A gathering of the Arts Class of 1912, the theological graduates of 1912, the Ad Eundem graduates and former graduates in Brandon for the Convocation exercises met in 1911 and decided to form an Alumni Association of Brandon College open to all Arts and Theological graduates, past, present and to com, and also to those admitted Ad eundem. An executive was elected and a constitution was to be written. The aim of the Alumni Association was to "promote and sustain the spirit of loyalty to its Alma Mater, and to assist in all possible ways in exalting her ideals and forwarding her progress." It was also meant to sustain and strengthen bonds of fellowship between the members of the body graduate. To foster this sentiment an annual Alumni banquet was discussed. It is unkown how long this version of the Brandon College Alumni Association operated or what became of it.
The present day Alumni Relations office dates from the local chapter of the Brandon College Alumni Association organized in June 1936 at a meeting held in the reception room of Clark Hall.
Scope and Content
Sub-series consists of three sub sub series, including: (1) General files; (2) Alumni News; and (3) Homecoming and Class Reunions.
Notes
History/Bio information was taken from articles in the Quill (December 1912) and (September 23, 1936).
Storage Location
RG 6 Brandon University fonds
Series 10: Office of Development
The Brandon University Foundation was incorporated by an act of the Legislature in 1981, with the express purpose of promoting education in the Brandon area. The Foundation is limited to 21 Directors. There Foundation also has a Liaison Committee, formed as a communications link between the Board of Governors and the Foundation, composed of three members from each group.
Scope and Content
Series consists of the following files: preliminary investigation; Annual Giving Committee; BUFund (establishment) Committee; general; Student Assistant Fund; Student Christmas Fund; Blair Fraser Memorial Fund; Friends of Brandon College Inc. (USA); and Brandon University Association (1967-72).
Notes
History/Bio information taken from Campus News - September/October 1986.
The department of Student Services was established in 1968 under the name Student Personnel Office. In 1968, it was renamed Student Affairs. The name was changed to Student Services in 1984 or 1985. In 1999, the position of Dean of Student Services was amalgamated with the University Registrar, becoming Dean of Students/University Registrar. The Dean of Students position was separated from that of University Registrar in August 2008.
Student Services is presently located in Room 115 of the A.E. McKenzie Building. Its purpose is to assist students in their intellectual, vocational, personal and social development. Various services such as counselling and learning skills are made available to students requiring assistance.
Scope and Content
Series has been divided into two sub-series, including: (1) Director's files - correspondence/minutes; and (2) Impacte/Core.
Notes
Administrative information in the History/Bio field was taken from Brandon University Calendars (1967-2006) and the Student Services webpage at http://www.brandonu.ca/studentsvc/#Top (December 2005).
DEANS OF STUDENT SERVICES:
R. BRUCE MCFARLANE (1968 - 1976)
No biographical information yet.
CAM CONNORS (1978 - 1982)
Campbell Connors was born in England and raised in South Africa. He came to Canada in 1963, and attended the United College in Winnipeg (now the University of Winnipeg). Connors had planned to return to Zimbabwai, but after the Declaration of Independence in 1966, he was unable to. Subsequently, he became a United Church minister in Russell, Manitoba for four years. In 1971, he was invited to head a special Mature Students project at Brandon University, and in 1976, he became that institution's Dean of Student Services.
TOM MITCHELL (1985 - 1989)
See RG 6 Brandon University fonds, Series 5 Office of the Registrar, 5.1Registrar's files for biographical information on Tom Mitchell.
BETH WESTFALL (1989 - 1992)
Additional biographical information for Beth Westfall is located at RG 6, series 9 (Office of Extension).
On September 1, 1989, Westfall became the first female dean at Brandon University when she accepted the position of Dean of Student Services. Westfall left Brandon University in 1992 to accept a position as President of Keewatin Community College, in The Pas, Manitoba. At present (January 2007), Beth Westfall Davies is the Senior Education Administrator of Northwest Community College in British Columbia.
