Profs, Coach Make Headlines
January 05, 2009 - In the News
An article in today's Globe and Mail features retired U of G English Prof. Mary Rubio. The story highlights Rubio's work, especially her experiences researching and writing her latest book, Lucy Maud Montgomery: The Gift of Wings.
The Gift of Wings is an intimate narrative that covers Montgomery's childhood in Prince Edward Island, her adolescence, her legal fights as a world-famous author and difficulties with marriage, motherhood and her celebrity. Montgomery published 22 books of fiction during her lifetime and kept extensive journals from the time she was 14.
Rubio spent more than two decades doing research for the book, including extensive interviews with people who knew the literary icon best, including her son, friends, maids and relatives. She also travelled to Poland and Scotland collecting information.
The Gift of Wings has been shortlisted for the 2009 British Columbia National Award for Canadian Non-Fiction, Canada's largest literary non-fiction award.
One of the pre-eminent Montgomery experts in the world, Rubio was asked by Montgomery's son, Stuart Macdonald, to edit his mother's personal journals. She and retired English professor Elizabeth Waterston edited and published five volumes of The Selected Journals of L.M. Montgomery. Waterston also published a book on Montgomery this year, Magic Island, which offers a fresh look at Montgomery's creative genius.
In addition, research by integrative biology Prof. Ryan Gregory was highlighted in the Jan. 3 issue of the Globe and Mail. Gregory's work on flying and genome size was featured in Anne McIlroy's weekly science column.
Over the holiday break, two U of G professor were also featured in the national news. Prof. Ian Newby-Clark was featured on the CBC television program Newsworld on New Year's Day. The psychology professor discussed New Year's resolutions and why people find it difficult to keep them.
Physics Prof. and jazz singer/songwriter Diane Nalini de Kerckhove was featured on the national CBC radio program The Sunday Edition Dec. 28. She discussed the International Year of Astronomy and sang jazz songs related to astronomy. Listen to the broadcast
Dave Scott-Thomas, the Gryphons cross-country and track and field head coach, was named "Male Newsmaker of the Year" by the Guelph Mercury. He was recognized both for his award-winning coaching at U of G and for forming the Speed River Track and Field Club. Last fall, U of G's women's and men's cross-country teams made history by winning the Canadian Interuniversity Sports (CIS) championships.
