$7-M gift one for the books

The University of Manitoba has just received a $7-million bequest that is the largest in the university's 131-year history -- a gift from a quiet and humble couple whose love of teaching English literature will ensure that the Elizabeth Dafoe Library can purchase new books as long as U of M endures.

William and Margaret Stobie taught English literature at the University of Manitoba for decades, instilling a love of books in thousands of students and mentoring young professors.

Prof. Margaret Stobie died in 1990, and her husband Prof. William Stobie in 2007, but not before he decided to leave their entire $7-million estate -- a fortune in stocks, their book collection, their papers and their Inuit art -- to the U of M.

The Stobies donated the money without asking that their name be placed on any building on campus -- a rare move for anyone giving a multimillion-dollar gift.

It is by far the largest bequest the U of M has ever received, said Elaine Goldie, vice-president of external affairs and chief fundraiser.

Stobie contacted the university in 2003 to make an initial outright gift to the library to establish an endowment fund to buy books in his and his late wife's name.

Beth Proven, the U of M's director of planned giving, met William Stobie for the first time in December 2005.

"He decided before he even talked to anybody that that would be his wish," she said. "It's the largest one I've seen in my career."

Proven said the estate first had a $3-million value, and then later a value of $5 million. When U of M received the money late in its fiscal year, "It was a bit of a surprise to us," Proven said.

"They were very humble about it," and made no request to have anything named after them, she said.

Stobie was very specific, said Proven: the money is to go to buy books in specific areas of the humanities, including the classics, philosophy, English literature, Spanish, Italian, German, French, and Slavic studies.

Proven estimated the estate would generate $315,000 a year in interest to buy books.

"It was a great boost to us," said Karen Adams, director of libraries.

Even though the gift arrived late in the fiscal year, it still generated $26,000 in interest, Adams said.

"It bought about 400 books we wouldn't have had otherwise.

"It was terrific. We got some books in Spanish, in Russian, in German," she said. The books ranged from a cultural history of animals to an introduction to Islamist philosophy.

The library gets about $8.5 million in acquisitions funding each year.

While the Stobies' $7-million bequest is the largest in U of M history, Proven said, a gift of $83,000 and a huge personal library from Alexander Kenneth Isbister in 1883 would be worth $23 million today when adjusted for inflation.

nick.martin@freepress.mb.ca

Couple enjoyed students, academic life

WHO were William and Margaret Stobie?

They were both professors in English literature at the University of Manitoba. William (Bill) was born in England in 1911, while Margaret (Peg) was born in Alberta in 1909.

They met and married in 1938 while pursuing their doctorates at the University of Toronto, then taught together at DePauw University in Indiana and Cornell University in New York, before coming to U of M in 1946.

"Bill taught courses in 19th- and 20th-century literature. Peg taught both medieval literature, Chaucer and others, and later in her career switched over and taught Canadian literature," recalled dean emeritus Robert O'Kell, who taught with the Stobies in the 1970s.

They had no children; lived for a long time in River Heights and then in an apartment on Wellington Crescent.

"They found their life at U of M very satisfying -- they devoted themselves to their students," he said.

While Bill Stobie moved into administration, Peg taught and got involved in the faculty union.

"Peg was more of a scholar than Bill," O'Kell said. And she was a mentor to young women at a time when female mentors were rare in academia, he said.

"Peg was an accomplished academic at a time when women were very much second-class citizens at this institution, at many institutions," O'Kell said. "She was supportive of women getting graduate degrees. Women in the department sure looked up to Peg.

"She was courageous. At a time when women were expected to be supportive but not be leadership material, she was courageous. She gave women a sense that they didn't have to be just quiet little mice," O'Kell said.

O'Kell was never aware just how wealthy the Stobies were, but isn't surprised at all that they left their estate to buy books for the Elizabeth Dafoe Library.

"I knew Bill was interested in the library, and so was Peg -- interested in the library as a core of the university," he said.

Their detailed biographies and lists of their donated archival materials are at http://umanitoba.ca/libraries/units/archives/collections/rad/stobie.html.

Margaret Stobie died in 1990 and William Stobie in 2007.

-- Nick Martin

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition June 14, 2009 A3