DARCY BOWER (1994 - 2005)
See RG 6 Brandon University fonds, Series 5 Office of the Registrar, 5.1Registrar's files for biographical information on Darcy Bower.
JANET S. WRIGHT (2005 - July 31, 2008)
See RG 6 Brandon University fonds, Series 7 Faculties and Schools, 7.2.1 Dean of Science for biographical information on Janet Wright.
DAVID ROWLAND (August 1, 2008 - July 31, 2013)
David Rowland is a native of Toronto, ON. He obtained his B.Sc. in Physical Education from Coastal Carolina University in Conway, South Carolina in 1997. He completed his Master of Education degree in Special Education at the University of Charleston in 1999.
From 2000-2005, Rowland was the Assistant Dean of Students at the College of Charleston before taking the position of Dean of Students at Mount Allison University in 2006. His term as Dean of Student Services at Brandon University began in 2008.
Scope and Content
Sub-series consists of correspondence and minutes.
Notes
History/Bio information on Cam Connor was taken from Connexion December 1971 and an article in "The Quill" (September 27, 1979). Biographical information for Beth Westfall was taken from articles in "The Quill" (August 30, 1989) and from the government of British Columbia's Board Member biography page on Beth Westfall Davies located at: http://www.fin.gov.bc.ca/oop/brdo/memView.asp?Member=142002 (January 2007). History/Bio information for David Rowland taken from the September 1, 2008 issue of the Quill.
Storage Location
RG 6 Brandon University fonds
Series 12: Student Services
The Brandon University Student's Union (BUSU), Local 37 of the Canadian Federation of Students, was incorporated in 1969 as the students' organization of Brandon University. Its predecessor was the Brandon College Students' Association, which was established in 1899. BUSU is a not-for-profit society that serves to represent the students of Brandon University; all regular full and part-time students at Brandon University are members of the Students’ Union.
BUSU has several broad functions: they are a service provider that offers programs and support services to students throughout the year; they act as lobbyists on behalf of the student body at the local, provincial and federal levels, working with the other member locals of the Canadian Federation of Students, Canada’s national and provincial student movement; they represent the student body within the important, decision-making bodies at BU, such as the Board of Governors and Senate; and they provide funding for student clubs and organizations. BUSU is bound legally to the Brandon University Sudents' Union Constitution and Bylaws and the Universities Act of Manitoba.
BUSU draws on collected student fees to operate. Its administrative structure consists of a board of directors consisting of 11 voting members. Students elect representatives to relay their issues and concerns to the University community, the community at large, and all levels of government. A democratically elected council, made up of members from various constituencies on campus, oversees the work of the Students’ Union. The council includes four executive officers (the President and three Vice Presidents – Academic, Finance, and Student Activities), numerous commissioners, and one liaison. The work of the Students’ Union is also powered by the efforts and dedication of countless campus and community volunteers and staff. BUSU also has a voting student representative on the Board of Governors and Senate.
BUSU holds annual and semi-annual general meetings, full council meetings, and council committee meetings throughout the year. All meetings are broadly advertised to the membership and are open to students. As BUSU members, students have full speaking rights at any meeting of the Union, as well as voting rights at general meetings.
Custodial History
The records in accession 25-2003 were stored by the Brandon University Students' Union until they were donated to the McKee Archives.
Scope and Content
Series consists of records of Executive meetings, correspondence and financial records of the Brandon University Students' Union, as well as club records and copies of "The Sickle," "The Quill," and Student Handbooks. It has been divided into five sub-series, including: (1) BUSU Executive and Council; (3) Correspondence; (4) Clubs; and (5) Publications.
Notes
BUSU is a separately incorporated organization from Brandon University's Board of Governors, but for administrative purposes it has been incorporated int RG 6 Brandon University fonds. Administrative information in the History/Bio field was taken from the BUSU website at http://www.busu.ca/aboutus.asp (December 2005).
