UPEI saddened by passing of Founder and retired faculty member Dr. Lawson Drake

The University of Prince Edward Island is saddened to learn of the passing of Dr. Lawson Drake, UPEI Founder, former dean of science, retired professor and founding chair of the Department of Biology, and Prince of Wales College alumnus on April 23, 2025, in Charlottetown. The flags in front of the Kelley Memorial Building have been lowered to half-mast in his memory. 

Dr. Drake was raised in and was a long-time resident of Meadowbank, PEI. While studying at Prince of Wales College in 1947, he was chosen as one of twenty-five sea cadets to represent Canada on a visit to the United Kingdom as guests of the Navy League and the British Admiralty. They crossed the Atlantic on HMCS Warrior and spent several weeks abroad.

Dr. Drake graduated from PWC in 1948 and from McGill University (Macdonald College) in 1950. In 1959, he received his master’s degree from Cornell University and returned to PWC where he taught biology until 1966. From 1963 to 1966, his teaching duties included teaching anatomy and physiology to students in the Prince Edward Island Hospital School of Nursing. After receiving his PhD from Dalhousie University in 1969, he became the first chair of the UPEI Department of Biology. Dr. Drake served as dean of the Faculty of Science from 1985 to 1991; as dean, he chaired the Nursing Education Transition Committee whose work established the School of Nursing at UPEI. He was also a staunch supporter of the Atlantic Veterinary College and helped mentor the founding faculty. He retired in 1994.

Dr. Drake also contributed to his community as an author, historian, and conservationist, and was known for weaving references to history, music, literature, and culture into his lectures, sparking a curiosity about other disciplines among his students. He was an avid supporter of genealogy and traditional Scottish fiddle music.

In retirement, Dr. Drake was an active member of the Association of Retired UPEI Employees, attended many University events, and along with his wife Eileen, created the Eileen and Lawson Drake Prize in Pediatric Nursing. 

He was named a UPEI Founder in 2004 and was a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012 and the Rotary Club of Charlottetown Royalty’s Mentor Award in 2016.

Online condolences may be made and his obituary viewed on the Maclean’s Funeral Home website.

UPEI sends its deepest condolences to Dr. Drake’s wife Eileen, family, friends, and colleagues.