Dear EDC community,
I regret to share with you the unexpected news of the passing of Dr. Doug Ruth, Dean Emeritus at the University of Manitoba.
Doug Ruth was a core faculty member at the University of Manitoba for more than 30 years, including Dean of the Faculty from 1999-2010, NSERC Chair in Design Engineering from 2011-2016, Associate Dean (Design Education), and founding Director of the Centre for Engineering Professional Practice & Engineering Education. He was honored as Dean Emeritus, and he officially retired at the end of December 2018. His contributions to our community were many, including the legacy of the building / refurbishment of the Engineering & Information Technology Complex which opened in 2007. He was always immensely proud of our Faculty, our students, and the engineering profession, and he encouraged us all to be proud of our role in “a profession hiding in plain sight”.
As much as he was appreciated by our University’s faculty, staff, and fellow institutional leaders for the person he was and the projects he undertook, we know his reach extended beyond our campus and into the Engineering Deans Canada network, the Canadian Academy of Engineering, and more.
Doug was diagnosed with lymphoma several years ago, and he was being actively and successfully treated for it. He sent regular updates that exuded his usual enthusiasm and positive outlook, as well as his interest in the technology aspects of his treatment. His sudden passing is a shock to all who knew him. A short story appeared on our institutional media yesterday, including a link to an opportunity to honour Doug’s life & legacy.
Warm regards,
Marcia Friesen
A message from Dean Marcia Friesen, Price Faculty of Engineering, University of Manitoba