Tidings Summer 2003

TidingsTidingsThe University of King’s College Alumni MagazineThe University of King’s College Alumni Magazine Summer 2003Summer 2003

Meet King’snew president

Newton research attractsinternational media

Brett Loney (BJ ‘84)Daily News editor

Meet King’snew president

Newton research attractsinternational media

Brett Loney (BJ ‘84)Daily News editor

2 Tidings Summer 2003

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Summer 2003 Tidings 3

InsideC O V E R S T O R Y

COVER: King’s new president William Barker. Story on page 16. Photo: Michael Creagen

‘It’s clear he’s beena popular president’Outgoing president Colin Starnes

shepherded King’s through 10 years

of immense change

23 Daily News editoraims to captureyoung readers Bretton Loney (BJ ’84) is new owner’s pick

to take on the Halifax Chronicle-Herald

16 ‘King’s is likean ongoingexperiment’New president William Barker seems an

excellent fit — an English scholar and rare

book enthusiast who has also produced radio

5 ON CAMPUS

Media swarm prof over 17th-century Newton prediction

King’s Day honoursrich history

First studentsgraduate fromHOST programme

Profs pay tribute to James Doull

SuperFan leads the charge

Zany j-school awards showcelebrates 10th year

Online communityset to serve alumni

25 ENCAENIA IN PHOTOS

A L U M N I P R O F I L E


Summer 2003

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By John Farrow

Dr. Stephen Snobelen hasspent most of his youngacademic career in aquiet corner of acade-

mia studying the life of Sir IsaacNewton, the 17th-century Britishscientist famous for discoveringgravity and inventing far-from-exciting calculus.

As the 38-year-old history of sci-ence and technology programmeprofessor says, “It never dawns onyou that this particular writing willreach a wide audience.”

But the research certainly didin February when media outletsfrom the United Kingdom, Israel,United States, Canada and evenRussia found out about an obscureNewton prophesy and pounced onSnobelen to explain it. At the time,Snobelen was involved with a BBCdocumentary that was to mentionthe prediction when it aired laterthat month.

Scholars had known for a cou-ple of decades that Newton, also atheologian, had predicted severaldates for the Armageddon — oneof which was 2060. But Snobelenhad little idea news outlets wouldlatch on to the 2060 date, fascinat-ed that the father of modern sci-ence had predicted the end of theworld in only 57 years. The story

would quickly spread around theworld with Snobelen at the centreof an international media frenzy.

It was a situation he hardlyanticipated when he agreed towork with the documentary pro-ducers months earlier and handleroutine media requests.

Heretical beliefs

Snobelen’s interest in Newtonbegan 10 years ago while studyingfor his undergraduate degree.Working on a project on apocalyp-tic thought, he discovered thatNewton was an apocalypticthinker. In fact, besides beinginterested in the science ofnature, Newton harboured manyother secrets not commonlyknown. He was a dedicated theolo-gian and experimented with alche-my as a means of discoveringGod’s ultimate truths.

Ironically, Newton was also aheretic, which in 17th-centuryEngland was illegal. Althoughdevoutly Christian, Newton reject-ed the idea of the Holy Trinity.Snobelen says it was a beliefNewton kept secret his entire lifeto avoid imprisonment and doubtsabout the validity of his science.

“I believe he felt that if he hadbeen exposed as a heretic, then hisscience would have been tar-

nished,” Snobelen says. “And hewas very keen to see that suc-ceed.”

Born in 1642, Newton livedduring a period of great civilunrest in England — a time inwhich many people focused onapocalyptic thoughts. Through hisanalysis of the Bible and otherhistorical texts, Newton predictedseveral possible dates for theArmageddon. The Book ofRevelation mentions the number


OnCampus

Continued on next page

Media swarm profover 17th-centuryNewton prediction2060 date for Armageddon puts StephenSnobelen at centre of international sensation

Snobelen displayssome of the newsstories he isquoted in: “Therewas a lot ofconcern about thepending war inIraq.”

Photo: John Farrow


OnCampus

1260 and Newton concludedArmageddon would occur 1260years after the Church began tobecome corrupt. Newton believed800 AD was one possible date forthe beginning of this. So he addedthe two figures and came up with2060.

“My firm belief is thatNewton’s ideas are not just ideasthat he found out there,” saysSnobelen. “There is a religiouscontext, a social context, a politi-cal context and a personal contextto his ideas. He was by no meansrunning up and down the streetscrying out ‘The sky is falling!’”

When the producers of thedocumentary contacted Snobelenhe saw it as a chance to bring hisextensive knowledge and writingson Newton to a larger audience.

The weeks before the BBCreleased the film, the LondonDaily Telegraph first published anarticle to preview the film.Although the reporter toldSnobelen the story would mostlikely be a small piece in the backof the paper, to his amazement, itran on the front page. The head-line and the article focused onNewton’s 2060 prediction, a smallfragment of Newton’s work andthe documentary.

Public unease

The story caught on quickly,spreading to other countries onnewscasts, in newspapers and onthe Web. Most of the stories con-centrated on the 2060 date andsome even reported that Snobelendiscovered the 2060 prediction, afact that he was quick todenounce to the media and to hiscolleagues who knew otherwise.He says a Newton scholar initiallypublished the 2060 prediction in1980.

Snobelen believes one of thereasons why Newton’s date inter-ested so many people was thethreat of war in Iraq at the time.People could relate to the story,with the state of world affairslooking particularly apocalyptic at

the time.The Newton story thus came

precisely at a moment when theworld was nervous about a poten-tially devastating war. As well, theSARS story was starting to break.Plagues and war are two crisescommonly associated with apoca-lyptic thinking.

Opportunities

He also says people wereintrigued to learn Newton dabbledin such matters.

“It’s hard for people to acceptthat a scientist like Newton wasinvolved in prophetic interpreta-tions,” he says. “For many people,it would be like hearing AlbertEinstein attended séances. Thus,people were genuinely surprised.”

After the documentary aired,the calls from reporters dieddown, but Snobelen figures hewill get more requests for inter-views when the documentary isreleased in Canada in 2004.

For now, Snobelen continuesteaching at King’s and works as asenior editor with the London-based Newton Project, an academ-ic effort to interpret Newton’smanuscripts. (Completed inter-pretations are available at<www.newtonproject.ic.ac.uk>)Snobelen has also been commis-sioned to write a book on theaspects of Newton’s life the docu-mentary and reporters left out.

“It’s quite nice for me becauseafter the documentary was fin-ished, I was left with the feelingthat a lot was left unsaid,” he says.“I have the opportunity for a sec-ond chance that a lot of my col-leagues don’t have.”

King’s and Dalhousie were co-host this

spring to the largest annual, multi-dis-

ciplinary gathering of researchers in

North America. Nearly 6,000 delegates

— researchers, policymakers and

graduate students in the human sci-

ences — participated in the 72nd

Annual Congress of the Social

Sciences and Humanities, held May 27

to June 4 on both campuses.

With 67 societies from 69 member

universities represented, Congress

2003 brought together leading schol-

ars from Canada and abroad. This

year’s theme, “Conflict and

Cooperation,” offered a variety of

researching findings, panel discussions

and international experts on issues of

war, peace and human security.

“It may be one of the most rele-

vant congresses that we’ve had,” says

Canadian Federation for the

Humanities and Social Sciences

President Doug Orwan. “This is one

that seems to be tied right into the

kind of issues Canadians and the

world have to face in the next few

months and years.”

One of the many highlights was a

series of keynote addresses that fea-

tured James Orbinski, Nobel Prize win-

ner and member of Medecins sans

frontieres; Major-General (ret.) Lewis

MacKenzie, the Honourable Roy

Romanow and journalist Ann Medina.

Dal/King’s co-hosthumanities forum

NEWTON / Continued from previous pageFor many people, itwould be like hearingAlbert Einsteinattended séances.People were genuinelysurprised.”

Stephen Snobelen

“

Photo: Trevor Wright,Canadian Federation for

the Humanities and Social Sciences


OnCampus

By Neil Acharya

About 120 members of theKing’s community gath-ered at the university onMarch 15 for a lot of his-

tory, some current affairs and a fewlaughs.

The first annual King’s Daybrought together alumni, students,faculty and administrators for whatthe organizers say was a chance tocelebrate the university’s accom-plishments.

Among other topics, speakers atthe event detailed the university’searly history, its role as a navaltraining college during the SecondWorld War and the beginnings ofthe journalism school.

Alumni MCs Andy Hare (BA ’70)and John Stone (BAH ’65) providedthe crowd with humorous quips andquotes throughout the afternoon.Stone got the biggest laugh of theevent by explaining how his father, aformer professor, referred toAlexandra Hall as “Conception Bay.”

Judging by audience reaction,one of the highlights was RearAdmiral Glenn Davidson’s (BA ’73)history of HMCS King’s. Hedescribed how the Canadian navyconverted King’s into a naval train-ing school to instruct cadets forservice in protecting the trans-Atlantic convoys.

“Almost overnight, King’s wastransformed into a ship,” Davidsonsaid. “In three months, civilians[became] students of the sea, aprocess that normally takes a year,”he said, almost in awe of theirefforts. Davidson punctuated histalk with colourful anecdotes of theera, for example pointing out thatcadets referred to the bus thattransported them downtown as the“Liberty Boat.”

“The information AdmiralDavidson gave regarding the navyat King’s was particularly interest-ing,” said Lewis G. Billard (BSc’50). “I thought [King’s Day] wasvery well done,” he said. “It wasgreat to see a room full of alumni.”

The other speakers offered simi-lar snapshots of King’s from past topresent. John Leefe (BA ’66), mayorof Liverpool, N.S., gave a detailedhistory of King’s from its inceptionin Windsor to its current associa-tion with Dalhousie University. Heexplained the struggle King’s facedin trying to remain independent.“There were actually sevenattempts to bring King’s and Daltogether,” he said, before the uni-versities formalized their relation-ship in 1923.

Journalism school directorStephen Kimber described theroots of the journalism program,which began in 1978, engagingsome of the older alumni with hisdescription of the program’s“chaotic” early years.

Concerns about formal meal

The event itself held special sig-nificance for alumnus HaroldGraven (BA ’30, LTh ’37), picturedon the front of the event’s programas a member of the King’s 1934rugby team. He was also part of thefirst class to inhabit the then-newA&A building in 1930. Graven saidhe appreciated the chance to checkout the New Academic Building butwas disappointed there was no

longer a weekly formal meal.“Formal dinners are important.They link us to the past — and youcan’t forget the past,” he said.

That issue was the main topic ofdiscussion when King’s StudentsUnion president Alex Andersonopened the floor to questions.Alumni in attendance wanted toknow whether students were con-tinuing King’s long-held traditions,such as wearing gowns to class(which they haven’t done for anumber of years).

The university cancelled formaldinners in 2001 amid waning stu-dent interest but kept the dooropen to resurrecting them at a laterdate and in another form.

University president ColinStarnes assured the audienceKing’s traditions were far fromdead, saying his successor, WilliamBarker, “is deeply attached togowns and formal dinners.”

Organizers of the event — theKing’s Students’ Union and theAlumni Association — said theimpetus for the event was simple.

“We felt there wasn’t any partic-ular day that was in existence justto celebrate King’s,” said co-ordina-tor Jill MacBeath (BJH ’03). “I canonly hope that future events co-ordinators will carry on this day.”

