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2   Trek   Fall 2004
Cover photograph: Getty Images 3 Novel Ideas
Earle Birney's shelter for "the creative student naked in
academia" has produced some heavy hitters. By John Vigna
16 A Forest Path - A Short Story
Was Malcolm Lowry's vision in the forest a hissing cougar or
an apparition of lust and desire? By Bill Gaston
4 The Ropes That Bind
The UBC Ropes Course puts the group experience in
perspective. By Chris Petty
5 French Fries Fuel the Future
UBC's biodiesel project takes the french fry and makes it an
environmental saviour. Sort of. By Katie Eliot
1  2004 Alumni Achievement Awards
Eight high achievers honoured at this year's Alumni
Achievement Dinner.
= ALL   2 004
The Magazine of the University of British Columbia
Editor Christopher Petty, mfa'86
Designer Chris Dahl
Assistant Editor Vanessa Clarke
Board of Directors
Chair Jane Hungerford, BED'67
Vice-Chair Martin Ertl, BSc'93
Treasurer David Elliott, BCOM'69
Members at Large '04 - '07
Don Dalik, LLB'76
Ron Walsh, BA'70
Bernie Simpson, BA'64, BSW'65, llb'68 ('04 - '05)
Members at Large '03 - '05
Raquel Hirsch, ba'8o, MBA'83
Mark Mawhinney, BA'94
Doug Robinson, BCOM'71, LLB'72
Appointments to the Board '04 - '05
Tammie Mark, bcom'88
Marko Dekovic, ba'oi
Darlene Dean, BCOM'75, MBA'85
University Representatives '04 - '05
Richard Johnston, BA'70
Jim Rogers, BA'65
Amina Rai, AMS President
Executive Director
Leslie Konantz
Trek Editorial Committee
Vanessa Clarke Scott Macrae, BA'71
Chris Dahl Christopher Petty
Sid Katz Herbert Rosengarten
Trek (formerly the UBC Alumni Chronicle) is
published three times a year by the UBC Alumni
Association and distributed free of charge to UBC alumni
and friends. Opinions expressed in the magazine do not
necessarily reflect the views of the Alumni Association or
the university. Address correspondence to:
Christopher Petty, Editor
UBC Alumni Association,
6251 Cecil Green Park Road,
Vancouver, BC, Canada  v6T 1Z1
e-mail to cpetty©alumni.ubc.ca
Letters will be published at the editor's discretion
and may be edited for space.
For advertising rates contact 604-822-8914.
Contact Numbers at UBC
Address Changes 604-822-8921
e-mail aluminfo@alumni.ubc.ca
A Forest Path
"Mom, for instance, wanted to be a
mad poet. At the start, she was neither,
and by the end she was only mad."
Alumni Association
Trek Editor
UBC Info Line
Belkin Gallery
Bookstore
Chan Centre
Frederic Wood Theatre
Museum of Anthropology
Volume 59, Number 2   I   Printed in Canada by Mitchell Press
Canadian Publications Mail Agreement # 40063528
Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to:
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Fall 2004   Trek   3 This summer in Vancouver was
spectacular. We had the kind of weather
that makes you forget we live in a rain
forest, and makes you think it never really
rained that much, anyway. The rest of
Canada had monsoons or frost or some
part of all the plagues of Egypt, while here
on the coast, we thought California had
finally arrived.
Well, it's gone now. Since late August
the rains have come back as if they never
left. Those brown patches of grass on
the meridian of Main Mall up from the
Flagpole Plaza are now gaily green, and
the weeds that grew, impossibly, out of
the cracks on the sidewalk outside the
Buchanan Building are once again flourishing in the endless, pelting precipitation.
Most of us remember our first rainy
weeks of autumn at UBC: standing in
a packed, lurching, sweaty bus, soaked
through from waiting too long at the bus
stop; scrambling to class through ankle-
Through the rain: outside Main Library, early 1960s
LIFE, LEARNING AND THE SOUND OF RAIN
high puddles; fighting valiantly against
the overwhelming urge to just close your
eyes for a moment during the warm, early-
morning lecture on Newtonian physics or
the Cavalier poets; huddling over a hot
cup of coffee and a slice of Ponderosa
cake and finally waking up; then sluicing
through the rest of the day wishing your
umbrella worked better (or your shoe
didn't have a hole in it), before heading
home to sleep and get ready to do it all
again tomorrow.
Ah, those luscious, watery days! I must
admit to a warm nostalgia (tempered with
a slight melancholy) for that time, filled as
I was with a sense of personal adventure
and importance, blissfully unaware of how
carefree I really was.
It's instructive to stroll around campus
now. Today's students are altogether as
poorly equipped for the rain as my generation was: many women wear shoes far
too scanty to ford the pond formed by a
speed bump on the roadway behind Main
Library, and plenty of men are still too
proud to carry an umbrella or wear a rain
jacket, preferring a good drenching to any
implication of softness. Some things never
change.
But today's students do have advantages
we never had: the Chapman Learning
Commons in Main Library, for instance,
that feels more like a quiet workroom in
a luxury hotel than a study centre, and
dozens of other dry, out-of-the-way places
in new centres to sit and listen to the soft
drizzle, ponder the weight-bearing ability
of a wooden beam, or reflect on the nature
of particle distribution in a beam of light.
They will, I'm sure, look back on these
days with a certain wistfulness.
A UBC student's years are full of fast
learning and surprising experiences, life-
changing ideas and unexpected opportunities. Underscored as these are by the near-
constant patter of rain, it's no wonder we
grow just a little bit fond of the sound.
- Chris Petty, mfa'86, Editor
4   Trek   Fall 2004 UBC
NOTE
History Goes High Tech
]DThe next time you see an historical fragment at your local museum, look again. It
may be a laser reproduction. The Museum
of Anthropology is currently investigating
three-dimensional laser scanning as a way
to preserve and present bits of the past that
would otherwise be too delicate or too difficulty to show.
Bill McLennan, moa curator and projects
manager says the new technology allows
anthropologists to record information that is
in danger of being lost. It consists of a portable, tripod-mounted scanner that captures
a digital record of an object by measuring
and recording its surface in minute detail.
Researchers can then view an accurate, virtual, 3-D representation of the object from
any perspective on a computer screen. They
can also produce a 3-D plastic model with a
3-D laser printer.
Researchers have already scanned a mid-
I9tn century totem pole originating from
the Queen Charlotte Islands. The pole is in a
deteriorated condition, but the new technology can create an exact life-size model. "First
we get an exact wire mesh of the whole
piece, then we can lay on the skins [layers of
wood]," explains McLennan. "Working with
contemporary artists, we can determine what
the colours were in the 18 50s when it was
carved. We can also bisect the virtual pole at
any point and get an exact representation of
the thickness of the wood."
The technology can be employed hundreds
of metres away from the object and was
originally developed to view large buildings
and sites from a distance. It has recorded
cathedrals and castles, dinosaur bones and
the Statue of Liberty. The technology is noninvasive, an important consideration when
dealing with delicate artifacts or sensitive historical sites. Another advantage of the technology is that objects housed in museums can
be examined in detail without the observer
Plastic Totem Archeologists can now use high tech scanners to replicate objects for closer study
having to travel there - a bonus for researchers and students.
he moa worked in conjunction with the
Haida Nation on the pole-scanning project.
Lhey recognize the technology as a means
of preserving the past for future generations. "The poles in SGang Gwaay 'llnagaay
[Ninstints] are really on their last legs,"
says Guujaaw, president of the Council of
the Haida Nation and accomplished carver.
"In another decade they won't be here. Our
people want to let them finish their course."
McLennan is now seeking financial support
to digitally record Ninstints Village, a world
heritage site.
New-Fangled Watches
DDNot everything that's bigger is better. Some
things are smaller and smarter — including a
new microsensor developed at UBC that can
detect environmental pollutants. Its predecessor was a $10,000 contraption the size of a
Dhotograph   Martin Dee
Fall 2004   Trek   5 ACCOLADES   FOR   EXCELLENCE
TAKE NOTE
One of our university's most impressive
strengths is the talent of our faculty. We
have attracted the finest academics in
every field, and they are being recognized
by organizations around the world. Just
as significantly, they are being recognized
(^>..        by institutions right here at home.
The Royal Society of Canada, established in 1882, is this country's most
prestigious academy of scholars and scientists. Election to the Society means your
work has set the standard in your field, and that you are among
the country's academic elite. Last July five UBC faculty members
were elected to the Society: an hiv/aids researcher, an economist,
a geographer, an historian and a cancer researcher, showing once
again the impressive depth and breadth of our university. We now
have more than 150 Royal Society members among our faculty.
In the same month, five of our faculty members were named
to the Order of Canada for outstanding contributions to society
through their work in the Arts, the Sciences, Engineering, and the
Social Sciences.  More recently, UBC professors swept all five categories of the BC Innovation Council's annual awards. Other prestigious awards are won every year by dozens of UBC faculty members across the academic spectrum, from poets and archeologists to
physicists, novelists and engineers.  It would take a magazine the
size of Trek to list the national and international awards won by
our researchers and scholars.
The fact that our faculty earn such recognition is important for
our students (themselves major prizewinners on the national scene),
for our community and for our nation. It means our students will
learn from scholars and researchers judged to be the very best. It
means our community will benefit from the research conducted
by these scholars and from the spin-off companies some of this
research will create. It means our nation will become a world leader in innovation, invention and the creation of knowledge.
As UBC's reputation grows in Canada and abroad, we will
increasingly attract and recruit dynamic faculty. Success begets success: each new accolade pushes us farther up the ladder as a significant post-secondary institution, and tells the world that UBC is the
place to be.
Trek magazine presents stories about our faculty, as do many
other sources, including our website. I invite you to visit the site,
www.ubc.ca, and read about the amazing men and women who
are sharing their knowledge with our students today, and preparing
them to become the global leaders of tomorrow.
- Martha Piper, President, University of British Columbia
brick, but the new sensor is so small its developer, Winnie Chu, hopes
that in a few years time it could be worn like a wristwatch and cost
closer to $300.
Chu, a researcher at the university's new Centre for Health and
Environment, says that although the sensor is currently able to detect
only nitrogen dioxide, several sensors for detecting different
pollutants could be placed in one small device.
The principal application of the research is workplace safety. A
sensor worn by an individual (rather than one in a fixed position to
cover a certain area) may provide more pinpoint protection and a
faster warning to people working in potentially hazardous conditions.
The device could also be adapted for use by the general population in
measuring levels of smog or testing water for E.coli.
More Alzheimer's Research
QDNeuroscientist Weihong Song joined UBC's impressive army of
Alzheimer's researchers last summer from Harvard Medical School.
Born into a family of physicians in China, Song showed early
academic prowess and later worked at the prestigious West China
University of Medical Sciences, which contained China's first lab to
explore genetic causes in mental disorders such as schizophrenia. He
went to Purdue University in Indiana to pursue his Masters and then
to The Indiana School of Medicine for his phd, researching the causes
of Alzheimer's disease.
Song is optimistic about the potential for breakthroughs in this
area at UBC. "We're at the cutting edge of research. Pioneering work
is going on," he says.
Scientists have already established that a number of mutant genes
are implicated in inherited form of Alzheimer's, which accounts
for about 10 per cent of cases. Song, who has received a Canada
Foundation for Innovation grant to set up a new lab, is exploring
how these genes communicate and interact. He has already established that some of them are directly involved in the production of a
neurotoxic fragment, giving rise to the toxic amyloid beta protein that
is a cause of brain cell death. They also play a role in notch signaling,
a molecular mechanism that scientists speculate is involved in the
progression of diseases like Alzheimer's. "We see that there is a
relationship between these mutations and the disease but we don't
know the exact mechanisms - that's what I want to find out," says
Song, who also examines other factors associated with Alzheimer's
such as stroke and stress.
Song is a member of the recently opened Brain Research Centre,
a partnership between UBC and Vancouver Hospital and Health
Sciences Centre.
Early Warning Signs for Alzheimer's
Researchers examining mice genetically modified to develop a
disease similar to Alzheimer's have discovered an early symptom of
6   Trek   Fall 2004
Dhotograph: Paul Joseph the disease that they hope will also be evident in humans, leading to
early treatment intervention.
Led by Professor Wilfred Jefferies of the Biomedical Research
Centre, the researchers observed a gap in the mice's blood-brain
barrier that developed at a very early stage of disease progression. If
there is an equivalent symptom in humans, then Alzheimer's might
be diagnosable in people in their early 20s, which might lead to new
treatments to combat the disease at its earliest stages.
Amyloid plaques that develop on the brain are well established
symptoms of Alzheimer's in its later stages. In the mice, these plaques
did not develop until several months after the blood-brain barrier gaps
were observed. In humans this period translates to several decades.
Jefferies is now working on determining whether gaps in the blood-
brain barrier is a symptom of Alzheimer's in humans, and on finding
ways to repair the barrier, which protects the brain from bacteria and
disease.
Gone Today, Hair Tomorrow
By the time they hit 50, about half the male population and 20%
of women will experience hair thinning or baldness. But hair loss
isn't necessarily associated with middle age: about 20% of males in
their 20s are affected by it and a disease called alopecia areata, which
causes hair loss over the entire body, can affect men women or children.
Hair biology is an area of study with very few specialists, but the
department of Medicine's Dr. Kevin McElwee is one of them. He is
exploring hair cloning (slang for engineered hair growth) as a means
of reversing hair loss and believes that the process will be
commercially available within the next 10 years.
The process focuses on follicular cells located at the base of a
healthy hair follicle. These are removed from sample hairs then
multiplied in a laboratory. After being transplanted back into the
scalp, they continue to multiply and grow new hair. From a sample
of ten hairs, a few thousand can be generated. It isn't a new area of
research, but McElwee is the first to demonstrate comprehensively
how the cloning works. "Now that we have proof of how the process
works, we can accelerate the research toward creating a limitless
supply of hair - in effect, a cure for baldness," he says.
Sports Hall of Fame Inductees
□DFive UBC sporting heroes have been inducted into the university's
Sports Hall of Fame. John Turner, BA'49, LLD'94 was one of the
greatest sprinters in UBC history and one of Canada's three fastest men over the period 1947-1949. He qualified for Canada's 1948
Olympic trials only to be thwarted by injury. A popular, active
student, he was sports editor of the Ubyssey and graduated at age 19
with a Rhodes scholarship, later serving as prime minister.
Patrick McGeer, BA'48, MD'58, dsc'oo was Canada's premiere scorer in basketball during the late 40s, and a star on the team that
represented Canada at the 1948 Olympics. He was also an integral
part of the 1945/46 team, the first to win a us league championship.
TS?
ADVOCACY IMPORTANT ROLE  FOR ALUMNI
^^       The agreement between the Alumni
■k      Association and UBC to share delivery of
alumni services is now in effect. A direct ben-
TJfc    Jfc\   Wf     efit of this new relationship is our
ability to focus on one of our most
important functions as alumni: advocacy.
When a small group of alumni met in
■ 1917 to form the UBC Alumni Association,
Ithey were mostly interested in keeping in
touch with each other. But they also felt a
strong commitment to the well-being of the university. Scattered
around the Fairview Slopes in church basements and inadequate
buildings, the university needed new facilities to meet the
educational needs of BC students.
Early UBC alumni kept a constant flow of correspondence to
government members, urging them to restart construction of a
new UBC campus at Point Grey. By 1922 and the Great Trek,
the government of the day saw the wisdom of a strong post
secondary institution in BC and began to build the university.
Today, most elected BC government officials are university-
educated, and the majority of those hold degrees from BC
universities. Yet our province has one of the lowest per capita
ratios of available spaces to population in the country. Access
to many of our universities is limited to high school graduates
with only the highest marks, forcing many capable students to
down-grade their educational expectations, or move to universities in other provinces. Such limitations are not acceptable.
The current government is beginning to address this problem, promising to create an additional 25,000 seats by 2010.
The creation of UBC Okanagan is a good start to this process,
and one we heartily endorse. But more must be done, and the
Alumni Association, through the advocacy program, is working
with our MLAs to ensure accessibility to a post secondary
education remains a top-of-mind issue in the years to come.
You, as a graduate of UBC, can add your voice to those who
are encouraging government to increase support to post-
secondary education in BC. Talk to your local MLA and city or
town officials. Make sure they know how important our
universities are, both for our children and for the future of the
province.
Other important issues will need to be brought to the
attention of governments at all levels. Alumni, represented by an
autonomous Alumni Association, are often best suited to present these issues to our elected officials. We welcome your input,
advice and participation in this important program.
Jane Hungerford, BED'67
Chair, UBC Alumni Association.
Fall 2004   Trek   7 TAKE NOTE
McGeer, who served for many years as a provincial politician, is a renowned UBC scientist
and professor, specializing in brain research.
He received the Order of Canada in 1995.
Lisa (Nickle) Bond, BHK'94, BED'95, was
the sparkplug guard of UBC's early 1990's
basketball teams, and led the way to a first
victory in 19 years at the 1994 Canada
West Championships. Twice an academic
All-Canadian, she was top scorer in four out
of five years of play and holds both UBC
and Canadian Interuniversity Sport scoring
records,including the UBC record for most
points scored in one game.
Gail Wilson, mpe'8o, is one of the reasons UBC has seen success in field hockey
for the past several decades. She coached
16 seasons and guided the Blue & Gold to
seven West Coast titles and five National
Championships. She has won the Vancouver,
Canada West, CIS and Canadian Coach of
the Year awards and has coached Canada's
Olympic team. A respected teacher at UBC,
the CIS National Player of the Year Award is
named in her honour.
Bill Whyte, BED'54, was a unique two-
sport star at UBC. During the early 1950s,
he captained some of the university's finest
rugby teams and at the same time was the
showcase pitcher and respected playing coach
with UBC's baseball team (he pitched
professionally before enrolling at UBC). Cited
for his leadership and integrity as a student,
he received the Bobby Gaul Award and the
Honorary Activities Award. (Thanks to Fred
Hume, UBC Athletics historian.)
Wiley Coyotes
QDCoyotes have demonstrated an amazing
versatility in adapting to human surroundings. But as the population of coyotes on the
Lower Mainland increases (it now stands at
about 2,000), so do encounters with humans.
And despite the abundance of food urban
areas present to them, coyotes have been
known to stalk and attack pets and children.
Lhey have exhibited a great deal of boldness,
attacking small children even when adults
Famous brain researcher Pat McGeer
was also a star basketball player in the 1940s. He
has been inducted into UBC's Sports Hall of Fame
were very close by. One unnerving example
involved a coyote attacking a 14-month old
baby in a front garden on W 22n" Ave, just
a few feet away from her gardening mother.
Lhe coyote bit the baby before the mother
was able to drive it away.
Coyote attacks on children in the Lower
Mainland were the subject of research
recently undertaken by undergrads under
the supervision of Nicholas Carr, head of
UBC's division of Plastic Surgery and Wendy
Cannon, research coordinator. The team
discovered that to a large extent, the public
has little appreciation of the risk posed by
coyotes. It determined that public warnings
are required to prevent people feeding
coyotes or allowing them easy access to garbage or pet food.
The Chips are Down for Fish
Where have all the Fraser River sockeye
salmon gone? The fish have been dying in
droves before being able to spawn, seriously
threatening the river's salmon fishery. Part of
the phenomenon involves the fishes' deviance
from normal behaviour patterns. In 1995, scientists first noticed that many late-run sockeye were heading from the Strait of Georgia
up the Fraser towards their spawning grounds
four to six weeks earlier than usual. "This
wouldn't have been a big problem except that
they seemed to be dying in really high numbers - up to 95 per cent of the total run in
some years," says Forestry Sciences professor
Scott Hinch who heads the research group.
UBC and SFU researchers think they are close
to being able to explain why.
Their theory is two-fold. First, they hypothesized that a kidney parasite (Parvicapsula)
at the mouth of the Fraser had a part to play
in killing the fish. (Salmon rely on healthy
kidneys for their adjustment to fresh water.)
Although the parasite attacks all fish heading
up the Fraser, it only appeared to trouble the
early migrants. This discrepancy, the scientists
thought, could be explained by the difference
in water temperature between August and
September. The warmer August temperatures
might be acting as a catalyst for the parasitic
infection, causing it to have a more detrimental affect on the kidneys of early arrivals.
Subsequent observations lent credence to the
hypothesis; researchers operating on salmon
to insert radio transmitters noticed that the
early migrants bled a lot. Further investigation
revealed poor clotting and high levels of ions,
a clear sign of kidney malfunction. "What it
also means is that fish could be bleeding to
death during their migration if they get any
small nick or cut," says Hinch.
The second part of the theory concerns the
cause of the early migration, and it came from
the Institute of Ocean Sciences on Vancouver
Island. In carrying out surveys of the Strait
of Georgia, colleagues at the institute noticed
pockets of low-salinity water not previously
present. Salmon usually stay in the Strait for
several weeks before heading to the Fraser,
but researchers suggested that if the fish
entered areas of low-salinity water, the process that allows them to adapt to fresh water
might be triggered too early, driving the fish
to the Fraser ahead of schedule.
The researchers have other hypotheses still
to test, but have already gained much insight.
This, together with the fact that the past two
Trek   Fall 2004 years have seen an increase in normal behaviour among late-run sockeye, gives Hinch
hope for the future of these fish.
The project is funded by the Natural
Sciences and Engineering Research Council
of Canada with support from the Pacific
Salmon Commission and Fisheries and
Oceans Canada.
Hot Flashes
Estrogen therapy has been used by many
women to combat symptoms of menopause.
Some have used estrogen alone; others who
have not had hysterectomies have used
estrogen combined with low doses of
synthetic progesterone (Progestin) to help
prevent uterine cancer.
Research released in July 2002 has
connected combined HRT therapy with
heightened risk of serious health problems:
pulmonary embolism, heart attack, stroke
and breast cancer. Results for using estrogen
alone also indicated an increased risk of
stroke. (The studies covered one particular
dosage level of HRT in pill form.) Fearing that
the risks of HRT outweigh the benefits, many
women stopped using the therapy. Without it,
many are left to cope with menopausal symptoms, such as hot flashes and night sweats,
which can last for years.
But there may be an alternative in the
horizon. UBC researchers are testing a
manufactured, plant-based hormone,
Prometrium, on these symptoms with the
help of a group of 60 women, some of whom
will take Prometrium and some a placebo.
