Faculty and Staff Honour Former Dean Douglas Ruth with Laneway

As a distinguished graduate of the University, and a core faculty member for more than 30 years, former Dean Emeritus, Dr. Douglas Ruth [B.Sc. (1970), M.Sc. (1972), Ph.D. (1977), P.Eng.] will officially retire at the end of December.

This week, faculty and staff joined Doug in celebrating his years of hard work and dedication to the faculty with a reception in the EITC Atrium – an atrium which he was instrumental in the construction of during his time as Dean. Following remarks from current Dean Jonathan Beddoes, the group gathered outside the EITC where Doug unveiled a new sign titled “Doug Ruth Laneway”, officially recognizing the space in his honour.

“It is very gratifying to be recognized. I plan to stay involved, but I will miss the people.”

Since first starting his career with the faculty in 1987, Dr. Ruth worked in a variety of different roles within the Faculty of Engineering. He was Dean of the Faculty of Engineering from 1999-2010, Head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Associate Dean of Engineering for Design Education.  Doug was the second of the University of Manitoba’s three NSERC Chairs in Design Engineering and championed new concepts such as Engineers-in-Residence, and industry-based design courses, both of which have seen tremendous success with students.

Doug credits the success of his time as Dean to the many supports he had: “I’ve always believed that a leader can do nothing, but without a leader, nothing gets done.” said Ruth “So anything that was done, and I was involved in, it was because of the achievement of others.”

Although there are countless instances where he was proud to be a part of the Faculty of Engineering, Doug says that “What I’m most proud of is the students we graduate. We are providing Manitoba, Canada and the world with some of the best engineering graduates on the planet.”

Communications Office, Faculty of Engineering