the university of winnipeg retirees association newsletter in … · · 2017-11-271 winter 2017...

UWRA Board of Directors 2018-‐2019

President: Jackie Mikolash

204-‐667-‐1024 [email protected]

Vice President: Chris Leo 204-‐231-‐2522 [email protected]

Secretary: Darlene Frederickson 204-‐786-‐6532 [email protected]

Treasurer: Steve Coppinger 204-‐253-‐9996 [email protected]

Member-‐at-‐Large: Bob Young 204-‐284-‐2044 [email protected]

Past President: Ed Byard 204-‐257-‐0919 [email protected]

Board Delegates

Communications Officer: Jane Barske Scholarship & Bursaries: Bob Young

United Way: Steve Coppinger

Pension Trustees

Ed Byard [email protected]

Bill Evans [email protected]

Newsletter Editor

Bill Rannie [email protected]

Contact Us

UWRA c/o Human Resources The University of Winnipeg 515 Portage Avenue

Winnipeg MB R3B 2E9

Email: [email protected] UWRA Website: www.uwinnipeg.ca/uwra

President’s Message

Greetings This is my first message as President of the University of Winnipeg Retirees’ Association and it is also my first year as a retiree. Retirement has been a great opportunity to begin a new life but I felt the need to keep in touch with the community I had been a part of for many years. Being part of the Association has been a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with the University and fellow retirees. Not only has it been a wonderful way to spend time in the relaxed atmosphere of the University Club and to once again share company with my colleagues, it has also been an opportunity to continue to contribute to the University community through the many activities UWRA supports. As I reflect on the last year I am amazed at how quickly the time has passed. We have finished our meetings for the year and I have thoroughly enjoyed working with the Board of Directors. I wish to thank Ed Byard for his hard work as President and I also want to thank all the UWRA Board of Directors, Board Delegates and Pension Trustees for their help and support. I also want to thank the many speakers who attended our meetings, the volunteer efforts of our members and the contributors to this newsletter. Each year a new group of Retirees embarks on this new part of their life (see Page 2 of this Newsletter for a list of this year’s retirees) and I wish to welcome them to retirement and encourage them to participate in our Association. I hope you have a wonderful summer and before we know it we will be meeting again. See you in the Fall!

Jackie

Check out our website www.uwinnipeg.ca/uwra for the most current information including the calendar of events, links to the 55 Plus Program, the University of Winnipeg Journal, “Inside AESES,” “UWFA News,” the University of Winnipeg Foundation News and Publications, the Virtuosi Concert Series, the University Club, and the University of Winnipeg Trusteed Pension Plan. You will also find the latest issue of our Newsletter InTouch as part of our attempt to keep the membership informed about our activities. Our confidential e-‐mail list allows us to pass on important campus news as well as association announcements and notices of meetings. Members may contact UWRA by email to [email protected]

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On May 9th, The University honored 17 new retirees at the Annual Retirement Reception:

Per Brask Theatre & Film

Leonard Cann Physical Plant

James Christie

United Centre for Theological Studies

Leanna Glade Education

Patricia Hawkins Theatre & Film

James Henderson

Collegiate

Wendy Josephson Psychology

Jacqueline Mikolash

Library

Allen Mills Political Science

Eleoussa Polyzoi

Education

Brian Rice Education

Dawn Rittberg

Biology

Lesley Sisler Collegiate

Marion Tetrault

Education

Romeo Vallejo Physical Plant

Brenda VanDerkerhove

Biology

Hans Werner History

We wish them all good health and

happy retirement days.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS Meetings are held on the FIRST TUESDAY of the month except September when it is on the second Tuesday and January

when there is no meeting. All meetings are in the University Club, 4th Floor, Wesley Hall, 10:30 to 12:00 am.

