Working Women Unite was formed to create links between working women and the women's movement. The group focused on issues of women and work, and sought to create a relationship with trade unions that would further the position of women in the work force. Specifically, Working Women Unite sought to encourage the formation of women's committees within local unions, discuss strategies on how to organize in a non-union job, articulate feminist demands for working women to take to their unions when negotiating new contracts, and to recognize the value of all women's work regardless of whether it was paid or unpaid. The group also held conferences, workshops, and seminars on issues such as unpaid work, immigrant female workers, women in unions, women working in the home, equal pay for equal work, and the effects of video display terminals in the workplace.

Working Women Unite emerged from the British Columbia Federation of Women (BCFW) during its convention in 1977. During this convention the lack of representation for working women within the BCFW was addressed by a group of women, primarily members of the Service, Office, and Retail Workers Union of Canada (SORWUC), who met and formulated resolutions that were passed at the convention. It was not until 1978 that the group gained momentum with a broader base of support. Women from unions such as the British Columbia Government Employees Union (BCGEU), Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW), Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU), SORWUC, Letter Carriers Union of Canada (LCUC), and Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), along with non-unionized women, and women in the home, became involved with the group. Structurally, Working Women Unite remained within the BCFW, a federation of women's groups in British Columbia working toward liberation of women through fundamental social change.

In 1972, there was increasing awareness within the Vancouver women's movement that a number of feminist periodicals and books published by small women's presses were unavailable in Vancouver. The Vancouver Women's Bookstore, which evolved from A Women's Place, opened on July 16, 1973 to address this need. The bookstore would make available women's movement literature such as underground papers, literary magazines, pamphlets, and books that portrayed women as intelligent, strong, equal, and creative human beings. The bookstore was also seen as important to help facilitate communication between Canadian women and the larger women's movement in North America, and between Vancouver women and women in outlying areas. In addition, the bookstore also functioned as a centre where women could meet to read, discuss issues, and plan rallies, marches and demonstrations.

The Vancouver Women's Bookstore Collective operated the store as a non-profit enterprise, with members of the collective staffing the bookstore as unpaid volunteers. Members of the collective also reviewed each title before it was made available to the public to ensure that it fit in with the goals of the women's movement and feminist ideology. Finances not channeled back to the store were used to support various women's movement ventures through donations. One method of support consisted of shipping books to women's groups outside Vancouver. In exchange for selling the books at meetings and conferences, the women's groups would retain a small commission to help fund their activities. Members of the Collective also accumulated material to document the 'herstory' of the women's movement in Vancouver, and North America.

On October 14, 1980, an arsonist's fire destroyed the Women's Bookstore that had been located at 804 Richards Street since it opened in 1973. The bookstore reopened at 322 West Hastings Street in January 1981. In 1983, the Women's Bookstore relocated again to 315 Cambie Street. Changes in the operating structure occurred in 1992, when the collective, non-profit organization shifted to a worker-owned cooperative. In June 1996, the Women's Bookstore closed its doors for the last time. Finding it harder to survive, the cooperative decided to shut the store while it could still meet its financial obligations. After suppliers were paid, stock was donated to the SFU Women's Centre, and the Gay and Lesbian Library. In addition, leftover funds (about $1,000) were donated to the Downtown Eastside Women's Centre.

Lolita Wilson came to Simon Fraser University in August 1965 as Dean of Women and Associate Professor of Psychology. She subsequently served in a number of positions at the University including Acting Registrar, Dean of Student Affairs, and Assistant to the Vice-President, Academic. She retired from SFU in 1978.

James W. Wilson was a Professor of Geography at SFU, who had served as the first executive director of the Lower Mainland Regional Planning Board and a relocation planner for the Columbia River Power Project in B.C.

West Coast Review was a magazine of the arts published by the West Coast Review Society with the support of SFU. Established in 1966 by Fred Candelaria, a professor of English, the magazine published music, drama, fiction, poetry, photography, drawings and etchings as well as articles as reviews. The magazine had a policy of promoting new Canadian talent. In addition to financial assistance from the University, the journal received funding at various times from private and governmental agencies, the Simon Fraser Student Society, advertising, and subscriptions.

West Coast Review was initially published three times a year until 1969 when it became a quarterly journal. It periodically devoted special issues to a particular genre or theme such as West Coast Photographers.

In 1990, West Coast Review was succeeded by West Coast Line.

Frances Wasserlein is a feminist, historian and social activist. Her research and social activism has focused on issues surrounding women's liberation. She completed a Master of Arts degree in history at Simon Fraser University in 1990. Her thesis, "An Arrow Aimed at the Heart": the Vancouver Women's Caucus and the Abortion Campaign, 1969-1971, investigated the history of the Vancouver Women's Caucus (VWC) and their organizing work for the Abortion Caravan from Vancouver to Ottawa in 1970.

Wasserlein was raised in Vancouver. She graduated from the University Program at Little Flower Academy in 1964. Wasserlein acknowledges becoming a feminist in 1976. At the time she was working as a secretary at the University of British Columbia (UBC). Her involvement with the union, and a summer job working at Vancouver Rape Relief contributed to an interest in social justice and social change. In April 1977 she left her job at UBC and began full time undergraduate studies at that university. She completed a BA (honors) in history in 1980.

During the summer of 1979 Wasserlein worked as a researcher for the Women's Office at UBC on a project related to the early contributions of women to the establishment of UBC and the role women played in student activism at the university. In 1979 and 1980 she worked with a small group of women to begin Battered Women's Support Services, providing self-help groups for women who were seeking an end to the violence that had driven them and their children from their homes.

After receiving her BA from UBC, Wasserlein worked for the YMCA as a co-manager of Munro House for eighteen months. Following that, she worked as a researcher and writer with the Women's Research Centre, working on studies related to the institutionalization of women's services. She supplemented her income by doing bookkeeping for various arts and non-profit organizations. Wasserlein worked on founding Women Against Violence Against Women (WAVAW) in 1982. She was also involved in the work of Women Against the Budget in 1983, a political group opposed to the legislation tabled by the Social Credit government following their victory in the 1983 provincial election.

