1992 Alumna of the Year
Alumna of the YearAgnes Richard, B.A.(Ed)'58, B.A.'80, M.Ed'87
Amid friends and family, Agnes Mary O’Driscoll Richard became
the recipient of the 1992 Alumna of the Year Award at a dinner held
in her honor at the Junior Common Room on the St. John’s
campus on November 7. Since 1982 the alumni association has given
the award annually in recognition of outstanding contribution made
by an alumni member to the public or private life of the community.
President Dr. Arthur may brought greetings from the university, recalling that the Class of ’58, of which both he and Agnes Richard are members, had just 72 degrees and diplomas awarded and there were only a few dozen faculty, whereas in 1992 some 2,200 graduated with 1,071 faculty. “In a single generation, we know we have more than 30,000 graduates and more than 40,000 degrees and,” he noted, “I’m reliably informed that about 100 of those degrees have been earned by various O’Driscolls and Richards.
“It’s delightful to see one of my classmates and one of the graduates of Memorial, who’s been loyal to the institution and so dedicated to what she’s done in her own career with the province and the country, is the person we honor this evening.”
Dr. Kevin Keough, vice-president, research, then introduced Agnes Richard, outlining her many accomplishments. “We honor her for her selfless, untiring work on behalf of others an remarkable achievements in community leadership.”
He described how Agnes grew up in Conception Harbour as the eldest of nine children in a family that believed in the empowering capacity of education. “Nine O’Driscolls and all five of her children,” said Dr. Keough, “have attended Memorial. Despite her family responsibilities, Agnes graduated from high school, not only as an electoral scholar bus as the King George V Jubilee Scholar.” After two years at Memorial, she became a sole charge teacher in Kitchuses, near Conception Harbour. By 1956, she had returned to Memorial to complete a BA(Ed.), graduating in ’58. In 1980 she received a BA in English and in 1987 an M.Ed.
“For the past 30 years Agnes has devoted enormous energies to many areas, including education, church, rural development, public health and women’s issues. Form 1965, until her recent retirement [June 1992], she has been a highly respected teacher at St. Paul’s High School in Gander.”
Besides her 34-year teaching career, Mrs. Richard also has worked in a host of community volunteer activities among which are: the Newfoundland Teachers’ Association, the Canadian Advisory Council on the Status of Women, the Women’s Institutes of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Canadian Libraries Trustees Association (of which she is president), the Newfoundland Public Libraries Board, the Canadian Heart and Stoke Foundation and the Provincial Rural Development Authority. She’s also recently written a definitive history of the Women’s Institute and the Jubilee Guilds entitled, Threads of Gold.
Dr. Keough pointed out that Agnes’s life, however, has not been entirely one of work, noting out that she has about a dozen other interests, including cooking. “Both Agnes and Ron are superb cooks. They’ve mixed the Newfoundland style of cooking with the French-Canadian style in a rather remarkable new style, this nouvelle cuisine Quebecois-Newf.” They even published a cook book, A Jug of Wine, to mark their 25th wedding anniversary.
“This is a woman who’s shown leadership of an extraordinary kind. She’s valued for her wit, her wisdom and her organizational skills; she’s respected for her energy, her perseverance and her integrity. The university’s proud she’s one of our alumni, and delighted she’s been named Alumna of the Year,” concluded Dr. Keough.
After accepting the award, Mrs. Richard began, “I want to thank you for the award. Since learning of being named alumna of the year for 1992, I had a lot of different emotions. Surprise certainly; excitement, astonishment, a sense of incredibility but the emotion that predominates is a distinct sense of pride. Memorial University has played a significant part in my life, and I’m both honored and overwhelmed to be named to this award.”
She said it is usual for more public figures such as Clyde Wells, Gwynne Dyer and Bill Rompkey to be recipients of the award, but found it reassuring the university also is aware of the many graduates who are volunteers, the behind-the-scenes workers in so many communities. “I do have a deep sense of pride because I feel I stand here representing the many thousands of volunteers working to make their communities more viable and more pleasant.”