- Archives
- Records Management
- Directory of University Records
- File Classification
- The Model File Classification Plan
- Administration
- Advancement
- Committees
- Communications
- Equipment and Supplies
- Facilities
- Finances
- Governance
- Human Resources
- Information and Technology Management
- Liaison and Cooperation
- Policy
- Records and Information Management
- Research Management and Administration
- Student Services and Records
- Teaching and Academic Programs
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Transfer Paper Records
- Transfer Digital Records
- Retrieve Paper Records
- Annual Destruction and Accession Process
- Links and Resources
- Directory of University Records
- FIPPA
- Digital preservation
- Resources
- 91泡芙
- Mission, vision and values
- Contact us
- Feedback and comments
- Our blog
- Archival Film Flashes Back to 70s Student Life
- Manuscript Traces SFU's Architectural History
- Early University News Publications Now Digitally Available
- Digitized Programs Commemorate SFU鈥檚 Opening & Installation Ceremonies
- Archives Celebrates Fall Convocation with Release of Digitized Programs
- Films Capture Visual History and Sentiment of Time Gone By
- Lost and Found: Simon Fraser Letters
- Oral History Provides Glimpse into Mind of SFU鈥檚 First Chancellor Gordon Shrum
- Early SFU Photos Tell a Story That Frames Our World
- Aerial Photos Capture Campus Landscape & Photographer鈥檚 Legacy
- You have what...?!! and other interesting things you didn't know about the SFU Archives
- Charting the course of history: documenting SFU's early days from the student perspective (Part 1)
- Charting the course of history: documenting SFU's early days from the student perspective (Part 2)
- Helping others find their history in the future: Preserving the records of the Students of Caribbean and African Ancestry at SFU
- Preserving the sparks of global revolution in the Adbusters Media Foundation fonds
- Reflections of a co-op student
- Debunking popular myths and conspiracies with the Barry Beyerstein fonds
- In "The Beginning...": First student film returns to SFU
- "Got any pictures of Terry Fox?"
- My summer in the archives: a co-op placement retrospective
- Seeing the world through Arthur Erickson's eyes
- Beer (records) in the Archives!
- Quartet in the Quadrangle: PSQ Records Come to SFU
- Navigating silences and filling gaps: finding Black stories in the Archives
- Boxes, boxes, and more boxes: my summer co-op at SFU Archives
- Finding queer joy in the SFU Archives: Out On Campus records now available
- The Selma Wassermann fonds
- Personal and political in the archives of Andrew Petter
- Glossary
Personal and political in the archives of Andrew Petter
As President and Vice-Chancellor from 2010 to 2020, Andrew Petter steered SFU toward its vision as "Canada's engaged university." Newly available through the Archives, Petter's personal records reveal that his life before SFU was just as engaging 鈥� spanning law, academics, and provincial politics.
SFU Archives recently received a donation of President Emeritus Andrew Petter's personal records, which arrived as 34 bankers boxes of documents, photographs, artefacts, and audiovisual materials. Reflecting his wide-ranging activities, the records document Petter's childhood and education in Victoria and Nelson, early political involvement in the 1970s, work as professor and dean at the University of Victoria Faculty of Law from 1986 to 2010, political career as a Member of the Legislative Assembly and cabinet minister in the 1990s, and as SFU president in the 2010s. As an early-career archivist, I had the exciting opportunity to arrange and describe the donation to preserve the records and make them accessible to researchers. Now available in AtoM, the contains a wealth of materials relating to BC history and provincial politics from the 1970s to the 2000s, offering a unique opportunity to learn more about this period through the personal records of one notable individual.
A burgeoning political consciousness can perhaps be traced through the records of Petter's early life. Long before he was elected to the Legislative Assembly in 1991, Petter had his first taste of international relations as a Canadian "delegate" at the 1965 Children's International Summer Village (CISV), a summer camp for 11-year-old children from around the world. Created to promote intercultural friendship and peace education, the camp hosted four delegates from each participating country at Shawnigan Lake, Vancouver Island, during the summer of 1965. Petter saved many records from this time, including a photo album, brochures and pamphlets, a "Little People's Newspaper" created at the camp, correspondence with his new international pen pals, and a scrapbook of newspaper clippings. These records are both a charming time capsule and a rich resource for exploring topics like childhood, education, and national identity in the 1960s.
Petter's involvement in politics began in earnest as an undergraduate student in the early 1970s. Working as an open line radio host for CKKC Nelson, Petter interviewed notable political figures including then-premier Dave Barrett and former premier W.A.C. Bennett. Petter also co-created an independent radio broadcast 鈥淎sk Your Parochial Government,鈥� which combined humour and political commentary to parody the Social Credit government's "Ask Your Provincial Government" advertising program. Hosted by Petter as "Ray Awkward," the satirical segments were supported by crowd funding and broadcast on CKKC Nelson 鈥� which also aired the Socred government's advertisements. Recordings of CKKC open line shows and "Ask Your Parochial Government" and several of Barrett's early speeches can be found in series 5 of the Andrew Petter fonds, which comprises nearly 100 audiocassettes and VHS tapes from across Petter's personal, legal, and political activities. All the audiovisual materials have been digitized, helping to ensure their long-term preservation and accessibility.
The bulk of Petter's personal records were created or collected while he served as MLA for Saanich South on Vancouver Island from 1991 to 2001. Many records relate to the 1991 provincial election, including campaign materials (e.g. promotional pamphlets, button pins, correspondence), position statements and information distributed to New Democratic Party candidates, and subject files on a variety of topics (e.g. constitutional issues, housing, the environment). As MLA, Petter held several high-profile cabinet positions, including Minister of Aboriginal Affairs; Minister of Forests; Minister of Advanced Education, Training and Technology; and Attorney General. Reminiscent of his childhood scrapbook from the CISV, Petter kept binders of memorabilia for each of his cabinet posts. These "ministerial scrapbooks" document his activities and achievements through photographs, letters and cards, newspaper clippings, speaking notes, brochures and event materials, and other ephemera. For example, the scrapbooks reflect Petter's instrumental role in initiatives to establish Victoria as a 鈥淕reenways Capital,鈥� such as the restoration of St. Ann鈥檚 Academy and the creation of the Galloping Goose Regional Trail - his passion for which earned him the nickname "Minister of Rails and Trails."
Personal archives provide unique windows into the past, enabling us to trace threads across an individual's life and to add nuances to broader historical narratives. Petter's fonds holds great potential for anyone looking to explore a range of topics during a dynamic period of political and social change in BC.
To learn more about Andrew Petter and his archives, consult the in SFU AtoM (Access-to-Memory).