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REVA GERSTEIN
Dr. Reva Gerstein joined the Board of The Canadian Institute for Advanced Research in 1989 and succeeded the late John Aird as the fourth Chairman of the Board in 1990.
 Educated as a psychologist at the University of Toronto before the Second World War and one of the early female graduates with a PhD in psychology, she had a distinguished career in the mental health field, higher education and stimulating and guiding intellectual work that crosses multiple disciplines. Her citation in becoming a Companion of the Order of Canada is a succinct summary of her contributions.
Reva Gerstein has made over a 50-year career as a psychologist, educator, community leader, member of the business community, and humanitarian, extraordinary contributions to Canadian society. As a psychologist, she made an important contribution in building clinical psychology in Canada and in the mental health field. She created two institutions, the Gerstein Crisis Centre and the Hinck's Institute for Adolescents, that are important in the treatment and prevention of mental health problems that have served as examples across Canada. Her contributions to education at all levels, particularly for mature part-time students, changed our attitudes and approaches for these individuals. She has also contributed to the arts in theatre, music and opera. She has been a pioneer in the role of women on the boards of major corporations.
Reva's strong interest in transforming information into knowledge and its application led her to become Chairman of The Canadian Institute for Advanced Research and steered its transition to new leadership. She was an ideal Chairman of the CIAR Board because of her breadth of intellectual interests, understanding of the Institute's role in research in Canada and internationally, and her understanding of all of the Institute's programs and their work.
Reva continues as past chair of the Board and chair of the Board's Strategic Planning Committee. Her appreciation that the Institute funds people to build a new understanding of complex fields drawing on the contribution from diverse disciplines was of considerable importance in broadening the base of support for the Institute from the private and public sectors.
PETER ALLEN
 Peter Allen was introduced to the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research and its work by the late John Aird. Peter's interest in new institutional structures that could improve our understanding of complex problems through the interaction of talented people led him to become a member of the Board and its second Chairman in 1985. He succeeded John Wilson and played an important part in the evolution of the Institute from an embryonic idea to a more substantial reality.
Peter's business experience and associations were important in his role with the Institute. His broad interests, including his love of music and his competence as a pianist, made it easy for him to see the value of the Institute's proposed second program in Cosmology. His range of intellectual interest made it easy for him to be a significant contibutor to the development of the core programs of the Institute. He appreciated the potential of the Institue to advance our understanding in complex fields.
What many considered an esoteric field, Peter recognized as enormously important for understanding the world and universe in which our planet exists. His gift of $1 million allowed the Institute to establish one of the world's outstanding programs in Cosmology, which was led by Bill Unruh at UBC. This second program of the Institute helped establish the credibility of the strategy and because of the outstanding quality of the program members, established a benchmark for quality. This program has made outstanding contributions to our understanding of the origins of the universe and has helped sustain an important pool of talented individuals in Canadian universities linked to international figures like Stephen Hawking an associate of the Cosmology Program.
Peter's belief in and investment in the Institute was enormously important in establishing the federal government support and in enhancing our support from the Province of Ontario. When Peter stepped down as Chairman in 1989, he had helped put in place an institution that was now recognized in Canada and outside Canada as a new approach to advancing complex fields of study. Without Peter's support, the Institute would not be where it is today. Peter continues to support the development of the Institute as chair of its Foundation. |
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