Order of Merit for Three U of S Alumni
Three University of Saskatchewan alumni are among the seven people to receive the Saskatchewan Order of Merit—the province's highest honour, given in recognition of individuals who have made major contributions to the province and its residences.
By Derrick KunzProfessor Emeritus Douglas Schmeiser S.O.M., Q.C. (BA'54, LLB'56), Donald Kramer S.O.M. (BE'48) and John Douglas (Jack) Mollard O.C., S.O.M., F.C.A.E. (BE'45) will be officially appointed at a ceremony November 23 in Regina.
Douglas Schmeiser is a former dean and professor at the College of Law at the U of S.
He has served on several advisory councils, including those for Meech Lake and the Charlottetown Accord, was chair of the Law Reform Commission of Saskatchewan and served as director of the Saskatoon Bar Association.
Schmeiser also participated in many international projects that include serving as a constitutional advisor with the United Nations to the parliament of the Maldives and consulting in Ethiopia and Zimbabwe. He has also lectured at several international universities.
Donald Kramer, chairman of the board of Kramer Ltd., is a well-known business leader and philanthropist.
Among his numerous philanthropic initiatives are establishing the Southern Saskatchewan Community Foundation Inc. (termed "a charity for all charities") and creating a permanent endowment fund (the Donald and Claire Kramer Foundation) that provides financial support to over 30 local charitable causes annually.
Kramer was also the chief financial donor to the Kramer IMAX Theatre in Regina and has helped over 300 Saskatchewan students through scholarships at the U of S, the U of R, Campion College and SIAST.
Jack Mollard, founder and past president of J.D. Mollard and Associates Limited, is an expert in the fields of engineering and geosciences.
Mollard was among the first people in Canada to introduce and practice aerial photographic and satellite image interpretation—techniques that have become an essential component of geotechnical engineering—having analyzed photo-imaging from every corner of the globe and Mars.
Along with teaching courses and mentoring engineering and geosciences students, Mollard has written three text books and over 125 technical papers, is a fellow of eight learned societies and has received several prestigious awards, including the Sir John Kennedy Medal, the highest honour of the Canadian Geotechnical Society.