Gordon Rex SELMAN

SELMAN, Gordon Rex
December 4, 1927 – January 24, 2018
For his entire career, Gordon Selman was a committed adult educator, first as a programmer and director of the Extension Department at UBC and for the latter half of his career, as an associate professor. Gordon contributed to the development of adult education in Canada as a social movement with a distinctive focus on citizenship and preparing people to take an active role in shaping their communities and their country. He was involved in founding or leadership roles in a number of significant organizations including the Vanier Institute of the Family, the Vancouver Branch of United Nations Association of Canada, Canadian Association for Adult Education, Canadian Delegations to UNESCO, and the boards of the Open Learning Agency and the Carold Institute. His work was honored in many ways, including with two honorary degrees, from Open University and St. Francis Xavier University. He was much loved by fellow members of these organizations and by students. His gentle and often self-deprecating humour, his loyalty, and his respectful approach to all he encountered resulted in many relationships that have lasted through the decades. Gordon was also an author of a great many articles and several books, mostly focused on the distinctive contributions of Canadians to the practice of adult education. With colleagues Paul Dampier and Michael Cooke, as well as his son Mark, Gordon wrote The Foundations of Adult Education in Canada, still a staple of many courses and programs. A quiet and reserved man, Gordon had a number of passionate interests, many of which were lifelong. These include the novels of Joseph Conrad, Shakespeare, anything to do with Oliver Cromwell, the music of Ella Fitzgerald, Sidney Bechet, and many other jazz musicians, as well as spending time with family and friends on Bowen Island which was a centre for family life for almost 60 years. Gordon was committed to family. Throughout his life, he was influenced by his mother, a dedicated volunteer who held several important positions in prominent Vancouver organizations. He had a wonderful relationship with his wife Mary over his entire adult life and gave unconditional love and support to his three children, Mark, Jan and Julia and their families, albeit in his distinctive and sometimes understated way. His family including his children, their spouses, five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren, like many others he came in contact with, have been deeply shaped by Gordon's values and the example he set in terms of thoughtful engagement and quiet commitment to the causes he cared about. His quiet warmth and deep affection was felt by all. Donations in his memory may be directed to the Gordon Selman Fund that supports adult education students at UBC: www.support.ubc.ca/ selman-award or call 604.827.4111