Principal investigator professor Jerilyn
Prior and colleague Christine Hitchcock
of the Centre for Menstrual Cycle and
Ovulation Research (part of UBC's
department of Medicine and the Vancouver
Coastal Health Research Institute) also want
to test this natural oral progesterone's affect
on cholesterol, blood pressure, blood sugar
and weight gain. "We want to be able to give
women a choice and a more targeted therapy
for hot flashes," says Hitchcock. "Also, this
study will provide important information
about the effects of progesterone alone on
cardiovascular health."
To find out more about the research, visit
www.cemcor.ubc.ca.
Treatment for Obsessive Eaters
Prader-Willi syndrome (pws) is characterized by a feeling of insatiable hunger and
obsessive eating, and results in obesity that
can lead to major medical problems such as
diabetes and heart disease. It is an unbeatable genetic disorder that affects about one in
15,000 people worldwide. Other symptoms
include behavioural problems and impaired
cognitive development. People with pws
require constant supervision around food. The
condition is severe enough to compel them to
rummage though trash for food, or to steal it.
Clinical professor of Pediatrics Jean Pierre
Chanoine is breaking ground in the fight to
find a treatment for the condition by testing
a new appetite suppressant. This long-acting
form of octreotide can counter the affects
of the appetite-stimulating hormone ghrelin,
only recently discovered and present at three-
to-five times the normal levels in people with
pws. The research involves ten patients with
pws, aged 10-17. Some will be administered
octreotide and others a placebo. The trial will
last for a year.
Chanoine is head of the Endocrinology and
Diabetes unit at BC Children's Hospital and
a member of the BC Research Institute for
Children's and Women's Health.
Pass the Glade, Please
DDBecause it exacerbates respiratory problems, indoor air pollution (which can reach
higher levels of concentration than that
found outdoors) presents a worrying health
problem. Tobacco smoke, chemical cleaners,
allergens from pets and dust mites, modern
construction materials, carpets, and paint
are just some of the culprits that reduce air
quality. The problem is compounded by the
fact that Canadians spend the vast majority
of their time indoors, mostly in their homes,
and by building protocols of the 1970s that
(in the face of an energy crisis) focused on
the reduction of energy use, at the expense
of good ventilation, giving rise to damp and
mould.
Grad student Wellington Spetic from
the faculty of Forestry wanted to find out
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Fall 2004   Trek  9 TAKE NOTE
exactly how much Canadians know about
healthy housing, and what impressions they
have regarding indoor environmental quality. According to his survey of 800 Canadian
households, a majority of Canadians are well
aware of the concept of healthy housing.
Furthermore, many of them are willing to
invest in it.
Wood from sustainably managed forests
is a building material that could satisfy this
demand for healthy and environmentally
sound housing. "Wood is the ecologically
responsible material to be used in
applications like houses," says Wood Sciences
professor Robert Kozak, Spetic's project
advisor. "It's renewable, it's recyclable and
it's long-lasting when homes are properly
designed."
But Canada's wood product companies
appear to be a little behind. "There seems to
be a clear disconnect between producers and
the marketplace. There may be an
opportunity there that's being missed," says
Kozak, who is currently leading research into
the positive psychological impacts of wood
products in the home.
Although the survey showed a generally
Can I OU Open a Door for UBC Students?
v
CeciLi Chen think; v*. "Dq.tc-.is .have supported me and mj> pecs, throughout
our university careers — it motes me proud that I can give uuhile I'm. j.till a
student:" During the past year. Cecilia and other student volunteer Jtaised
more than $A?ftQO froml.,42-5 undergraduate student!, ior various projects
around campus. There is a Chin.t« proverb that Cecilia impJements into her
life: "li you uuint happiness for an hoiiL, tale a nap; if you uuant happiness for
a lifetime, Aflfj*- jorwaowfl." With donors lite Cecilia, neuu doors- uuill continue
to fly open for UB C itudenti.
To find out more about supporting students, please contact the UBC
Development Office. Tel fi£W-822.-9?O0  Email: info.req uestSt upporting. ubc.ca
THE   UNIVERSITY   OF   EiRITISH   COLUMEMA   |   VANCOUVER
w ww. su pporti n 3. u bc. i*
positive response to the use of wood
products, respondents also feared wood might
be expensive and expressed concern about
sustainability issues. With consumer education
and targeted marketing, healthy housing might
prove a healthy market and a win-win situation
for wood companies and consumers.
The Healthy House Survey of Canadian
Households was funded by philanthropist Akira
Yamaguchi, whose building company, KST-
Hokkaido is based on a philosophy of healthy
housing.
UBC Recreation the Best in Canada
UBC's intramural programs have long been
the envy of other Canadian universities. Our
students, it seems, run, jump, swim and
generally participate in sports in higher numbers
than in schools elsewhere. Over the past year,
intramural registration has increased by 20 per
cent to 22,500 participants; noon runs
participants have grown 46 per cent to more
than 1,800; and 100 teams registered for Storm
the Wall.
Even more significant is the fact that
students who get physical also get higher marks.
Last year, 1,700 (30 per cent) first-year students
got involved in intramurals. Their GPAs
averaged 70.74 per cent compared to 68.51
per cent for non participants. As well, 62 per
cent of first year participants had a higher than
mean GPA, while 59 per cent had a GPA above
the overall UBC average.
Now, the intramural program has combined
with UBC Active Living to form UBC REC. The
new organization will coordinate intramural
leagues (10,000 students involved last year),
events (11,000), tournaments, the Bird Coop
fitness programs, outdoor recreation and
instruction programs such as yoga, dance and
martial arts.
UBC REC has also established a scholarship
in honour of Nestor Korchinsky, who is credited with laying the foundation for intramurals
at UBC. For more information,
contact visit the website www.rec.ubc.ca/
alumni/support/index.cfm
More BC Doctors in the House
UBC's school of Medicine has increased its
intake of first year students for the first time in
10   Trek   Fall 2004 20 years.
In an historic agreement with the
University of Northern British Columbia and
the University of Victoria, two groups of 24
UBC medical students will transfer to the two
universities to complete their four-year program. The new MDs, counted as graduates of
UBC, will do their residencies in rural
communities in northern BC and the Island,
then be free to practice where they choose.
However, as associate dean Dr. Joanna Bates
says, "Medical graduates tend to stay and
work close to where they are trained." The
result should be a net gain in medical
practitioners in BC's smaller communities.
The new model of medical training, called
the Distributed Learning Program, has been
many years in the making, and is a response
to the fact that BC ratio of medical school
places to population is the lowest in Canada.
BC needs about 400 new doctors every year,
but only 128 graduate from the medical
school. The shortfall is partially made up of
doctors moving here from other provinces,
but BC experiences a chronic shortage of
doctors, especially in the rural regions. The
first expanded class will graduate in 2008.
Mood Disorders Clinic
People who suffer from certain mood disorders, such as bipolar disorder, can suffer for
years before an accurate diagnosis is arrived
at and appropriate treatment
provided. Another disorder, depression,
accounts for a high percentage of work
absenteeism and leads to suicide attempts
in 15 per cent of severe cases. Yet, properly
diagnosed and treated, depression is a manageable disease.
The newly opened Mood Disorders Centre
of Excellence at UBC Hospital hopes to
improve timeliness of diagnosis, and introduce new methods of assessment and treatment. Part of the Vancouver Coastal Health
Research Institute, the centre "will offer
research and patient care with a 'bench-to-
bedside' approach focusing on rapid
translation of research into improved care,"
says Dr. Alison Buchan, associate dean,
Research, with the faculty of Medicine.
Thanks to donations from BC credit unions
Call for Nominations
For the position of
Chancellor of The University of British Columbia
For eleven representatives of the Alumni of UBC to serve as
Convocation members of the UBC Senate
Nomination forms and information
about these positions may be obtained by contacting:
UBC Election Services
Enrolment Services, Brock Hall
2016-1874 East Mall
Vancouver, B.C., Canada, V6T 1Z1
Tel: 604-822-9952
E-mail: eric.smith@ubc.ca
The close of nominations
will be 4:00 pm on Friday, December 3, 2004.
FACULTY OF ARTS
UBC KILLAM TEACHING PRIZES
Once again the University is recognizing excellence in teaching through the
awarding of prizes to faculty members.  Five (5) prize winners will be selected
in the Faculty of Arts for 2005.
Eligibility:  Eligibility is open to faculty who have three or more years of
teaching at UBC. The three years include 2004 - 2005.
Criteria: The awards will recognize distinguished teaching at all levels; introductory, advanced, graduate courses, graduate supervision, and any combination of levels.
Nomination Process: Members of faculty, students, or alumni may suggest candidates to the Head of the Department, the Director of the School,
or Chair of the Program in which the nominee teaches. These suggestions
should be in writing and signed by one or more students, alumni or faculty,
and they should include a very brief statement of the basis for the nomination.
You may write a letter of nomination or pick up a form from the Office of the
Dean, Faculty of Arts in Buchanan B130.
Deadline: 4:00 p.m. on January 17, 2005.  Submit nominations to the
Department, School or Program Office in which the nominee teaches.
Winners will be announced in the Spring, and they will be identified during
Spring convocation in May.
For further information about these awards contact either your Department,
Fall 2004   Trek   11 Garry Oak  Experiments with the nature of invasive plants will help preserve Garry Oak stands like this one on Vancouver Island
and pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca,
the centre is able to offer two main programs
of treatment for depression and bipolar
disorder. Among treatments tackling depression is a program called ReCHORD (Relief of
Chronic or Resistant Depression), combining
approaches such as psychotherapy,
occupational therapy and expert medication management. For bi-polar disorder, one
important program focuses on early diagnosis
and intervention: The Systematic Treatment
Optimization Program in Early Mania
(stop-em) is based on thorough clinical
assessments, neuropsychology and
neuroimaging, as well as pharmacological and
psychosocial therapies. It aims to
intervene accurately and effectively during, or
shortly after, a first instance of mania.
Wither the Garry Oak
]DThe devastating forest fires in BC in the
summer of 2003 and the heat wave of this
past summer have instilled a strong awareness
of the threat of fire in the province's
12   Trek   Fall 2004
residents. No doubt they would have been
horrified to witness UBC researcher Andrew
MacDougall torch some areas of the
Cowichan Garry Oak Preserve, this summer
- a ritual he has performed for the past five
years.
But MacDougall is no eco-arsonist. The
preserve represents a rare, diverse ecosystem,
and he is conducting controlled experiments
to find out if low-intensity fire can improve
the regeneration of native plants such as
the yellow prairie violet and the white-top
aster. He wants to understand the impact of
non-native species. As well as the threat they
present to native plants, they also provide a
great deal of fire fodder, hence increasing the
risk of a forest fires.
The idea of using controlled fire was first
employed by First Nations people. Research
by MacDougall and colleagues at uvic shows
that First Nations people used burning to
manage the cultivation of food supplies.
Their method also had the benefit of
encouraging growth of native grasses to
attract deer and elk.
MacDougall, who recently completed his
phd under the supervision of botany professor
Roy Turkington, has already seen results, with
some rare plants beginning to thrive in areas
that have been fire managed. The research has
also yielded some surprising information. "At
first glance, the high abundance of invasive
plants suggests that they drive biodiversity
decline," says MacDougall. "However, our
research has also revealed a hidden but
significant impact of habitat fragmentation
on the ability of native species to recolonize
invaded areas. Because exotics [introduced
species] thrive in our highly developed,
contemporary landscapes, they can dominate by default rather than competition even
though their dominance suggests otherwise."
The experiments are likely to continue for
another five years. The Nature Conservancy is
copying MacDougall's techniques in an effort
to support native species. "Rather than a
carpet of exotic grasses punctuated by one
wildflower, what we want to achieve is a
carpet of native wildflowers," says director,
Tim Ennis. > IDEAS
The craft of creative writing at UBC
"Do you want to know how to write a
book by Christmas?" George McWhirter,
retiring head of Creative Writing once
asked Laisha Rosnau. A Master of Fine
Arts candidate in the Creative Writing program at UBC, Rosnau was seven months
from graduating and had only 2.0 pages
of her thesis written. "Get up at 5 am and
don't do anything; don't make coffee or
read the paper or have breakfast. Sit at
your desk and write," was her teacher's
advice. Not exactly the magical secret one
would expect to hear passed on in the
respected program, one that has produced
some of Canada's most successful writers.
But sage, practical advice.
"I didn't get up that early," confesses
Rosnau mfa'oo. "But I did get up at 6
or 7 am and wrote to a word count each
day." She completed a thesis draft in
February 2000, graduated in May and
had a book deal by September. That thesis became her first published novel, The
Sudden Weight of Snow.
UBC's MFA in Creative Writing is the
only masters-level writing program in
Canada, and is regarded by many as one
of the best in North America. It all began
with Tarle Birney, the author of more than
20 books and recipient of two Governor
General's Awards in poetry, who agreed to
teach Tnglish at his alma mater in 1946
if "I can have one course I can believe in,
the first stone in a little shelter for the
creative student naked in academia." He
got his course, and UBC became the first
Canadian university to give credit for
BY JOHN VIGNA
Screen capture: Chris Dan
^Documentl
m
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■    ■    ■    ■* creative writing. It became a department
of its own in 1965. Today, the Globe and
Mail calls the program a "hothouse of
literary talent" and the department attracts
scores of eager applicants from around
the world. In 2004, nearly 200 writers
applied for one of the 25 seats available.
MFA grads have won or been nominated
for every major literary award in Canada
including the Giller Prize, the Governor
General's Award and the CBC Literary
Awards. Seven of the Vancouver Sun's
(June 2000) Ten Most Vaunted Writers
were students or grads of the UBC program. But despite its success,
little is known about how such a small
department produces so many outstanding
writers.
Rosnau graduated in 2000/2001 with
a wave of now published UBC writers,
a group that included Madeline Thien
supportive atmosphere. It offers a chance
for students to be as much part of the
learning process as the teachers themselves. Each workshop is limited to 12
students in one specific genre. Students
receive each other's work in advance,
enabling them to read critically and offer
thoughtful comments. "You're with a
group of sensitive, creative people," says
Bill Gaston mfa'8i, Giller Prize nominee for his short story collection Mount
Appetite. "You get a whole swash of
colourful people discussing your work
and offering you ways to improve it.
I needed a lot of help in my work; the
feedback from my peers was invaluable."
The workshop's success depends partly
on the tone set by the instructor - usually
congenial and mutually respectful - but
real success depends on the students
themselves, how well they work together
our opinions and add that to the discussion."
One unique feature of the program
is its multiple-genre requirement. To be
admitted, writers must submit a portfolio
to show ability in at least three of the
eight working genres: fiction, poetry, non-
fiction, writing for children, writing for
the stage, translation, writing for radio,
and the most recent addition, song lyric
and libretto. UBC's is the only multiple-
genre program in North America.
"Nobody is copying our three-genre
approach," says Schroeder. "That puzzles
me. I think it's one of the open secrets of
our success. If you're going to make a living as a writer, you need a lot of irons in
the fire."
As a result of the three-genre approach,
students entering the program with a
strong ambition for writing in one partic-
Unlike creative writing programs elsewhere, UBC's master's program has no academic component: no textbooks, no academic
(Simple Recipes), Steven Galloway (Finnie
Walsh; Ascension), Nancy Lee (Dead
Girls), Rick Maddocks (Sputnik Diner)
and Lee Henderson (The Broken Record
Technique).
Despite the publishing achievement
among classmates, the atmosphere within
the program is supportive rather than
competitive.
"Students come to us looking for a community of writers," says Peggy Thompson,
the program's chair. "They support each
other, share their praise and criticisms,
their news, contract details. It's really
incredible."
Rosnau recalls the closeness that she felt
towards her classmates, several of whom
are her best friends today. "We were all
working towards the same thing, working
without any guarantees, all for the love of
writing. Everything seemed possible. I felt
part of the success of others. I took their
success as a possibility for me."
The program's use of a workshop
ormat is a major factor in creating a
and how honest they are in their comments to each other. "It's important to
know the people well in a workshop,"
says Steven Galloway mfa'oi. "It's a very
personal experience. For a writer to be
told that their story is fatally flawed is an
intimate thing."
"The workshop is very much a two-
way process," says Thompson. "You have
to enjoy the process to enjoy the program. Sometimes we feel as though the
students teach each other."
What then, are the roles of teachers
in a workshop? With the depth of talent
and commitment of students who enter
the program, the teachers' primary focus
is on enabling and facilitating. "We're at
the most exciting place in a writer's life,
before they start publishing, where the
learning potential is at its maximum,"
says Andreas Schroeder, BA'70, MFA'72
a tenured professor of non-fiction and
graduate of the program. "We don't teach
students. They are open for the learning
and can take huge risks. We give them
ular genre may leave it more interested in
another genre. Steven Galloway entered
as a playwright and left as a novelist.
Galloway published Finnie Walsh shortly
after graduation and recently published
his second novel, Ascension. "I wanted
to be a playwright until my first year in
grad school," he says. "But my
experience with Brave New Playwrights
(an extracurricular option) changed my
mind. I realized that I wasn't interested
enough in theatre to continue pursuing it
seriously." According to Peggy Thompson
- a screenwriter and producer, as well as
program chair - the three-genre requirement influences and instructs a student's
writing. "Taking the rules of one genre
and applying them to another enriches
the form. The more
fluent you become, the better your work
becomes. In the end, it's all storytelling."
The program, of course, is about writing itself, regardless of the genre. "It's a
process of writing, editing and revising,"
says Thompson. Unlike creative writing
14   Trek   Fall 2004 programs elsewhere, UBC's master's
program has no academic component: no
textbooks, no academic essays, no exams.
Course work is made up of writing,
reading (and critiquing) the work of other
students, and rewriting.
One criticism of the program is that it
produces homogenized writers that
follow an ideology or prescribed style.
This longstanding criticism is closely tied
to the debate over whether writing can
be taught in a classroom. It's one that
makes creative writing program supporters bristle.
"We're primarily writers, not academics," says Schroeder who himself has
published more than 20 books of poetry,
fiction, non-fiction and, more recently,
young adult fiction. "We are writers who
love to teach, not teachers who write.
When ideology precedes practice, when-
wonderful writers in all of our genres,"
says Thompson. "We can't stop students
from being published and we don't want
to. It's not uncommon for a faculty member to introduce a student to his or her
editor or agent as a way to help them."
Schroeder takes this further: "This
whole notion of people writing for themselves is an antiquated notion. It's almost
hypocritical. If writing is such an
important part of their life, or if they
want to earn a living from it, then why
wouldn't a student be seeking publication? And what better place for them to
come and learn the ins and outs of the
industry so that they can find a way in. I
think some people get uneasy about
publishing because they are talking about
taking a contemplative activity like
writing and driving it into a competitive
arena."
qualified applicants it turns away each
year? One alternative being considered
is an online MFA program. Andrew Gray
mfa'96 is a sessional instructor in the
program and responsible for developing a
pilot online MFA. Gray feels that creative
writing is an excellent fit for distance
education, accommodating both students
and instructors from all over the world.
"There are a lot of people out there who
can't take two years out of their lives to
relocate for a full-time program," he says.
A pilot course in fiction is currently
in progress and a second pilot course is
planned for the fall. If all goes well the
department hopes to have the online MFA
running by 2005. It will be an alternative
means of delivery only and the
curriculum will remain the same. Gray
feels that the online program might
actually be a better form of feedback for
essays, no exams. Course work is made up of writing, reading (and critiquing) the work of other students, and rewriting.
ever ideology pushes writing, the writing
suffers. None of us promotes one way of
writing. Students have a lot of flexibility
and room to grow creatively."
Annabel Lyon MFA'96 entered the program to "figure out if I was any good at
writing." Lyon's first book, Oxygen
(published in 2000) received critical
acclaim for its highly stylized and well-
crafted stories. Lyon fears that the MFA
tag is open to misperception. "I worry
that it's a cookie-cutter thing. What do
people think they know about me as
a writer just because I went to UBC?
When you compare the styles of writers
like Steve Galloway, Lee Henderson and
Nancy Lee, you really see how disparate
their styles are."
Another criticism of the program is
that it is publication-focused not writing-focused. This kind of criticism is
understandable, agree Thompson and
Schroeder, but it comes from outside the
program and is blown out of proportion.
"There's been a wave of fantastically
Raincoast Books is a national publisher
based in Vancouver. It's published more
than half a dozen MFA grads in the last
five years. According to Lynn Henry,
associate publisher and fiction editor,
"UBC's program has always produced
excellent writers who are fairly savvy
about the book industry." With new writers, Henry looks for "a distinctive voice,
talent and an
ability to develop an ongoing relationship. If they're from the MFA program,
then we pay close attention."
Understandably there's a whiff of
competition from other schools seeking to
imitate UBC's success. SFU and the
universities of Victoria and Waterloo are
rumoured to be considering an MFA
program. Next year the University of
Toronto will offer an master's degree with
an option in creative writing. So how
does a successful program like UBC's
grow into the future?
The real question is what can UBC
do to accommodate the hundreds of
writers and teachers. "Online is a better
mode of expression for writers," he says.
"It can create stronger, more in-depth
discourse for all involved."
In addition to the online program, the
department is considering an independent
school (separate from UBC) of creative
writing to offer more undergraduates the
chance to study writing. "This would help
us reach more students across
campus," says Peggy Thompson.
Currently, there are few openings for
undergraduates enrolled in other
programs who would like to take courses
in creative writing as options.
Ultimately, the program is and has
always been about writing and that is
where its future lies. Did Earle Birney
ever anticipate when he cobbled together
that first fledgling workshop, naked in
academia, that almost forty years later a
critically acclaimed author like Annabel
Lyon would say of the program, "It made
me a better writer" ? As Thompson puts
it, "We've grown from a program nobody
Fall 2004   Trek   15 A   FOREST PATH
A SHORT STORY BY BILL GASTON
The cougar was waiting for me part way up
a maple tree in which it was uncomfortably
balanced...
- Malcolm Lowry,
"The Forest Path to the Spring"
Unlike the above epigraph, this is not a
fiction. I have a distrust, a fear, a hatred of
fiction, and I have my reasons. You might
find these reasons colourful. The first example I'll give should suffice: my middle name is
Lava, this the result of having had an eccentric and literary lush for a mother.
I have things to say on other subjects, but
this has primarily to do with Malcolm Lowry,
Dollarton's most famous man. You'll find I
can speak with authority here, one of my
credentials being that I grew up not more
than one hundred yards from Dollarton
Beach, the very place Lowry had his shack,
wrote Under the Volcano, lived with M—,
drank himself cat-eyed, and all the rest. As
concerning all famous people, one hears
contradictory "facts."
