GEOGRAPHY AT BRANDON UNIVERSITY: 1962 to
2001
JOHN WELSTED
October, 2001
DEVELOPMENT OF THE CURRICULUM AND DEGREE PROGRAMS
John Tyman, who taught the first geography course at Brandon College (Brandon
University from 1967) during July 1962, reports that "John Robbins (President of
Brandon College), phoned me the day before I was to leave Montreal to say that there were
120 students registered for the course I was scheduled to teach and could I find somebody
to help me. I met Brian Slack on the street that afternoon, asked him if he was busy: he
wasn’t and that’s how we began." How hiring practices have changed! Tyman
stayed on for the academic year, 1962-63, as Assistant Professor and a Department of
Geography was listed in the Brandon College calendar for the first time. Slack returned
the next summer (1963) and he and Tyman were joined by Peter Adams and Paul Gamble.
In those pioneering days of university geography teaching in Manitoba, Brandon College
was affiliated with the University of Manitoba, with a common examination for students at
the two institutions -- as well as for students at United College (now the University of
Winnipeg). Adams recalls "two of us teaching the second year course in Brandon were
in competition with five others teaching the same syllabus at the University of Manitoba.
They had been involved with the syllabus design and with setting the exam; we had not. As
a result there were several nasty arguments in the mass marking session which was held in
Winnipeg."
By 1965-66 the number of courses offered had increased to 5 and John Welsted arrived as
the second full-time member of the Department, followed in 1966-67 by Fred Hewitt. So by
the academic year, 1967-68, when independence was achieved from the University of Manitoba
and Brandon University replaced Brandon College, the department had three full-time
instructors offering 8 courses and it was possible to obtain a Major in geography. The
first B.A. degrees from Brandon University with a Major in geography were awarded in May
1968.
With independence, the Department was able to introduce its own courses and to decide
upon its own requirements for Majors. As a result, course offerings for 1967-68 showed a
considerable increase over previous years, a general trend continued over the next 20
years. By 1988, the Department offered 48 courses all of which were 3 credit-hour courses
except for a field-work course and an undergraduate thesis, both of which were allocated 6
credit hours1. At this time courses were grouped into: 1) regional (10); 2)
physical (12); 3) human (14); and 4) methods and techniques (12). Students working towards
a three-year Major were required to take some "basic" courses in each of the
four groups as well as an additional course from each of the first 3 groups, the aim being
to give students a good broad background in the discipline.
In the 2001-03 calendar, 49 courses are listed but there are now 5 groups: regional
(4); physical (12); human (9); methods, techniques, and topics (14); and environment and
resources (10). The most obvious changes (over the past 13 years) have been the growth in
environment and resources courses -- although some of them were probably included under
"physical" or "human" in 1988 and the change in the nature of the
methods and techniques courses to include more computer related courses. Opinions on the
value of regional courses have varied over the years. Immediately following independence
students were offered four regional courses -- Monsoon Asia, Latin America, Western
Europe, and the Soviet Union. By 1988 the number had risen to 10, but has now fallen back
to 4; although the four available -- World Regional, Canada, the United States, and
Manitoba -- seem a more logical offering for a Manitoba university than those on offer in
1967. Three-year Major students are now required to take "basic" courses in each
of the five groups, except regional.
In the early days of Brandon University students who majored in geography obtained a
B.A. degree despite the fact that the department was administratively under the
jurisdiction of the Dean of Science2. After student agitation, it was agreed that students
who majored in geography would be able to obtain a B.Sc. After several attempts to define
a geography B.Sc. it was decided in 1976 that those who graduated with a science subject
(botany, chemistry, geology, mathematics, physics or zoology) as a Minor would be awarded
a B.Sc. Although the system seems somewhat arbitrary it is simple and works remarkably
well. The first B.Sc.s were awarded in 1971 and since then there has been an almost even
split between B.A.s (232) and B.Sc.s (231) in the case of 3-year Majors.