King’s Day honours rich history

Left to right: JohnStone, and AndyHare, AlumniAssociationpresident TimRissesco,university vice-presidentElizabethEdwards, StephenKimber, GlennDavidson, ColinStarnes, AlexAnderson andJohn Leefe

Photo: Neil Acharya


Alumni, faculty, staff, and friends of King’s gathered on campus

June 17 to celebrate the closing of the university’s Building on

a Strong Foundation capital campaign and to say farewell and

thanks to Colin Starnes on the occasion of his retirement as

president and vice-chancellor.

University chancellor the Honourable Michael Meighen and

board of governors chair George Cooper welcomed about 140

guests to an evening of celebration and thanks in true

‘Kingsian’ fashion. The evening’s pro-

gramme included a lecture in classics by

Colin Starnes, a choral evensong of

thanksgiving in the King’s chapel and a

reception and dinner in Prince Hall.

National campaign chair George

Cooper announced at the reception that

the capital campaign had reached its

goal of $6.7 million. He expressed

thanks, on behalf of the university, to all

volunteers, alumni, special friends, faculty

and staff for their generosity and support.

In recognition of the Alumni’s gener-

ous response to the campaign, the uni-

versity announced the naming of the FYP Lecture Hall to

‘Alumni Hall.’

The evening concluded with a dinner in honour of Starnes

to mark the end of his 10-year term in office. Among the

guests who paid tribute to President Starnes were past-presi-

dent Marion Fry, former director of development JoneMitchell (HF ’03), past board of governors chair BrianFlemming (DCL ’91) and professor emeritus Rev. Robert

Crouse. Closing grace was given by

incoming president William Barker.

University vice-president Elizabeth

Edwards announced at dinner the estab-

lishment of the Colin Starnes Award — a

full-tuition award to study in the

Foundation Year Programme that will be

granted annually to “a Nova Scotian who

would otherwise be unlikely or unable to

attend King’s, and who would make a

unique contribution to the life of the uni-

versity and who would benefit from a

King’s education.”

CAPITAL CAMPAIGN

$6.7-million campaign goal reached,lecture hall renamed ‘Alumni Hall’

Counterclockwisefrom top:

In his final officialduty, President

Colin Starnesaddresses

members of theKing’s community;capital campaign

chair GeorgeCooper;

chancellorMichael Meighen;

(Bottom)administrative

assistant to thepresident Margo

Pullen Sly cuts theribbon to

officially open thefinal phase of the

New AcademicBuilding: “May

God bless the Linkand all who sail in

her.”

Photos: Michael Creagen


OnCampus

By Paula Gale

Kate Turner (BSc ’03) tooka chance on King’s newHistory of Science andTechnology programme

(HOST) in 2000 because shethought it would be an interestingsupplement to her biology major.Brendan Quinn (BA ’03) however,saw the programme as a good fitwith philosophy.

Three years later the two, alongwith three others, made up thefirst class of HOST graduates atEncaenia ceremonies in May.

Turner, a 23-year-old fromHalifax, says if she hadn’t takenHOST she wouldn’t have learnedconcepts of ecological integrity andthought of basing her biology hon-ours thesis on them.

“One major thing I drew fromHOST was that I could see a lotmore of the philosophical naturebehind science,” she says.

For Quinn, though, the theoret-ical nature of the programme wasthe main attraction.

“I found myself to be moreinterested in the philosophical sideof science and wasn’t so interestedin the application of it,” says the23-year-old from Toronto.

Like all HOST students, Quinnand Turner took the programme aspart of a joint honours degree.

Director Gordon McOuat says itis the only undergraduate pro-gramme of its kind in Canada butsays the field is becoming trendyfor graduate studies at other uni-versities.

The programme uses philosoph-ical, historical and sociological per-

spectives to help students developan understanding of the develop-ment of science and technology.

McOuat says students study pri-mary texts to help bring the worldof science and technology “down tothe ground.”

‘We have great plans’

Quinn says his favourite part ofthe programme was studying theDarwinian Revolution in McOuat’ssecond-year course. “I fell in lovewith Darwin and his whole theoryof evolution.”

Turner was most interested instudying interactions between reli-gion and science.

Although she says the pro-gramme didn’t offer many choicesin electives, she says she didn’tmind being part of the “guinea pigclass.”

“Its reputation will probablygrow in the coming years,” addsQuinn. “It was neat to be in thebeginning of that whole process.”He says he would like to see moreprofessors added to the programmeand see some courses expanded.

All of this is coming, saysMcOuat. “We have great plans.”

McOuat says the programme isjust beginning to come togetherand its expansion will follow thesame gradual route as King’sFoundation Year Programme.

Next year McOuat hopes tobring in more guest speakers, runa film series and expand the pro-gramme’s focus on technology.

McOuat says programme’sadministrators didn’t design it withcareer options in mind. Students

take this course of study, he says,because it’s intriguing and theywant to do it, not because theyhave a specific career goal. “If youare really just looking for a job, doan MBA,” he says.

McOuat says the programme’ssuccess will be based on how grad-uating students feel when they fin-ish. “I want people to come out ofit saying, ‘I don’t think I couldhave gotten this anywhere else inthe world.’ If we can pull that off,it’s a success.”

Quinn says when he returns toToronto this summer, he’ll “try tofind a job and make some moneyso that I can play music for a pro-fession in the fall.” The four mem-bers of Quinn’s band, ‘PDQ’, arereturning to Toronto and “We’regoing to try to make it a success.”

Quinn says being involved inHOST helped him to think in a dif-ferent way about the world.

“Thinking about genetics andquantum mechanics definitely putsyour mind in a different sphere,”he says. “I think that will help mewrite the words, if nothing else.”

Quinn (top): “I fellin love withDarwin.”

Turner: “I couldsee a lot more ofthe philosophicalnature behindscience.”

Photos: Spencer Osberg

First studentsgraduate fromHOST programme



OnCampus

Peddle and Robertson startedthe book in 1999, while Doull wasstill alive. Not only did Doull agreeto have his previous works pub-lished, he wrote an article specifi-cally for the collection. Two unpub-lished lectures also appear in thebook. After Doull died in March2001, at the age of 83, the editorsdecided to make it a more scholarlywork as well as a tribute. Robertsonand Peddle said they hope the bookwill introduce readers to his ideas.

“Because he was a maverick inphilosophical circles, his workstend to be neglected by the generalphilosophical community and wewould hope that the people give ita serious read,” Peddle says.

Doull was also known locally forhis interest in Canadian politics. Inthe 1960s, he helped found theNew Democratic Party in NovaScotia. During the Meech LakeAccord, he wrote letters to Senateand parliamentary committees withhis thoughts on Canadian identity.

He did not have the politicalaspirations of Grant, whose Lamentfor a Nation became a Canadianmust-read, but Doull was concernedabout the state of his country.

“Doull was endlessly frustratedthat Canadians didn’t think ofthemselves on their own terms, butthought of themselves throughEuropean forms,” Robertson says.

Doull was greatly influenced byHegel and had a strong interest inPlato and Aristotle. He regardedthe history of philosophy as a con-tinuing journey. This “school ofthought” caught on over the years,as his students became professorsand passed on his approach to theirstudents. And while Doull was notactively involved in starting FYP,his approach became part of theprogramme’s unique approach tointerpreting the history of ideas.

“The Foundation YearProgramme… is not simply ordirectly James’ work, but I tend tosee it as being very much a productof his influence,” says Johnston, anassociate professor in FYP.

“I can’t imagine a better educa-tion anywhere in the world.”

This summer, Turner, whoreceived the University Medal inboth HOST and biology, will workon a Canadian environmental liter-acy project and try to turn her the-sis into a publishable paper.

Her thesis is about urban vege-tation biodiversity in Halifax. Shestudied plant life in 18 urban prop-erties in Halifax and compared

them to a natural habitat to deter-mine what kind of trees and plantswould cover the region if it wasn’turbanized.

She says because she studiedHOST she was more equipped todeal with the philosophy and ambi-guity behind the scientific ideasinvolved in her thesis. In the fallshe and her husband are hoping togo to South America in advance ofher starting a master’s degree.

HOST / Continued from previous page

DOULL / Continued from page 11

The 2003 King’s Athletic Banquet,

held April 4 in Prince Hall, recognized

six of King’s athletic finest.

Sarah Crane, an avid rugby and

basketball player, was named female

athlete of the year. Crane, of

Kensington, P.E.I., has been the rugby

team’s most valuable player for the

last two seasons.

In basketball, she shone as an

Atlantic Colleges Athletic Association

(ACAA) All-Conference player and

proved consistently valuable to both

teams over the past four years.

“It is rare to find a player who is

this valuable to two teams in the

same year, “ said Neil Hooper, King’s

Director of Athletics.

Mike de la Mothe, a soccer and

basketball player from Halifax, was

named male athlete of the year.

Heather Stilwel, received college

Rookie of the Year for her efforts on

the women’s basketball team. She

was named to the ACAA All-

Conference team and won its Rookie

of the Year award. Stilwel was also

recognized as one of two Canadian

Colleges Athletic Association (CCAA)

Academic All-Canadians.

Ashley McCormick, a men’s volley-

ball player also made Academic All-

Canadian. He started playing with the

ACAA All-Conference team in March.

McCormick received the Academic

Excellence Award which is presented

to the student who best combines

academics and athletics.

Ryan Tully, 2003’s men’s Rookie of

the Year, was also recognized by the

ACAA, as soccer Rookie of the Year.

He was also a key member of the

King’s men’s basketball team.

Coach of the Year went to

women’s basketball coach Les Berry.

Under his guidance, the team glided

into the playoffs for the second

straight year.

The event marked another suc-

cessful year for King’s sports teams.

The women’s rugby squad won

the Nova Scotia College Women’s

Division Championship.

The men’s soccer team finished

second in league play, only to lose in

the first round of playoffs. The

women’s team missed the playoffs by

a single point.

Men’s volleyball lost 3-2 in the

5th set of a playoff thriller against St.

Thomas. The score in the fifth game

was 15-13.

Fourteen King’s players and coach-

es made All-Conference teams or

received special awards. Two King’s

players received Academic All-

Canadian Awards and another was

named to the all-Canadian Team.

Six recognized at Athletics Banquet


OnCampus

By Donna Lee

He’s been compared toGeorge Grant as one ofCanada’s most promi-nent philosophers. He

was known for setting the intellec-tual tone for the Foundation YearProgramme.

“Not many in Canada can becompared to James Doull as thecreator of a philosophical schoolbased in an interpretation of thewhole history of Western philoso-phy,” wrote Wayne Hankey (BA ’65)in an article in 2000.

Still, not many people outsideDalhousie and King’s may haveheard of James Doull and his ideason the history of philosophy.

Now, two years after his death, anumber of his scholarly friends andformer students are paying tributeto James Doull in a book that cameout this spring.

Edited by King’s professor NeilRobertson and former FYP tutorDavid Peddle, Philosophy andFreedom: The Legacy of JamesDoull (University of Toronto Press,2003) is the first published collec-tion of Doull’s essays, articles andlectures. Supporting Doull’s worksin the volume are articles by hiscontemporaries and former stu-dents, many of whom teach atDalhousie and King’s.

“Part of the reason for this bookis to make his works accessible,”says Robertson, an associate profes-sor in the Contemporary Studiesand Early Modern Studies pro-grammes.

