Robert (Bob) Stead ('63)

Perhaps no one did more to bridge the traditional gap that exists between town and gown than Robert ‘Bob’ Stead (’63). His ‘dual citizenship’ in both the University and the town of Wolfville blessed him with a unique perspective on the concerns and roles of both. It also left no doubt in anyone’s mind that he had the best interests of campus and community at heart.

In 1961, Bob moved from the pastoral surroundings of Howe Bay, PEI to the equally idyllic Annapolis Valley. While at Acadia, he was greatly influenced by then registrar Ruby Mae Thompson and professor of organic chemistry Erik Hansen. “Erik Hansen was the best teacher I ever had,” he once told The Advertiser’s Wendy Elliott. Helen Beals stirred his lifelong interest in the visual arts and Jean Marsh was a confidante with whom he shared a passion for local politics. 

After graduation, Bob went back to the Island and taught for several years, but the pull of his adopted home was strong. He returned to campus as Assistant Registrar and Director of Admissions, a position he would hold for nearly three decades.

It would be hard to imagine a better face for Acadia than Bob Stead’s, especially for prospective students. He had the unique ability to “look beyond the transcript” and find the essence of the applicant.  He had the soul of a visionary and it would be difficult to estimate the number of graduates who benefited from this innate skill. Delivering Bob’s eulogy in January 2014 after he succumbed to cancer, his friend Janet Kirk (’71) referred to it as his “uncanny knack for seeing undocumented potential” coupled with his willingness “to take a risk.”

His interest and faith in applicants didn’t end once they were enrolled. Fellow islander Don Clow (’83) was one of many Acadia students who benefited from the wise counsel of the ever-approachable Registrar. “I was a young kid from rural PEI and I didn’t have a lot of resources,” recalls Clow, President and CEO of Crombie REIT. “I had to go and plead my case from time to time in order to stay in school. When I needed a little extra funding or scholarship, Bob was there to listen. Occasionally he found me a job somewhere to supplement things. You could sit in his office and he was the kind of guy who would listen to you and then try hard to see what he could do to help.”