Another important development occurred in 1976 when the Department awarded its first
4-year Specialist degree. The term "specialist" was used because, for political
reasons, we were not permitted to use the word "honours." Before being admitted
to a Specialist degree a student must have obtained a 3.0 grade point average in 30 credit
hours of geography. Also the degree requires more credit hours of geography than the
three-year Major and, most importantly, students must write an undergraduate thesis. Since
this requirement was introduced, 62 theses have been completed.
In 1985, a 4-year (general) Major was instigated -- mainly to serve those students who
wished to have a more widespread background in the discipline without necessarily
proceeding to graduate school -- for which the 4-year Specialist degree is more suitable.
Thirty four (34) students have completed a 4-year Major, the vast majority (32) opting for
a B.Sc. degree.
Three recent developments have been: 1) the introduction of a Practicum Program; 2) the
introduction of a 4-year Environmental Studies Concentration; and 3) the introduction of a
Water Science Concentration. The Practicum Program has been particularly successful. It
provides the student with the opportunity to acquire hands-on, "real world"
experience in the area of applied, human, environmental, or physical geography. Since its
inception in 1996, 17 students have completed a Practicum course either at the 300 or 400
level.
The 4-year Environmental Studies Concentration is a suggested combination of resources
and environmental courses in geography and other departments. It is in some respects a
throw back to an experiment that took place almost 30 years ago when an Environmental
Science Program existed within Science Faculty. At the time many students took a double
Major in Environmental Science and Geography but lack of funds to regularize the
Environmental Science Program into a department led to its demise. The present
Environmental Studies Concentration uses existing courses and faculty and thus requires no
additional funding.
The Department together with Minot State University, Bottineau Campus, North Dakota
offers a joint degree with a Major in Geography and a Concentration in Water Science and
Water Quality Technology. Students majoring in Geography - Water Science Technology can
earn a B.Sc. degree with a Diploma in Water Quality Technology.
FACULTY
At the birth of Brandon University the Department had three faculty members --Tyman,
Welsted and Hewitt. Christoph Stadel arrived in 1968 enabling the Department to increase
its offerings in regional and urban geography. He also taught a course on "mountain
geography" -- an oddity for the Prairies, but an interesting contrast to local
conditions. He was soon followed -- in 1970 -- by Richard Rounds who initiated a new
stream of courses in biogeography and resources. John Everitt was appointed in 1973 and
expanded the course offerings in human, cultural, and population geography. In 1979, Rod
McGinn took over the Department’s offerings in meteorology, climatology, and
hydrology.
In total, 34 people have held full-time faculty positions in the Department since 1962
-- some for only a year or two, but others for much longer: Welsted (32 years), Rounds (28
years - 10 of them "seconded" to be Director of the Rural Development
Institute), Everitt (28 and counting), Stadel (24), McGinn (22 and counting), Darlington
(12), and Haque (10).
An important development was the establishment at an early stage of the position of
cartographer -- first as a technician and later (1976-90) under the categorization of
"Professional Associate" which put the cartographer on a par with the university
librarians. Turn over in this position has tended to be rapid with the job being occupied
at various times by Elizabeth Riddoch (Rosenburg), Stephan Palko, Michael Marini, James
Darlington, Bill Nelson, Ross McLachlan, Lena Nikolova and Peter Bush.
However, James Darlington held the post for 13 years (1977-90) before being
"upgraded" to a teaching faculty position, a move that cost the department the
post for several years (1993-98). When the position was re-established it was downgraded
from "professional associate" to "instructional associate" and at the
time of writing, the department is once again struggling to find a person to occupy the
post.
In addition to regular faculty members, two members of the Faculty of Education have
been regarded -- and eventually officially designated -- as affiliated members. K. P.
Binda and Mel Lall have had a close association with the Department since 1981 while
teaching geography courses in BUNTEP (Brandon University Northern Teacher Education
Program) at many locations in northern Manitoba. More recently Doug Ramsey of the
Department of Rural and Community Studies has been given the same designation.
