Excerpted from CCARE Newsletter, May 2022

Patty Beatty-Guenter: Researcher, Teacher, Administrator

and Singularly Competent Chair of CCARE
I grew up in a working class neighbourhood on the west
side of Calgary. Strong public schooling and post-
secondary offered me opportunity for an education and a
career. Changing lives, one student at a time: I love that
perspective.

I got my first job at Camosun in 1981 when Paul Merner

introduced me to Lou Dryden, then Director of Educational
Support Services. I had completed an MA in Sociology at
the University of Victoria and was hired to design surveys
of students and employers. First survey on the shelf was a
“withdrawal survey”, an attempt to understand the
circumstances of students who were dropping out. That
grew into a lifetime desire to learn how colleges can adapt
their services and programs to increase chances for
student success. Along the way I had the good fortune to
become a researcher, a teacher, and an administrator,
mostly in BC’s college sector.

Patty in early days at Camosun Camosun offered me so many opportunities! I worked as

a CUPE employee, a faculty member and a member of
the administrative
team. I was often doing more than one job at a
time. I was college statistician while I was
teaching statistics in Sociology at UVic; Manager
of Carey Road campus while on a student
success research project; and Director of Access
Services while teaching social science research
methods. I’ve been a butterfly in my approach to
assignments: there was so much to learn from
different roles. I have had the good fortune that
my work life and my academic interests merged
in a world that changes peoples’ lives for the
better. I thought of it all as my “lab”.

If I mentioned and thanked all the people who had

a positive impact on me in my work life, the list
would consume all the space I have been
allocated for this article. And if I inadvertently left
anyone out, I would feel so bad. I worked with
amazing teams in Data Management at
Lansdowne, Student Services at Carey Road

Patty as Campus Manager of Carey Road

 Excerpted from CCARE Newsletter, May 2022

Campus and Access Services at all locations. I had been the first Ombudsperson at
UVic, so moving to Student Services made sense. I had the good fortune of working
with faculty and staff from many departments on committees and special assignments. I
had fantastic bosses who encouraged me in pursuing my interests. Between my
bosses, my staff and colleagues in other departments who provided support at
important moments, there would be over 45 people listed. My debt of gratitude
continues to nourish me.

Above: Some of the Carey Road faculty and staff, 1994

Front row: Toni Burton, Helen Gray , Suz Bagstad, Rae Smith, Patty Beatty-
Guenter, Wendy Stevenson, Helen Baker, Laureen O'Dowd, Pat Hughes
Middle row: Susan Smedley, John Evans, Carole Oliver, Cindy Shields,
Ann Brix, Elizabeth Peebles.
Back row: Vito Marzovilla, Jack Crane, Graham Haig, Mark Bissley,
Jamie Baird

Right: Patty’s sister, Elaine Lewis

We had a great camaraderie at the Carey Road Campus and I thank

each and every member of that group. The Student Services team and
the instructional departments had a clear focus in our commitment to
 Excerpted from CCARE Newsletter, May 2022

our students, who were often new

immigrants, single moms, and displaced
workers. My sister Elaine Lewis taught
Office Administration at Carey Road; it
was so nice to enjoy family time walking
around Swan Lake during lunch. Our
Cubbies baseball team was dominated by
Carey Road folks, and we were happy to
play teams from across the college on the
Carey Road fields. The baseball league
games, tournaments, parties and pub
nights were great fun.

Patty with Colleagues in 1994

Right: Patty with Tennyson Ku

Above: Patty with Penny Bjornhold

Below: Patty in 2001

Camosun provided me an 18 month leave of absence to

attend the University of California Berkeley in 1990 for my
PhD. My studies combined sociology and higher education,
and my thesis was about organizational change and
student success within BC community colleges.

I was Associate Dean of Student Services/Registrar at

North Island College in the late 1990’s. In that role I came
to have great respect for all the registrars and the
 Excerpted from CCARE Newsletter, May 2022

institutional research representatives of BC’s public post-secondary institutions. I am

thankful to the many intelligent and thoughtful people who maintain the integrity of data
systems and records of post-secondary students in our province. Between the work of
the registrars, the institutional research directors and the BC Council on Admissions and
Transfer, our province is a showpiece of exemplary practice. I learned so much and had
a lot of fun with colleagues who represented the BC colleges, institutes and universities.
I also enjoyed presenting research papers at conferences.

