First Registrar Founded Ontario Applications Centre

Herbert Pettipiere, one of the founders of the University of Guelph and its first registrar, died Jan. 12 in Guelph. He was 75.

  A 1949 graduate of OAC, Mr. Pettipiere became the youngest OAC dean of men in 1950 and was the first registrar of the federated colleges of OAC, OVC and Macdonald Institute. When the University of Guelph was created in 1964, he became its first registrar as well. In 1972, he left the University to found the Ontario Applications Centre, where he remained until his retirement in 1990. He was also one of the founders of the Canadian Registrars' Association.

  He is survived by his wife, June; three children, Steven, Linda and Keith; and 11 grandchildren.

Psychologist Renowned for Work on Visual Perception

Retired psychology professor David Piggins died suddenly Jan. 21 in Wales, where he had been a visiting research fellow at the University College of North Wales (Bangor). He was 67.

  After earning a diploma in ophthalmic optics from Northampton College of Advanced Technology in England in 1956, Prof. Piggins went into private practice as an optometrist for six years, then became a lecturer in optics at Stow College Glasgow. He joined U of G in 1966 after earning an MA in experimental psychology from the University of Waterloo. In 1991, he was appointed to the adjunct faculty of Waterloo's School of Optometry. He retired in 1998.

  A specialist in sensory and perceptual processes, Prof. Piggins studied vision in humans and animals, including such exotic subjects as polar bears, sloths, anteaters, manatees and armadillos. He published numerous papers on his experiments in visual perception and was an invited speaker around the world. A visiting lecturer at Bangor in 1989, he returned often to teach and conduct research and was appointed visiting research fellow in 1994. Last winter, he was a visiting fellow at Cambridge University.

  Prof. Piggins was a Fellow of the Worshipful Company of Spectacle Makers, a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry, an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society, a Foundation Fellow of the British College of Opticians and a chartered psychologist with the British Psychological Association.

  Remembered by colleagues for his cheerfulness, his sense of humour and his skills as a storyteller, Prof. Piggins was also a cartoonist, a poet and a musician. His cartoons appeared in numerous publications, including the American Mathematical Monthly, his poem Voices won first prize in a 1997 contest sponsored by Poetry Today, and he frequently took part in local Celtic jam sessions performing on the bodhran.

  He is survived by his three sons, Hugh of Manchester, Christopher of Montreal and Alun of Toronto.

English Prof Pioneered Student Writing Programs

Retired English professor Gerald Rubio died Jan. 25 after a long illness. He was 67. An MA graduate of the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and PhD graduate of the University of Illinois, Champaign, he served four years in the U.S. navy as a journalist posted to the Commander of the Pacific Fleet during the Korean War. He joined the faculty of U of G in 1967 and retired in 1995.

  During his career at Guelph, Prof. Rubio made important contributions to the development of student writing programs on campus. He served as director/co-ordinator of writing programs from 1979 to 1982, during which time he designed and implemented Guelph's senior (high school) student grading program; designed, established and served as director of the Writing Centre; and served as a consultant to the continuing education division, designing and teaching four remedial, non-credit writing skills courses. He also designed the course "Writing for Science Students."

  A specialist in Renaissance literature, Prof. Rubio was the author of numerous articles and reviews. In 1979, he co-founded the Sidney Newsletter, an international scholarly periodical that provides a critical forum for scholars and students of the works, lives and activities of poet and writer Sir Philip Sidney and other members and connections of the Sidney Circle. Prof. Rubio assumed editorship of the publication in 1982 and continued that role into retirement. In 1991, he expanded the periodical into the Sidney Newsletter and Journal.

  Prof. Rubio is survived by his wife, Mary, a faculty member in the School of Literatures and Performance Studies in English; two children, Tracy Siddall of Guelph and Jennifer of Cambridge, England; and two grandchildren, Zachary and Zoe Siddall.

  Contributions in his memory may be made to the Canadian Cancer Society.