James MacDonald Beveridge
Beveridge Holds Convert Record
James Beveridge made his mark on sports in Wolfville both as a student and later as the tenth president of Acadia University. Born in 1912, he entered Acadia with the class of 1937 after graduation from Horton Academy.
At Acadia, Beveridge was a member of the varsity football team for four years and was captain in his Senior year. Contemporary accounts of football games during this period typically mentioned his play. “Beveridge, the Canadian record holder for consecutive converts, easily added the extra points on a short kick.” Earlier, his work in a 1935 game against Dalhousie University (NS) was called outstanding. Football coach Fred Kelly certainly thought so, and named Beveridge to his 1927-1937 era all-star team.
Beveridge did not limit himself to one sport; he played varsity hockey and soccer, was on the college swim team in 1937 and participated in interclass sports. Respected by his fellow sportsmen, he was elected president of the Acadia Amateur Athletic Association his Senior year. After graduation from Acadia in 1937, he received a PhD from the University of Toronto and a medical degree from the University of Western Ontario. In 1950, he was appointed the Crane Professor of Biochemistry at Queens University in Kingston, Ontario.
In 1964, James Beveridge became the tenth president of Acadia University. During his 1964-1978 term, Acadia added an extension to the 1920-built Memorial Gym. The Beveridge Arts Centre on the Acadia campus is named in his honour.
(Acadia Athenaeum, November 1936, 69)
