JAMAICAN Mary Anne Chambers, a senior vice-president at Scotia Bank in Canada, has been named among 175 persons by the University of Toronto as one of the ‘Great Minds’ to have emerged from the institution.

The 175 accomplished alumni, students, faculty and staff chosen by the university are being featured on commemorative banners marking the institution’s 175th anniversary celebrations.

According to the university, the “Great Minds” programme, launched on Friday, March 15, is intended to “put a human face” on its achievements. The institution is displaying 175 banners depicting these “Great Minds” on the streets bordering its three campuses in the Toronto area, as well as in and outside university buildings.

Some of the “Great Minds” featured include Vincent Massey, the first Canadian-born governor-general; Lester B Pearson, Canada’s 14th prime minister; J Robert Prichard, president emeritus of the university; architect Raymond Moriyama, whose projects include the Saudi Arabian National Museum and the Ontario Science Centre; Dr James Orbinski, former president of Doctors Without Borders; actor Donald Sutherland; Ted Rogers, head of Rogers Communications Inc; and the four researchers who discovered and developed insulin in 1922.

Chambers, who was born in Kingston and attended the Immaculate Conception High School, graduated from the University of Toronto in 1988 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Commerce.

She has worked with Scotia Bank since migrating to Canada in 1976 and has responsibilities for the development of computer systems, projects management and the provision of electronic banking.

Chambers is also a director of Grace, Kennedy (Ontario) Ltd.

Chambers has served as governor of the University of Toronto since 1993 and is also the vice-chair of the Governing Council. She was also a member of the Task Force on Tuition and Student Financial Support, which got the university to implement a policy that does not deny students with inadequate financial resources the opportunity to study there.

She is also honorary chair of the university’s Mentorship Programme for Administrative Staff.

Outside the university, Chambers is deeply involved in her community as chair of the board of the United Way of Canada; a member of the board of the Rouge Valley Health System; and a member of the board of trustees of the Canadian Merit Scholarship Foundation.

She has been governor of the Air Cadet League of Canada; president of the prestigious Canadian Club of Toronto; and a member of the board of Tropicana Community Services Organisation.

Chambers has also maintained ties with Jamaica, sponsoring Wait-A-Bit Basic School in Trelawny through Women for PACE (Project for the Advancement of Childhood Education).

Her years of service have won her many awards, among them the Toronto Sun’s Woman on the Move Award; Pride magazine’s African Canadian Achievement Award; the Human Rights and Relations Centre’s Certificate of Excellence; United Achievers Club of Brampton’s Black History Makers Award; and Variety’s Diamond Award as an outstanding woman of 2001.