The first "fact" is this. It is said that
Lowry's first shack, containing his only
complete draft of Volcano, all his possessions,
etc., was accidentally consumed by fire. It
is said he was consequently overcome with
despair but proceeded, using his vast reserves
of memory and imagination, to write an
improved draft. None of this is correct.
The true facts are that, one, in a drunken
rage, his feet bandaged, Lowry burned his
shack on purpose, having cut his feet too
many times on the broken glass which
glittered all around it. He was in the habit of
disposing of his empty gin bottles out a
window with but a flick of the wrist and,
you see, it was time to relocate. (If you want
proof, bus fare to Dollarton will give you
proof. The glass is still there, and children still
cut their feet.) And, fact two: while a draft
of Volcano was destroyed, it was a draft that
embarrassed him. The three other drafts were
scattered around the parlors of Dollarton's
sparse literati. My mother had one.
I will push on with my account now,
confident that I need supply no further proof.
But I should add that not only do I abstain
from alcohol as resolutely as I eschew
spinning fictions, I hold no tolerance for
those who indulge in either. It amazes me that
men like Malcolm Lowry are ever believed,
let alone admired, at all. When, head in
hands, he announced that morning to the
various fishermen, neighbours, and squatters, "My god, my home is gone! My book is
burned! But at least M— and I are alive!" he
no doubt looked wretched and despairing. To
be fair, how could his audience have known
the truth? It was easy for Lowry to look
wretched and despairing when he was in fact
hungover and ashamed. But I have to ask,
why would anyone ever believe one whose
profession was to weave yarns on paper?
One who tried to lie and lie well? One whose
voice all day was but a dry run for grander
lies spawned with purple ink later that night
in the name of art? Add to that his drinking.
Lowry was incapable of telling the truth.
Perhaps I should feel sorry for him. I don't.
While living in Dollarton, Lowry wrote a
story, "The Forest Path to the Spring." It was
published posthumously, by M—. The story is
a rather long, rambling affair, and while some
of it is a lie, much of it is not, and so I recommend it to those who must read. In fact, it is
perhaps the closest Lowry came to not lying,
for the mistruths found in it are not so much
lies per se as they are drunken
inaccuracies. I'd like to rectify some of them.
The story involves his life in Dollarton, his
life on the beach with the inlet fronting him
and the dripping coastal forest pressing at his
back. I find it a very nostalgic experience each
time I read it, and I have read it many times.
(Again, I have my reasons.) Lowry describes
the unfurling of sword ferns, the damp
promise of a forest at sunrise. The dutiful tides
of Indian Arm, the rich, fish-rank croaks of
gulls and herons, the smell of shattered cedar,
the sacred light in a dewdrop reflecting the
sun, the mysterious light in a dewdrop
reflecting the moon. He describes creeks and
trails I myself know well. He dived off rocks
that I and my friends once used for the same
purpose. And, more, he mentions in passing
the elementary school I attended as a child
(where no one knew my middle name); he
describes the tiny cafe where I bought greasy
lunchtime fries for a dime after having thrown
away one of my mother's inedible eccentric
sandwiches.
Again, it is a rambling story, its focus hard
to find. Love, perhaps. He tells of his love for
midnight walks through the forest, his love
for fetching crystal mountain water from the
spring, his love of dawn plunges off his porch,
his love of M—, his love of life. We know
that last one is a bald lie. He hated life, which
is why he drank, and why he created a lying
life on paper. In any case, the story's climax
of sorts occurs one fateful day in the woods
when a cougar leaps out of a tree across his
path. He is startled, awestruck, petrified. And
in what amounts to a none other than cosmic
revelation he learns that his Eden, his forest
haven-of-a-life, has on its outer edges forces
of amorality and destruction. He discovers, it
16   Trek   Fall 2004 Mom, for instance, wanted to be a mad poet.
At the start, she was neither, and by the end she was only mad.
Dhotograph: Getty Images
Fall 2004   Trek   17 seems for the first time, that a rose has thorns.
Critics cluck like sympathetic hens and suggest that what we have here is a classic hidden
theme, one which reveals no less than a genius
admitting to a suicidal battle with the bottle.
The cougar! What a bitter laugh! All of it!
Before I explain why I am laughing, I want
to discuss my mom. Rather, memories of my
late mother. Her name was Lucy, and she was
unmarried. If there are two kinds of eccentric—one who doesn't try to be eccentric, and
one who does—my mother was the latter.
People tend to dislike her kind, withdrawing
from their reek of fakery. And since my
mother's kind choose their eccentricities, their
choices tend to be exaggerations of qualities
they admire. Mom, for instance, wanted to be
a mad poet. At the start, she was neither, and
by the end she was only mad.
In Dollarton in the Forties it was most
unattractive to dress up in flour sacks, mauve
scarves, bangles, and canary-yellow hats. To
spout bad poetry in public was abhorrent. This
was Mom's choice. Dollarton was at the time
a huddled collection of sulking fishermen and
poor squatters, and though my mother had
a captive audience she had few fans. Perhaps
they could smell her self-consciousness; perhaps they noticed her eyes lacked that electrified blankness of the true eccentric. And while
you may think what you want of her, she was
but the tactless extrovert, a bucolic extension
of the loud woman in the turquoise kaftan,
and harmless. The harm set in when she began
drinking. I see one cause of her drinking to be
identical to that of that man who lived one
hundred yards down the beach from her: an
over-active imagination and no appreciative
fans. For Lowry was at that time in no way
famous.
I gather these facts from years of researching my personal history. My sources are the
aforementioned fishermen and squatters. When
they speak of my mother they speak kindly
but apologetically. They hadn't liked her, and
I can see in their faces their embarrassment. I
am tempted to ease their pain and tell them I
not only didn't like her much either, I detested
her. And loved her, in the intense and awful
way reserved for only sons. To
illustrate: not long after she died I tried to
read her poetry, and while I read for only ten
minutes, I hyperventilated for twenty. It was
dreadful poetry, revealing an embarrassing
mind. But only I who loved her so much have
the right to hate her so much.
I don't know if Lowry liked my mother or
not. I have gathered that it was she who took
to him first, if he took to her at all. She must
have seen him there on Dollarton Beach,
looking slyly Slavic-eyed, yet burping and
twitching like a lunatic in the hot noon sun.
He would have been as naked as legally
possible, for in the early days he was proud
of his build. Mother would have known he
was a writer. She must have thought: At last!
Another sparkling mind! I believe she first
tried to attract his attention in the local bar,
where it's reported she attempted (successfully) to buy him drinks. I don't know what
M—, secure in her childlike love for him, must
have made of that. And it's said she would
sometimes flag him down in the streets, the
trails, on the beach. Perhaps she'd borrow a
canoe and arrange to accidentally bump bows
out on the inlet. I can picture her trying to
impress him. My spine creeps as I envision her
passing a lime-green scarf over her unblinking
Mata Hari gaze. Having caught his eye, my
mother now goes for his mind and, with that
flaccid flare of spontaneity-rehearsed-for-days,
she points to the sun and cries laughing, "The
moon! The moon!" (I believe my mother was
capable of little more than cheap paradox.
I also believe she was the last person of this
century who held alliteration to be somehow
profound. Not long before she died she said to
me, in that awesome hoarse whisper of hers,
"Meeting Malcolm melted my mind.")
I suspect that you share my embarrassment.
But I would also hope you are coming to
understand my loathing for imagination, and
writers, and fiction, and drink. If not, keep an
open mind. My sole purpose here is to free
the steel blade of truth about Lowry from the
paste-jeweled scabbard of fable that now hides
it. I can assure you I'm not denigrating Mom
here for pleasure.
So I doubt that Lowry liked my mother
much, unless he was a bigger fool that I
imagine. His writing demands that I admit
he, unlike my mother, at least possessed sub
tlety. Perhaps fleeting genius; clarity in bursts
(burps). Whatever the case, how my mother got
hold of his manuscript is unclear. It could be
that, like an adult relenting at last and giving
candy to a brat, Lowry handed over a copy so
she would go away. He likely thought it would
take a woman like Lucy a full year to sift
through such a book as Volcano, but he was
wrong. No, in Mom's words, she
"communed with his mind for twenty-three
hours straight," and finished it. And her
"communion" with him proved to be the
beginning of her end. For my mother, whose
mind's sole ambition was to snap colourfully,
Lowry's fiction, his obsessive flowery
pain-packed verbiage, was the necessary nudge.
It was on the day following Mom's twenty-
three hour binge that the Event—and my
reason for writing this—took place.
The Event has to do with the story, "The
Forest Path to the Spring," specifically with
the cougar the narrator saw. As I mentioned,
he was out collecting water from the spring,
looked up, and there was the cougar. He
describes the encounter at great length. Again,
it was "uncomfortably balanced" in the tree.
It was "caught off guard or off balance," and
then "jumped down clumsily." But it was
"sobered and humiliated by my calm voice"
and it "slunk away guiltily into the bushes."
There is more, much more. Page upon page
about the cougar, Lowry's fear of it, his
thoughts about his fear, his thoughts about
these thoughts, his clinging passionately to
M— all through the ensuing night, shaking and
having tremulous sex together in the knowledge that Danger Lurks.
That cougar made quite an impression on
him. However, I'd like to draw your attention
to his summation of the encounter, which was
that it was so weird apparition that "an instant
later it was impossible to believe he'd ever been
there at all." Having done so, I'll simply come
out with it: That was no cougar. That was my
mom.
I sometimes wonder just how drunk a man
can get. I think about that as I try year by year
to understand the man Malcolm Lowry.
Wandering Dollarton Beach (or Cates Park
as it's come to be called) again this week, along
18   Trek   Fall 2004 the path that is now proclaimed by sign to be
Malcolm Lowry Walk, I took a good steady
look. A sober look. I studied hard this plot
of land and sea so described by Lowry to be
"everywhere an intimation of Paradise." He
found "delicate light and greenness everywhere,
the beauty of light on the feminine leaves of
vine-leaved maples and the young leaves of
the alders shining in sunlight like stars." Oh,
he goes on and on and on. Unadulterated opulence, with four adjectives per noun. But here
is the one I can't help but smile grimly at: "The
wonderful cold clean fresh salt smell of the
dawn air, and then the pure gold blare of light
from behind the
mountain pines, and the two morning herons,
then the two blazing eyes of the sun over the
foothills." Did you get that? Two suns? The
words blaring and blazing to describe light?
This is a description not of nature but of a
raging dawn double-vision hangover. I have
lived here by the beach all my life and I have
never seen herons travel in pairs. This passage
would have been different had the man had a
palm pressed to one eye.
While walking the identical path I saw
beauty too, certainly, but not Lowry's
bombastic brand. I too saw rustling dainty
foliage of one hundred shades of green. I saw
sturdy stoic trees, and mountains with their
awesome noble mysterious elan. (It's easy to be
Lowry.) Boats on the oh so wonderful water,
King Neptune's refreshing wavelets tickle-
slapping the angel-white hulls, etcetera.
But what else did I see? I saw slugs mid-
path, dry pine needles stuck to their dragging
guts, their bellies torn open by the sensible
shoes of strolling ladies. I saw dull clouds
muffling mountains logged off and scarred for
ever; clouds muting the high notes of birds;
clouds reflected better in the oil slicks than in
the patches of clear water. I saw rotten stumps,
diseased leaves, at least as much death as life.
In short, I saw reality. I had no need of hiding
from the truth. I didn't have the need of a man
ashamed, the need of a vision hungover and in
constant pain. Lowry donned his rose-coloured
glasses and painted the shuffling grey world
with the glad shades of Eden in order to stay
sane. Art was his excuse as much as it was his
tool. He probably believed what he wrote.
On to my mother, and the Event. I should
add that I heard all of this straight from
Mom's mouth, and the disturbing mix of
anguish and ecstacy in her eyes as she spoke
makes me doubt not a word of it. She told me
several times, and the story didn't vary.
Her words:
"I just finished reading Volcano. In twenty-
three hours. Oh, I was in rapture. I was under
a spell. He had called out to me and I wanted
to answer. And I had to answer in a worthy
way. I decided to go to him dressed to celebrate the Day of the Dead. In the book this
was the first thing mentioned—the Day of
the Dead, the costumes, the skulls, and all of
those things that so horrified poor Geoffrey
Firmin. In the end Death is the last thing
Geoffrey sees. It is the book's heart: Death. It
was important that Malcolm knew I
understood, as he knew I would. So I made
the skeleton costume. The material should
have been black, or course, but I had no time,
and all I had was a brown one, a rabbit
costume left from a bygone Hallowe'en dance.
I cut off the ears and painted on the bones. It
wasn't a good job I'm afraid. My word, I had
just read Under the Volcano and naturally my
hands were shaking."
I was scared as my mother told me this
part, because each time she told me, even
though the Event was years past, even though
Lowry was dead and Mother was in her
hospital ward only obliquely aware of me, her
hands would begin to shake.
"But the idea itself was enough. My plan
was to show up at his door, because I knew
M— was back east. She hadn't taken to me,
you see, and I can't say as I blame her, of
course. Malcolm would act positively fidgety
around me, a torn man. But anyway I happened upon a better plan. I felt it was
important that he look up to see me, to see
Death, just as Geoffrey did at the end, from
under his horse. So I climbed a tree and
waited. I knew he'd be along soon. I had
spied on poor Male and I knew his habits.
Englishmen, especially Englishmen who drink,
have strict habits."
Here Mother would stare coyly down at
her feet, pretending naughtiness, and laugh
like a girl. The final time I head this story
Mom looked very old, her fingers were ochre
from cigarets, she was dressed as always (the
staff let her keep her stash of scarves and hats
under her bed), and yet she could giggle as
pure and free as a little girl. I felt like crying. I
felt like looking up and shouting: You may be
dead, Mr. Lowry, but look what you are doing.
"So I found a nice tree and waited. And
my lord don't you know I fell asleep. All that
reading and no sleep. Also, I confess to having
sipped some."
That is, had a lot to drink. But I admit I love
to picture her up that tree, and I
perversely enjoy Lowry's version, that of "a
lion uncomfortably balanced." What a nobly
optimistic euphemism for a snoring drunk
crazy lady hanging there like a noodle on a
chopstick.
"But I knew Malcolm would understand.
When he gave me the book he said, in that
marvelous Oxonian of his, 'This is a tome best
read drunk, for so its best bits were thunk.' Ah,
Male, a lad so boyish. A boyish genius."
Here Mom might drift off. If I felt like hearing more, I'd prod.
"There I was asleep, eight feet up. The next
thing I knew, I head a scream. Yes, a scream.
My lord don't you know I thought it was a
woman? I must have startled, for I fell. And
considering I could have met Death myself
right then and there, I wasn't hurt much. A
broken rib and a cut on my back, and thank
the lord for having sipped some. When I
looked up, there was Malcolm running with
his clattering empty water pails back in the
way of his cabin. He was making the most
curious noises in his throat. I was concerned.
I think he'd been sipping rather heavily that
week, what with you-know-who gone."
My mother's story would go on one segment
longer. She would gaze searchingly through the
smudged windows of years until, seeing what
she wanted to see, her eyes would close and
she'd say, "And I followed Malcolm Lowry
home. In I walked, dressed as Death, bleeding from my back, and told him I loved him.
He rose slowly from his bed, stood ramrod
straight and told me in a whisper that he loved
me too."
Once, and only once, she added: "And we...
communed." Perhaps realizing for the first time
Fall 2004   Trek   19 who her audience was, Mom went instantly
shy and changed the subject. My mother may
have been extroverted and insane, but she was
conservative when it came to certain subjects.
I saw Malcolm Lowry only twice that I remember. I was eight or nine, and it was just before
he returned to England for good. The first
time, my mother had sent me to his cabin with
a letter, sealed in a black envelope and smelling—good god—of perfume. Lowry bellowed
"Come!" at my knock, and there he was, sitting at his writing table. He had erect posture
and a barrel chest, but a big and flabby stomach. A deeply proud bearing. His eyes looked
almost Oriental. He just sat there, sober I
think, and he seemed to know who I was. He
didn't look pleased to see me. I gather from
my probings that he'd during those years been
spending considerable energy avoiding my
mother. I gave him the letter and fled.
The second time, mere weeks later, I was
again a messenger boy. I knocked at the same
door, and hearing only the oddest whoops
and titters but no invitation to enter, I peered
in at a window. There sat the same man, but
hardly. This time he was naked. (I have heard
he sometimes wrote that way.) He looked dark
and crude, a greasy feline-eyed peasant. His
table was littered with papers and books, and
crumpled balls of foolscap covered his cabin
floor like a spill of giant's popcorn. He was
hunched over and rolls of pale fat lay on his
lap. He began to make noises again, noises
that are unforgettable but hard to describe:
a high-pitched kind of squealing, but with a
deep bass undertone at the same time. As he
squealed he swung his head back and forth
in arcs. His lips were clamped open, showing
teeth, and his scrunched eyes looked on the
verge of tears—like he was trying for tears.
Swinging his head faster and faster, he finally
stopped and took several glugs from a bottle
he had at hand's reach on the floor. I
recognized the brand: Bols, the same English
gin my mother drank. I stared, fascinated, with
the avid hollowness of car accidents, when a
cop with a flashlight stands over a puddle of
someone's blood. What made me run in the
end was this: Lowry finally managed to get
a pipe lit after missing the bowl with several
matches. He took a long draw and settled
back and sighed as if in satisfaction. But
instead he grew dizzy from the smoke. He
began to sway in his chair. And suddenly he
shot up, threw back his head and howled. In
the middle of howling—I swear this is true—
he accidentally shit himself. I think it was an
accident. In any case it was an explosion of
diarrhea, expelled in a one-
second burst. Much of it sprayed his buttocks
and legs and, snarling now, Lowry began to
twirl and slap at the wetness, stumbling as he
did so. I ran then.
I realize I am more or less trampling on
the reputation of a man a good many readers respect and admire. And I don't mean to
rub it in further—no, I only mean to establish
thoroughly my reasons for writing this—when
I tell you it was on same afternoon that I first
heard Malcolm Lowry was a famous man.
Handing me her latest note, Mother had told
me, "Be careful with this, Dear, you are taking
it to a very special person. He is a writer, and
his book is in all the bookstores of the world."
Well, I had just seen my first writer, my first
famous man, and now fame and fiction had
a face.
You have already guessed a number of
things. First, the reason for my bitterness—
namely, that Lowry and my mother had sex
after she fell from the tree. My feelings stem
not so much from the act itself but rather
because what meant so much to my mother
meant so little to Lowry. I believe it was his
utter rejection of her after the Event that
shoved her down insanity's slide.
Mother never told me about it herself, this
I admit, but the evidence pointing to their carnal union is overwhelming and I don't for a
moment doubt it took place. One, she told me
she followed him back. Two, M— was away.
Three, as she told me but once, they "communed." And my research has given me these
clues as well: There was a two week period
during M—'s absence when Lowry was
purportedly most upset. "Crazy," my sources
put it. On a non-stop gin binge, he raved to
all who'd listen that he'd met Death in the
flesh, that he'd met Death and defeated it.
One barfly heard him distinctly say, "I rogered
Death from behind like a dog." (I don't like
to picture this.) During that period of time
he would laugh and rave, rave and cry. What
ended his raving was news of a cougar in the
area. Hearing this news seemed to cheer him
up. He took to saying he too had seen the cat,
and so his run-in with Death went the way of
bad dreams. It takes no detective to sort out
the self-serving machinations of this drunken
man's mind. For sanity's sake, for relief from
devils, he made himself believe he'd seen a cougar, not my mother, not Death.
I hate but can't help picturing the scene.
Lowry, drunk and whimpering, finds that
Death has not only leapt at him from a tree
but has followed him to his door. My mother,
ludicrous in a rabbit's costume with a skeleton
etched on it, with a broken rib and bleeding
from the back, tells him she loves him. She
embraces him and, scared, Lowry can't deny
Death its desire. My mother instigates the
unthinkable. And two hideously incongruous dream worlds unite there in a shack on
Dollarton Beach: My mother believing she has
won over her aloof treasure, her boyish genius.
Lowry believing he is copulating with Death.
On Lowry's behalf, I like to assume that at
some point in his passion he reached that minimal level of awareness where he realized it was
in fact a mortal woman in his bed. Someone
who was not M—. Though in "The Forest Path
to the Spring" he writes that after his brush
with the cougar he and M— "embraced all
the night long," I should restate that during
this time M— was gone for three months, and
I doubt that even a gin-riddled Lowry could
stay unaware of that. So did he know it was
my mother? Did he make himself believe it was
M—? What shaped pretzel of logic did he
construct in order to stay sane? Lowry was by
all accounts a monogamous husband, and so
perhaps it was his horror at this odd adultery
that made him go mad for a while. We'll never
know.
For years, my mother assumed he'd known
it was her. But when she first learned of his
death—she did not read newspapers and it was
me who told her—she said, "I thought he'd
send word. Something." Then she laughed, and
lapsed back into what was now her world, a
state of waking dream. And when "The Forest
Path to the Spring" came out in 1960, and
20   Trek   Fall 2004 after Mother read certain parts over and over,
she closed the book at last and—cried.
I could go on and on about Lowry's life,
Lowry's lies to himself. Indeed, I could water
my prose with imagination and assault the
man with a decadently flowery language he
would well have recognized. It is tempting. I
see now how the taking up of a pen and the
posture of writing itself seem to abet some
kind of exaggeration. Once begun, words
find their own momentum in the direction of
colour, veneer, dream. Lie. I can only hope that
by now you understand that my loathing for
fiction is so resolute it has allowed me
during this account to tell you nothing but the
granite truth. However much I am tempted to
sink into venom, attach the leash of
speculation to Lowry's name and drag it
through any number of cesspools, I won't.
Nor will I go on to describe his final fall,
for to do so would be to ennoble it. His tawdry death. Myth be damned: his death was
nothing but tawdry, as tawdry as my mother's.
I'll draw no cheap conclusion from this, but
the equation is there for all to see: two people,
lashed by self- doubt, forced by life's grinning
skull to turn to dreams and poetry and imagination, poisoned yet further by alcohol—two
people die a false and tawdry death. My point
is made. I give it to you and leave it; I ask only
that you refrain from embellishing either their
lives or their deaths with yet more poetry. I
have the right to ask this.
I'll likely never discover whether Lowry
knew he was my father. He may have known;
he may only have guessed. Perhaps Mom told
him. Perhaps she pestered. But, not being the
kind to ask for money or seek a scandal, my
mother would have preferred cherishing me in
secret, me her precious relic of a single sacred
meeting.