Many of the people who have taught in the department on a short-term basis can be
grouped under the heading of "sabbatical replacements." In a few cases it was
possible to find a replacement who was able to teach exactly those courses left vacant by
the person on leave. Such was the case with Sharon Smith who replaced Rod McGinn in
1985-86 and with Brad Schmidt who replaced John Welsted in term 2 of 1986-87. But more
often, juggling of courses was necessary. This was true in the case of the first
sabbatical replacement -- Tom Carter (1969-70) -- who took over some of the courses taught
by John Tyman. John Alwin (1975-76), a historical geographer, replaced John Welsted, a
physical geographer. Mike Wagner (1978-79) after teaching for two years in BUNTEP was
called on to teach a variety of courses when John Everitt was away. Other sabbatical
replacements were Brian Ceh, Reg Horne and Mike Roinila. Finally the sabbatical
replacement with the longest "tenure" was Alison Gill who stayed for three years
(1981-84) replacing at various times John Everitt, Richard Rounds, Christoph Stadel and
John Welsted -- how’s that for versatility?
Many others have taught at and for Brandon University for short periods including at
least: John Carley, Larry Clark, Paul Curtis, Bill Dey, Wayne Engstrom, Sid Fancy,
Wolfgang Fieguth, Peter Furley, Steve Graham, Paul Huddleston, David McDowell, David
Mazzucchi, Dan Old, William Osei, Paul Paget, Freda Rajotte, Clifford Ramchraran, Grant
Sigsworth, Dan Stone, Philip Suckling, Alan Taylor, Colin Thomas, Gordon Winder, and Barry
Woronchuk.
In terms of faculty numbers the Department’s history can be divided into three
phases: 1) a long early phase of gradual expansion starting in 1962 with the appointment
of John Tyman and culminating in 1979 with the appointment of Rod McGinn. At this latter
date the Department had five full-time instructors and a full time Instructional Associate
(IA) - the cartographer; 2) there followed a long period of stability with no major
additions or losses, although Rounds’ departure in 1989 to become Director of the
Rural Development Institute led to instability in this line which was occupied by a number
of short term replacements; 3) a period of change which has continued and accelerated to
the present. This period began with Stadel’s departure in 1992 to become Professor at
the University of Salzburg, Austria. In 1997, Welsted took early retirement and
Darlington, opting for a career change, returned to the U.S.A. Finally in 2001, Haque left
to become Director of the Natural Resources Institute at the University of Manitoba. So at
the beginning of the academic year, 2001-02, the Department will consist of two long-term
members (Everitt and McGinn) and five relatively new people.
Also over the years there has been a gradual change in the geographical origin of
instructors. In 1968 all four faculty members came originally from Europe. In 2001 five
members will be native-born Canadians with only two geographers of European origin and one
of those has lived in Canada most of his life.
Heads/Chairmen
The small size of the Department means that all full-time faculty have had to take a
turn as head/chair. Initially John Tyman was on his own, so was automatically
"head." He remained in charge from 1962 to 1973 except for a two-year sabbatical
leave (1968-70) when John Welsted was officially "acting head." Tyman was
succeeded as "head" by Richard Rounds although sometime in this era the
designation was changed from "head" to "chairman." In 1976 Christoph
Stadel took over as chairman and continued until 1981 when John Welsted took over for a
year. In 1982 he was succeeded by John Everitt who continued with breaks for sabbatical
leaves until 1993. He was succeeded by Darlington (1993-95), McGinn (1995-97), and Haque
(1997-2000) before returning to the job in 2000.
Teaching and Research
With the exception of the Instructional Associate (IA) all instructors are expected to
be able and willing to teach at all levels from first year introductory courses to fourth
year courses -- including the supervision of undergraduate theses. Although the Department
does not offer instruction beyond the undergraduate level, several instructors (Everitt,
Haque, Rounds, Stadel, and Welsted) have been involved in the supervision and evaluation
of post-graduate work and Everitt, Haque, Rounds, and Stadel have enjoyed the status of
adjunct professor at the University of Manitoba.
