Math scholarship helps recruit best and brightest

by Chris Thackray

When math professor Dr. Bill Pfaffenberger saw Vancouver Island’s most talented high school math students heading to Ontario universities, he knew UVic could do a better job of recruiting them to study in Victoria.

Pfaffenberger, as regional co-ordinator for national high school math competitions (such as the Euclid and Fermat tests), was dismayed by the number of local students with high test scores being recruited by eastern universities.

"We have a world class reputation in math and science," says Pfaffenberger, "but we were losing these brilliant students to the competition. We needed a way to reach out to these students earlier and build more incentives for them to enrol at UVic."
To stem the brain drain, Pfaffenberger devised the Excellence in Math Award program, through which top-ranked high school math students are offered an award based on their high scores in national math competitions in Grades 11 and 12.

As a recruiting strategy, the program has been a resounding success. Prospective students are now awarded the UVic entrance scholarship as early as Grade 11, with the promise of more funding if they do well in Grade 12. For these high-calibre students, the early prospect of admission and additional funding from an entrance scholarship makes UVic an attractive choice for them.

Established in 1991, the Excellence in Math Award scheme has flourished through the guidance and vision of Pfaffenberger, and has prospered financially through significant financial donations to an endowment which funds the scholarships.

"Philanthropic support for this program has been fantastic," says Pfaffenberger, citing the link between the program’s tangible success and the enthusiastic support from donors.

"At first, we were recruiting about 20 per cent of the students we made an offer to," says Pfaffenberger. "As the funds in the endowment increased, we’re now getting over 50 per cent. That’s a huge jump in our success rate."

Initially, Pfaffenberger limited his recruiting efforts to Victoria and Vancouver Island. Now, thanks to the generosity of a two major benefactors, matching funds from UVic, and the donations of faculty and staff, the fund has grown to more than $400,000, allowing the university to recruit from among the very best students across B.C.

Donors like Dick Bradshaw were drawn by the program’s results. The retired head of the Vancouver-based investment firm, Phillips, Hager and North, got to know Pfaffenberger while the former was chair of the academic pension plan.

"I’ve always wanted to back someone else’s great idea, and Bill had a great idea," says Bradshaw. "It’s very gratifying to know how effective this program is, and that the donation helped produce results you can see."

Since the first recipients of the scholarship began graduating in 1995, six of them have won the Governor General’s Silver Medal, the highest academic award the university can bestow on an undergraduate.

"These are superb students—all with a GPA higher than 8.0, some with 9.0. That’s the very top," says Pfaffenberger. "They’re in a category that’s very, very unique."

The scholarship program gives UVic a huge advantage when recruiting the top students, says Pfaffenberger. "And thanks to the vision and commitment of our donors, we have a program that helps us attract the most brilliant mathematics students in the province."