“They’re extremely difficult, verydensely argued and not very acces-sible,” says Peddle, who now teach-es philosophy at the Sir WilfredGrenfell College at MemorialUniversity. “So we were thinking ofmaking it more accessible by get-ting people to explain some of the

more difficult writings.”James Doull was born in 1918

in New Glasgow, N.S. His father, ajustice of the Supreme Court ofCanada, wanted him to pursue acareer in law. But Doull went on tostudy classics, graduating fromDalhousie in 1939. After serving inthe Royal Canadian Navy, then tak-ing graduate classes in theUniversity of Toronto, Harvard andOxford, Doull was offered a teach-ing job in the Dalhousie classicsdepartment — right alongside hisfriend George Grant, who joinedthe university’s philosophy depart-ment at the same time.

Doull stayed at Dalhousie from1947 until his retirement in 1983.He was also chair of the depart-ment from 1959 to 1970. He wasinstrumental in foundingDionysius, Dalhousie’s classicsjournal, and Animus, a philosophi-cal journal on the Web.

‘A hard case’

In his teaching career, Doulltaught students who later becamecolleagues and, more importantly,close friends. A young ColinStarnes did some rebuilding onDoull’s cottage in Chester when hewas a student. Dennis House firstmet Doull when he was a studentin 1967. Angus Johnston, WayneHankey, Peddle and Robertsonwere undergraduates when theytook Doull’s seminars.

He had been known as a teacherwho was tough but dedicated to hisstudents. And he was known as apurely devoted philosopher.

“He simply gave himself over toLady Philosophy,” says House, cur-rently a professor in Dalhousie’sclassics department. “Twenty-fourhours a day, his mind was alwaysthinking about something. James’life was a total devotion to philoso-

phy and literature.”“He was a hard case,” Peddle

says. “He took no prisoners in thathe was extremely committed tophilosophy, and extremely commit-ted to following Western thoughton its own terms. If you took itseriously as well, then he would doeverything he could to help you.But if you were glib about it or did-n’t take it very seriously, he didn’tsuffer fools very gladly.”

Doull did not start writing arti-cles until after 1970, when he was52 years old. His friends and for-mer students agreed on the samething: his writings were denselypacked with ideas, making themdifficult to read.

“James never wrote for a massaudience,” Starnes says. “[Hisbooks] were just awful to read,” headds with a laugh.

Perhaps for that reason,Philosophy and Freedom includescommentaries from scholars whoknew him, including Robertsonand Peddle, fellow King’s professorsKen Kierans and Johnston, WayneHankey, House and Starnes.

Profs pay tribute to James DoullNew book interprets works of prominentCanadian thinker whose ideas formed FYP

Neil Robertson(top): “Doull wasfrustrated thatCanadians didn’tthink ofthemselves ontheir own terms.”

The new book(middle); JamesDoull (bottom).

Photos: Donna Lee/SubmittedContinued on page 10

OnCampus

By Sarah Crane

Ben McCully was head ofthe spirit committee athis Pictou County, N.S.high school. He used to

dress up as Angus the CelticWarrior and lead the crowds atStellarton High.

Sometimes teachers would letstudents out of classes early sothey could cheer at games. Buteven if they didn’t McCully’s fel-low students would pack the gymfor games.

Then he came to King’s, wherestudents are known to be reservedwhen it comes to cheering theirsports teams. When McCully sawthe prim

andproper

way fansconduct

themselves atgames he was disappointed.

But he knew there was spiritat King’s; hejust wantedeveryone else

to know ittoo. So,

the

third-year journalism student cre-ated SuperFan, his loud, spiritedalter ego.

SuperFan has a shiny bluecape. He wears an old King’s bas-ketball jersey and blue face paint.He usually arrives at the King’sgym with a couple of friends intow.

The players of the oppositeteams know and fear him. He sitsunder the opposing team’s basket,right next to the baseline. Whenhe yells encouragement to theKing’s players everyone in thegym can hear. SuperFan is notori-ous in the league for his playfulantagonism of other players.Sometimes players from the otherteams actually stop playing torespond to him, and that’s exactlythe advantage that SuperFan islooking for.

He’s not content with justimproving the spirit at the games.He wants to do his part to helpthe team out. “If I can get into [anopposing player’s] head and theyget caught up in what SuperFan issaying,” he says, “then maybe wecan have a little bit of an advan-tage.”

‘He’s exactly what we need’

Ben McCully/SuperFan hasappeared at at least one homegame played by each of King’ssports teams. His favourite sportand the one that brings out hisreal spirit is basketball. Over the

three years he’s been atKing’s, McCully has done

everything short ofbecoming a player

for the King’smen’s basketballteam. And hissupport isdeemed so valu-

able to the teamhe’s even travelled

on the team bus.

The King’s players appreciatethe work that SuperFan does forthem.

“It’s hard when there’s only acouple of fans in the gym,” saysDennis Ashe, MVP of this year’smen’s basketball team. “Especiallyif they’re all really quiet.” Ashethinks the SuperFan is great, buthe wished there were more stu-dents like him.

McCully is working on that,trying to convince other studentsthat cheering can be a lot of fun.He has noticed an increase in thenumber of students who come outto the games. But he says hewon’t rest until he sees the gympacked for every game. “Everyonehas a little SuperFan insidethem,” he says with a smile.

Neil Hooper, King’s athleticsdirector, says having SuperFan inthe stands is like adding 30 peopleto the crowd of spectators.

“He’s exactly what we need,”says Hooper, “He’s a dedicated,committed guy who has supportedthe teams through thick and thin.He provides an opportunity forother students to jump on thebandwagon. We just need morepeople like him.”

McCully says SuperFan is hisway of showing how much heloves King’s. For him, sportsteams are the university’s face tothe community. He says they arethe university’s best public rela-tions tool. When athletes proudlywear the King’s colours they showthe community and other schoolsa strong, proud tradition.

McCully says when he becomesSuperFan; he’s not trying to be acharacter — it’s only his ownintensity coming out. He loves thesports and the university andSuperFan is his way of showingpeople that. “As a fan, it’s just me— I’m not trying to perform,” hesays, ”I’m just supporting theteam and getting into the game.”

SuperFan leads the chargeThird-year student uses alter ego to rouse team spirit

McCully: “If I canget into [an

opposing player’s]head then maybe

we can have alittle bit of an

advantage.”

Photo: Sarah Crane



OnCampus

“I’m stunned it’s stillgoing on,” saysorganizer of 1993Golden CobdenAwards

By Jennifer Stewart

The dimly lit Wardroom is unusu-ally busy this Sunday night at theend of March. In front of the barsits a television, speakers, and atable full of gold, spray-paintedbeer bottles.

John MacLean (BJH ’03), presi-dent of the Journalism StudentsSociety and executive producer ofthis year’s Golden Cobden Awardsapproaches the podium, decked outin a stylish black suit and bowtie.He tips his wide-brimmed, blackfedora and raises the microphoneto welcome everyone to the tenthanniversary of the awards.

“It’s nice to see you all here,especially the magazine [work-shop] crowd,” he begins. “Usuallyyou’ve all killed each other bynow.”

He smiles and the crowd laughspolitely, half expecting a bum-bum-bum-ching! to follow from anaccompanied snare drum.

At the back of the bar sitsMichael Cobden and his wife, Jane,sipping drinks and grinning at theridiculousness of it all. Cobden wasthe director of the journalismschool 10 years ago when a groupof fourth-year students decided tocreate an event in honour of theirleader.

“Some people thought I was abastard, I suppose,” Cobden says,smiling. He describes the show ashaving a different tone every year— sometimes joshing, other years

almost biting. “People who takethemselves seriously often get anaward for quite the opposite,” hesays. “In the past I’ve won awardssuch as Most Likely to be Lookingfor a Job and Most Likely to beReported to the SPCA.”

The award categories changeevery year, but the overall intent isalways the same — a balancebetween recognizing the work offellow students and poking fun atthem. The sought-after golden beerbottle has become a symbol at theschool. It represents hard workand, for some, a lack of it.

Joking approach

Jonathan Bays (BJ ’93) was oneof the students involved in orga-nizing the first awards show in1993. Now a management consul-tant for McKinsey & Company inToronto, he can’t believe the ideacaught on as well as it did. “I’mstunned it’s still going on,” he says.“I’m stunned it even happened a

second year!”He and his co-host Matt

Rainnie (BJH ’93), now the host ofCBC-Radio’s Mainstreet inCharlottetown, were active on thecomedy scene and thought itwould be fun to take a jokingapproach to the journalism pro-gramme.

“There was no voting for win-ners. The whole thing was straightcomedy,” Bays explains. “We triedto pick the three funniest nomi-nees — then the winner would besomeone not even named. It waslike the punch line of the joke.There was no contest elementwhatsoever.”

The Cobdens have evolved intoan elaborate hoax on the Oscars,with guest presenters, the tradi-tional opening of the envelope andlengthy — sometimes cheeky —thank you speeches. All studentsand staff are invited, but the frontrow seats are dominated by gradu-

Zany j-school awards showcelebrates 10th year

John Maclean(left) joins theother hosts of thisyear’s show, heldMarch 30.

Photo: Jennifer Stewart

Continued on page 15


Introducing the

Alumni Associationof the University of

King’s CollegePlatinum Plus ™

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Apply today!Contact the Alumni Office for more

information: (902) 422-1271 ext. 128

THE NEW STANDARD OF EXCELLENCE

The Alumni Association has signed an

agreement with Meloche Monnex that

provides King’s alumni access to a

unique programme offering highly com-

petitive rates on automobile, home,

travel and small business insurance.

Meloche Monnex services members

of university and college alumni associ-

ations, as well as professional organi-

zations and employer groups across

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520,000 clients through partnerships

with 182 alumni and professional

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55 large Canadian universities now

offer Meloche Monnex insurance as

part of their alumni affinity pro-

grammes.

With this agreement, any King’s

alumnus who provides Meloche

Monnex with his/her expiry dates

and/or receives a no-obligation quote

will be automatically entered to win a

BMW 330 Ci Cabriolet.

Who is eligible:

The programme will be offered to

King’s alumni, their spouses

and children who are full time stu-

dents as living at home; university

staff, retirees, widows and widowers.

Alumni to receiveinsurance optionKing’s joins Meloche Monnex affinity programme

OnCampus

1950-1959The Rev. Roland Farwell Class of 1957A. Norman Kyle Class of 1957

1960-1969The Rev. Ronald C. Lane Class of 1969

1970-1979Carolyn J. Campbell Class of 1973J. Mark Findlay Class of 1978Gerald V. Keeping Class of 1973Thomasz J. Krzyski Class of 1975Brian W. Matchett Class of 1970The Rev. C. Edward Pickett Class of 1973Cathy Ramey-Westgate Class of 1973Robert C. Swan Class of 1978The Rev. Canon Alvin Westgate 1972-1973

LostSheepWe’ve lost track of these alumni. Know what they are up to?Pass it along! (902) 422-1271 ext. 128

This fall, the Alumni Association will

launch an on-line community site to pro-

vide King’s alumni a secure environment

in which to re-connect with fellow class-

mates and keep up-to-date on alumni

and university news and events between

issues of Tidings.

To first register, alumni will be asked

to log onto a password protected site

and update their profiles. As privacy is of

paramount importance, alumni will have

the ability to choose what information

will be made available to other alumni

already registered in the program.

