A View from Champlain |
TRENT CONTENTS Association President's Message The Higher Cost of Higher Education Are You Being Served? Discounts and benefits for alumni Course profile - Women in the Greek and Roman World Alumni Staff Profile - Doug Brown '71 Which Way Is Up? - Investment strategies in difficult times |
By Martin Boyne '86 It's something of a privilege to be writing this column, since I write not only as a Champlain alumnus but also as someone who spent the 1997-98 academic year as the acting master of the college, and the previous one as its senior tutor. Now, having returned to a position of relative anonymity - one free of the bureaucracy that accompanies administration - I maintain my connection with Champlain by teaching academic skills from an office just steps from the Ceilie and the cabinet office. It's been an exciting few years. For those who have lost touch with the college in recent years, it might be useful to recap some of the physical and human changes that have taken place. Jim MacAdam finished his term as master in 1993 (he had taken over from David Glassco in 1987). This ushered in a new era at Champlain, when English Literature professor Stephen Brown was appointed the college's seventh master. As anyone who has been around Champlain can confirm, Stephen ("Master Brown") has brought non-stop energy to the college, combined with a good blend of dedication to teaching and compassion for students that earned him a prestigious 3M teaching fellowship in 1997. During his time as master, he has invited a range of special guests to the college, including writers, politicians, journalists, and scholars from numerous disciplines. When his term ended in 1997, Stephen was successful in his bid for a second term, a five-year deal which began in September 1998. He and his wife, Kathryn Chittick, also a professor in the English Department, spent the year in Scotland, where Stephen was a fellow at the University of Edinburgh. I was honoured to be given the chance to step into the hot seat for the year. With the unrest of the 96-97 year behind us (recall the faculty strike and the various administration "shuffes"), it seemed a good time to settle in to some peace and quiet, a chance to try my hand at university administration. Yet the baptism was less than gentle; "downpour" might be the better metaphor. I won't get into details (it was a bit of a "drag"), but certain events made their way into the national press - for quite ridiculous reasons, I might add. All things considered, however, the year was very successful. It was a new beginning in many ways: the college staff (college administrator Marian O'Brien '74, college secretary Noranne Flower, and senior tutor Andrew McDonald '84) not only had the "new guy" (me) to deal with, but they also had to adapt to new surroundings. Remember the CCI1 and CCI2 seminar rooms? They now form the college office, and the old area on the third floor of the south block, where the college office had been for years, has been the new home of the Tent International Program since June 1997. The long-term plan, budget permitting (of course!), is to return to architect Ron Thom's original plan and consolidate the space currently occupied by the college office, the council chambers, and the Master's Lodge. Academically, the 97-98 year was a huge success for Champlain. Five Champlain graduands received medals at the 1998 convocation ceremony: Ranpal Dosanjh '94 won the Governor General's silver medal as the top student in the Honours program; John Stardom '94, Liz Haack '94 and Geoff Wild '94 won Symons medals for outstanding performance at the Honours level; and Kim Ferguson '94 won a Bagnani medal for her excellent performance in the three-year program. This continues the tradition of excellence that Champlain has seen over the years. Other areas are worthy of mention, too: in athletics, Champlain was oh-so-close to retain the Grail, the intramural trophy for overall college participation; in politics, Matt Griem '97 and his team took high honours in a model United Nations competition at Western; the first papers were presented at the now-annual Champlain student conference; and, as always, students were active in varsity sports, music, and drama. A group of students also worked closely with writer-in-residence Andrew Pyper, who led a successful creative writing seminar while completing work on his first novel. The current year is shaping up to be just as good. Back at the helm, Stephen Brown has a long list of artists-in-residence, distinguished visitors, and new ideas to keep the college buzzing. Marian and Noranne, along with senior tutor (Dr.) Tom Phillips '74, are settling into their second year in the new college office. Cabinet president Jon Cooley '96 and his team of student politicians have been keeping the extracurricular side of the college active. The current dons - Stefan Bilaniuk (A-B), Danuta Piurko '94 and Mark Avery '93 (C-D), Bruce Emmerton '97 (E-F), Nancy Fawcett '86 (G-H), Matt McLeod '97 (I-J), and Monica Harris (K-L) - are continuing the tradition of personal attention and care which resident students remember fondly. And of course there are the students - experiencing the range of joys and sadness, successes and setbacks that most who are reading this piece will recall. Yes, life at Champlain is just fine. Come back and see us soon. | |
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