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Volume 35, No.5, May 29, 1986 Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada V5A 1S6 (604) 291-3210.

SIMONFRASER

Minist~r for post-secondary education Russell Fraser visited Simon Fraser University recentlyon an mformal tour of the campus and several departments. During his visit to the physicsdepartment, Fraser paused for a quick look at an ion gun and other pieces of equipment.Discussions dealt with aims and achievements of various programs at Simon Fraser. Fraserwas accompanied by deputy minister Dr. John Dewey.

Ruth Wynn Woodward

Fraser program is getting out into thecommunity and I want to see a much moresensible approach to women's issues andproblems."

The women's studies program wasintroduced at Simon Fraser in the early1970s. Over the years its popularity hasgrown to the point where the universitynow offers an undergraduate minor and amaster's degree in the discipline.

SFU introduced the women's studies chaira year ago following receipt of the $500,000federal grant. The university then appointedpsychiatrist Dr. Susan Penfold to the chairfor 1985-86. Dr. Penfold is widely known forher work in the treatment of depression inwomen and the overuse of psychotropicdrugs.

Other research projects conducted byfaculty members in women's studies includethe study of women and technology,legislation pertinent to women and therelationsrup of family and state in 20thcentury Canada.

Woodward chair benefactors Mary TwiggWhite and Elizabeth Russ

business affairs. She served as a directorand vice-president of Woodward Stores Ltd.and as president of Elmswood Ltd. She alsobought and ran Woodwynn Farm atSaanichton on Vancouver Island where sheraised show and commercial herds ofAberdeen Angus cattle.

"Women and their accomplishments havebeen neglected too long," says Mrs. Whitein explaining her decision to support, alongwith her sister, the women's studiesprogram at Simon Fraser. "The study ofwomen's issues and concerns is longoverdue."

Mrs. Russ cites similar reasons. "There area lot of women out there who need help,"she says. "I like the fact that the Simon

Women's Studies Endowment:

Chair Nanted forRuth Wynn WOOdlVard

,..,...,,.........--..-------..,,.......---,Simon Fraser University is to name the onlyendowed chair in women's studies west ofManitoba after a B.C. pioneer whose rolesranged from cattle rancher andbusinesswoman to chatelaine andcommunity worker.

The university's board of governors onTuesday approved naming the chair afterRuth Wynn Woodward. The chair willpromote, through research, teaching andoutreach programs, a better understandingof the contributions and accomplishments ofwomen.

Mrs. Woodward's daughters - Mrs.Elizabeth Russ and Mrs. Mary Twigg White- are donating $400,000 to help endow thechair. Combined with a $500,000 grant madeone year ago by the federal secretary ofstate, the chair's funding is now only$75,000 short of the $1 million necessary tocomplete the endowment. A volunteercommittee of women has raised anadditional $25,000 in private donations andis continuing its efforts to secure theremaining funds.

Simon Fraser University will invest the $1­million endowment and use its revenues inperpetuity to fund the placement ofdistinguished scholars from around theworld in successive one-year appointments.

Dr. Margaret Benston, coordinator ofwomen's studies at Simon Fraser, says:"Ruth Wynn Woodward was one of BritishColumbia's outstanding pioneer women.Through a lifetime of public service andpersonal accomplishment Mrs. Woodwarddemonstrated the importance of the work ofwomen to Canadian society."

Ruth Wynn Woodward was born inVancouver in 1897 and died in 1972 at age75. A self-described "rancher's daughter,"she was raised on a ranch at Alkali Lake,near Williams Lake in the Cariboo region ofB.C.

As a teenager, she was sent to Paris tolearn French. With the outbreak of the FirstWorld War, she left France and worked inhospitals and canteens in England andIreland.

At age 21 she returned to the Alkali Lakeranch of her grandparents and within a fewyears married William Culham Woodward."son of the founder of Woodward Stores Ltd.They moved to Vancouver and had twodaughters and a son, Charles.

From 1941 to '46 Mrs. Woodward waschatelaine of Government House in Victoriawhile her husband served as lieutenantgovernor.

Extremely active, Mrs. Woodward devotedenormous time and energy to importantcommunity resource groups such as the RedCross, St. John's Ambulance, CommunityChest (United Way), 4-H, and Girl Guides.

She also helped to found the VancouverGeneral Hospital Women's Auxiliary andwas a member of the Junior League ofVancouver at its inception in 1931.

Mrs. Woodward often used as a motto theexpression: "It is the greatest of all mistakesto do nothing. Because you can only do alittle, do what you can."

After her husband's death in 1957, Mrs.Woodward became more involved in family