Her interest in the source of conflict between and among individual women activists, and between and among women's organizations, motivated her to seek out the source of these conflicts by examining the history of women's movements in Canada. In 1982, she applied for a Canada Council grant for a women's history project she wished to undertake. The grant application was turned down. In 1985 she enrolled in a Master of Arts degree program in history at Simon Fraser University. After completing her MA, Wasserlein taught women's studies at Langara College in Vancouver, BC until 1997. She has also worked as a sessional instructor at SFU. As of 2002, she was employed as the executive producer of the Vancouver Folk Music Festival.

Susan Walsh received a Master's degree from SFU in 1984 for her thesis entitled "Equality, Emancipation and a More Just World: Leading Women in the British Columbia Cooperative Commonwealth Federation." In the abstract to her thesis, Walsh writes, "In the wake of suffrage victories, many early twentieth century Canadian women worked hard to make that equality meaningful and to extend it to all areas of women's lives. For those who predicted great changes, however, too few took their hard-earned rights further than the polling station. Most expressed their concerns and goals within the more familiar world of women's organizations. Helena Gutteridge, Laura Jamieson, Dorothy Steeves and Grace MacInnis were among the notable exceptions. While maintaining important ties with women's groups, they sought and won public office, pioneering important paths for generations of Canadian women to follow. These political trail blazers stand out for another important reason. They chose to establish their careers and test their political rights in a socialist party -- the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation -- pledged to sexual emancipation and equal opportunities for women. They were, in short, dual rebels -- as feminists and socialists -- in a sex and class-ordered world."

The Vancouver Women in Trades Association (VWITA) was formed in 1979 and incorporated under the British Columbia Societies Act in 1983. It became inactive in 1987. The organization functioned as an advocacy and support group for women working in, or seeking to work in trades and technology. It sought to facilitate contact among tradeswomen, improve their working conditions, promote greater representation of women in skilled, blue-collar occupations, and further women's access to trades education and training. In pursuing these goals, the Association frequently acted in liaison with other groups, government agencies, unions, businesses and educational institutions. The group also maintained links with other Women in Trades Associations across Canada, including the Women in Trades Kootenay Council. Membership in VWITA generally ranged between forty and fifty women. Annual general meetings and regular monthly meetings were forums for collective decision making, while a number of elected standing committees and coordinators initially carried out on-going business. In 1983 one paid staff position was created (Office Administrator) and in 1985 staff was expanded to three (Office Coordinator, Research Coordinator and Liaison Coordinator). These positions were primarily funded through government grants. Prior to the Association's incorporation in 1983, it was also known as the B.C. Women in Trades and the Women in Trades Association of B.C. Officers of the organizations included Joan Blair, Judy Doll, Alison Stewart, Carolyn Sawyer, Kate Braid, Suzanne Gerard, and Lynn Ryan.

The TeleLearning Network of Centres of Excellence (TL-NCE) was established in 1995 when the federal government's Networks of Centres of Excellence (NCE) program awarded a grant to create a network of researchers from Canadian universities, focusing on the development and application of networked technologies in education and training. TeleLearning established a management office to administer its affairs, and on April 7 1997 the office incorporated under the Corporations Act as TeleLearning Network Inc. (TN Inc.), a not-for-profit corporation. Ostensibly two separate bodies, each with its own Board of Directors, in practice TL-NCE and TN Inc. were not distinct: Board members were identical for both and the same Board session dealt with the affairs of both. TL-NCE was the "research face" and TN Inc. the "legal-administrative face" of the same organization. TeleLearning's renewal application in 2001 for a second round of NCE funding was unsuccessful. The decision was made to close out the Network, and on September 30, 2002 the corporation was officially dissolved.

TeleLearning's mandate was to research, develop and demonstrate effective knowledge-building pedagogies, implemented through telelearning; to support the development of a knowledge economy and learning society in Canada; and to transfer the resulting knowledge into Canadian organizations, institutions of learning and Canadian companies for worldwide exploitation. Its main functions were to organize further research and distribute funding to individual projects through seven distinct research themes; publicize research results through publications, reports, and conferences; promote cooperation among private, public and university sectors; and encourage the development of commercial applications and technologies through the formation of spin-off companies.

TeleLearning was primarily funded by the federal government through the NCE programs of the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), and Industry Canada. Additional funding was obtained through TeleLearning membership fees from participating public and private-sector organizations, including international affiliates. The chief officers of the Network were the Network Leader, Network Co-Leader, and the Executive Director. The Board of Directors was responsible for the overall management and direction of the Network, with certain powers delegated to an appointed Executive Committee. Other committees advised the Board, including the Program Committee and the Knowledge and Technology Transfer Committee. Relations between the Network and member organizations was regulated by the Network Internal Agreement.

TeleLearning's management office operated out of Simon Fraser University, which served as the Network's host institution. The main functions of the management office were disbursement of funds, NCE reporting, communications, member liaison, assistance with funding proposals, and conference organization. As host institution, SFU provided TeleLearning with office space, facilities, and some administrative services (e.g. payroll and finances).

The TeleLearning Network was originally built around four "beacon technologies": Collaboration Architecture and Design Resources for Telelearning (CadreTel), Computer Supported Intentional Learning Environment (CSILE), Teleform, and Virtual-University (Virtual-U). Over 240 public- and private-sector organizations participated in its projects, including over 130 faculty from 30 Canadian universities. The Network supported the growth of the online learning industry with the development of more than 45 software prototypes. Its spin-off companies included TELEStraining Inc., ClearMed Medical Knowledge Inc., Math Resources Inc., Nomino Inc., InVentures Incubator Inc., Cogigraph, the Portal for Online Objects in Learning (POOL), and TeleLearning Solutions Inc.

