UPEI extends condolences on the passing of Donald N. MacKenzie, LLD
University of Prince Edward Island President and Vice-Chancellor Alaa Abd-El-Aziz issued a statement today on the passing of UPEI honorary degree recipient Donald N. MacKenzie.
“On behalf of the UPEI community, I would like to extend my condolences to Donald’s wife Marion and to his family and friends,” said UPEI President and Vice-Chancellor Alaa Abd-El-Aziz. “Not only will he be missed by all of us here at UPEI who were fortunate enough to know him and of his generosity, but he will be forever remembered by the agricultural community.”
Dr. MacKenzie's far-sightedness in the potato industry led to the development of major seed varieties in PEI and improvements in potato handling and transportation. A graduate of Prince of Wales College, he continued on to McGill University before the lure of farming brought him back to Prince Edward Island, where, in 1952, he became a partner in H. B. Willis, Inc.
He was named to the Atlantic Agricultural Hall of Fame in 2008, as an Honorary Lifetime Director of the College of Piping and Celtic Performing Arts in 2000, and a recipient of an honorary Doctor of Laws degree at UPEI in 2010. Donald and Marion MacKenzie also established the E. Marion and Donald N. MacKenzie Renewable Entrance Scholarship in Nursing in 2010.
Dr. MacKenzie passed away in Charlottetown on September 10, 2016 in his 90th year.
