Annie Finnerty (Mrs. M.B. Pollock) Bursary
Annie Finnerty (centre); flanked by (l–r) Malcolm B. Pollock, Wilfred Pollock, Earl Victor Pollock and Evelyn Pollock
Mention the name “Finnerty” around UVic and you’re likely to think of the Finnerty Gardens; Finnerty Road, the northern entry to the campus, or the popular coffee bar under UVic’s bookstore.
Annie Finnerty (1873- 1937), was a gracious woman of tough pioneer stock who favoured full white dresses – despite the harsh realties of farm life in 19thcentury Victoria. Her parents were early settlers and farmers in the Mount Tolmie area in the 1860’s and ‘70’s – her uncle, Mike Finnerty, farmed the land in the 1890’s that is now UVic. (Two apple trees from his orchard still stand in the quad just south of the Coronet building.)
Now, Annie Finnerty’s memory is being honoured, and the family’s connection to the present campus is being remembered, through a bursary donated in her name. The Annie Finnerty (Mrs. M.B. Pollock) Bursary will be awarded to assist students in financial need who are enrolled in Faculty of Education.
Her grandson, David Pollock (B.Ed ’79) established the bursary to honour the wishes of his father Earl Pollock, who was a student at Victoria College in 1930. “Teachers deserve our support,” says Pollock, a former school teacher himself. “The education they gave us doesn’t weigh anything, but you pack it around with you forever, and it always comes in handy.”
Thanks to our donors, UVic can award more scholarships and bursaries – a gift that will make a difference in the life of a young person with the dream of a university education. It’s an investment that will pay enormous dividends for all of us – for the students themselves, and for society. Interested in applying?