‘A good education is everybody’s right’
The late professor Bhupinder Singh Mangat found inspiration in teaching generations of students at Concordia’s Department of Biology.
Professor Mangat’s love of Concordia — his professional home for nearly four decades — inspired his family to carry the torch and perpetuate the gift of education through a donation to the university. It will fund an undergraduate student award in his name.
“My father used to say material things are ephemeral — but education is the one thing you can’t take away,” says Rishma Mangat, BComm 99. She and her sister were strongly encouraged by their father academically.
A disciplined and principled man, “Pindi” took much pride in his work and played a significant role in building Concordia’s Department of Biology from its early days to what it is today.
“He would talk about plants to anyone and never tired of passing on his knowledge,” says Professor Emeritus Daniel McLaughlin remembering his long-time colleague’s passion for his work.
“A dedicated teacher and an enthusiastic champion of plant biology in the department, his teaching was critical to the biology introductory core curriculum. He was enthusiastic but demanding; he was pretty much a no-nonsense type. His mainstream contributions were in the areas of plant morphology and function,” says McLaughlin.
Professor Mangat’s research explored plant tissue culture and development — a field that laid important groundwork for subsequent advances in plant propagation, plant genetic improvement and genetic analysis.
He was also very popular with students, who appreciated his approachability and sense of humour. Most Concordia students in the biology program from the 1970s through the 2000s attended his courses.
“Dr. Mangat’s teaching had a huge impact on me,” says Jackie Boys, BSc 02, MSc 04, BA 08, of her former professor. “His vast knowledge of plants was remarkable and his enthusiasm was contagious. Many years later, I still use this knowledge in my personal and professional life.”
“A gift to Concordia seemed such a fitting tribute, because education was the one legacy he felt was so important for him to give to my sister and I,” says Rishma Mangat. “I think he’d be so honoured to know this award will help knock down financial hurdles for academically deserving students. He believed getting a good education was everybody’s right.”
Professor Bhupinder Singh Mangat with his wife Surinder and daughters Simmi (left) and Rishma (right) following Simmi’s iron ring ceremony. She received her BEng from Concordia in 1997.
Photo: courtesy Mangat family
She knows her father had a soft spot for those who had come from abroad and were struggling — since he had lived that experience himself.
Originally from East Africa — Kenya and Uganda — Professor Mangat left home at 17 to study in the U.K., where he earned his undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees at the University of London and the University of Wales.
Not only was he a highly respected researcher and teacher, Rishma Mangat adds that he was also a loving and dedicated father.
“He and my mother gave us such a blessed childhood,” she says, “and though we were never for want of anything, we were not spoiled. This is such a fine balance that they managed to maintain.”
She adds, “As demanding as he was of his students, he was even more demanding of his children; though I credit him for giving us such a solid foundation upon which to develop, and the strong work ethic that still serves both my sister and I today.”
Professor Mangat joined the teaching staff at Loyola College, one of Concordia’s founding institutions, in 1973. He died of cancer in 2012.
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