Once registered, alumni will be able

to search the site for missing friends and

classmates to re-establish old ties and

create new opportunities for friendship

and networking.

Going online will mean more news

... more often. Once established, the site

will enable the the alumni office to

deliver campus news, AlumNotes and

chapter event information via broadcast

e-mails and monthly e-newsletters.

During the summer months the

alumni office will be updating alumni e-

mail addresses and contacting alumni

via e-mail or letter with more detailed

information on the community site.

Do we have your current email and

mailing address? If you have changed e-

mail addresses or have moved in the

past year, please let us know by e-mail:

[email protected], phone:

(902) 422-1271, ext. 128 or fax; (902)

425-0363.


ating students.“We’re really trying to mix it up

this year,” explains Melanie Cloney(BJH ’03), co-producer of theCobdens. “We’re making an effortto include the first three years of[BJH] students, rather than havingyet another love fest for the fourth-year and one-year students.”

Awards such as Most PromisingFirst-, Second- and Third-YearStudents and Best Third-yearTelevision Story will encouragesocializing between the differentlevels, she says. MacLean also seesthe night as an opportunity tointerest younger students in keep-ing the event alive.

Blooper reels

Highlighting the evening werethe blooper reels for the broadcastworkshops. The bloopers providelaughs at the graduating students’expense but also remind them howfar they have progressed in eightmonths. Hysterical squeals eruptedfrom all around the room and afew embarrassed heads were low-ered as the students recalled theirblunders.

The evening had its seriousnessas well. A special moment for thestudents in this year’s four-yearBJH programme was the renamingof an old award for Sweetest StaffMember. Organizers re-dubbed itthe Pamela Herod Memorial Awardto honour the school’s longtimeadministrative assistant who diedlast year of cancer. The recipientthis year was journalism school’scameraman Kevin Devoe.

As the evening wore down withthe revealing segment of “Guessthe Professor” staff and studentswere hollering and clapping.

Akosua Oppong (BJ ’03) tookhome the Best Narrative Non-Fiction Story award for her pieceon the perils of meeting the rightguy. She also presented the awardfor Most Likely to Get a Job atNaked News — an award unique tothis year’s show.

“I had a lot of fun tonight,” shesays.

COBDENS / Continued from page 13

King’s to launch onlinealumni community

Site mockup

OnCampus


C O V E RS T O R Y

As William Barker pre-pares to step into therole (and home) of22nd president andvice-chancellor of

King’s, he admits the initialeuphoria of being accepted for theposition has eroded into nerves ashe prepares to make the big move.

There’s his office at MemorialUniversity and home in St.John’s to pack; his wife, Elizabeth,must find a job and his 12-year-olddaughter a school to attend inHalifax. Set to move into thePresident’s Lodge on July 1,Barker says he might be livingthere alone for a few weeks, butthat’s something he and his familyhave already accepted.

As he dances in limbo betweentwo jobs and two lives, one ofwhich he’s yet to experience,Barker finds himself, on one hand,contending with nostalgia. He’spreparing to leave behind a 17-year legacy at Memorial Universityin Newfoundland, most recently ashead of its English Department.On the other hand is the anticipa-tion of the unknown facing him atKing’s and in Halifax, his newhome.

This becomes most apparentwhen Barker is asked about his“plans” or “vision” for King’s. “Ireally don’t know what’s to come,”he says. “I’m just starting to lookat this place here [MemorialUniversity] and what it has been tome. Every institution has a differ-

ent culture. If you come into aplace with as strong an ethos asKing’s, you must go in carefully tosee how everything works.”

That tops his list of things to doonce he arrives on campus, walkaround and get to know the King’scommunity. Barker admits thatprior to the application process,his familiarity with King’s was lim-ited to its reputation as a smallschool with lots of history and agood grip on what it does, primari-ly within the Foundation YearProgramme.

Interests in literature, philosophy

But the English PhD and rarebook enthusiast, whose scholarlywork includes renaissance litera-ture, education, philology and bib-liography, says he first heard ofKing’s in 1984 when the libraryacquired some rare books. Curiousabout King’s from what little heknew of it, Barker said he wasdrawn to the university withouthaving ever been here, seeing him-self in the job description.

“The things the search commit-tee asked for seemed aurally remi-niscent or indicative of who I was,someone interested in a broadrange of literature, in philosophy… King’s is like an ongoing exper-iment. Most institutions have tofigure out what they do well;King’s went out and did that, andit’s always been something I’vewanted to know more about.”

Taking a cue from theFoundation Year reading list,Barker wooed the presidentialsearch committee with his speechentitled “The University and theBook,” a subject close to his heart.

“I’ve always been interested inreading and poetry and intriguedby book collecting as a tactileexperience,” he says. “King’s is allabout reading, books and themind, which is what I tried to lookat in my presentation.”

Since 1986, Barker has been atMemorial University in St. John’s,filling positions of professor, direc-tor of studies of the graduateinterdisciplinary programme anddepartment head. He has foundthe time, however, to work as aresearch editor for a projectresulting in The SpenserEncyclopedia, published in 1990.He has also published books, mostrecently, a selection of Adages ofErasmus.

Considering Barker’s academicexperience, it is perhaps coinci-dence that the man set to lead theuniversity also has a backgroundin journalism — primarily in radiodocumentary. From 1982 to 1991he prepared 20 hours of radio doc-umentary for the CBC — on histo-ry of books, dictionaries, the pho-tocopier, universities and Bach, toname a few topics.

“Journalism has a lot to offer toacademics who are often called to



‘King’s is like an ongoing experiment’

University’s new president seems an excellent fit —an English scholar and rare book enthusiast who has

dabbled in radio documentary

By Emanuella Grinberg Photos by Michael Creagen


take intellectual leadership in pub-lic life,” he says. “King’s offersgreat opportunities to bring thetwo areas together. “

Having spent the past few yearsfilling mainly administrative roles,Barker knows what he’s gettinginto, even if he doesn’t really knowwhat to expect.

“I expect I’ll have to do a lot oflistening to administration and tostudents, to ask them why they seethemselves as King’s students. Iwant to get a feel for the differ-ences and then I’ll know what’sahead of me,” he says.

“When I started doing renais-sance literature, I liked the obscu-rity in the text, the mastery behind

understanding it. I don’t do stuffthat’s easy for me, and that’s a lotlike university administration —there are always challenges thatinvolve problem solving and lis-tening; and I enjoy those things.”

Barker is tentative, if not cau-tiously self-assured, when fieldingquestions on issues such as risingtuition fees. “Universities are veryexpensive to run,” he says. “Evennow many students are unawarethat their fees pay only a fractionof the costs of their schooling. Butis it healthy to have students fin-ishing a BA with $20,000 or$30,000 or more of debt? I thinknot. Although the individual stu-dent does benefit from the degree,

so does society more generally.“There are ways of spreading

the costs around. One is by relyingon government funding for sup-port. But if the will is not there toprovide this support, then univer-sities must turn to other sources,and one really important sourcewill be alumni and other friends ofthe institution. This is the U.S.model, in which donors provideendowment to aid students whocannot otherwise afford to attendthe university. I don’t think we areready to go all the way to thismodel in this country. Probablysome kind of mixed model isappropriate for now, where stu-dents, government, and alumni

By Emanuella Grinberg

William Barker’s colleagues atMemorial University readilyadmit they’re sorry to see himleave after 17 years of service inthe university’s English depart-ment.

And not just fellow Englishprofessors, but professors inengineering and history, andalumni agree Barker’s impres-sions on the university and onthem are personal and lasting.

Barker’s colleagues atMemorial University are eager tospeak on his behalf during thebusy exam time, all beginningtheir hasty yet thoughtful e-mails with the same sentiment— “our loss is your gain” are theexact words of Ray Gosine, inter-im associate dean of graduatestudies in the faculty of engi-neering.

Despite Barker’s voluminousacademic achievements, friendsand colleagues most fondly recallBarker for his personable nature,a scholar who sees outside of theacademy.

“Think Erasmus onrollerblades!” writes MemorialUniversity English professor Don

Nichol. “Bill has wisdom, aplomband tolerance in spades with agreat overview of academic insti-tutions. He’s a team player witha great sense of humour and afine sense of irony. Bill is a bornschmoozer with a generous spir-it. He is the best-connected acad-emic here with friends in practi-cally every department and disci-pline. Which is why we hateKing’s for pinching him!

“Bill and I share many inter-ests, one of which is mouldy oldbooks. He loves smelling them.Recently, I bought a copy ofPope’s 1751 works. When Ishowed it to him, he held it upto his nostrils and divined that ithad survived a fire. Not onlythat: he could still smell thewood burning a century or twoon!”

Nonetheless, at MemorialBarker is highly regarded for hisapproachable manner within theuniversity setting.

“He is an inspiring teacherand a model mentor because aswell as being a star academic, hetakes an interest in all his stu-dents — whether they are strug-gling through the first year ofEnglish or writing PhD theses,

writes Jean Guthrie, fromMemorial’s English department.“He listens, and supports themin finding out what they want tosay and getting the job done.

“He has been endlessly help-ful to colleagues as well, advisingon grant applications, collaborat-ing on papers and projects, sup-porting new colleagues as theyfind their way — all this whilebringing in grants, producinghighly regarded articles andbooks, as well as editing others’work and taking various admin-istrative roles.”

Kevin Major, a Newfoundlandwriter, met Barker while a writer-in-residence at Memorial. “Hewent out of his way to make mefeel I could be a useful addition tothe university scene. I was struckby his friendliness and wit, andeagerness to take in the worldaround him — the latter some-thing he expected of his studentsas well. Always a good sign.”

The father of a 2002 FYPgraduate, Major says Barker isideal for King’s. “I think King’s isgetting an intellectual, a man ofideas. But one who is approach-

‘Think Erasmus on rollerblades!’William Barker’s colleagues say King’s is gettingan approachable academic with ‘great friendliness and wit’


able and accessible, somethingterribly important in a universitysetting. It generates a bondingbetween faculty and thirsty stu-dent minds — just what a uni-versity should be all about.”

Barker still keeps in touchwith Damiano Pietropaolo, hisfirst producer for the CBC Ideasseries entitled “The NaturalHistory of the Book.”

“During the course of thisproject I got to know Bill as aperson with one of the broadestranges of scholarly and culturalinterests, a terrific sense ofhumour, and a great wit,” writesthe current CBC executive pro-ducer, who first met Barker inthe early ’80s in the University ofToronto library, when they wereboth completing their doctor-ates. “Our common interests ledto many a late night in longmeandering walks on the streetsof Toronto talking about books,reading, life, teaching, and themedia.”

“Subsequent to this, andother Ideas series, Bill and hisfamily have become lifelongfriends, but the pattern of ourfriendship has remained constant... he will show up in Toronto,and before you know it we aremeandering from bookstore tobookstore attempting to curbour compulsive book-buyingobsession, and usually losing outto “just one more book on thissubject” syndrome.

Quick to highlight the“lighter” side of the dedicatedscholar and university adminis-trator, Pietropaolo continues: “Idon’t want to leave you with theimpression that all we do is walkfrom bookstore to bookstore andcafé to café doing only the highculture thing. More often thannot we’ve caught the firstrelease of a James Bond or anIndiana Jones movie, which Billenjoys with boyish zeal! That’sthe kind of guy he is... a man ofboundless curiosity who isequally at home with Erasmusscholarship as he is with popu-lar culture.”

