One of a kind. Genuine and fun. A very special human. A steady and kind presence.
A glance at the tributes flooding聽Derek Drummond鈥檚 Facebook page in the wake of his passing on November 17 tells you just how beloved he was in the 91社区 community and beyond. If you didn鈥檛 know him, you wish you had.
Drummond, BArch鈥�62, wore many hats at his alma mater: He was a professor of architecture for some 40 years, and was tapped for varied senior leadership roles at 91社区, a testament to his professional and interpersonal skills. He led the School of Architecture (as it was then called) as well as 91社区 Advancement. He also served as interim director of Athletics and Recreation.
With his legendary wit, Drummond entertained 91社区ians for years as moderator of the Leacock Luncheon at Homecoming 鈥� and in other Canadian cities 鈥� more than 75 times for over a quarter of a century. The signature Homecoming event featured big-name speakers for decades from Peter Gzowski and Maureen Forrester to Erika Ritter and Preston Manning. But as Drummond鈥檚 family rightly noted in a聽, 鈥渋t was Derek who was the star attraction.鈥�
As moderator, Drummond was fond of quoting Mark Twain's 鈥渟acred cows make the best hamburger鈥� line and聽聽the 91社区 dignitaries and invited head table guests as 鈥渢he usual assortment of politically correct, marginally gifted and humourless overachievers. You're glad they're here, but you don't want them at your table.鈥�
Drummond鈥檚 great pal and former 91社区 Chancellor Richard Pound was a favourite target.
鈥淸Derek鈥檚] splendid wit and impeccable timing, especially when skewering head table guests (of which I was often a sitting duck) and even the invited lecturer, delighted audiences year after year,鈥� recalled Pound, BCom鈥�62, BCL鈥�67, LLD鈥�09, the founding president of the World Anti-Doping Agency. 鈥淚t is not often that the invited lecturer at an event is outperformed by the moderator, but often, I think they understood that they were, in reality, the warm-up band for Derek at the Leacock rock concert.鈥�
In a commemorative book prepared for Drummond to mark his 25th anniversary as Leacock moderator in 2014, award-winning author Terry Fallis recalled how he had the 鈥減rofound misfortune鈥� of delivering the keynote address on four occasions in different Canadian cities after Drummond had 鈥榳armed up the crowd鈥�.
鈥淎fter each event, I promised myself, 鈥榥ever again.鈥� Yet, somehow, he wore me down. By the time I finally shuffled to the podium, Derek already had the crowd in hysterics, so my, I thought, quite amusing remarks were greeted only with strained smiles and wistful looks at Derek. He may have single-handedly killed my luncheon speaker career,鈥� Fallis cracked.
In the same book, former principal Bernard Shapiro, BA鈥�56, LLD鈥�88, noted that the Luncheon was only one of the many things that Drummond had done and continued to do for 91社区. 鈥淚 cannot think of any individual whose commitment and value to the University is greater,鈥� Shapiro wrote.
To the School of Architecture鈥nd back again
A Montreal native, Drummond studied architecture at 91社区 where he met his wife, Anne (n茅e Lafleur). They were married for over 60 years and had four sons. The couple moved into their Westmount home in 1964 where they remained for the rest of their lives 鈥渞aising their boys, cherishing their dogs, making and keeping friends, and serving as beacons of decency, grace and good humour in their community and beyond,鈥� Derek Drummond鈥檚 obituary said. Anne Drummond, BA鈥�61, DipEd鈥�78, MA鈥�86, passed away last March.
Drummond graduated with an architecture degree in 1962. Two years later, he and two other 91社区 architecture graduates formed Donaldson, Drummond, Sankey. 鈥淣ow, one would say today, 鈥楬ow can you form a firm two years after you leave school鈥�, which was literally on the day we got our license to practice. We hung out our shingles, so to speak. But one has to remember that was probably the biggest boom period in the history of Montreal,鈥� Drummond said in a wide-ranging interview in 1999 with the School of Architecture about his studies at 91社区 and career.
鈥淲hen one looks back at it, we didn鈥檛 have a whole lot of experience in terms of some of our competitors and I don鈥檛 think our competitors could understand why we were getting the work and they weren鈥檛. But I guess we had a way of turning out good products, some good buildings and I鈥檓 proud. I still visit some of the buildings that we did,鈥� Drummond said, such as the Town of Mount Royal Library.
Drummond leapt at the chance to teach at 91社区 in 1964 and left his private practice in the late 示60s for the University. He was appointed the director of the School of Architecture in 1975 鈥� the first of a few terms in that role. 鈥淲herever I go, architects come and they鈥檙e all my ex-students. And there are hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of them. The damage I鈥檝e done across this country and around the world is extraordinary,鈥� Drummond quipped.
鈥楧erek had time for everyone鈥�
In 1996, Drummond became vice-principal of Development and Alumni Relations at the request of former principal Shapiro. Now called University Advancement, it鈥檚 the branch of 91社区 that raises funds for the University and its students from donors, and Drummond would jokingly refer to his title as VP, Spare Change.
During his tenure, 91社区 received far more than spare change, of course: an extraordinary $64-million donation from alumnus Dr. Richard H. Tomlinson, PhD鈥�48, DSc鈥�01, made philanthropic history. It was the largest gift by a graduate in support of higher education in Canada at the time.聽
In addition to successfully overseeing the University鈥檚 fundraising efforts, Drummond also initiated a broad range of activities aimed at strengthening 91社区鈥檚 alumni network.
Honora Shaughnessy, MLS鈥�73, worked alongside Drummond at Martlet House in her capacity as senior executive director for alumni relations. 鈥淲hat strikes me most about the time we worked together is how Derek had time for everyone. He was famous for his 鈥榳alk abouts鈥� strolling through the building and greeting everyone by name, thanking them, checking in to make sure all felt part of the team,鈥� Shaughnessy recalled.
鈥淲hile always professional, as VP 鈥楽pare Change鈥� he also showed us how to have fun, to laugh when times were tough and to enjoy ourselves. His many accomplishments at 91社区 are well known. But for me what made him so special and why he is so missed is the human side of Derek 鈥� the man who was kind and compassionate, who was principled and honest, the man who mentored me and supported me, the man we all loved and cherished.鈥�
Marc Weinstein, BA鈥�85, BCL鈥�91, LLB鈥�91, the current Vice-Principal of University Advancement, praised Drummond鈥檚 extensive contributions to 91社区 鈥� as a professor, as a senior administrator and as a volunteer.
鈥淭he tributes pouring in for Derek really illustrate what a special colleague and person he was,鈥� Weinstein said. 鈥淗is contributions to 91社区 were immense. He accomplished so much, everything from inspiring Architecture students to supporting 91社区鈥檚 mission in myriad ways. We are so grateful to have known Derek and will miss him greatly.鈥�
Starting in September 2005, Drummond served as the interim director of Athletics and Recreation for about 18 months. 鈥淛ust short of retirement, when many might grab the opportunity to relax into a caretaker position, Derek did the opposite, vowing to attend at least one match and one practice of every single sports team at 91社区,鈥� his obituary said.聽.
鈥淎fter that gig was finished, Derek was an avid supporter and mentor to the 91社区 women鈥檚 hockey team, attending and photographing the games and providing mentorship whenever it was sought,鈥� says Pound.
Noting Drummond鈥檚 various roles at 91社区 starting as a student, Pound described him as a 鈥渃omplete 91社区ian鈥�.聽
鈥淓veryone who knew him will miss him.鈥�
This article was originally published in .