A friend sent me an article from the current issue of University of Waterloo Magazine: "60 years of innovation — Waterloo: Decade by decade."

It describes a campus that was "in a constant state of growth" over the six decades that have passed since the university first opened its doors.

The official date is July 1, 1957, which means that the 60th anniversary of the University of Waterloo will coincide with the 150th anniversary of Confederation next year.

My first thought on seeing the heading was that it seems like just the other day we were celebrating the 50th in a major way.

A particularly memorable teaching assistant task I was assigned as a graduate student — combing through the university archives to find interesting material related to the 25th anniversary — also came to mind immediately.

That was in 1982 — five years after I came here to finish an undergraduate degree I'd begun at Carleton University in Ottawa — which means that the University of Waterloo has been a significant part of my life for 40 of the 60 years it has existed.

I'll mention one more immediate association with 1957 and the founding of the University of Waterloo: Sputnik.

The U.S.S.R. launched the first artificial satellite on Oct. 4 that year, a feat that was inspiring but, following the launch of the first Intercontinental ballistic missile a few weeks earlier, also frightening. The "space race" began in earnest at this point.

You don't hear the reference so much anymore, but how sputnik helped corroborate the founders' vision "for a new kind of purpose-driven university" was once a familiar part of the Waterloo story.

The founding purpose is evident in the order in which the first buildings went up: 1958, Engineering 1; 1959, Physics and Mathematics; 1961, Engineering 2; 1961, Engineering 3; 1962, Arts (now Modern Languages, Theatre of the Arts).

Speaking as a UW graduate from the humanities, it is reassuring to be reminded that the arts became part of the picture at such an early stage. What is significant here is that the founding vision was for a university in the fullest sense, not just an institute of technology.

It is clear, however, that maths and engineering were the priorities. This makes sense, especially in a Cold War context. Sputnik appeared to confirm the prevalent perception that the Soviets were particularly adept at what are now called the "STEM" disciplines — science, technology, engineering and mathematics — and that special efforts were needed for the West to keep up.

Similarly, the idea that totalitarian discipline favoured accomplishments in areas like sports and traditional forms of the arts like orchestral music or ballet was also prevalent.

Although it wasn't widely recognized at the time, modern, avant-garde art and popular art forms like jazz and rock music also had a special significance during the Cold War. The distinction here is that these were areas in which the Russians couldn't hope to compete. That's why Radio Free Europe offered access to American popular music, and why the CIA secretly fostered and promoted art forms like abstract expressionist painting all around the world.

In a very real sense, this kind of creativity became part of what freedom is all about.

Today, STEM disciplines are even more favoured than they were 60 years ago. The rationale has become economic prosperity in a globally competitive environment. The arts, on the other hand, are often relegated to a subsidiary role (sometimes as part of a STEM plus arts or "STEAM" spectrum), or treated as almost completely irrelevant.

As part of "Innovation 60," people who care about the university are invited "to share their memories of what has been, and their visions of what can be."

As a loyal triple alumnus (BA '79, MA '81, PhD '95), my resolve for the year ahead is to look for and think about what a vision for the arts could be for the 21st century. My hunch is that part of the answer is to position the humanities, and creative endeavour in the broadest sense, as part of what true prosperity means.

University of Waterloo celebrates 60 years of innovation event highlights:

July 1, 2017: Canada Day 150th Celebration

Sept 22 to 24, 2017: Optometry & Vision Science 50th Anniversary

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Sept 30, 2017: 60th anniversary alumni reunion

uwaterloo.ca/magazine

uwaterloo.ca/innovation60