The following is a list of chancellors, principals, and noted alumni and professors of McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
List of chancellors
Charles Dewey Day (1864–1884) James Ferrier (1884–1888) Sir Donald Alexander Smith, Lord Strathcona (1889–1914) Sir William Christopher Macdonald (1914–1917) Sir Robert Laird Borden (1918–1920) Sir Edward Wentworth Beatty (1921–1942) Morris Watson Wilson (1943–1946) Orville Sievwright Tyndale (BA 1908, MA 1909, BCL 1915) (1946–1952) Bertie Charles Gardner (1952–1957) Ray Edwin Powell (1957–1964) Howard Irwin Ross (BA 1930) (1964–1970) Donald Olding Hebb (MA, 1932) (1970–1974) Stuart Milner Finlayson (1975) Conrad Fetherstonhaugh Harrington (BA 1933, BCL 1936) (1976–1984) A. Jean de Grandpré (BCL 1943) (1984–1991) Gretta Chambers (BA 1947) (1991–1999) Richard W. Pound (BCom 1962, LAcc 1964, BCL 1967) (1999–2009) H. Arnold Steinberg (BCom 1954) (2009–2014) Michael A. Meighen (BA 1960) (2014–2021) John McCall MacBain (2021–2024) Pierre Boivin (2024–present)
List of principals/president
George Jehoshaphat Mountain (1824–1835) John Bethune (1835–1846) Edmund Allen Meredith (1846–1853) Charles Dewey Day (1854–1855) Sir John William Dawson (1855–1893) Sir William Peterson (1895–1919) Sir Auckland Campbell Geddes (1919–1920) General Sir Arthur Currie (1920–1933) Arthur Eustace Morgan (1935–1937) Lewis Williams Douglas (1938–1939) Frank Cyril James (1939–1962) Harold Rocke Robertson (BSc 1932, MD 1936) (1962–1970) Robert Edward Bell (PhD 1948) (1970–1979) David Lloyd Johnston (1979–1994) Bernard Shapiro (BA 1956) (1994–2002) Heather Munroe-Blum (2003–2013) Suzanne Fortier (BSc 1972, PhD 1976) (2013–2022) H. Deep Saini (2023–present)
Noted alumni and professors
Nobel Prize graduates and faculty members Name Affiliation at McGill Nobel Prize Year Peter Howitt Alumnus Economics 2025 J. Michael Kosterlitz Former professor Physics 2016 John O'Keefe Alumnus Physiology or Medicine 2014 Ralph M. Steinman Alumnus Physiology or Medicine 2011 Willard S. Boyle Alumnus Physics 2009 Jack Szostak Alumnus Physiology or Medicine 2009 Robert Mundell Former professor Economics 1998 Rudolph Marcus Alumnus Chemistry 1992 David Hunter Hubel Alumnus Physiology or Medicine 1981 Val Logsdon Fitch Alumnus Physics 1980 Andrew Schally Alumnus Physiology or Medicine 1977 Otto Hahn Scientist Chemistry 1944 John R. Macleod Former professor Physiology or Medicine 1923 Frederick Soddy Former researcher/demonstrator Chemistry 1921 Ernest Rutherford Former professor Chemistry 1908
Academy Awards
Name Affiliation at McGill Academy Award Year Kate Biscoe Alumna Best Makeup and Hairstyling 2019 Torill Kove Alumna Best Animated Short Film 2006 Demetri Terzopoulos Alumnus Technical Achievement 2006 Edward Saxon Alumnus Best Picture 1991 Jake Eberts Alumnus Best Picture 1990 John Weldon Alumnus Best Animated Short Film 1978 Beverly Shaffer Alumna Best Live Action Short Film 1977 Burt Bacharach Alumnus Best Original Song 1969, 1981Best Original Score for a Motion Picture (not a Musical)1969
Grammy Awards Name Affiliation at McGill Grammy Award Year George Massenburg Professor Various 2024, 2022, 2011, 1997, 1990 Estelí Gomez Alumnus Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance 2024, 2014 Serban Ghenea Alumnus Various 2024, 2024, 2022, 2021, 2021, 2019, 2019, 2018, 2018, 2018, 2018, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2016, 2016, 2013, 2011, 2006, 2005, 2004 Steven Epstein Professor Various 2022, 2020, 2013, 2013, 2010, 2010, 2004, 2004, 2002, 2001, 2001, 2000, 1999, 1998, 1998, 1996, 1985 Richard King Alumnus/Professor Various 2022, 2020, 2015, 2015, 2013, 2013, 2013, 2010, 2010, 2004, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2002, 2001 Nick Squire Alumnus Various 2019, 2019, 2017, 2016 Leonard Cohen Alumnus Various 2018, 2008 Brian Losch Alumnus Various 2014, 2014 Jennifer Gasoi Alumnus Best Children's Album 2014 Chilly Gonzales Alumnus Album of the Year 2014 Win Butler Alumnus Album of the Year 2011 Régine Chassagne Alumnus Album of the Year 2011 Burt Bacharach Alumnus Various 2006, 1999, 1987, 1970, 1970, 1968
