Honourable senators, yesterday morning, a small man with a great heart was laid to rest in the Jewish Cemetery of Victoria. Myer Horowitz was 89. He was a teacher, an academic and a champion of early childhood and primary education.

Born in Montreal, he earned a PhD at Stanford University before beginning his academic career at McGill, but in 1969 he moved to Edmonton to become Chair of the University of Alberta’s Department of Elementary Education. He later served as Dean of Education and Vice-President (Academic) before taking on the role of President, a position he held from 1979 to 1989.

University presidents are not typically beloved by their student body, but Myer Horowitz was a most unusual president. When news of his death broke this week, Allen Panzeri, a long-time sports writer, wrote on Twitter:

When I was covering the Golden Bears hockey team for the Edmonton Journal, a frequent companion in a lonely press box was Myer Horowitz.

Now, I was not a hockey player. It probably won’t shock you that I was instead an active member of the U of A debate club. I remember asking the president’s office if they could provide some support for a big tournament we were hosting. I was delighted and surprised when President Horowitz himself gave up a chunk of his weekend to judge at the tournament and present the trophy to the winning team.

I was even more touched that after that one meeting, he never forgot me and sent me notes of congratulations and support for decades as my career progressed. That’s just how he was.

Dr. Horowitz presided over a golden age at the U of A, building world-class schools of engineering, medicine, business, science and the arts. But he also earned the love and loyalty of students all across campus. He was a visionary and a mensch, so much so that when he retired in 1989, the student community voted to rename the student union theatre space as the Myer Horowitz Theatre.

He earned nine honorary doctorates and an Order of Canada, but I’d like to think the Myer Horowitz Theatre was his truest honour.

The doctor and his wife, Barbara, retired to Victoria in 1998, though his retirement was far from retiring. He became an adjunct professor at the University of Victoria where he helped to found the UVic Centre for Youth and Society.

Throughout his life, right to the very end, he remained a passionate supporter of teachers and students, a dedicated volunteer with organizations that supported them and a sharp and publicly outspoken critic of provincial government policies that he felt compromised classroom education.

May his memory be a blessing to his wife, Barbara, his daughters, Debbie and Carol and all his friends and family. His memory will forever be a blessing to the University of Alberta, to Edmonton and to Alberta, the province he loved. Thank you very much.