The Brandon University Students’ Union Council is comprised of 16 elected students representing a variety of constituencies on campus. The elected BUSU council governs the actions of the Students’ Union, providing students with on and off campus entertainment and events, a number of services, and representation on BU boards and committees.
BUSU has a four-committee structure, with each committee comprised of five members and chaired by a member of the Executive. Every member of BUSU council sits on at least one BUSU committee.
The Executive Committee oversees government and media relations; sets the council agenda; handles personnel and legal issues; rules on donations, hospitality, and referred issues; and issues honoraria. The committee consists of the President, Vice-President Finance, Vice-President Academic, Vice-President Student Activities, and the General Manager and is chaired by the President. Three subcommittees chaired by the BUSU Vice-Presidents handle other duties.
Additional information on the various committees of BUSU, as well as the positions of President, Vice-Presidents and Commissioners can be found on the BUSU website (http://www.busu.ca/boards_committees.asp (January 2007)).
Scope and Content
Sub-series consists of minutes and minute books of the BUSU Executive and Council from 1967-1976. The first minute book contains minutes from the Brandon College Students' Association (beginning Feb. 1967) and a copy of BUSU's by-laws.
Box 1 (Files 1-5): 1967-1974
Box 2 (Files 6-10): 1969-1976
Notes
History/Bio information was taken from the BUSU web page available at: http://www.busu.ca/election.asp and http://www.busu.ca/boards_committees.asp (January 2007).
See RG 6 Brandon University fonds, 7.4.1 Dean of Music for biographical information.
Custodial History
The records were collected during the course of Jones' career as a member of the School of Music and as Dean of the School of Music. They remained in his possession until their donation to the McKee Archives on June 29, 2011.
Scope and Content
Collection consists of records created and collected during the course of Lawrence Jones' teaching career in the School of Music and during his tenure as Dean of the School of Music at Brandon University.
Records include: dean's log books; recital programs and related materials; personal documents; academic papers; planning documents; contracts; administration documents; workshop documents; teaching documents; proposals; reviews; evaluations; violin concerto by S.C. Eckhardt-Gramatte, piano score, edited by Lawrence Jones. Topics include: planning for the School of Music; Master's degree program; award winners; the music building expansion; adjudicating; the New Brandon University Trio; and the National Music Festival.
Sub-series consists of records for various committees of the Board of Governors, which were established to expedite matters in certain areas of the Board's jurisdiction. Some committees have a more or less permanent status while others were created to deal with specific questions or mandates. The sub-series has been divided into six sub sub series, including: (1) Nominating Committee; (2) Finance Committee; (3) Presidential Selection Committee; (4) Membership Committee; (5) Fundraising-Liaison Committee; and (6) Athletic Directorate.
Storage Location
RG 6 Brandon University fonds
Series 2: Board of Governors
2.5 Board of Governors' committees
Arrangement
At present (July 2007) all Board Committee files are in one box. As more records are received, the individual committees will be placed into their own boxes.
The records in the sub-series were transfered to the Archives by Melissa Moffit (BUSU) on July 27, 2005.
Scope and Content
Sub-series consists of records for various campus clubs. Records include constitutions, applications for BUSU grants, financial information, membership lists, schedcules of events, correspondence, memos, and minutes.
Storage Location
RG 6 Brandon University fonds
Series 14: Brandon University Students Union
See sub sub series descriptions for History/Bio information on the Sickle (14.5.1), Student Handbooks (14.5.2) and The Quill (14.5.3).
Scope and Content
Sub-series consists of BUSU publications. It has been divided into three sub sub series, including: (1) The Sickle; (2) Student Handbooks; and (3) The Quill.
Storage Location
RG 6 Brandon University fonds
Series 14: BUSU
Related Material
RG 1 (Brandon College fonds), series 12 (Publications).
Lorelei Cederstrom (nee Sajeck) was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on August 16, 1938. She obtained her B.A. from Valparaiso University in 1959 with majors in English and Music, and her M.A. in English from Carleton University in 1969. She was employed by the University of Manitoba as a teaching assistant in the English Department and Lecturer in the Evening and Extension Division from 1971 - c. 1979. In 1980, she began her career at Brandon University as an Assistant English Professor with BUNTEP/Impacte.
