I Remember Laurier: Reflections by Retirees on Life at WLU

27. Getting Everyone and Everything Just Right

Chapter 27  Getting Everyone and Everything Just Right jim wilgar 141 Idrove my dad’s 1959 studebaker with three friends from Barrie to Albert Street and parked in a lot marked “Reserved” at what was then Waterloo College. That was the beginning of a wonderful journey that changed not only my life but also the lives of too many to contemplate. A “Preliminary Year” option was the goal. It had been discussed earlier with my parents. Children of some of their friends had also attended and loved“the Lutheran College”in Waterloo affiliated with the University of Western Ontario at the time. We were invited into the board room to meet with a quiet, caring man by the name of Dr. Lloyd Schaus. His thoughtful suggestions and uncomplicated entry procedures soon had us enrolled in programs that would set us on a path of higher expectations and hopes. Exactly who did the admissions and registration and how it all happened I didn’t know then. Dr. Schaus’s approach was more one of genuine personal interest and helpful guidance. This student-centred focus was a hallmark of this college! Now I was a recipient of that focus and would in time carry that philosophy forward as a goal to get“everyone and everything just right.” My appreciation of our classes and the faculty in those early years in Geography (Dr. Krueger), English (Jim Clark, Dr. Roy), Economics (Dr. Max Stewart), and Psychology (Dr. Mary Kay Lane, Dr. Morgenson ) was further enhanced by the enjoyable times outside of those small classes. Problems were often dealt with in the Torque Room, the Circus Room, and even at lunches in Waterloo Park or in a faculty member’s home. Oh, yes, there was a new “sister” university down the street that had originated at Waterloo College, but we paid little or no attention to it except at rival sporting events. The Canadian Officers Training Corps provided much-appreciated spending money, an officer’s rank, a half-credit, and exciting summer training and employment. Many clubs and sports, the Winter Carnival, being part of the Bed Pushing Team, our successful football teams, and many other athletic achievements all enhanced what came to be known as the “The Laurier Experience.” The combination of great teachers and staff willing to assist you, along with student activities of every description, all helped set a foundation for life not just for me but for all who recognized how very fortunate we were to be at Waterloo College and then Waterloo Lutheran University. Those classes and the“experience” of WLU were helping me to focus on getting things right. After graduating in 1964, I taught geography, physical education, English , and other subjects in Midland, Ontario, only to feel the pull of a graduate degree.After assessing the alternatives,WLU again became my preferred choice. Could I pass GMAT tests, fulfill all the requirements, and graduate? Barb (my wife-to-be), fellow WLU geographer Ken McCleary, Dean of Students Fred Nichols, and a truly devoted staff and faculty helped me to focus my goals and areas of interest. Within a few years I was awarded my M.A. in geography. Teaching part-time in the geography labs and at WLU’s summer extension program in Orillia were great opportunities to hone my teaching skills and broaden my knowledge of geography and resource planning as well as of the university at large. My thesis advisor, the late Dr. George Priddle, and WLU faculty and students who became lifelong friends were inspirations in more ways than they will ever know. But there was the matter of an outstanding bill owed to the university . Though we (Barb and I had married in the summer of 1967) were serving as the head residents of “Grad A,” which blessed us with an income of a dollar per student per month, money was tight. As luck would have it, while I was standing in the Business Office line one day, Cliff Bilyea mentioned to me that Steve Little was moving to the Uni142 quotidian: the day-to-day versity of Waterloo and there would be an opening in the Office of the Registrar. I applied, had various interviews, and before the ink had dried on the other job applications I had submitted, I found myself as the liaison-admissions officer of my beloved university, working for Registrar Henry Dueck and, more specifically, Keith Rae...