The Teaching Support Staff Union is the representative bargaining agent for Teaching Assistants, Tutor Markers, Language Instructors and Sessional Instructors at Simon Fraser University. The union negotiates terms and conditions of work, rates of pay, benefits and grievance procedures in a Collective Agreement with the University.

In 1971 graduate students organized the Graduate Student Union, an association that worked to improve teaching and research conditions. The GSU was inactive after 1974 but the discussion it had initiated regarding unionization continued until 1976 when twelve graduate students held a union organizational meeting in September of that year. They proposed affiliation with the Association of University and College Employees (AUCE) rather than the Canadian Union of Public Employees or the University of Toronto based Graduate Assistants' Association. The Teaching Support Staff Union, as it would be named, favored AUCE because of its relative smallness, democratic structure, local autonomy, strong representation of women's employment rights, and the established presence at SFU, since 1974, of AUCE Local 2 for office, clerical and technical staff. Accordingly, the TSSU received its charter as AUCE Local 6 on September 10, 1976.

The TSSU took additional steps to establish themselves as a legal entity under the British Columbia Labour Code. By April 1978 the TSSU had signed over 50% of the bargaining unit into the union. It then applied to the Labour Relations Board for a certification vote to make the TSSU the representative body for the bargaining unit. Before the vote could be held, however, the LRB conducted a hearing to define the membership of the bargaining unit, which had been disputed by the University. Following an LRB ruling in TSSU's favor, the certification vote was finally held in November 1978. The vote was positive despite an effort by some Language Assistants to have the LRB exclude them from the bargaining unit and the vote. The LRB certified the union on December 13, 1978.

In January 1979 the union began bargaining with the University for a first collective agreement. The TSSU and the University administration negotiated each article individually and resolved impasses through mediation. During negotiations, the TSSU successfully complained to the LRB that the University had violated Section 51 of the Labour Code by withholding an annual pay increase. The first Collective Agreement was signed by both sides on July 1, 1980, and has been renegotiated from time to time.

TSSU supported its sister local, AUCE 2, during the latter's strike in 1979. In 1983 and 1984, TSSU joined other campus unions in Operation Solidarity, a province-wide organization opposed to Premier Bennett's Social Credit restraint legislation.

TSSU remained as the last independent local of AUCE until the latter's dissolution in the early 1990s. Still functioning as an independent union, TSSU operates under a constitution and bylaws as a membership-driven organization. Union policy, bargaining positions, and the election of union officers and salaried officers are decided by the membership through meetings, mail-in ballots, and referenda. Departmental stewards serve as immediate contacts for TSSU members. In addition, a number of standing committees conduct on-going business and help direct the executive and general membership. Ad hoc committees have functioned from time to time.

Gillian Stainsby received her Master's Degree at SFU for her thesis, "It's the Smell of Money": Women Shoreworkers of British Columbia. For further biographical information, see Appendix A3, "Acknowledgements," photocopied from Stainsby's thesis (available in hard-copy finding aid only).

The Society of Canadian Women in Science and Technology (SCWIST) was founded in Vancouver BC in 1981 by six women: Mary Vickers, Hilda Ching, Abby Schwarz, Mary Jo Duncan, Diana Herbst, and Maggie Benston. SCWIST is a volunteer non-profit organization incorporated under the BC Societies Act; in 1984 it was registered as a charity under the federal Income Tax Act. It continues as an active organization.

SCWIST's mandate is to promote, support and empower women in the fields of science and technology. To this end, the Society works (i) to promote equal opportunities for women in scientific, technological and engineering careers; (ii) to improve social attitudes on the stereotyping of careers in science and educate the public about careers in science and technology; and (iii) to assist educators by providing current information on careers and career training, science and scientific policies. It realizes these goals through the organization of conferences and networking events, delivery of public educational outreach programs, production of resource material (videos, publications and handbooks), liaison with other organizations, and participation in granting, advocacy and advisory bodies.

From the six founders in 1981, membership in SCWIST grew rapidly to approximately 160 by 1984; subsequently, membership increased more slowly, reaching approximately 200 by 1993. The Annual General Meeting – held each spring and open to all members of the Society – votes on major decisions and elects the Executive Board of Directors. The Board is headed by the Society's president and meets regularly in Vancouver, while much of the on-going work of SCWIST is carried out by a number of standing and ad hoc committees appointed by the Board. Since 1992 SCWIST has maintained a permanent Resource Centre in Vancouver.

Major milestones in SCWIST history include the production of the Registry of Skilled Women, BC and Yukon (1983); the organization of the first National Conference on Women in Science and Technology (1983); the development of the following educational programs: Girls in Science (1984), Ms. Infinity (1990), and Project Tomorrow (1993); the establishment of the SCWIST scholarship (1986)--renamed the Maggie Benston Scholarship in 1991; the opening of a Resource Centre (1992); and the launching of the SCWIST web site (1997).

Dallas Walker Smythe (1907-1992) was an economist and civil servant for the United States government, and a university professor in the field of communications in the United States and Canada.

He was born in Regina, Saskatchewan in 1907 and moved to California with his family in 1918. Smythe attended the University of California, Berkeley, where he received an A.B. (Economics) in 1928 and a Ph.D. (Economics) in 1937. His career as an economist began in 1934, when, at the College of Agriculture at the University of California, Berkeley, he worked as an Extension Specialist in Agriculture preparing studies of economic outlooks for various California farm products.

He left Berkeley in 1937 for Washington, D.C. to become a civil servant with the federal government. He worked as an economist with the Central Statistical Board, specializing in the coordination and review of agricultural information from various government agencies. In 1938, he joined the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor as their senior economist. While at this Division, Smythe was responsible for preparing and presenting interpretive studies on the applicability of the Fair Labor Standards Act to a variety of industries, including textile mills, newspapers, railways, and lumber companies. Smythe left the Division in 1942 to become the principal economist, Division of Statistical Standards, Bureau of the Budget. He left that position in 1943 to join the Federal Communications Commission. As their chief economist, Smythe testified at FCC hearings and produced a number of statistical studies and reports on subjects such as radio frequency allocation and the public responsibilities of broadcasters. Throughout his career as a civil servant, Smythe belonged to pacifist or left-wing organizations, which later led to accusations of subversive conduct and disloyalty to the American government.

