J. Phillip Vaughan
J. Phillip Vaughan
Doctor of Science
Born in Halifax, J. Philip Vaughan received his early education at Alexander McKay School and Saint Mary's College High School. He graduated from Saint Mary's College in 1942, with a Diploma in Engineering and the next year, with a Bachelor of Science degree. Two years later, he received a Bachelor of Engineering degree from The Technical University of Nova Scotia. In 1991, that same institution awarded him an honorary Doctor of Engineering degree.
After twelve years as Chief Bridge Engineer with the Nova Scotia Department of Highways, he started his own consulting firm in 1959 and continued as its president until 1988, when, after selling his firm, he became Chairman of the Board of Vaughan Engineering Associates Limited, the position which he holds today. This company is one of the largest consulting engineering firms in Atlantic Canada, with projects both in this area, and overseas.
Among his other activities, Dr. Vaughan became Lieutenant Colonel and Commanding Officer of 5 Field Engineering Regiment, Reserve Force at age 34, and continues his interest in the Military Engineers Association of Canada, having served as its National President in 1963.
He has been a member of the Boards of the following institutions: the Halifax Infirmary; Saint Mary's University; The Technical University of Nova Scotia; and Mount Saint Vincent University. He has been president of the following organizations, namely: Saint Mary's University Alumni; the Alumni of the Technical University of Nova Scotia; and the Association of Professional Engineers of Nova Scotia. He has also served as chairman of the Saint Thomas Aquinas Parish Council; the Pastoral Council for the Archdiocese of Halifax; the Halifax City Regional Library Board; and the Admissions Standards Committee of the Canadian Council of Professional Engineers. He has also been both Vice-Chairman and Chairman of the National Design Council; the National Council of the Royal Commonwealth Society; the Nova Scotia Consulting Engineers Association; and the Halifax Board of School Commissioners.
Active in the affairs of Saint Thomas Aquinas Parish, Halifax, he has been a lay minister there for the past 25 years and continues to serve in that capacity. He also represents the Catholic Social Services Commission on the Board of an interfaith group home in Halifax, known as Genesis House.
He has been the recipient of a number of prestigious awards and honours, including the Association of Professional Engineers of Nova Scotia's "Citizenship Award" (1981); elected a Fellow of the Canadian Society for Civil Engineers (1982) and also elected a Fellow of the Engineering Institute of Canada (1987); the Saint Mary's University Alumni Association "Distinguished Community Service Award" (1991); and the "Alumni Achievement Award" of the Technical University of Nova Scotia (1993). Two years ago, he was elected as an Honorary Life Member of the Association of Professional Engineers of Nova Scotia.
Earlier this year, Dr. Vauhgan and his wife, Hilda, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. Three of their seven children, and one of their grandchildren, are also alumni/ae of Saint Mary's University