The LMMI
Mandate
The L.M. Montgomery Institute at the University of Prince Edward Island is the hub of L.M. Montgomery scholarship, collaboration, and celebration, rooted in Prince Edward Island and with a national and global reach. The institute actively supports and promotes interdisciplinary research into, and informed exploration of, the life, works, culture, and influence of acclaimed Canadian writer L.M. Montgomery.
The LMMI
- Cultivates a community for L.M. Montgomery-related research and pursuits;
- Supports public and community engagement activities related to Montgomery; and
- Responds to queries and requests for information about Montgomery.
Where: University of Prince Edward Island and Robertson Library
Located on 140 acres in Charlottetown, the birthplace of Confederation, the University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI) has a rich history with roots in two founding institutions: Prince of Wales College (est. 1834) and St. Dunstan’s University (est. 1855). The LMMI is housed in and partners with the Robertson Library, which holds a variety of materials in its LMMI Research Collections. Thanks to private donors, such as the Montgomery Heirs and collectors, such as Dr. Donna Campbell (the Ryrie-Campbell Collection), the LMMI now has in the Robertson Library the world’s largest collection of Montgomery first editions, foreign editions, and periodicals containing Montgomery’s published stories and poems.
When and Why: The History of the LMMI
The L.M. Montgomery Institute (LMMI) was launched by its founder, Dr. Elizabeth Epperly, in April 1993 with three years of base funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada Grants in Aid of Small Universities. The LMMI has since been supported by grants, donations, research project funding, and biennial international conferences.
The LMMI’s official launch was attended not only by Island dignitaries, fans, relatives, and scholars, but also by special Ontario guests: Montgomery’s daughter-in-law, Mrs. Ruth Macdonald; Montgomery’s granddaughter, Kate Macdonald Butler; and renowned Montgomery scholars Dr. Elizabeth Waterston and Dr. Mary Rubio.
For five years, the LMMI ran an English-language, Montgomery-focused, immersion programs for Japanese women, and also provided ways for international fans and scholars to discuss Montgomery’s life and writing, such as the Kindred Spirits listserv. The success of the first international Montgomery symposium in 1994 led to a themed, biennial, international conference series.
The LMMI conferences have inspired numerous scholarly essay collections, one of which won the coveted Gabrielle Roy Prize in 2018 (L.M. Montgomery and the Matter of Nature[s], edited by Rita Bode and M.J. Mitchell).
In partnership with the Confederation Centre Art Gallery, the LMMI curated full-scale exhibitions on Montgomery in 1994, 1996, 1999, 2008, and 2014; and digital exhibitions in 2002 and 2023. In 2000, the LMMI’s commercially created CD-ROM on Montgomery’s life and works won three education and technology awards.
Montgomery graduated from Prince of Wales College (PWC) in 1894. She is thus an alumna of the University of Prince Edward Island as well as a proud Islander.
Who: LMMI Management Committee and Supporters
The LMMI is managed by a committee comprised of UPEI faculty and staff, including ex-officio members and special (community/scholar) guests from around the world; every two years an outstanding Montgomery scholar is invited by the committee to select a conference theme and to oversee the academic integrity of the conference and a possible publication or project inspired by it. The LMMI reports to the UPEI Vice-President Academic and Research who appoints the chair for a three-year term.
Since 2004, Her Imperial Highness Princess Takamado of Japan has served as the International Patron of the LMMI. In addition, the LMMI counts among its active Canadian celebrity supporters the Hon. Adrienne Clarkson, who was Canadian Patron while Governor General of Canada; and best-selling authors Jane Urquhart and Anne-Marie MacDonald.
The LMMI has partnered with the Confederation Centre of the Arts, the University of Guelph, the National Library, Heritage Canada, the Virtual Museum of Canada and now Digital Museums Canada, and the award-winning federal Knowledge Economy Partnership. The LMMI has been supported by the Macdonald Stewart Foundation, the Webster Foundation, the Wanda Wyatt Foundation, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, and Aliant Leadership Funds; and by the generosity of Ruth Macdonald, David Macdonald, Kate Macdonald Butler, the full Heirs of L.M. Montgomery, Inc., and numerous private donors. The LMMI’s Ryrie-Campbell Collection, with its real and digital treasures, is the gift of Dr. Donna Campbell.
