Posted: May 19, 2023
For Giving Power
Dr. Rod MacLennan (left) presents Dawn and David Skene with their MacLennan Society pins during the 2022 Celebration of Philanthropy. (Jon Bruhm photo)
At Dalhousie’s annual Celebration of Philanthropy in December 2022, outgoing President and Vice-Chancellor Deep Saini welcomed new members of the MacLennan Society.
Established in 2017, the MacLennan Society recognizes Dalhousie’s most loyal supporters, and is named after Dr. Rod MacLennan (BSc’60, LLD’98) — the first alum to reach 50 years of consecutive giving to the university.
In 2022, we welcomed 364 members from more than 250 households, including 237 new members at the Bronze level, 123 who moved from the Bronze to the Silver level, and four new Gold level members, including:
- Grace Lee (BA’47)
- Raymond Ouellette (BEng’67)
- James Gordon Thomson (BComm’62) and Helena Thomson
Dr. Rod MacLennan (left) presents Dawn and David Skene with their MacLennan Society pins during the 2022 Celebration of Philanthropy. (Jon Bruhm photo)
As we outlined in the Spring/Summer 2022 issue of Giving Power, Dalhousie revised the MacLennan Society’s parameters in 2021 and now recognizes members upon achieving 10-, 25- and 50-year giving milestones. There was previously a time restriction associated with the MacLennan Society membership; removing it means we can be more inclusive of the university’s loyal supporters.
Dawn Skene (BSc’81) and David Skene were among the donors impacted by this change. Dawn made her first gift to Dalhousie shortly after her graduation and continued giving back over the years. The previous time restriction delayed their induction into the MacLennan Society, but its removal meant they were officially welcomed in 2021.
Unfortunately, their member pins and invitation to the annual Celebration of Philanthropy reception never arrived in the mail. In the fall of 2022, they inquired about their status after Dawn noticed her parents had received their pins.
Following a discussion with the Donor Relations team, a special surprise was arranged for the Skenes: at the 2022 Celebration of Philanthropy, they were presented with their member pins by none other than Rod MacLennan himself.
“We feel that it is important to support future generations pursuing higher education,” says Dawn. “And it was a great honour to receive our pins from Rod.”