Despite the limitations of working in a small university -- or perhaps because of the
advantages of the situation -- faculty members have been successful in obtaining funds for
research from both internal and external sources. At the time of writing three faculty
members (Everitt, Haque, and Wiseman) are engaged in cooperative research with other
Brandon faculty members and from some other institutions. These are funded by major grants
from national organizations. Everitt is a co-investigator, along with a group from
the Rural Development Institute (RDI) at BU, on a Social Sciences and Humanities Research
Council (SSHRC) strategic initiatives grant of $410,000 for the project "Determinants
of Health of Rural Populations and Communities" as part of a study on "Society,
Culture, and Health of Canadians". Everitt is also a co-investigator with Mark
Rosenberg (and others) at Queens University on a National Health Research and Development
Programme/Canadian Institutes of Health Research (NHRDP/CIHR) grant of $276,000 for the
project "Aging Across Canada: Comparing Service-Rich and Service-Poor
Communities". Haque is sharing a grant of $600,000 awarded by the SSHRC as
part of the Community-University Research Alliance (CURA) for "Floodplain Research
Partnership; Promoting Stakeholders Participation in Sustainable Floodplain Management in
the Red River Basin." Wiseman is involved in a project entitled "Changing
Opportunities and Challenges: Human-Environmental Interactions in the Canadian Prairie
Ecozone" more commonly referred to as the SCAPE project (Study of Cultural Adaptation
in the Canadian Prairie Ecozone). Funding is for individuals, including Wiseman, at
Brandon University, Lakehead University, University of Saskatchewan and University of
Calgary and totals $2.5 million.
Results of research work have been presented at a large number of professional meetings
and have appeared in a great variety of papers, proceedings and books. Three books
authored and edited by Department members have contributed to the understanding of the
geography of Manitoba: 1) By Section, Township and Range by John Tyman, published
in 1972 and reprinted in 1994, chronicles European settlement of southwest Manitoba; 2) Brandon:
Geographical Perspectives on the Wheat City edited by John Welsted, John Everitt and
Christoph Stadel, published by the Canadian Plains Research Center in 1988, contains the
work of seven authors with Brandon connections; and 3) Manitoba: Its Land and Its
People, also edited by Welsted, Everitt and Stadel, and published by the University of
Manitoba Press in 1996, contains the work of 44 authors many of whom teach (or taught) at
Brandon University, the University of Winnipeg, and the University of Manitoba. Also,
Welsted and Everitt have edited three volumes of proceedings of the Prairie Division of
the Canadian Association of Geographers (P.C.A.G.): 1) Landscape Development and
Boundary Influences on the Canadian Prairies (Regina, Department of Geography, 1984);
2) The Dauphin Papers - Research by Prairie Geographers (Brandon University, 1991);
and 3) The Yorkton Papers - Research by Prairie Geographers (Brandon University,
1997).
Awards and distinctions
The Department can take pride in the fact that three of its human geographers have won
the Brandon University Senate Award for Excellence in Research: Stadel (1989), Everitt
(1991) and Haque (1998). Members have also received external awards. Everitt has received
two awards given by the P.C.A.G. -- Award for Service to Geography in the Western Interior
(1990) and the John H. Warkentin Award for Scholarly Contributions to the Geography of the
Western Interior (1994) and Welsted won the same two awards in 1991 and 1996. In 2001 the
P.C.A.G. service award was named the John E. Welsted Award. Further afield, Haque won the
Jalal Ahmed Gold Medal for Distinguished Academic Achievements (1995) and Welsted the
Autometric Award for the Outstanding Publication on Photographic Interpretation awarded by
the American Society of Photogrammetry (1979).
