“Every time I get a letter from students, I think ‘this is the future’,” says Professor Emeritus Joan Harland, the first head of the department of interior design in the Faculty of Architecture. “I gave them ideas and they went on to develop their own thoughts and abilities which touched the lives of other people,” says Harland (pictured left).

And now her former students have joined forces to enhance the Joan Harland Graduate Scholarship in Interior Design, established at the time of Harland’s retirement in 1980. The fundraising effort was renewed with the help of Anne McKenzie [BID/58] who decided to make a gift in honour of Harland’s influence on her life.

“She was a tall, elegant, imposing woman – a monument,” remembers McKenzie (née Sproule). “I saw her at the 50^th reunion a couple of years ago and she hadn’t changed except for her hair colour. She was the spirit of the school and she would fix us with a steely gaze that made you want to try harder.”

Harland, who recently turned 95, taught Interior Design for 41 years and was the guiding force of the program when it became a department in what was then the Faculty of Engineering and Architecture. At the time there was no other program like it in Canada.

“There were six professors that I remember really well, but she was the foremost,” says McKenzie. “As a female architect, Prof. Harland was a pioneer. She was really concerned with our education and tried to instill in us values she thought we should have.”

Since the renewed fundraising campaign began, more than 60 donors have contributed a combined $24,482 to the scholarship fund. When combined with Manitoba Scholarship and Bursary Initiative funding, the fund balance has grown to more than $60,000, which will gradually bring the value of the award up from $550 to over $2,500 each year.

Harland makes a point of writing each of the former students who have made a gift. When asked if the process of sending the thank you letter brings back memories of the students, a large smile spreads across her face. “Oh sure, oh sure,” she says with a twinkle in her eye as she explains how she cross-references the names with old class lists. “I often get a letter back in return.”