Hall of Fame
Ian Macdonald was President of York University from 1974-84 and has been a supporter of Athletics & Recreation for many decades. He gave the approval for the creation of the York Sport Hall of Fame in 1980 and funded the induction ceremony during the remainder of his term of office, sanctioned the establishment of an annual Homecoming Weekend and instituted a sustainable alumni program. During his years, he successfully negotiated with Tennis Canada for the first Tennis Centre and the Canadian Open, and with Metro Toronto for the Metro Toronto Track and Field Centre. York became a dominant force in varsity sport during his time in office, including in 1981-82 when the university qualified more teams for the national finals than any other institution. Macdonald’s personal sports of choice were ice hockey and track and field, playing competitively for University of Toronto teams from 1948-52, and later at Oxford as a member of Oxford University teams from 1952-55. He has played on the faculty hockey team for 45 years and continues to do so into his 90s. Away from York, he was the Chair of Hockey Canada from 1987-94 and held a number of roles with the Government of Ontario (Chief Economist, Deputy Minister of Treasury, Economics and Intergovernmental Affairs). He is an honorary life member of the Canadian Olympic Association and in 1977 was made an Officer of the order of Canada.
Ian Macdonald is one of the most important figures in the history of York University. He was so important to the growth of the institution that the main road around Keele campus bears his name, and while many departments at York can trace their successes back to the work he accomplished during his decade-long presidency, he holds a special and unique place in the history of Athletics & Recreation.
Macdonald gave the approval for the creation of the York Sport Hall of Fame in 1980 and funded the induction ceremony during the remainder of his term of office, sanctioned the establishment of an annual Homecoming Weekend and instituted a sustainable alumni program. During his years, he successfully negotiated with Tennis Canada for the first Tennis Centre and the Canadian Open, and with Metro Toronto for the Metro Toronto Track and Field Centre.
His personal sports of choice were ice hockey and track and field. He competed in both at the University of Toronto and later at Oxford University, where he still holds the hockey team’s scoring record. He credits his involvement in sport with changing the course of his life when he was a young boy.
“Sport was a major part of my life growing up. During my early years, I had a lot of medical problems. It all changed in grade 2 with my teacher that year. She came to me one day and said they were having a track and field day and encouraged me to go out and try it. I went into the 100 yard dash and left everyone behind! I discovered a whole new world, a world of competition where I could really function. That moment led to everything else.
“To me, sports was synonymous with life. It was always in my mind the importance of it, particularly at a university. That led to wanting to make sure we got started on facilities, and to supporting athletics while I was president.”
Macdonald’s reach in sport was far greater than his impact on athletics at York. He was the Chair of Hockey Canada for seven years, is an honorary life member of the Canadian Olympic Association and in 1977 was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.
He was president of York at a very important time in the institution’s history. The school had already grown immensely in its 14 years but was in need of some strong leadership to help navigate its path through a period of even more growth.
“I knew a lot about the establishment of York. In the early years, I was a young professor at the University of Toronto and a lot of my friends were involved in the foundation of the university. Second, it seemed to me a rare opportunity to continue with the building process of a new university. And third, there was some difficult circumstances at the university and it seemed like a really interesting challenge. I thought, why not?
“The really interesting thing about York is the relationship of two circumstances. During my visits before I was president, I discovered this real sense of community at the institution, but there were also many problems. What I remember most was the sense of opportunity on one hand and the difficulty on the other. What I did was treat the job like a political constituency and tried to give people the feeling of confidence. I wanted them to concentrate on what this institution could be and focus on the many accomplishments York already had.”
Among those accomplishments was a fast-growing athletics program that had won 40 championships in its first 14 years of existence. In the decade Macdonald was president, York won 52 conference banners and 18 national titles, a tremendous total for any school, let alone one still finding its way.
Even in retirement, Macdonald has continued to support York’s varsity teams while remaining active himself. These days, he remains a fixture at Friday morning hockey games on campus, a tradition that dates back more than 45 years, and continues to amaze his teammates, opponents and those watching as he plays into his 90s.
“An awful lot of my old teams and former teammates stopped being physically active people. It always seemed to me even if you weren’t doing very much or being very successful in the sport, at least physically testing yourself is important. And it’s been even better because for me that involves being part of a group of friends on a regular basis. It’s not just the exercise but the fellowship as well. I keep coming back for that reason.”
When not still at the rink, Macdonald and his wife Dorothy, married 59 years, spend time with their large family that includes children Gord, Jill, Roy, Anne and Jenny, as well as grandchildren Ben, Emma, Nick, Warren, Riley and Carter.
