Friday, October 19, 2018

Remembering Nancy-Lou Patterson, founder of Fine Arts at Waterloo

Distinguished Professor Emerita Nancy-Lou Patterson died on October 15. Among her many accomplishments, Professor Patterson was the founding Chair of the Department of Fine Arts at the University of Waterloo.

A native of Worcester, Massachusetts, Patterson received her BA at the University of Washington in 1951. She first joined the University of Waterloo in 1964 as director of art activities and curator of the University's art gallery before joining the faculty in 1966 as a lecturer, becoming an assistant professor of fine arts in 1968. Prior to joining the University, Patterson worked as a lecturer in art education at Seattle University and as a scientific illustrator at the Smithsonian.

Patterson was named Associate Professor in 1972 and full Professor in 1981.

She was a architectural craftsperson and liturgical artist whose research specialization included Indigenous art and Mennonite folk art, under the banner of "Canadian ethnic and traditional arts." Pictured is "O Creator Spiritus," a Pentecost banner designed by Patterson and quilted by Marjorie Heimbach in 1983, which hung at St. Columba's Anglican Church in Waterloo.

As a scholar, Patterson was well known for her writings in the area of mythopoeic art and literature, with particular focus on the works of C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, George MacDonald, Charles Williams and Dorothy L. Sayers. She wrote extensively on the traditional arts of Swiss German and Dutch-German Mennonites of Waterloo County, and also on the art of Indigenous peoples.

"Nancy-Lou studied folklore and fantasy, designed liturgical textiles and stained glass, wrote and illustrated wonderful stories. She had a large family, an extended community of faith, and many colleagues on campus." writes Linda Carson, lecturer at the Stratford School of Interaction Design and Business and a former student in a post on the Fine Arts website. "And for more than thirty years, everyone who studied art at the University of Waterloo got to spend time in her classroom. In the 1980s, I was one of the lucky many, and she reshaped my ideas about art and teaching and living a meaningful life."

Under Patterson's leadership, a fine arts group was formed in 1968, and soon gained status as an academic department. Patterson chaired the Department of Fine Arts from 1968 to 1974 and again from 1979 to 1982.

In the mid-80s, Patterson chaired the President's Advisory Committee on Equal Rights for Women and Men (PACER), established by President Burt Matthews in 1974, whose mandate was to ensure that women and men were treated equally on the university's campus in the everyday course of hiring, job performance, and academic disputes.

"Hers was the first classroom where I heard the consistent, enthusiastic use of inclusive language," Carson writes. "Hers was the first art history course I took that spot-lit the work of Indigenous artists and called the First Nations by their names. Her history of the world included all the inhabited continents, not just Europe. Her history of art embraced craft and popular culture and mixed media, not just oil paintings and bronze. She championed the art and artists she shared in class, with boundless zeal."

"She was an extraordinary and dominant presence on campus," recalls University historian Ken McLaughlin. "She and her husband E. Palmer Patterson introduced the study of Indigenous history and art to our campus."

Her published works included Canadian Native Art, All Green Creation, Wreath and Bough, Apple Staff and Silver Crown, and Barricade Summer. Along with her husband, Waterloo History Professor E. Palmer Patterson, she published The Changing People: A History of the Canadian Indians (1971) and Iroquoians of the Eastern Woodlands (1985).

"I don't know the origin of Nancy-Lou's own signature look but by the time I sat in her classroom, she had adopted a uniform: a no-nonsense pageboy bob and a colourful, comfortable, floor-length 'granny gown,'" recalls Carson. "Don't imagine her as old-fashioned. She was a scholar of visual culture who spoke with equal enthusiasm and expertise about Bernini's Ecstasy of Saint Teresa and Michael Jackson's Thriller. Don't imagine her as delicate, either. Nancy-Lou Patterson persuaded the very new University of Waterloo—as STEM-centric then as it is today—that it needed an art department, and she made it happen."

Patterson was named an Oktoberfest Woman of the Year in 1985 for her cultural impact in the community, as she designed stained glass works, sculptures and textiles that became part of the ecclesiastical landscape in Waterloo region, including the windows and chancel furniture at Conrad Grebel University College.

Patterson retired from the University in May 1992.

In 1993, she was named the University of Waterloo's first Distinguished Professor Emerita, and received an Honorary Doctor of Letters degree from Wilfrid Laurier University. In 1998 she received a K-W Arts Lifetime Achievement Award. She joined the Waterloo County Hall of Fame in 2004.

Her funeral will be held on Saturday, October 20 at 3:00 p.m. at St. Columba Anglican Church at 250 Lincoln Road, Waterloo, with a reception to follow. There will be a visitation beforehand from 10:00 a.m. to 12 p.m.