Barker’s scholastic achieve-ments do not go forgotten whencolleagues think about what theywould most remember him for.“Bill did great things for thehumanities programme,” writesNichol. “He’s been a veryapproachable head of depart-ment. He’ll be remembered forscholarship and his ability to

inspire his students. He complet-ed his work on the SpenserEncyclopedia while he was here— which in itself would beenough of a monument toremember him by. His Adages ofErasmus seems to have takenUniversity of Toronto Press bysurprise when it becameGuardian’s book-of-the-week inthe U.K.”

Guthrie comments: “Asdepartment head over the lastyear, and before that as directorof the MPhil (Humanities) he hasfostered open, invigoratingdebate. When there is division,he doesn’t duck it, but makessure all positions are heard andsomehow moves discussiontowards strategy. I have neverseen him angry or dismissive ofanyone; his perspective is gener-ous; his words are always guidedby respect and humour and find-ing a solution.”

share the burden.”He says he’s looking forward to

the change from a big universityto a small one, even if it meanstaking on all the more responsibil-ity, in an interdisciplinary settingsuch as King’s. “Bringing togethera range of ideas and techniques atthe same time one is readingacross different disciplines is asign of intellectual maturity andcourage,” he says.

“I would not want to do awaywith programs in classics or phi-losophy or chemistry becausethese are the guardians of academ-ic tradition. But if you pursueyour studies very far, you discoveryou must cross borders — an

English professor trying to makesense of theatre in ElizabethanLondon may well have to read ananthropologist or a sociologist,not just a historian, to make senseof the social functions and prac-tices of theatre. It’s wonderful thatour students learn how to begin tothink in interdisciplinary terms atthe same time they learn the skillstypical of the disciplinary pro-grams.

“The size of King’s is a virtue.In big universities, there are allthese small universities inside, andthe energy comes from thesesmall units, they define the uni-versity. But King’s is a small unitin itself.”


[Barker has] one of the

broadest ranges of scholarly

and cultural interests, a

terrific sense of

humour and a

great wit.”

CBC Radio producerDamianoPietropaolo

“

By Becky Harris

Colin Starnes looks out hisoffice window at the Quad,at Alex Hall and at thelibrary. His straight grey

hair and the wrinkles in the cornerof his eyes only begin to tell how,after 10 years as president, he’sready to step down.

He’s seen the university’s enrol-ment increase by about a third andthe budget nearly double. He’swatched the Contemporary Studies

Programme bloom and two newprogrammes start. In the past twoyears he saw the New AcademicBuilding and the link evolve fromdesigns on paper. And now he’sseen the university appoint a newpresident. That, he says, was hislast major task — to help findsomeone to run the college whohas the energy to keep all of itsparts running.

When William Barker takes overhe’ll have the not-so-easy task ofrunning a university that doesn’t

have the inertia of a largercollege such as theUniversity of Toronto.

“There’s no putting inneutral and letting itcoast,” Starnes says. “Ithas no auto pilot.”

He says King’s is fragileand yet at the same timebeyond anyone’s power torip out. His advice toBarker and any presidentto follow: “Don’t be morecomplacent or less vigi-lant.”

King’s makes himthink of two contradictoryimages the new presidentwill have to hold together.One is a piece of tissuepaper which, with theslightest wind, can blowaway. The other is a scenefrom the Aeneid whereDido ‘goes bananas’because Aeneas is leavingher. She pulls out everystop to get him to stay butAeneas’ mind remainsunchanged, likened to anoak tree, its roots wrappedaround the rocks.

“King’s,” Starnes says,his eyes distant as helooks out the window,“has got its roots aroundthe boulders of this

province.”Starnes is proud of King’s ability

to balance those two images overthe past 10 years.

He’s proud of King’s other con-tradiction: its ability to balance thehands-on world of journalism withhigh-end academics.

“It’s amazing such a smallschool can have that,” he says.

“[The university’s reputation]used to be known only to a smallgroup of people, mostly Anglicans.It’s become much wider than that,”he says. King’s attracts more of itsstudents from outside the provincethan any other Canadian Universitywith the exception of MountAllison, he says. That the universitywas able to attract someone likeWilliam Barker is also a testamentto its good reputation, Starnesadds.

He’s delighted that up until thisacademic year, King’s never pickeda student for the Foundation YearProgramme (FYP) based on marks.If a student was admissible toDalhousie, he or she was admissibleto King’s. Admissions were basedpurely on a first-come-first-servebasis.

“It allowed late bloomers achance to bloom,” Starnes explains.“People who weren’t turned on inhigh school got a chance.”

The other philosophy behind theprogramme was its unique appeal.It’s a particular student who seesthe programme outline and says,“That’s for me,” Starnes says.Coincidently, the people who chosethe programme ended up beingthose with high marks.

But so many students wanted totake the programme and it wasbecoming too difficult to justifywhy people were accepted based ontime rather than marks so theschool had to change the policy.

“That doesn’t mean I don’t think

Outgoing president proudof growth, reputationColin Starnes says that while the university’s future remains fragile‘its roots are around the boulders of the province’


‘It’s clear he’s beena popular president’Colleagues say Starnes shepherdedimmense change during difficult period


By Becky Harris

Students, some glazy-eyed,some spellbound, are lis-tening to a new lecturerspeak of truth and beauty

in the FYP lecture hall. The youngspeaker’s voice echoes through theroom and reaches the ears of for-mer vice-president Angus Johnstonsitting near the back. Enjoying hiscolleague’s address, Johnstonglances over his shoulder. ColinStarnes is just outside the room,listening intently.

It’s a scene Johnston says hehas witnessed many times duringthe past 10 years. And it reflectsthe kind of president Starnes hasbeen, says Johnston, the universi-ty’s vice-president from 1988 to2001.

“Colin wanted to know whatwas actually moving in the intel-lectual life of the college and hewas a great shepherd of that lifebecause of his care and attention.”

His academic vision made him astrong president, current vice-pres-ident Elizabeth Edwards says —but that doesn’t mean it was easy.

“If you’re a university professor,you get to talk about truth andbeauty and eternal human justice,”Edwards says. “When you becomean administrator, youget to talk about paperclips and parkingspaces. I think Colinhas had the ability tokeep the big pictureeven when having todeal with the verymundane issues.”

Former King’s pro-fessor Henry Roper says Starneswill be remembered for this vision-ary spirit.

“He wasn’t a president who sawhimself as merely administrative,”Roper says.

During his tenure, which beganin 1993, Starnes presided over sig-nificant growth and fought to keepthe university’s inti-mate academic envi-ronment.

Johnston, whoworked closely withStarnes for seven ofhis 10 years as presi-dent, says formerpresident Marion Fryleft the universitywith a vision of inter-disciplinary education continuing,beyond FYP, through the upperyears. Starnes took up the chal-lenge and shepherded the imple-mentation of Early ModernStudies, Contemporary Studies andmore recently, the History ofScience and Technology pro-gramme.

Such growth was quite anaccomplishment, Edwards says,considering most Nova Scotia uni-versities were shrinking whenStarnes first took office.

“King’s alone, of all of them,was growing,” she says. “How hemanaged to do that with thedecline in government funding is areal credit to Colin Starnes.”

It was also to Starnes’ creditthat he defended the collegeagainst various forms of mergerduring the same period of his earlypresidency, Johnston adds.

“That he encouraged growthensured the college had a very spe-cial place in the Nova Scotia sys-tem,” he says.

But as Starnes allowed King’s togrow, he also had to keep its senseof “intimacy and institutionalcare,” Johnston says.

“It has taken way too muchenergy. He lived at this place.”

The need for a new building was

it was right,” Starnes says. Starnes is also proud of the

university because he says King’sis at a leading edge in figuringout new forms of undergraduateeducation. He says the college isunique in its development of aninterdisciplinary curriculum.

These accomplishmentswouldn’t be possible without theDalhousie-King’s relationship.Other universities have tried toimitate King’s Foundation Year,Starnes says, but they couldn’t doit. Dalhousie University providesthe other half of King’s degrees,making it easier for King’s to pro-vide FYP. Dalhousie also makes itpossible for King’s to remainsmall while being big, somethingStarnes says is another importantbalancing act for the university.

“There’s something wonderful-ly valuable in the willing relation-ship between these two separateinstitutions,” he says. “To see thatcome into being has been adelight for me.”

But Starnes won’t take creditfor King’s accomplishments.

“It’s certainly not like I did anyof this,” he says. “It’s the work ofthe college.”

Although he’s modest, he hasneglected years of study andteaching to run the university.While he has continued to givesome FYP lectures, he has scarce-ly been able to write a paper in 10years.

And it’s the academic work,not the administration that hehas loved most. His favoritememory is dates to 1972 when hefirst graduated from Dalhousieand was asked to be a FYP tutor.

“I just fell in love with [FYP]. Ifound things in that programme Ihad been looking for throughthree degrees. It’s that sense offalling in love that I’ll never for-get.”

When he passes his throneover to William Barker, Starnes,his wife, his cat Montgomery andhis dog Lucy will leave the Lodgeand retreat to the house they’rebuilding near Lunenburg. Thenit’ll be catch up time.

Starnes will return to studyingone subject that still makes hiseyes light up with energy: St.Augustine. Continued on next page

AngusJohnston

Henry Roper

His next move was for love, notmoney. Loney met KarenShewbridge (BJ ’84) while in jour-nalism school and they married inDecember 1983. They’ve beentogether ever since. When she got ajob at NTV in St. John’s inDecember 1991, Brett went along— even though he didn’t have ajob. “I was a house husband for amonth and a half,” he says. Loneyand Shewbridge have two children:a girl, 18, and a boy, 13.

While Shewbridge was anchor-ing a daily television news show,Loney found a job at the Telegram— the only daily paper in the city.He worked his way up from a gen-eral assignment reporter to manag-ing editor, a position he held forfive years.

When Transcontinental Mediatook over the Telegram and theDaily News in August 2002, its cor-porate managers wanted Loney inHalifax.

“It was time to move on,” saysLoney, who says the days of work-ing 15 years as managing editor inone place are gone. Loney says heand his family loved Newfoundlandbut were happy to move back tothe city where he and Karen met.Karen now works in communica-tions for the Department ofNational Defence in Halifax.

Barb Sweet, a reporter whoworked with Loney for nine yearsat the Telegram was sad to see himgo. “It was a great loss for us, but agood opportunity for him.” Sweetsays Loney was one of the finesteditors she’s ever worked with. Shesays he took a hands-on approachto editing, “He gets right in there.”

Sweet says Loney was a strongmotivator and appreciated goodwriting. Sweet says he was alsocompassionate and caring on a per-sonal level, “At one point,” shesays, “I nearly left [the Telegram],but stayed on because of Brett.”

To compete with the Chronicle-Herald, Loney says the Daily Newswill focus on its strengths, whichhe says include its local sports andentertainment coverage. “Peoplelike our feistiness, too,” he says.

But it may be a tough roadahead. Transcontinental presidentAndre Prefontaine told fourth-year

journalism student Kim McKay inSeptember the Daily News alreadyhas more resources than manylarger papers. He said changes tothe paper wouldn’t necessarilyinclude more money, staff or equip-ment.

Five or seven years ago, Loneysays he wouldn’t have been so opti-mistic about the future of newspa-pers. “I was worried because of theInternet,” he says. But he wants tomake the younger generation read-ers of newspapers and believes theDaily News is the more youthfuldaily newspaper in Halifax.