INVOLVEMENT WITH OUTREACH PROGRAMS
Geography at Brandon started with a course being offered in extension -- during the
summer -- and ever since the Department has been heavily involved with extension work in
one form or another. Although the demand has dropped in recent years, many extension
courses have been taught in spring session, summer session, during evenings and on
weekends. Most of them have been taught on campus but some have been in other parts of
southwestern Manitoba including at least Birtle, Boissevain, Dauphin, Erickson, Glenboro,
Grandview, Langruth, Neepawa, Rossburn, Swan River and Virden.
The Department has also had a close association with the various special programs
offered by the Faculty of Education for native students: BUNTEP (Brandon University
Northern Teach Education Project); IMPACTE (Indian and Metis Project for Careers through
Teacher Education); and PENT (Project for the Education of Native Teachers). In the first
two projects most of the teaching is/was done at mini-campuses in "the north,"
but PENT is designed for the education of native teachers who are already employed in
Manitoba schools and most of the teaching is done on the Brandon University campus.
IMPACTE was dropped a few years after it started but not before geography had been taught
in the program at Fort Alexander, Camperville, and on the BU campus.
Our association with BUNTEP goes back almost to its inception. A few courses have been
taught on campus but most of them have been in "the north" including:
Camperville, Cranberry Portage, Cross Lake, Dauphin, Fairford, God’s Lake, Grand
Rapids, Island Lake, Nelson House, Oxford House, Peguis, Split Lake, Swan River, The Pas
and Thompson. Since 1984 most of the teaching has been done by K. P. Binda and Mell Lall,
the latter being director of the program from 1993 onwards.
Our association with IUN (Inter Universities North) a joint program between Manitoba
universities dates back to 1972-73. Courses have been taught at Cranberry Portage, Flin
Flon, Lynn Lake, The Pas, and Thompson by a variety of instructors including at least Paul
Duraj, Wolfgang Fieguth, Alison Gill, Lloyd Nelson, and Ian Turnbull.
EXTERNAL CONTACTS
Visiting speakers/honorary degrees
One of the risks of teaching at a small university like Brandon is that faculty could
become isolated from other institutions and people. We have tried to avoid this by
attendance at professional meetings, sabbatical travel, and exchange of speakers. We
receive a visit each fall from the Prairie C.A.G.’s travelling distinguished speaker
on his/her way to or from the fall meeting of the PCAG; consequently we have been visited
by Dr. John Hudson (1980), Dr. Wayne Rouse (1981), Dr. J. Fraser Hart (1982), Dr. John
Warkentin (1984 and 2001), Dr. Robert Dilley (1985), Dr. James Vance (1986), Dr. Terry
Jordan (1990), Dr. Brian Osborne (1991), Dr. Ray Jones (1992), Dr. Cecyle Trépanier
(1995), and Dr. Ray Bollman (1996). Also, in 1996 as part of the Science Faculty’s
Kidd/McMillan lecture series we enjoyed a visit by Dr. Derek Ford.
We have also tried to work an exchange of speakers with other Prairie Universities, our
contacts with the University of Winnipeg and the University of Regina being particularly
good in his respect. Also for several years our students in urban geography have enjoyed a
field trip to Winnipeg organized by the instructors there and vice versa.
We have recognized two distinguished geographers who have a southwestern Manitoba
connection. In 1975 the University awarded an honorary degree to Andrew Clark (who was an
alumnus of Brandon College) for his work in historical geography and at the May 1987
convocation John Warkentin was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws for his work in Canadian
regional and historical geography.
Involvement with the Canadian Association of Geographers (C.A.G.)
The Department has a good record of membership in the C.A.G. At various times three of
our members have been councillors on the national executive: Rounds (1976-77), Welsted
(1977-78), and Everitt (1986-88 and 1988-90). Everitt was president of the national body
from 1995-96.
