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On December 18, 2024, Math alumni and philanthropists Michael Barnstijn (BMath ’82, MMath ’85) and Louise MacCallum (BMath ’85) were named Members of the Order of Canada. The Order of Canada, which is administered by the Governor General’s Office, is Canada’s second-highest honour, after the Order of Merit.
Barnstijn was the first employee at Research in Motion (now Blackberry) in 1985, and MacCallum became a software engineer there soon after. The two began a personal relationship while working there, and after leaving their positions at Research in Motion in the late 1990s, they have dedicated their attention to supporting arts and the environment locally, nationally and internationally.
MacCallum and Barnstijn have been recognized for their dedicated and purposeful philanthropy. Through discreet donations totalling more than $80 million, they have supported various causes, notably sustainable environmental and cultural initiatives. Committed volunteers, they worked with the founding groups to start the Musagetes Foundation for the arts, the rare Charitable Research Reserve urban land trust, and THEMUSEUM in downtown Kitchener. They have also been generous supporters of the School of Architecture at the University of Waterloo, helping it relocate to a former silk factory in downtown Cambridge.
“Everyone should have access to nature and artistic creativity as a fundamental part of their lives,” says MacCallum. “Michael and I found our interest in math to be very compatible with an interest in the arts.”
Barnstijn echoes the sentiment, emphasizing that their work has always been creativity-focused, collaborative and in partnership with community members. “In one way or another, that’s what Louise and I have tried to further,” he says. “Mostly it’s been accomplished by funding a variety of arts organizations that add immeasurably to the quality of life in our communities and, in the case of rare and Musagetes, finding truly creative leaders and giving them the freedom to put their ideas into practice.”
The rare Charitable Research Reserve, led by Dr. Stephanie Sobek-Swant, stewards over 1500 acres of land in Waterloo and Wellington. It combines international ecological research, artistic inquiry, Indigenous knowledge-keeping, and hands-on environmental education.
The Musagetes Foundation, led by Shawn Van Sluys, is an “arts-based organization that features a robust program of initiatives in Guelph while sustaining extensive, long-term projects internationally.” For the past two decades, the foundation has worked with more than 300 Canadian and international artists through residency and fellowship programs, festivals, gatherings, publications, and partnership initiatives, including the ArtsEverywhere Festival.
“We have always pitched in where we could to support Stephanie and Shawn,” Barnstijn says. “But they have assembled an amazing team of staff and volunteers and it is their leadership that is responsible for the many accomplishments that Louise and I are getting credit for with this Order of Canada.”
“The community is also to be recognized in this process,” MacCallum adds. “Their response to rare and Musagetes has been a big factor in the success of these organizations.”