Awards » Emery-Dufault Award

ABOUT THIS AWARD

The Emery-Dufault Award was established by CAFCE in 2003 in recognition of the contributions of two of the founding fathers of Co-operative Education in Canada, Les Emery and George Dufault.

The Emery-Default Award ($500) has been made possible through the generosity of the Dufault family and will be awarded to the CAFCE Co-op Students of the Year. Special thanks for Christopher Dufault and the Dufault Family for this recognition.

RECIPIENTS

2011: Melissa Bailey (University of Manitoba) and Sven Hansen (Georgian College)
2010: Mona Jalili (Simon Fraser University) and Lori-Beth Pentsa (Conestoga College)
2009: Katelyn Mueller (Simon Fraser University) and Daryl Walker (College of the North Atlantic)
2008: Kate Gardiner (University of Waterloo) and Kevin Ginley (Camosun College)
2007: Kristin Harris (University of Waterloo) and Marisa Havens (Conestoga College)
2006: Jit Seng Chen (University of Waterloo) and Jaksa Panic (Conestoga College)
2005: Jan Verspoor, Simon Fraser University
2004: Marc Slingerland, University of Lethbridge
2003: Jane Nunnikhoven, Simon Fraser University

THIS AWARD HONOURS...

Charles Leslie (Les) Emery (1912-1993)
Dr Les Emery
Dr. Les Emery first introduced the idea of co-operative education to Waterloo College Associate Faculties, the forerunner of the University of Waterloo. His proposal led to the establishment of the first Co-operative Education program in Canada. In the spring of 1956, Waterloo College, which had a small arts and science program, was intent on expansion but had not yet established in what fields it should do so. At the same time Les Emery, who had overseen the establishment of the Provincial Institute of Trades in 1950 (now George Brown College, Toronto), was searching for a suitable location for setting up another provincial technical school. On a visit to the Waterloo area, he heard about Waterloo College and made a fortuitous visit to Dr. Gerry Hagey, then president of Waterloo College and its newly established Associate Faculties.

The educational methods adopted by the Provincial Institute of Trades had included the practice of placing its students in industry for periods of practical training. Les Emery's experience with this approach, and knowledge of foreign Co-operative Education programs, led him to propose that Waterloo adopt what came to be known as the "co-operative plan" and that it be started in engineering. Gerry Hagey was impressed with this proposal and with Les Emery's credentials; for example, prior to his involvement with the Provincial Institute of Trades, he had served as chairman of the committee that established Lakehead College of Arts and Science, now Lakehead University.

Les Emery was persuaded to join Waterloo College Associate Faculties in September 1956 and soon was named its principal of applied sciences. Once at Waterloo, he recruited some of the first faculty and students, and developed the first engineering curriculum. In addition, he was involved in the design of the first permanent building on campus, and in the construction of Seagram Stadium. In recognition of his contributions to the establishment of the University of Waterloo, which has since achieved widespread national and international fame for its co-operative program, the University presented Dr. Emery with an honorary doctorate in 1986.

Les Emery left Waterloo in 1958 to complete Masters and PhD degrees in mining engineering at Queen's and Sheffield Universities, respectively. Following this, he taught in the Mining Engineering Department at Queen's University from 1961-65 (and was its head in 1964-65) and headed the Mineral Engineering Department at the University of British Columbia until his retirement from university life in 1973.

In "retirement," Les Emery continued to be busier than most of us at the peak of working life. He purchased and operated a farm at Roseneath, Ontario, and was a director of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture. He sold the farm in 1981 and moved to Colborne, Ontario, where he established Emery and Associates (later CLE Enterprises) that was involved in microwave technology for the treatment and reduction of waste until his death in 1993. Les Emery was a man of many achievements but it was his brief yet crucial contributions to the establishment of the University of Waterloo and Co-operative Education in Canada for which the Co-operative Education community is most indebted to him.

George Joseph Dufault (1912-1980)

Mr. George Dufault joined Waterloo College Associate Faculties on February 1, 1957. It was his wide-ranging industrial engineering experience as well as teaching experience that led to his being hired by Les Emery. George Dufault was immediately assigned the task of setting up and heading the Department of Co-ordination, the forerunner of the current Co-operative Education and Career Services Department at the University of Waterloo. As well as hiring staff for the Co-operative Education program and visiting potential co-op employers his early responsibilities also included recruiting the first students and faculty for the fledgling institution in association with Les Emery.
Picture: University of Waterloo

Joan Dufault recalled, in a 1995 interview, her late husband George Dufault.s role in recruiting students in the spring of 1957 for the first classes that began in July 1957:

George would spend the weekdays visiting industries in the province, with the hope of enlisting them in the Co-operative Education plan, and speaking at high schools where he told the young men about the brand new - as far as Canada was concerned - way of financing the university degree. He would return home Friday evening or Saturday morning when a queue of hopeful applicants would be waiting to question him on the possibility of being accepted, even thought they had been out of school for some time, or perhaps hadn't completed grade 13, or whatever. They all were pretty well parked out in front [of his Kitchener home] on a permanent basis.

The people who worked under George Dufault's direction in 1957 included the assistant coordinators Paul Wagner, Tom Findlay and Harry Barnett and secretary Marilyn Boehmer (neé Cook). In December 1957 the assistant coordinators David Bond and Bert Barber joined them. Paul Wagner recalled George Dufault's early role in a 1984 letter to his son Christopher Dufault:

Your father had the responsibility of setting up the guidelines for the co-ordination dept. and establishing work positions for the first engineering students who were already in class. Our work had considerable urgency for as the summer [of 1957] progressed the students would be continually coming into the office to see what new work assignments we had lined up. Tom [Findlay] and I spent most of the week on the road meeting with companies that your father had set up appointments with. Usually we would meet on Saturday mornings to review the week and George would set out our assignments for the next week . . .. There was no question that George Dufault was the first head of the Co-ordination Department. He was the pioneer who broke new ground. Under his guidance and direction during the spring, summer and fall of 1957 we set up placement programs with most of the major companies.

George Dufault headed the Department of Co-ordination until March 1958, by which time the Co-operative Education program at Waterloo had become firmly entrenched. He then lectured in the physics department at Waterloo until 1960 when he transferred to the electrical engineering department where he taught as an associate professor until his death in 1980.

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