Leonard Sylvanus Klinck (January 20, 1877 – March 27, 1969) was the second president of the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks among the top thre ...

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The ...

, Canada from 1919 to 1940.

Biography

Leonard Klinck was born in

Victoria Square, Ontario Victoria Square is an unincorporated community in Markham, Ontario, Canada. The community was formed in the early nineteenth century. History Historic Victoria Square began at 4th Line (Victoria Square Boulevard) and 18th Line (Elgin Mills Ro ...

in 1877. He graduated from the

Ontario Agricultural College The Ontario Agricultural College (OAC) originated at the agricultural laboratories of the Toronto Normal School, and was officially founded in 1874 as an associate agricultural college of the University of Toronto. Since 1964, it has become affili ...

in 1903, and received a

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast t ...

Agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...

from

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the ...

in 1905. He then taught at the

Macdonald College The Macdonald Campus of McGill University (commonly referred to as the ‘Mac Campus’ or simply ’Mac’) houses McGill's Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (FAES), which includes the Institute of Parasitology, the School of Huma ...

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous ...

. Klinck was appointed Dean of Agriculture in 1914.William C. Gibson (1973) ''Wesbrook and His University'' He set to work clearing 150 acres at

Point Grey Point Grey ( Squamish: Elḵsn) is a headland marking the southern entrance to English Bay and Burrard Inlet. The headland is the site of Wreck Beach, Tower Beach, Point Grey Beach and most notably, since 1925, on its top is the Point Grey Camp ...

, preparing it for University usage. An archive photograph shows him at a small shed, the first building on the site, displaying a Danger sign. Evidently it was used to store explosives used in the work. But it would be a decade before the site was occupied by students. Frank Wesbook and Leonard Klinck toured the

Okanagan The Okanagan ( ), also known as the Okanagan Valley and sometimes as the Okanagan Country, is a region in the Canadian province of British Columbia defined by the basin of Okanagan Lake and the Canadian portion of the Okanagan River. It is par ...

, visiting orchards, packing houses, and horse and cattle ranches. Their trip took them through Salmon Arm, Vernon, Coldstream, Lumby, Kelona, Summerland and Penticton. In 1915 Klinck, Wesbrook, and Dean of Applied Science R. W. Brock, met with the premier in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

to discuss the amount of provincial support for the envisioned institution. The skeleton of a science building was erected at Point Grey, but the contractor had underbid the costs and went bankrupt, leaving the building unfinished. Klinck was called upon to estimate the cost of completion. When Wesbrook fell ill, he wrote his colleague: In July 1919 Klinck was appointed president.Harry T. Logan (1958) ''Tuum Est: A History of the University of British Columbia'' In a later reflection, when he lectured on the principles of administration, he lamented that service in the office of university president entailed "sacrifice of opportunities for acquiring a mastery in any recognized department of learning." Nevertheless, Klinck continued his activity with the Society of Technical Agriculturists. Klinck had the attitude that the university should be modest in profile before the public:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Klinck, Leonard 1877 births 1969 deaths Iowa State University alumni McGill University faculty Presidents of the University of British Columbia Canadian university and college faculty deans