Wilfred Lockhart

The Very Reverend Dr. Wilfred Cornett Lockhart (October 17, 1906 – October 16, 1991) was a Canadian United Church of Canada minister, chaplain and academic administrator. He was the first President of the University of Winnipeg from 1967 to 1971 and was Moderator of the United Church of Canada from 1966 to 1968.^[1]

Life

Lockhart was born in Dundalk, Ontario on October 17, 1906 to Tom and Harriet Lockhart. In 1926, He moved to Toronto and attended Victoria College, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in 1929. He remained at the University of Toronto to earn his M.A. in 1932. Lockhart married Margaret Armstrong on September 20, 1933 and the couple then moved to Edinburgh, Scotland where Lockhart attended the University of Edinburgh, and completed his Ph.D. in 1936. During his time in Edinburgh, Lockhart served as the student minister of North Leith Parish Church.^[2]

Upon returning to Canada, Lockhart became the secretary of the Student Christian Movement of Canada and chaplain to the University of Toronto Canadian Officer Training Corps, a position he held until 1946. Beginning in the 1940s, he served two United Churches: Sherbourne Street United from 1940–1942 and Kingsway-Lambton United from 1942 until 1955.^[2]

In 1955, Lockhart was appointed principal of United College in Winnipeg, Manitoba. During the early years of his tenure, he became embroiled in the Crowe Case, which served as a catlyst for the development of national policy protecting the rights of academic freedom and the status of tenure in Canadian higher education. After receiving a letter in 1958 written by United College history professor Harry S. Crowe and intended for a colleague, Lockhart fired Crowe on the grounds of his incompatibility with the avowed purposes of the College. Lockhart offered to resign over the issue, however his resignation was not accepted and he continued as Principal until the College received its charter and became the University of Winnipeg in 1967.^[2] Lockhart, thus became the first president of the University of Winnipeg, serving until his retirement in 1971.^[1]

Lockhart served as the chairman of the Board of Colleges and Schools of the United Church of Canada from 1946–1955 and was elected Moderator of the United Church of Canada at their 7th General Council in Waterloo, Ontario in 1966 and served in this position until 1968.^[2][3]

He is the author of In Such an Age: Younger Voices in the Canadian Church (1951). He was inducted into the Manitoba Order of the Buffalo Hunt in 1971.^[1]

Upon retiring from active ministry and his position at the University of Winnipeg, Lockhart moved to Etobicoke, Ontario. His first wife died in 1986 and Lockhart remarried in 1988, to Anne Chorney. Lockhart died in Etobicoke on October 16, 1991 at the age of 84.

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