It is with heavy hearts that we bid farewell to a true visionary and leader, Ronald (Ron) Garth Dunkley, long time faculty member in the Faculty of Mathematics at the University of Waterloo, the founding director of the Centre for Education in Mathematics and Computing (CEMC), and the co-creator of the Canadian Mathematics Competition. Ron passed away on February 19, 2023, after a brief illness. In this tribute, we celebrate Ron’s life, honour his legacy, and remember him for the many ways in which he enriched our lives and the lives of countless others.
Ron began his career as a high school mathematics teacher at Kingsville D.H.S and later at St. Mary’s D.C.V.S. where he was department head. The idea which led to the ultimate creation of the CEMC was born at a professional development workshop for high school mathematics teachers in 1962. Four high school mathematics teachers were concerned that their students were not prepared for American high school math contests and decided to launch a mathematics contest for high school students in District 10 (where the four of them taught), helping these students improve their mathematical problem-solving abilities. These four educators - Ron Dunkley, Ed Anderson, Don Attridge and Bill Nediger collaborated with Ralph Stanton and Ken Fryer from the University of Waterloo and a few days later, the math contests were born.
Ron was revered as a wonderful colleague, friend, and academic. He will be greatly missed by those who had the pleasure of working with or knowing him, though his legacy and impact will live on for future generations. You can read more about the life and impact of Ron Dunkley in the tribute on the CEMC website.