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Call for Proposals
The MacKay Endowment derives from a substantial gift from Mrs. Gladys MacKay to Dalhousie University in appreciation of the education that her husband, the Rev. Malcolm Ross MacKay, received in the Faculty of Arts and Science (B.A., History, 1927). In the 1950s, Mrs. MacKay designated the Faculty as the beneficiary of her estate upon her husband’s death. In 1998, when the bequest was received, the Faculty of Arts and Science had divided into the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and the Faculty of Science. Accordingly, the funds from the endowment are equally shared between the two Faculties.
After talking to a number of faculty, and taking into account the restrictions set out in Mrs. MacKay's will, as well as other needs of the Faculty, the Dean decided that the MacKay endowment funds should be used to further intellectual debate, to foster faculty integration, and to raise the profile of the Faculty within the university and the community-at-large. To this end, a named lecture series --The MacKay Lecture Series--began in 1999-2000--with two occasional lectures that year. The first full series of lecturers was in 2000-2001. The series consists of four lectures given by internationally renowned speakers. Three of the lectures revolve around a common interdisciplinary theme, relating to the Arts and Social Sciences. The one remaining lecture is on a broad-based historical theme, appealing to the general intellectual interest in the Liberal Arts and at the same time honouring Rev. MacKay. In addition to the public lecture, each speaker also gives a small, specialised seminar to colleagues in his or her discipline. The MacKay Lecture Series is administered out of the Dean's Office with the Assistant Dean, Research, responsible for co-ordinating the lectures with the annual FASS colloquia and other Faculty series, such as the Austin and Hempel Lectures.
In the case of the three-theme-linked lectures, each year the Assistant Dean, Research, puts out a call for proposals in early September for the next year's lecture series. Proposals must provide an outline of the theme, proposed speakers, and a brief outline of the proposed format of the lecture series including dates. Proposals also include reasons why the theme would reflect an Arts and Social Sciences viewpoint and appeal to the broader audience. By Monday, October 31 all applications should be received. A committee, comprising the Dean, the Assistant Dean, Research, the Research Development Committee, and a representative of the group of individuals who organised the preceding lecture series reviews the applications and chooses the theme for next year.
In the case of the history lecture, each year the Assistant Dean, Research, asks the History Department to provide by Monday, October 31, in rank order based on availability, three possible lecture topics and speakers for the next year's lecture. The History Department works with the Assistant Dean, Research, within a budget set by the Dean to support the lecture.