For the young journalists wish-ing to follow in his footsteps, Loneysays, if they don’t have experience,“they’ve got to sell their enthusi-asm.” It’s very important to beeager, keen and willing to do thosenightshifts on internships and firstjobs, he says. And, “You got to gowhere the work is.”

For now, Loney is where thework is, and where he wants to be.He says he’s had the opportunity togo back to Alberta, but wouldn’tlive anywhere else besides AtlanticCanada. “I came for eight monthsto go to school. Twenty years laterI’m still here.”

Alexandra Societyholds reunion

The former members of the Alexandra

Society held a reunion on April 28 and

presented university president Colin

Starnes with gift certificate to thank him

for his support and encouragement. A

group photo was hung in Alexandra

Hall's Manning Room to

commemorate the Society's final group

of university supporters. The

Alexandra Society disbanded last year,

following its 100th

anniversary.


another big challenge for King’s.Starnes played a key role in theuniversity’s campaign to raise morethan $6 million for the project and,being a carpenter himself, he took aspecial interest in the construction.

Johnston says he remembersStarnes “watching almost everyrivet that went into the NewAcademic Building.” Whenever theworkers were doing anything new,there was Starnes, peering out thewindows or walking around the site.

“In another life he would’vebeen building these buildings,”Johnston says.

Starnes has also played a signifi-cant role outside the college, fortwo years chairing the Council ofUniversity presidents.

Perhaps Starnes was a good fitfor the university because of hislove of practical activities such ascarpentry and lobster fishing, andhis love of academics. King’s plays asimilar balancing act between thehigh academics of FYP and thepracticality of journalism.

Rapport with students

Edwards says Starnes also hadthe double ability to conduct formalbusiness and to preside over afriendly, casual atmosphere.

Despite being in office for solong, the students, faculty andalumni all seem to have a greatrespect for Starnes, Roper says.

“He has the ability to create asense of rapport with the students,”he says. “I think it’s very clear he’sbeen a popular president.”

Starnes will also be rememberedfor his good humour — as Edwardssays, “his willingness to make anass of himself for the good of thecollege.”

But as Starnes makes a newhome in the South Shore, leavinghis throne to William Barker,Johnston says it won’t representany kind of end.

“This is a beginning that he’sallowed,” Johnston says.

While Edwards, Roper andJohnston all have faith Barker willdo a great job of picking up whereStarnes left off, Edwards says, “thehard part will be not making anycomparisons.”

STARNES / Continued from previous page LONEY / Continued from page 23 I came for eight months to

go to school. Twenty years

later I’m still here.”

Brett Loney

“


Bretton Loney(BJ ’84) is newowner’s pick to takeon the Herald

By Paula Gale

Bretton Loney (BJ ’84) sitsin his bright, second flooroffice, just off the bustlingnewsroom of the Halifax

Daily News in the BurnsideIndustrial Park. His office is a clut-ter of papers and notes; a sign thathe’s a busy man. But he’s smiling.

He’s enthusiastic about changesplanned for the Daily News, eventhough at this point in mid-Aprilhe’s keeping mum about them.(The paper subsequently launcheda makeover April 23 featuring anew masthead, more coverage ofcity issues and sports, and a newdesign.)

Montreal-basedTranscontinental Media luredLoney to Halifax in October 2002,shortly after buying the Daily Newsfrom CanWest Media. The saleremoved the Daily News from anational chain of dailies includingthe Ottawa Citizen and the CalgaryHerald, and put it in the hands of alarge company best known for run-ning weekly newspapers and pub-lishing magazines such as ElleQuebec and Canadian Living.

For Loney, who was managingeditor of the Telegram in St.John’s, Nfld., it was a move he waswilling to make, “The idea of beingback in a two-newspaper town wasvery exciting,” he says.

Loney says Transcontinental isready to take on the competition

— Halifax’s the Chronicle-Herald.“They are the first corporate own-ers that realize the opportunity andpotential of the Daily News,” hesays.

Loney, 44, who’s from BowIsland, Alta., has a BA in politicalscience from the University ofLethbridge in addition to his King’sdegree. He chose King’s in 1983after also being accepted atCarleton University and theUniversity of Western Ontariobecause of the friendly reception hereceived upon hitchhiking toHalifax that summer.

Loney says it was an intenseyear, but he loved being a journal-ism student at King’s. EugeneMeese, who still teaches the intro-ductory reporting techniquescourse at the journalism school,

says he doesn’t remember whatgrade he gave Loney for copy edit-ing, but “He was a good guy thenand he’s good guy now. I like himand respect him.”

Loney has been a member of thejournalism school advisory boardsince its inception in the mid-1990s, offering input on theschool’s curriculum and providingguidance to students.

After receiving his bachelor ofjournalism, Loney’s first job was atthe Daily News, where he’d workedpart time while in school. He tooka job at the Chronicle-Herald onemonth later because they offeredhim more money. He worked vari-ous writing and editing jobs at theChronicle-Herald for seven years.

AlumniProfileDaily News editor aimsto capture young readers

Loney at his deskin the Daily News’Burnside office:“It was time tomove on.”

Photo: Paula Gale

Continued on page 22


UNIVERSITY OF KING’S COLLEGE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

STATEMENT OF RECEIPTS AND EXPENDITURES AND SURPLUS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED MARCH 31, 2003

2003 2002RECEIPTS $ $

EndowmentInvestment income 13,020 16,864Endowment donations 7,082 4,295

20,102 21,159General

Investment income 4,086 4,841Annual fund 19,940 19,925Sale of memorabilia 14,814 14,361Annual dinner 2,066 2,088Special events 6,940 7,156Other 485 167

48,331 48,538TOTAL RECEIPTS 68,433 69,697

EXPENDITURESEndowment

Awards 9,400 9,550Bursaries - 2,000Minority scholarship 6,000 6,000

15,400 17,550General

Scholarships - 16,000The John Godfrey Prize 100 100Professional fees 2,299 2,193Purchase of memorabilia 10,484 9,920Annual dinner 1,717 1,705Special events 3,518 4,655Bank charges 46 46Student activities 500 1,550Receptions and meetings (Recovery of) (23) 475Travel and gifts 741 2,099Office and newsletter 290 222Gifts to endowment from events 3,770 2,885Gifts to endowment from general funds 1,727 -

25,169 41,850

TOTAL EXPENDITURES 40,569 59,400

EXCESS OF RECEIPTS OVER EXPENDITURES 27,864 10,297SURPLUS - BEGINNING OF YEAR 277,301 267,004SURPLUS - END OF YEAR 305,165 277,301

The financial statements of the University of King’s College Alumni Association for the year ended March 31, 2003 were audited byRector Colavecchia Roche, Chartered Accountants.

A copy of the audited financial statements can be obtained from the Alumni Association office, or from <www.ukings.ns.ca>.


Encaenia2003

Clockwise from top left: the graduates’

procession leaves the quad; Jill MacBeath (BJH

’03) gives the valedictory address; Alumni

Association president Tim Rissesco (BA ’93)

presents Shauntay Grant (BJ ’03) with an alumni

pin; BJs try out their academic hoods; former

premier Russell MacLellan (BA ’62, DCL ’03)

delivers the convocation address; graduates enter

the cathedral; President Colin Starnes presents

Adam Clay (BSc Hons. ’03) with the King’s

Medal; and Ruth Davenport (BJ ’03) with the

Governor-General’s Silver Medal.

Photos by Kerry Delorey


Encaenia2003

Graham Dennis(Doctor of Civil Law)

Graham W. Dennis B.A, D.C.L.,C.M., is publisher and ChiefExecutive Officer of The HalifaxHerald Limited, the largest inde-pendently owned and operatednewspaper in Canada today. Mr.Dennis was honored for his com-mitment to providing an indepen-dent voice for Nova Scotians and fordeveloping the close ties of TheHerald newspapers to their commu-nities.

Dennis has been a newspaper-man all his life. He began workingfull time at his family’s paper in1949 after graduating with a BAfrom McGill University. He assumedthe role of publisher upon the deathof his father in 1954. Dennis is pas-sionate about his papers and therole they play in the day to day livesof Nova Scotians.

Dennis received an HonoraryDoctor of Civil Law Degree fromAcadia University and served onAcadia’s Board of Governors formany years. He is an Officer of theVenerable Order of the Hospital ofSt. John Jerusalem. In 1984 he wasappointed Member of the Order ofCanada. Mr. Dennis was also award-ed the Queen’s Jubilee Medal andthe Golden Jubilee Medal.

Lyse Doucet(Doctor of Civil Law)

Lyse Doucet is a 20-year veteran BBCforeign correspondent whose skilledreportage of international news andevents has garnered her a reputationof great trust and nuance among herpeers and among BBC audiencesworld-wide. Throughout her career,this exceptional journalist has con-tinuously put herself in harms way tocover the world’s hot spots fromAfrica to the Middle East, toAfghanistan and beyond.

Doucet began her BBC career inAfrica in the early 1980s where shecovered military coups and therecurring drought in the Sahel. Shespent five years in the Middle East,living first in Jordan where shereported on negotiations which ledto the Israeli Jordanian peace agree-ment. She then moved to Israel,reporting on the aftermath of theRabin assassination, inauguralPalestinian elections and the first dif-ficult years of the Oslo peace accord.

She has reported on the with-drawal of Russian troops inAfghanistan, suicide bombings inIsrael and the West Bank, the funeralof the Ayatollah Khomeini and theKurdish refugee crisis.

Lyse Doucet is a native ofBathurst, New Brunswick. She hasan MA in International Relationsfrom the University of Toronto and aBA Honours from Queen’s University.

Russell MacLellan(Doctor of Civil Law)

Russell MacLellan, Q.C., a King’salumnus, was recognized for a dis-tinguished career that has spannedmore than two decades of publicservice as a Member of Parliamentand, more recently, as Premier ofNova Scotia.

MacLellan began his career asExecutive Assistant to the Presidentand Vice President of Cape BretonDevelopment Corporation, laterserving as in-house legal counsel.He was first elected to the House ofCommons as Member of Parliamentfor Sydney in 1979 and was re-elect-ed in four subsequent general elec-tions. While in government, Mr.MacLellan served as ParliamentarySecretary to the Ministries ofRegional Industrial Expansion,Health and Welfare, Justice andMines. While in opposition, heserved as Liberal Party Critic forEnergy, Justice and Consumer andCorporate Affairs. He also served asChair of the Atlantic Liberal Caucus.

In 1997, MacLellan was electedLeader of the Liberal Party of NovaScotia, serving as Premier for thenext two years. Although his minor-ity government was defeated in1999,he kept his seat until 2001 when heretired to private law practice.

Jone Mitchell(Honorary Fellow)

Jone E. Mitchell, BA, CFRE, formerDirector of Alumni, Developmentand Public Relations at King’s, wasawarded an Honorary Fellowship inrecognition of the outstanding con-tributions she has made to King’sand to the King’s community.

In her more than 11 years’ ser-vice as director, Mitchell successful-ly led three major fundraising cam-paigns, including A Rare FindCampaign to raise monies for con-struction of the university’s award-winning library. In 1999 Mitchellhelped establish and implement theCollege’s most recent campaign, theBuilding on a Strong Foundationcapital campaign.

