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The
Board of Directors of
The Steadward
Centre
for Personal & Physical Achievement
Born in Vancouver in 1934, Gerry spent the first four years of life
in Mile 34 (on the old PGE railroad) - but now better known as
Whistler. He was raised in the Cariboo country (Quesnel), which is
more a state of mind than a geographical location. Gerry married Alice
Marie Ruhl in 1957 and together they raised four children (3 sons and
1 daughter) who, in turn, have 8 children among them. No great
grandchildren as yet. He worked for five years for Western Plywood (Cariboo)
Ltd. (now Weldwood) in Quesnel and during that time was a labourer, a
production foreman and assistant personnel manager of the company.
Gerry attended UBC and completed a BPE in 1960, a teaching
certification program in 1961, and then taught high school in Quesnel
and at Southern Okanagan Secondary School in Oliver. Eventually he
received a Professional "A" permanent (BC) teaching
certificate. He completed an MA at the U of A in 1964 and was invited
onto the academic faculty in physical education in 1965. He did
research, counseled graduate students, taught and coached the U of A
Golden Bears basketball team until he left for the University of
Illinois in 1968 to work on his PhD. He completed this program in 1970
(physical education and cultural anthropology - worked with the
Canadian Inuit and helped to establish the Northern Games that are
still an annual event in the Canadian North).
He shifted his focus from teaching/learning and research to
university administration and became a department chair in 1972, a
dean in 1981, and acting vice-president in 1990. In this latter
capacity he worked with Murray Fraser (President of the University of
Calgary) to establish Alberta's Universities Foundation Act (1991) and
with Deputy Minister Barry Mitchelson and colleagues to create the
Alberta Sport Council Act (1983). In the late 1980's Gerry worked with
a small group of Canadian physical educators to create the Active
Living model which has grown in national importance as a platform on
which to encourage healthy, active living among Canadians. Gerry
retired from the University at the end of 1993 but was invited back to
help create a graduate program in the area of Health Promotion Studies
(in this role he helped to craft graduate programs that are offered
both on campus and on-line/distance delivery). Beginning July 1, 2001
the University invited him to assume a two-year term as acting dean of
the Faculty of Extension - an interesting new challenge.
Along the way Gerry has had the good fortune to work with over 200
students pursuing masters or PhD degrees (here at the U of A as well
as in several other universities in other nations). He received over
$6 million in various forms of research funding including funding for
Canada's National Fitness Survey that he co-chaired. He also had the
good fortune to work with Canada's internationally acclaimed
ParticipAction people for a number of years, to serve as an advisor to
the Minister of Fitness and Amateur Sport and for five years and as a
member of the Minister of National Defense Advisory Board for Canada's
Military Universities. In 1993 he was awarded the Canadian Citation
for Citizenship.
He continues to be an avid outdoorsman and generally does a canoe
trip each year. He is involved currently in an international
friendship movement called Gyro International and has found that
family, friends, and health are the principal sustaining forces of a
good life.
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