Premier Christy Clark has issued the following statement on the death of former University of British Columbia president David Strangway:

“Men of David Strangway’s calibre do not come along every day. As a scientist, he became head of NASA geophysics, and designed experiments for the Apollo missions. As an academic, he became president of two of Canada’s greatest universities and founded another. Such was his respect that prime minister Jean Chrétien appointed him to work with his American counterpart toward a mutually beneficial agreement on salmon – and they succeeded.    

“David’s tenure at UBC is widely recognized as a turning point, transforming the university into a world-leading  centre of research, development, and learning.

“For his contributions to UBC and Canada, we owe David an enormous debt of gratitude. He will be missed.”