Legacy gift supports learning

trevor.kenney — Mon, 07 May 2012 17:52:03 +0000

For the late Ida Wiens, it was a love of learning that motivated her to complete her education, drove a successful career as a teacher and inspired a gift that leaves a legacy.

Growing up in rural Saskatchewan, it was not easy for Wiens to pursue an education. She attended Rosenfeld County School initially but had to complete her high school by correspondence before being accepted to normal school in Regina. Wiens left home at the age of 20 to obtain a teaching certificate.

The late Ida Wiens wanted to ensure that the next generation of students could have every opportunity to succeed.

"She had to work her way through normal school to pay for room and board. My parents helped her where they could but they didn't have much to give," says her brother Reinard Kohls. "Given her background and the fact that she was relatively without means, it was very impressive that she was able to do what she did."

Following graduation, Wiens taught in small schools throughout Saskatchewan and Alberta before settling in Coaldale in 1948.

"She would tell young people to stay in school, keep their noses to the grindstone and get an education," remembers Kohls. He says for Wiens there was no better investment.
For her, learning was a continual process and she remained committed to her own education throughout her career. Although she taught full-time, Wiens pursued a bachelor of education degree through the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta by taking classes over several summers.

She spent more than 36 years in the classroom before retiring in 1980. But even then, education remained a priority and having spent much of her life in southern Alberta, Wiens saw great value in the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge.

"Ida and her husband Elmer were immensely proud that southern Alberta had managed to get its own university," says Kohls. "Having grown up in small communities themselves, they saw this as a great opportunity for people from this area."

Grateful for her own education and successful career in teaching, Wiens wanted to ensure more students had the opportunity to go to university. With no living relatives, Wiens made an allowance in her estate for the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge. The Elmer and Ida Wiens Faculty of Education Bursary will help provide the financial means necessary to train the next generation of teachers.

Moreover, Wiens' commitment has inspired a lasting legacy – one that remembers a teacher who believed in the importance of continued education, and one that will benefit the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ well into the future.

As a result of her bequest, Ida Wiens joins the Fiat Lux Legacy Society, a group of donors who have left a legacy gift or are planning a legacy gift that will benefit the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge in the future.

For more information, visit www.ulethbridge/giving or call 403-329-2582.

This story first appeared in the May 2012 issue of the Legend. For a look at the full issue in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Hastings found a home at U of L

trevor.kenney — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 22:17:41 +0000

In the 1960s, Cora Hastings was considering a job at the newly established ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge and wrote to her parents about the position. In the midst of the political turmoil in the United States at the time, her father offered some straightforward advice: "Go to Canada and make your home there."

Originally from Mercer, Penn., Hastings made the move north to accept a position in the U of L library, then located on the Lethbridge Junior College campus. Although hired as a librarian, Hastings' devotion to being, and prior experience as, a teacher were soon called upon, and she began delivering the school librarian courses then being offered throughout southern Alberta.

This Oct. 2001 photo shows the directors of the library's curriculum laboratory, including the late Cora Hastings, left, Bill Glaister and Barbara Huston.

Hastings, who recently passed away, worked at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ for nearly 20 years and, heeding her father's advice, made the U of L her home. Deeply connected to the institution and always looking to the future, Hastings made a planned gift to the U of L in her will, demonstrating her passion for the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ.

"Her commitment to and engagement with the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge never waned," says colleague and longtime friend Barbara Huston, who worked with Hastings in the Faculty of Education's Curriculum Laboratory.

Hastings was the first co-ordinator of the curriculum lab, a special collection of materials and resources to support teacher education courses, and was instrumental in securing administration through the Faculty of Education.

"Suffice it to say, her insight and conviction that Faculty administration would best serve everyone's interests won the day," says Huston, who took over as co-ordinator when Hastings retired. "The lab exists as a demonstration of her tenacity, persistence and sheer doggedness in getting it just right."

Benefitting from Hastings' foresight and passion, the curriculum lab continues to serve students, faculty and community users and has achieved a reputation as the best curriculum laboratory in Western Canada.

Hastings' commitment has inspired a lasting legacy – one that remembers a librarian who made herself at home at the U of L, and one that will benefit the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ well into the future.

As a result of her bequest, Cora Hastings joins the Fiat Lux Legacy Society, a group of donors who have left a legacy gift or are planning a legacy gift that will benefit the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge in the future. For more information, visit www.ulethbridge/giving or call 403-329-2582.

This article first appeared in the Legend. For a look at the March issue of the Legend in a flipbook format, follow this link.

UNews - Fiat Lux Legacy Society

Legacy gift supports learning

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Hastings found a home at U of L

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