Smythe left the civil service in 1948 to join the faculty of the newly-formed Institute of Communications Research at the University of Illinois. In addition to lecturing on general economics, he taught the first course in the United States on the political economy of communications. The primary focus of his research was television, including its content, effects on family life, and portrayal of reality. He also studied the mass media and its influence on public opinion. With the development of satellite communication, he studied the effects of this new technology on international communications.

Partly because of his pacifist political beliefs, Smythe left the United States in 1963 to become the first Chairman of the Social Sciences Division at the Regina Campus of the University of Saskatchewan. When he reached the mandatory retirement age in 1973, he left Regina to serve as visiting professor of communications at the University of California, San Diego. He joined the faculty of Simon Fraser University in 1974, serving as the first chairman of the Department of Communications Studies. While Smythe continued to write on mass media, regulating the radio spectrum, and communications theory, he also produced Dependency Road: Communications, Capitalism, Consciousness and Canada, his study of the domination of Canadian communications by American influences and its effects on consciousness.

Smythe became professor emeritus at Simon Fraser University in 1980. Following a brief period at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he returned to teach at SFU until 1986. He accepted short-term appointments at Ohio State University and the University of Hawaii before retiring in 1988. He was working on his autobiography and a book about the theory of communications when he died in 1992.

Smythe married twice and had five children. He and his first wife Beatrice had three children: Sandra (born 1937), Susan (born 1938), and Roger (born 1943). Smythe later married Jennie Newsome Pitts, and the couple had two children: Patrick (born 1954), and Carol (born 1961).

The SFU Women's Centre was established in 1974 and continues as of this writing (2009) as an active organization. Funded by the Simon Fraser Student Society (SFSS) as a constituency group, the Women's Centre provides programming, space and volunteer opportunities to self-identified women on campus, and resource information and peer support to women and men.

The Women's Centre began in 1974 when a group of women students revived the SFU Women's Caucus (originally established in 1968) and obtained SFSS club status. It opened the Women's Centre that year in a small room in the Rotunda. In 1980 the Centre moved to the Academic Quadrangle, then in 1996 back to the Rotunda (TC3013), doubling its physical space to approximately 1400 square feet.

The Centre's organizational structure has evolved over time. The Women's Centre Steering Committee developed out of the Women's Caucus, but by 1977 it had merged with the Women's Centre Collective. The Collective consists of women students who volunteer a set number of hours per week to staff the Centre and remains the decision-making body of the Centre. In 1979-80, the Women's Centre Board was created to formulate policy, promote the Centre, liaise with the university community, locate funding sources, and work closely with the Collective, which continued to be responsible for day-to-day operations and activities. The Board included representatives from SFSS, the Women's Centre Collective, the Women's Studies Department, the Women's Studies Student Union, and female administrative and clerical university staff. By the mid-1980s the Board was meeting irregularly; it was discontinued in 1990, its functions transferred to a newly created part-time paid position of Coordinator, funded by and reporting to the SFSS.

The Women's Centre provides a number of services, including a women-only lounge open 24 hours a day, a resource office, peer support, library, kitchen facilities, study carrels, couches and a quiet play area for children in the lounge. Men can access the Centre's library materials, peer support, and referral information.

Since its establishment, the Centre has undertaken numerous activities and projects. In cooperation with other campus groups, the Centre promoted the creation of a Women's Studies Department, the institution of a university harassment policy and office, the improvement of campus childcare facilities, and the organization of International Women's Day events, December 6 vigils, and women's self-defense classes.

The Simon Fraser University Staff Association was established in 1966 by staff on campus who felt that conditions and salaries at the university were in need of improvement. An association, rather than a union, was formed as staff felt that freedom of action within the university was preferable at the time. By 1968 the Staff Association was an officially recognized body of the university, and was registered under the Societies Act. The aims of the Staff Association, as given in its 1968 constitution, were to unite staff under a single organization capable of acting on its behalf, to communicate with administration on matters affecting staff, to obtain and improve the best possible conditions of employment, to have representation on university committees, and to encourage the continued education of its members. In 1971, the constitution was changed to read:

The primary object of the Association is to serve the common interests of the non-academic employees of Simon Fraser University who are not members of trade unions in all matters concerning wages, salaries, benefits, and conditions of employment in such manner as to promote the fair treatment of all such employees individually and as compared in general to other persons and groups of persons similarly employed at Simon Fraser University and in other parts of the Greater Vancouver area.

Membership in the Association was voluntary, although all eligible staff were encouraged to join in order to give it stronger support for voicing the opinions and needs of its members.

By 1974, some members of the university staff expressed interest in union representation. A Committee to Investigate Alternatives was formed to explore the possibilities of union representation, although the Staff Association executive did not support this group. Concurrently, a number of unions attempted to organize staff on campus: the Canadian Union of Public Employees, the Office and Technical Employees Union, and the Association of University and College Employees all campaigned to represent staff at SFU. In response the Staff Association decided to seek certification through the Labour Relations Board. On November 19, 1974 an election was held to determine if staff at SFU wanted a union, and if so, which union they wanted to represent them (the Staff Association or the Association of University and College Employees). Staff voted to have AUCE as their representative, and, as a result, the Staff Association began winding up its affairs. By December 1974 it had moved out of its offices, gave their surplus equipment and stationary to AUCE, and turned their records over to the university archives.

The Simon Fraser University Women's Association was founded in 1965, and dissolved in 1977. The association met for the first time on March 16, 1965 under the name Simon Fraser University Women's Club. Its first objectives were to provide hospitality to new arrivals at the university, and to help with housing. Shortly afterwards the association expanded its purpose to be the encouragement of the best interests of Simon Fraser University and the general community. The management and administration of the association rested with the executive, consisting of a President, Vice-Presidents, Secretary, Treasurer, and the past President.

