University of Toronto Engineering Society - Skule Yearbook (Toronto, Ontario Canada)

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SKULE YEARBOOK 1958

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editor .... jack ellis associate . . . jack seedhouse business . . . alex tunner athletics . . . bill gelling photography - - - bev best harvey griggs art ------ gary taber christie smith assistants - - - - john tate frank wawrychuk jim lewis typists ----- liz gill jackie gelling fellow engineers: as engineers, our world is the world of science and technology; as free men, our world is the universe of human activity, may our vistas ever widen. j. e.

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ENGINEERING ALUMNI ASSOCIATION For nearly fifty years the Engineering Alumni Association has been contributing to the devel- opment of Skule. As S.P.S. has grown so has the alumni body and it speaks well for the engineering spirit and tradition that so many graduates have recognized the obligation that is placed upon them in receiving an education. Dean McLaughlin has spoken of this obligation as ' neither onerous nor grinding, but one that you can cheerfully and joyously accept ' . In 1957, some 2300 of 10,000 graduates contributed over $27,000 to be distributed by the E.A.A. Of this amount, nearly half was given to the University for its use, and saving a small amount for administrative expenses, the remainder was placed at the disposal of the Engineering Education Committee. This year $7500 were awarded in bursaries to high school students entering the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering; a further $7000 was placed in a loan fund for engineering students for loans which are interest free and usually payable after graduation; and finally a smaller sum was placed in a fund upon which the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering may draw for teaching aids such as laboratory equipment, which the faculty is presently not in a position to purchase on its own. As Deon McLaughlin suggested, the word ' obligation ' has an unfortunate connotation. Certainly, no pressure is put upon the graduates. Every graduate engineer from the University is automatically a member of the Engineering Alumni Association. There are no yearly dues and the men serving on the E.A.A. Executive and Council (elected every two years) do so volun- tarily. The appeal for funds is by mail alone. This year the letters of appeal were written by Mr. J. R. White, President of Imperial Oil Limited and President of The Engineering Alumni Association. The following is a quotation from the first letter: — ' The pressure on Canadian Universities to expand and improve their facili- ties was never greater. There is a ground swell of support from the Government and industry whicsh will help them do this. Nevertheless there is an area relating to potential engineering students who can ' t afford to complete their training. It is in this sphere that the Engineer- ing Alumni Association is particularly interest- ed . . . ' . There is another phase of the Association work which is carried on by a few men who are keenly interested in bringing their classes to- gether for reunions. It has been said that the friends that you make during your University life are your friends the remainder of your life. Unfortunately, you very quickly drift away from them, unless you make a conscientious effort to maintain your friendships and associations. The E.A.A. tries in several ways to bring graduate engineers together. Every year of graduating engineers has its own class executive which organizes course and year reunions. The members of this executive keep records of the whereabouts of their class- mates and send out newsletters from one to six times a year. Several classes have established loan funds separate from that one mentioned above and the Half-Mile Award is presented yearly by the class of 3T5. The Triennial Reunion! Every third year the E.A.A. throws a two-day shindig at the Royal York Hotel. The most popular functions are the Friday night stag, a formal dinner Saturday evening, followed by a somewhat less formal dance along the lines of the Skule-at-Home. As a measure of the success of these reunions it was rewarding to find that graduates came from as far away as Vancouver and Bermuda for the 1957 reunion. At each Tri-ennial Reunion, the Engineering Alumni Council present the E.A.A. Medal, awarded to one or more engineers who have made an outstanding conrtibution to the engin- eering profession in general. The method of selection is complex and is carried out by a Medal Committee made up of several top engin- eers drawn from diversified fields. In 1957, the award was made to Dr. G. B. Langford, Professor of Mining Geology and Head of the Department of Geological Sciences at the University of Toronto. In each of the two years between the Tri- ennial Reunions, the Association holds a Fall Dinner, designed especially to bring the Toronto and District engineers together. It is hoped that the speaker at the dinner this fall will be Dr. C. T. Bissell, President-Elect of the University of Toronto. To return to the more direct relationship between the Faculty and the Alumni Association, there is one more area in which the Association offers assistance. For every high school in On- tario and for many high schools throughout the rest of Canada, the E.A.A. appoints an Engineer- ing Counsellor. He is usually a graduate from the University of Toronto working in the local district, to whom the principal may refer students who are interested in Engineering as a career. In particular it is his job to interview students k who are applying for one of the bursaries ment- ioned above and to forward a report to the Engineering Education Committee. A capable man in this position does valuable work in en- couraging those with engineering potential and discouraging those without. 10