Our Department was instrumental in the founding of the Prairie Division of the C.A.G.
in 19763 and has organized four of the annual fall meetings of the division: no. 1 in 1976
at Riding Mountain National Park; no. 6 in 1982 in the City of Brandon; no. 14 at Dauphin
in 1990; and no. 20 in Yorkton in 1996. Preparations are underway to host no. 26, at a
venue to be decided, in 2002. John Welsted was the founding president of the P.C.A.G.;
Everitt was president from 1986 to 1988; Haque from 1996 to 1998, and McGinn has just been
elected president for the period 2001-2004. Everitt was the first secretary/treasurer,
Stadel held the position from 1986 to 1989 and Eberts has been elected to the position for
2001-2004. Everitt edited the first two of the division’s newsletters and Everitt and
Welsted edited nos. 5,6,7, 8 and 9.
International Contacts
Early in the Department’s history, it was involved in the 22nd International
Geographical Congress based in Montreal in 1972. Tyman organized the section of the
Trans-Canada Fieldtrip from Winnipeg to the Manitoba/Saskatchewan border and Welsted
organized the part of the Southern Prairies Fieldtrip from Brandon to the
Manitoba/Saskatchewan border.
Mention should be made here of the involvement of Everitt, Haque and Stadel with WUSC
(World University Service of Canada). For many years Everitt and Stadel organized the
visit to Brandon by the WUSC travelling sale "Caravan." Both Everitt and Stadel
held positions on the executive of the organization. They also encouraged students to
apply for positions on the WUSC seminar series. Several were successful and both faculty
members were faculty advisors on some of the early seminars. Since 1982-93 Everitt, Stadel
and Haque have organized the sponsorship of one refugee student to attend Brandon
University each year. In 1999 Brandon University students voted a levy of $2 /year from
each student to help fund the refugee student. Over the years 20 refugee students have
completed degrees at B.U. and there is little doubt that the program has transformed and
in some cases saved their lives.
SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY
At Brandon University (as at many other universities no doubt) performance evaluation
is based on "teaching," "scholarly activity" (research), and
"service to the community." The last can be divided into "service to the
university community" and "service to the external community."
Service to the University Community
Members of the Department have been active in university affairs and while it is
impossible to list all the positions they have held some can be highlighted. Tyman was a
member of Senate in the early years of Brandon University and was Dean of Science for two
years (1974-76) -- not bad for a historical geographer! Everitt (1976-78), Stadel
(1983-85), and Welsted (1968-70, 1974-75, and 1978-80) have also been members of the
university Senate. During his last term on Senate, Welsted was the Senate representative
to the Board of Governors. Also Everitt was president of the Faculty Association (1981-82)
and Stadel was Treasurer (1973-74) and Secretary (1987-88).
The Department has been associated with three interdisciplinary majors that have been
offered at the university -- the Canadian Studies Major, the Regional and Community
Studies Major, and the Environmental Science Major. Geography courses are, or were,
included in each of these and faculty members have been associated with the programs as
advisors or chairmen. Everitt was Director of the Regional and Community Studies Program
(1976-77) and Rounds was the organizer and Director of the Environmental Science Program
(1972-76) -- undoubtedly the most successful interdisciplinary major offered at Brandon
University. At the time of writing Everitt is listed as a member of the advisory committee
for the Department of Rural and Community Studies and is also a member of Board of the
Department of Rural Development; Wiseman is on the Board of the Rural Development
Institute; and Welsted is chair of the Editorial Board of the Rural Development Institute.
Service to the Outside Community
All faculty members have spoken about their work to school groups, in-service meetings,
and service clubs and several have appeared on CKX radio and television and on the local
access TV channel (12).
Early in its history the Department organized several series of seminars aimed at local
geography and history teachers. In 1965, ’66 and ’67 these were given by Tyman,
Welsted and Hewitt. After a several years gap, in 1971 a series of seminars was sponsored
by the Manitoba Teachers’ Society in cooperation with the Department, given this time
by Clark, Rounds, Stadel, Tyman and Welsted. Several years later, starting in October 1978
and continuing till April 1979 we ran a public lecture series which once a month provided
a forum for Department members (and a few guests) to report to the general public on their
work and travel. Later, members of the Department organized a lecture series entitled
"Geoforum" in which faculty members -- not just from the Department of Geography
-- were asked to report on their research to the university community and any members of
the general public who wished to attend. Lectures were given over the lunch period and ran
from 1986 to 1994 during which time a total of 74 lectures were given.