October 2 General Meeting Speaker: TBA

November 6

General Meeting Speaker: TBA

December 4


February 5

Annual General Meeting Speaker: TBA

March 5


April 2


September 11

“Meet and Greet" Luncheon

Speaker: TBA

Those attending the luncheon are asked to bring one or two non-‐perishable food items for the UWSA Food Bank

The luncheon will be held in the University Club

at a cost of $20.00/person

RSVP to Darlene Frederickson at [email protected]

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Ed Byard at the Golden Oldies World Rugby Festival When I first came to Winnipeg in 1977, I joined the Winnipeg Wasps Rugby Club and played with them until 1998. I remained on the club mailing list after I quit playing, and occasionally would attend a club function or go to watch a game. Thus, when I got a notice from the club that they were organizing a tour party to attend the Golden Oldies World Rugby Festival in Christchurch, New Zealand, I read it, thought about it briefly, then decided that, at age 70, my rugby playing days were over. But then I checked out the Golden Oldies website, and found that, although the qualifying age to be an Oldie was just 35, there were many players of my vintage (70 yrs old) that had played in previous Oldies festivals. How could that be, I wondered, after all, rugby is a collision sport not friendly to an ageing body. I discovered a simple solution had been devised: coloured shorts that indicated regular contact (black), mild contact (red), and no contact (gold). After some further thought—and the fact that New Zealand was a place we always wanted to visit-‐-‐-‐Cathy and I signed on for the tour: me as a player, and Cathy as a supporter. We arrived in New Zealand in early April via a week’s holiday stop in Fiji to warm ourselves after a cold Winnipeg winter. We rented a car and set off to tour the North and South Islands of NZ for a couple of weeks before joining the rugby festival in Christchurch. New Zealand is a small country, volcanic in origin that experiences 5 earthquakes a day (!), and has several places where the hot interior of the earth vents to the surface. NZ is sandwiched between the Tasman Sea on the west and the Pacific Ocean on the east. The ocean coasts are varied, all having rocks and beaches molded by the winds from both the northwest and southeast that are often violent and occasionally push heavy rains on to the land. The North Island is warmer so palms and tropical flowers abound, whereas the South Island has mountain ranges and ski resorts. Our drive through these landscapes was an adventure-‐-‐-‐driving on the left hand side of the road, often on narrow mountain roads and sometimes in heavy rain. There are billboards on the road that say: New Zealand roads are different, allow more time. Very true. And so we wound our way, on the North Island, from Auckland to Rotorua to Napier and finally to Wellington, where we crossed the Cook Strait in 6 metre ocean swells to Picton on the South Island. Here, we drove to Nelson at the northwest coast of the South Island, then drove down the west coast to Punakaiki (Pancake Rocks), Franz Josef Glacier (it was raining!), Queenstown, Milford Sound, then across the country to the east coast city of Dunedin, then Twizel (near Mt Cook—it rained again!) and north to Christchurch. Our arrival in Christchurch coincided with the arrival of the Wasps touring party, many of whom had also travelled the country either by car, as we had, or in camper vans. After settling in, our first duty in the rugby fest was to join the parade of nations, thus joining about 2600 players and supporters from around the world—NZ, Australia, Argentina, Brazil, England, Russia, Japan, USA, Canada, and Europe. The Wasps had chosen a hockey theme for our parade appearance, thus we were decked out in Jets sweaters and tuques. After a brief march, we repaired immediately to the enormous beer tent for appropriate and lengthy refreshment. Although the Golden Oldies World Rugby Festival had been held every two years since the 1990s, the Wasps were making a first appearance, so we approached our first game with some trepidation. We were playing an Australian team, so expected a well-‐oiled opposition-‐-‐ we were correct! After watching a couple of tries (like touchdowns) scored against us, we rallied, and got a couple back. The rules seemed to work fine-‐-‐no scores are kept or recorded, scrummages were uncontested, no kicking (other than the kickoff), and there was respect for those of us (4 in all) wearing the gold shorts indicating no contact—apparently the local organizers refer to these as the “sissy shorts”! The game was played in an excellent spirit and we again repaired to the beer tent afterwards, after swapping gifts and jerseys with our opposite numbers. And so it went. After an off day picnic and warming soak in Hanmer Hot Springs, we played two more games, one against a local NZ side, and another against a blended team made up of players from Australia and a local Christchurch side. This last game was perhaps the most fun-‐-‐they brought one of their female supporters on to play during the game, passed the ball to the referee to run down the sidelines, and had an 80 year old in the lineup at one point who was allowed by all to score a try. The game did not end with the referee’s whistle, but rather one of their players took the ball and ran towards his own goal line, where there was a cooler full of beer!!

