In 2001, the year in which the Foundation celebrates its tenth anniversary, it is only fitting that the McDowell Foundation Award go to Fred Herron, the Foundation’s first President.

Fred Herron is a man of vision and determination. When the opportunity arose to create a new organization that would support teacher involvement in educational research, he recognized immediately the potential benefit to education and the teaching profession. It was largely through his commitment and leadership that the McDowell Foundation came into being and has grown into a significant landmark on the educational horizon.

Fred Herron began his distinguished career in education as a teacher and principal in the rural communities of Cadillac, Climax and Frontier. During these early years, he was an active member of the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation, serving as convention chairperson, local association president, councillor and member of the provincial STF Executive. He later became the Director of Education for the Eastend School Division and served on the provincial executive of LEADS. In 1981, he was seconded by the Department of Education to act as the Coordinator of Rural Education for the province, and the following year he was appointed to the position of Executive Assistant in the Teacher Welfare area of the STF. When Fred became STF General Secretary in December 1987, he already had a long history of activism on behalf of teachers and students in Saskatchewan. Over the next ten years, he would continue to work on their behalf and create an important new avenue for the improvement of teaching and learning in our schools.

Soon after becoming General Secretary, Fred led a team from the STF in making a successful pitch to the provincial government’s Future Corporation for seed money to establish a foundation for educational research. The result was a grant of $150,000, which was promptly used to form an independent charitable organization that would support teacher research from an endowment fund accumulated from individual and corporate donations. In 1991, the organization was officially named the Dr. Stirling McDowell Foundation for Research into Teaching, and Fred Herron became its first President and Chairman of the Board of Directors.

However, Fred’s work for the Foundation was just beginning. Until his retirement in 1998, Fred worked tirelessly to promote the cause of educational research among teachers; he put in place the administrative and staff supports necessary to make the Foundation function; he worked in consultation with a wide variety of teachers, researchers and organizational partners to ensure that the policies and procedures of the Foundation were effective and appropriate; and he lent the force of his enthusiasm to a series of fund-raising efforts that generated enough money to secure a future for the fledgling Foundation.

Inherent in all Fred’s efforts on behalf of the McDowell Foundation was the belief that teachers are educational leaders who have a great deal to gain and to give through their involvement in educational research. He took great pride in the professionalism of dedicated teachers who voluntarily choose to carry out McDowell research projects that improved the education of their students.

The McDowell Foundation recognizes that it would not exist without the foresight and courage of Fred Herron. Not only did he ignite the effort that created the McDowell Foundation, he assumed responsibility for ensuring that it developed from a sound financial and organizational base and stayed true to its purpose of enhancing teaching and learning in our schools. The 2001 McDowell Foundation Award is presented to Fred Herron in recognition of his outstanding contributions to educational research as a builder and supporter of the McDowell Foundation.

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