Community

Davidson one of province's most influential people

Richard Davidson, the University of Lethbridge's current Chancellor, veteran Lethbridge lawyer and "volunteer extraordinaire" as described by Alberta Venture magazine – has made that publication's list of the 50 most influential people in the Province of Alberta.

Davidson is no stranger to accolades but humble about his accomplishments within and outside the legal profession – many of which involve serving a seemingly endless list of community organizations, including the U of L, where he has held the Chancellor's role since 2007.

Among many other duties, Davidson presides over the institution's Convocation ceremonies, where he has met and shaken hands with thousands of new U of L graduates.

He was also recently named the Rotary/Lethbridge Herald 2010 Citizen of the Year in May 2010, and as part of that ceremony, received the Key to the City and was also named a Paul Harris Fellow, a significant honour within the Rotary Organization.

"When you earn your livelihood in a community and when you raise your family in the community," Richardson says, "You have a duty to give something back to the community. I feel like I've been able to do that, and I've been happy to do that. I've enjoyed it."

The Alberta Venture list also includes a number of people with connections to the U of L, including honorary degree recipients Harley Hotchkiss (LLD '07), Eric Newell (LLD '05) and Bruce Carson, the first executive director of the Canada School for Energy and the Environment, a collaboration between the universities of Alberta, Calgary and Lethbridge.