The scoop on the News

The McGill News published its first issue in December 1919. Stephen Leacock himself served as the head of the magazine’s editorial board during its early years.

The magazine highlights the achievements of McGill graduates and provides news about the University, offering a glimpse of the latest in research, academic accomplishments, alumni activities and student life.

The McGill News has earned numerous awards over its long history, winning 11 prizes alone from the Canadian Council for the Advancement of Education since 2000. Its contributors over the years have included such luminaries as legendary Group of Seven painter Lawren Harris and Pulitzer Prize-winning literary scholar Leon Edel.

The magazine is published three times a year by the Office of Public Affairs for the McGill Alumni Association. The McGill News is sent to all McGill graduates for whom we have a current address, to the parents of McGill students and to individuals who have made donations to the University in the past two years.

Letters to the editor
We are always delighted to receive letters to the editor, but space doesn’t allow us to publish every letter that we receive. Letters should address the content of the magazine, so please refer to a specific article or item from the magazine when you write.

We reserve the right to edit letters for space, grammar, style, civility, and clarity. In cases where the edit is substantial and risks distorting the substance or spirit of what you have expressed, you will allowed to review our edit. As with any magazine, the editors reserve the right to decide whether a letter is acceptable for publication. We prefer that letters to the editor be no longer than 250 words.

The McGill News regularly publishes a section called Alumnotes to give graduates the opportunity to keep up to date on the lives of their classmates and to share their own news with our readers.

Information for Alumnotes should include the graduate’s name, maiden name if applicable, degree(s) and the news they would like published. The average length of an Alumnote entry is 50-75 words. Longer submissions are accepted but may be edited for length. We also edit for style and accuracy but do try to preserve the “voice” of the graduate. If the Alumnote entry includes a website address or email address, these must be accurate and active.

In Memoriam
All information regarding a deceased graduate should be sent to the Development and Alumni Relations Records Department. They will process the information and then send it along to the McGill News if it meets the criteria for publication.

In order for a death notice to be published in the McGill News, it must meet at least one of the following criteria:

1. Information must be sent in a letter or fax by a family member or representative of the family. It must include the name(s), maiden name (if applicable), degree(s), place and date of death. Email submissions are acceptable if there is clear contact information for the family member submitting the request and all information about the deceased is included.
2. An obituary notice from a newspaper that clearly identifies the deceased as a McGill graduate or faculty/staff member is also acceptable as a submission. The obituary should include the name(s), place and date of death.

We adhere to these guidelines in a strict manner in order to avoid publishing incorrect information.

Contact information
To send us your letters, or your submissions for our Alumnotes or In Memoriam sections, please contact us:

Email: news.alumni@mcgill.ca

Address: 1555 Peel Street, Suite 900
Montreal, Quebec
Canada H3A 3L8
Fax: 514-398-6403

Address changes

To change your address information for the McGill News and other alumni mailings, you can send an email to the Development and Alumni Relations Records Department at records.alumni@mcgill.ca, send a fax to 514-398-8012, or phone them at 514-398-2787.