Remembering J. Sayer Minas

Former Dean of the Faculty of Arts J. Sayer Minas died on March 27 at the age of 87.

"Minas was an important figure in the early history of the Department of Philosophy," writes philosophy chair David DeVidi. "His PhD thesis was on many-valued logic, and he spent many years working in 'operations research,' a field nowadays more liked to be called 'management science.' He also worked in decision theory and in the more mathematical parts of the philosophy of science, including confirmation theory."

It was hardly surprising, then, that someone who studied decision-making would be attracted to administrative roles within the university. Minas served as Dean of the Faculty of Arts on two non-consecutive occasions, first from 1967 to 1970 and then from 1974 to 1979. Minas was an administrator during turbulent times on campus, both in terms of the student movement, which was approaching critical mass as the Sixties turned into the Seventies, and in terms of academic politics. As DeVidi notes, "In the years between these stints, the faculty had four deans, one of them twice!" And in 1975, at the height of the Renison Academic Assembly affair, Minas's office was occupied for more than 30 hours by student protesters.

The unofficial history of the university, "Water Under the Bridge," remembers Minas this way: "His brushcut hair, his taste for American beer in a time when American beer was pretty exotic stuff, his hobby of hand-printing, his early use of computers to keep track of projects and budgets, his blunt conversational style, and his peculiar modesty all made him well known across the university for most of the next two decades."

He is also remembered for "The Minas Formula," which has been used by the Faculty of Arts for over 40 years to determine equitable allocations of resources to departments.

Minas was succeeded in the role of arts dean by Robin Banks, who died March 19.

He held a number of other administrative posts during his nearly two-decade career at the university, serving as dean of graduate studies in 1966-67, acting vice-president in 1969, and University Computing Officer in 1982-83. Near the end of his career, Minas moved to the University of Pennsylvania, and then to Drexel University.

"Minas is recalled fondly by those who had a chance to work with him as a man of great charm and humour," DeVidi writes. "One remarked on his wit - he was locally well known for his observation that most of the decision theorists he worked with were almost wholly incapable of actually making decisions about the practical details of life. In the words of another, "he was a very remarkable person, one of a kind and sorely missed.""

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Barriers and Breakthroughs at OND 2013

The registration deadline for the Opportunities and New Directions (OND) Conference is fast approaching - it's this Thursday, April 18.

The conference is scheduled for Thursday, April 25, and is the fifth annual edition of the event, according to conference chair Julie Timmermans.

"This year’s theme, “Barriers and Breakthroughs: Accounts of Change in Teaching and Learning” will explore challenges and successes experienced in the classroom," Timmermans writes. "A diverse selection of panels, presentations, posters, and workshops from across the disciplines will be featured."

"The Presidents’ Colloquium Keynote Address is open to everyone on campus free of charge and will feature Decoding the Disciplines experts Dr. David Pace and Dr. Leah Shopkow from Indiana University Bloomington," Timmermans continues. "During “Igniting our Practice,” three inspirational uWaterloo professors, Jean Andrey, Carey Bissonnette, and Troy Glover will draw us into their disciplines and teach us something from their own courses." 

The full conference program is available on the conference website. The $25 registration fee includes access to all sessions, lunch at the University Club, and a wine and cheese reception.  The online registration form takes only a few moments to fill out.

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Reflections after 23 years of hiring co-ops

by Shannon Tigert

Subhash Dighe, owner of West-End Physiotherapy Clinic in Hamilton, has hired Waterloo Kinesiology students since 1990 and watched many of them go on to further success.

Dighe and his wife (who is co-owner) are advocates for co-operative education: “It is self-evident that the graduates of the co-op program are more poised, confident individuals with hands-on, real work experience who are not afraid to take on life’s challenges.”

Waterloo Kinesiology students have become essential to West-End Physio, so much so that Dighe (pictured above with two of his current co-op student employees) is able to see how to goals of the clinic have become interwoven with the success of the co-op students.

“Our goals are to have happy, well-satisfied patients treated to a maximum level of improvement, who would gladly come back if care is needed,” says Dighe. “Waterloo Kin co-op students are [an] integral part of achieving these goals, since they are our front line workers and have direct contact with our patients.”

Each term West-End employs one senior and one junior kinesiology student. “Senior students work very closely in our gym area with the staff kinesiologists. They help follow the exercise protocols designed by the physiotherapists and kinesiologists and later they are allowed to progress the patients to a higher level of functioning.  Our junior students work under direct supervision of physiotherapists.  They get hands on experience of setting up patients for treatments and applying modalities.  [They also perform] secretarial duties of answering phones and making appointments.”

Giving lots of students opportunities does not, however, mean that West-End Physio has become a revolving door of co-ops.  Dighe is personally invested in supporting each of the students that come to work for him. 

“52 of the students we hired since then have gone on to become physiotherapists, occupational therapists and medical doctors, says Dighe.  “Nine of the MDs became specialists, three of which are currently practicing in Hamilton.”

Dighe is consistently impressed by the quality of Waterloo students: “[The] Waterloo curriculum for Kinesiology is second to none in Canada or, in my estimate, anywhere.  These are very bright and committed students, they are hungry for knowledge and hands on practical experience.  The students are eager and committed to higher performance.”

What it comes down to is that Subhash Dighe wishes for all of his students to succeed: “We want our co-op students to have a thorough understanding of the Physiotherapy profession.  We like to present them with not only academic, but practical knowledge.  Co-op work terms offer students real-life experiences in a sheltered and guided environment.  It is up to the students to take full advantage of these opportunities.”

Dighe has recently retired from his practice and CECA thanks him for providing so many opportunities to students at Waterloo. 

Do you know of any physiotherapy clinics such as this one that could hire one of our students? If so, please email CECA.

Last week’s question: 76% of you guessed correctly!  3327 “X & Business” work terms took place in 2011.  Congratulations to this week’s winner, Justin Cao, Chemical Engineering student!

This week’s question: How many co-op programs are there in the Applied Health Sciences Faculty? (Hint: check out this infographic) Take a guess and enter to win a mug!

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