In 1966, the group changed its name to the Simon Fraser University Faculty Women's Association, and, in 1973, again changed its name to the Simon Fraser University Women's Association. Regular membership in the association was open to members and wives of the university's teaching or research staff, administrative staff officers, library staff, governing staff, and to other women connected to the university as approved by the association's executive.

Activities of the association included regular meetings, social activities such as outings and lectures, wine and cheese parties, and the organization of the annual Christmas party for the children of staff and faculty.

The Simon Fraser University Women's Association dissolved in 1977 due to declining membership and lack of interest in its activities.

The Simon Fraser University Faculty Association was incorporated under the British Columbia Societies Act on June 24, 1969, although it had been active on campus since the university opened in 1965. The Association is concerned with the economic benefits available to faculty including salary and fringe benefits; grievances; conditions of employment; procedural matters with respect to promotion, granting of tenure, dismissal and disciplinary actions; and other related areas. The Faculty Association also concerns itself with asserting the integrity of the academic profession, defending independence of thought, and encouraging the social and recreational association of its members.

On the Provincial level, the Association is a charter member of the Confederation of University Faculty Associations of British Columbia (CUFABC) and is a member of the governing council. Nationally, the Simon Fraser University Faculty Association is a member of the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT).

An Executive Council elected by the membership administers the Faculty Association. The Executive consists of the President, Vice President, and Directors. In 1969, there were six Directors, which increased to eight by 1998. See Appendix A8 for a list of Executive Committee members from 1965 to 1988. Over the years various standing and ad hoc committees have assisted the Executive Council. The most recent constitution (1998) provides for an Economic Benefits Committee and a Pension Committee.

Currently, the Faculty Association continues to advocate on behalf of its members, and acts as their representative in the faculty's relationship with the university.

The SFU Childcare Society presently operates eleven programs that are collectively known as the Children's Centre. The Children's Centre is an independent, legally incorporated non-profit society with registered charitable organization status. The Children's Centre provides full and part time care to approximately 240 children, ranging in age from 3 months to 12 years. Each program has its own physical space and is often referred to as a centre. A Board of Directors is composed of parent representatives, university representatives, childcare staff representatives and community representatives. The Executive Director is an ex-officio, non-voting member of the Board, hired through the University (with direction from the Society Board) to be the Coordinator for the Society and to act as a liaison between the Society and the University.

Daycare began at SFU in 1968 when a group of parents established the Simon Fraser Co-operative Family in a student lounge. By 1973, the Family Co-op had grown into the SFU Day Care Society with three units in different locations. By 1976, there were five licensed daycare centres all incorporated under the Burnaby Mountain Day Care Society.

In 1976 the University provided 1.2 million dollars to fund construction of a childcare complex, the first of its kind in Canada. The University also supported the appointment of a full-time director, Emily Campbell. For funding purposes, the Burnaby Mountain Day Care Society separated into five non-profit societies, which could each apply for grants. The five societies and their nine centres formed a loose federation, The Burnaby Association of University Child Care Societies, to set overall policy, coordinate activities, and exchange information. Centres remained autonomous in financing, staffing, and style of care.

In 1981 it became evident that current levels of University funding were in jeopardy. A Task Force was struck by the University to investigate the current organization of childcare on campus. Following recommendations of that Task Force, the five individual daycare societies were reorganized in 1982 into a single non-profit society, The SFU Childcare Society, which continues today.

The SFU Childcare Society is funded primarily through parent user fees and Board fund raising efforts. These monies are used for staff salaries and benefits, program related expenses, equipment purchase and upkeep, playgrounds, administrative costs and utilities.

A Licensing Agreement with the University provides for repairs and maintenance service for all the major building structures, comprehensive insurance, and the salary and benefits for the Executive Director and secretarial positions.

The Simon Fraser Teachers' Union held its organizational meeting and first general meeting on July 27, 1967. Its membership consisted of faculty members who felt that the Simon Fraser University Faculty Association (SFUFA) was not representing their interests. The SFTU remained active until 1968, when it integrated into the SFUFA after that body called for the resignation of SFU's president, Patrick Duncan McTaggart-Cowan.

The SFTU was formed, in part, as a reaction to perceived inadequacies with the SFUFA due to its close association with university administration. The SFTU was distinct from the SFUFA because it excluded from its membership the President, administrators, heads, librarians and teaching assistants. The SFTU was designed to deal solely with the problems of faculty members, and to advocate on their behalf

The Teachers' Union's stated aims were as follows:

to promote, establish, and maintain the highest academic standards among the members of the full-time teaching faculty at Simon Fraser University; to concern itself with the welfare of its membership specifically in the areas of academic freedom, tenure, promotions, dismissal and renewal procedures, and in general to adopt the methods of collective bargaining in furthering the vital interests of its membership; to ensure that the university adheres to democratic principles and procedures in the relations that are established between students, teaching assistants, faculty, administration, and all other members of the academic community; to provide ways and means of furthering the interests of faculty not available through other teacher associations (e.g. Faculty Association, CAUT), due to the limited effectiveness imposed upon such associations by their structure, and, by the exclusion of heads of departments and other administrative personnel, to minimize conflicts of interest that militate against the best interests of the faculty.

The Simon Fraser Teachers' Union executive, consisting of a president, vice-president, secretary, treasurer, corresponding secretary, and four directors managed the business of the union. The STU was the first union of university professors in Canada, although it did not receive certification under the existing labour code.

