Donor Report 2009

Ensuring the successes of the Meighen Centre

For the past 20 years Mount Allison’s Meighen Centre for Learning Assistance and Research has been a lifeline to students with learning disabilities. They are overcoming the odds and thriving because of the generous support of the Centre’s foundational benefactor, the T.R. Meighen Foundation — under the leadership of Michael (LLD ’00) and Kelly (LLD ’00) Meighen.

Says Dr. Lex Wilson, the Centre’s Director, “Our students are among Mount Allison’s finest, and our research findings and outreach initiatives are helping to educate families and communities about learning disabilities. Michael and Kelly have enabled us to meet and exceed our aspirations. And they have laid the foundation for another 20 years of success.”

In October, on the occasion of the Meighen Centre’s 20th anniversary, the T.R. Meighen Foundation renewed its commitment with a $750,000 contribution to support the Centre’s endowment. That donation prompted an additional gift of $375,000 from an anonymous donor — for a total of $1,125,000 to further benefit the Centre.

“Mount Allison has given us the chance to be a part of a critically important service — one that forged the way in recognizing the value and ability of all students. The University was visionary all those years ago when it established what is now the leading support and research facility in the country for students with learning disabilities. We are proud to be associated with the Meighen Centre and commend the University on its unique approach to supporting the student experience,” says Kelly.

The Meighen Centre has gained wide acclaim both regionally and nationally for its work with students who have learning disabilities, and the Centre’s staff members have received national recognition for the work they do. Director Dr. Lex Wilson has authored numerous papers and led research studies with the goal of helping families, schools, and support centres better assist those students who struggle with a learning disability.

The Meighen Centre is one of the only centres in Canada at the post-secondary level with the sole mandate to support academic assistance, training, and research in that field. Services include a peer tutoring program, a note-taking service, test and exam accommodations, as well as academic and personal counselling. The Centre also provides students with computer software that changes text into speech and speech into text. Starting with just four students when it opened 20 years ago, the Centre now assists more than 60 students each year.