My husband Ken Guenter and I moved back from the Comox Valley in 2000. Now it was
Ken’s turn to teach at Camosun: he joined the Fine Furniture program while I went to
teach at UVic. I loved teaching a cohort of distance learners working on their MA’s in
Adult Education. We came together as a class for one weekend a month at what was
then Malaspina College. I also worked at the UVic Teaching & Learning Centre,
organizing workshops on classroom research and teaching courses in adult education.
My favourite class was Facilitating Adult Learning, taken as preparation for teaching
roles by graduate students from any field of study. The diverse disciplines of the
students meant that this class was a special teaching experience for me. I also enjoyed
teaching Sociology and Learning Skills at Camosun, and numerous leadership,
research and adult education courses at Royal Roads University.

Left: Patty at St. Ann’s Academy in 2003

I spent the last third of my

working life at BC’s Ministry of
Advanced Education in St
Ann’s Academy. I began as
Education Officer, explaining
colleges and universities to
government, and government
to colleges and universities: a
perfect role for a sociologist. I
retired in 2013 as Director
Research and Reporting. In
that role I would introduce myself to new ministers as “the data girl”. My most significant
project during this period was the BC Student Outcomes, a joint effort between
institutions and government to survey program graduates and completers from almost
all levels of BC public post-secondary education. I have tremendous gratitude for the
efforts of those who worked collaboratively on those surveys, which provide valid and
up to date information for work force planning, applicant decision-making and program
evaluations.

Over the years, I have been blessed by my friendships. I still have three friends from
high school. On my first day in Victoria, in 1976, I met Paul Merner and Anne Thomson
 Excerpted from CCARE Newsletter, May 2022

on a bench in the hallway of the UVic’s Cornett

Building. They became our friends, along with
their partners; and their friends became our
friends. At first “just us” meant eight; now it
means sixteen. And “the whole gang” means
forty people! The pandemic has been difficult for
us, as we are used to a constant stream of
outings and gatherings. I understand how
fortunate we are and am nourished with
gratitude.

I am fundamentally a sociologist, a feminist and

an environmentalist - lenses I formed during my
late teen years. My two book clubs regularly
include novels and non-fiction on these topics.

Above Right: Patty with husband, Ken Guenter,

at her retirement event at St. Ann’s Academy

Above: Ken and Patty in Barcelona, 2013

 Excerpted from CCARE Newsletter, May 2022

I spent the first decade of

retirement doing contract work in
the post-secondary system. It was
great to stay engaged in my field
but getting to sleep late and
having more discretionary time. I
am fully retired now, except I help
my friends’ children and
grandchildren on a volunteer basis
to explore their education and
career options. I love having
time to work in my garden,
growing spring flowers, three
kinds of berries, tomatoes, herbs
and garlic. We like to get out
walking with our friends, frequently
to Thetis Lake and the Cedar Hill
Golf Course trail. We love live

Above: Patty and Ken in Delft, 2018

Left: Patty and Ken at their wedding, 1974

music, especially folk music, and we really

missed the summer festivals during the past
few years. I do yoga, and this summer will be
camping around the islands in the Westfalia
we bought from my sister.

We try to be guided by principles of “Reduce,

Reuse, Recycle”. I asked Ken to marry me
on the first day we worked together in 1973
at Project Recycling in Calgary, a fledgling
project created by idealists. We dreamed of
the day that people would recycle directly
from their homes! I support protecting the
remaining old growth forests (I don’t block
highways) and I am against huge cruise
ships because of their massive carbon
footprint and waste disposal violations. I am
reading Alexandra Morton’s Not on My Watch
and wish I had paid more attention to the
damage being caused by fish farming. I’m far
from perfect - my car uses gas although my
 Excerpted from CCARE Newsletter, May 2022

house is free of fossil fuels.

If conditions permit, in 2023 Ken and I hope to live for

period of time on the Greek island of Corfu. We had a
magical time there in 1984 and spoke a “dream” of
living there in our retirement. I have begun using
Duolingo (www.duolingo.com) to learn Greek, having
exposure to some of the alphabet (µ, σ, and π) from all
those years doing statistics.

This is my 5th and final year as Chair of the Camosun

College Association of Retired Employees (CCARE) -
and I didn’t even actually retire from Camosun! It’s
been great: the executive group are super helpful and
effective so it isn’t that hard.

Looking back, I recognize that I have had a wonderful

career, filled with remarkably varied experiences. I am
grateful to Camosun College for the part it played in my Patty at the CCARE Reunion, 2015
life.

CCARE Executive

Upper photos LtoR: Patty, Pat Floyd, Bill

Code, Faye Ferguson, Sue Duggan, Cathy
Dye, Barb Latham
Lower photos LtoR: Arnie Campbell, Paul
Merner