The Simon Fraser University Society (SFUSS) was established on October 5, 1965. "University" was later dropped and it is now known as the Simon Fraser Student Society (SFSS). The SFSS still maintains its original constitutional objectives: "to promote, direct, administer, coordinate all student activities of, by and for the students of Simon Fraser University, and to promote cooperation amongst the students of Simon Fraser University and cooperation between the members of the Society and students within the Province and elsewhere." Its mandate has come to include advocating for students rights and providing services to graduate and undergraduate members. These include advocacy services, such as Legal Aid and Women's Centre, and retail services, such as Quad Books, the Print Shop and the Pub.

In its first year, the Society organized social events, co-sponsored Vietnam teach-ins, started a co-op bookstore, and protested against the poor quality food offered on campus. In the 1970s, the Society organized against tuition fee increases, lobbied for improved on-campus housing, started a women's centre, and opened a student-run pub. The 1980s saw the development of plans for a student union building and a continuation in the struggle for affordable education. In the 1990s the Society has constructed the Maggie Benston Centre, expanded its services and continues to advocate on behalf of students for accessible, affordable education.

The Executive Council originally consisted of 14 elected officers: President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Ombudsman, Clubs Director, Public Relations Officer, Arts, Science and Education Presidents, Athletics Coordinator, Social Convenor, Cultural Director, and Housing coordinator. This remained until 1977 when changes to constitutional by laws established five at large positions: President, Treasurer, External and Internal Relations Officers, Secretary, and Public Relations Officer and the Ombuds Office. Currently, six elected Executive officers and 36 Student Union representatives elected by students from each academic department sit on the Forum, the student representative body responsible for all major Student Society decisions. The Departmental Student Unions and Standing Committees supply information and recommendations to the Forum. Student Society Standing Committees deal with every aspect of the Society's operations.

Gordon Merritt Shrum (1896-1985) was a scientist, teacher, administrator, and the first Chancellor of Simon Fraser University.

He was born in Smithville, Ontario in 1896. He entered the University of Toronto in 1913 with the intention of becoming a teacher. He joined the Canadian Officers' Training Corps in 1915 and joined the army the following year. After serving in France and receiving the Military Medal, he returned to finish his university studies. He received his BA in 1919, MA in 1921 and PhD in 1923 in physics. His notable achievements included liquefying helium in 1923 and discovering the origin of the auroral green line in the Northern Lights in 1925.

Later that year he left Toronto to become professor of physics at the University of British Columbia. Over the next 36 years, he served that institution as an academic and administrator.

During his time at UBC, Shrum became a colonel in the COTC, and received the Order of the British Empire during World War II. He was also appointed a director of the BC Research Council in 1944. In 1958, he served as chairman of a royal commission investigating the BC Power Commission. This led to his appointment as Chair of the BC Energy Board in 1959.

In 1961, Shrum had to leave UBC because he had reached the compulsory retirement age of 65. He was immediately appointed head of BC Electric (later BC Hydro) by Premier W. A. C. Bennett. In that capacity he was responsible for the Peace River hydro project.

Bennett also selected Shrum to create the new university recommended by the Macdonald Report of 1963. Shrum built Simon Fraser University, as it would be named, in 18 months earning it the title of "the Instant University." Shrum served as SFU's first chancellor until June 1969 and continued to head BC Hydro until 1972. In May 1975 he became director of the Vancouver Museum and Planetarium Association and reorganized the museum-planetarium complex at Vanier Park.

Now in his eighties, Shrum was approached by Premier Bill Bennett to take charge of the financially-troubled Robson Square Courthouse project. He successfully completed the project and was next asked to develop a trade and convention centre for Vancouver. He stepped down from this project when the federal government took over construction. Gordon Shrum died at the age of 89 in 1985.

Hari Prakash Sharma (1934-2010) was a sociologist and Marxist scholar who came from the United States, politicized by the anti-war movement and inspired by the politically charged atmosphere at Simon Fraser University in 1968. He joined the Department of Political Science, Sociology, and Anthropology in that year and taught until his retirement in 1999 when he was honoured by the university as Professor Emeritus.

He was born on November 9, 1934 (although some records indicate January 10, 1934 as his date of birth) at Dadri in Uttar Pradesh, India, the second of eight children born to Kundun Lal Sharma and Moharli Devi Sharma. His father was a railway stationmaster, and the family moved frequently.

Sharma earned his BA from Agra University in 1954. After a five-year stint as Lower Division Clerk and Typist for the Government of India in the Central Excise and Customs Department, he earned an MA in Social Work from Delhi University in 1960. He then accepted a post as Lecturer at the Delhi School of Social Work, where he remained for three years. In 1963, Sharma moved to the US to further his education. He received an MS in Social Work from Case Western Reserve University in 1964 and a PhD in Rural Sociology from Cornell University in 1968. He taught briefly at the University of California, Los Angeles before accepting a position at SFU.

As a faculty member of SFU, Sharma became a champion of the academic rights of colleagues who faced the threat of dismissal for their support of student-led movements to democratize the university. Notably, he supported fellow colleague and friend Kathleen Gough, a British anthropologist with Marxist leanings who was suspended for her political activities. Gough and Sharma co-edited "Imperialism and Revolution in South Asia," which was published in the Monthly Review, an independent socialist journal, in 1974.

His research areas of special interest included political economy and agrarian social structures, particularly in India; social movements, political mobilization, ethnic and cultural identities; race and class; and nation-building among the aboriginal people of British Columbia. He wrote extensively on those topics and provided guest lectures at over 50 universities and scholarly institutions in Asia, Europe, and North America.

In the spring of 1967, the Naxalbari peasant uprising inspired him to travel to India and several other Asian countries. Upon his return, he became committed to political activism from an anti-imperialist perspective. During 1971-72, Sharma was a founding member of and contributor to the Georgia Straight Collective, which produced a publication for radical and alternative views. In 1973, he went to Amnesty International in London and the Commission of Jurists in Geneva and made a written representation to the UN Human Rights Commission in an effort to publicize the condition of more than 30,000 political prisoners in Indian jails. In 1974, Sharma and his comrade Gautam Appa of the London School of Economics organized a petition of international scholars to protest the treatment of political prisoners in India, which he handed to the Indian Consulate in Vancouver, BC on August 15 of the same year.

