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Association President's Message Recollections of a TrentCareer Reunion Weekend 2001/Head of the Trent Schedule Ancient History & Classics News
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By Carolyn Moore It was a time when the world was moving to a new understanding of justice and social responsibility - a time when headlines of the day spoke of "Rage and Reform on Campus", of peace movements, of a new activism. It was then, on the cusp of the late 60s/early 70s that four brothers came to Trent, to be influenced and changed by experiences that would convince them they could make a difference in the world.
Like many families they have been visited by tragedy. Their brother David, who graduated from Trent in 1976, died a decade after developing schizophrenia in his early 20's. "Trent was a good place for him," said Don reflecting on the personal attention and easy access to professors that is a Trent trademark. "I'm sure he was a real challenge." The family has endowed a bursary in David's memory, a legacy that continues to makes a difference each year for a student in financial need. When they recollect their time at Trent the brothers are of one mind about the importance that the university played in their life. "It transformed me," said Bob. "I came into Trent with my eyes closed. I came out with a much greater understanding, not just of mathematics, but of one's place in the world. I am very grateful to Trent for that." Bill acknowledges his Trent experience still colours his values today and Don attributes his liberal arts studies and his exceptional professors for opening his mind to new ideas. He remembers in particular, Professor Bandyopadhyay, "one of the few truly brilliant people in life, he was the archetypal renaissance man - a sociology professor - you would see him in the library reading a physics book. He was a Marxist and he challenged a lot of very fundamental ideas that I had -for the better." Whether it was the Marxist influence, a reflection of their teacher parents who by example taught them to question the socially acceptable point of view, or a sign of the times, the brothers challenged the status quo. "I remember quite a strong political interest back then," Bill recalls. "There was a sense of urgency and importance about politics and justice." Bob helped to organize Trent's first student government. When the Ontario government, led by Bill Davis, issued a report saying that universities should be closed and transformed into trade schools he led a protest that shut down the campus for a day. The keynote speaker was his brother Don and the episode may have pointed the way, at least for a number of years. "When I left Trent the last thing in the world I was thinking about was my career," Don remembers. After Trent, I had a few little ambitions: I wanted to change the world, stop the war in Vietnam, end poverty, have social justice around the world, move to a truer democracy. I was a real radical and worked at that for several years." He edited community newspapers, traveled all around the country and as an "outside agitator was involved in several university strikes". He was head Marshall in Edmonton during a national day of protest in the 70s and later ran for Mayor of Edmonton, which he explains, wasn't so much about politics as it was about changing the world. It seems almost inevitable then that a desire to change the world - to make a difference - should bring the brothers front and centre in the one thing that is changing today's world at lightning speed: technology. His brothers give Bob credit for pushing the envelope into this "new" medium and for being a "very significant" influence in their lives. "We relied on him to know what's up in technology in the early days," said Bill, describing Bob as an 'out-of-the-business-box" thinker. "He is the most technically-minded, the engineer." Don agrees. "Bob has always been the innovator around family projects. He gave me one of my first contracts." Bob once again credits his Trent experience for his foray into computer science, a field so new when he was a student that Trent did not even have its own computer. It seemed a long way from Jeppesen Sanderson where years later he would plan and implement a "mission-critical" system that supplies aviation data necessary for safe take-off and landing of most of the world's computerized aircraft. He hasn't forgotten Jim Jury, who had the foresight to start Trent's computer science department, and for whom he worked. Dr. Jury remembers Bob well. "He was an ambitious, vivacious advisor that was exceptional in his ability to tailor courses to the needs of students." In the early days, Jury says, Trent couldn't afford computers. "They were a million dollars in 1970's money. We had a teletype linked up with GE [Canadian General Electric] and later with Carleton University." Don had used that same teletype machine a few years earlier. He needed to analyse the data he had collected for his fourth year psychology honours thesis. He calculated that it would take him three months to complete the analysis. "There was a ticker tape machine in the chemistry lab connected to the GE factory computer. I talked to Professor Nind who seemed to be the only one who knew anything about computers. He got together a little group and we learned, basic, basic programming language. I was able to develop my own program to analyse my stats. It took 110 seconds to do what would have taken me months and I thought 'this thing will change the world'." Indeed! It spawned so many changes by the early 80s that in 1982 Bill founded Tapscott Associates, an executive search and skills-based technology firm that still supplies the industry. Another of Bill's companies, "Mountain Lake Software" became a pioneer in developing financial services delivery using the same protocols that now run the Internet. "The Trent experience gave you a certain confidence that you could do anything," said Bill who had transferred to Trent after spending his first year at the University of Guelph. He recalls his early days at Trent. "I'm going to class and I'm a little bit lost. I'm looking for philosophy taught by Constantin Boundas. The schedule said B-5. I go to Champlain College B-5, which turned out to be a residence room. I