4 The week-‐long festival ended with an enormous banquet held under a giant tent—sit-‐ down meals with drinks for 2600 people delivered smoothly, even though it was a rainy, cool night. After that, the tour party dispersed, some to go home, some to travel further in the region. The last word we got from the Oldies organizers was that the next Festival is in Denver in 2020—hmm, I will be 72 then, maybe just one more……???

To Dr. Sandra Kirby on her recent selection to Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame (formal induction ceremonies will be held in Toronto on October 18). After joining the University’s Sociology Department in 1989, Sandra served the University at virtually all levels, as Chair of Sociology for nine years, member of Senate and Board of Regents, Associate Vice-‐President (Research) and Dean of Graduate Studies. For all of this service, she was awarded the title of Professor Emerita in 2014. Sandra’s selection for the Hall of Fame recognizes her career as a member of Canada’s Olympic rowing team but most especially it honours her leadership and advocacy roles in many causes in the sports world. In its recognition of Sandra’s accomplishments, the University noted how Sandra “has dedicated much of her career to eradicating sexual harassment and abuse, homophobia, and violence against children in sport. Author of 11 books and numerous articles, she is a founding member of Safe Sport International and has worked with the International Olympic Committee on Child Protection in Sport, UNICEF, Status of Women Canada, the Manitoba Innovation Council, and the Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Activity.” CONGRATULATIONS, SANDRA, FOR A FINE CAREER!

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WEATHER CORNER SUMMER SOLSTICE in Winnipeg: June 21, 5:07 am CDT Sunrise on Solstice in Winnipeg: 5:19 am; Earliest Sunrise: June 16, 5:19 am Sunset on Solstice in Winnipeg: 9:40 am; Latest Sunset: June 25, 9:41 pm DAY LENGTH ON JUNE 21: 16 hr, 21 min, 6 sec. This is as good as it gets, 8 hrs, 16 min longer than it will be on December 21. Most outdoor activities will be possible but sledding or snowmobiling conditions will be poor. EXTENDED FORECAST FOR JUNE, JULY, AUGUST: Prevailing summery conditions. Mixed sunny and cloudy periods with cooler intervals of darkness. Periodic rain but chances of snow are diminished.

From Cailyn Cheasley, 2017 winner (received by Bob Young, April 3, 2018) Dear UWRA Hello everyone! I wanted to send an update, and a secondary thank-‐you for all of your support. This year was my first year of medical school, and although it has been tough and incredibly busy, I am loving it. I am really leaning towards family medicine, with the possibility of a sub-‐specialty. However there are so many options, so that could change in the future. Regardless, I think I want to work rurally. Rural medicine is fast paced and exciting, and really allows you to experience a lot. I continued to play softball this past summer, and I do have hopes to play competitively this summer as well! My team, the Smitty’s Terminators, did travel to Western Canadians last year, and this year, we hope to attend Nationals. Maybe this year we can bring back that elusive gold medal. Finally, I want to thank the UWRA once again for all the support I have received. My time at the University of Winnipeg could not have been better. Once again, thank you so much, Cailyn Cheasley

Jillian Xenia, 2018 winner, was profiled in the last edition of In Touch. Since then she has chosen to pursue graduate studies in Sociology at McMaster in Hamilton and has won an SSHRC Graduate Scholarship. The picture at left shows Jillian with UWRA President Jackie Mikolash at the Evening of Excellence, February 8, 2018 (photo courtesy of Jolene Deere, UW Foundation).

