Quest University founder Dr. David Strangway's list of honours grew last week after the District of Squamish announced that a street in the University Heights neighbourhood is to be named Strangway Place.
On Thursday (Aug. 23) Strangway and wife Alice were presented with the sign bearing their name on location at University Heights.
Strangway said he was surprised to learn his name was being immortalized on a street sign and suggested he would have recommended against the idea if he knew of it in advance.
"It was very much a surprise," he said in an interview on Monday (Aug. 27). "I had a bit of a hint beforehand so I wasn't completely surprised. If I had a chance I would have said it was crazy."
He added that he is honoured by the gesture.
The chair and CEO of Quest University has never had a street named after him, but he does carry the title of Officer of the Order of Canada, he was also the first non-Korean to be awarded the First Order of Civil Merit medal from the Government of South Korea, and he received various scientific awards and medals, including the NASA Medal for Exceptional Scientific Achievement in 1972.
The new street bearing Strangway's name will soon be part of his address. He and Alice are currently are designing a new home for a lot they recently purchased in University Heights, which caused Strangway to muse over the ramifications of the street name.
"It will be a bit peculiar asking people to send mail to me at Strangway Place," he laughed.
The couple, who will celebrate their 50th anniversary next month, received a street banner and a replica of the street sign at a gathering of local business people and community leaders in the show home at University Heights.
Acting Mayor Jeff McKenzie made the announcement and noted all the positive things Strangway created for Squamish since first asking the district to submit a bid to become the host community for what was first known as Sea to Sky University.
McKenzie was a director with the Squamish Chamber of Commerce when Strangway asked communities around British Columbia to submit proposals for potential sites for Canada's first secular private not-for-profit university.McKenzie said he is happy Squamish was chosen and that efforts to create the university pushed forward despite a series of challenges in the early planning stages.
According to Alice, the couple is renting their current home in the Garibaldi Highlands. They also have a home near Guelph in Ontario and they maintain a condominium in Vancouver. Their new home on Strangway Place is in the design stage now. They expect to start construction in a few months.
