I write to inform you of the passing of Helga Mills, who served as Principal of our College from 1994 to 1999.
A native of Kitchener, Helga did her BA at Western, an MA at UBC and a Ph.D at the University of North Carolina. Her fields of expertise were Canadian literature and English Renaissance literature. She had a passionate dedication to the social justice mission of the United Church of Canada and that made her a great fit for St. Paul’s.
Our Academic Dean, Peter Frick, worked closely with Helga when she was Principal. He remembers her this way:
Helga was a person full of energy and vision. Her concern for the rights of the oppressed, her stand against all forms of violence and her commitment to peace were infectious. The rights of women were also of highest priority to her. Her ideal of education was that – while it started with the university - it should be a broad as possible and reach as many people as possible.
Helga spent her retirement years in Halifax, Nova Scotia, dedicating herself to music and botanical painting. She briefly returned to service in 2004 to take the helm of the Atlantic School of Theology as Interim Principal for six months.
St. Paul’s mourns the loss of its fifth principal, and only female principal to this point. We honour her for her service and for her dedication to the ideals she held in common with our College.
Richard Myers
Principal