Margaret-Ann Armour, pictured with students at the opening of the Dr. Margaret-Ann Armour School named in her honour in 2016. Her powerful legacy and support of students continues to be recognized today with the renaming of the Margaret-Ann Armour Student Advising Centre. Photo credit: John Ulan
Margaret-Ann Armour ('70 PhD, '13 DSc) dedicated her life and career to diversity and the advancement of women in science. To honour her legacy, the Faculty of Science student services centre—a central fixture of Science’s CCIS building where students receive help from student advisors as they complete their degrees, receive mental health support, and more—has been named the Margaret-Ann Armour Student Advising Centre.
Armour was a tireless advocate for diversity in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) over the course of her career, and a longtime donor to the Faculty of Science, including a bequest in her estate to continue to support students. As students work to pursue their academic programs, they will receive support from advisors in the centre whose name honours Armour’s advocacy, support, and incredible legacy.
Margaret-Ann Armour’s philanthropic support includes donations to WISEST to help introduce girls to STEM, supporting rural attendees of the Summer Research Program in coming to Edmonton, and a scholarship awarded to WISEST students that go on to study at UAlberta—helping to plant the seed of science studies and supporting students as they continue their journey.
A new plaque bears the name of the centre and a glimpse into Armour’s career and history of advocacy, including a powerful quote: “I give to you my greatest wish—to go and meet your dreams.”
Born in Scotland in 1939, Armour earned her first two degrees at Edinburgh University. After emigrating from Scotland to Canada, she began her PhD studies at the University of Alberta. She was hired in 1979 as the assistant chair in the Department of Chemistry.
Just three years later, Armour led a committee to explore how to increase the number of women in science, and became the founding co-chair of Women in Scholarship, Engineering, Science, and Technology (WISEST), a program encouraging women to enter the fields of engineering, science and technology.
Armour delighted in sharing her love of science with youth and has been nationally and internationally recognized as a leader in raising awareness among school-aged girls, educators, parents, and employers of the importance of encouraging women to take up careers in science and engineering.
In 2005, she was named associate dean of diversity in the Faculty of Science—the first position of its kind on campus. Over the course of work that continued until just weeks before her passing in 2019, Armour helped increase the percentage of females in faculty positions from 14 to 22.
Armour's legacy lives on in the many individuals, institutions, and networks shaped by her kindness, integrity, and commitment to equity and inclusiveness. Her dedication to the community shines through in the leadership she nurtured within various organizations of which she was a part.
A new plaque in the Margaret-Ann Armour Student Advising Centre shares Armour's powerful legacy with visitors and the many students helped in the centre every day.