Dr. Garry Van Petten was the faculty's second dean from 1978-80. Although he served as dean for a short period of time, Van Petten left a positive and lasting impression on faculty, staff and students.
This is the second in a series of articles profiling the deans of the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. Today, we profile Dr. Garry Van Petten, second dean of the faculty (1978-80).
Betty Van Petten remembers the time her husband Dr. Garry Van Petten spent as the Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy - mostly for the time he spent at home as a family man with her and their three sons.
Betty says her husband cherished his family life. "He was always doing things with the boys, spending time with them," says Betty Van Petten. "I remember him building a go-cart together with the boys. In summer, we would always travel together to place like Portland, Oregon and Vancouver Island, B.C."
Dr. Van Petten was head of the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Calgary in 1975 but was recruited to Edmonton as dean of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Alberta in 1977 to succeed the inaugural dean, Dr. Mervyn Huston. He served as dean starting in 1978 until his untimely death in 1980.
Internationally-respected researcher
Terry Kassian, former co-worker and classmate, has fond memories of Van Petten.
"He was very well liked and respected," says Kassian (B.Sc. Pharm '57), former administrative officer with the faculty and a former classmate. "He really listed to staff and what they had to say. If he had an opinion on something, he was always open to changing his ideas after getting feedback or hearing from other staff or researchers."
Betty says her husband always had time for others. "He was very good at explaining things to people even if they didn't get it on the first try," she says. "It didn't matter what the topic was, he could explain anything and people respected him for that."
Garry was a most thoughtful and considerate individual," said Ed Knaus, then a young professor and now professor emeritus. "One fall day when he was writing a research grant renewal, he indicated to me that he was having difficulty finalizing the research grant budget. This seemed unusual to me since most researchers planned the budget by requesting more funds than they ever expected to receive."
"This made it easy for the grant review panel to reduce the budget, yet hopefully for the applicant to be awarded sufficient funds to carry out the proposed research. Gary's concern was that if he received more funding than actually required, or essential, to do the proposed research, that this would not allow another deserving applicant to be awarded a research grant from the same granting agency. This is a true example of the consideration Gary had for fellow research colleagues, scientific integrity and ethics."
He was internationally recognized as an outstanding researcher in the field of fetal pharmacology and toxicology. He was very active in research and published frequently.
He was well known for his pharmacology research on sheep during his time as dean. "I remember on the main floor of the old Dentistry/Pharmacy building in the manufacturing room, he had a technician working with him and he did surgery on sheep," says Kassian. "They would bring the sheep in at about 4 a.m. and perform the surgery early in the morning, then by 7:30 a.m., they were gone again back to a farm."
"As a young professor at that time, I was impressed by the sophisticated digital research computer used in data collection, and pharmacological monitoring / processing equipment, that he used in his research program," says Knaus,
Colleague and classmate
Knaus said Van Petten was a very organized individual who displayed the importance of time management when it was new in its early stage of development and practice.
As a student, Kassian remembers Van Petten as a good student who got along with everyone. "We had a class of about 30 students and I remember on the cold stormy winter days, Garry would pick up students he saw walking to school in his car on the way to class - he was that kind of guy." Dr. Van Petten is one of the very few people to ever receive a degree in pharmacy from the university before reaching the age of 21.
Van Petten was born in Camrose, Alberta in 1936 where he took his education up to high school. From 1953-57, he completed his B.Sc. in Pharmacy at the University of Alberta while he also served his apprenticeship at Johnstones Drug Store in Camrose. Camrose is where he and his wife Betty met.
His first job was in 1957 at a pharmacy in Bow Island, Alberta, owned by Elmer Bergh. Burgh made arrangements with Van Petten, to relieve at his drug store this summer, while he enjoyed his holidays. He completed his master's degree in pharmacology-physiology at the University of Alberta in 1959 before going on to the University of Glasgow in 1962 to earn his PhD.
Before becoming dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Alberta in 1978, he served as an associate professor at the Ontario Veterinary College and the University of Calgary. He also worked for the Department of Health and Welfare with the federal government.
A man of many talents
Van Petten's former secretary, Bev Berekoff, remembers the days working for him very well. "He was was a favourite dean of mine," says Berekoff. "He was very friendly, cheerful, outgoing, enthusiastic, and was very liked by his colleagues."
Berekoff says he always had an open door policy with students and was the first dean to get a "word processing machine" (computer) into the office for people to learn.
She remembers going out to his family property near Camrose and snowmobiling during the winter. One year, he surprised her. "He cut down a tree on his property for me for Christmas; it was the freshest tree I had ever had," she says.
"I remember Garry as an individual who was up to any challenge whether it involved his leadership as a Dean of the Faculty, or as a handyman in developing his acreage. He was a man of many talents that including the construction of a house, animal facilities and fences," said Knaus. "Garry was certainly not averse to getting his hands dirty."
Dr. VanPetten's contributions to the university and the faculty have been recognized in a couple of ways:
- The GR Van Petten Memorial Prize was endowed by friends and associates of Van Petten and this scholarship is awarded on an annual basis to one student entering third year, and one student
entering fourth year of an undergraduate degree program in the faculty who demonstrates superior academic standing in the therapeutic modules.