Mitchell’s commitment to theuniversity goes beyond fundraising.She worked closely with the AlumniAssociation to encourage branchdevelopment and growth; wasSexual Harassment Advisor, EquityLiaison Officer and also took anactive role in helping form the uni-versity’s Racial Equity Policy.

Mitchell graduated with a BA(Hon) from Carleton University andreceived her CFRE designation in1993.

2003 Honorary Degree Recipients

Atlantic Journalism Awards2002 winnersKing’s journalism alumni made anotherstrong showing at this year’s AtlanticJournalism Awards, held May 3 inHalifax.

Keith Bonnell (BJH ’00) and DavidRedwood (BJ ’97) of the Halifax DailyNews won the gold award in the catego-ry Spot News (Print) with fellow jour-nalist Beth Johnston for their coverageof G7 street protests.

Peter Evans (BJ ’97) and fellowSaltscapes journalist Larry Jenkins wonthe gold award for “Northern Lights” inthe category Atlantic Magazine Article.

Paul Pigott (BJ ’97) of CBC Radio,Labrador was the overall winner in thecategory Continuing Coverage (Radio)for “Moving to Natuashish.” SteveSutherland ((BJH ’97) was one of ateam of CBC Radio Maritimes journal-ists honoured as finalists for “Bio-Invader Alert.”

Karen Rawlines (BJ ’00) of the

Telegraph-Journal, Bathurst Bureauwas selected as the gold award winnerof the Jim MacNeill New JournalistAward.

Reporters Amy Smith (BJH ’92) andSusan LeBlanc (BJ ’86) were part of aHalifax Herald team of five that wonthe gold award in the categoryEnterprise Reporting (Print) for theirSydney Tar Ponds stories. StephaniePorter (BJH ’97) of the St. John’sExpress was a finalist with her story“Ocean Ranger.”

Michael Ganley (BJ ’02), a reporterfor the Halifax weekly, The Coast, wasrecognized as a finalist in the newsports reporting category for his storyin Nova Scotia boxer Kirk Johnson.

Sally Pitt (BJH ’94) of CBC-TV P.E.I.was a finalist in Enterprise Reporting(Television) for her story for story “Inthe Name of God.”

Pauline Thornhill (BJH ’86) of CBC-

TV St. John’s was a finalist inFeature (Television) for “SevenDays.”

Graduating King’sjournalism studentLaura deCarufel (BJH’03) won theImperial Oil PrizeFor Excellencefor outstand-ing studentwork at theschool.


Nolen named Hudson Award winnerThe Alumni Association recognized

respected author and foreign affairs

correspondent Stephanie Nolen (BJH

’93) at its annual alumni dinner held

May 13th. Ruth Hudson (BA ’61) and

journalism professor Michael Cobden

presented Nolen with the Judge J.

Elliott Hudson Distinguished Alumnus/a

Award, the association’s highest hon-

our.

After completing her studies at

King’s and later the London School of

Economics, Nolen moved to the Middle

East, learned Arabic and spent the next

four years filing stories for Newsweek,

The Independent and the Globe andMail where she works today.

A member of the Canadian War

Correspondents’ Association, Nolen is

an accomplished journalist whose

reportage of international affairs has

chronicled the ravages of war in the

Middle East, global poverty, human

rights violations and the AIDS pandem-

ic in Africa.

Her latest assignment was coverage

of the war in Iraq. She wrote compre-

hensive background stories on Saddam

Hussein and his government and filed

reports from the Kurdish zone to the

north.

Nolen is author of two recently

published books. Shakespeare’s Face is

the true story of a Canadian family that

claims to possess an authentic portrait

of William Shakespeare painted by a

distant relative, John Sanders. Sanders

is alleged to have been a bit player in

Shakespeare’s company. Her second

book, Promised the Moon, is the previ-

ously untold story of 13 women astro-

nauts who were denied their place in

the space race.

The Judge J. Elliott Hudson

Distinguished Alumnus/a Award recog-

nizes alumni who have made signifi-

cant contributions to their profession,

their community and to volunteer work.

This is the ninth year it has been pre-

sented. Previous winners are JohnStone (BAH ’65) in 2002, PeterCheney (BJH ’84) in 2001, RuthHudson in 2000, Gordon Earle (BA

’63) in 1999. Bruce Archibald (BAH

’70) in 1998, Linda Fraser (BA ’63) in

1997, John Mark DeWolf (BAH ’68)

in 1996, and Lois Miller (BA ’65) in

1995.

Judge Elliott Hudson (BA ’24)

was a long-standing member of King’s

board of governors and past president

of the Alumni Association.

Stephanie Nolen


King’s Classic Golf Tournament

Thursday, August 14th, 2003Sherwood Golf & Country Club

Tee Off Time: 11 a.m.

A fun event for golfers of all levels with lots of greatprizes, great food and a great opportunity to get together

with other King’s alumni. King’s has exclusive use ofSherwood’s facilities for the day.

This year’s tourney features a shotgun start, best ball and... a chance to win a new car!

(hole-in-one competition)

Dinner tickets are available for spouses and friends for $35

For more information and/or registration forms,please contact the Alumni Office:

Ph: (902) 422-1271, ext. 128, fax: 425-0363or e-mail: <[email protected]>

Registration forms can also be downloadedfrom the King’s Web site: <www.ukings.ns.ca>

(Click on “News”)

* EVENT PROCEEDS HELP FUND ALUMNI ASSOCIATIONSCHOLARSHIPS, AWARDS AND BURSARIES *

Your $125 ticket includes:

Barbecue Steak Dinner & Complimentary Drink

One round of golf at Sherwood Golf & Country Club

Great Prizes

SPONSORS OF THE

Alumni Annual Dinner

The Alumni Associationgratefully acknowledges

held May 13, 2003

Barrington MarketSuperstore

Freshmart, Coburg Road

Joseph Howe Superstore

Peller Estates

Quinpool MarketSuperstore

Sobeys, Lacewood Drive

Sobey’s Mumford Road

Sobeys, Queen Street

Sobeys, Windsor Street

Young Street Superstore

Scotia Private ClientGroup

Malcolm Bradshaw (’54-’57 & ’58-’59) and his wifeShirley both received Queen Elizabeth II GoldenJubilee Commemorative Medals in recognitionof their distinguished service to their fellow citi-zens, their community and to Canada. Soon tobe published is their fourth book since 1995. Itis the biography of Canon Alleyne GeordBradshaw entitled, “The Life and Times of God’sFriendly Servant.”

Jim Macpherson (BA Hon ’66), now lives in Papua,New Guinea, where he oversees the relationshipbetween the national government and theprovincial and local level governments. Jimextends a welcome to alumni/ae who wish tovisit New Guinea. Jim can be reached at:<[email protected]>.

George Burden (’74) was voted in as a member ofNew York’s Explorers Club for his medical-his-torical research and exploration activities. OtherClub members include Sir Edmund Hillary,James Cameron and Robert Ballard. Georgerecently celebrated the launching of “AmazingMedical Stories” a 20-story anthology ofCanadian medical-historical events. George co-authored the book with Halifax journalistDorothy Grant.

Howard Shears (BA ’75) was recently appointed theBusiness Development Bank of Canada’s Vice-president and Area Manager for SouthernOntario. He resides in London with his wifeMickey and children. Fellow alumni can contactHoward at: <[email protected]>

Wally Archibald ( BSc ’85) and Laura DawsonArchibald proudly announce the birth of SimonWilliam on Feb. 14, 2003 in Ottawa, a brotherfor Samuel and Graham. Fellow alumni cancontact Wally at: <[email protected]>

Geoffrey Gorham (BA ’86) is currently living inMinneapolis, Minn., and making a living as aprofessor of philosophy at Macalester College.He is husband to Amy Ihlan, who is an attorneyand philosopher, and father to Sophie. Fellowalumni can contact Geoffrey at:<[email protected]>

Darren Greer (BA ’89) had his new novel, “Still Lifewith June’, published in May by CormorantBooks. <www.darrengreer.com>.Fellow alumnican contact Darren at:<[email protected]>

Jean (Wright) Keohane ( BJH ’82) is living inEngland and working with the local healthauthority in community involvement. Jean isusing her writing skills to develop plays anddrama opportunities for people with learningdisabilities. Friends visiting England can giveJean a call at 01204-305088.

Jill (Little) Kruse (BJH ’87) and husband Greg, arepleased to announce the birth of identical twingirls, Victoria and Megan, born Nov. 1, 2002. Bigsister Kari, 5, is thrilled with her baby sisters.

Ian MacInnis (BSc ’86) and Elaine (Galey) MacInnis(BA ’85) are pleased to announce the birth oftheir first child, Daniel Leonard, on July 31,2002. Fellow alumni can contact Ian at:<[email protected]>

Clare (MacKenzie) MacIntyre (BA ’89, BJ ’90) mar-ried Darrow MacIntyre April 6, 2002. Both Clareand Darrow work for CBC Television and live inVancouver.

Heather MacIvor (BA Hons ’85) married KendalJames McKinney Dec. 21, 2002 in Windsor, Ont.Heather is an associate professor at theUniversity of Windsor.

James MacQueen (BA ’89) is once again residing inToronto and is currently Corporate vice-presi-dent of Real Estate for Alderwoods Group, Inc.Fellow alumni can contact James at:<[email protected]>

Laurette (aka Lori) Palmer (BSc ’81) is teaching atRyerson University. Putting pen to paper is stilla challenge, however e-mail is a means of com-munication she has mastered. She would love tohear from friends at: <[email protected]>

Brian Pitcairn (BA ’73) has been working with theLoon River Cree First Nation in Northern

Alberta to establish an on-reserveoil exploration programme with a Calgary oilcompany. The deal will give the communityincome and business investment opportunities.

Joan Sinden (BA ’87) has developed a Web site enti-tled “Charlie loves Halifax” at <http://www.geoc-ities.com/charlieloveshalifax/index.html> thatpromotes a dog-friendly city. The site includes alisting of dog-friendly stores and parks in theHalifax Regional Municipality as well as caninetraining tips. Fellow alumni can contact Joan at:<[email protected]>

Luanne Walton (BA ’86) continues her work in theconstitutional and administrative law sectionof the federal Department of Justice. She waspromoted to senior counsel in June 2001, spe-cializing in the constitutional division of pow-ers. In July 2002, Luanne became the ChiefExecutive Officer in Canada of theInternational Order of the Rainbow for Girls.This fraternal and charitable organizationteaches leadership and community service togirls aged 11 to 21.


the 50sAlumNotes

David Precious (’63) has beenappointed Dean ofDentistry at DalhousieUniversity for a five-yearterm, effective July 1, 2003.Precious has been a profes-sor at Dalhousie since1973. He presently servesas Chair of the Departmentof Oral and Maxillofacial Sciences. He hasalso served as a member of the Nova ScotiaCouncil of Higher Education and theDalhousie Board of Governors. He is veryactive professionally, having served, amongother appointments, as president of theNova Scotia Dental Association and as presi-dent of the Medical Staff of the VictoriaGeneral Hospital. Dr. Precious has an inter-national reputation as a scholar, educatorand practitioner.

Yearbooksstill available

If you’re a recent gradand don’t yet have a copy

of The Record for yourgraduation year let us know!

A limited number of copies areavailable for pickup or delivery.

While supplies last only.