STUDENTS: SOME NUMBERS AND NAMES
There have been a total of 37,784 course enrolments in geography since the first course
was taught in 1962. Our best year was 1970-71 when there was a total enrolment of 1995
(including fall, winter, spring and summer sessions) well above the long term average of
1173. Enrolment in summer session also peaked at that time with 306 in 1970 and 278 in
1971. Enrolments in individual courses have ranged between 1 (in 38:449 undergraduate
thesis in geography) and 252 in Introduction to Physical Geography in 1969. The present
level of student interest makes us one of the larger departments in Arts and Science. A
total of 559 degrees have been awarded to students at Brandon College/University with a
Major in geography; of these 34 have been 4-year Majors and 62 Specialist degrees.
Brandon University gold meals are awarded to students also have achieved the highest
standing in the final two years (of a 3-year degree) in the B.A. program and the B.Sc.
program. On three occasions a student who majored in geography has won the medal -- Robert
Arthur (1976), Glen Bugg (1982) and Debra Chapman (1986). With the introduction of the
4-year Specialist degree a gold medal was awarded for the best performance in the
specialist fourth year in Arts and Science. On three occasions this have been awarded to
geography majors: Hugh Munro (1980), Judith Hickson (1982), and Dan Scott (1991).
Four geography students have obtained NSERC post graduate awards to advance to graduate
studies: Hugh Munro (1980), Judith Hickson (1982), Brian McGregor (1982) and Paul
Georgison (1989). Most 4-year Specialist students - and a few 4-year Majors - have
advanced to and have obtained graduate degrees. Thirty seven (37) have obtained masters
degrees and six - Tom Carter, Dennis Jelinski, Peter Lafleur, Dan Scott, Laurel Strain,
and Dion Wiseman have completed Ph.Ds. All six are now employed in Canadian universities.
PHYSICAL FACILITIES AND EQUIPMENT
In 1962 the Geography Department as a physical entity consisted of a faculty office at
the top of the oldest building on campus (refurbished in 1997), one box of chalk and one
wall map. The former librarian claims that at that time there were two geography books in
the library. Lectures were given in whichever rooms were available at the time. In 1965,
however, the Department obtained its own quarters in the unlikely location of the basement
of the gymnasium. This had its disadvantages as on occasions pipes leaked and in winter a
person could enter in the dark in the morning and leave in the dark having not seen
daylight all day. However, it gave the Department a physical identity. In the basement
were located a 70-seat lecture room, a 25-seat laboratory, a 12-seat seminar room, and
three faculty offices -- later a fourth one was created in what had been a storage room
under the stairs.
Here the Department remained -- collecting books, maps and equipment including in 1967
a small computer -- the first in Brandon -- until 1971 when it moved to the newly-built
Brodie Science Building. Initially, Geography was allocated a few randomly distributed
rooms throughout the building, but after much lobbying and arguing we were allocated space
principally in two blocks at the western end of the third and fourth floors. Floor three
contained a general-purpose lab, a cartography lab, a small (35-seat) lecture theatre and
three small storage rooms. On the fourth floor were located a medium-sized (80-seat)
lecture room; a map library, which contained eight student carrels; a complex of
"technical service" rooms; three research rooms and six offices. We also
received one room on the top (P) floor which became a geomorphology/hydrology lab. The two
lecture rooms had to be shared with other departments because none of the
"hard-core" science departments included lecture rooms in their plans.
Instructors teaching large enrolment courses (over 80) had to endure the vagaries of two
large general purpose science faculty lecture rooms on the ground floor.
