Martha Louise Jodrey

Doctor of Education

Born and educated in Halifax, Martha Louise (Donahoe) Jodrey attended the Convent of the Sacred Heart prior to entering Dalhousie University in 1960. With an annual average of over ninety percent, she was awarded scholarships each of her five years at that institution. In 1964, she received her Bachelor of Arts degree (summa cum laude) with a major in Sociology and a minor in French. She won the Dr. Prince Prize in Sociology for the highest academic average in the graduating class.

After completing the qualifying year for a Master of Arts degree with a final average above 95 percent, she took advantage of the opportunity to own and operate her own business by purchasing, in 1965, Miss Murphy's Business College. After taking the full secretarial course herself and receiving her diploma in the fall of 1965, she began her teaching and administrative career working with students from ages 16 to 60. She introduced a new method of shorthand, exclusive to Miss Murphy's called speedwriting shorthand, which became very popular as well as numerous business subjects not taught in other secretarial schools, such as Business Psychology and a Personal Finishing program.

Mrs. Jodrey acted as Principal from 1965 to 1969 and Administrator and Owner of Miss Murphy's from 1965 until 1982, when she retired after selling the business.

In 1983, her cousin, Dr. C. Henry Reardon, Chairperson of the Nominating Committee of Saint Mary's's Board of Governors, invited her to join that governing council. She has been serving Saint Mary's ever since, first as Chair of the Finance Committee (1984-1988) and since 1988, as Chair of the Honorary Degrees Committee. She indicated that she has been "enjoying the challenges of each Committee."

Mrs. Jodrey has also been active in other organizations. She was voted Chair of the Board as well as Chair of the Capital Campaign at Bridgeway Academy, a private non-profit day school for learning disabled children. With the support of Mr. Don Keleher, Director of University Advancement at Saint Mary's, and in particular, Dr. Kenneth L. Ozmon, President of the University, who accompanied her on all major calls, she successfully raised the $120,000.00 needed to implement the High School Academic Program which was introduced at Bridgeway Academy in 1987. That program has been very successful and it continues to enable learning disabled students to graduate in increasing numbers, most of whom continue to pursue their academic goals at Saint Mary's.

She noted that she "was delighted with the enthusiastic support from Dr. Ozmon, Dr. Joe Jabbra [former Vice President (Academic)] and Mr. Guy Noel [recently retired Vice President (Administration)] for her recommendation that the Atlantic Centre for Support for Disabled Students at Saint Mary's incorporate a special program to assist qualified learning disabled students through their academic studies." From 1986 to 1990, with the assistance of Dr. Kenneth L. Ozmon and his senior administrators, there followed intense lobbying of all 21 provincial cabinet ministers to provide start-up funding for the program. The Provincial Government finally, formally, committed the funding in the fall of 1990 and the program, which started with only seven students, now assist upwards of 60 students annually. The first learning disabled student to graduate under the support program received her degree in 1994 and is now continuing with graduate studies. Mrs. Jodrey continues to be actively involved in fundraising for the Atlantic Centre.

She is also a member of the Saint Mary's Capital Campaign Executive Committee and has, once again, been very active in campaign calls.

In 1992, Mrs. Jodrey was invited to join the Board of the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia and has just completed two three year terms; is currently serving on the Acquisitions Committee; and is a member of the Special Government and Corporate Relations Committee which she helped establish. With Saint Mary's's alumnus, Mr. Bernard Riordon, the Art Gallery Director, she lobbied the Premier and Cabinet to acquire urgently-needed additional exhibition space and in 1996, was successful in securing the first two floors of the adjacent building to house the Maud Lewis and other collections.

Mrs. Jodrey is also involved in her local community - Windsor, Nova Scotia. She was Secretary of the Windsor Nursery School Association for a number of years while her children were young; and was voted Chair of the Windsor Rate-Payers Association (1992-1993). She is a member of St. John's Church, Windsor, and St. Augustine's in Chester. She is also a member of the Chester Golf Club as well as the Chester Yacht Club; the Halifax Club; and the Empire Club.

She is married to Bruce John Jodrey, Chairman of CKF Inc., Hantsport, Nova Scotia, and Vice Chairman of Scotia Investments Ltd. They have two sons, Joel, currently enrolled in the Faculty of Arts at Saint Mary's and Jay, a graduate of Saint Mary's with a Bachelor of Arts degree, who is currently pursuing a Certificate in Human Resource Management at the Frank H. Sobey School of Business, Saint Mary's.