Call the alumni office at(902) 422-1271 or e-mail<[email protected]>

Copies areavailablefor the

followingyears:

1992-931995-961996-971997-981998-991999-002000-012001-02

the 70s

the 80sthe 60s


AlumNotesChristine Williams (BJH ’83) married Bill Laurence

on June 29, 2002 at the University of King’sCollege Chapel. Christine and Bill reside inHalifax. Fellow alumni can contact Christine at:<[email protected]>

Meagan Austin (BA ’98) and Scott Sanford (BA ’92)are engaged to be married this summer inProspect, N.S. Feel free to contact them at<[email protected]>

Jason Brannen (BA ’93) relocated to Ottawa inJune 2002. He is legal counsel with theDepartment of Justice, providing legal servicesto Indian Residential Schools ResolutionCanada.

Kathryn R. Burton (BA ’98) graduated fromDartmouth College with a Master of Arts inLiberal Studies. She has accepted a position

with the Abortion Access Project and residesin Boston. Kathryn can be reached at:<[email protected]>

Beth Edwards (BSc ’94) and Christopher Culliganare happy to announce the birth of their firstchild, William Aubrey Edwards Culligan onApril 9, 2003. Beth is a doctoral student inpublic health at the University of Toronto andChristopher is practising emergency medicineat two Toronto hospitals.

Kelly (Goodyear) Foss (BJ H ’98) and her husbandJody are thrilled to finally announce the birthof their first child, Riley James Foss, on July22, 2002. Kelly has just returned to work forthe Government of Newfoundland andLabrador as communications and policyresearch analyst with the Women’s PolicyOffice. Fellow alumni can contact Kelly at:<[email protected]>

Jennifer Hiscock (BA ’98) took a position with theGovernment of Canada as a trade officer aftercompleting a Master in DevelopmentEconomics from Dalhousie. She currentlyworks in for the Atlantic CanadaOpportunities Agency in Halifax. Fellow alum-

ni can contact Jennifer at: <[email protected]>

Heather (Carmichael) Kearney (BJH ’92) and herhusband Sandy welcomed the arrival of theirfirst child, MacKenzie Alexander on Jan. 3,2003.

Ross Kerr (BA ’95) is engaged to Sarah Gibbings.The wedding is planned for September 2003.Ross recently completed his MBA and contin-ues to work with Canada Life in project man-agement.

Mary Beth Knight (BJ ’97) was recently appointedDirector of Development at the University ofVirginia’s School of Nursing.

Cyndy Kuan (BA ’94) is pleased to announce herengagement to Richard Pearl of Ottawa, Ont.They will be married in the spring of 2004, inHamilton, Ont.

Antonia (Nonie) Elizabeth McKean Sly (BA ’99)and Brian Richard Cluny Nicholls (BA ’92) arehappy to announce their engagement.

Rev. Edward Rix (BA Hon ’92, Dean of Men ’95-’97) and Sierra Rix are pleased to announcethe birth of Gwyneth Lila Rix on Jan. 24,

In MemoriamBy Greg Guy (BJH ’87)

Friends, family, and King’s alumni of GeorgeSean Earles (BJH ’86) were saddened by thenews of his sudden death in Dartmouth onMarch 3, 2003. He was 38.

At King’s everyone knew George. He excelledas a student and his sharp wit often dripped intohis writing — just one of his many gifts.

Away from the classroom, if there was anevent on campus, George was there. He wasalways part of the annual theatre productions.He shined on stage and loved any chance toperform. It’s an understatement to say he wasthe life of the party.

On March 23, King’s alumni and George’sfriends and family gathered foran afternoon of remembrance atthe Economy Shoe Shop inHalifax. Friends flew in from asfar away as London, England,and across Canada for the week-end that helped us share storiesabout George — laugh, cry andcelebrate his life. The nightbefore, many alumni gathered atthe Lower Deck for what wasdubbed the “Beers and TearsTour.”

It was also a chance to establish the GeorgeEarles Memorial Scholarship Fund.

Another event was held in George’s home-town of St. John’s at the Majestic nightclub onApril 12. Again, friends and family from acrossCanada flew in to remember George. A CD wasmade of George’s favourite music, that ofcourse, included loads of disco tunes.

At the time of printing more than $7,500had been donated. In order to endow the fundmore than $10,000 has to be raised.

George’s journalism career landed him jobswith the CBC and CBC Newsworld across the

country. George was always travelling somewhere

and for several years decided to work in thecountries he visited including England, Finlandand Australia. If he wasn’t dabbling in journal-ism, he would take on teaching positions usinghis education degree from Memorial Universityin St. John’s.

Most recently he taught school on a reservein northern Ontario.

For several years, he jumped the journalismfence and took on public relations jobs with thegovernment.

In his hometown of St. John’s, he landedthe job as communications director of theNewfoundland and Labrador tourism depart-ment. It was there his vibrant personalityhelped him sell the province.

In 1999, George returned to the stage work-ing in the Spirit of Newfoundland dinner the-atre, a company he took on a tourism roadshowacross the country in a promotional eventcalled Soiree ‘99. He was also proud of his orga-

nization of the anniversary of the Vikingsarrival in Newfoundland and a huge celebrationmarking the first countdown in North Americafor the new Millennium, where he gatheredinternational networks to cover the outdoorparty on the St. John’s waterfront.

For the past several years, George sufferedfrom depression, which ultimately led to hisuntimely death. Those close to him sufferedalong with him and his disease — which wasoften left unspoken — and makes losing such aclose friend, brother and colleague all the moredifficult.

Thanks, George for the wonderful memoriesthat we will all cherish dearly. We’ll make surethat at future King’s gatherings you’ll continueto be the life of the party.

A George Earles Memorial Scholarship hasbeen set up at the University of King’s College.Donations can be made in George’s memory tothe Alumni Office, University of King’s College,6350 Coburg Rd., Halifax, N.S. B3H 2A1.

Doris Lillian (Harrison) Brown (BA ’41), May 29,2003, Ottawa, Ont.

J. Melville Deacon (’55) of London, Ont, died April21, 2003

The Honourable Richard James Doyle (DCL ’83)OC, Toronto, Ont., April 8, 2003.

Claude M. Leighton (BSc ’40) of Moncton, passedaway March 5, 2003. He graduated fromDalhousie’s medical school during his earlyyears was active in the formation of theMoncton Branch of the Cystic Fibrosis Society.He worked diligently on behalf of the C.F.Children and was awarded the “Breath of LifeAward” for outstanding service by theCanadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Sarah Reid Morrison (BJH ’97), Feb. 14, 2003,Baddeck, N.S.

Alumni gather to remember George Earles inHalifax March 23. From left: Stuart Moore (BA’87), Veronica Newport (BA ’86), Trevor Greene(BJH ’88), Stephen MacLean (BSc ’87), JulietteDoucet-MacLean (BA ’87), Elaine Wright (BA ’97)and Greg Guy (BJH ’87)

the 90s

GeorgeEarles

YOU REMEMBERED!


AlumNotes

2003. Eddy is Interim Rector of All Saints’Church in Wynnewood, Pa., a suburb ofPhiladelphia. Fellow alumni can contactEdward at: <[email protected]>

Jacqueline Roberts (BJH ’96) and Robert Amos arepleased to announce their engagement. Fellowalumni can contact Jacqueline at:<[email protected]>

Linda (Norman) Skinner (BJH ’92) and husbandRandy welcomed their daughter, MadelineEvelyn, on April 8, 2002. Linda is working inCorner Brook, Nfld., as communications co-ordinator for the Western Newfoundland

Model Forest. Fellow alumni can contactLinda at: <[email protected]>

Sarah Tamsett (BA ’95) and Augustine Peters weremarried Nov. 17, 2001. Sarah completed herLicence and Maitrise in ContemporaryEuropean History at the Sorbonne, UniversitéParis. Sarah is now employed with the federalDepartment of Justice.

Nick Taylor (’92) and wife Annie are pleased toannounce the birth of Justin Trelawney Tayloron Jan. 28, 2003, a brother to sister NicolaEmily, 3. Nick would love to hear from friendsat: <[email protected]> or <[email protected]>.

Jordi Valdes (BA ’93) published his first book ofpoetry and photography last fall titled “Fear ofthe Unknown Recollection.” He is also theproduction manager for the Sundance FilmFestival, filmmaker liaison for the Miami FilmFest and teaches filmmaking classes in Francefor the New York Film Academy in the sum-mer. Fellow alumni can contact Jordi at:<[email protected]>

Genevieve Bonin-Labelle (BJ ’01) and PatrickLabelle were married in Ottawa on July 20,2002. Fellow alumni can contact Genevieve at:<[email protected]>

Heather (Hubley) Butler (BSc ’00) married KurtButler on July 7, 2001 in Charlottetown, P.E.I.Fellow alumni can contact Heather at:<[email protected]>

Angela Chang (BJH ’03) was awarded the JoanDonaldson Newsworld Scholarship in honour ofthe founding head of CBC Newsworld.

Paloma Hanlon (BJH ’01) married Stephen Cook atBrighton Town Hall Feb. 15, 2003.

Dan de Munnik (BSc Hons ’02) is working in Halifaxas an economist with the Bank of Canada aftercompleting an MA in economics at McMaster.Contact Dan at: <[email protected]>

the 00sBrian Flemming, CM, QC (DCL ’91) has beenawarded the annual “Award of Achievement”by the Canadian transportation industry forhis contributions to the industry. Flemmingwas chairman of the Canada TransportationAct Review Panel in 2000-01 and is currentlychairman of the Canadian Air TransportSecurity Authority.

Thanks to William Bishop (LTh ’47), John Densmore (’46)Daniel Harlow (’49) and Ralph Lewis (’40) for helping withthe identifications in our photo from last issue — themen’s field hockey team of September 1938.

Daniel Harlow and Bruce Ross (’54) also provided us witha interesting bit of information about the women in theprevious issue’s photo. Harlow writes:

“The girl on the left is Inis Upitis andNo. 2 is Austra Demidovar. I think it isthe late 1940s and not in the ’50s.

“These girls were Latvian immigrantsknown as Displaced Persons who had tospend one year in domestic servicebefore they could be classed as landedimmigrants. They were well educated, very pleasant and happy to bein Canada. Inis had a science degree and her first year of medicine.Austra was a nurse and one of the others had a degree in agricul-ture.

“My roommate Bun Piggott and I were studying German so weleft notes written in our best German for the cleaning staff and theyin turn left us notes in their best English. On one occasion theyinvited us to a house party. They had friends who were working asdomestics in private homes. That was quite a party.”

This issue’s photo is another one courtesy of John Tasman.Take a look ... (over)

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1. John Tasman (’40)2. Harvey Gilbert3. Nonnie Orlando4. Bob Dunsmore (’38)5. Rowland Frazee (DCL ’75)6. Martel Skinner

7. A.S. (Yank) Forsyth (’40)8. Reg Bullock9. Paul Howard10. John Densmore (’46)11. Philip Walker (’40)12. T. Hubert Drillen (BA ’42)

TidingsAlumni AssociationUniversity of King’s CollegeHalifax, NS B3H 2A1(902) 422-1271 ext. 128

Do you have any old calendars, yearbooks, photographs, theatre programmes or literary publications in your basement? King’s archives gratefully accepts King’s material of any kind.

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Here is another photo from ourarchives. Can you help us identifythe people in it? The place? Thedate?

Photos on this page either haveno notes accompanying them orare missing key information.

Send your letter in care of theoffice of Alumni, Developmentand Public Relations.

WE NEED YOUR HELP ...

Photo: John Tasman

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