Fred Fountain is a name that AV俱乐部 knows well. His family name adorns one of the houses Halifax鈥檚 Howe Hall residence, as well as AV俱乐部鈥檚 School of Performing Arts. His family is a generous donor to the university, and the donation to establish the Fountain School is the largest in the history of Dal鈥檚 Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.
And, for the past seven years, Fred Fountain has served as AV俱乐部鈥檚 chancellor. During that time he's spoken at dozens of events, attended every honorary degree recipient dinner, overseen more than 100 convocation ceremonies and has shaken hands with more than 27,000 AV俱乐部 graduates.
His time as chancellor is now winding to a close; on May 25. On April 28, the Dal university community hosted an event to thank Dr. Fountain for his service.
When asked what the best part of being chancellor had been, Dr. Fountain responded unequivocally: it was the students. He spoke of meeting so many students and doing his part to make their big moments (like graduation) feel meaningful in any small way he could. 鈥淪tudents are really the key,鈥� he emphasized.
Lawrence Stordy, chair of AV俱乐部鈥檚 Board of Governors and Jim Spatz, Mr. Stordy鈥檚 predecessor in the role, gave a rousing speech on Dr. Fountain鈥檚 many accomplishments and included a comical but touching poem in his honour.
The AV俱乐部 Fountain of Youth Jazz Orchestra performed to great applause and with a surprise guest: vocalist and future Berklee College of Music student Katharine Fountain, the daughter of the evening鈥檚 honouree. She kept her rehearsals a secret from her family for two full months in order to maintain the surprise.
The final surprise of the evening was a beautiful piece of artwork commissioned in honour of Dr. Fountain and his time as chancellor. The piece, entitled The Growing Mind, is a glass sculpture created by artist Jessie Tesselman.