Our Supporters and Partners
The L.M. Montgomery Institute gratefully acknowledges the following groups and individuals for their support and encouragement:
Current L.M. Montgomery Committee Members
- Dr. Laura Robinson, Chair, Acadia University
- Dr. Lesley Clement, Past LMMI Visiting Scholar
- Dr. Tracy Doucette, Psychology
- Dr. Elizabeth Epperly, Founder, Professor Emerita
- Dr. Yolanda Hood, University of Massachusetts-Lowell
- Dr. Caroline Jones, Visiting Scholar
- Dr. Sharon Myers, Dean of Arts, Interim
- Dr. Jean Mitchell, Anthropology
- Donald Moses, Robertson Library
- Dr. Kate Scarth, Chair in L.M. Montgomery Studies; Applied Communication, Leadership and Culture
- Dr. Emily Woster, Past LMMI Visiting Scholar, The College of St. Scholastica
Community Supporters
- Jennie Macneill, David Macneill and family, The Site of Lucy Maud Montgomery's Cavendish Home
- L.M. Montgomery Birthplace
- George Campbell, Anne of Green Gables Museum, Park Corner
- Tery Kamikawa, Blue Winds Tea Room
- Confederation Centre of the Arts
- Parks Canada
- Central Coastal Tourism
Past Chairs and Members of the LMMI
- Dr. Francis W.P. Bolger
- Lesley Anne Bourne
- Professor Robert Campbell
- Dr. Doreley Coll
- Elizabeth DeBlois
- Dr. Clare Fawcett
- Melanie Fishbane
- Dr. Anne Furlong
- Dr. Irene Gammel
- Dr. Rosemary Herbert
- Dr. David Hickey
- Deirdre Kessler
- Dr. Richard Kuriel
- Dr. Nebojsa Kujundzic
- Jane Ledwell
- Dr. Benjamin Lefebvre
- Mark Leggott
- Simon Lloyd
- Anna MacDonald
- Dr. Alan MacEachern
- Dr. Andrea McKenzie
- Dr. Jane Magrath
- Duncan McIntosh
- Dianne Hicks Morrow
- Dr. Shannon Murray
- Dr. Elizabeth Percival
- Louise Polland
- Dr. Philip Smith
Friends Of The L.M. Montgomery Institute
The Friends of the L.M. Montgomery Institute supports our ongoing work through fundraising and other activities. All monies raised by the Friends go directly to Institute projects. The Friends is an all-volunteer group drawn from the ranks of Montgomery scholars and admirers across North America.
Special Thanks
- Her Imperial Highness Princess Takamado of Japan, our International Patron.
- The Hon. Adrienne Clarkson, C.C., C.M.M., C.O.M., C.D for her on-going support of L.M. Montgomery's work and legacy and for serving as Canadian Patron of the LMMI when she was Governor General of Canada.
- For partnering with us on our Digital Museums Canada exhibit of the manuscript of Anne of Green Gables: Confederation Centre Art Gallery and Robertson Library
- For our Virtual Museum of Canada Picturing a Canadian Life exhibition partners for continued, mutual support: Confederation Centre Art Gallery, Birthplace of Lucy Maud Montgomery, National Library of Canada, University of Guelph L.M. Montgomery Collection Archives.
Permissions
"L.M. Montgomery's signature and cat design", L.M. Montgomery, Emily of New Moon, The Blue Castle and other names and images created by L.M. Montgomery are trademarks of Heirs of L.M. Montgomery Inc. and are used with permission. All rights reserved.
Anne of Green Gables and other images of "Anne" are trademarks and Canadian official marks of the Anne of Green Gables Licensing Authority, Inc., which is owned by the Heirs of L.M. Montgomery Inc. and the Province of Prince Edward Island, and are used with permission. All rights reserved.
Heirs of L.M. Montgomery
Heirs of L.M. Montgomery Inc. was incorporated by the author's heirs David Macdonald, trustee, and Ruth Macdonald. David Macdonald is the son of Chester Macdonald, and Ruth Macdonald is the widow of Stuart Macdonald. Chester and Stuart were the sons of L.M. Montgomery and Ewan Macdonald. The company was set up with a view to protecting the integrity of L.M. Montgomery while promoting her literary legacy. Heirs of L.M. Montgomery Inc. owns various trademarks related to the works of L.M. Montgomery (other than the Anne series), as well as the name "L.M. Montgomery". This enables the heirs to regulate the way the author's name and certain titles and other elements of her creations are used in association with products, events, and services. Queries concerning such uses should be directed to Kate Macdonald Butler at Heirs of L.M. Montgomery Inc. in Toronto, Ontario by phone: (416) 971-7473 or e-mail: katemacdonaldbutler@lmmontgomery.com.
Merchandising activities relating to Anne of Green Gables are regulated by The Anne of Green Gables Licensing Authority (the AGGLA), which is jointly owned by the Province of Prince Edward Island and Heirs of L.M. Montgomery Inc. The AGGLA has offices in Charlottetown, PEI and in Toronto, Ontario. For more information about the AGGLA, please visit: http://www.gov.pe.ca/anne/index.php3.
Publishing and film rights to Montgomery's works are handled by Heirs of L.M. Montgomery Inc. and any enquiries in this regard should be directed to Sally Keefe Cohen in Toronto, Ontario: sally@sallykeefecohen.ca.