Not knowing has been hard on me. Harder,
in fact, than having had no taste of fatherhood, save for a singular image of a naked
man squealing, stumbling, slapping at
glistening legs. It's been hardest of all to admit
to myself that, in the booze-blurred moment
of my conception, not only was I not planned,
not sought for, but was in fact the result of a
man's lust for a woman other than my mother.
To be blunt, Lowry's sperm was meant for
M— (or perhaps for Death!), but was waylaid,
like a manuscript, by a lonely woman in a bid
for a bit of attention. Such was the flavour of
my beginning, and such remains the flavour of
my life.
Proof that I'm his son? It took no wizardry
to ascertain the year and month of the cougar Event, add to it nine months and, lo and
behold, arrive at my birthday. My mother had
no boyfriends and was not known to have
affairs. Lucy was a remarkable woman in
many ways, not the least of which being that
she knew a man's nakedness but once, and this
while wearing a rabbit costume.
As I mentioned when I began, my middle
name is Lava. "The Forest Path to the Spring,"
and the later stories—and according to my
mother, all his work-to-come—were to be
part of a magnum opus he would call Mount
Appetite, a renaming of Mount Seymour, the
mountain at whose foot Dollarton squats. Why
rename a mountain? For poetry's manipulative
sake, of course. For metaphor's aggrandizements. According to Mom, Lowry raved about
his project endlessly and famously, to all who
would listen. People here talk of it still. Mount
Appetite was to catalogue and sanctify the
many kinds of human desire. A portrait of
passions, a rainbow of hungers. (Gamut of
gluttonies. I can't help but picture a troupe of
pained eccentrics, driven by desires feral,
pungent, twisted and hidden. Equipped with
ropes and spiked boots and clenched jaws they
eternally scale the Sisyphian heights of their
sticky needs.)
My mother's inspiration for "Lava" was
equally metaphoric, if sillier. In this case, I
know the meaning. In her way of speaking to
me as though I weren't there, staring up into
space and talking over my head both literally and figuratively, Mother more than once
intoned grandly, "Lava. You are my Lava. My
dear little man. You are the emission of a
volcano."
She doubtless imagined I'd be as wordproud
as my father. No. But I'll travel that road as
long as I can stomach and extend her metaphor
for her: hot lava is upchucked dumbly into the
world, soon cools, and resents having been
spewed there. Lava is nothing like the fiery
bowels of its father. If lava could feel, it would
feel like effluent, like scum. Not art but puke. It
would feel carelessly and wrongfully ejaculated—I
cannot resist—under the volcano.
As I've been writing this history, I've often
stopped and asked myself: Is this the voice of bitterness? Male and Lucy's bitter bastard boy? If
not, why do I smear both a mother and a father?
I seek neither notoriety nor a noble name, neither
a paternity suit not a share of his estate, if he left
one. So why do I expose?
Whose voice is this?
I like to think it is my father's voice—his
voice had he lived, his voice had he learned to
stop lying, had he learned to lift his head high
and breathe for good and all the pure cold air
of objectivity. If children inherit one thing from
their parents it is the claustrophobic fear of their
parents' faults. I thank mine for helping me,
through revulsion, towards clarity. My mind's
best food has been the flesh of their faulty lives.
Neither of my parents understood that appetite
is mostly about the art of control.
I've been drunk but once in my life. I was
seventeen. My mother had just died. That it
happened to be my high school graduation
party didn't matter to me—this wasn't a
celebration but an exorcism. We drank under
the stars in—where else?—Dollarton Beach.
Under Mount Appetite. In paradise. A body
had been found here in a burned-out car earlier
that week, a murder, so added to the evening was
an air of danger lurking. And I drank gin, my
parents' brand. I slept with neither cougar, ghost,
nor woman, but still I had a wondrous time. I
cried about my mother and raged about my father,
pounding a driftwood club into the beachfire,
sending showers of glowing amber skyward. None
of the other kids noticed me really, for many were
on a first-drunk as well, and flailed about in the
own style and for their own reasons."□
Bill Gaston, mfa'8i is the author of Deep Cove
Stories, Tall Lives, North of Jesus Beans, Belle
Combe Journal, Sex is Red and The Good Body.
"A Forest Path" is from his latest book of short
stories, Mount Appetite, which was nominated for
a Governor General's award, lie teaches Creative
Writing at the University of Victoria.
Fall 2004   Trek   21 Another Alumni Success Story
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cradadtc- IllustrAta'haulLHC'f'thapljrL LETTERS
Sorry I'm Late
I came across a copy of the Spring 2001 issue
of Trek at a thrift shop, recently. I very much
enjoyed reading it, especially the phrase
"distributed free of charge to UBC Alumni."
All these years and I never knew about either
The Chronicle or Trek. So here I am, better
late than never, looking forward to your next
issue.
Alfred John Breuer, BA'64
Vanderhoof, BC
Foresters Count Their Rings
On May 18-19, grads of the 1954 Forestry
class got together in Langley for a "slashburn."
Of the massive class of 20 graduates, 15 still
survive but only seven were able to answer
the call. Recognition was a bit tenuous at first,
but with badges containing our 1954 photos,
we were soon able to make identifications. We
were also very pleased to receive the 50-year
pins provided by the Alumni Association.
Amid renewed friendships, shared memories and photo-enhanced family details, we
all enjoyed ample refreshments and made
several toasts to absent companions. We also
acknowledged special events and achievements
in forestry over the past 50 years - all owed,
of course, to the class of '54.
That evening we enjoyed a dinner at La
Maisia Restaurant in Langley, and then
continued the swapping of lies into the night
- and for a few, into the wee hours.
Following breakfast the next morning, the
group made a field trip to the Permanent Pole
Plant in Langley Municipality. The plant is
owned and operated by Art Paul, ForEng'54,
and produces functional and decorative wooden components and structures for high-end
residential, business and industrial building
projects, all from waste logs. The plant also
produces a number of practical, building items
- again using wood that would otherwise
be scrapped or burned - altogether a prime
example of how imagination can fuel reality.
After lunch, a few good-byes were
exchanged and the "Final Four" traveled
to the Forest Service Seed Centre south of
"A toast to friends, both past and present."
Forestry grads from 1954 gathered in May to swap
life stories and tell tall tales.
Cloverdale and were given a brief tour of that
facility and an understanding of how cones
from the tree are processed to provide tree
seed for the nurseries. The day concluded
with a short visit to Fort Langley and dinner
at the Bedford House.
While it would have been better with more
bodies, those that attended were happy to see
old classmates again, and share experiences.
We are sending badges with photos and 50-
year pins to those unable to attend, and
discussed for another slashburn in five years.
Our sincere thanks to the Alumni
Association for its support!
Dave Wallinger, BSF'54
Victoria, BC
Sports Hall of Fame Omissions
I would like to address the committee that
selects members for the UBC Sports Hall of
Fame. Fd like to thank Peter McGeer for his
letter in the Winter, 2003 issue of Trek. I was
beginning to think I was the only one who
remembered the Maury Van Vliet era at UBC.
The Sports Hall of Fame has managed
to overlook the teams Maury coached. He
coached two Senior A Men's Championship
teams, in 1937 and 1941. He also coached an
outstanding football team in 1939. Many of
the players on these tree teams went overseas
in wwn, and a good number did not return.
Unfortunately, too few of these players are left
to honour. In recent weeks, two more of the
'39 football team passed on.
The committee has also failed to honour
some significant faculty members. Dr. Dickson
for basketball, Dr. Gunning for rugby, and Dr.
Todd for soccer. As a former basketball senior
manager, I know that Dr. Dickson each year
put on a dinner for the team and know for
a fact that he had the whole team with their
dates to his home for dinner one evening in
the Spring of 1943.
I am prejudiced because I knew Maury as a
friend, but I feel your committee is prejudiced
against the teams of this era. Why? I can find
no rational explanation.
Howard J. Shadwell, BASc'48
You Guys are Crazy
The heading, Psychotic Corporations, intended to describe the second item in the Spring,
2004 Trek Take Note section, ought to have
read, Psychopathic Corporations. The story
was actually about psychopathy
Although they share a common root (psycho,
mind), the adjectives psychopathic and
psychotic represent entirely different
phenomena and should never be used
interchangeably. When they are, a disservice
is done to innocent sufferers of psychosis and
their loved ones.
Kirk Brown, BA84
Fall 2004   Trek   23 the
ropes
that
Bind
The UBC Ropes Course
puts the group experience
in perspective: we all
depend on each other.
It's unnerving at first: platforms,
highwires, dangling ropes and ladders with
impossibly wide rungs suspended three
storeys up from the forest floor turn your
vertigo sensors up to full volume. A voice
somewhere in the back of your head says,
"You ain't goin' up there, my friend!"
But Conrad Cone, head of UBC's Ropes
Course, is quick to stifle your fears. "No one
goes up if they don't want to. The Ropes
Course isn't about testing your fears. It's
about teamwork."
Located in the forest just south of the
Thunderbird Stadium, the course is a joint
project of Cone's company, Pacific Adventure
Learning and UBC. It was designed to show
groups of people who work together —
corporate offices, members of individual
faculties, staffs of small companies — that
each member of the group is an essential
part of the overall
success of the team.
Ours was a typical group. Twelve
members of the Alumni Association staff,
from receptionist Marguerite Collins to
executive director Leslie Konantz, gathered
one morning in early September to learn
the ropes.
We started with elements of the "low
24   Trek   Fall 2004 Right: Association staffers "walk the
beam" by lifting and stepping together.
Opposite: Executive director Leslie
Konantz climbs nimbly to the tree tops.
forest" course. Our group stood on a large
teeter-totter platform and, without speaking,
worked out how to maintain balance while
shifting positions. Then we stood on two
beams and, using ropes as straps, figured out
how to "walk" the beams ten feet, again
without speaking. Success came only when we
all worked together in a spirit of cooperation
and trust.
After lunch a few brave souls volunteered
for the "high forest" course. Harnessed in,
with other group members tending a series
of ropes to take up the slack, the brave ones
walked highwires and leapt across wide-spaced
ladder rungs. We were never in any real danger
— the harness and rope-holders guaranteed
that — but the feeling of standing on a little
wire 30 feet above the forest floor was
nonetheless horrifying.
By the end of the day we came to some
interesting conclusions: each of us is dependent
on the rest of the team for our success and,
as a team, we do pretty well together.
The UBC Ropes Course is available to faculty,
staff and student groups at UBC, and to schools,
businesses and other community groups.
Call Conrad at 604-732-3588 or visit the
website, www.ubcropescourse.ca for more
information.D
Dhotos by Chris Petty
Fall 2004   Trek   2 5 FRENCH FRIES FUEL THE FUTURE
BY   KATIE   ELIOT
There's something new in the air this
spring at UBC. Strolling along West Mall
road among pine trees and cherry
blossoms you might catch a whiff of french
fries where a campus vehicle is
cutting the grass. No, you're not breathing in the lunch-time waft from The Barn.
What you detect is biodiesel fuel in action.
It all started one beautiful summer day a
few years ago, when UBC science students
Peter Doig and Geoff Hill headed out on
their regular back-country excursion to
find new rocks to climb. In the pristine
beauty of their surroundings they noticed
something was out of place. With windows
open to let in the fresh air, they smelled the
exhaust from their VW van.
"This is not cool," they thought.
They decided to put their educations
to work by producing a clean fuel and, in
a eureka moment, committed to making
biodiesel fuel. Geoff founded the biodiesel
project in January 2002 and applied for
grants from VanCity and hrdc to help
start up.
In January 2003, Peter Doig set some
wheels in motion by approaching Naoko
Ellis, a professor in chemical and
biological engineering at UBC who had
sent out a call for 4th year student projects
on alternative fuels. She was very enthusiastic about this project and assisted with
the start-up. Doig and Hill's first order of
business was to develop a methodology
that would incorporate existing biodiesel
production techniques to a scaled down
project using waste cooking oil.
When Rudolph Diesel developed his
engine in the 1890s, he designed it to run
on vegetable oil, so it was ideal for the
project. Existing techniques for turning
vegetable oil into a useable fuel are huge in
A new project by environmentally
aware students may change the
way we fuel our cars, save us from
the collapse of the oil industry,
and clean up the air. All the while,
ensuring good quality french fries.
scale, and don't normally utilize used oil,
but the project had a virtually unlimited
supply from UBC cafeterias. The oil is first
put through a process that eliminates fatty
acids, then is mixed with methanol
(supplied by Methanex) by way of a
catalyst (usually sodium or potassium
hydroxide), then is purified and evaporated
through a still. This results in an output of
methyl ester (the biodiesel fuel), with small
amounts of glycerine, alcohol and fertilizer.
Nothing is wasted in this process.
Once the project was approved by senior
administration, it got underway in the
summer of 2003. The initial phase involved
Perrin Hayes, an operations worker at
SFU, who loaned his So litre biodiesel
reactor for tests. This informal phase
moved from a corner of the
(appropriately-named) Gas Gunn building to a So square foot storage shed in the
lower mall research station. Adjacent space
was gradually cleaned out and The Lab (as
project members call it) expanded to three
times its initial size. The container drums,
distillation equipment, tubes and a cooker
were installed; the department of Chemical
Engineering did safety inspections, then
production began. This work-in-progress
looks like a still you'd expect to see in
some moonshiner's back forty with its
conglomeration of tubes, piping and a
huge vat to catch the distilled good stuff.
The lab is now producing a clean and
efficient fuel at a rate of 100 litres per
week. The process was recently automated to reduce labour intensity, and the
system can be controlled and monitored
remotely. But it's a hands-on process to
collect the necessary bio-waste to produce
the fuel. Two students, working with the
Environmental Youth Alliance on campus,
spend eight hours every two weeks
collecting waste cooking oils from UBC
cafeterias. Instead of paying an outside
company to remove this waste, UBC Food
Services benefits from free oil removal,
straight to the Biodiesel Lab. The collectors get to see the chemical process as well
as an understanding of the distribution
process so that they can take this model to
other communities. The saving is dramatic:
fresh oil such as rapeseed, costs $.7o/litre,
while reduction companies charge $.50/
litre for used oil. With UBC-supplied waste
cooking oil, costs run at $.2o/litre. The
oil is free but costs include student wages,
transportation and other factors. UBC
Plant Ops has agreed to run all
campus lawn equipment with a 20%
biodiesel blend for the next few months,
to determine if long-term usage and an
increase in infrastructure are viable options
for this fuel switchover.
The UBC Biodiesel project's output could
be increased to a maximum of 1000 litres
per week, according to Norman Woo,
another key member of the project. He is
completing his master's degree in Chemical
and Biological Engineering at UBC and
started working on Biodiesel in June last
year. "I like the idea of recycling a waste
stream into a useable commodity, not to
mention a more environmentally clean
fuel," he says. As supervising facility
engineer, he is involved with all facets of
the project. Plans include running a test
Norman Woo, part of the Biodiesel Project, designer of the large scale facility and mad scientist, doing a biodiesel experiment at the Quesnel fall fair
26   Trek   Fall 2004 Fall 2004   Trek   27 diesel engine, in partnership with the
department of Mechanical Engineering, to
determine running mixtures and injector
clogging.
So, is less more? This would appear to
be the case. A small-scale production
facility for biodiesel fuel has large-scale
implications. It's a portable system: communities including Bowen Island and
Quesnel hosted biodiesel project demonstrations by Woo and have called for
feasibility studies. The City of Richmond
fleet manager is committed to increasing
its use of biodiesel fuel for city vehicles
to ioo per cent over the next few years.
Hypothetically, UBC's maximum biodiesel
production of iooo litres per week could
fuel 15 one-ton trucks to run 250 km each.
Better still, this output could fuel So cars
with diesel engines, assuming 1000 km per
tank. At $.2o/litre, you can do the math.
You now have a clean-burning inexpensive
recycled fuel. Somebody pinch me!
Benefits go beyond cost and are equally
appealing. We know that petroleum won't
last forever: one source (Harper, 2000)
estimates viable stocks will all be used by
2059; another source (Heinberg, 2003)
estimates that oil production will peak
by 2015. Other fuel sources are not only
desirable but imperative. Health benefits,
estimated by the US Department of Energy,
include reduced exposure to emissions of
carbon monoxide (43 per cent reduction
at 100 per cent mix, or 13 per cent reduction with a 20 per cent mix); hydrocarbons
(56 per cent and 11 per cent respectively);
loosely-defined air toxics (75   and 15 per
cent) and reduces cancer risk by 94 and 27
per cent. The main components of smog
are particulate matter and ground-level
ozone. Using a 20 per cent blend of biodiesel lowers these emissions by half, and C02
by nearly 20 per cent, which would help
Canada meet its Kyoto protocol commitment. In addition, biodiesel is 10 times less
toxic than table salt, which means a major
spill would be messy, but far less damaging to the environment than a major spill
of petroleum. These are good numbers and
with healthcare costs climbing, anything
that promotes better health in the population will be in demand.
Going one step further, a major byproduct of biodiesel production is
glycerine, which Naoko Ellis is working
to utilize. This complements her research
on bio-oils. She recently was awarded
an nserc strategic grant for the Biocap
Program (biomass fuels, specifically
wood-wastes) and stresses that a diversity
of strategies for fuel sourcing is necessary.
Fuel cells, such as those produced locally
by Ballard Power, run on hydrogen and
still rely on petroleum to supply it.
Bio-oils and biodiesel are environmentally-friendly sources of hydrogen for these
new fuel cells.
But her biggest turn-on with this project? "Talking with students who want to
be involved. They get so excited about
participating in research for this project."
Ellis hopes that projects such as biodiesel
become a major part of the sustainability
initiative that has garnered international
recognition for UBC.
Norman Woo cites the unique partnership this project fosters among UBC, private funders (Methanex), and a non-profit organization, the Environmental Youth
Alliance. The federal Department of
Transport has also contributed $50,000
for facility design and materials. This
structure can concentrate on the work at
hand and not be subject to shareholders
and red tape that generally constrain
larger companies. The UBC Sustainability
Office has brought the necessary players
together through its Social, Ecological,
Economic Development Studies program.
seeds manager Brenda Sawada explains
how citing the project on campus within
an academic discipline, along with
developing a business plan and starting
the engine testing, have contributed to the
project's momentum and credibility.
One of the most exciting parts of the
Biodiesel Project is the ripple effect. Five
Sauder School of Business students
prepared a business development plan for
the project in April 2003. They note this
project is the first community-sized facil
ity of its kind and would be ideal for
universities; Harvard University has
recently switched to running all of its diesel
vehicles on biodiesel. As well, more UBC
science and engineering students are taking
courses on alternate fuel
technologies. As Karun Koenig, head of the
Environmental Youth Alliance on
campus says, "Even if someone from this
project goes to work in the petroleum
industry, that person can introduce some
change and bring a part of the biodiesel
sustainability model to that other industry
and benefit it. Even if they go mainstream,
they still carry the spirit of our work here."
Meanwhile Peter Doig and Geoff Hill are
carrying their environmental commitments
forward.  Peter is completing his masters in
bio-resource engineering at UBC and is
currently working with a local company on
organic pesticides.  Geoff is somewhere deep
in the BC woods working on sustainable
forestry practices. The biodiesel seeds they
helped plant are beginning to yield a bumper crop here at UBC.
Biodiesel fuel produced from waste oils
is a huge paradigm shift that even the federal government is encouraging. With its
renewed commitment to developing green
power markets, producer support and tax
incentives, the feds may consider this biodiesel project an ideal candidate for
partnering in tech innovation as well. The
future looks bright. And clear, too: no more
black fumes spewing from the trucks on
our streets, and our view of the surrounding
mountains to the south and east would be
restored. We can even start to catch up to
Europe, where biodiesel is sold at more than
800 gas stations, or have California follow
our lead here. Perhaps Silicon Valley will
be giving way to Bio-Mass Valley (Biodiesel
North) on the not-too-distant horizon.n
For more information go to: www.biodiesel.
org or www.eya.ca/biodiesel
Katie Eliot, BA'8o is Coordinator of the
Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies,
and a Vancouver poet and writer.
Trek   Fall 2004 University of Bri
"'      *; ARTS
THE BELKIN ART GALLERY
For info on exhibits, please contact the Belkin at
604-822-2759/www.belkin-gallery.ubc.ca or the
Belkin Satellite at 604-687-3174/www.belkin-
gallery.ubc.ca/satellite.
Daniel Richter
October 8 - November 28
Eight large paintings by the Berlin/Hamburg
artist with some accompanying sketches, notes,
photographs, clippings, etc.
Electrifying Art
Atsuko Tanaka 1954-1970
An early figure in postwar Japanese art, Tanaka
is perhaps best known for creating the 1956
Electric Dress from cables and light bulbs.
THE CHAN CENTRE
FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS
Tickets for free events at the Chan Centre may
be picked up anytime during ticket office hours.
For more information on events, please call
604-822-2697
Paris in the 19th Century (Concert 2 of 3)
Sunday October 3, 3:00 pm
Concert by Request (Concert 3 of 3) Sunday
November 7, 3:00 pm
UBC Symphony Orchestra
Thursday 7, noon; Friday 8, 8:00 pm, free
Saturday, November 6, 8:00 pm, free
Bach and Beyond
Five concerts presented by the VSO
Concert 1
Friday October 15, 8:00 pm,
Saturday October 16, 8:00 pm
Concert 2
Wednesday December 29, 8:00 pm
Thursday December 30, 8:00 pm
Concert 3
Friday January 21, 8:00 pm
Saturday January 22, 8:00 pm
Concert 4
Friday April 15, 8:00 pm
Saturday April 16, 8:00 pm
Concert 5
Friday May 13, 8:00 pm
Saturday May 14, 8:00 pm
UBC Symphonic Wind Ensemble
Thursday September 29, noon
Friday October 1, 8:00 pm
Friday November 19, noon, free
A Blaze of Berlioz: Symposium
Saturday December 4, noon. Call 604-822-
5574 for location info.
