Professor Vigod was a participant in many spheres of activity at the University of New Brunswick. At the time of his death he was the Associate Dean of the School of Graduate Studies and Research. He had also served as the Coordinator of French Language Policy for UNB, and had been instrumental in both drafting and implementing that policy. Dr. Vigod was active on numerous Faculty of Arts Council and Senate committees, and served as reviews editor for Acadiensis. He also participated in the Faculty Advising program, through which faculty members act as counsellors for first year students.
A Jew, Dr. Vigod was a vigorous promoter of the well-being of the Jewish community on both regional and national levels. He served B'nai Brith Canada in various posts, including that of National Vice-President, as Chairman of the Atlantic Region Cabinet of the League of Human Rights, as a member of the latter's National Cabinet, and as a member of the B'nai Brith Canada District Administrative Board. A tireless campaigner against Anti-Semitism and on behalf of human rights, Dr. Vigod wrote and spoke on the subjects of hate propaganda and racial and religious intolerance. He was also a member of Canadian Professors for Peace in the Middle East and The Canadian Academic Foundation for Peace in the Middle East.
A supporter of bilingualism in general and French Immersion education in particular, Dr. Vigod took pains to become proficient in French so as to be able to teach undergraduate history in that language to Immersion programme graduates.
He actively opposed the decision of the New Brunswick School District 26 School Board to discontinue Early French Immersion in the Fredericton area, and was a founding member of District 26 Parents for Early Immersion Inc., a group which eventually took the School Board to court. Dr. Vigod was also a Progressive Conservative Party of Canada member and worked on behalf of the party at both the federal and provincial levels.
The activities and projects of Bernard Vigod as described above are well documented in this collection. It contains a significant body of his research materials, and either draft, final, or printed copies of most of his publications and papers. The one sphere of his activity which is not represented in these papers is his work for the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, which he joined in 1985. Papers relating to his service on the Council were returned to that organization at their request.
Bernard Vigod was killed in an automobile accident on October 28,. 1988, and is survived by his wife Zena and two daughters, Simone and Michelle.
File descriptions are not all-inclusive, but rather describe the type of documentation in each file. Items have generally been highlighted in a file description when they do not appear to be directly related to the general contents of a file, or where they might be of special interest. In this respect the file descriptions are quite subjective and researchers are advised to bear this in mind when using the inventory.
Most duplicate documents were destroyed. Any other papers removed from the collection will be documented in the University Archives Donor File.
Mary Flagg of the University Archives and Burton Glendenning of the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick were most helpful throughout the arrangement and description process for their lucid observations and advice. Patti Auld, on loan from the Lord Beaverbrook Canadian Correspondence Indexing Project, was an indispensable contributor to this project, having patiently typed and revised the entire inventory.
These acknowledgements notwithstanding, I am solely responsible for any
misjudgments in arrangement and description, or any other errors this inventory
may contain.
Elizabeth Melanson
December 13, 1991
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