"It has been a while since she was able to visit," writes Carson, "but this Department literally wouldn't be here without her initiative, imagination, leadership, and service."

Researcher awarded over $3 million to support Canada's water treatment

Peter Huck NSERC Chair in Water Treatment, left, with Research Associate Michele Van Dyke, centre, and Research Associate Professor Sigrid Peldszus, right.

This article was originally published on the Faculty of Engineering's news site.

Peter Huck, a civil and environmental engineering professor and Industrial Research Chair in Water Treatment, was recently awarded more than $3 million to continue his research program at the University of Waterloo. As part of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Industrial Research Chair (IRC) program, Huck leads a group of researchers, graduate students and postdoctoral fellows addressing challenges in water treatment and supply. Their research directly supports water treatment organizations, and helps provide reliable drinking water to the Canadian public.

The program is funded jointly by NSERC and 17 Canadian industry partners, including municipal organizations responsible for water treatment and supply, consulting companies and manufacturers in the water treatment space. Huck and his team will be funded over a 5-year period.

Real-world impact

Huck and his team provide leading-edge, practical research that addresses real issues faced by their industry partners.

“We actively collaborate with our partners,” says Huck. “They don’t just fund the projects – we work with them directly. We work in their facilities, and use their water in our research.” The researchers provide new information about water resources, treatment processes and distribution systems that are used by their partners. They also develop new solutions that can be directly applied to water treatment in Canada. Huck’s research is also extremely well regarded internationally, and results in publications in first rank journals and invitations to leading institutes and conferences.

The new funding will support three areas of research: preparing for adverse events, developing green and innovative technology, and minimizing the amount of lead in our water.

25 years of research

Huck established the IRC in Water Treatment 25 years ago. The program is in its sixth term – the first IRC to be continuously renewed by NSERC this many times.

“I started working in drinking water in the 1980s,” says Huck. “There was much less research happening in drinking water than there was in wastewater. The IRC program seemed like a good opportunity to involve municipal and private sector partners, while providing the support and funding we needed for research.”

The University of Waterloo submitted a proposal to NSERC for an IRC for Huck, helping him to establish the water treatment research program. He joined Waterloo in 1993 to start the program. “I’ve always been very appreciative of Waterloo’s strong support,” he says. “It’s been crucial to the work we do.”

Pedorthics - a step in the right direction

By Darlene Francis.

As a kinesiology student, you have more career options than you may realize. “After my co-op work term with BioPed, a career in pedorthics is a very real possibility for me,” said Ty Johnson, a fourth year Kinesiology co-op student.

Johnson used co-op as an opportunity to get his feet wet and find out what career path might work for him. He knew that physiotherapy and chiropractic are well-known options, but wanted to explore pedorthics.

There’s a growing demand for pedorthists in Canada. Addressing lower limb and feet issues is a critical aspect of keeping people mobile, and kinesiology is the perfect pre-requisite to pursuing this profession.

“Pedorthics is a patient-focused career. You really have to be committed to helping others in this line of work,” says Frank Pozzuoli, manager and clinic owner of BioPed (Windsor, Ontario). Johnson was eager to get involved in all aspects of the business and jumped in with both feet.

With support from the team, Johnson did everything from point-of-sale activities, ordering and fitting shoes, to the clinical work of conducting assessments, fabricating orthotics, fittings and patient follow-up. “It felt really good to make a difference in patients’ lives. Orthotics is more than just a one-time thing—it’s an ongoing relationship,” says Johnson. 

Pedorthics is still a very young profession. “What makes the job so amazing is that it’s very diverse. No two patient cases are exactly the same,” said Kimberly Rau, University of Waterloo kinesiology alumnus and owner of Kimberly Rau & Associates Inc. “After 32 years, I’m still learning.”

As part of co-op, you have the opportunity to gain valuable hands-on experience from some of the best in the business. Could pedorthics be your perfect fit?

Michael Landsberg to speak on campus Monday

Canadian broadcaster and mental health activist Michael Landsberg will be speaking on campus as Thrive Week kicks off on Monday, October 22.

Landsberg will be sharing his mental health story as he talks about stigma and seeking help. 

Following Landsberg’s remarks, he will then host an interactive dialogue with members of the University community and invited guests including Michael Litt (Co-founder and CEO of Vidyard), Robin Mazumder (PhD candidate at the University of Waterloo), and Jennifer Hedger (anchor at TSN’s Sportscentre) about their experiences with mental health.

A question and answer period will follow.

The event takes place on Monday, October 22 from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. in Federation Hall.

Admission is free – get your tickets on Ticketfi.