On a return trip from India in early 1975, Hari Sharma began to travel across North American campuses giving talks and mobilizing people toward the formation of a patriotic organization of Indians living in North America. This effort contributed to the founding of the Indian People's Association in North America (IPANA) on June 25, 1975, the same day on which Indira Gandhi declared a State of Emergency in India. The opposition to what was identified as a "fascist dictatorship" became the urgent task of IPANA along with the defense of the thousands of political prisoners.

IPANA established chapters in several North American cities, with its most active chapters in Montréal, Vancouver, New York, Toronto, and Boston. It had links with patriotic organizations in San Francisco, Chicago, Winnipeg, and Edmonton. In their effort to oppose imperialism and to promote democratic rights and social justice in India, IPANA produced three publications: the quarterly New India Bulletin, which came out of Montréal from 1975; India Now, a monthly that was produced in New York from 1976; and Wangar, a Punjabi paper that was produced from Vancouver every two months from 1977. In addition to its publications, IPANA held numerous public meetings, demonstrations, lectures, films, and cultural programs to highlight the systemic oppression of dalits, peasants, and workers that mocked any concept of democracy and freedom put forth by the existing Government of India. One of IPANA’s first public interventions in North America was to sponsor a speaking tour by Mary Tyler, a British writer who had been held in an Indian prison for several years without any formal charge for alleged revolutionary activities in Bihar.

Under Sharma's leadership, IPANA also supported the struggles of minorities and workers in BC. He was a primary force in the founding of the British Columbia Organization to Fight Racism (BCOFR). Through the 1980s, IPANA and BCOFR engaged thousands of people from several communities. Both Sharma and IPANA also helped form the Canadian Farmworkers Union in 1980.

In the 1980s, Sharma focused much of his research and writing on the condition of minorities in India, which came to a crisis with the attack on the Golden Temple and the massacre of Sikhs in Delhi in 1984 following the assassination of Indira Gandhi. He defended the human rights of Sikhs and of Muslims who became the primary targets of the Hindutva movements advocating Hindu nationalism. In 1987, Sharma organized a parallel conference on the centralization of state power and the threat to minorities in India to coincide with the Commonwealth Conference in Vancouver.

In 1989, Sharma united groups of the South Asian community to form the Komagata Maru Historical Society. The event commemorated the 75th anniversary of the Komagata Maru incident in which Indian immigrants traveling to Canada on a chartered ship were turned away from the shores of Vancouver by racist policies of the government. The society united the community, and as a result of its activities, the government installed a commemorative plaque in Vancouver in 1989. In 2004, during a screening of the film Continuous Journey (a documentary on the episode by the Toronto filmmaker Ali Kazimi), Mayor of Vancouver Larry Campbell sent a scroll to Sharma on behalf of the Komagata Historical Society declaring the week to be dedicated to the memory of Komagata Maru.

Following the attack on the Babri Masjid mosque in December 1992, Hari Sharma became the prime mover in the formation of a North American organization dedicated to the defence of minority rights in India, also known as Non-Resident Indians for Secularism and Democracy (NRISAD). This organization united people of Indian origin collectively through educational and cultural activities. One of its significant events in Vancouver included the celebration of the 50th anniversary of India's independence from colonial rule. The event united people across the South Asian community to focus on issues that included the urgency for peace between Pakistan and India. In September 1999, Sharma travelled to Montréal to join the founding of the International South Asia Forum (INSAF), a coalition of individuals and organizations dedicated to the promotion of peace and social justice in South Asia. He became its first President and organized the Second Conference in Vancouver in August 2001.

Over time, NRISAD recognized a need to widen the focus of the organization to include the whole of South Asia because its membership in Vancouver comprised people from the entire subcontinent of India and the diaspora in East Africa and other countries. Under Sharma's leadership, NRISAD evolved into the South Asian Network for Secularism and Democracy (SANSAD) in 2000. It pursued the same quest as its predecessors for peace and democracy based secularism, human rights, and social justice. Some activities included condemning the massacre of Muslims in Gujarat in 2002 (for which Sharma was denied a visa to visit India), championing the human rights of Kashmiris, condemning violence against journalists and academics in Bangladesh, supporting the movement for democracy and social justice in Nepal, and defending the human rights of Tamils under the attack of the Sri Lankan state.

Throughout the years, Hari Sharma developed close ties and contacts with various political groups and communities. He worked with the First Nations in the Interior of BC, and as co-chair (along with Dr. Ronald Ignace, the elected Chief of the Skeetchestn Band from 1982 to 2003 and between 2007 and 2009), he helped to promote and to defend the merit of the SFU Kamloops First Nations program (then the SCES/SFU Program). In addition to his regular workload at SFU, Sharma taught courses such as Violence and War, Marxist Theory, and Third World issues on different occasions in Kamloops. Although the 16-year partnership between SFU and the Secwepemc Cultural Education Society of the Shuswap Nation (SCES) was dissolved by mutual agreement in 2004, over 400 students graduated from the program.

In addition to his academic work and political activism, Hari Sharma was an accomplished literary writer and self-taught photographer. He wrote and published short stories in Hindi. Many of his works also were also translated into Bengali, Punjabi, and English. Vapsi, one of his stories, was made into a Doordarshan (Indian public service broadcaster) film. Sharma attributed his interest in photography to a Japanese camera that had been "gifted" to him as a bribe by an importer while pushing files as a government worker. The camera became something that Sharma frequently took with him on trips to India to capture snippets of everyday life. Over the years, his photographs were published in academic journals and art magazines. His works were also publicly displayed in galleries in North America, Europe, and India.

After more than 50 years of political activity, Hari Sharma developed contacts and friendships with many who supported revolutionary movements. He married twice.

After a prolonged battle with cancer, Hari Sharma died in his Burnaby home surrounded by his closest comrades on March 16, 2010.