Grande Messe des Morts (Concert 1 of 4)
Saturday December 4, 8:00 pm, $2o/$i4
OCTOBER
Sing All Ye Muses
Sunday 3, 8:00 pm
Celebracion! Mexico y Canada
Saturday 9, 8:00 pm
Fou Ts'ong 70th Birthday Piano Recital
Sunday 17, 7:00 pm
Rokia Traore
Friday 22, 8:00 pm
Ian Bostridge, tenor/Leif Ove Andsnes, piano
Saturday 23, 8:00 pm
David Spencer Memorial Concert
UBC Opera Ensemble
October 29, 8:00 pm, free
NOVEMBER
Michael Schade, tenor/Malcolm Martineau,
piano
Sunday 21, 3:00 pm
Yefim Bronfman, piano
Sunday 28, 3:00 pm
UBC Chamber Strings
Friday 19, 8:00 pm, free
DECEMBER
Yo-Yo Ma, cello, & Emanuel Ax, piano
Friday 10, 8:00 pm
UBC Opera Ensemble / Vancouver
Philharmonic Orchestra
Offenbach, Orpheus in the Underworld
December n, 14 & 15 (8:00 pm) 12 (3:00
pm) $2o/$i4
Festive Bach Cantatas for Christmas
Wednesday 22, 8:00 pm
MUSEUM OF ANTHROPOLOGY
For details on the following exhibits, and on
permanent collections, please visit the website
at www.moa.ubc.ca or call 604-822-5087.
Wearing Politics, Fashioning Commemoration
Factory Printed Cloths in Ghana
Grad student Michelle Willard's collection of
printed cloths that Ghanaians consider significant. Her exhibit shows how these cloths are
worn in Ghana to proclaim political loyalties
and commemorate important events.
Mehodihi: Traditions of Tahltan People
Our Great Ancestors Lived That Way
This first exhibit of Tahltan First Nations art
and culture highlights the profound and continuing links between the Tahltan and their
land, culture and heritage.
To Wash Away the Tears
A Memorial Potlatch Exhibit
Based on a memorial for Maggie Pointe, the
exhibit includes a contemporary 14-foot West
Coast style canoe and its contents.
Dempsey Bob
The Art Goes Back to the Stories
Fourteen panels of text and photographs.
The exhibit also features three of this Tahltan
artist's most recent bronze sculptures.
Site to Sight: Imaging the Sacred
How and why we create sacred spaces in our
urban environment. Anthro 431 student photo
exhibit.
Robert Davidson: The Abstract Edge
Thirty works including paintings on canvas,
paper, and stretched deerskin drums; carved
and painted red-cedar panels; laser-cut sculptural works; and sketchbooks.
UBC SCHOOL OF MUSIC
For tickets and event details, please contact
604-822-5 5 74/concerts@interchange.ubc.ca
Wednesday Noon Hour Concerts
Recital Hall, $4
October 6 Saxophilia Saxaphone Quartet
October 13  Piano and violin
October 20 Alma Duo (Ravel and Kodaly)
October 27 Rameau, Mendelssohn
November 3 Lana Henchell   (piano)
November 10 Eugenia Choi   (violin)
November 17 Sara Davis Buechner (piano),
Terence Dawson (piano)
30   Trek   Fall 2004 Music at Main (Library)
Dodson Room, noon, free
Friday October 15 noon, pianissimo 2
Friday November 5, French music
UBC Contemporary Players
Recital Hall, Noon, free
Friday 8 & Thursday 21 October
Thursday November 25
Opera Tea (UBC Opera Ensemble)
Robson Square, 2:00 pm, $17/$ 12
Sunday October 24, Sunday November 21, &
Sunday January 23
improLAB
UBC Contemporary Players 20tn C classics
and new works: Recital Hall, noon, free
Monday October 25
Monday November 29
Masterclasses
Pinchas Zukerman
Friday 12, 1:00 pm, Recital Hall, free
OCTOBER
UBC Guitar Division
Friday 22, noon, Recital Hall, free
UBC Jazz Ensemble
Friday 29, noon, Recital Hall, free
NOVEMBER
Visiting People's Republic of China
Tuesday 2, noon, Gessler Hall, free
UBC Contemporary Players
Thursday 4, noon, Recital Hall, free
UBC Percussion Ensemble
Monday 8, noon, Old Auditorium, free
UBC Composers Symposium
Alexina Louie, BMus'70, two-time Juno Award
winner will have a newly commissioned
orchestration of her work, Bringing the Tiger
Down from the Mountain II, performed by
the National Arts's Centre orchestra during its
tour of BC. In this symposium, Alexina will
conduct composition workshops. See www.
ArtsAlive.ca for details.
Tuesday 9, noon, Gessler Hall, free
Rokia Traore, part of the Global Arts Concert series at the Chan, October 22
Rokia Traore's gently intense voice combined with an elegant cocktail of gorgeous harmonies and
stark, earthy rhythms have helped to rocket her to the top of the international world music scene.
Ensemble Contemporain de Montreal
Sunday 14, 8:00 pm, Recital Hall,  $io/$20
Jazz Ensemble II
Thursday 18, noon, Recital Hall, free
Duo Matteo
Cello and Piano
Sunday 21, 3:00 pm, Recital Hall, free
UBC Student Composers
Monday 22, noon, Recital Hall, free
Canada Music Week Concert
UB C music students
Wednesday 24, noon, Recital Hall, free
Collegium Musicum
Music from the Medieval, Renaissance and
Baroque eras, Friday 26, noon and 8:00 pm,
Recital Hall, free
DECEMBER
UBC Jazz Ensemble I
With Ian McDougall on trombone
Thursday 2, noon, Recital Hall, free
Theatre
The Box Office is open during the day in the
Frederic Wood Theatre Lobby from 10:00 am
until 4:00 pm. Reserve: 604-822-2678, website:
www.theatre.ubc.ca
Under Milk Wood
Dylan Thomas, Frederic Wood Theatre,
September 23 - October 2, 7:30 pm
The Cherry Orchard
Anton Chekov, Telus Studio Theatre, November
4" !3, 7:3° Pm
Village of Idiots
John Lazarus
Frederic Wood Theatre, January 20 - 29, 2005,
7:30 pm
Fall 2004   Trek   31 BOOKS
No Ordinary Mike: Michael Smith, Nobel
Laureate
Eric Darner DIP.ED'93, MA'96, phd'oo &
Caroline Astell BSc'64, msc'66, PHD'71
Ronsdale Press, 2004
DDFrom modest beginnings in England,
Michael Smith forged a distinguished career
in scientific research that culminated in his
being a co-recipient ofthe 1993 Nobel Prize
in Chemistry. The discovery that attracted so
much attention and excitement was a process
for altering genes under laboratory conditions
for medical and research purposes - site-
directed mutagenesis.
He used the spotlight afforded by the
Nobel Prize to champion the cause of scientific research at the highest levels, and his
influence contributed to the establishment of
Canada's Genome Sciences Centre. This biography helps to carry on that legacy by underlining the importance of supporting scientific
research.
A professor at UBC, Smith launched the
Biotechnology Laboratory, which became
world renowned for the quality of its research.
Respected by colleagues, Smith was also well
liked. He is remembered as a modest, witty,
and generous man, who readily credited others for their work and support.
Missing Sarah
Maggie de Vries, BA'84, MA'92, BED'95
Penguin Canada, 2003 $24
On April 14, 1998, Maggie de Vries' sister vanished. Sarah de Vries was a sex trade
worker in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside
and a drug addict. Many other women in her
position were also disappearing, with scant
attention from the authorities.
In this book, Maggie de Vries tells us who
her sister was, preventing her from becoming
an anonymous victim. We are made privy to
Sarah's journal entries, sketches, letters and
poetry.
The author describes her relentless search
for her sister, which culminated in Sarah's
dna being discovered at Robert Pickton's
farm. But De Vries never gave up looking for
answers and questioning the social and legal
processes that played a role in the plight of
these women.
The Paperboy's Winter
Tim Bowling, ba'86
Penguin Canada, 2003
QDSince the death of his beloved father,
Callum Taylor's life has come undone, drained
of meaning and purpose. Along with his father,
a way of life has died — that of the West Coast
salmon fisherman, a life that Callum had
assumed would always exist.
During a trip back to his childhood home,
Callum encounters an eccentric fisherman from
his past who prompts a vivid recollection of
a boyhood paper round. It was a time when
Callum's life was beginning to grow and change,
when he started to glimpse the rich complexities of the adult world. Friends are not friends
forever, people sicken, even die, and they have
pasts and secrets that we may never know.
32   Trek   Fall 2004
Dhotograph: Vanessa Clarke The Paperboy's Winter explores not only
what it means to shed the protective layers of
childhood, but also what it means to witness
the disappearance of a culture.
Notes on Leaving
Laisha Rosnau, mfa'oo
Nightwood Editions, 2004 $15.95
From the author of the bestseller The
Sudden Weight of Snow comes an accessible and prose-like debut poetry collection.
Rosnau's poignant poems address life in a
startlingly direct and honest voice, employing
a robust combination of jaw-dropping forth-
rightness and delicately crafted verse.
Cutting through time zones that encompass the rural and urban, the remembered
and the forgotten, Rosnau reminds us to
"Pay attention to your surroundings," and to
"watch for potential road-kill," while never
forgetting to compare scars along the way.
Preventing Sexual Abuse of Patients:
A Legal Guide for Health Care Professionals
Marilou McPhedran & Wendy Sutton, BA'72
LexisNexis Butterworths, 2004
nDAimed at health care practitioners, this
book provides practical advice and information for understanding and dealing with incidents and claims of sexual abuse committed
against patients.
A plain language translation of the
relevant legalese, the book is a tool to help
health care professionals understand the legal
framework for dealing with complaints, and
hone awareness of acceptable standards of
professional conduct. It also deals with recognizing the warning signs of abuse, formulating strategies for prevention and developing educational initiatives.
The Road to Makokota
Stephen Barnett, MFA'82
MacAdam/Cage, 2003
]DThe Road to Makokota is set in a war-
torn former British colony in present-day
West Africa. Craig Allan Hammond, a
black American, returns to Africa to find
his former love, Oussumatu Turay, and
her son - his son - Abu. Sixteen years
earlier, Hammond left Ossu and Abu in
Makokota after completing a road-building project; she was 19 when he left, and
his son only a few weeks old. He has not
seen them since.
Now the country is decimated by
a civil war. Wracked by guilt and fear,
Hammond needs to find mother and
son and bring them out of the killing
zone to safety - in order to save himself.
Hammond scours refugee camps in the
French-speaking country across the border
from Makokota. Having no success, he
journeys with a Polish nurse deep into the
ravaged land and its violent and dismal
reality. Before his journey is over, he will
learn that you can't find anything until
you've lost everything.
Standing on Richards
George Bowering, ba'6o, MA'63, DLIT'94
Viking Canada, 2004 $34 (hardcover)
Filled with Oddball characters,
Bowering's mini-narratives explore the
awe and mystery of human relationships.
In the title story, a disillusioned English
professor ensconces himself on a corner of
Richards Street in downtown Vancouver.
There, among women selling their bodies,
he tries to look intellectually seductive in
the hopes of selling his mind.
In Old Bottles, a woman recounts
how her neighbour cut down his lilac
hedge only to replace it with a fence made
of empty wine bottles. She thinks the man
is crazy, but nonetheless finds his bottle
fence strangely appealing.
In another story (entitled simply A
Short Story) Bowering openly challenges the
conventions of realist storytelling and plays
with readers' expectations. Throughout
the story we re encouraged to question the
method of storytelling.
Forced Out: The Fate of Polish Jewry in
Communist Poland
Arthur J. Wolak
BA'90, DIP. ART HIST'94, MA, MBA
Fenestra Books, 2004
$17.95
In the late 1960s, after the Holocaust had
bought about the almost total destruction
of centuries of Jewish civilization in Poland,
senior leaders of the ruling Communist
Party initiated a domestic terror campaign
that resulted in the eviction of thousands
of Polish Jews. Why did the leadership of
a nation that professed equality among all
peoples suddenly drive them into exile?"
asks Arthur Wolak, son of Holocaust survivors.
In Forced Out, he explores this turbulent era, revealing a period in modern
European history that offers important lessons about the dangers of political opportunism and the inherent evils of totalitarian-
Highbinders
Shane Kennedy, BA'91
AuthorHouse, 2004
3D" Better to spend an eternity in Hell than
worship at the foot of an unjust god."
With those words, Seth Delaney commits
himself to destroying his three half-brothers in order to gain control of their father's
munitions company, Highbinders Industrial,
Ltd. His only chance is to succeed in finding his twin brother who is fleeing from the
RCMP and CSIS. His only problem is that
his brother has been reunited with someone
who has plans of her own.
Fall 2004   Trek   33 JBC
%  alumni news
REGIONAL NETWORKS
Regional Network News
Looking to connect with alumni in your area
for a little social or business networking?  No
matter how far you are from Point Grey, with
alumni living and working in 120 nations
around the world there are bound to be a few
fellow grads to reminisce with in your area.
Visit www.alumni.ubc.ca/regions for a list of
contacts.
Regional reps can help if you're relocating,
traveling or wish to participate at upcoming
events. And they can always use your help
- especially in Montreal and Florida. New
reps are needed in New York and Kelowna.
If you're interested in getting involved in one
of these or other regions, contact Tanya at
twalker@alumni.ubc.ca, 604-822-8643 or toll
free at 800-883-3088.
Of course, the network is always expanding
and we're pleased to introduce new reps in
Saskatchewan, Houston, Texas, Germany and
Hong Kong
Saskatchewan
Dawna Rumball, MLls'95 and med'02
Email: dawnarumball@yahoo.com
Houston, Texas
Lars Ronning, BASc'97 and Grace Lo, BA'99
Email contacts: lronning@earthlink.net and
glo@rice.edu
Germany
Steffen Lehmann, BA'04
Email: Steffen.Lehmann@web.de
Hong Kong
New President - Allan Matheson, BA'9 8
Email: ubcalumni@hknet.com
Events
Here's what alumni around the world did
together this spring and summer:
• Watched the Vancouver Canucks and
Mighty Ducks in Los Angeles;
• Tasted wine in Toronto and London
• Came out to hear President Piper speak in
Kelowna, Seoul and London
• Joined alumni from other Canadian universities in Los Angeles, Washington DC,
Boston and Victoria as well as at a number
of Canada Day festivities
• Ate Peking Duck in Beijing with Canadian
astronaut and alumnus Bjarni Tryggvason
(BASc'72), who talked about UBC, space
and advanced research..
• Raced dragon boats in Hong Kong
• Welcomed new UBC students at send-offs in
Singapore, Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai,
London, Calgary and Toronto
• Gathered for a pub night in Tokyo
Upcoming Regional Network Events
Thursday, September 30
New York Canadian Universities Alumni
Reception hosted by the Canadian Club
6:00 - 8:30 pm
Penn Club, 30 West 44     Street
Sponsored by the UBC Alumni Association.
There's a special rate for UBC grads to attend.
Last year more than 400 alumni attended
from universities all across Canada. Join other
alumni for a cocktail reception with drinks,
fine food and music in posh surroundings.
Friday, October 8
Seattle 8tn Annual Canada Gala hosted by the
Canada America Society of Washington and
the Canadian Consulate General
6:00 pm
Seattle Westin Hotel
Special pre-reception for UBC alumni in the
Fifth Avenue Room starting at 6:00 pm. Wine
and nostalgia will be served before the main
event.
Wednesday, October 13
London UK pub night. Time and venue TBC
Join fellow grads and special guest Linda
Alexander, UBC's Director of Career Services.
October TBC
Faculty of Applied Science reception for
California alumni.
Contact May Cordeiro, Alumni Relations
Officer, at 604-822-9454 or mcordeiro@apsc.
ubc.ca for information.
Friday, October 15
Kuala Lumpur Alumni and Friends reception
with UBC President, Dr. Martha Piper
7:00 - 8:30 pm
Sheraton Imperial Kuala Lumpur Hotel,
Penang Room 1&2
Haven't been back to the UBC campus in
awhile? UBC is coming to you. Come out to
meet fellow grads and UBC President Martha
Piper, and view a UBC video presentation.
Monday, October 25
Toronto Faculty of Arts reception.
6:00 - 8:00 pm
Hilton Toronto, Governor General's Suite
Meet the new Dean, Nancy Gallini, fellow
alumni, and hear from three distinguished
professors from Political Science.
Friday, October 29
Chicago All Canada universities Event hosted
by the University of Waterloo.
Chicago Athletic Association, 6:00-9:00 pm
November TBC
Vernon reception.
Time and venue TBC
Sunday, November 14
Toronto Faculty of Applied Science reception.
Contact May Cordeiro, Alumni Relations
Officer, at 604-822-9454 ormcordeiro@apsc.
ubc.ca for information.
All information is current at time of printing.
34   Trek   Fall 2004 Check for confirmed details on the web calendar at www.alumni.ubc.ca/events/calendar.
To RSVP for these events, visit the website,
phone the Alumni Association at 604-822-
3313 or toll free at 800-883-3088, or email
aluminfo@alumni.ubc.ca.
YOUNG ALUMNI
After a spring and summer helping out
with the Cinderella Project (providing
formal attire for students to wear to their
high school proms), volunteering at the
UBC Learning Exchange, and attending a
Vancouver Canadians baseball game at Nat
Bailey Stadium, the UBC Young Alumni
Network is picking up steam for the fall
season.
Friday, October 1
The Young Alumni Network is once again
organizing a "Murder at the Mansion
Murder Mystery" event to kick off Alumni
Reunion Weekend. (Our thanks go to Roger
Haskett BFA'91, ma' 92 and his company
Murder Unlimited for sponsoring this terrific event.) Tickets are only $20 and include
a dessert buffet, prizes and some great interactive entertainment. Put together a team
of five or six, or sign up on your own and
meet some other alumni and friends. Tickets
can be purchased at www.alumni.ubc.ca/
Dragon Boat Race at Stanley, Hong Kong,
June 22, 2004. The joint UBC/UofT Men's
"A" Division team placed 12th out of 27
(a move up from 16th last year). No one
seemed to mind that the team was the only
one with five female members, which was
probably responsible for the great finish.
Fall 2004   Trek   35 youngalumni
October 27
Entrepreneurial Opportunities
Robson Square
Career workshop put on by Canadian Youth
Business Foundation.Check our website for
updates.
Newsletter
The Young Alumni Network sends out an e-
newsletter every two months. Make sure you're
on the list! Visit www.alumni.ubc.ca/ youngalumni and click on 'Newsletter' to subscribe.
Mentoring Programs
Who better than UBC alumni for offering UBC
students valuable insight about the challenges
they will face upon graduation? This is why
we need your help. We are looking for alumni
currently working in the Vancouver area willing to come and speak to students about their
careers. We have various ways that you can get
involved and inspire students.
Our first event is Science Career Expo in
November, which attracts nearly 500 Science
students eager to hear what our graduates
have to say about the world of work. This
will be followed up with Arts Career Expo
and Beyond the BA. In addition, many faculties offer one-on-one mentoring opportunities
for students through the UBC Tri-Mentoring
Program. If you are interested in participating
in these events, please call Dianna DeBlaere
Ladicos at 604-822-8917 or email yamentor®
alumni.ubc.ca
Volunteer Programs
Did you know that the UBC Alumni
Association is a volunteer organization? We
are always looking for alumni to get involved,
be it handing out pins at convocation, acting
as a mentor on a panel discussion for students,
being an alumni contact in a city outside of
Vancouver, sitting on various planning committees, or serving on our governing board of
directors. Visit www.alumni.ubc.ca/ about/volunteer to find out more about different ways
to get involved. For more information you can
contact Dianna DeBlaere Ladicos at 604-822-
8917 or email yamentor@alumni.ubc.ca.
Medicine '54 was the first class to graduate
from the faculty. At Spring Congregation,
2004, remaining members joined the 2004
grad class for a special ceremony. Following
was a hosted lunch with Dean Gavin Stuart
before setting off to the Manteo Resort in
Kelowna for four days of golf, relaxation and
reminiscence. Dr. Bill Gibson is seated, front.
36   Trek   Fall 2004 ALUMNI REUNION
WEEKEND
Thursday, September 30: Happy Birthday UBC!
Campus Alumni Barbeque at Cecil Green Park House
Sigma Tau Chi dinner at University Centre
Friday, October 1
Annual Murder Mystery Night, Cecil Green Park House.
Everyone Welcome
BASc'54 Lunch, Cecil Green Park House
BASc(Elec)'69 Tour of ECE building & pub night, Green College
BASc(Geol, Miners & Mets)'54 Dinner, Brock House
Dentistry, all years Alumni & Friends Golf Tournament,
University Golf Club, BBQ lunch
Home Ec'54 Lunch, UBC Botanical Garden Pavilion
Law Alumni Association AGM, Curtis Building
Med'64 Wine & cheese reception, Green College
Pharm'94 Cocktails, Toby's Bar
Pharm'74 Dinner, University Golf Club
Saturday, October 2
All classes  Pancake Breakfast (RSVPs only - contact info
below),  Cecil Green Park House
Aggie'54 Tour of Nitobe Gardens & lunch at the Asian Centre
Arts & Science'54 Hosted lunch, Green College Great Hall, campus tours
AppSci'54 Tour and lunch, CEME Building
BASc(Elec)'69 Dinner, Green College
Educ'79 & '94 Lunch, Scarfe Building
Forestry, all years BBQ and tour of Forest Science Centre
Law'79 Reception and dinner, Cecil Green Park House
Nursing, all years Lunch & guest speaker, UBC Botanical
Garden
Med'64 Afternoon activities with reception & dinner, Seasons in
the Park
Pharm'94 Tour of faculty & dinner, Pacific Palisades Hotel,
Seaton Suite
Pharm'74 Tour & lunch, Cunningham
Sunday, October 3
CBC Radio Orchestra at the Chan Centre
BASc'64 Evening reception at Cecil Green Park House
Home Ec'54 Brunch at classmates home
Med'64 Brunch location tbc
For information on reunions, please contact Jane Merling at
merlingOalumni.ubc.ca or 604-822-8918.
Forestry'73 Woodsmen (and women) got together in Priddis, Alberta
and had a great time recounting the rings, so to speak, of their lives.
Hard work from Bill & Janet Jansen, Mike & Kate Case, and Jim
Geoghegan made sure the event was as well-planned as a tree farm.
