Largest Donation to the Humanities Creates Fellowship in Scottish Studies

It’s been said that the Scots invented the modern world, and that many of our values—cultural, political and social—stem from an enlightened Scottish world view.
        Now, the passion of a Victoria couple for all things Scottish has resulted in the largest donation ever to the University of Victoria’s faculty of humanities.
        A $560,000 gift from the estate of the late Marion Alice Small will create the “Hugh Campbell and Marion Alice Small Fund for Scottish Studies.” Marion Alice Small died in Victoria in December 2003. She was predeceased by her husband Hugh Campbell Small in 1994.
        The gift is the largest single donation to the faculty of humanities and the first donation ever designated to support the study of Scottish history and culture at UVic. The endowment will support a faculty fellowship, a graduate scholarship and an annual public lecture delivered to the St. Andrews and Caledonian Society of Victoria. In addition, the endowment will provide for the acquisition of new materials by the university’s McPherson Library to support Scottish studies.
        “The funds generated by this endowment will allow an on-going commitment to Scottish studies to be an integral part of our current disciplinary offerings,” says Dean of Humanities Dr. Andrew Rippin. “This gift will be of tremendous benefit to our faculty, our students and the community as a whole. The study of Scottish literature, thought, culture, society and history will become a focal point of activity here at the faculty of humanities as a result of this gift.”
        Marion Small was a professor in UVic’s faculty of education, where she taught art education until her retirement in 1986. She was born in Saskatoon in 1920, and lived the first 17 years of her life on a farm near Seamans, Saskatchewan. The family moved to Victoria in 1937 after the farm—in her words—“blew away.” She graduated from Victoria Normal School and went on to receive an MA in education from UBC. Her teaching career spanned more than 40 years. In 1959 she married Hugh Campbell Small, a native of Glasgow, and soon thereafter they both joined the St. Andrews and Caledonian Society. Marion was actively involved in the affairs of the society and served as president on four occasions.
        News of the gift was announced by UVic President Dr. David Turpin at a special ceremony held at the university on September 20.

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