dr. Crawford held numerous academic and administrative posts over the years, including professor of mathematics, 1947-85; head of the Mathematics Department, 1947-72; dean of the Faculty of Science, 1956-62; dean of faculty, 1962-65; Acting President, 1962-63; vice-president, 1962-69; and President, 1975-80.  After his term as President, Crawford continued to teach in the Mathematics Department until 1985 when he retired and became professor emeritus and President Emeritus.  Throughout his life, Dr. Crawford was known as a formidable athlete, performing in several sports. He died on Oct. 28, 1996 in Sarasota, Florida from injuries he suffered in an automobile accident.

Guy Robertson MacLean
1980-1986

Guy MacLean was born in Sydney, NS in 1929. He attended Dalhousie University where he received a BA in 1951 and a MA in history in 1953. That same year he was chosen as a Rhodes Scholar to Oxford, which granted him an honours BA and a MA. He received a PhD from Duke University in 1958. MacLean taught history at Dalhousie University beginning in 1957 but also served as Dean of the faculty of graduate studies, 1966–69, Dean of the faculty of arts and science, 1969–75, and vice-president academic and research from 1974-80. He took the reins as Mount Allison University’s ninth President in July 1980 and remained until 1986. From 1989-94 he was Ombudsman for Nova Scotia. MacLean died in Halifax on Oct. 29, 2021.

Donald Otis Wells
1986-1990

Don Wells was born on April 3, 1933, in McKeesport Pennsylvania. He graduated from Stanford University where he received a BSc, MSc, and PhD in physics. He was a research assistant at Stanford from 1957 to 1961 and then assistant professor of physics at the University of Oregon, 1961 to 1967. Wells came to Canada in 1967 as associate professor of physics at the University of Manitoba. In addition to teaching, Wells was appointed assistant vice-president (planning and special assignments) and in 1975 became vice-president (administration). He remained at the University of Manitoba until his appointment as Mount Allison University’s 10th President in 1986. He served as President of the University of Regina from 1990-98. Upon retirement, Wells moved to Wolfville, NS where he served as a new initiatives advisor at Acadia University from 1998-2004.

Sheila A. Brown
1990-1991 (Interim)

Sheila Brown received her BA (Honours) degree in geography from Cambridge University and went on to earn a MA and PhD, also in geography, from the University of Alberta. She subsequently accepted teaching positions at that same university, remaining there until 1980. She next taught at the University of Manitoba until accepting the position of vice-president at Mount Allison in July 1987. Brown agreed to act as interim President after the resignation of Donald Wells and held that position for the 1990-91 school year. Next she went to Mount Saint Vincent University where she served four years as vice-president academic (1992-96), and 10 years (1996–2006) as President.

Ian David Campbell Newbould
1991-2001

Ian Newbould was born in Guelph, ON on June 20, 1943. He received a BA from the University of Western Ontario, an MA from the University of Guelph, and a PhD from the University of Manchester. He was appointed as Mount Allison University's 11th President in 1991 and was the first President in 20 years to be granted a second term. During his two terms he reformed the Board of Regents and brought about financial changes aimed at increased stability. Upon leaving Mount Allison, Newbould became the President of North Carolina Wesleyan College, Rocky Mount, where he served as President until 2008. Following his tenure in North Carolina, he was appointed President of Richmond, The American International University in London, England.

Alexander Wayne MacKay
2001-2004

Alexander Wayne MacKay, CM, QC, was born on May 23, 1949 in Mount Thom, in Pictou County, NS. He attended Mount Allison University and received a BA in 1970 and a BEd in 1972. He then went to the University of Florida where he received an MA in 1971, followed by Dalhousie Law School, where he received an LLB in 1978. He was a professor of law at Dalhousie University from 1979 to 2001, at which time he returned to Mount Allison to become President. MacKay served as Mount Allison's 12th President for a three-year term before he returned to Dalhousie University as professor of law. Lawyer, teacher, and human rights expert, MacKay was invested as a member of the Order of Canada for his work in human rights law and contributions to Canadian education on June 29, 2005. He is currently a member of the Dalhousie University Faculty of Law and is a Canadian expert on constitutional law, education law, and human rights.

Kenneth L. Ozmon
2004-2006

Kenneth Ozmon was born on Sept. 4, 1931 in Portsmouth, Virginia. He received a BA from St. Bernard College in 1952, and an MA from the Catholic University of America in 1963. After teaching at various schools, primarily in the USA but also in Montreal, he received a PhD in psychology from the University of Maine in 1968. He went to the University of Prince Edward Island in 1969 where he taught psychology and later became chair of the Psychology Department and dean of arts for his last seven years. In 1979 he was appointed President of Saint Mary's University, serving in that capacity for 21 years until his retirement in 2000. In 2004 Dr. Ozmon agreed to serve as President for Mount Allison University and concluded his two-year term in June 2006. During his time at Mount Allison he helped to reverse a shortfall in admissions and also helped launch an ambitious $86-million capital campaign. He also served as Chairman of the Board at Optipress in Nova Scotia and as a Board member for the Ireland Canada University Foundation. Ozmon died Feb. 23, 2022 at the age of 90.

Robert M. Campbell
2006–2018

Robert Campbell was born on Sept. 12, 1950 in Montreal, Quebec. He received a BA from Trent University in 1974, an MA from the University of Toronto in 1976, and a PhD from the London School of Economics in 1980 in the areas of political science and economics. After teaching at Trent University from 1980 to 2000, where he was provost and dean of arts and science, Campbell went to Wilfrid Laurier University where he was the dean of arts from 2000 to 2005. Campbell's research on public policy took a particular focus on postal systems around the world, and how they have been affected by international and technological changes. He was made a member of the Order of Canada in 2016 for his contributions to academia, as an authority on postal services, and as President of Mount Allison University.

Jean-Paul Boudreau
2018-2023

Dr. Jean-Paul Boudreau earned an honours in psychology at the University of New Brunswick, a Master’s in Child Development from Laurentian University, and a PhD in experimental psychology from Tufts University. In 2003 he was the chair of the Department of Psychology at Ryerson University, and served as dean of arts from 2011 to 2016. Dr. Boudreau’s research focuses on the dynamic interaction between mind and action during infancy. In 2014, Dr. Boudreau and his team launched Ryerson’s first social innovation incubator, the Social Ventures Zone. In partnership with the office of Community Engagement, he also launched the ShapeLab, an experiential learning opportunity for students to co-create innovative solutions to Toronto’s pressing urban issues. He was also the founder and director of Ryerson’s Children, Health, Infancy, Learning, and Development (CHILD) Lab and is a fellow of the Canadian Psychological Association.