With deep sorrow, we announce the passing of CMS Alumnus William Paul Lundell, who completed his PhD at CMS in 1996 with a dissertation entitled, “Carthusian Policy and the Council of Basel”. He was Associate Professor of History at Mount Allison University until his recent passing. Professor Lundell studied the response of the Carthusian order in the face of schism, and contributed his research to such publications as Religion, Text, and Society in Medieval Spain and Northern Europe; Essays in Honor of J.N. Hillgarth, edited by Thomas E Burman, Mark D. Meyerson, and Leah Shopkow, all members of the CMS Community.
"My first class at Mount Allison University was HIST2001, Dr. Lundell's intro to medieval history. Four years and eight courses later, he supervised my undergraduate thesis. He was – and remains – my guiding light for good scholarship, professionalism, and care. I joined CMS in 2021 because I wanted to grow into the sort of scholar and person he was. He loved the material he taught, and he transmitted his passion to a generation of Mount Allison students. We are all much better off for having known him.
I'll end with a passage from Erasmus' Enchiridion. Despite the centuries' gap between them, Erasmus was Dr. Lundell's dear friend. Every student who visited his office noticed the portrait of Erasmus hanging over the mantle. Erasmus writes: "[Charity] is to correct the erring gently, teach the ignorant, lift up the fallen, console the downhearted, aid the struggler, support the needy, [and] in a word, devote all your resources, all your zeal, all your care to this one end, to benefit as many as you can in Christ." Dr. Lundell lived by Erasmus' words. I will miss him."
- Samuel MacPhee, CMS PhD Student