Emmy Awards Name Affiliation at McGill Emmy Award Year David Bernad Alumnus Various 2023, 2022 Amy Schatz Alumnus Various 2020, 2011, 2008, 2005, 2003, 2000, 1997, 1995 Billy Wisse Alumnus Various 2021, 2020, 2017, 2015, 2014, 2012, 2011, 2006, 2003, 2002, 1998, 1997 Robby Hoffman Alumnus Outstanding Writing for a Children's, Preschool Children's, Family Viewing 2019 Eva Lipman Alumnus Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking 2016 Kate Biscoe Alumnus Various 2013, 2013 Mila Aung-Thwin Alumnus Various 2012, 2012 Roberto Hernández Alumnus Outstanding Investigative Journalism - Long Form 2011 Blake Sifton Alumnus Outstanding Investigative Journalism in a News Magazine 2010 Simcha Jacobovici Alumnus Various 2007, 1996, 1995 William Shatner Alumnus Various 2005, 2004 Alex Herschlag Alumni Outstanding Comedy Series 2000 Jennifer Baichwal Alumnus Best Arts Documentary 1999 Kevin Mambo Alumnus Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series 1997, 1996 Hume Cronyn Alumnus Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie 1994, 1992, 1990
Pulitzer Prize Name Affiliation at McGill Pulitzer Prize Year Matthew Rosenberg Alumnus National Reporting 2018 John F. Burns Alumnus International Reporting 1993, 1997 Charles Krauthammer Alumnus Commentary 1987 Leon Edel Alumnus Biography or Autobiography 1963
Astronauts Dafydd Williams (BSc 1976, MDCM 1983, MSc 1983, DSc 2007) - mission specialist on two Space Shuttle missions Robert Thirsk (MDCM 1982) - holds the Canadian record for the most time spent in space Julie Payette (BEng 1986, DSc 2003) - completed two spaceflights, STS-96 and STS-127 David Saint-Jacques (MedResident 2007) - launched to the International Space Station, on Expeditions 57, 58 and 59 Jenni Sidey-Gibbons (BEng 2011) - one of the two members of the 2017 CSA Group
Academics and scholars Maude Abbott (BA 1890) - physician and pathologist, authority on congenital heart disease, co-founder of International Academy of Pathology Nancy J. Adler – Professor of Organizational Behavior and Samuel Bronfman Chair in Management at McGill University Abdolhamid Akbarzadeh Shafaroudi – assistant professor in machine design and mechanical engineering at McGill University Selim Akl (MSc 1976, PhD, 1978) – unconventional computer scientist Ismail al-Faruqi – Muslim philosopher and comparative religion scholar Alia Al-Saji – professor of philosophy Antony Alcock (BA 1961) – Ulster historian; actively involved in the negotiations leading up to the Belfast Agreement Brian Alters – evolution and education Frederick Andermann (BA 1948, BSc 1952) – neuroscientist Tom Angus (PhD 1952) - entomologist, deputy director of the federal Forest Pest Management Institute Athanasios Asimakopulos (BA 1951, MA 1953) – prominent economist in the Post Keynesian tradition Brigitte Askonas (BSc 1944, MSc 1949) – prominent British immunologist Karine Auclair – professor of chemistry at McGill University and Canada Research Chair in Antimicrobials and Green Enzymes Francis Aveling (BA 1897, MA 1899) – Canadian psychologist, divinity scholar, and Roman Catholic priest Sir David Baulcombe, FRS (Postdoc 1978) – British plant scientist and geneticist; now Professor of Botany at the University of Cambridge Jill Beck (MA 1976) – dance and choreography scholar, and 15th President of Lawrence University Eric Berne (BSc 1931, MD 1935) – psychiatrist, originator of the psychoanalytic theory of transactional analysis Raoul Bott (BEng 1945, MEng 1948) – mathematician specializing in topology, Wolf Prize in Mathematics, 2000 Reuven Brenner – economist; current faculty member Ayşe Buğra (PhD 1981) – economist Gerald Bull – former professor of mechanical engineering; expert on projectiles; designer of the Iraqi Project Babylon Mario Bunge – physicist and philosopher Miriam Burland – astronomer at Dominion Observatory from 