Fonds UAA Fonds 0036 - Department of Political Science fonds

J. Peter Meekison received a Bachelor of Applied Science degree in Mechanical Engineering (1959) and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Political Science (1961) from the University of British Columbia. He earned an MA in Political Science from the University of Western Ontario (1962) and a PhD in Political Science from Duke University (1965). Dr. Meekison joined the University of Alberta's Department of Political Science in 1967, chairing the department from 1972 to 1974. From 1971-1972, he was Associate Dean in the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research, and served as Vice-President (Academic) from 1984 to 1991. Dr. Meekison held the position of Balzberg Chair in Constitutional Law at the Faculty of Law from 1991 to 1994, and was granted the rank of University Professor on July 1, 1992. Peter Meekison took a ten year leave of absence from the University of Alberta (1974-1984) to devote his time to constitutional affairs with the Alberta Provincial Department of Federal and Inter-Governmental Affairs. He was Deputy Minister of the Department from 1977-1984, and during the 1978-1981 constitutional negotiations, Dr. Meekison developed and prepared the formula, tabled by Alberta, which ultimately became the amending formula in the Constitutional Act for 1982. As constitutional adviser to the government, he was actively involved with the Meech Lake Accord (1987) discussions and the discussions leading to the 1992 Charlottetown Accord. In 1993, J. Peter Meekison was appointed a Commissioner of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, and served with the Commission until its competed five volume report was published in 1996. He retired from the University of Alberta in 1996, and served as the public administrator for Okanagan University College, and is currently an adjunct professor of political science at the University of Victoria.

Dr. Grant R. Davy was a professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Alberta ( U of A). He became head of the department in 1957. Davy also started the Political Science Club at the U of A. Davey’s political views were a mystery to his students with him remaining impartial. He also brought the Hon. Lester B. Pearson to the U of A.

Political Science courses were first offered by the Department of Political Economy in 1923. Dr. Henry Bertram Mayo, the University's first political scientist, was appointed in 1947, and was Acting Head from 1951 to 1957. In 1964, Political Economy split into the Departments of Economics and Political Science. The Department's primary role is to educate students about the nature and activity of the state and the conduct of its government and politics, the government and politics of other societies and the interaction of such governments, and about individual rights and obligations (PACCR, 1984). Heads: 1964-1965 Grant R. Davy; 1966-1969 Christian Bay. Chairs: 1969-1972 Grant R. Davy; 1972-1974 J. Peter Meekison; 1975-1982 Roberta E. McKown; 1982-1985 Frederick C. Engelmann; 1985- Allan Tupper.