Congratulations David and Christiane Dodge! As exemplary members of the Queen’s community, David and Christiane Dodge have been recognized with the John Orr Award from the Toronto Branch of the Queen’s University Alumni Association.
David, Arts’65, LLD’02, and Christiane, Arts’65, have always worked as a team to support Queen’s and their community through volunteerism, leadership, and philanthropy.
David recently stepped down as Queen’s 13th Chancellor, and served a seven-year term as Governor of the Bank of Canada. Christiane is now retired from the Treasury Board Secretariat after many years of public service. Their tireless efforts have made an immeasurable impact on Queen’s and Canada.
Christiane Dodge, Arts’65, and David Dodge, Arts’65, LLD’02, have a long history with Queen’s.It started in the 1960s when the couple met while studying economics. David went on to become a professor in the economics department and eventually served as Queen’s 13th Chancellor, running from 2008 to 2014.
Christiane, a former trade negotiator with the federal government, and David, the former governor of the Bank of Canada, maintained close ties to the university as volunteers and donors long after their student days.
Those decades of support are the reasons why the Dodges are this year’s recipients of the John Orr Award, the highest honour bestowed by the Toronto Branch.
The couple sat down with members of the Toronto Branch executive to talk about their lives, careers and affection for Queen’s. Here is an edited version of the conversation.
How did you meet?
(Christiane) We first met while studying economics at Queen’s. After graduation, I went hitchhiking to Europe. When I came back I wanted to visit some friends in Princeton, N.J. David. said I will meet you in Kingston and will drive you down. He came to pick me up at the train station in a Jaguar. I didn’t believe that it was his and initially refused to get in. It was during this drive back that we reconnected and the rest is history.
What are some fond memories of being a student?
(David) The university was a lot smaller in the 1960s. It was largely an undergraduate school. The interaction between students and faculty was different because there were few graduate students around. So undergrads were the research assistants. It was a really close community. Faculty and students did lots of things together.
(Christiane) I was happy that I managed to get into Queen’s. I was a first-generation immigrant from Germany and was taught that apostrophes were bad. Consequently, I applied to the “University of the Queen.” I went to many Queen’s formals in Grant Hall and they were very fancy. The residences were very strict with the girls. In first year we had to have letters from our parents to stay out beyond 11 p.m.
(David) We boys had to deal with the “witches” guarding the doors of the girls’ residences.
Tell us which Queen’s events or groups you have been involved with since graduating.
(Christiane) I enjoyed my work with the Agnes Etherington Art Centre. When David and I arrived at Summerhill, it was mostly Victorian art work on the walls. I decided this was highly inappropriate for Queen’s today and needed to be changed. I worked with the Agnes art rental to showcase local artists a rotating basis. I think promoting town-gown relations is very important. Art is a great bridge.
What has encouraged you to be philanthropic with the university?
(David) Queen’s should be accessible to all people. Obviously, for people outside of Kingston, it’s very expensive to attend Queen’s. So Christiane and I both feel quite strongly that we should do something to make it a little bit easier. We have pretty strong views that Aboriginal students should be able to go to university - so we support Aboriginal students at both Queen’s and Emily Carr University (in B.C.).
(Christiane)While David’s philanthropy was mostly involved with the economics department, I wanted to fund the Aboriginal scholarship based on my experiences in Saskatchewan and the North (while working with the federal government). I saw how remote parts of the country are, and how difficult it is for students from there to come to university.
(David) The one I liked best was the one we had at the Windsor Arms. It was smaller and more compact. You couldn’t accommodate everyone but it was a fun because you got to meet a lot of people. I thought it worked quite well being crammed in together. I fondly remember last year’s event when John Rae received the award. He and I were undergraduate students together. It’s always the people who make the event special.
What advice do you have for current alumni?
(David) Use the Queen’s Alumni Branch network – it’s a lot better than LinkedIn. Your undergraduate years are a formative experience. So when you go across the country or anywhere in the world, meeting someone else from Queen’s provides an immediate connection.
