ALUMNI CELEBRATION
U of C marks 50th anniversary
As a teenager in the 1970s, Robert Thirsk often tagged along with his older brother, an engineering student, to the contemporary, exhilarating, just-blossoming University of Calgary campus.
Amid a handful of cement-block buildings and a patch of brown prairie, Thirsk remembers only the thrill, the intellectual dynamic and the promise of a bright future.
“There was this aura, this vibrant, young feel to it,” he recalls. “There was only a few buildings, but everything for that time was very state-of-the-art — the labs, the classrooms. I was enthralled, and I knew I had to go there.”
Thirsk graduated in 1976 with a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering, in a class of 30 students, several of whom he is still close with today. A handful meet for breakfast, once a month, at a downtown Calgary diner.
Thirsk describes the invaluable experience as a “launch pad” to what became an impressive career as an engineer, medical doctor and astronaut with the Canadian Space Agency.
“In those early days, I learned so much from my professors,” he said. “They took a genuine interest in my education. And from my classmates, the collaboration (and) the teamwork gave me the important skills I needed for the rest of my career.”
Thirsk, now chancellor of the U of C, will be among thousands of dignitaries and alumni celebrating the university’s 50th anniversary this weekend, marking five decades of extraordinary growth, expansion, research-intensive programming and philanthropic support.
Dozens of events, including academic workshops, panel discussions and more than 50 lectures, are planned across campus for the Alumni Weekend on Saturday and Sunday.
Looking back over a century, city leaders pushed for a university as early as the late 1800s. In 1945, post-secondary degree programs were being offered in Calgary via a satellite campus of the University of Alberta.
But it took until 1966, 50 years ago, for the U of C to officially became independent, with a handful of programs, just three years after the student body voted nearly 80 per cent in favour of autonomy.
That same year saw major expansion, including construction of additional engineering space, of Calgary Hall (now Craigie Hall), the opening of the University Theatre and plans approved for a medical school. All were an indication of rapid growth that included a citywide housing shortage and a dire need for more post-secondary educational opportunities.
A $70-million investment from the province helped fund expansion into the next two decades as growth continued throughout the 1970s and 1980s, despite the boom and bust pattern of the city’s fickle economic engine.
By the mid-1990s, after low oil prices and dwindling government revenue resulted in deep cuts to provincial funding, the university created its own solution to support continued growth through philanthropy. Thanks to major efforts in outreach and connecting with private industry, the U of C established itself as a vital arm of the community it serves, as opposed to the academic island some universities can become.
Over the next two decades, programs such as commerce and engineering were boosted with multimillion-dollar gifts from philanthropists, including $16 million from Dick Haskayne and $25 million from Seymour Schulich, resulting in the renaming of expanding faculties to the Dick Haskayne School of Business and the Schulich School of Engineering.
The U of C’s internationally recognized Health Research Innovation Centre has also benefited from philanthropic support, including the Hotchkiss Brain Institute (Harley Hotchkiss), the Libin Cardiovascular Institute (Alvin Libin) and the McCaig Institute for Bone and Joint Health.
Ann McCaig, philanthropist and widow of iconic Calgary businessman Bud McCaig, says giving to the U of C is an important responsibility for those who can give.
“I am passionate about it. It’s what builds communities. Great cities need great universities, so if you can help, you should help, either through time, talent or treasure,” says the former U of C chancellor, adding that she often gets feedback, including anonymous messages on her answering machine, thanking the family for their continued support.
Even in the last two years, while much of the province struggles within a severe economic downturn, the U of C continues to celebrate major donations. In 2014, a record-setting $100 million for medical research was received from business man and alumnus Geoffrey Cumming for what is now the Cumming School of Medicine.
Mark Sollis, vice-president alumni relations, says former students often credit their success to the university and they want to give back.
“They do that in many ways — volunteering, working with students, lecturing,” he says.
“And many give back through their own dollars (and) through their own success, because they know the difference the university has made in their lives.”
U of C president Elizabeth Cannon says the university owes much of its success to the generosity of its donors, allowing the school to be one of the country’s top universities for research and innovation.
Originally from the Maritimes, Cannon began her undergraduate engineering studies at Acadia University, then completed them in Calgary, continuing on with a masters and PhD in geomatics engineering, at the time a cuttingedge technology that launched the invention of GPS (global positioning system) navigation.
Much like Thirsk, Cannon looks back fondly to her earliest days as an undergrad on campus in the mid-1980s. She credits her success to inspirational professors. Because they were deeply invested in research and innovation in their own areas, she explains, they passed on that expertise to students.
“I was working with professors who were deeply involved in research, whose knowledge was at the forefront of technology (and) who were pushing the envelope of their disciplines,” she says. “And when teachers bring that into the classroom, it’s really exciting; it’s captivating.”
Cannon explains much of that experience is why she continues to promote the importance of research and innovation at U of C. Not only does it push the school into the future, but it deepens the studentteacher experience.
Thirsk agrees: “In order to teach the fundamentals of your discipline, to fire the passion of your students, you have to have the scars of research.
“Professors are not just there to give students an education; they also have to give them the social yardstick to move the discipline ahead, to move society into the future. In order to harness innovation and technology, you have to be engaged in it.”
Even from its earliest days, the university boasts a long history of research milestones. In 1971, U of C helped capture the first global auroral images from space. In 1992, Samuel Weiss discovered neural stem cells in adult mammals, leading to new approaches for brain cell replacement and repair. In 2008, the world’s first MRI-compatible surgical robot neuro-arm removed a brain tumour from a human patient in the first operation of its kind. And in 2012, U of C researchers developed a neurochip, a microchip with the ability to monitor functions of the brain.
But beyond research in the sciences, Aritha van Herk, acclaimed author and U of C English professor, says that while the U of A is her alma mater, it is the U of C where she has been able to spread her wings as a well-funded researcher of Canadian literature and creative writing.
“There’s this strong sense of willingness to engage in ideas, experimentation (and) unusual intuitiveness,” she says, adding that U of C is the only university in Canada to boast a Canadian research chair in creative writing.
Like Thirsk and Cannon, van Herk agrees that once a professor has lived the blood, sweat and tears of intensive research, they are able to provide that much more thoughtful inspiration and guidance to students.
“Students are why we do what we do, and the rewards they give are endless,” she says. “They teach me patience, humour and dexterity of language. Language is a tool we all need to have. It is the most powerful tool. And they care about it.”
The university hopes to bring hundreds of students, teachers, alumni and members of the public to Alumni Weekend on Saturday and Sunday.
Highlights will include panel discussions, workshops and lectures on a wide variety of topics, including entrepreneurship (led by Gary Kovacs, former CEO of Mozilla Corp.), issues surrounding First Nations people (led by Phil Fontaine, former national chief of the Assembly of First Nations) and a look at Calgary in the next 50 years (led by Jackie Forrest, vicepresident energy research at ARC Financial Corp.)
Great cities need great universities, so if you can help, you should help.