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Because we have all spent so much of our lives associated with universities in one way or another, and most of us are ‘readers’, I thought it might be interesting to include a column highlighting “Campus Novels” in each Newsletter. I use the term “Campus Novels” which is the most common designation now but some prefer “Academic Novels” or “University Novels”, or even occasionally “Varsity Novels”. Never mind, they’re all part of the genre of novels set in a university or college involving university people and “Campus Novel” seems the sensible choice. The subject matters and styles of the Campus Novel include campus politics, collegial sexual peccadillos, even murder mysteries, but given all universities’ eccentricities, absurdities, pettiness, office intrigues, egos, pomposities and idiosyncrasies, it’s not surprising that pure satire or comedy are so prominent. The stresses surrounding tenure are a common theme and from the 80s onward, such issues as gender inequities and sexual harassment become more common. The vast majority involve English Departments; a few other disciplines such as Sociology and Anthropology make occasional appearances but the Sciences are nowhere to be seen. According to most sources, the “Campus Novel” as a specific literary genre was born in the early 1950s with Mary McCarthy’s The Groves of Academe in 1952 and Kingsley Amis’s Lucky Jim two years later. Others followed quickly and now any simple Google search of “Campus Novel” will turn up scores of them, some very well-‐known, others more obscure or only tangentially fitting the category. The varied British or American (and even a few Canadian) settings depict real differences in national institutional cultures and practices, although usually satirically magnified. Regardless of location, however, the earlier books portray academic environments that can be very different from current ones. For several decades, the main characters were almost all men but women began appearing more commonly from the 80s onward. They also reflect the mores of their times, with all the misogyny, homophobia, sociopolitical movements etc. that mark the past 60-‐plus years. We may recall some of these differences with nostalgia but probably more often with embarrassment and discomfort. A very good review of the Campus Novel genre from the 1950s to 2000 is given in Faculty Towers by noted Professor of Literary Criticism Elaine Showalter I’ve only read a selection of these books and my tastes run to the comedic and satirical. I have no doubt that many of you will have read many more but I’ll start out with some of the most obvious choices. I’m only a consumer and certainly won’t attempt a proper review beyond a simple plot summary. However I do want your own recommendations, so please send them to me, with a few lines of why you liked them, or a paragraph of review.

LUCKY JIM by Kingsley Amis -‐ Although The Groves of Academe preceded it by two years, Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis is much better known and is considered by many to be the first proper “Campus Novel”. Published in 1954, Lucky Jim was Amis’s first novel and remains probably his best loved.

The novel centres on Jim Dixon, a rather misanthropic, ill-‐starred probationary lecturer in medieval history at a provincial English University. Dixon is consumed by the pursuit of tenure as his first year of a two year appointment comes to an end and he’s getting desperate to improve his chances. He is constantly running afoul of his insufferable Department Chair whom he detests but who has almost complete control over his fate. He’s also romantically entangled with two women, one a neurotic colleague and the other a delightful ‘outsider’ who happens to be the current girlfriend of his Chair’s obnoxious son. Dixon’s misadventures at every step build to a climax with his disastrous delivery of a public lecture on “Merrie England”, sabotaged by too much drink (as so much of his life seems to be) in which he skewers his colleagues and the pretensions of academe, before passing out. According to Wikipedia, Lucky Jim was included in Time magazine’s 100 Best English-‐

language Novels from 1923 to 2005 and Christopher Hitchens rated it the funniest book of the second half of the 20th Century. I think both comments are stretches by a long way, not the least reason being that I didn’t find the hapless

“Campus Novels”

7 hero Dixon a particularly admirable or sympathetic character, but it certainly is amusing to anyone who appreciates British humour. After re-‐reading it, I would describe it as P.G.Wodehouse meets the ‘Carry On Gang’ with dashes of ‘Up Pompeii’. If you remember these fondly, you’ll probably enjoy Lucky Jim. (Available in Winnipeg Public Library).

