Paul Thiele moved from agitator to award winner in his quest to assist blind and visually impaired students.
He was recognized with an Access and Mentorship award from Vancouver Community College, June 12.
His former student, Betty Nobel, department lead for the visually impaired program at VCC, recommended Thiele for the honour. Nobel later became Thieles instructor in a VCC computer program.
He continues to mentor students, boosts Nobels adaptive technology computer program and provides scholarships to visually impaired and blind students at the University of B.C. and VCC.
Nobel wondered whether she was doing the right thing when she attended university on the sprawling UBC campus as a blind 17-year-old in 1969. He was just very encouraging and when I finished my BA, he encouraged me to go back to school and get my diploma in Adult Education and thats how I ended up at the college, Nobel said.
Thiele founded and ran the Crane Library for blind and visually impaired students at UBC in 1968. He was a visually impaired doctoral student who had been agitating for a central place where visually impaired and blind students could work with specialized equipment.
I felt empathy with my fellow students who really had difficulty coping with a university education, said the 70-year-old. The drop-out rates were high... If we were going to educate these graduates from the Jericho Hill School [for the Deaf and Blind], then we needed some facility that would serve them. We charged them the same fees as everyone else, but we werent delivering the same services.
When the family of the late deaf and blind scholar Charles Allen Crane donated his holdings to UBC, Thiele organized and expanded the collection. Thiele taught at UBC for 35 years until he retired in 2001. Then he enrolled in Nobels program.
Thiele says Nobel teaches people who lack sufficient vision to read computer screens to design Excel spreadsheets and PowerPoint presentations. Graduates have secured jobs with organizations that include ICBC and the Liquor Board.
The computer has become the great equalizer for the visually impaired, Thiele said.
He provides Judy Thiele Memorial scholarships to blind and visually impaired students at UBC and VCC to commemorate his late wife who was Canadas first blind library school graduate and worked at the Crane Library.
The West End resident celebrated his contributions to the community on the heels of his first wedding anniversary to his new wife, June 11.
Previously named professor emeritus by UBC, Thiele has also had his work recognized by the U.S. Library of Congress.
Three others were honoured alongside Thiele. Mark Brand, owner of Save-on-Meats, was recognized for providing VCC culinary students with opportunities to practice their skills while helping residents of the Downtown Eastside; jewelry maker Justine Brooks was named One to Watch; Bruna Giacomazzi, who completed the commercial secretarial program at Vancouver Vocational Institute (VCCs predecessor) and eventually became HSBCs chief credit officer, was honoured for Career Excellence and Leadership, and Lizz Lindsay, who taught in the dental assisting program at VCC, then in retirement completed the colleges culinary program and founded a community kitchen, was awarded in the category of Culture and Community.
crossi@vancourier.com
Twitter: Cheryl_Rossi
