Mabel Bell receives posthumous honorary doctorate from CBU

Mabel Bell will receive a posthumous honorary doctorate from Cape Breton University at a special convocation at the Alexander Graham Bell Museum in Baddeck, N.S. today.

University president David Wheeler said Bell was a major force in the life of her husband Alexander Graham Bell — best known as the inventor of the telephone. But Wheeler also said she is inspirational in her own right.

"Probably the more commercially switched on and entrepreneurial of the two, if truth be told," said Wheeler.

Wheeler said the school wanted to honour someone who reflected the university's shift towards technology and entrepreneurialism.

"She was an amazing inspiration to both women and men," he said.

In 1907, Bell became one of the first woman to invest in the aviation industry. She also started the Young Ladies Club of Baddeck in 1891 — now known as the Alexander Graham Bell Club. A release from the university says it's the oldest continuously operated women's organization in Canada.

"You can draw inspiration from the past and you can draw inspiration from strong women as well as strong men. I just think Mabel Bell's contribution was so huge, it's lovely to build her story into the Cape Breton University story," said Wheeler.

Wheeler said the university doesn't often award degrees after someone dies, but the board of governors agreed Bell was worthy of an exception.

Two members of the family, including Bell's granddaughter Joan Sullivan, will accept the degree on behalf of Bell.

Bell is buried alongside her husband in Cape Breton.