Including families, 45 people attended. Front row - Doug Baker, Brian
Logan, Frank van Oyen, Jim Burbee Middle Row - Gord Sluggett, Mel
Johnson, Mike Casey, Larry Atherton ('74), Steve Silveira, Bill Jansen,
Eric Johansen, Guenter Weckerle, Bob Johnson, Lloyd Wilson Ken
Balaski, Ron Gray Back Row - Dave Clarke, Jim Geoghegan
Upcoming Reunions
Applied Sciences:
(Contact May Cordeiro at 604-822-9454 or mcordeiro@apsc.ubc.ca for details)
BASc'74 October 6, lunch at Cecil Green Park House
ChemEng'69, CivEng'64, MechEng'54, MechEng'74 dates to be confirmed
Class of 1944 November 25, hosted brunch and participation in Fall
Convocation
Home Ec'59 September 29-30, Whistler Summit Lodge
Home Ec'69 September 25, pot luck supper at classmate's home
Home Ec'79 October 16, Dinner at Cravings Restaurant, Vancouver
Law'69 September 17-19, 35-year reunion at Crown Isle Resort, Courtney, BC
Law'74 October 22-24, Harrison Hot Springs Resort & Spa
Law'84 October 29, Dinner at Cecil Green Park House
Law'89 October 22, Wine and Cheese at Cecil Green Park House
Med'55 tbc
Med'74 October 16, Dinner at the Wedgewood Hotel, Vancouver
Creative Writing November 4, 40tn anniversary reunion at Cecil Green Park
House
For information on reunions, please contact Jane Merling at merling@alumni
ubc.ca or 604-822-8918.
Fall 2004   Trek   37 CLASS ACTS
50S
Canon Bernard Barrett BA'51, BD'54 has
recently returned to Vancouver. He is president of Religion for Peace, Canada, and has
been an Anglican priest for 50 years ... Hugh
Daubeny BSA'53, MSA'55 received Outstanding
Cultivar awards from the Canadian Society
for Horticultural Science and the American
Society for Horticultural Science. The
awards recognize his development of the red
raspberry cultivar, Tuiameen. The cultivar,
released from the Agriculture and Agri-Food
Canada berry breeding program at the Pacific
Agriculture Research Centre, has become
the world's leading fresh market raspberry
... Retired Supreme Court Justice William
H. Davies LLB'55 has returned to practice
as associate counsel at Baker Newby in
Chilliwack. He was a partner there (then
Wilson, Hinds & Davies) in 1957, shortly
after being called to the bar. In 1982, he was
appointed to the Supreme Court of BC and in
1990 to the Supreme Court of the Northwest
Territories. He retired in 1999 and has been
active in the Chilliwack community, holding
office in many local organizations ... Robert
P. Langlands MA'57 has been elected to the
American Philosophical Society in recognition
of his distinguished achievements ... Primate
Michael Peers BA'56 received an honorary
degree at the Vancouver School of Theology's
annual convocation. He has been primate of
The Anglican Church of Canada since 1986.
6O
Silver Donald Cameron ba'6o, journalist, playwright, educator and champion of
grassroots economic development, received
an honorary Doctor of Civil law degree
38   Trek   Fall 2004
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1
S.K. McGarvey with NASA Space Foundation Medal
from The University of King's College.
He has written 15 books and more than
50 radio dramas, television scripts and
magazine articles. He is co-founder of The
Mysterious East magazine and Centre Bras
d'Or, the Cape Breton arts organization.
He is founding chairman of Telile, Isle
Madame's community television station
and is deeply involved in the restructuring
of the area's economy following the collapse of the fisheries ... W. John Dawson
BCOM'64, FCA has been recognized in the
2004 Merit Awards program of the Institute
of Chartered Accountants of Alberta. He
is only the second CA outside Alberta to
be given this award ... Art Field bpe'6o,
MPE'64 taught and administered in Salmo
for more than 30 years, retiring a couple of
years ago. A new Salmo school was recently
opened and during the ceremony Art was
recognized for his dedication to education
and community involvement. The new
school's gymnasium has been named the Coach Art Field Gymnasium in his honour
... Robert L. Felix MA'62 is president-elect
of the Southeastern Association of Law
Schools. He and wife Judy J. Grossman
BA'62 have just returned home from a tour
of the Baltics and Russia. They have 10
grandchildren, all within an easy drive from
their home in Columbia, South Carolina ...
Constantine Gletsos MSc'65, phd'68, now
retired and living in  Pomona, New York,
has received this year's County Executive's
Outstanding Environmental Volunteer
Award. The award recognizes his efforts
to protect local water supplies by putting up notices near storm drains warning
against the repercussions - both legal and
environmental - of dumping, and for making his village a litter-free zone by forming
the Pomona Clean-Up Squad. Constantine
is a retired medicinal chemist who discovered an anti rejection drug in the 1990s
used when transplanting organs. His wife,
Helen D. Kerr-Gletsos, graduated from
UBC with a BA in 1965 ... Jane Heyman
ba'66 is the 2002 recipient of the Union
of BC Performers Sam Payne Award for
Humanity, Integrity, and the Encouragement
of New Talent. In 2003, she received the
Canadian Actors' Equity Association Larry
McCance Award for members of Canadian
Actors' Equity Association or staff who
have made an outstanding contribution to
the association ... Bill Kirby ba'66, MFA'73
is founder and executive director of the
Centre for Contemporary Canadian Art
and director of The Canadian Art Database
Project, which can be seen at www.ccca.
ca. He was head of the Canada Council
Art Bank for 14 years until 1995, and prior
to that was responsible for the Council's
Program of Assistance to Art Galleries
and Artist-Run Spaces for three years. He
is a former professor of Contemporary
Canadian Art at the University of
Manitoba's School of Art; curator of
Contemporary Art at the Winnipeg Art
Gallery; and director of the Edmonton Art
Gallery ... S.K. McGarvey bsc'68 has been
inducted by the NASA Space Foundation into
the 2004 Space Technology Hall of Fame.
Established in 1988, the hall of fame recognizes people who have adapted technology
developed for space applications for everyday use. McGarvey developed a laser which
is able to correct  myopia and hyperopia
from technology NASA used for delicate
docking procedures ... After 39 years wandering in the wilderness of Ontario, Illinois
and Alberta, Andy Pickard BSc'64, phd, has
moved back to BC, just north of Qualicum
Beach. He continues his career as a consultant with the petroleum industry. He left
UBC to follow Howard Clark to Western
for his phd, then completed two-years post-
doc at the University of Chicago. He then
spent 10 years with Imperial Oil in Sarnia
and 24 years with Petro-Canada in Calgary.
Now, he and wife Charlene are looking forward to designing and building a new home,
hiking, canoeing and gardening (when not
consulting) ... Tracy Wolfe msc'68 and
Robert Wolfe BSc'64, MSc'67 are retiring
after 34 years of teaching in the English section of the Cegep de la Gaspesie et des lies
in Gaspe, Quebec. They have been the only
chemistry and physics professors in the section
during that time. Robert has been honoured
by l'association quebecoise de pedagogie col-
legiale in recognition of his teaching. They
have two sons: Jonathan at the University of
New Brunswick in Biology, and Christopher
at Queen's in Computer Science. Tracy and
Robert look forward to having more time for
traveling in the spring and fall seasons, leaving
the summers for sailing. In recent years Robert
has developed a hobby repairing computers
and now has a part-time position as a school
computer technician. Tracy in involved in a
number of music projects, which include singing in three choirs.
70S
Silver Donald Cameron received an honorary
degree from the University of King's College
Dick Chambers BPE'70, pdp, ma has been
honoured by the BC School Superintendents
Association with its Distinguished Service
Award. Dick has been a superintendent for
more than 20 years, first in Arrow Lakes and
now for the Prince George School District. He
is a long-standing member of the BC School
Superintendents Association, spearheading
many initiatives and presenting at workshops
and conferences. He has also been a committed boys' volleyball coach, leading three
high school teams to provincial championship games. He is an Honorary Life Member
of the BC Secondary School Boys Volleyball
Association ... Stephen Fera BPE'71 has been
named Delta's Teacher of the Year. A science
teacher, he believes that fun is the key to keeping students engaged and learning. Outside the
classroom, he encourages students to achieve
through participation on a student council and
helps them to organize fund-raising and social
events ... Neil Fraser BASc'78, MBA (uwo) is
president of Medtronic of Canada Ltd. after
almost 20 years with the company. He lives
in Toronto with wife Heather and daughter
Ceilidh (n years) ... Hugh Harden BASc'75
MBA will return to Canada in September
Fall 2004   Trek   39 CORRECTION
Our apologies to Rev. Max Warne,
who received an honorary Doctor of
Divinity degree from the Vancouver
School of Theology in May, 2003,
not a bachelor degree as stated in our
spring issue. He is minister emeritus at St. Andrew's Wesley United
Church in Vancouver.
Ceilidh (n years) ... Hugh Harden BASc'75
MBA will return to Canada in September
to join Terasen Pipelines in Calgary as VP
Operations. Hugh, his wife, Gaye, and
children Heather, Angus and Stuart have
spent the last six years in Dubai, United
Arab Emirates, where Hugh has been VP
of Operations for Terasen International
... Rowena Liang BA'77, CEO °f Inventure
Solutions and VP of IT at VanCity Savings
Credit Union, received the Knowledge and
Leadership Award from the Association of
Women in Finance at the seventh annual
Peak Awards. She was selected for her commitment to a high professional ideals, as
a mentor within the finance industry and
through community involvement ... Brian
Nattrass LLB'72 has been awarded a scholarship by the Batten Institute of the Darden
Graduate School of Business Administration
in Virginia. He will pursue research and
writing on sustainable business practices
and sustainable innovation ...  Alex Nichol
MA'70 and Kathleen Nichol (Sturgess)
BA'70, MLs'73 run the Nichol Vineyard &
Farm Winery in Naramata, BC. Visit www.
nicholvineyard.com for more information
on their activities and products ... Wayne
Yu dule'oo is president of the Real Estate
Board of Canada, Greater Vancouver
Chapter, and was recently awarded the
Certified Commercial Investment Member
designation by the ccim Institute.
80S
Russell Stewart Brown BA'87 and wife
Heidi Brown (Hawelka) BCOM'89 have
moved to Edmonton, where Russell has
been appointed to the faculty of Law at
the University of Alberta. They have a
son, Gavin Paul, born in 2002 ... Donna
Lee Hill bsc'88, BED'91 is the director of
Island Discovery & Training, which teaches
tour guides and group leaders interpretive skills and natural history. She enjoys
native plant gardening. Husband Bruce
Angus bsc(pharm)'90 works in commuity
pharmacy and is completing his Provincial
Instructor's Diploma, and enjoys competing
in master's level agility. They are enjoying
a relaxing life on Vancouver Island with
their two dogs ... Bob Hewitt bsc(agr)'84
and Huang Hefeng have a son, Michael ...
Cam Livingstone BASc'82, meng married
Mireille Campeau. The couple are settling
in Seattle, WA, where Cam is taking a management position in Motorola's cellular
telephone division ... After several years
abroad in research management positions
at Bayer Pharma's research sites in Japan
and Germany, Tim Lowinger bsc'86 has
returned to Connecticut, where he is VP of
Medicinal Chemistry Research at Bayer's
us research centre ...  Takashi Sato bsc'86,
msc'88, PHD'95 and Nancy Norman bed'oo
announce the birth of their first son, Marc
... Pianist James Parker BMus'85 is the recent
recipient of two Juno Awards. The first was
for his part in the Gryphon Trio and their
CD Canadian Premieres, and another for his
pianistic collaboration with soprano Isabel
Bayrakdarian in the CD Azulao. Jamie is a
graduate of The Juilliard School and currently holds Rupert E. Edwards Chair in
Piano Performance at the u. of Toronto. He
was a soloist with the Vancouver Symphony
in February and the Gryphon Trio played
for the Music in the Morning series for four
mornings from March to April ... Stephen
Wendell Barnett MFA'82 has published The
Road to Makokota (MacAdam/Cage), a novel
set in West Africa. (See book reviews.)
90S
Cynthia Azana BSc'97, Msc'02 and Oliver
Guevara BSc'97 were married in August,
2001. Cynthia now owns and operates
Sentiment Photography and Imaging, and
Oliver is a radiation therapist at the BC
Cancer Agency ... Jessie Barkley BA'97
graduated from the University of California
in 2000 with an MA in Urban and Regional
Planning. She is currently working in Los
Angeles for an urban planning firm. In June,
she won the California American Planning
Award for a community design project for
Brea, California ... Greg Bauder BA'98 has
had two novels accepted for publication by
Publish America: The Temptress Ariel and
Selene's Guiding Light ... Danielle Bretton
BA'90, LLB'94 had her first baby, daughter
Rachel Hope Coyne, on February 25, 2004
... Erhan Budak PHD'94 worked for Pratt
and Whitney, Canada in Montreal after
graduation. He returned to Turkey in 2000
to become a faculty member at Sabanci
University in Istanbul. Daughter Ece, who
went to UBC daycare and preschool, is now
15 and in high school. Erhan was awarded
the 2003 Taylor Medal by the International
Production Engineering Research Institution,
40   Trek   Fall 2004 based in Paris, for his work in the area of
advanced machining technologies, which he
began during his phd at the Manufacturing
Automation Lab at UBC. He frequently
misses UBC ... Karen Marie Cornelius
BA'93 received an MA in psychology in 1997
and a doctorate in Clinical Psychology in
2003 from Pepperdine University. She runs
a psychology research program at UCLA in
California ... After a long trek, Jadvinder
Dhesi BSc'96, DMD'04 has completed his
Doctor of Dental Medicine degree at UBC ...
Elizabeth Hewalo BA'98, llb'oi and Michael
Steinberg BA'98, llb'oi were married in
North Vancouver on July 10, 2004. Mike
and Lis met at UBC Law and now work in
New York. Both are admitted to the New
York Bar ... Connie Jang Bsc'95 asks "Who
says a bsc won't come in handy?!" She and
husband Eugene Mar BSc'93 have recently
celebrated their sixth wedding anniversary
and the fifth anniversary of being in business
together. Their business, Wedding Things,
can be found in Yaletown at 1020 Mainland
Street. They specialize in wedding invitations,
wedding favours, confectionary and baby
gifts.
OOs
Freddy Abousi bsc'oi is taking his degree in
medicine at UBC and recently received the
Action Canada Fellowship, worth $20,000,
meant for young leaders in Canada who have
the potential to become top public leaders of
the future. Of Armenian descent, Freddy was
born in Iran and grew up in various places in
Europe. He holds an MSC from the London
School of Economics and an MBA from
Oxford. He has led consulting and research
projects for organizations such as the Kenyan
Agency for Rural Development, the British
Medical Association, the American Enterprise
Institute for Public Policy Research, the nessT
Venture Philanthropy Fund and the World
Bank. His most recent initiative, Medamorph
Systems, aims to improve medical education
throughout Canada by development and
implementation of a comprehensive medical record clinical curriculum. In addition,
he has spent the last few years competing in
marathons and triathlons, sailing internationally, and rowing on the Thames ... Carley
Daye Andrews ba'oo is pleased to announce
her graduation from Harvard Law School
upon completing her JD degree. She plans to
practice law in Seattle ... Darren Harkness
BA'02 has just published Apache Essentials:
Install, Maintain, Configure, a guide to the
Apache webserver for the non-propellerhead.
More information can be found at www.
amazon.ca ... Allison Kozdron Bsc'oo and
Nils Johnson Bsc'oo were married on May
29, 2004, in Langley. Earlier that month,
Allison received her mpa, and Nils his MD,
from Columbia University. They are moving to Chicago where Nils will begin an
internal medicine residency at Nortwestern
University ... Kristin Anne Mellish (Smith)
Msc'97 married Robert Mellish in May,
2004 ... Jonathan Denis Mills Msc'03
is studying medicine at Dalhousie ...
Sharon Priest-Nagata MED'03 is pleased to
announce the opening of her private counselling practice at 1200 Burrard Street. D
Can UBC Create Your Legacy?
Bailie Martin trunk-; ;o. Attaining hi* CGA training from UBC while holding
dowm a job and *nff acting a family he .learned fic*thand .now older *tudent;
in particular often *tmggk to complete their degree*. To honour hi daughter,
Diana Cajol L/uLTtin, he ha* eatable-hed a bius-aiy that will ea*e the financial
buiden for Commerce student*. Alto, to en* ure that thi* award will benefit
i indent* well into the f utnie, he ha* included U£ C in hi* will, faying,
"It* amazing what you. can do even with *mnll amount*."
To cueate a legacy that will helf *tudent* achieve their dreamt, contact
UB C Gift &£ E*1ate P .tanning *taf f or aik for a free information .kit.
TeL 604-822-5573 Email hintagi.ciiicle@iibc.ca
THE   UNIVERSITY   OF   9RITISH   COLUM9IA   1   VANCOUVER
w ww. ;u pporti n g. u bc. c-i
Fall 2004   Trek  41 Each year, the Alumni Association puts out a call
for nominations for the annual Alumni Achievement Awards.
The awards selection committee then pores through the nominations
to choose individuals from among UBC's alumni and friends
who represent the highest standards of achievement.
It's a difficult task because there are so many worthy people.
jSEaSfr*
^mSSS^
THE 2004 ALUMNI ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS
Fortunately, there are other years, and there will never be a shortage of worthy recipients.
This year's Alumni Achievement Dinner takes place Wednesday,
November 17, at the Fairmont Waterfront Hotel, and will honour
those alumni and friends described below.
Outstanding Student Award
Christopher Zappavigna, Bsc'02
Chris didn't want his student experience to consist solely of attending class. He wanted to explore everything that the campus had to
offer, and beyond. So he got involved in intramural sports, community
volunteering and student politics.
He likes to shoulder responsibility directly, from sitting on committees that deal with top levels of university administration to his volunteer work as a certified first-aid attendant at public events with the St.
John's Ambulance.
As a student politician, he makes sure student concerns and interests stay firmly in the minds of policy- and decision-makers. He served
on the Student Appeals on Academic Discipline Committee and was a
member of the President's Advisory Council for the selection of a new
Dean of Science. It was a source of pride to be recognized by his peers
when he was chosen to be a student senator for the Faculty.
As VP and then president of the Undergraduate Chemistry Society,
he attracted more funding than ever before, and expanded the society's
scope to include all science students, increasing membership by 50 per
cent and helping to encourage inter-disciplinary exchange. He also
represented the chemistry department on the Science Undergrad-uate
Society, was the student representative on the department's curriculum
committee and was a member of the Grad Class Council.
Chris is a biochemistry and genetics major with an impressive academic record punctuated by many scholarships and awards, a place on
the Dean's Honour List and membership in the Golden Key Society.
One of his passions is soccer. He is a member of the UBC Legacy
Games Soccer League and a gold medal winner in men's first division
futsal, a five-a-side version of soccer. Another activity he crams in is
writing and editing a bi-monthly, English-Italian medical newsletter,
The Health Language.
Beyond the campus, his community involvement includes working
in the Emergency Room at Burnaby Hospital, where he heads training
for other volunteers. He is also an executive officer on its auxiliary
board of directors. As part of UBC's Trek Program, he volunteers in
Vancouver's Downtown Eastside at a shelter that provides a place to
sleep for those with substance abuse problems. He is now leader of
orientations for new student volunteers. He believes his contact with
the outside community keeps him in touch with reality and will serve
him well in his future pursuits. He plans to attend medical school.
42   Trek   Fall 2004 Fall 2004   Trek  43 Outstanding Young Alumna Award
Heather Lovelace, Msc'02
Heather Lovelace is a registered dietician who provides nutritional
assessment and care for patients at Vancouver General and Royal
Columbian hospitals. She is also a sessional instructor, teaching assistant, and workshop facilitator at UBC.
Heather remembers the mentors who enriched her experience as a
graduate student. As well as demonstrating a genuine interest in students and teaching, they were active in the community and advocates
for better health care. Like them, she goes out of her way to help, and
wants to have an impact in the lives and careers of her students, her
peers and her patients.
She saw her chance to make a difference through the Community
Health Initiative by University Students (emus) located in the
Downtown Eastside, where she is a project leader and student mentor.
She has helped raise the level of participation and quality of experience
for dietetics students, providing them with a slice of real life on which
to base the development of professional habits. She involves them at
the planning stage for projects, gives them front-line experience with
clients and facilitates their interaction with students and practitioners
from other disciplines. Her approach enhances the synergy among disciplines to improve outcomes for all involved. Dedicated, compassionate and non-judgmental, she breaks down barriers at all levels so that
students will approach her, clients will confide in her, and colleagues
from related disciplines will collaborate with her. Her persuasiveness
and achievements attract funding to projects and one of her goals is
to make these programs financially sustainable for the long-term. She
credits her experience with emus as increasing beyond measure the
value of her formal education; she loves to see scientific knowledge
applied to real-life practice.
Illuminating
■IVM,-.^
Achievement
10th Annual
Alumni Achievement
Awards Dinner
Wednesday, November 17, 2004
5:30 pm
Fairmont Waterfront Hotel
900 Canada Place Way
Vancouver
Thanks to our Platinum sponsor
Placer Dome Inc.
Generous with her knowledge and skills, Heather is happy to see
others in her field succeed and is doing her part to ensure quality in
the next generation of practitioners. Her infectious enthusiasm for her
work motivates students and inspires them to push themselves beyond
traditional barriers and the confines of their program of study. She
is frequently sought out as a mentor at emus and for research and
clinical projects with more than 20 students at a time benefiting from
her insight and time. She is the 2004 recipient of Most Spectacular
Mentor Award for contribution to emus.
Heather was recognized by Dietitians of Canada with the Judy Van
Tilburg Memorial Award in 2002 and received the Isaac Lipovsky
Award in Nutrition in 2001.
Alumni Award of Distinction
Henry (Hank) A. McKinnell, BCOM'65
Hank McKinnell is Chairman of the Board and ceo of Pfizer. He
joined the company in 1971 in Tokyo and has worked for many of
its subsidiaries abroad. Thanks to fast organic growth and two major
acquisitions under his guidance, Pfizer is now the world's leading
research-based pharmaceutical company.
Hank earned MBA and phd degrees from Stanford and is chairman of the advisory council for its Graduate School of Business. In
2003, the school presented him with its Excellence in Leadership
Award, lauding his leadership and integrity. Along with charing
Pfizer's board, he has been elected to the boards of Moody's Corp.,
ExxonMobil Corporation and John Wiley & Sons Inc. He is a director of the Chamber of Commerce of the USA, and of the Business
Council. He is co-chairman of Business Roundtable and a corporate
member of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Hank believes
in management education that creates strong leaders, and a business
environment where employees can speak openly and candidly about
problems and opportunities.
As well as for commercial success, Hank wants Pfizer to be recognized as a corporate citizen with good business practices. In partnership with governments and non government organizations, Pfizer has
initiated programs to help provide affordable medical treatment to
low-income people and to combat infectious diseases, especially HIV/
AIDS, worldwide.
Hank's vision is to tackle world health problems through a coalition of stakeholders—government, non-profit and private sector—to
shape innovative health programs that offer more medical access to
more people. He was appointed to the Presidential Advisory Council
on hiv/aids. He is also a Fellow of the NY Academy of Medicine.
