Jane and Arthur Sedgwick. (submitted photo)
For the late Dr. Arthur Sedgwick, students were always at the forefront of his work. As his wife, Jane Sedgwick, says: “[they] were far more important to him than the content of his courses or the programs.”
Arthur’s work both at Dalhousie and beyond exemplified his commitment to ensuring student success. During his tenure as a professor in the Faculty of Computer Science, Arthur served as program director, co-op director and academic advisor. And, as a member of , he wrote the code for their annual programming contest and would often take students with him to their conferences. In 2011, Science Atlantic named their annual computer science lecture after Arthur, and he was inducted into their hall of fame a year later.
Dr. Srini Sampalli, who joined what was then known as the Division of Computing Science in 1992, worked closely with Arthur, who was the director at the time. Sampalli remembers Arthur’s quiet, steady leadership and dedication to his work.
“What I admired about Arthur was his integrity. He always led by example. For instance, when we started a new course, he would sit down in the labs, talk to the TAs and our tech support team, and ensure the labs were well set up so that students had the best possible learning experience,” says Sampalli.
Arthur, who his students affectionately referred to as “Sedgy,” could often be found assisting with a challenging technical question outside the classroom or office hours, helping students identify issues with their programming logic or just lending an ear.
Arthur saw the department undergo numerous changes and moves over the years, including the 1997 merger with the Technical University of Nova Scotia (TUNS) and the construction of the Goldberg Computer Science Building in 1999. That laid the foundation for the Faculty of Computer Science as we know it.
Honouring a legacy
When Arthur tragically passed away in 2012 during a family vacation in Vermont, Jane knew that to effectively honour his legacy and contributions to computer science, helping students had to be front and centre. With this inspiration in mind, they established the Arthur Sedgwick Memorial Fund, which supports an annual award in his name.
The award is presented to deserving computer science students. It was endowed so that it would continue providing them with support for years to come, and thanks to the generosity of Jane, her daughter Laura, and Arthur’s colleagues, the fund continues to grow.
“He knew the students well and he would sometimes come home and talk about them, never naming names, and would know who was having a tough time,” says Jane. “And those are the students I would like to reach with his award. Those who are working hard despite it all and who have a passion for computer science, particularly coding.”
Dr. Andrew Rau-Chaplin, dean of the Faculty of Computer Science, fondly remembers working alongside Arthur.
“Arthur was not just a generous and talented colleague; he was also committed to ensuring that computer science students received the best possible education and hands-on learning opportunities in their classes, and support for their individual growth and curiosity beyond their classes,” he says. “It is a gift to see this commitment live on through the exceptional students supported by his fund.”
Jane echoes this sentiment.
“It’s exactly what Arthur would want his legacy to be - helping students in perpetuity.”
