The 2012 John Orr award recipient is Queen’s Chancellor Emeritus Charles Baillie, a renowned business leader, a passionate advocate for education, and a dedicated philanthropist.
“Mr. Baillie has been selected for the 2012 John Orr Award because of his immense contributions to the life and welfare of Queen’s. He and his family have endowed several unique awards and scholarships, including two teaching awards and a Chair in Conservation Biology, that support Queen’s in its mission to provide its students with a first-class education,” says Elaine Wu, Artsci’97, Artsci’98, MIR’00, Law’03, President of the Toronto Alumni Branch.
Prior to serving as the 12th Chancellor of Queen’s from 2002 to 2008, Mr. Baillie held the position of Chairman and CEO of TD Bank Financial Group, a company with which he started his career in 1964. His renowned leadership and business skills brought many notable successes to the company including expansion into the United States, the creation of TD Securities, the acquisition of brokerage Waterhouse Investor Services, and the acquisition in 2000 of Canada Trust, which led to the creation of TD Canada Trust.
In addition to serving as the 12th Chancellor of Queen’s, Mr. Baillie has family ties to the university: all four of his children are Queen’s graduates, and the family’s commitment to and support of Queen’s was one factor behind their endowment of the Baillie Family Chair in Conservation Biology—an award that, along with the A. Charles Baillie Environmental Studies Scholarship, reflects the Baillie family's keen interest in the natural world, the conservation of biodiversity, and their special passion for birds. Mr. Baillie also established the Chancellor A. Charles Baillie Teaching Award and Baillie Awards for Excellence in Secondary School Teaching, which reflect his belief in the influence and importance of education and his passionate advocacy for continued and increasing public investment in Canadian secondary and post-secondary institutions.
Mr. Baillie has been described as “a true Renaissance man”—a man as happy to be out exploring in nature as he is engaging in vigorous public policy debates or quietly browsing over the fragile pages of antiquarian books. His eclectic interests, his commitment to community involvement and philanthropy, and the depth and richness of his life experiences are reflected in the diversity of awards he has garnered and by his many volunteer roles, which have included President of The Art Gallery of Ontario; Honorary Chairman of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives; Honorary Campaign Chair of the Shaw Festival; Director of the Toronto Festival of Arts, Culture and Creativity; Campaign Co-Chair for the Nature Conservancy of Canada; and Advisory Committee member of Canada’s National History Society.
For more information about the 2012 John Orr Award Dinner and Dance and to register, please visit the Alumni Relations events page.
Each year, the Toronto Branch presents the John Orr Award to a member of the Queen’s community who embodies Dr. Orr’s own steadfast dedication to the life and welfare of Queen’s University.
