Daily Bulletin

Bill Dyck remembered

Distinguished Professor Emeritus, J. William Dyck, 80, died Tuesday at Grand River Hospital. One of the founding members of the faculty of arts at UW, in 1960 he was appointed professor and chair of the department of German and Russian, later renamed Germanic and Slavic languages and literature. Looking back on Dyck's career, dean of arts Brian Hendley notes, "He developed strong graduate programs in German and in Russian, established the German exchange program with Mannheim, was founding editor of the journal, Germano-Slavica, and wrote books and articles on a number of topics, including Kleist and Pasternak.

"To know Bill Dyck was to know a man of considerable energy and intense feelings. He never felt shy about giving advice and he continued to fight for what he believed in, but always out of a deep and abiding sense of loyalty to the Faculty of Arts and to the University. Paul Cornell is quoted in Ken McLaughlin's recent history as characterizing Bill Dyck early on as 'a good humanist' who 'hopes for great things.' A fitting epitaph for a colleague whose presence both enlivened and enriched the development of the Faculty of Arts at Waterloo. He shall indeed be missed," said Hendley.

Dyck earned graduate degrees at the University of Missouri (MA) and the University of Michigan (PhD), and taught at the University of Missouri, University of Michigan, Oberlin College, Ohio, and Waterloo College before taking a position at UW. He lectured in New Zealand, Australia, Cambridge, Mannheim and Hamburg. Among his honours and awards are Silver Medals from UW and Mannheim.

He is survived by his wife, Sarah, daughters Julie Telfer and Vickie Drysdale and their families, and a number of relatives in Germany. Cremation has taken place, and the family will receive friends at the Edward R. Good Funeral Home in Waterloo today from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. A memorial service will be held on Saturday at 11 a.m. at K-W United Mennonite Church, George Street, Waterloo. Memorial donations may be made to the J.W. Dyck Scholarship Fund at UW through the office of development and alumni affairs, or to the Mennonite Central Committee.

Exams end tomorrow

Tomorrow's the day distance education students write their winter term exams, while exams for on-campus students wrap up. After that, most students simply heave a big sigh of relief, or compare notes about this term's killer exam. Not Ondrej Lhotak, a math student who is convinced "exams aren't all bad," and shares his fondest exam memory in the April mathNEWS.

"My most exciting exam was back in 1A. The afternoon before the day of the exam, I was studying in the C+D, finding it hard to focus on the boring material. One of my classmates walked in with that often-heard cliche: 'I'm going to fail this thing!' After working through a couple of questions, I realized that she wasn't kidding....We ended up joining the crowd of crammers in the DC library and studying for a few hours. Not only did we have a fun time studying (believe it or not), but I learned the material much better than I ever could have on my own.....

"A couple of weeks later I went to find out my mark. I noted that it was in line with my expectations....Then I heard a voice behind me say, 'Guess what I got! 94!' I wouldn't have been more excited if it were me moving from the 40s to the 90s."

"Remember this story when you're stressed out cramming for your exams," Lhotak concludes. "If you spend your time worrying about yourself, you will never be completely confident that you'll succeed. If you lend a hand to someone else, you can be sure that the time you invest is worthwhile."

Microsoft Access 97 training CDs arrive

Help is at hand for "a lot of people (who) have been asking about this," reports Bob Hicks of client services at IST. "Using the CD in your computer, you work through the courseware using the Access 97, aided by step-by-step instruction.

"Your computer must have the following minimum system requirements to use the CDs: minimum 486 with 16 MB of RAM, mouse, SVGA monitor, 1 MB video card, sound card with speakers or headphones, 2x speed CD-ROM drive, and the software you are learning on your PC," adds Hicks.

Other training CDs for Windows 95, Excel 97, PowerPoint 97 and Word 97 can be checked out for seven days at a time from the Computing Help and Information Place (CHIP) in MC 1052, ext. 3456, or from the Staff Training and Development Library in Human Resources, GSC 130, ext. 2078. To ensure the CD you want is available, call ahead, he advises. Ideal for either beginners or experienced users who want to improve their skills, each CD takes between six and eight hours to complete.

Happening today and on a spring weekend

Short summaries of winter work term reports by co-op student employed with IST will be presented in this term's final Friday morning IST seminar today from 8:45 to 9:45 in MC 2009. Among the topics "sure to be of interest to a lot of people": Enhancing the Arts Computing Office Web Pages Using HTML V4; The Future of UW's Dialup Service; Windows NT; A Critical Examination of the Science Computing Help Desk Work Area; and Possible Alternatives to UW Surplus: What to Do with the 386s.

Desire and Serendipity will be explored by Ronald de Sousa, University of Toronto, at the philosophy colloquium today at 3:30 p.m. in HH 334. In a synopsis of his talk, de Sousa postulates that, "An important source of serendipity is the particularity of the events that fulfil our desires: since that particularity is inexhaustible, it cannot have been fully specified by any statement of our desired end. If so, then in every case involving a particular thing or event, even getting what you wanted involves getting something that you didn't know you wanted."

Extended library hours end today, with intersession hours beginning on Saturday at Dana Porter, Davis Centre and the University Map and Design Libraries. And a cautionary note on term loan renewals: "May 6 is the due date for books borrowed on term loan and they may be returned or renewed anytime before that date. However, those wishing to renew books are advised to avoid trying to do so on Monday, April 27 through Wednesday, April 29. On these days, renewing will take longer than usual because the Library's automated circulation system will not be in full operation. By Thursday, April 29, the Library's new system, TRELLIS will have been implemented and renewals will be handled quickly."

You don't need to B.Y.O.B. (bring your own bike) for the "informative and delicious" Tour de France being held this evening at the University Club. A tour of French wines is on the menu, along with the creations of chef Michael Khalil. Reservations will be limited to 60 people for the "promptly at 6:30 p.m." dinner. Cost is $54.

Electricity, heating, cooling and ventilation will be the utilities shut down on Saturday between 8 a.m. and noon in the Physics building to "tie in the new switch gear to the existing substation equipment." Computer equipment "should be shut down in an orderly fashion (particularly UNIX systems)." For computer assistance, contact CHIP at ext. 4357.

Journey Just Begun, a concert featuring performances by Conrad Grebel music professor Carol Ann Weaver and singer/songwriter Cate Friesen will be held Saturday at 8 p.m. in the Great Hall of Conrad Grebel College. The event is in memory of Weaver's mother, Miriam L. Weaver, who died last year of leukemia, and will raise money for Vox Feminarum, The Canadian Journal of Feminist Spirituality. Tickets are $10.

The Rhythm Festival comes to the Humanities Theatre this weekend, from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday, and from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday.

The Conrad Grebel Chapel Choir starts its road trip this weekend with a performance on Sunday in Ephrata, Pennsylvania. Until May 3, the choir will tour churches and schools in Pennsylvania and Ohio.

UW folks will be participating in the 20th annual Great Ride/Walk to Beat Cancer on Sunday may need to bring their rain gear. Starting at 1 p.m. at University Stadium on Seagram Drive, cyclists will take a 20 km route, while walkers will trek for 7.5 km. Proceeds go the Canadian Cancer Society.

Barbara Elve

Editor of the Daily Bulletin: Chris Redmond
Information and Public Affairs, University of Waterloo
credmond@uwaterloo.ca | (519) 888-4567 ext. 3004
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