President Emeritus Ian Macdonald (at the podium ) speaks to the audience during the IPAC
President Emeritus of 91亚色 Ian Macdonald, who is professor emeritus of Economics and Public Policy at the Schulich School of Business, and director of the former Master of Public Administration program, was honoured by the Institute of Public Administration of Canada (IPAC) at their annual conference on June 29.
The final plenary session, Sustaining Excellence in Leadership, recognized Macdonald鈥檚 public service career and was the highlight of the IPAC conference, which was attended by more than 800 delegates from across Canada and abroad.
In introducing Macdonald as plenary keynote speaker, Moderator Carol Layton paid tribute to his influence as an educator and a former top-ranking deputy minister in inspiring leaders in politics, public service, academia, sport, and international development. 鈥淗e truly is a living legend.聽 Over the years, I have enjoyed hearing Ian鈥檚 many stories from his time serving under Premiers [John] Robarts and later [Bill] Davis,鈥 Layton told participants.
In his keynote address, Macdonald, head of Schulich鈥檚 MBA-level Public Management program, attributed the revival of interest in a public sector career to the rewards of being able to put one鈥檚 managerial skills and moxie to work on behalf of the greater good of society.
Recalling his days as a top civil servant, Macdonald told of working alongside a former CEO who had retired early and joined government, and who one day told him: 鈥淵ou鈥檙e making more important decisions in a week than I did in a year.鈥 Remarked Macdonald:聽 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 go into government to get rich. But you have the opportunity to do some really important things.鈥
A former negotiator for the Ontario government back in the mid-1960s, Macdonald was at the table when the feds and the provinces hammered out a deal to create Medicare, Canada鈥檚 publicly funded universal health care program. 鈥淭oday, when I鈥檓 in my doctor鈥檚 office, I look around and think, 鈥楾his is pretty bloody good鈥,鈥 he said. 鈥淚鈥檓 glad I made a contribution.鈥
H Ian Macdonald
After a long and successful career, Macdonald said he鈥檚 concluded that 鈥渢here鈥檚 no definition of leadership. Rather, it鈥檚 like a teabag. You really don鈥檛 know how it鈥檚 going to perform until it鈥檚 in hot water.鈥 He said public servants will face increasingly higher standards of accountability and ethical behavior, and that 鈥渁 professional, non-partisan, public service鈥 remains the bedrock of public management in Canada.
Macdonald鈥檚 address was followed by panelists, Maurizio Bevilacqua, mayor of Vaughan, who was president of the 91亚色 Student Association during Macdonald鈥檚 tenure as 91亚色 President; Elisha Muskat (MBA鈥09), who is co-chair of Emerging Leaders Network; and Sa盲d Rafi, CEO of the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan Administration Corporation.
A Rhodes Scholar, he began his career teaching economics at the University of Toronto, and was recruited by Premier John Robarts to the role of Deputy Treasurer in 1967, leaving his job as the Province鈥檚 first Chief Economist. He served as President of 91亚色 between 1974 and 1984. Macdonald was awarded the 2000 Vanier Medal and is an Officer of the Order of Canada.
At the end of June, Macdonald stepped down as coordinator of Schulich鈥檚 MBA-level Public Management program. This year marks his 60th year of teaching excellence in public administration.
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