Gerry Scott received a Master's degree from SFU in 1991 for his thesis entitled Beyond Equality: British Columbia New Democrats and Native Peoples, 1961-1979. In the preface to his thesis, Scott writes, "My interest in the evolution of the political relationships between British Columbia New Democrats and the aboriginal peoples of the province was first aroused in 1974. At that time I was working as a researcher for the government caucus and I undertook preparation of background papers on aboriginal land claims for the consideration of caucus members. In the 1970s and 1980s I continued to be involved in many of the issues under examination in this thesis through my work as Executive Assistant to Skeena MP Jim Fulton and as Provincial Secretary of the NDP during the years of Bob Skelly's leadership."

Dennis Roberts was hired in August 1966 as SFU's first full-time Information Officer. In 1972, the Information Office became the University News Service, and Roberts served as its first director. He remained in this position until 1982, when he retired from the University. In addition to his regular duties, Dennis Roberts was in charge of the SFU Pipe and Drum Band for eight years. He was also well-known at SFU as a cartoonist and produced a series of cartoons for Christmas and other events that gently poked fun at various members of the SFU community.

Klaus Ekkehard Rieckhoff is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Physics at Simon Fraser University (SFU). He helped shape the department and the university through his active involvement in the governance of SFU, through his contributions to science and his devotion to teaching, as well as his involvement in the larger community.

Born in Weimar, Germany, Rieckhoff experienced life under both the Nazi and Communist regimes before escaping from the Soviet-occupied zone in 1947. Shortly after, he left for the western zones where he worked in various factories in Munich until he was accepted at the University of Karlsruhe where he studied mathematics and physics (1947-1949). He was accepted for one of 40 places in physics and mathematics from a pool of 400 applicants after an entrance examination administered to 160 of the applicants. In 1949, he left the university while continuing to work as a clerk in the actuarial department of a life insurance company (1948-1951). In December 1949, he married Marianne Neder with whom he has three children, Bernhard Andreas, Claudia Angela, and Cornelia Andrea.

Rieckhoff immigrated to Canada in 1952. Upon his arrival to Vancouver, B.C., he held various jobs as a dock worker (1952), sawmill worker (1953), and television technician (1953-1957) before earning his B.Sc., M.Sc., and Ph.D at the University of British Columbia.

In 1965, Rieckhoff joined SFU as a charter faculty member and immersed himself in its life. He is regarded as a vital force in the Department of Physics, a department he helped to create and nurture. From 1966-1967, he was Acting Dean of Science, and from 1972-1976, he was Associate Dean of Graduate Studies. He has authored and co-authored more than 60 papers in the areas of spectroscopy and chemical physics, earning international recognition for his work. From 1976-1977, he worked at the IBM Research Lab in San Jose, California as Visiting Scientist. In 1987, he was a Visiting Professor at the universities of Puerto Rico (Mayaguez, U.S.A.), Queensland (Brisbane, Australia), and Bayreuth (Germany).

Rieckhoff's passion for critical inquiry is reflected in his multiple appointments, participation, and election to a number of faculty, departmental, and university committees. As a founding member of Senate, he supported the inclusion of undergraduate representation. He served on the Senate for 17 years and on the Board of Governors for 11 years, earning him the distinction of being one of the longest-serving members on both bodies. In recognition of his contributions to the governance and administration of SFU, the university named the Senate Chamber in his honour in 1982. Although the space has been renovated, a plaque remains in place. In 1998, SFU awarded him a Doctor of Laws, honoris causa.

Heather Raven was an active member of the Association of University and College Employees, Local #2 until her promotion to the management position of Labour Relations analyst in the Personnel Department at Simon Fraser University. She acted as the Provincial Representative for AUCE #2, (the Simon Fraser University local) from 1974 to 1976, as Secretary to the Contract Committee from 1976 to 1977, and as one of four union representatives who represented AUCE before the Labour Relations Board in the matter of SFU's appeal of a British Columbia Labour Relations Board decision under Section 34 of the BC Labour Code and two union applications under Sections 34 and 96-1 of the Labour Code.

Press Gang Publishers was a feminist printing press publishing quality trade paperback books—fiction, non-fiction, poetry and art—primarily by Canadian women authors and artists. Their non-fiction books addressed such social issues as the treatment of women by the mental health system, recovery from childhood sexual abuse, lesbian identity, homophobia and censorship, and women in conflict with the criminal justice system. Press Gang authors won numerous awards for their work.

Press Gang Publishers evolved from a feminist printing and publishing collective of the same name. The original Press Gang was a small collective of men and women who incorporated under British Columbia's Companies Act as Press Gang Publishers Ltd. in April 1970. By 1974, the collective had become a women-only, feminist and anti-capitalist printshop, with paid and volunteer workers.

Press Gang published its first book under its own imprint in 1976, a collection of essays entitled "Women Look at Psychiatry." Over the years, printing and publishing activities increasingly diverged, and in 1982 Press Gang established a separate collective to manage the publishing operations. In 1989 the separation was completed when the two collectives formally became distinct legal and corporate entities, Press Gang Printers Ltd. and Press Gang Publishers Feminist Cooperative. The two organizations, however, remained closely associated. In 1993 Press Gang Printers ceased to exist due to economic pressues in the printing trade and on their clientele (grassroots, community organizations).

Full-time staff members of Press Gang Publishers included managing editor Barbara Kuhne; financial manager Della McCreary; and art director/production manager Val Speidel. Paula Clancy and Nancy Pollak also served on the Press Gang Board.

Because of changes in the book publishing industry and the book selling marketplace, smaller publishers such as Press Gang faced difficult times. In 2000, Press Gang formed an alliance with Polestar Publishers of Victoria and issued a joint catalogue. Shortly thereafter, Polestar was purchased by Raincoast Books. In 2002, Press Gang Publishers declared bankruptcy after thirty years as a major independent feminist publisher. Some of their titles are still distributed by Raincoast Books and by Lazara Press.