1927 to 1967 Ron Burnett (PhD 1981) – president and vice-chancellor, Emily Carr University of Art and Design; former Director of the Graduate Program in Communications, McGill University Kenneth Neill Cameron - literary scholar Anne Carson – thinker, writer, translator, and University of Michigan classics professor Donald Ewen Cameron – psychiatrist, involved with mind control experimentation at McGill Thomas Chang (BSc 1957, MD 1961, PhD 1965) – invented and developed world's first artificial cell Margaret Ridley Charlton – historian, pioneer librarian, and one of the founders of the Medical Library Association Saswati Chatterjee, virologist Sherry Chou (MD 2001) – Neurologist and critical care physician at the University of Pittsburgh Sujit Choudhry (BSc 1992) – constitutionalist and Dean of the University of California Berkeley, School of Law Thomas H. Clark – paleontologist; namesake of the mineral Thomasclarkite Terence Coderre (PhD 1985) – Professor of Medicine and the Harold Griffith Chair in Anaesthesia Research at McGill University Robert W. Cox (BA 1946) – former United Nations official; a leading authority of the British school of International Political Economy; former professor of political science at Columbia University; current professor emeritus at York University R. F. Patrick Cronin (MD 1953) – cardiologist; Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at McGill (1972–1977); healthcare consultant Augusto Claudio Cuello – Professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics and Charles E. Frosst/Merck Chair in Pharmacology at McGill University Philip J. Currie (MSc 1975, PhD 1981) – paleontologist and former curator of the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology Roger Daley (MSc 1968, PhD 1971) – meteorologist Armand de Mestral (BCL 1966) – professor of international law Carrie Derick (BEd 1881, BA 1890, MSc 1896) – first woman to become a professor in Canada (in botany at McGill) Arti Dhand (PhD 2000) – associate professor at the University of Toronto, Department for the Study of Religion Vibert Douglas (PhD 1926) – astrophysicist Charles R. Drew (MD 1933) – physician and professor Kyle Elliott – Canadian ornithologist, assistant professor in the Department of Natural Resource Sciences at McGill University, and Canada Research Chair in Arctic Ecology. Hamid Etemad – professor of international business; business guru and researcher Jennifer V. Evans – professor at Carleton University Basil Favis - Canadian chemist and professor David A. Freedman (BSc 1958) – statistician; professor at University of California, Berkeley Grover Furr (BA 1965) – professor of English literature; historical negationist and apologist for Joseph Stalin James E. Gill (BSc 1921) – geology professor who introduced the Master's of Applied Science in Mineral Exploration program and established an analytical laboratory for the application of geochemistry to mineral exploration Gilbert Girdwood – professor of chemistry; radiologist Leo Goldberger (BA 1951, MA 1952) – psychologist, professor at New York University and director of the Research Center for Mental Health, Holocaust survivor Lawrence Goodridge, food safety and wastewater monitoring researcher Phil Gold (BSc 1957, MSc 1961, M.D. 1961, PhD 1965) – Canadian physician, scientist, and professor. In 1968, he co-discovered the carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), which resulted in a blood test used in the diagnosis and management of people with cancer. David Goltzman (BSc 1966, MD 1968) – endocrinologist, Professor of Medicine and Physiology, and A.G. Massabki Chair in Medicine at McGill University Shyamala Gopalan – breast cancer researcher in the Faculty of Medicine and McGill-affiliated Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research; mother of U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris Laurie N. Gottlieb, Flora Madeline Shaw Chair of Nursing, Editor-in-Chief of CJNR (Canadian Journal of Nursing Research)