With James C. Cederstrom she had two children, a son and a daughter. Lorelei Cederstrom passed away in Brandon, Manitoba on July 27, 2002.
Scope and Content
Fonds contains course materials, course outlines, grades, notebooks, correspondence, memos, minutes for various University committees, English Department records, publications and research. The latter includes material on Doris Lessing and Walt Whitman.
Henri Georges Francq was born September 11, 1904 in Charleroi, Belgium. He was educated at Licencie L.S.C. in Antwerp (1924) before joining he father's import/export firm. He lived in France, Algeria and Spain before emigrating to Canada in the early 1960s. Francq obtained Canadian citizenship in 1975.
In 1963-1964, Francq taught French at Swan River Collegiate, before joining the faculty of Brandon University in 1964. For the next ten years Francq taught French, Linguistics and French Literature, and from 1970-1972 he was Acting Head of the Department of French. Francq also organized serveral French festivals in Brandon and lectures of visiting professors from France and the University of Alberta, and introduced the program of Voix et Images de France at Brandon Univeristy. After his retirement in 1974, he was accorded the status of Professor Emeritus (French).
During his career Francq was also the head of the Department of French at the Banff Summer School of Fine Arts (1968), and invited to give lectures and poetry recitals (in French) at: St. Boniface College; the University of Calgary; the University of Regina; the University of Saskatchewan (Saskatoon); Simon Fraser University; the University of Victoria; and the University of Western Ontario. In addition to these activities, Francq was also a prolific writer; he is the author of approximately fourteen fiction and non-fiction books in both English and French, as well as numerous articles. His wide interests included satire and history, as well as ficition.
Henri Francq, who was survived by his wife Yvonne, died in Brandon on May 5, 1991.
Custodial History
The records in accession 12-1999 were donated to the McKee Archives in May 1990.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of correspondence, original manuscripts and published versions of fiction, non-fiction works and research materials.
Repro Restriction
Copyright for this material remains with the Francq estate.
Storage Location
MG 3 Brandon University Teaching and Administration
1.8 Henri Franq
Related Material
RG 6, Series 7, Sub-series 7.1 (Dean of Arts) contains a file on Henri Franq.
BUFA was formed in 1957 as an academic organization with its primary aim the entrenchment and protection of academic freedom.
In subsequent years, BUFA became more involved in promoting the economic, social and general interests of tis members. This process culminated in 1971 when BUFA obtained voluntary recognition as bargaining agent for its members from the University. The relationships between the Faculty and the university were governed by the "Faculty-Administration Brief" (the precursor to the present Collective Agreement).
A dispute arose between BUFA and the University in 1976, when BUFA requested that Instructional Associates be included in the bargaining unit and that the University deduct union dues. The University rejected BUFA's request. BUFA applied to the Manitoba Labour Board for resolution of the dispute. A Board hearing was held in Brandon on May 31, 1977.
At this hearing theLabour Board determined that, since the University had rejected BUFA's contention that it was a union, it would first have to answer the question: Is BUFA a union? In a decision dated June 16, 1977, the Board ruled "that BUFA is not a union; that following therefrom the faculty administration brief is not a collective agreement."
Following this ruling, BUFA launched a certification drive in September 1977. Application for certification was filed with the Labour Board October 17, 1977. In anticipation of a favorable certification ruling, Dennis Olson and Gerald Neufeld collected existing collective agreements from other universiities across Canada. They attempted to incorporate the best features from the old Faculty-Administration Brief and these other agreements into the first draft of the proposed collective agreement.
Certification was confirmed January 1978. The bargaining unit defined in the Certificate included: all full-time and part-time members of the academic, instructional and related staff at Brandon University kncluding laoratory insturctors, cartographers, counsellors, professional ibrarians, continuing education specialists and all other staff directly related to the teaching process. It also included sessional instructors.