Hank has contributed to the larger community as well as to the
corporate world. He sits on the board of trustees of NYC Public
Library, the New York City Police Foundation, the JF Kennedy
Centre for the Performing Arts, Channel Thirteen/WNET, the Royal
Shakespeare Company of America and the Japan Society.
44   Trek   Fall 2004 Lifetime Achievement Award
Irving Barber, BSF'50, LLD'02
Hard work, the recognition of opportunity
and faith in his own ability have catapulted
Ike Barber to the heights of achievement.
A Professional Registered Forester, Ike purchased a lumber mill in 1978 at the age of
55, and established Slocan Forest Products
Ltd. He developed this company into one
of the most successful in the North America
lumber industry.
In 1997, he received the Ernst & Young
Entrepreneur of the Year Award, Pacific
Region, in recognition of his entrepreneurial
leadership. More recently, in 2000, Ike was
recognized with the Distinguished Forester
Award by the Association of BC Professional
Foresters. Although retired now, he stays
involved as a member of the UBC Faculty of
Forestry Advisory Council.
Ike claims he never had his career plotted out as a series of goals to be achieved.
Instead, he kept his head down and worked
specifically on immediate issues. Now in his
eighties, he is able to enjoy a sense of accomplishment and wants to accomplish still
more. He is motivated by the desire to create
a meaningful legacy that will have a positive
impact on British Columbians.
Ike is a philanthropist who directs his gifts
carefully, ensuring that money goes toward
causes that will serve the people of BC and
positively influence the future development of
the province. Educational institutions, especially UBC, have been a vehicle for achieving
these aims and Ike has been able to enhance
health research and learning potential. His
gifts made possible a learning centre at UBC,
a diabetes research endowment fund at
UBC, a human islet transplant laboratory at
Vancouver Hospital in partnership with UBC,
and a forestry laboratory at the University of
Northern British Columbia.
As a benefactor of The Irving K. Barber
Learning centre, currently under construction, Ike has demonstrated the importance
he attaches to access to information and
resources to promote learning. The Learning
Centre seeks to better BC economically,
culturally, socially and intellectually, taking
full advantage of the opportunities afforded
by the electronic highway to open up the
resources of UBC Library to communities
beyond the campus.
Ike received the Order of British Columbia
in 2003 and was invested as an Officer of
Order of Canada in 2004. He has been
inducted into the Canadian Business Hall of
Fame and was awarded honorary Doctorate
of Law degrees by UBC and by University of
Northern British Columbia in 2002.
Outstanding Student Award
Jama Mahlalela
Although he is not his team's star player
and sometimes doesn't even get to appear on
court during a game, Jama Mahlalela's naming as captain for the UBC mens' basketball
team last October was a popular decision,
approved of by fans and fellow players alike.
He's a natural leader, well liked and his team
is one of Canada's best.
An undergraduate in Human Kinetics,
Jama has been president of the Thunderbird
Athletic Council for the past three years
and is student rep on the University Athletic
Council. His sporting colleagues have Jama
to thank for a good chunk of the department's social life. He is the athlete rep on
the organizing committee for the annual
Millennium Breakfast and Big Block Dinner,
and was MC for the 2002 Mentor Breakfast.
He has also spearheaded a number of other
social activities including a bowling night, a
Halloween bash and an Athletes Welcome
Back BBQ and Social. At this year's Big Block
Awards banquet, Jama was presented with
a certificate in recognition of his "excellence
in the areas of selfless-dedication, leadership
and spirit."
Jama's involvement at UBC is not limited
to sports and he doesn't want to miss out on
anything that campus life has to offer. He
recently ventured into student politics, standing for a position on the AMS council, and
participated in this year's Student Leadership
Conference. He is a member of the African
and Caribbean Association of UBC (he is
from Swaziland), was involved in unicef's
collection drive in support of Southern
Africa, is a member of Students Against
Global Aids (he has lost members of his own
family to the disease) and volunteered during
Africa Awareness Week in January.
Jama uses his skill on the basketball court
to help and encourage kids, and give them a
positive role model. He provides his time and
expertise as a referee for real basketball - a
community program for kids - and took part
in basketball clinics at Collingwood School.
He was also involved in organizing basketball
camps for underprivileged kids in Penticton.
Teaching is one of the areas he is interested in
exploring. He gained a lot of satisfaction by
helping to coordinate the I'm Going to UBC
program, running sessions for more than 200
participants.
On completing his studies he plans to
return to Swaziland to teach and help his
homeland, which has a high level of poverty
and is ravaged by aids. He sends over as
much sporting wear and equipment as he can
collect. While most of his Thunderbird team
activities are now behind him, a competitive
career might not be out of the question. He
has accepted an invitation to play basketball
on the Swaziland national team.
Blythe Eagles Volunteer Service Award
Kimberly Azyan, BA'85, Bsw'89, Msw'92
With three UBC degrees to her name,
Kimberly Azyan is finding it hard to sever
her alma mater's apron strings. Her work
as president of the School of Social Work's
alumni division since 1997 is encouraging other alumni to stay attached, too. For
almost ten years, she has been at the forefront of activities designed to allow alumni
to maintain strong connections with old
classmates and with the university. She chairs
regular meetings to boost membership, plan
and implement events and guide other division activities.
Currently Director of Adult Services for
Public Guardian and Trustee of British
Columbia, Kimberly's work promotes and
implements policies to serve the interests of
vulnerable adults in the province. Previously,
she worked in child protection, resource
development, emergency services and the
community placement project. She is heavily
involved in her profession and its development and she is a catalyst that brings together
Fall 2004   Trek  45 seasoned and beginning practitioners so that
they can benefit from each other's insights.
She is involved in organizing an annual
alumni forum to discuss vital issues affecting
social work, such as community development
strategies, protection of seniors' rights and
child welfare services. Another annual event
is a Social Work Week collaboration with the
Sea to Sky Branch of the BC Association of
Social Workers. It brings together social work
students, alumni and faculty and showcases
graduate student research. Kimberly has also
arranged post-convocation receptions to welcome new social workers into the fold.
She keeps in touch with other alumni
through her co-editorship of the UBC School
of Social Work and Family Studies' newsletter, The Bridge. Both publications help support the school's annual fundraising drives.
Kimberly is also part of a team developing a
publication on the history of the UBC School
of Social Work and Family Studies.
Her service to the community doesn't stop
at professional boundaries. Kimberly has
been a board member of the Queen's Park
and Felburn Care Centres Foundation since
2000, and a member of VanDusen Botanical
Garden's Flower & Garden Show Committee
(1996-2000). She volunteered as coordinator
ofVancouver Playhouse fundraisers (1986-
94), and with West Coast Legal Education
and Action Fund and Surrey RCMP Victim
Services.
Honorary Alumna Award
June Carlyle
UBC is a place that holds many memories
for June Carlyle, but for her, the heart of the
campus is the Athletics department. At least,
that's where her heart is - along with her
second family.
Before her recent retirement, June Carlyle
was a beloved fixture in at UBC Athletics
for 15 years. Being around people is the
fuel that stokes her boundless energy and
the part about her work she loved the most.
Beginning as an administrative assistant, June
soon became an integral component of the
department, vital to the morale of its inhabitants and its continued positive development.
She retired as manager of Special Events and
Alumni Relations, having been the driving
force behind many formal and informal functions and a well known face about campus.
She was responsible for organizing the
annual  Millennium Breakfast, a fund-raiser
for an endowment fund for student-athlete
scholarships. The challenge of persuading
1,800 people to gather in one room for
breakfast at 7:00 in the morning had seemed
daunting, but with June as one of its champions the popular event has developed into the
most successful university fundraising event
for athletics in North America. June has also
helped to make the fund-raising golf tournaments and the Big Block and Sports Hall of
Fame banquets productive and memorable
occasions. She was also a key organizer
for the combined Alumni Achievement and
Sports Hall of Fame dinner, held between
1994 and 1998.
She is regarded as a mentor by many current and past students and colleagues.
Alumni Award for Research
Walter Hardy, bsc'6i, PHD'65
If Walter Hardy had followed his first
calling, that of becoming a professional
pianist, the world would have lost out on a
top-notch experimental physicist. As it happened, the world may well have lost out on a
top-notch pianist, but at least colleagues and
students in the department of Physics and
Astronomy at UBC can hear him play at the
annual department dinner.
Walter has a long history at UBC. After
a brief break following his bsc and phd
degrees, he returned to campus in 1971 as
a member of faculty. He is lauded by colleagues, who respect the quality of experimentation that has yielded invaluable knowledge for his field over the past 40 years.
Career highlights include the development
of a cryogenic hydrogen maser, a precision
atomic clock emerging from his research on
solid hydrogen and spin-polarized hydrogen.
But since the discovery of superconductors (materials that conduct electricity with
virtually no energy loss) in 1986, Walter's
research has focused on the mechanism of
high temperature super-conductivity. He is
now recognized as a leader in this competi
tive field that has attracted the attention of
many of the world's top physicists, and has
many potential applications in satellite and
wireless communication.
Walter's research group conducted microwave measurement experiments that lent new
understanding to how electrons behave to
produce high-temperature superconductivity.
According to Science Watch, the 1994 paper
relating to this significant work is one of the
top-ten cited papers in physics in the year it
was published.
Walter provided much of the leadership for setting up a program in high
temperature superconductors at UBC and
many credit him for the success of the
national program and academic network.
His group remains central in the Canadian
Institute for Advanced Research Program in
Superconductivity - an international network
of specialists - by providing the purest crystals for their research.
Walter is a scientist who has stared down
the most vexing questions posed by his field,
and his work has pioneered new depths of
knowledge. Several of Walter's proteges have
gone on to become professors, and he has
helped develop the careers of many others as
well as enticing established and distinguished
researchers to UBC. Walter has done much
to enhance UBC's reputation as a research
university. Has impressive list of publications
have appeared in the best journals and he
was elected to the Royal Society of Canada
at just 40 years of age. He has won almost
every significant award in Canada including the Fritz London international award in
2002, the Canada Council Killam Prize in
1999, the Canadian Association of Physicists
Medal of Achievement in 1993 and BC
Science Council Gold Medal in 1989.
Walter has no plans to slow down and
recently took up hockey.
46   Trek   Fall 2004 JJg[| The Benefits of
pra Membership
The benefits begin with graduation
UBC grads organized this Alumni Association in 1917 as a way to stay in touch with friends
and with the university. We've developed many programs and services over the years to help
the process, and we're proud of what we do. Because we have nearly 200,000 members, we
can offer group discounts on services and save you money. At the same time, you'll be supporting programs offered by your Alumni Association
Manulife: Term Life Insurance. Extended Health and Denta
Protection Plan, and new Critical Illness Plan
dl Manulife Financial
MBNA: More than 10,000 alumni and students are supporting alumni activities by using
UBC Alumni Mastercard. The card gives you low introductory rates, 24-hour customer su
and no annual fees, and helps support programs like these every year
Reunions and Regional Networks
• 54 Reunions, with 4,100 alumni and guests attending
• 52 Regional Networks with 70+ world-wide events, and 2,000+ attendees
Mentoring and Young Alumni Programs
• 815 students attend mentoring events
• 50+ mentors helping current students
• 350+ alumni attend Young Alumni events
On-line community
• 3,600 members
• 1,406 mentors
their
pport
§
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Meloche Monnex: Home and auto insurance with preferred
group rates and features designed for our grads. Travel and micro-
enterprise insurance also available
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Alumni Travel Program: Education, Exploration, Adventure
More than 800 UBC alumni have experienced our exciting travel program. From the Napa
Valley and the Yucatan to Tuscany, Galapagos and the mountains of Nepal, our tours introduce you to planet earth's most fascinating places. Our travel partners, Intrav and Alumni
Holidays International provide the highest quality service in
uxurious, educational travel. See our 2005 offerings here, or
visit our web site
Alumni Acarc* partners offer you more value
The Alumni Acard $30 per year (plus GST).
UBC Community Borrower Library Card
Your Acar® entitles you to a UBC Community borrower library
card, a $100 value.
Working downtown? The Acar® is available at the library at Robson Square
The Museum of Anthropology
^cara holders receive 2-for-1 admission. For exhibit information, visit www.moa.ubc.ca
UBC Bookstore
First-time Acar® holders receive a 20% discount on selected merchandise
For more info about services and benefits,
or to purchase an Alumni Acar", please contact our offices
Phone: 604.822.3313 or 800.883.3088
E-mail: aluminfo@alumni.ubc.ca
2005 Alumni Travel
Education, exploration and adventure
Antarctica & the Falkland Islands
February 1-17, 2005
Discover the mystery below 60°S aboard the 122
passenger Clipper Adventurer. Booking quickly.
Galapagos Natural Wonders
February, 2005
Discover Darwin's inspiration and walk through
flocks of blue-footed boobies
Tuscany Cinqueterre
May, 2005
Based in Lucca, explore Tuscany and the
Cinqueterre, from the rugged shores of the
Ligurian Sea to hillside vineyards.
Classic Rhine Cruise
June, 2005
Sail from Amersterdam to Basel and steep yourself in the history, culture and cuisine of Europe
Romance of the Danube Cruise
June, 2005
Sail from Germany to the Baltic and taste the
flavours of classical Europe
Historic Ireland (Ennis)
June/July, 2005
Meet the locals and sample the music, dance
and literature of Ireland
Russia: Journey of the Czars
August, 2005
Waterways of Russia - Moscow to St. Petersburg
UPCOMING ADVENTURES
South African Safari - September 2005
China and the Yangtze River - Sept. 2005
Greece (Poros) - October 2005
Cal. Wine & Gastronomique - Oct. 2005
India & Nepal - November 2005
Mexico (Yucatan) - November 2005
More Young Alumni Adventures
coming soon!
For more information please see
www.alumni.ubc.ca/services/travel.htm
or call 604.822.9629
toll free 800.883.3088 UBC
Cany the pride of the University of British Columbia in your pocket.
Join more ttion 10,000 other UBC olumni and students in supporting your Association!
a ■>
Apply now for your UBC Alumni Association MasterCard"!
www. a pplyonfi nenow.com /canada/trek 1
UBC
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■~ 3DCi.V.aMA Canudrj Bunk in MEMORIAM
In Memoriam listings can be sent by post (see
masthead), or email to vanessac@alumni.ubc.ca.
If sending photographs electronically, please provide
high resolution file or scan print at 133 dpi
A. Harvey Burt BA'48 on December 27, 2003
... Bernard Brynelsen, BASc'35 on July 27 ...
James Patrick Fogarty BA'50, Bsw'51, Msw'52 on
November 16, 2003 of Progressive Supranuclear
Palsy ...   Aric Hayes, med'oz died suddenly
on August 6 from unknown causes. He was a
week away from his 32nd birthday ... Ronald
M. Killick BCOM'57 of North Vancouver ... Rev.
Edward I. McPhee BA'40, BED'46 ... Norman
B. Rudden BCOM'64 on December 25, 2003 ...
Keith Allan Rutt BASc'51 on April 30 ... The
Most Reverend Ted Scott BA'40 has died in a
motor accident. He was a head of the Anglican
Church of Canada during the 1970s and 1980s.
Florence Alexandra McLeod Auld BA'25
Florence passed away peacefully on February 28,
2003 in Vancouver at the age of 98. Mac, as she
was known, was on her class executive for three
years, vice-president for 1921-22, secretary for
1922-23 and literary representative for 1923-24.
In 1924-25 she was a member of the Women's
Undergraduate Society Executive as Women's
Marshal, and was secretary of the Mathematics
Club. She was a founding sister of Tau Omicron
which became the Alpha Lambda chapter of
Gamma Phi Beta in 1928. She also took part
in the Great Trek and was a member of the
Westbrook Society.
Florence started her teaching career in Victoria
and continued as a secondary business teacher
for the Vancouver School Board until her retirement. She and her husband, Bill, retired to the
Nanoose area of Vancouver Island where they
were instrumental in establishing the Nanoose
Volunteer Fire Department. She was predeceased
by Bill in 1976 and is survived by her stepson,
John Auld, bcom'6i, daughter-in-law, Diane
Auld, bed(sec)'59, grandsons, James, Jeffrey and
Jerry Auld and granddaughter, Joni Auld Stetz,
BA'92, and six great grandchildren.
Norman Campbell BA'44
Television producer Norman Campbell died on
April 12, aged 80. He was best known for his
involvement in both the television and stage pro
ductions of Anne of Green Gables, but produced
and directed countless other works in various
media to great acclaim in Canada, the US and
Great Britain. Norman was around - leading the
way in studio production - when CBC first went
on the air in 1952, eventually finding his niche
in music and variety shows. He received Emmy
awards for his ballet productions of Sleeping
Beauty and Cinderella (he produced 28 in total)
and in the US directed many episodes of The
Mary Tyler Moore Show and All in the Family.
His work meant he crossed paths with the likes
of Frank Sinatra Dianna Ross, Rudolph Nureyev
and Bing Crosby.
He was born in Los Angeles in 1924 but grew
up in Vancouver. At UBC he was a member of
the Players Club, starring in Her Science Man's
Lover by Eric Nicol. He
was a member of the
Royal Canadian Academy,
and an officer of the Order
of Ontario and the Order
of Canada. Norman leaves
his wife, Elaine, and their
five children.
Eve Cavendish BED'76
Originally of Belfast,
Northern Island, Eve
was the cherished wife
of Ken and mother of
three wonderful children,
Alison, Nicola and Mark.
She also leaves grandchild
Bronwyn, great grandchild Norman Campbell
Similkameen, and sister
Ethel Austin and family.
Eve died on January 14, 2004, after a valiant
battle with cancer. She was a teacher with many
years experience in the Vancouver and South
Okanagan School District. Both daughters went
on to receive their education at UBC. She was
a lifelong advocate of programs for the gifted
child.
Eve's caring and compassionate nature
bolstered and nurtured the esteem and self
confidence of all whom she taught. She was particularly dedicated to providing a rich and intellectual education for all children. She didn't want
children underestimated. She will be warmly
remembered by the many parents, children and
teachers whose lives she touched.
While serving with the WRENS during WWII,
she met and married Ken, then a junior officer
in the Submarine Branch of the Senior Service,
Royal Navy. It was an encounter that would provide them with 58 years of treasured memories.
Eve and Ken settled in Kaladen in 1964,
where the peace and tranquility, the ever-changing views of the lakes and hills, and their joy of
gardening gave them a keen sense of belonging
and home.
Eve's family want to thank her friends, neighbours and colleagues for their comfort and support and the many fine and dedicated folk in the
health care field.
William Brown Esson BCOM'47
William died May 6, aged 90, in Anacortes. He
was born September 23, 1913, in Vancouver to
Alexander and Anna (Anderson)
Esson.
William married Frances
on November 21, 1942. He was
employed as a hospital administrator in the healthcare industry.
He is survived by wife Frances,
sons James (West Virginia) and
William (Arizona), sisters Frances
(Vancouver), Jean Holton (White
Rock) and Margaret Elliott
(Regina), as well as numerous
nieces, nephews and cousins.
Dorothy Beatrice Farris
(Colledge) BA'32
Dorothy passed away peacefully
after a brief illness, surrounded
by family in her home. She was
92 years old. Born in Winnipeg,
she moved to Vancouver in 1918 and married
John Lauchlan Farris, who died in 1986.
Her passions in life were classical music,
developing and overseeing her beautiful garden,
exploring bc's coastline, nurturing her family
and friends, and supporting her husband in his
professional pursuits, most notably within the
Canadian Bar Association.
Dorothy's positive approach towards life will
forever be remembered by her children Ann,
Haig and Katherine, daughter-in-law Margaret,
grandson Jason (Sarah), granddaughter Lara
(Bob), and great grandchildren Jane, Hannah,
Owen and Lauchlan. Dorothy graced our lives
with elegance and love. Her genuine interest in
people put everyone who came in contact with
Fall 2004   Trek  49 in MEMORIAM
her at ease. All who knew her were indeed
"hung with horseshoes," and we take comfort
in knowing that for Dorothy "all is well."
Memorial donations may be made to the Van
Dusen Botanical Garden Association or a charity of choice.
Maxwell Eric Hewitt Gordon BED'63
Max was born in Trail, BC, on August 21, 1935
and passed away peacefully on April 10, 2004,
in the Palliative Care Unit at Princeton General
Hospital. A sportsman and a teacher, he will be
remembered on the basketball court, the curling rink or fishing his favourite streams. Max
will be sadly missed by many friends and relatives in Canada and Scotland, but particularly
by his mother, Jean Gordon, sister Ann-Shirley
Goodell (bsn'6o), son Dean Gordon, daughter
Dawn Gordon and their families.
Dr. Kenneth Graham
Kenneth, a professor emeritus from the faculty
of Forestry at UBC, passed away on Sunday
June 6, 2004. Ken taught forest entomology
in the core forestry program. He retired from
UBC in 1977 after thirty years of service.
A memorial donation may be made to the
Kenneth Graham Memorial Fund, for forestry
studies at UBC.
Edward Greathed BA'58
Ed majored in History and International
Relation at UBC, a course established by (then
head) Fred Soward in the hopes of producing recruits for Canada's fledgling diplomatic
service. He went on to Columbia, where he
received a Masters of International Affairs in
i960.
One of his first appointments was as national
secretary in Toronto for the Canadian Institute
of International Affairs. He went on to work
for the government of Ontario for twenty-five
years, principally as an advisor on intergovernmental affairs for several ministries. On retiring
in 1997, he returned to Vancouver and took up
a number of volunteer positions. Edward began
his service at UBC as Convocation Senator in
September 1999. He contributed regularly at
the meetings of Senate at its standing committees, including the Student Awards, Curriculum,
Academic Policy and the Tributes Committees.
He also served on the Alumni Association
Board of Directors, and volunteered as a reader
at the Crane Resource Centre. He volunteered,
Dorothy Beatrice Farris
too, at St. Helen's Anglican Church in West
Point Grey, serving for several years as rector's
warden.
Wherever he worked, Ed demonstrated the
finest qualities of a public servant through his
integrity, orderliness and scrupulous care in carrying out his duties.
Ed is survived by his two children, Dan and
Lara, and his grandchildren, Matthew and
Sarah.
Maud Hazel Hurst Hody BA'49, BED'52
Maud died on November 18, 2003, in Halifax.
