Season of the Wolff! |
TRENT CONTENTS Michael Treadwell: A Man for All Trent Seasons Season of the Wolff - Gary Wolff '67 heads Trent's Board |
by Tony Storey '71
As the last year of the 20th century draws to a close, the university will find its Board of Governors led by one of its own, for only the second time. Gary Wolff '67 assumed the chair of the Board on July 1st for a two-year term. Surely this must be the SEASON OF THE WOLFF! Brantford, Ontario is known for its hockey hero and the dawn of the telephone, but it is also the community Gary Wolff grew up in before deciding to take the "road less travelled" and study at an unknown university in an unknown city - Trent in Peterborough. "I didn't want to go where others were and it was small", Gary recalls of his decision to select Trent as his university. Life at Trent meant a joint major economics/history degree, three years in residence at Champlain College, captaincy of the rugby team and intercollegiate hockey. He remembers Bob Page, the popular Champlain don and Gary's Imperialist history professor; Doug Curtis and Ram Murthy in economics (they were both new to Trent!); Bill Hunter with whom he still manages the occasional golf game and Harry Kitchen, who he continues to see socially. In the late 60s, Trent was "a pretty small place." It was also the place where four Champlain lads found themselves invited for dinner by Traill students. Gary met Ruth Houghton '67 and as the old saying goes, "the rest is history." The couple was married at the end of 3rd year and lived in an apartment behind the courthouse. With Ruth completing her honours BSc. year Gary and one other student, Brian O'Reilly '67, constituted Trent's first 4th year economics class, thanks to the cooperation of Harry Kitchen, Maurice Boote and Bill Hunter. Gary proudly lays claim to placing second in that class! After Trent, Gary took a job with Clarkson Gordon. "I knew nothing at all about accounting firms." But two other Champlain friends were also going to the interviews so Gary went along. In 1974 he competed his CA and had begun work part-time on a York University MBA correspondence program (completed in 1976). Gary migrated from Clarkson Gordon to Monarch Fine Foods, where after 10 years as a Žnancial manager, he became Vice President, Finance. The next move was to Lever Brothers where his work as VP Commercial included finance, purchasing and logistics. There was a one-year stint at Hershey's Fine Foods before he assumed his current position at McCarthy Tetrault as Executive Director, his tenure there being ten years. In 1995-96 Gary earned his F.C.A. It is almost 30 years since Trent days and now Gary & Ruth's world is one in which the family is paramount. Daughter Jessica will start her studies at Trent this autumn and on the night of this interview, 16 year-old Robert is in charge of dinner, which means take-out pizza. They have lived in two different homes in West Hill (Scarborough) for over 24 years. When he is not fulfilling the demands of his position of Executive Director of McCarthy Tetrault, Gary does enjoy golf along with volunteer roles coaching baseball and hockey. He has also served Ontario Institute of Chartered Accountants as an elected member of Council as well as an Executive committee member. Parental commitments and family activities come up repeatedly as important extracurricular priorities. Reading and occasional trips to the cottage are also pastimes. Ruth is very involved with figure skating. As a family, the Wolffs have travelled to every province in Canada. "I really like this country," Gary asserts. In 1991 former Trent Board member "Ski" McClelland approached Gary regarding joining Trent's governors. His committee work since has included chairing the Audit and Finance committee and membership on the Executive committee. He also took part in the Board's restructuring committee and the search for an Interim President, which invited David Smith to Trent in 1997-98. Just what has brought Gary Wolff to this juncture of being the second Trent graduate to chair the Board? As much as anything, Gary feels it his tenure on Trent's board, and his knowledge of the institution's history. "I didn't seek the role," he states. But he is "very flattered that people think I can do this." It has not been easy to be a member of Trent's board in the '90s, but let this not be misunderstood as any shortage of enthusiasm for the future. Gary expresses his "enormous" amount of confidence and resect for President Bonnie Patterson and her administrative team. He emphasizes how important it is that the administration be able to administer. The Board's role is to show support and give the administration the wherewithal to do that. Gary is excited about recent strategic initiatives related to a college of education proposal and recruitment activities. He worries about Trent's very expensive model within a complex university system and at the same time wonders why our small group teaching is not ranked at the top of Maclean's rankings. The next few years represent "survival mode. Everyone at Trent will need to work together to make the changes. We cannot continue to have deficits and cash flow problems. It distracts us from our real mission of educating young people." Gary is determined to help Trent "sell" the value of a liberal arts education, not easy in current times. But we can and will proclaim the recent Council of Ontario Universities survey that shows that liberal arts grads get jobs. Trent's particular penchant for encouraging students to think on their feet creatively, to be good communicators and the teaching environment which hones the ability to think, to convince others and to get your ideas across is so worthwhile. It should be very attractive to prospective students but may be overshadowed by the cost of education and the live-at-home trend. Gary Wolff does have a message for our alumni - embrace the changes ... things will be diżerent. As alumni we all live in a daily changing world, and change is happening at Trent, too. Trust the administrative leadership that they share in our vision of the university. Have confidence that the basic ethos is intact and have confidence in their judgement and passion. Avoid hysteria! Gary režects on the exceptional quality of the student board representatives he has met. If they are just a sample of the students who are becoming our alumni, then the future is fantastic. But we cannot continue to fund education on the backs of the students. For Ontario, the heartland, to fund education at the lowest level in Canada is distressing; the province's bias towards targeted funding "all over the place" is not helpful. As we conclude the interview, Ruth and Jessica have arrived from figure skating duties. It is an appropriate moment to look ahead to Trent's newest students, to the promise and the hope that the Trent careers they experience will be ones conducted against a stable and secure Žnancial background, where the emphasis can be on education. | |
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