Donat Taddeo ‘63 joins the Order of Canada

We are proud to congratulate Donat Taddeo ‘63 on his appointment as a Member to the Order of Canada in December 2022 “for his significant contributions to his community and to educational institutions as a teacher, development leader, administrator and volunteer.”

Mr. Taddeo has a long and illustrious career in community-minded projects spanning education, health and politics in Québec. An “eight-year man” alumnus of 1963 (he graduated from both Loyola High School and Loyola College), Don joined LHS in Spring 2012 as Assistant to the President, a post he occupies to this day. Prior to returning to his alma mater, he was vice-rector of Development and Alumni Relations at the Université de Montréal, President and Chief Executive Officer of the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) Foundation, and Executive vice-president of the Campaign for a New Millenium for Concordia University.

His extensive resume includes working at Concordia University as the Dean of Humanities, Faculty of Arts and Science, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science, and associate professor in the Department of Communications Studies. In the 1970s, he served as a commissioner for the Commission des écoles catholiques de Montréal and was actively involved in helping the Italian community through the introductions of Bills 22 and 101, including being a founding member of the Consiglio educativo italo-canadese and the Positive Action Committee (later Alliance Québec). In 1987, he co-authored with Raymond C. Taras the book Le débat linguistique au Québec: La communauté italienne et la langue d’enseignement and served as the Québec Ministry of International Affairs’ delegate to Italy.

Over the last four decades, he has served as a member on many associations and boards, including the Palais des Congrès de Montréal, le Gésu, la Fondation de l’oratoire St-Joseph du Mont Royal, the MAB-Mackay Centre Foundation, amongst others. He was a founding member and later chair of the Board of Directors at Loyola High School from 1997 to 2002.

Don Taddeo joins the ranks of several other Loyola alumni who have been appointed to the Order of Canada, including Mr. Richard Monette ‘61, Mr. Richard J. Renaud ‘63 and Pierre Morrissette ‘64, among others.