The UFV Library was very honoured to receive a large book donation from a pre-eminent Canadian historian and scholar, Dr. Ramsay Cook. Dr. Cook has written and edited numerous books on Canadian political and social history, including The Politics of John W. Dafoe and the Free Press (1963), Canada and the French-Canadian Question (1966), French-Canadian Nationalism: An Anthology (1969), The Maple Leaf Forever: Essays on Nationalism and Politics in Canada (1971), The Proper Sphere: Woman's Place in Canadian Society (1976), The Regenerators: Social Criticism in late Victorian English Canada (1985), Canada, Quebec, and the uses of Nationalism (1986), Watching Quebec: Selected Essays (2005), and The Teeth of Time: Remembering Pierre Elliott Trudeau (2005). Dr. Cook has been a faculty member in the History departments at the University of Toronto and York University, and is the general editor of the Dictionary of Canadian Biography.
Dr. Ramsay Cook is also the recipient of many outstanding awards, including the Governor General’s award for non-fiction, and the Canada Council for the Arts Molson Prize In Social Sciences And Humanities. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and an Officer of the Order of Canada.
The books donated by Dr. Cook have greatly enhanced our collection in the areas of Quebec and Canadian history.
A generous cash donation by Dr. John and Erna Friesen has established the Peace Studies collection at the UFV library. This collection will promote the study of the interdisciplinary field of Peace Studies, including conflict resolution, mediation, consensus building, interpersonal and relational skills, and justice.
Erna Friesen is a retired lawyer, who practiced in the fields of family law, personal injury, wills and estates. She was instrumental in founding the Menno Simons Center, a student residence at UBC, and has served as a board member for the Center. In addition, Erna has been a board member at Regent College (Vancouver), the Canadian Mennonite University (Winnipeg), and the Mennonite Faith and Learning Society (Abbotsford.)
Dr. John Friesen is an academic, author, researcher, and practitioner in the field of psychotherapy. He is an emeritus professor in the Department of Counseling Psychology at UBC, worked as Supervisor of Counseling and Psychological Services for the Government of Alberta, and in conjunction with other doctoral students developed a theory of psychotherapy called “Experiential Systemic Therapy.”
The UFV Library was very honored to receive a large collection of books from the estate of the late Dr. Kuldip Gill, who passed away suddenly in 2009. Kuldip was a valued member of the UFV community, receiving an Honorary degree in 2005, teaching creative writing, and acting as UFV’s first “Poet in Residence.” Her many accomplishments included a Doctorate in Anthropology, and a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing, as well as serving on numerous community organizations and committees.
Kuldip’s many interests were reflected in her book collection, and UFV library was able to add 345 books in such diverse topic areas as the history and culture of India, sociology, anthropology, Canadian and Indic literature, poetry, creative writing, women and gender. The donation also included beautiful signed broadsheets of works by such poets as Irving Layton and Dorothy Livesay. These have been framed for display.
Works that were not added to the collection due to duplication or condition were sold for a nominal amount to students and faculty, with the proceeds going to support the library’s Heritage collection.
The UFV Library wishes to sincerely thank Kuldip’s husband, Jim McIntosh, for bestowing this important gift to the students and faculty of UFV.
An outstanding benefactor of UFV, Dr. Victor Hollister and his wife Hilda made many valuable and important contributions to our institution. Their donations included endowment funds for scholarships in Criminal Justice, Health, and Science and Technology, as well as funds to equip a geography and nursing lab. Other donations were a valuable mineral collection and map collection housed in the Geography department, and an extensive collection of government reports, files, articles and books on geology.
In 2000, Dr. Hollister was recognized for his long standing support and contributions to UFV by being awarded one of our first two honorary degrees.
The Geological Survey of Canada reports and monographs on minerals and geology have greatly expanded the UFV Library’s holdings in this area, and provide excellent foundational resources for our geography and geology students and faculty.
In addition to Suzanne Klerks’ legacy to UFV as an influential scholar and teacher, she left a very tangible bequest. After Suzanne’s death, her mother contacted the UCFV Library. Elizabeth Klerks said that Suzanne’s wish was for her extensive personal library to be donated to the UCFV Library.
As a result, UFV received over 80 boxes of books ranging in topics from Hercules to Chaucer, and from these almost 500 books were added to the collection. When you search the library catalogue by Suzanne’s name you will find the titles she has donated. And when you’re browsing in the stacks, from time to time you’ll come across a book with a donation plate acknowledging Suzanne’s generosity.
Even the books that we are not adding to the collection – popular titles, duplicate titles, and well-loved books full of Suzanne’s notes and highlighting – will benefit UFV library users, because the proceeds of selling these on our book sale table enable us to purchase materials for our Heritage Collection.
Thanks to Suzanne, our collections in British and American literature have been enriched significantly. On behalf of the UFV community, the Library would like to acknowledge Suzanne and thank her parents for carrying out her wishes.