CHANGING PLACES by David Lodge -‐ Probably the best known Campus Novels are David Lodge’s Changing Places (1975), Small World (1984), and Nice Work (1988). Although they are still available separately, they have been

collected into single volume A David Lodge Trilogy (1993). The first of the three is Changing Places: A Tale of Two Campuses (1975) which deals with the challenges, adventures, and misadventures of two English academics from very different academic traditions and cultural environments who begin a fateful six-‐month exchange program on New Year’s Day, 1969. Mr. Phillip Swallow is an undistinguished professor of little to no accomplishment (i.e. virtually no publications) in a small English Department at the University of Rummedge in the “large graceless industrial city” in the English Midlands”. His exchange counterpart is Dr. Morris Zapp, a very accomplished senior member of the English Department at the State University of Euphoria in Plotinus, across the Bay from the “glittering glamorous” but

troubled city of Esseph (obviously Berkeley in San Francisco). The two individuals are as different as their provenances. Zapp is a brash, distinguished and ambitious Full Professor, an expert in Jane Austen and father of miscellaneous children from three marriages who is in the throes of a divorce from the estimable Desiree. Swallow is the colourless Lecturer with little prospect for advancement and struggling to provide for his admirable wife Hilary and their three children. Swallow’s arrival in Esseph coincides with the height of student protests, anti-‐war and anti-‐much else, in 1969, whereas Zapp lands in a sleepy backwater where neither faculty nor students are up to much. They soon become involved in local affairs, involving everything from University and civic politics to their opposite families. The story is told from alternating viewpoints, with one chapter consisting entirely of letters back and forth among the characters and another consisting of newspaper clippings. The novel is a comic, frequently bawdy, satire but beyond the entanglements and misadventures, it provides an excellent contrast between the American and British university systems and societal milieux in the turbulent late sixties. Its portrayal of the academic environments is given authenticity by the fact that Lodge was himself a Professor of English Literature at the University of Birmingham and had spent time as an Associate Professor at Berkeley. In a 2000 critique of Changing Places, George Downing wrote “All in all, I regard Changing Places as a resounding comic and literary success. It is not surprising to me that it has remained an enduring favorite on both sides of the Atlantic. Although its tone is light and entertaining, its satire is deft and perceptive. Lodge is a remarkably acute observer of both the English and American scene.” Although Changing Places was Lodge’s fifth novel, it and its two successors elevated him into one of the most successful and acclaimed of British novelists (Small World and Nice Work were both short-‐listed for the Booker Prize). His many other novels are highly recommended and he has had a parallel career in academic writing. (Available in Winnipeg Public Library).

In Memoriam

We shall remember with joy and gratitude

March 3, 2017 February 11, 2018 April 11, 2018 Margaret McDougall Lorna Jensen Tommy Marshall

Collegiate Library Security (1961-‐1981) (1973-‐2015) (1969-‐1990)

As a lasting tribute to its members,

UWRA donates a book to the Library plated in their memory.

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MORE THAN A CENTURY OF WOMEN’S HOCKEY AT UW

In the recent Winter Olympics, hockey fans were reminded of how skilled our women’s hockey team is and how exciting this brand of hockey can be, especially in games against the equally-‐matched US team. Their final game was one of the memorable events in the entire Olympics and reflected the growth of women’s hockey at all levels over the last decade or two. It may come as a surprise, then, that women’s hockey goes back more than 100 years at United College as documented by the following pictures from the Western Canada Pictorial Index in the University Archives.

(left) Wesley College Fourth Year and Matriculation Girls Hockey Team, February, 1914 (below)Wesley Ladies Hockey Team with Trophy, 1917

(left) Wesley Girls' Hockey Team on Steps of Wesley College, 1927 (uw_wcpi_19246_a0620)

(right) Wesley College Girls Interfaculty Hockey 1930 Champions in Uniform on College Grounds (uw_wcpi_16046_a0501

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the university of winnipeg retirees association newsletter in … · · 2017-11-271 winter 2017...

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