By Suzanne Robicheau |
Retirement isn’t exactly what Wendell Sanford imagined. “I would never have thought my days would be this full,” says Sanford, who retired in 2013 from Foreign Affairs Trade and Development Canada, shortly after his return from a posting as High Commissioner of Canada to Brunei.
In addition to regular workouts at his neighbourhood gym, occasional skates on the Rideau Canal, and community volunteer work—all pursuits he anticipated—the Saint Mary’s alumnus also spends his time lecturing on international affairs and serving as a Research Associate at the Maritime and Environmental Institute at Dalhousie Law School.
“Academics have a thorough understanding of theory,” he says. “I’m there to provide practical examples, often with reference to boundary disputes around oceans.”
With 35 years as a diplomat, a career that took him to seven Canadian missions in five countries and numerous Foreign Affairs assignments, Sanford is never stuck for examples. As Director of Oceans and Environmental Law for the Canadian Foreign Service, he was part of a team that negotiated the UN High Seas Fisheries Agreement and the Western-Central Pacific Fisheries Convention. He also chaired a committee that drafted and approved the world’s most advanced set of fisheries management rules, and sponsored legislation to extend the Canadian Arctic Waters Pollution Prevention Act.
“As you might imagine, it wasn’t all smooth sailing,” recalls Sanford, “but my Saint Mary’s education provided a solid foundation for facing any situation. I can’t tell you how many times I relied on that foundation during times of crisis when others were running around like their hair was on fire.”
Sanford first arrived at Saint Mary’s in 1965 at the age of 17. Like many of his classmates from St. Pat’s High School in Halifax, he was the first in his family to attend university. “Saint Mary’s was unique in the kind of entrance scholarships it offered,” he says. “A group of us from St. Pat’s received $500 each. It was enough to pay our full tuition, and in many cases, made the difference between going, and not going, to university. I learned then that providing opportunities is terribly important.”
[O]n the 40th anniversary of my graduation, I decided it was time to give back to Saint Mary’s for making it all possible.
Recognizing those opportunities is also important, as Sanford demonstrated when he joined the Royal Canadian Naval Reserve (RCNR) during his first year at Saint Mary’s. “A recruiter for the University Naval Training Division came to campus and promised me a summer job,” he recalls. “Jobs were hard to find in those days and I thought that travelling with the navy would be a wonderful way to have plenty of adventures in foreign cities while earning the money to pay for my room and board.”
Sanford served in the Reserves for the next two decades, both on land and at sea. He also continued his education, graduating cum laude from Saint Mary’s with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science in 1968 and with a bachelor’s degree in education in 1970.
“Those were the days of student protests and during my senior year there was a strike to admit women to Saint Mary’s,” he recalls. “I wouldn’t say that event launched my career in politics, but it certainly got me interested.”
After leaving Saint Mary’s, Sanford earned a degree in international law, serving for two years in the navy before articling as a staff solicitor in the office of the Attorney General of Nova Scotia.
“I didn’t know much about the Foreign Service,” he says, “but I decided to apply because it sounded like another good opportunity to see the world. By that time, I had practical experience in the navy and degrees in education, political science, and law. When they handed me the Foreign Service exam, I knew the answers to most of the questions.”
A position in Ottawa with the Department of External Affairs (now Global Affairs Canada) led to a world of opportunity as a career diplomat, with postings in Bangkok, Boston, Wellington (NZ), Los Angeles, Brunei, and Burma. Closer to home, assignments in Ottawa included Deputy Coordinator of the Office of the Ambassador for Fisheries Conservation, Director of the International Oceans and Environmental Law Division, and Director of the Criminal, Diplomatic, and Security Law Divisions.
“It was everything I had imagined,” says Sanford, “so in 2008, on the 40th anniversary of my graduation, I decided it was time to give back to Saint Mary’s for making it all possible. ‘Come on now,’ I told myself. ‘You’re an adult. Your kids are out of the house and your mortgage is paid. It’s time to pay back that scholarship with interest.’”
After discussions with Saint Mary’s Development office, Sanford decided to support the SMUSA Opportunity Bursary, an award established in 2006 under the leadership of Saint Mary’s University Student Association (SMUSA) president Zach Churchill, now the MLA for Yarmouth. Described at that time as the largest, single bursary in the country to be organized, and partly funded, by students, it continues to provide financial assistance for students without the means to attend university.
“This is the modern version of what I received,” says Sanford. “In fact, it’s even better, because the idea for this award came from students. I love that it’s the first foot in the door of higher learning for young people who have no tradition of that in their families.”
Since then, Sanford has made monthly donations in support of the SMUSA Opportunity Bursary. At the suggestion of his St. Pat’s school friend Terry Murphy, former religious studies professor and Vice President Academic and Research for Saint Mary’s, Sanford also visits campus once a year to help prepare Dr. Marc Doucet’s class for the Model UN in New York.
“I owe a wonderful life and career to the education, experiences, and support I received from Saint Mary’s,” he says. “It’s now my turn to give back and I couldn’t be happier.”