knocked on the door anyway. There's just a table in there and only 5 students. That was a seminal moment in my life - the quality level, and the expectation of what I had to do really raised the bar for me." According to Bill "the other part of the Trent experience - besides the profs - is the whole sense of community, the people you grow up with." Bill has maintained contact and friendship with a good many of the people from his university days and was instrumental in bringing many of them together in a fund-raiser to establish a bursary in memory of classmate James Creery. He's typically modest about it. "I just wrote a letter to a bunch of people I went to school with." An accident in South America had claimed James' life at the end of their third year. "James was a straight A student. We all looked at him and said 'this is the guy who's going to make a difference'". Tony Storey, Director of Alumni Affairs describes the event as one of the "most thoughtful fund-raising evenings" that he's ever attended. "Bill had organized a 5-course dinner at Le Select Bistro in Toronto. There was a variety of spectacular wines - selected and paid for by Bill. Those of us who studied with James and remembered him, his family members, we were all there. As the evening went on it became more and more obvious that the family was overwhelmed that their son who was lost so many years ago was being remembered." Once matched with government funding, and with support from the philosophy faculty, the evening generated over $40,000 for the bursary. "It was a splendid evening of fellowship remembered." Don, too, speaks strongly on the concept of the university community and believes it is something that is becoming increasingly important to nourish and sustain. "It used to be there was a period in your life when you learned, graduated, then went out to work and you were set for life. There were the institutions of learning and there were the institutions of work. Now all that has blurred. Learning is life-long. Alum have a responsibility to the university, to enhance the institution that contributed to our coming of age, not just as a grad but as part of an alumni community." He lives by his words. As Chair he has worked tirelessly to ensure the success of Trent's Beyond the Walls campaign. Together with his wife Ana Lopes, (a member of Trent's Board of Governors as well as one of the campaign's committees), they have generously donated personal funds. Dr. Jim Jury notes that Don has gone out of his way to connect a Trent research group, which is developing diagnostic medical imaging, with contacts at Siemens Medical Products where discussions for funding continue. "The university is indeed fortunate in Don and Ana's personal and professional commitment and the leadership they have provided both to the board and the campaign," said Trent President and Vice-Chancellor Bonnie Patterson. "Don has demonstrated outstanding support of students as we respond to change and provide them with the best educational experience possible. We are extremely grateful for his on going and significant work on behalf of Trent." Don's commitment comes in part from his passion for Trent and his belief, based on personal experience, in the value of a liberal arts education. "I got this amazing job," he says. " It was my liberal arts background - they wanted someone who could think completely out of the box. That's when everything really took off. I was managing the 'office of the future,' a research group at Bell Northern Research. The big question was how would networks and work stations change the way people work and the way businesses operate. I applied virtually everything that I'd learned and more. It's not just what you learn of course - that's not what is important about a university, it's that you learn how to think, and how to criticize and communicate; how to compose your thoughts. That's why I am a strong believer in a liberal arts education. When it comes to employees or entrepreneurs we don't just need people with training - we need people who are educated and know how to learn and know how to think." It was "brother Bill" who found him that job at Bell, further testament to the strong familial bond. The two of them have another passion - music. Their father, a musician at heart, wrote a lot of his own pieces and an uncle performed for years on cbc. Their musical ability has inspired and enriched their lives and in Don's case provided him with "spare cash" during his Trent days. Don still performs and his Bay Street band, Men in Suits, this spring did "Rock for Brain" at the Mockingbird in Toronto to raise funds for mental health. Bill's passion is jazz and he credits a Trent professor for introducing him to the real thing. Music is a big part of family events even though "Bob couldn't carry a tune if it was in a bucket," laughs Bill. But musical or not it is Bob "with a heart as big as Australia" who brought them the idea for Maptuit. Bill says the three have come full circle from sharing a house together in Toronto in the late 70s where, "there were lots of arguments - very Champlain college-like - over the dinner table about technology." "Don and I ... I think we had always hoped we would do something together more directly than we had in the past. We've never actually been in business together prior to this." That they are grateful to Trent for who they've become is apparent. It provided the underpinnings of their futures. "It was different," said Don. "Of all the stuff about Trent I buy it all, the small classes, low student/ faculty ratio, focussed learning, place for debate and discussion. It's a great institution and one that is in a unique position to deliver liberal arts education as a model of the 21st century."  |
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Don
Tapscott, the eldest, arrived first in 1966, followed by brothers
Bob and David in 1969, and Bill in 1972. The name Don Tapscott
has become synonymous with technology - he is the man the Washington
Technology Report called the most influential media authority
since Marshall McLuhan and is an author and internationally sought-after
speaker. Brothers Bob and Bill, too have had successful careers
in the high-tech industry and all three, among other enterprises,
are now partners in Maptuit, an e-logistics company.