INSIDE DOUGLAS COLLEGE / MAY 30, 1989

 

 

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Harms Profile Continued

 

culus gives one a chance to reason
and to think,” he says.

For Harms, challenging the mind
and exercising the reasoning
process is important in all aspects
of life. He is a seeker of
knowledge, and this is evident in
his career moves, his teaching ap-
proach and his out-of-classroom
interests.

Harms doesn’t label himself as
ambitious, but this doesn’t mean he
lacks direction.

“I’m not ambitious in the sense
of achieving status,” he says.
“That’s not important to me. But
learning for its own sake is impor-
tant. I’ve always wanted to seek
explanations about why things are
the way they are.”

After graduating from the
University of Manitoba in 1957
with a mechanical engineering de-
gree, Harms moved to England to
take a two-year program on produc-
tion engineering with the Bristol
Aeroplane Company. Following
that, he spent another two years in
Winnipeg, Manitoba working as a
production engineer with Bristol
Aero Industries.

He then moved into teaching.
Harm’s first assignment was in Sri
Lanka, where he landed a job
through the Canadian International
Development Association (CIDA).
From 1961-1963, he was worked
for the Institute of Practical Tech-
nology in Colombo.

It was then back to Winnipeg,
where he taught mechanical tech-
nology at Red River College. He
later switched to instrumentation
after setting up the program. Harms
also took a year’s leave of absence

 

to work with a consulting engineer-
ing firm on setting up control
systems for the Atomic Energy Re-
search Station.

“It was a leaming experience,”
he says.

Harms joined Douglas College
when it opened in 1970, and began
teaching mathematics. He took
another three-year leave between
1972-1975, to once again travel
abroad with CIDA. This time, he
was in Kingston, Jamaica, where he
helped set up an instrumentation
program at Kingston’s College of
Arts, Science and Technology.

Despite his own teaching ex-
periences, Harms is always happy
to be on the other side of the
instructor’s desk, and often opts to
sit in on courses at the College, in-
cluding philosophy and literature.

“T appreciate the co-operation of
my colleagues in being able to sit in
on these courses,” he says.

Harms recalls his first impres-
sion of Douglas College when he
began teaching here. “It was quite a
shock to me when I saw there
weren’t any buildings,” he says. In-
stead, college classes were taught at
night in area high school class-
rooms.

This all changed, of course, and
eventually the campus in New
Westminister opened in 1983.
Harm’s doesn’t hestitate when
asked about the growth of the Col-
lege since it’s inception.

“The actual development of the
College speaks for itself,” he says,
referring to the large number of
programs - credit and non-credit
courses now being offered.

 

“T took a computer course last
fall, and I was amazed at the num-
ber of activities offered during that
weekend,” he says. “It was impres-
sive to see the extent to which the
building is used.”

A resident of Coquitlam, Harms
is married with three daughters. His
hobbies include music - especially
opera - and writing, including let-
ters to the editors of newspapers.

Harms continues to seck new
knowledge and experiences. He
says he would eventually like to
take another year’s leave of ab-
sence “‘to do something totally
different.”

 

 

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