Founding of "unconventional" UW

told in book by Kenneth McLaughlin

WATERLOO, Ont. -- Forty years ago, an upstart university with a radical outlook was founded on a large patch of scruffy farmland at the edge of Waterloo.

The trials and tribulations, battles and fears of the early years in the life of the fledgling University of Waterloo are recalled in a 240-page book by history Prof. Kenneth McLaughlin of UW's St. Jerome's College.

Waterloo: The Unconventional Founding of an Unconventional University, is a "rich source of information about the forces and factors that transformed the Ontario university system in the '50s and early '60s," says James Downey, UW president.

"What is remarkable in its history is the degree to which the values and aspirations of post-war Canada shaped this new university and its students," McLaughlin says.

"The story of the founding of the University of Waterloo is replete with a variety of emotions -- fear, uncertainty, pride, determination, anger and defiance to name only some, and these have all been very much a part of its history," he writes in the book's postscript.

In discussing the research and the finished product, McLaughlin said photographs were selected to "try to depict the life and times of the university and its people and the ethos that developed so quickly around the university in its founding years.

"The text follows the vicissitudes of the university idea in Waterloo. The one idea that stands out is the commitment of then president Gerald Hagey, the board of governors, the early faculty members and the students who chose to attend the newly founded Associate Faculties and later the University of Waterloo, to create a curriculum and a university education that would be relevant to the lives of Canadians in a rapidly changing world.

"Their credo was to establish a university that combined the best in science, technology and the humanities, setting a course that looked to the future rather than one based on the past precedents of other universities in Canada or abroad," McLaughlin says.

"I have tried to let some of the personality of UW come through in my text and in the selection of photographs," he adds. The book contains more than 150 photos, many in color, and most of them never before published.

"It was our aim to produce a book that looks at UW in ways that most of us have not seen before. This included finding new photographs. The detailed captions allow a reader to follow the book independently of the text, while the chronology at the back of the book also is to assist readers to follow the UW story. In this way we sought to use the most recent technology to make this a user-friendly book," McLaughlin says.

"He simply tells the story with clarity and precision; he lets the people and events he describes speak for themselves," Downey says, adding: "And the story he tells here is immensely enriched by his generous and telling use of photographs.

"For those who know or wish to know the University of Waterloo, this lovely book is an orchard of ripe and delicious insights and images of UW's origins and the people and events that shaped its character," Downey adds.

In the foreward, Lois Claxton, UW's secretary, says: "The story that Ken McLaughlin tells so skilfully in this book will engage everyone who has an interest in higher education in Canada, for it is the story of the founding of one of Canada's most successful post-war institutions."

Published by UW, the hardcover book has an introductory price of $40 (list price $52) and is available through the UW Bookstore (888-4567, ext. 2902).

The book had its official launch Tuesday at an invitation-only ceremony at UW's Dana Porter Library. Arrangements are being made for the author to appear at public book signings to be announced.

McLaughlin, a student at UW from 1961 to 1965, is a graduate of the universities of Waterloo, Dalhousie and Toronto. He has been a faculty member at UW since 1970 and at St. Jerome's since 1975 where he recently served as vice-president and academic dean. He has written several books, including the award-winning Kitchener: An Illustrated History (1983 and 1996), co-authored with his colleague, Prof. John English.

Contact: Prof. Kenneth McLaughlin, St. Jerome's, (519) 884-8110

From: Jim Fox, UW News Bureau, (519) 888-4444

UW experts/releases: http://www.adm.uwaterloo.ca/infonews/

Release no. 166 -- October 29, 1997