Family Ties
Every university needs supporters such as Susan Billington, whose family has remained connected to the U of C through three generations.
By Matthew Fox
Arriving at the University of Calgary for an interview, Susan Billington, QC, BA’82, LLB’85, doesn’t require a refresher course on how to navigate her way through the ever-growing campus. After all, since earning two degrees here and lifeguarding for many years at the university pool to put herself through school, the mother, lawyer and community association president has volunteered years of service to the U of C.
At the faculty level, Billington has served on a variety of committees, including the Dean of Law Selection Committee in 2000, as well as delivering guest lectures and advising at career fairs. In wider initiatives, Billington served as a senator (1994-2000), chaired the honorary degrees committee (1998) and the Order of the U of C Committee (1998-2000). She also served on the Chancellor’s Selection Committee (1993-94) and the Alumni Association board of directors (1992-2001).
“The tremendous efforts by law professors I had like Sheilah Martin, John McLaren and Kathleen Mahoney, and history professor Don Smith, to give not only to the university community but to the community at large—they inspired me to do the same,” Billington says.
After earning her law degree, Billington served in private practice for eight years before joining the Law Society of Alberta in 1994. To celebrate its centenary in 2007, the society launched Pro Bono Law Alberta. Given her decade of experience on the society’s pro bono committee, Billington was named the new body’s founding executive director. “It creates opportunities for lawyers to deliver free legal service to low-income Albertans who aren’t eligible for legal aid,” she says.
Billington’s many contributions to the legal field—she’s also worked to promote equity issues and streamline real estate conveyancing across western Canada, to name two—led to her appointment by Alberta’s Minister of Justice, Ron Stevens, QC, BA’71, as Queen’s Counsel in December 2007. The designation is an honorary title recognizing members of the bar for their contributions to the legal profession and their communities.
“To be recognized and nominated by one of my peers is probably as good as actually receiving the designation itself,” Billington says. “It was very humbling to be nominated and to actually receive it.
In addition to her own connections to the university, Billington’s family has been a contributing presence at the U of C since its earliest days. In 1961, her father, Craig Reid, started serving on the committee that helped launch the Faculty of Social Work. Her mother, Verna Reid, MA’72, PhD’03, earned her doctorate at the age of 75 and this year U of C Press is publishing her dissertation.
Susan’s brother, John Reid, BMus’79, is based on campus as the prairie region’s director of the Canadian Music Centre; sister Lois Reid, BEd’75, is a school principal in Calgary; husband Richard Billington, QC, BA’80, LLB’83, a lawyer in private practice, is a co-donor of a Faculty of Law debating award. Finally, Billington’s sister-in-law Nancy Brager, MD’81, is an assistant professor in the Faculty of Medicine.
The next generation is set to contribute as well, as Susan’s daughter Catherine, an accomplished musician, is in her third year and volunteers with the Department of Music and teaches violin to more than 20 young students. Son Jim, now in Grade 11, expects to apply to the U of C for the fall of 2009.
Billington was in attendance in 1997 when the U of C granted the Faculty of Law’s founding dean, John McLaren, an honorary degree. “One of his comments was how important it is for graduates to be local in their community involvement,” Billington recalls. “That messaging, coupled with the examples my parents led by, were really important and shaped where I chose to put my efforts.”