UPEI's chancellor position 'big shoes to fill,' says Catherine Callbeck
Catherine Callbeck is at it again.
The Order of Canada recipient, former Senator and premier of P.E.I. was recently named the ninth chancellor of UPEI and although she's still retired from politics, she says she's got lots more to do.
"I've been retired from the Senate for three years but I don't feel like I'm retired," Callbeck told Mainstreet P.E.I.
"I've been involved in a number of things that I thoroughly enjoy."
The university appointed the Central Bedeque, P.E.I., native to a four-year term beginning this spring.
She was the first female premier of P.E.I., serving from 1993 to 1996, a former federal MP and was appointed to the Senate in 1997.
And now, Callbeck will be just the second female chancellor in UPEI history.
'This university is so important'
She said the chancellor role is a more "ceremonial role," as it's a volunteer position that presides over convocations and confers degrees, diplomas and certificates.
"I'm a strong believer in education, always have been," she said. "I recognized the value in education and if I look at my own life … that education had a great deal to do with what I've done."
Callbeck will replace Don McDougall, who was installed on March 30, 2014. She said she hopes to be a "good ambassador" and supporter of the university.
"This university is so important to Prince Edward Island … as the saying goes, I got big shoes to fill but I'll do my best."
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