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Claude Bissell

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Claude Bissell
CC FRSC
8th President of the University of Toronto
In office
1958–1971
Chancellor
Preceded bySidney Earle Smith
Succeeded byJohn H. Sword (acting)
4th President and Vice-Chancellor of Carleton University
In office
1956–1958
ChancellorJack Mackenzie
Preceded byJames Alexander Gibson (pro tempore)
Succeeded byDavidson Dunton
Personal details
Born(1916-02-10)February 10, 1916
Meaford, Ontario
DiedJune 21, 2000(2000-06-21) (aged 84)
EducationUniversity of Toronto (BA, MA)
Cornell University (PhD)

Claude Thomas Bissell CC FRSC (February 10, 1916 – June 21, 2000) was a Canadian author and educator. He served as the fourth president and vice-chancellor of Carleton University from 1956 to 1958 and the eighth president of the University of Toronto from 1958 to 1971.

Biography

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He was born in Meaford, Ontario, the youngest of nine children. He graduated from the University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Arts degree from University College in 1936 and a Master of Arts degree in English literature in 1937. He earned his PhD in English Literature from Cornell University where he won the Luana L. Messenger Prize for Graduate Research in 1940.[1][2][3][4] He served in the Canadian Army during World War II.

In 1952 he was made assistant professor at University College. From 1956 to 1958 he was president of Carleton College (now Carleton University) returning to the University of Toronto in 1958 to become president.

Bissell was the eighth president of the University of Toronto from 1958 to 1971. He played a major part in the university's expansion and the establishment of five of its constituent colleges, tripling the size of the university during his tenure. Included was the founding of the University of Toronto's Scarborough campus (then known as Scarborough College) in 1964 and Mississauga campus (then known as Erindale College) in 1967.[4]

He was the chair of the Canada Council from 1960 to 1962.

The Claude T. Bissell Building on the University of Toronto's St. George campus, which houses the Faculty of Information, is named after him.[5]

He married Christine and they had one daughter, Deirdre MacDonald.[6]

Because of his education, he was an officer in World War II, attaining the rank of captain in the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada and worked in the intelligence section.

Honours

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Quotes

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  • "The Social Sciences are good at accounting for disasters once they have taken place."
  • Referring to the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada, his regiment in World War II, "a happy regiment and a formidable one in action."
  • "Risk more than others think is safe. Care more than others think is wise. Dream more than others think is practical. Expect more than others think is possible."

Selected bibliography

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  • University College: A Portrait - 1953
  • Halfway Up Parnassus: A Personal Account of the University of Toronto 1932-71 - 1974
  • A Brief Biography: Vincent Massey, 1887-1967 - 1981
  • The Imperial Canadian: Vincent Massey in Office -1986
  • Ernest Buckler Remembered - 1989

References

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  1. ↑ "The McLuhan-Bissell Collection". 5 October 2013.
  2. ↑ "University of Toronto Archives and Records Management Services". Archived from the original on 2014-06-06. Retrieved 2014-06-03.
  3. ↑ "The Canadian Encyclopedia".
  4. 1 2 Macdonald, Deirdre (21 June 2010). "The Great Good Place". University of Toronto Magazine.
  5. ↑ "Claude T. Bissell Building - BL". University of Toronto. Archived from the original on 2012-04-19. Retrieved 2012-08-07.
  6. ↑ "Christine Bissell". GlobeLife Deaths. The Globe and Mail. 2017-03-04. Archived from the original on 24 April 2017. Retrieved 29 April 2017.
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