Since certification in 1978, BUFA has attempted to function as a principled and effective union. These effors have included: establishing links with other unions and progressive organizations in the community; participating in the Manitoba Organization of Faculty Associations; vigorously pursuing member and union grievancess through to arbitration; advancing the rights and interests of members at the bargaining table; and promoting and protecting academic freedom.
The most recent chapter in BUFA's history was a successful strike in 1998, which started November 9th and ended at midnight November 11th.
The general objectives of BUFA are the advancement of higher education through the protection of the freedom that is necessary to it, and the improvement of the standards of the profession of University teaching. Its members include all full and part-time instructional staff of Brandon University and professional librarians.
Officers of BUFA include the: President, Past President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer. Elected by the General Body at the annual meeting in March. Associate members are not eligible to serve as officers.
Executive - officers and four members elected by the General Body to represent the Faculties of Arts, Science, Education and Music. Four elected at annual meeting. Acts as liasion between BUFA and the University Administration. May appoint committees chosen from the General Body to carry on routine affairs and to act in areas of special interest as directed by the General Body of by the Executive. The Standing Committee of BUFA is the Salary and Faculty-Administration Relations Committee - its duties are to represent the interests of BUFA in negotiating the salary schedule and other benefits and the Faculty-Administration Brief with the Board of Governors or its represntatives. The Vice-President of BUFA is to be the Chairman.
Scope and Content
Series contains minutes, collective agreements, reports, recommendations, correspondence, memos, newsletters, reference materials and various other documents.
Notes
BUFA is a separate corporate entity, but for administration purposes it has been incorporated into RG 6 Brandon University fonds. History/Bio information taken from BUFA promotional materials (File 37) and provided by Bruce Forrest (BUFA Executive) with the return of the signed donation form. Files 106-116 were extracted from the BUFA records and are in the possession of Ms. Eileen McFadden.
George F. MacDowell was born in 1913, in Prince Edward Island. He studied at Dalhousie University from 1930 to 1933, but did not complete a degree. During WWII, MacDowell served in Canada and Europe as a member of the Royal Canadian Signals Corps. After the war, he returned to Dalhousie University, graduating with a B.A. in 1947. Subsequently, he graduated with a Masters Degree in Economics from Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts. George McDowell taught at both Mount Allison University and the University of Alberta before coming to Brandon in 1957 to teach at Brandon College. He remained as a professor in the Economic Department until his retirement in 1979.
MacDowell's work was published in the Canadian Journal of Economics and Political Science. In 1971, McClelland & Stewart published his account of the Brandon Packers strike of 1960 titled "The Brandon Packer's Strike: A Tragedy of Errors." In Brandon, MacDowell maintained a relationship with the local Association of Fire Fighters, aiding them with collective bargaining procedures. He also served as Chairman for the MacKenzie Seeds Board, and was a member of the Manitoba Development Corporation Board.
MacDowell never married and had no known children. He passed away on February 26th, 1986.
Custodial History
This collection was in the possesion of George MacDowell until his death. It was then held by the Brandon University Department of Economics until 1997, at which time it was transferred to the McKee Archives at Brandon University.
Scope and Content
The bulk of this fonds falls into five main categories:
1. Records dealing with the Brandon Packers Strike of 1960 and the subsequent legal actions against the owners, including all 2215 pages of the Brandon Packers Strike Commission;
2. Records dealing with the Commission of Inquiry into The Pas Forestry and Industrial Complex, including the complete transcript of the inquiry measuring approximately 5m. This Commission dealt with the conduct of Churchill Forest Industries, a company owned by a Swiss financial firm, which, in the 1960's, was given approximately 93 million dollars by the Roblin Provincial Government to develop The Pas Forestry and Industrial Complex. Churchill Forest Industries and its parent company subsequently came under suspicion of fraud and accused of fradulently transfering The Pas Forestry funds into other foreign business interests;
3. Records dealing with business loans awarded by the Manitoba Development Corporation during the 1970's and 1980's to businesses primarily within Manitoba;
4. Records dealing with McKenzie Seeds, and McKenzie Steele-Briggs Seeds during the early 1980's when George MacDowell was a board member of McKenzie Seeds;
5. Records dealing with Professor MacDowell's career as a Professor at Brandon University, including records relating to his courses and to administrative activities.
