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In educational circles the
name of John M. Millar is well known. Principal of Robertson College, he
is bending every energy and effort to the upbuilding of the institution
and under his guidance the work has steadily developed and standards
have been constantly advanced. Principal Millar is a native of Ontario,
his birth having occurred in Kincardine, in 1865. His parents were
William and Barbara (McLeod) Millar, natives of Scotland and of Goderich,
Ontario, respectively. They were married in Ontario. The mother passed
away in 1907 and his father died in 1923, in his ninetieth year. He had
made farming his life work and was a self-educated and self-made man,
whose life was crowned with a substantial measure of success because of
the wise and timely use he made of his opportunities. His political
endorsement was given to the Liberal party. Fraternally he was a Mason
and he belonged to the Presbyterian church, of which his wife was also
an active member. In the work of the church he had taken a most helpful
interest and was serving as one of the elders at the time of his death.
John M. Millar is the
second in order of birth in a family of nine children, six of whom are
living. He enjoyed liberal educational advantages, attending the Queen's
University at Kingston, Ontario, from which he was graduated with the
Bachelor of Arts degree in 1890, while in 1891 his Alma Mater conferred
upon him the Master of Arts degree and in 1905 that of Bachelor of
Divinity. He was made Doctor of Divinity at Westminster Hall at
Vancouver in 1913, iii recognition of the superior service which he had
rendered to the cause of education and religion.
Mr. Millar was ordained
to the ministry of the Presbyterian church in 1895 and his first
pastorate was at Norwich, Ontario, where he remained for six years. He
then went to British Columbia and accepted the pastorate of the church
at Phoenix and also was pastor at Nanaimo on Vancouver island. His
connection with British Columbia covered a residence of nine years and
during his last year of residence there he was moderator of the
Presbyterian synod of that province. In 1909 he arrived in Strathcona,
Alberta, where he took charge of the Knox Presbyterian church, remaining
as minister at that place for two and a half years. He then became
identified with Robertson College, a Presbyterian theological school, at
Strathcona. He first occupied a professorship but in 1919 became
principal and has continued at the head of the institution through the
intervening period, his labors constituting a potent force in its
development. Throughout his life he has put forth every effort to make
his service of the greatest possible benefit to his fellowmen. To this
end he did postgraduate work at Halle, Germany, in 1899, and he also
attended the Hartford School of Religious Pedagogy at Hartford,
Connecticut, and the University of Chicago. Wide reading and study have
constantly broadened his knowledge in addition to his training in the
schools and universities of this and other countries, and he has ever
been actuated by the highest standards in his work, while at all times
his enthusiasm is contagious. In 1923 Dr. Millar was elected moderator
of the Synod of Alberta.
In December, 1901, Dr.
Millar was married to Miss Belle Malcolm, who was born near London,
Ontario, and educated in Norwich. They have one child, Jean, who is now
a student in the University of Alberta. Dr. Millar is well known in
Masonic circles and has served as senior warden and also as chaplain of
his lodge. He is a Liberal in his political views and is conversant with
the vital questions and issues of the day but without political
ambition. He has always been interested in manly outdoor sports and
belongs to the Granite Curling Club, of which he is chaplain. He
withholds his aid from no civic project which he deems vital to the
community and during the election of 1917 he spoke frequently on behalf
of the proposed union government as the best means of meeting the crisis
of the hour. His indefatigable energy has declined no call to labor or
to service and his scholarly attainments have enabled him to translate
high ideals into practical efforts for his fellowmen. |