- The Van Petten Room, located in the Dean of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences office suite, is a further memorialized tribute to Gary's leadership of the faculty.
Betty Van Petten remembers the time her husband Dr. Garry Van Petten spent as the Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy - mostly for the time he spent at home as a family man with her and their three sons.
Betty says her husband cherished his family life. "He was always doing things with the boys, spending time with them," says Betty Van Petten. "I remember him building a go-cart together with the boys. In summer, we would always travel together to place like Portland, Oregon and Vancouver Island, B.C."
Dr. Van Petten was head of the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Calgary in 1975 but was recruited to Edmonton as dean of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Alberta in 1977 to succeed the inaugural dean, Dr. Mervyn Huston. He served as dean starting in 1978 until his untimely death in 1980.
Internationally-respected researcher
Terry Kassian, former co-worker and classmate, has fond memories of Van Petten.
"He was very well liked and respected," says Kassian (B.Sc. Pharm '57), former administrative officer with the faculty and a former classmate. "He really listed to staff and what they had to say. If he had an opinion on something, he was always open to changing his ideas after getting feedback or hearing from other staff or researchers."
Betty says her husband always had time for others. "He was very good at explaining things to people even if they didn't get it on the first try," she says. "It didn't matter what the topic was, he could explain anything and people respected him for that."
Garry was a most thoughtful and considerate individual," said Ed Knaus, then a young professor and now professor emeritus. "One fall day when he was writing a research grant renewal, he indicated to me that he was having difficulty finalizing the research grant budget. This seemed unusual to me since most researchers planned the budget by requesting more funds than they ever expected to receive."
"This made it easy for the grant review panel to reduce the budget, yet hopefully for the applicant to be awarded sufficient funds to carry out the proposed research. Gary's concern was that if he received more funding than actually required, or essential, to do the proposed research, that this would not allow another deserving applicant to be awarded a research grant from the same granting agency. This is a true example of the consideration Gary had for fellow research colleagues, scientific integrity and ethics."
He was internationally recognized as an outstanding researcher in the field of fetal pharmacology and toxicology. He was very active in research and published frequently.
He was well known for his pharmacology research on sheep during his time as dean. "I remember on the main floor of the old Dentistry/Pharmacy building in the manufacturing room, he had a technician working with him and he did surgery on sheep," says Kassian. "They would bring the sheep in at about 4 a.m. and perform the surgery early in the morning, then by 7:30 a.m., they were gone again back to a farm."
"As a young professor at that time, I was impressed by the sophisticated digital research computer used in data collection, and pharmacological monitoring / processing equipment, that he used in his research program," says Knaus,
Colleague and classmate
Knaus said Van Petten was a very organized individual who displayed the importance of time management when it was new in its early stage of development and practice.
As a student, Kassian remembers Van Petten as a good student who got along with everyone. "We had a class of about 30 students and I remember on the cold stormy winter days, Garry would pick up students he saw walking to school in his car on the way to class - he was that kind of guy." Dr. Van Petten is one of the very few people to ever receive a degree in pharmacy from the university before reaching the age of 21.
Van Petten was born in Camrose, Alberta in 1936 where he took his education up to high school. From 1953-57, he completed his B.Sc. in Pharmacy at the University of Alberta while he also served his apprenticeship at Johnstones Drug Store in Camrose. Camrose is where he and his wife Betty met.
His first job was in 1957 at a pharmacy in Bow Island, Alberta, owned by Elmer Bergh. Burgh made arrangements with Van Petten, to relieve at his drug store this summer, while he enjoyed his holidays. He completed his master's degree in pharmacology-physiology at the University of Alberta in 1959 before going on to the University of Glasgow in 1962 to earn his PhD.
Before becoming dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Alberta in 1978, he served as an associate professor at the Ontario Veterinary College and the University of Calgary. He also worked for the Department of Health and Welfare with the federal government.
A man of many talents
Van Petten's former secretary, Bev Berekoff, remembers the days working for him very well. "He was was a favourite dean of mine," says Berekoff. "He was very friendly, cheerful, outgoing, enthusiastic, and was very liked by his colleagues."
Berekoff says he always had an open door policy with students and was the first dean to get a "word processing machine" (computer) into the office for people to learn.
She remembers going out to his family property near Camrose and snowmobiling during the winter. One year, he surprised her. "He cut down a tree on his property for me for Christmas; it was the freshest tree I had ever had," she says.
"I remember Garry as an individual who was up to any challenge whether it involved his leadership as a Dean of the Faculty, or as a handyman in developing his acreage. He was a man of many talents that including the construction of a house, animal facilities and fences," said Knaus. "Garry was certainly not averse to getting his hands dirty."
Dr. VanPetten's contributions to the university and the faculty have been recognized in a couple of ways:
- The GR Van Petten Memorial Prize was endowed by friends and associates of Van Petten and this scholarship is awarded on an annual basis to one student entering third year, and one student
entering fourth year of an undergraduate degree program in the faculty who demonstrates superior academic standing in the therapeutic modules.
- The Van Petten Room, located in the Dean of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences office suite, is a further memorialized tribute to Gary's leadership of the faculty.