To a lesser extent, this collection includes records dealing with the University of Saskatchewan College of Commerce, the publication the "Manitoba New Democrat," issues associated with politics, labor and union in the prairie provinces from the 1960's to the 1980's, articles from various economic periodicals including "Economica" and "Public Finance," a variety of government reports from 1941 to 1981, and records dealing with George MacDowells' relationship with the Brandon Firefighters Association.
Notes
File level inventory available. Description written by Mike White (2002).
21 pages of textual records; approximately 4500 slides
Physical Condition
Excellent
History / Biographical
John Welsted was born in Norwich, England on December 6, 1935. In 1958, he received his B.Sc. from the University of Bristol. He obtained his M.Sc. from McGill University in 1960, and his post-graduate certificate in Eduction from the University of Bristol in 1961. He completed his Ph.D. at the University of Bristol in 1971.
In the early 1960s, Welsted taught at high schools in Midenhead, England and in Oromocto, New Brunswick. In 1964-1965, he was an Instructor in the Geography Department at the University of Bristol, and in the summers of 1965-1967, he completed fieldwork in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Welsted joined the faculty of Brandon College/University in 1965, as a member of the Geography Department. There he taught courses and served as Acting Head in 1968. John Welsted retired from Brandon University in 1997.
With his wife June, Welsted had two children: Alison and Ian. He later married Kathleen Georgison and became stepfather to Kjirsten, Paul, Peter and Hayley. John Welsted died in Victoria, BC on September 21, 2009.
Custodial History
The document was donated to the Archives on November 5, 2001 by Dr. John Welsted of the Geography Department. The slides were donated by Welsted in August 2006.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of a paper, 21 pages in length, titled "Geography at Brandon University: 1962-2001."
It also contains human and physical geography slides of Manitoba and areas other than Manitoba. The slides were created by John Welsted as visual aids for use in his teaching and for use in publications by himself and the Geography Department. They constitute a unique record of the geography of southwestern Manitoba in the later half of the twentieth century.
Notes
All commercially produced slides were culled. An inventory by subject and by box is available.
See RG 6, series 4, sub-series 4.2 (Office of the Vice-President (Administration & Finance)) for biographical information on D.R. MacKay.
Custodial History
Records were accessioned by the McKee Archives in 2000. Previous custodial history is unknown.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of personal correspondence and financial records of D.R. MacKay.
Access Restriction
Personal correspondence is restricted. Consult the Archivist for access.
Related Material
Additional records relating to D.R. MacKay are located in RG 6, series 4, sub-series 4.2 (Office of the Vice-President (Administration & Finance)); and RG 6, series 10 (Office of Development).
Donald N. Wheeler taught Economics at Brandon University between 1970-1980. He received his B.A. from Reed College in 1935 and two years later graduated with a B.A. First Class in the Final Honour School of Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at Oxford. From 1937-1938, he pursued studies as a Candidate for Doctorat en Droit in the Faculty of Law at the University of Paris. He received his M.A. and Ph.D. (1975) from Oxford University.
Upon his return to the United States in 1933, Wheeler became an Insturctor of Government at Yale University. From 1939 through 1941, he was a research economist for the U.S. Treasury department and the Senate Banking and Currency Committee. With the outbreak of World War Two, Wheeler was assigned to the State Department, where he worked as a section chief in the Research and Analysis Branch of the OSS until 1946. Following the war, Wheeler became a casualty of McCarthyism and spent the majority of the next twenty years farming in Washington State.