In the years since 1971 some changes have occurred. We lost the cartography lab in 1996
-- largely because of under-use -- to a general-purpose science faculty computer room.
However, on the fourth floor we gained two quite large unused research offices from
Chemistry. After a series of changes these evolved into two geography research offices and
a geomatics lab which opened in 1998. Also most of the rooms in the "technical
services" area were eliminated and made into a small lecture/seminar room. The
Department is very lucky in that each faculty member has an office and at least a small
research area. Senior students are fortunate to have a carrel in the map room (the
Department’s hub) in which to work. Generally the Department is well housed and well
equipped for the teaching of undergraduate geography and for faculty research.
FAILURES, DEFIENCIES, REGRETS
The writer can identify a number of failures/deficiencies although his opinions will
not necessarily he shared by all present and past faculty and what follows is not
necessarily in order to importance or relevance.
First, the department has been unsuccessful in attracting and retaining women
geographers. In 39 years the only women who have taught in the department are Alison Gill
(3 years), Freda Rajotte (2 years), Elizabeth Riddoch (Rosenburg) (2 years), Sharon Smith
(1 year) and Lena Nikolova (1/2 year). However, two of the new appointees for 2001-02 are
women so perhaps the situation will change. Secondly, despite efforts to do so, the
Department has never been able to attract a person whose primary interest is in
agricultural geography and although there is a course "agricultural geography"
on the books it has been taught only sporadically. Also a course "soils and soil
conservation" is listed but it too has been infrequently taught. A course on soils
and another on agriculture would seem to be essentials given Brandon’s location.
Also, while on the subject of courses not taught there is irony in the fact that the
Department was established by a historical geographer and we have awarded honorary degrees
to two historical geographers (Clark and Warkentin) but do not have "historical
geography" as a course on offer. Finally, although field work is an integral part of
many courses, the Department has been unable -- despite many attempts -- to run and
require a compulsory field work course for all majors.
Despite the fact that, the department has successfully hosted four of the annual fall
meetings of the P.C.A.G. and is planning a fifth, it has made no attempt to host the
national meeting of the C.A.G. Other small departments have done so with considerable
success; for example Brock, Nanaimo, and Regina. Brandon’s failure can only be
explained by an unwarranted inferiority complex. Perhaps the new young faculty members
will "bite the bullet" and issue an invitation to Canada’s geographers to
meet in Brandon.
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
Despite the comments in the last section, the Department of Geography at Brandon
University has been successful over the past 39 years. It has been, and still is, a major
force within the university and its various members past and present are known within the
Canadian geographical community. There have been over 37,000 enrolments in geography since
1962 and 559 majors in geography (an average of over 14 per year) have been awarded. We
have devised a series of degree programs (3-year Major, 4-year Major, 4-year Specialist)
as well as two Specializations (in Environmental Studies and Water Quality Monitoring and
Management) and a Practicum Program which we believe prepare students well for the future,
including both those who do further work in geography and those who do not. Many of our
former students have entered careers in which they make little or not direct use of their
geographical training, but we are encouraged by the number who have said that they are
glad they did geography because they now understand better what is going on around them
and can "converse intelligently about the landscape." However, 37 students have
obtained masters degrees and six Ph.D.s; all of the latter group are now employed by
Canadian universities.
For the academic year 2001-2002 the Department is back to full strength and with the
recent influx of young Canadian-educated faculty the future looks bright.
FOOTNOTES
1. In the academic year, 1967-68, most departments in Arts and Science switched
from offering full courses -- 6 credit hours -- to offering half courses -- 3 credit
hours.
2. Rumour has it that the President of Brandon College at the time the Department came
into existence gave geography and psychology to the Dean of Science because otherwise he
would have had fewer departments to administer than the Dean of Arts.
3. See Everitt J. and Welsted J. "The Prairie Division of the Canadian Association
of Geographers, Operational Geographer, 1983, No. 3, 38-40.
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