Guy Henson fonds

Guy Henson (1910-1978) was a prominent figure in education in Nova Scotia for nearly 40 years. He served as a school principal (1933); Secretary (1935-1940) and Director of Visual Education (1938-1940), Nova Scotia Department of Education; Director, Atlantic Region (1941-1943) and Assistant Director Overseas (1943-1945), Canadian Legion Educational Services; Director of Adult Education, Nova Scotia Department of Education (1945-1956); and Director of the Institute of Public Affairs, Dalhousie University (1957-1976).

Born in Paris, France on July 21, 1910, Guy Henson was the son of Herbert A. and Elizabeth B. (née Campbell) Henson of Great Britain. The family moved to Annapolis County, Nova Scotia when Henson was a year old, and he graduated from Bridgetown High School in 1926. He spent the next three years at Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (magna cum laude). Henson married Elizabeth J. Groom of Glace Bay, Nova Scotia on October 17, 1934. Following his university studies, Henson worked as a newspaper proofreader, reporter and junior news editor (1929-1930); an assistant commissioner for the Maritime Provinces Trade Commission to Ontario (1930-1932); and Secretary to Nova Scotia Premier Angus L. MacDonald (1933-1935) before embarking on his distinguished career in education.

Guy Henson was a very active member of his community. He was the first President of the Province House Credit Union Limited; Chairman of the Halifax Cooperative Council; President of the Halifax Cooperative Society Limited; first President of the Halifax Opera Association; President of the Halifax Branch, United Nations Association as well as a National Vice-President of that association; first President of the Halifax Music Festival Association; Chairman of the Nova Scotia Committee for UNICEF; and President of the Nova Scotia Festival of the Arts. Henson received honours and distinctions from the Royal Canadian Legion, the Nova Scotia Association for the Advancement of Coloured People; the Nova Scotia Federation of Home and School Associations; the Halifax and District Federal Local 273; Canadian Labour Congress; and the Nova Scotia chapter, Canadian Institute of Assessors.

In recognition of his widespread contribution to his society, Henson received a Doctor of Civil Laws ( honoris causa) from Acadia University on May 6, 1974. Henson was nominated for a Vanier Award in 1976, and on April 19, 1978 he was made a Member of the Order of Canada. Guy Henson died on May 23, 1978.

The Institute of Public Affairs (IPA) was founded in 1936 by Dr. Lothar Richter and Dalhousie University through a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation in recognition of the need for more economic and social support during the Depression. Initially, it was considered an experimental organization, intended to unify Dalhousie University with the community in respect to public policy and social science and to achieve greater regional economic and social development. The four main activity areas of the IPA were government, business, labour, and community, with a special focus on public administration.

Dr. Guy Henson became the director in 1957 and was given a mandate to reorganize the IPA. Under his guidance, the Institute broadened its research programs concerned with socio-economic programs. The IPA became deeply involved with the Africville Relocation Project and began to do significant work in the field of labour-management relations.

Kell Antoft succeeded Henson as director in 1977, a position he held for five years. In 1980, the Institute moved into its own building, the Henson Centre, named in honour of the efforts of the former director. In 1984, the Henson Centre, the IPA, and the Office of Part Time Studies of Extension were amalgamated to create Henson College of Public Affairs and Continuing Education. Funding for Henson College was discontinued in 1993 by Dalhousie University, which led to a decrease in the College's activities. As a result of this loss of funding, Henson College was amalgamated in 2003 into the College of Continuing Education (CCE). The CCE does not necessarily carry on the work and missions of the IPA or Henson College, and therefore should not be considered a newly named version of either organization. However, it is the sole remaining institution that arose from the work performed by its predecessors.

The Institute of Public Affairs maintained its own library, which supported the needs of its staff in addition to the public. The holdings totalled more than 18,000 items, which covered topics such as economic development, local government, industrial relations, management development, and labour organization. Beginning in 1984, the Institute's library was gradually integrated into Dalhousie University Libraries.