Wheeler returned to academic life in 1965, as a professor of Economics at Franconia College; he resigned from the position in 1968 and returned to Oxford University as a Candidate for a Doctorate in Philosophy.
While at Brandon University, Wheeler was a member of the Senate, and served on committees of BUFA, the Faculty of Arts and the Board of Governors. He taught courses in economic development, ecnoomic history, the history of economic thought and agricultural economics. Wheeler was named Professor Emeritus of Brandon University in 1986.
Donald Wheeler died in Seattle on November 8, 2002.
Custodial History
Following the death of Professor Wheeler, his daughter put together a collection of his writings. A copy was given to Errol Black, who then donated it to the Archives on March 31, 2006.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of "The Collected Writings of Donald Niven Wheeler" edited by Honeybee Wheeler Burns, transcribed by Susan E. Wheeler and published by Linda M. Elias. Fonds also includes a draft of Imperialism and Revolution in Afganistan prepared by Wheeler and dated April 1, 1986.
Notes
Some of the biographical information on Donald Wheeler was taken from an article in "The Quill" (December 11, 1986).
Storage Location
RG 6 Brandon University fonds
MG 3 Brandon University Teaching and Administration
1.13 Donald Wheeler
Related Material
Wheeler’s papers are in the Archives of the University of Washington and his library will be donated to the George A. Meyers Collection at Frostburg University in Maryland.
There is a great deal of correspondence between Wheeler and Errol Black in the Errol Black fonds (MG 3 1.1).
The FOCUS (For an Open Campus within the University System) program grew out of an innovative proposal submitted to the Department of Youth and Education (Planning and Research) in the Fall of 1971. The proposal, prepared by Evan H. Pepper (Brandon University), carried the recommendation of the Inter-University Committee on Sumer and Evening Sessions. The original proposal aimed at reaching individuals who were denied access to university by virtue of geographical isolation or inadequate educational background. It also provided a more effective method of supplying course materials to remote areas. Finally, the course content was deliberately planned to include large components of discussion, feed-back, evaluation and self-direction. While the original proposal was designed to deliver a course in Environmental Biology, with a rather modest budget, the final project was altered in serveral ways. The budget was increased substantially and additional courses were added. The delivery systems and teaching strategies remained essentially unchanged.
Following several trips to the north, teaching centres and discussion leaders were selected for the two courses: Biology, which was offered in The Pas, Gillam, Leaf Rapids and Churchill; and Economics, which was ofered in The Pas, Flin Flon, Thompson, Gillam and Leaf Rapids.
Each course in each centre had a person serving as a discussion leader, equipment operator, and liaison with the southern instructors. Each centre was supplied with library reference materials, a video-tape recorder, video-camera, video-monitor, an Instamatic camera, an audio-tape recorder and cassettes, and assorted instructional materials. The courses were organized in such a way that a certain amount of material was standardized and inflexible, while the remainder of the course content was determined by the students to meet their special interests and needs. The video-taped materials that were prepared in the south served as "discussion stimulators" to which the students at each centre reacted and responded. The students, in turn, pepared audio- and video-tapes that were to be sent south for evaluation and response.
The FOCUS project was funded by the Provincial Government, although students did pay tution for each of the courses. Arrangements were made for financial assistance for some students.
The goals of the FOCUS program were: to deliver university degree-credit courses to small, sparesely-populated, remote locations in Manitoba, north of the 53rd parallel; to deliver university degree-credit courses to individuals who have not previously been involved in traditional university programs; to relate university degree-credit coruses to the local community, wherever possible, and to repondto the educational needs of the community; to provide learning that is inter-disciplinary; to utilize, to the fullest, the resources fo the local community and its members; to promote lifelong learning and motivation to action; to provide for course and curriculum flexibility and a program that would satisfy individual differences in learning rates.
Notes
The information in the History/Bio field was taken from documents found in the FOCUS files. The document was most likely written by Evan H. Pepper.
Storage Location
RG 6 Brandon University fonds
Series 9: Department of Extension
