Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/609048
FALL 2015 simon 19 SFU.CA 75 75 IT'S AN understatement to say that former professors Andrea Lebowitz and Maggie Benston were met with resistance when they presented their proposal for a Women's Studies Minor Program at senate in July 1975. After all, one university senator had the audacity to say the idea would be like letting prisoners teach prison education. Thank- fully, the new president of SFU, Pauline Jewett, was a staunch supporter of the program. The vote passed, and in January 1976, 40 students enrolled in the rst course, WS 100: Introduction to Women's Studies. It was a time when women were increasingly political, demanding that their voices be heard. In 1972, fewer than 10 per cent of SFU's faculty were women, down from 13 per cent in 1965, and some told The Peak they were tired of being asked to type or canvass, but not to theorize or speak. Academic feminism at SFU helped raise awareness about the value of women's experience and the in uence of gender. Theorizing, Not Typing 1975 1984 Late 1970s DISASTER EXPERTISE Communications professor Peter Anderson spends four years in what is now Juba National University in the new Republic of South Sudan, conducting research and helping establish commu- nication links with area villages. Since then, Anderson has continued his work as an emergency communications expert, providing support for responders during natural disasters. He was awarded the Order of B.C. in 2015. CANCER CRUSADE Terry Fox, kinesiology student and junior varsity basketball team member, commences his Marathon of Hope on April 12 in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, running 42 km each day on an artifi cial leg to raise cancer awareness. He passes away in June 1981. (Turn to page 28 for a profi le on Fox.) 1982 TIME TRAVEL Optical dating, a method to determine when mineral grains were last exposed to sunlight, is invented in the Department of Physics by professor David Huntley and colleagues, revolutionizing studies of events that occurred in the past 500,000 years. FAREWELL TO ARMS Terre Nash, a Nanaimo-born SFU charter student, directs "If You Love This Planet," a fi lm on nuclear disarmament, and wins an Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject). By the mid-'70s, feminism was in full swing, with women demanding equality through academia. Disaster relief, nuclear disarmament and cancer crusades are also hallmarks of SFU's second decade SFU develops one of the fi rst co-operative education programs in Canada. VIRTUAL ED The Centre for Distance Education (now the Centre for Online and Distance Education) is created, with four university correspondence courses for 55 registered students. 1980 The Gerontology Research Centre is established and publishes the Fact Book on Aging in British Columbia and Canada (now in its sixth edition). 1984 Jack Blaney becomes Canada's fi rst dean of Continuing Studies. (Turn to page 22 for more on Blaney.) Communications professor Peter Anderson spends four years in what is now Juba National University in the new Republic of South Sudan, conducting research and helping establish commu- nication links with area villages. Since then, Anderson has continued his work as an emergency communications expert, providing support for responders during natural disasters. He was awarded the Order of B.C. in 2015. to raise cancer awareness. He passes away in June (Turn to page 28 for a profi le on Fox.)