She was born May 23, 1928, in Vancouver. She
is predeceased by husband Reginald Edmund
Hody, BA'49, whom she married while they were
still undergraduates. They lived in a trailer park
with other students and one of their part-time
jobs was babysitting UBC President Norman
MacKenzie's children. Always a strong woman,
she requested that her maiden name be put on
her degree. The Dean of Women refused and
apparently rather scathingly told her that if she
wanted to keep her name then she shouldn't
have married. Reg was a WWII veteran (rca)
and meteorologist. In the early 50s, he got a job
with what is now Transport Canada at Moncton
Airport and the couple moved to Moncton,
where all their children were born and raised.
Maud taught in Moncton and received her MED
from the University of New Brunswick.
When Reg died, Maud's oldest child was in
first year university and the remaining three
were still at home (aged 7, 12, and 15). She had
stopped teaching because of a hearing problem,
but was still writing (she wrote and researched
for the Dictionary of Canadian Biography). She
decided to return to work full-time and went to
Corrections Canada as a parole officer, the second woman in Canada to hold this position. In
1984, she transferred from the Moncton office to
Halifax where she remained until retirement at the
age of 65 in 1993.
To say that Maud had a life-long love of travel
is putting it mildly. She travelled extensively, frequently, and independently - often accompanied
by various children. She began in 1955 by taking
her toddler to the UK for a few months. During the
60s, she often drove her family to Vancouver and
1972 saw them car-camping around Europe. The
day after her retirement, she got in her car and
drove to Alaska for the summer. She made several
big trips in her retirement and was always planning for the next one.
Maud had a strong social conscience and was
involved with Voice of Women, the NDP and other
organizations. She was a founding member of the
Unitarian Fellowship in Moncton. She is survived
by daughters Florence and Laura, sons Reginald
and William (Pam Griffin-Hody), grandchildren
Max and Arden, and sister Clare Dick.
William George Johnston MASc'47, PHD, PENG
Bill received his BSC in Mining Engineering,
Geology option, from Queen's in 1945, an MASC
in Geology from UBC in 1947 and a doctorate
in Geology from MIT in 1950. He loved his work
as a geologist and worked at several locations
in North America before settling down with his
young family in Regina in 1964. He worked
many years for Saskatchewan Energy and Mines
spending considerable time every summer in the
field and retiring in the mid-1980s. Recently, he
had been undertaking his own research mapping
boulder trains in the prairie provinces of Canada
and northern USA, and was preparing for another
season of field work. Bill was killed in a tragic
accident on Friday, May 14, 2004.
James M. Kennedy
A professor emeritus of Computer Science, James
was director of the Computing Centre, professor of Computer Science and vice president of
University Services. If desired, memorial contributions to St. Anselm's Church, UBC Hospital or the
Alzheimer's Society would be appreciated.
Rolf Dietmar Kratz MASc'70
Professor Rolf Dietmar Kratz, one of South
Africa's leading structural engineers specializing in
bridge design, died May 17, three days after suf-
50   Trek   Fall 2004 fering from a stroke at the age of 62.
After receiving his BSC in Engineering at the
University of Cape Town in 1965, he came
to UBC in 1967 to do his Masters in Applied
Science. He met his wife, Karin, while still studying. Growing up in near-desert conditions in
Namibia, the cold, long, wet winters of BC finally
got to him and after three years they returned to
Cape Town. He started work for a large consulting firm and duly established their computer section. He designed the Gouritz River bridge using
largely a plane-frame program that he wrote
himself. In 1984 he started as a lecturer and
researcher at UCT, finally becoming an associate
professor in 1988. He had a passion for teaching so although leaving UCT in 1998 to become a
specialist consultant, he still taught post-graduate
courses. Many of the young engineers today in
South Africa have benefited from the high standards and quality of his courses. With his encouragement, several of his students went on to do
their masters at UBC as well.
In his career he was involved with bridges in
several foreign countries including Swaziland,
Nepal and Indonesia. In South Africa more than
20 bridges involved his expertise including the
Bloukrans and Mandela suspension bridge in
Johannesburg. He was also part of the team
responsible for the writing of the South Africa's
Bridge Code TMH7.
Although bridges were his first love, he was
involved with structural designs of many different kinds: oil refineries in Iran; analysis of
shear wall systems and design for earthquake
resistance of the Telekurs banking archive building in Zurich; high rises in Canada; the design
of pre-stressed segmental struts of a cofferdam
for a luxury hotel in Hong Kong. His work was
of the highest calibre and carried out with great
care and attention. This was duly recognized
with several South African design awards and by
being elected as a Fellow of the South African
Institution of Civil Engineering in 2001.
He is survived by his wife Karin, mother Anny,
brother Frank, sister Karina, son Stephan, daughters Kristina, Brigitte and Barbara and grandson
Darren.
Paul Lin
Professor Paul Lin passed away on July 4 2004.
Since 1983, when UBC first appointed him an
honorary research associate (becoming honorary
professor in 1984), he had long-standing relations with the Institute of Asian Research. Paul
was appointed to the UBC Senate by the BC
government in March 1994. He was appointed
Member of the Order of Canada in 1998 in
recognition of his outstanding contributions in
the development of Canada's ties with China.
He was considered Canada's leading authority
on the country and headed McGill's East Asian
Studies department for many years.
James Buckham (Jim) Magee BASc'47
Jim enjoyed a wonderful life from June 4, 1916
until April 16, 2004. After teaching for a year
and then working near Yellowknife in the mining industry, he returned to UBC to earn a BASC,
concentrating on Mining Engineering. His career
took him to interesting locations around BC,
NWT, Ontario and South America. In 1979, he
retired as the Mine Manager at Western Mines,
Campbell River. Jim is survived by Hilda, his
wife for 62 years, of Campbell River.
Francis (Frank) Joseph Marshall bed'6o
Frank Marshall of Quesnel passed away suddenly at his vacation cabin at Eagle Bay on Shuswap
Lake, on the morning of Sunday April 4, 2004.
Frank was born on March 25, 1937 in
Nelson, BC. He grew up by Kootenay Lake and
loved the water. He built his first small boat in
Nelson and two more in Prince George in the
60s. In the 80s, Frank studied boating courses
through the Canadian Power and Sail Squadron
and taught boating courses in Quesnel. When
the Quesnel Power and Sail Squadron was
formed, Frank held the position of training
officer. He began to play the bagpipes at age 10
with the Kootenay Kilties band and later played
with the UBC band, Shuswap Pipes and Drums
.
James Magee
and the Quesnel Legion Band.
Frank earned an MED from Western
Washington State. He taught industrial education
in Vancouver and Prince George, was director
of adult education in Cranbrook, BC; vice-principal at J.L. Jackson Jr. Secondary in Salmon
Arm; principal of QSS and Correlieu; director of
instruction, SD 28, and later assistant superintendent until retirement in 1995. Frank was active
in the BC provincial school accreditation program
for a number of years.
In his spare time Frank loved Shuswap Lake
and the times he spent at the Eagle Bay cabin,
as well as RV travelling and camping, especially
around BC and Alberta.
He is survived by his wife Anna Ingeborg and his
children John (Dawn) Marshall, grandchildren
Eric and Lacey, of Tumbler Ridge, BC, Dorothy
(Allan) Sand, grandchildren Curtis and Derek of
Quesnel, Tom Marshall, grandchildren Briana
and Brayden also of Quesnel, Karen (Shorty)
Smith and grandchild Jared of Tumbler Ridge,
and Christina Marshall of Calgary.
Frank was looking forward to the birth of
another grandchild and Jared Francis Smith was
born in Dawson Creek on April 20, 2004. He
was predeceased by his son William in 1980.
Donations in Frank's memory may be made to
a charity of your choice or the Building Fund of
Our Lady of the Lake Church, Sorrento, via St.
Ann's Church in Quesnel. The family of Frank
Marshall would like to thank their many friends
for all of their cards, food, flowers, prayers and
support given to them during their great loss and
members of St. Joseph's and St. Ann's Catholic
Women's League who prepared and served the
receptions.
Henry S. Maas
A professor of Social Work (1969-1984), Henry
passed away June 14. He was well loved by his
students and colleagues alike. Henry will be
greatly missed by all who knew him, especially
for his scholarly mind, commitment to social
work education and social justice, his accomplishments as a poet, his ready wit and the twinkle in
his eye.
Rex Bruce McKenzie BED'65
Rex McKenzie passed away peacefully in his sleep
at his home in Kelowna on September 28, after
a lengthy illness. He leaves his wife Dorothy, son
Brian (Molly), daughter Susan (Jamie Bannerman)
and three granddaughters, Molly, Katie and
Maggie Bannerman.
Rex was born in 1924 in Warner, Alberta,
where he graduated from high school in 1941.
Fall 2004   Trek   51 in MEMORIAM
He spent that summer attending normal school
in Calgary, where a four-month course in teaching was offered. He spent a year teaching in the
Peace River area. In 1942 he joined the RCAF and
spent three and a half years overseas.
On returning from the war in 1946, he spent a
year at UBC but was lured away from his studies
by a business venture - a small hotel. He and his
wife, Dorothy Boswell, bought and operated the
The Willow Inn in Kelowna. They had two children, Brian (1945) and Susan (1952). They operated the hotel, latterly with partners, until 1962,
when Rex returned to UBC to study Education.
He graduated in 1965.
Rex began his teaching career at Dr. Knox
High School in Kelowna in 1965. In 1968, he
transferred to Kelowna Senior Secondary School,
where he taught mathematics until retirement in
1988 (due to ill health). Rex enjoyed tennis and
curling and had been involved in track and field
as a student. He was always available to help
with school events - basketball tournaments,
swim meets and track and field meets.
Rex was very much a family man. He enjoyed
his family, granddaughters and his friends. He is
missed by all of them.
Roy Andrew Nodwell MASc'54, PHD'56
Roy passed away on June 3 o, 2004. He was
the head of the Physics department from 1977
to 1982. He started out at UBC as a student,
earning his masters and his PHD. He began his
career at UBC as an assistant professor in i960,
and was appointed as a full professor in 1966,
before rising to head the department in 1977. In
1984 following his retirement FROM UBC, he was
appointed chairman of the Science Council of BC.
Jack Pearl BASc'71 PENG
Jack died on May 25, 2004, after a long and
courageous battle with cancer and, later, lung disease. Family and close friends gathered on May
29 to say goodbye.
Arthur T. J. Physick BA'41, Diploma in Social
Work '42
Arthur died in the early hours of Monday, April
26, 2004, never regaining consciousness after a
stroke on April 24.
With humble beginnings, Arthur had to work
hard in order to attend UBC. At one point, he
left his studies to drive a bus so he could earn
more money to carry on his studies. It was while
he was a bus driver that he met his wife, June.
Art Physick
She had also spent a short time at UBC. After
university Arthur served with the RCAF and
the Canadian Army. He and June were married in 1945, a union that would last almost 56
years until June's death on December 3, 2000.
Throughout their marriage, Arthur would say "I
married above my station in life." They had two
sons: Brook (1950) and Greg (1947).
Although he started off in social work, Arthur
moved into the insurance field, joining New York
Life Insurance Co. and staying with the firm for
more than 30 years, ending up in the executive
offices. He commuted daily to New York City,
until retiring at the age of 61 and moving back to
Canada. In the New York Times of December 23,
1979, there was an article relaying one woman's
experience of commuting and forming relationships with others who shared the same journey
every morning. "The catalyst among us," she
wrote, "whose quick friendliness and puckish
banter sparked conversation and elicited witty
remarks from the others, the one who, in fact,
held it all together, is gone, retired, and moved
back to his native Canada. No one speaks of it as
such, but I believe all of us sense not just the loss
of an irreplaceable friend but the subtle dissolution of a special atmosphere."
After retiring, he continued to work as an
insurance consultant in Toronto, choosing the
city over Vancouver because it was where both
his sons were living. Later on, four grandchildren
were a source of great pride.
Arthur loved traveling and music. In 1993,
he went to Israel and was very moved by what
he experienced there. Arthur was a churchman
all his life and served in the church wherever he
lived. He was a man of love and faith. He used
to say "Throw a pebble in the water and the
extent of the ripples is the impact of your life on
earth." Arthur succeeded in making many positive ripples on the pond in which he lived.
Sandra Thomson phd'8i
Sandra died on July 16, 2004, after suffering
complications from hip replacement surgery.
She was 53 years old. Sandra was director of
Provincial Archives in Alberta and had recently
overseen the collection's move to new premises
in Edmonton. She was a champion of Alberta
history and believed that the collection should
be more easily accessed by scholars, geneolo-
gists and others, and that it contained invaluable
insights for shaping the future.
Sandra was involved in the local Ukrainian
community and was a member of the Ukrainian
Women's Association of Canada and of St.
Anthony's Ukrainian Church. She attended
church services regularly and performed research
for the church newsletter. She will be lovingly
remembered by husband Gunther, stepsons Eric
and Graeme, mother Helen, brother Edward
(Natalia), niece Tamara and mother-in-law
Gertrude. Memorial donations may be made to
the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Alberta or
to St. Anthony's Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
Miranda Sharpe BA'89
Miranda passed away peacefully on April 1,
2004. She was the beloved daughter of Keith
and Pat Sharpe, sister of David and Christopher
(Alison), and granddaughter of Vin and Edna
Bland. She will also be missed by cousins, aunt
and uncle.
Miranda's journey with breast cancer was
powerful to witness; she travelled with courage
and grace. In her 37 years of life, she wove a
wonderful web that connected people all over
the globe. Miranda enjoyed a successful career
at the Rick Hanson Institute based at UBC.
She embraced life, loved to travel, snowboard
the hills at Whistler, and play volleyball at
Vancouver's beaches. Miranda's family and
friends will remember her welcoming smile,
sparkling blue eyes and huge heart. Behind her
beautiful face and calming presence was a feisty
intellect and rapier wit. Miranda's passion was
friendship and her life was a testimony to the
value, art and beauty of relationships. Miranda
made a difference in this world. She taught all
those who knew her generosity of spirit and the
magic in every breath of life. The Sharpe family
52   Trek   Fall 2004 thanks Miranda's oncologist, Dr. Stephen Chia,
the BC Cancer Agency, and Miranda's wonderful
friends for their incredible support.
Andrew David Stagg BA'03
Andrew David Stagg, the only child of David
and Debby Stagg, was born on July 15, 1980, in
Vancouver. Until he entered Grade 2, Andrew's
second mum, Penny Spidel, looked after him
in her very special family daycare. From there,
he went on to attend Immaculate Conception
School, St. George's Junior School, and Point
Grey Mini School. He attended Langara College
before studying at UBC. Many wonderful teachers throughout Andrew's life went out of their
way to encourage him and help him develop his
gifts and skills. Classmates, too, influenced his
development.
Andrew played soccer throughout elementary and high school. He played in Dunbar's
House League for the Kingfishers and the Rams.
Under the supervision of Coach Luigi Scaglione,
Andrew played for the Dunbar Dynamites and
the Dunbar Celtic, winning with his team three
provincial championships. Coaches, parents, and
team-mates influenced and shaped Andrew as
player and person.
Work and workmates influenced Andrew,
too. He learned a lot about salesmanship in his
time at Eddie Bauer and enjoyed seeing familiar
faces among the customers there. For a couple of
summers, he enjoyed the destruction that is part
of construction, taking pleasure in dismantling
chimneys, lath and plaster walls, and cement
walks. Andrew's most recent job was as a food
runner for Sandbar restaurant, on Granville
Island. He enjoyed the physical challenge of navigating the layout with large trays, and the mental
challenge of expediting orders and engaging customers.
Camping and travelling with the Coombe family gave Andrew much joy and many adventures.
As a teen, he enjoyed mountain-biking with his
dad in Pacific Spirit Park. As an adult, he chose
motorcycling as his mode of transportation,
sharing his mum's car as necessary. Andrew also
enjoyed playing video games, watching Fi races
on television, and attending Vancouver's annual
Indy race with friends.
Stagg family projects Andrew took a hand in
included kitchen renovation, patio-brick laying
and garage siding. The many pieces of pottery he
created as a young teen are on display throughout David and Debby's home.
Andrew's reading was eclectic, from Shel
Silverstein to J.R.R. Tolkien to the heavy material
of textbooks. He managed his time well, making
room for family, friends, work, rest and study.
His favourite times were just chillin' with the
guys. And later he found love and companionship
with Naomi Buell. Andrew had a full life.
Andrew became a Christian as a child, believing and accepting the promise of John 3:16.
Immaculate Conception School, St. George's
School chapel services, and First Baptist Church's
Sunday School prepared Andrew for his walk
with God.
Andrew died on November 9, 2003, as the
result of a motorcycle collision with a motor
vehicle on October 1. David and Debby are grateful to the doctors and nurses, in Emergency, icu,
Trauma, and Palliative Care, who strove to help
Andrew. He will be lovingly remembered by family, friends, teachers, classmates, and co-workers.
Donations to the Andrew David Stagg
Memorial Fund of VGH & UBC Hospital
Foundation, 855 West 12th Avenue, Vancouver,
BC V5Z 1M9, would be much appreciated.
John Stewart
Assistant professor emeritus John Stewart died on
June 1, 2004. He was appointed as an assistant
professor of Philosophy in 1965 and retired in
1995 from the department of Philosophy after
30 years of teaching. He leaves behind his wife
Phyllis and his two sons Doug and John.
Lila Stringam (Morrow) dip.phn'6i, BSN'72
Lila passed away peacefully in Peace Arch
Hospital after a courageous battle with cancer.
Predeceased by her parents, Lila will be sadly
missed by husband Elwood, sister Joan (Dale),
brother David (Susan), and many nieces, nephews, stepchildren and grandchildren.
Born in Gravelbourg, Saskatchewan, Lila
devoted her life to caring for others. After her
nursing degree, she worked for several years as a
general nursing practitioner and taught nursing at
Kelsey College in Saskatoon. Later she served as
the head nurse of the Obstetrical Unit at St. Paul's
Hospital in Vancouver for more than 20 years.
In retirement, Lila was an avid gardener who
was instrumental in the development of the
Memorial Garden at Holy Trinity Church. She
was also an active member of the Church Altar
Guild. Those who knew her were blessed by Lila's
generosity and genuine concern for others. Her
family will miss her but are comforted to know
that she is in a better place. They would like to
thank Dr. Anna Chlebak and the staff and volunteer drivers of the BC Cancer Clinic for their
support during Lila's illness. A memorial donation may be made to the BC cancer Foundation or
charity of choice.
George W. West basc(mining)'5i
George West passed away suddenly on
Wednesday, May 12, 2004, at the age of 81. Born
in Edmonton on August 21, 1922, he lived an
active life right to the end. He was a graduate of
Strathcona High School. He was commissioned a
pilot officer during WWII, and later promoted to
flight officer in the 409™ Squadron, RCAF, serving from 1942 to 1945 in England and France.
He flew more than 120 missions and was downed
twice in his Mosquito. He returned to Canada
in 1945 and entered UBC first in Arts and then
Engineering for two years. He married Joan Byar
of Edmonton in 1948 and took one year out.
He reentered UBC in 1949 in the Mining faculty.
His early career initially focused on the mining
industry, but later he moved over to the petroleum industry working for McColl Frontenac,
which later became Texaco Canada. He spent a
good part of his later career in the oil patch in
Alberta, including a two year contract overseas
in Equador. He retired in 1987 after 31 years of
service, and carried on a very active life
traveling the globe and volunteering in several
community organizations, most recently in
registering seniors for community computer
courses.
He was a gentle, kind and caring man who
had a curiosity of things and his love of learning
stayed until the end. He leaves to mourn many
friends and family, and is survived by his wife
Joan, son Robert, daughters Marie (Russ) and
Beverly (David) and grandchildren Shannon,
Kelly, Channing and Pierce.□
Andrew Stagg
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ALLAN McEACHERN:
CHANCELLOR'S WORK IS
INTERESTING, CHALLENGING
What does a former Chief Justice ofthe Appeal Court of
BC do when he retires? The short answer, for Allan McEachern, is
"he doesn't." The long answer is a bit more complex.
He practiced law after he graduated from UBC with an LLB in
1950, ending up with one of Vancouver's top firms, Russell and
DuMoulin, now Fasken Martineau DuMoulin. In 1979 we was
appointed Chief Justice ofthe Supreme Court of BC, and in 1988
Chief Justice of the Appeal court. He retired as Chief Justice in
zoo 1, and returned to his old law firm to resume his practice.
In 2001, he was elected Chancellor ofthe University of British
Columbia.
During his time as Chief Justice, McEachern was highly respected as a reformer and as a champion of judicial independence. He
was also deeply concerned with the smooth operation of the judicial system, adjusting court procedures to make them more efficient, less expensive and more open to public scrutiny. He served
on the Canadian Judicial Council, a body that promotes efficiency,
uniformity and quality in the performance of federally appointed
judges in Canada. He also hosted his own website, inviting questions from the public on the judicial system.
Being Chancellor of a large university is not an easy job, and
is quite different from what he thought it would be. Never mind
that the annual pay is "less than a dollar." He knew that convocation ceremonies at UBC were small, numerous (23 in the spring
and only a few less in the fall) and demanding, but he appreciated
their significance.
"I thought the job would be largely ceremonial," he says with a
laugh. "I didn't realize the importance of being a full voting member of the Board of Governors." As it turns out, the ceremonial part
of the job is relatively small. "There's a lot of interesting, challenging
work to do.
He attends bi-monthly meetings of the Board of Governors, which in
itself requires reading inches-thick binders on the various issues being
discussed. As Chancellor, he is an ex-officio member of every BOG
committee. He attends many of their meetings, especially of those committees where his expertise and experience will be of benefit. He also
sits on vice-president search committees.
Has has represented the university at town meetings up and down
the Okanagan for UBC OK, and at town meetings for campus construction, and is on a joint UBC-GVRD committee, which deals with
issues that arise between the two.
President Martha Piper is impressed with his work as Chancellor.
"He is extremely conscientious and commited, " she says. "He involves
There are a lot of rewards in the job, and a lot of satisfaction in doing something
himself in the proceedings of Senate as well as the Board, and he
attends every grad ceremony and shakes every student's hand."
"It's quite an honour to have the job," he says. "The committee
work is extremely interesting, and you know at the far end of all the
work there's a great institution humming away, giving students the
very best education."
McEachern is also involved with the Faculty of Law. He is in charge
of a third year course in trial advocacy, held in the Law Courts.
"It's a very popular course," he says. "I do some teaching, but I'm
chiefly responsible for recruiting the lawyers and judges who give the
course."
McEachern's term as Chancellor is up this year, and he has agreed
to put his name forward for election to another three year term.
"There are a lot of rewards in the job," he says, "and a lot of satisfaction in doing something worthwhile." D
Photo Martin Dee
Fall 2004   Trek   55