The Faculty of Arts has lost one of its biggest supporters, and one of its most senior alumni. Frank Peers passed away last week at the age of 99. Just 18 when he completed a first-class honours BA in History, Peers will be remembered as a man who championed education, public broadcasting, social justice and the Blue Jays.
Born into a large family in Depression-ravaged Alsask, Saskatchewan, Peers' father, a village merchant, struggled to feed his brood of eight children. In spite of these odds, or perhaps because of them, Peers set off to the University of Alberta, obtaining his BA in 1936 followed by a BEd in 1943.
After several years of teaching, Peers became the assistant director of Extension. Four years later, he began working for the CBC, eventually heading the Public Affairs Department and later, Informational Programming. While at the CBC, Peers spearheaded award-winning public programming reflective of Canadian interests and values. Throughout his life, his commitment to public broadcasting and "disdain for those he thought were undermining the best of what his country stood for" remained unshakeable. (Globe & Mail)
In 1963, Peers joined the Political Economy Department at the University of Toronto, receiving his doctorate in 1966. In addition to his teaching duties, Peers published two highly influential books: The Politics of Canadian Broadcasting (1969) and The Public Eye: Television and the Politics of Canadian Broadcasting (1979), which are still in print and remain industry standards in Canadian public broadcasting.
Following his retirement in 1983, Peers endowed many graduate scholarships including three at the University of Alberta: The John Garrett Graduate Scholarship in United States Studies, The Hugh McCall Graduate Award in US Policy Studies and the Frank W Peers Graduate Research Scholarship, the first two of which are named after classmates from his time as a student at UAlberta. The practice of endowing and naming scholarships after his dear friends both here and at the University of Toronto spoke to his generosity and deep sense of loyalty.
Modest, private and unfailingly humane, Peers' life of public service and engaged citizenship will be remembered by his many friends, family and colleagues. His generosity continued to the very end, with bequests to keep "supporting the education of young people and give others more access to the kind of opportunities that schooling opened up for him." (Globe & Mail)
Donations and gifts in honour of Peers' extraordinary life may be added to the scholarship funds already named after him in the political science departments at the University of Alberta and the University of Toronto. Please contact jane.potentier@ualberta.ca for more details.
With files from the Globe & Mail