Linking classroom to field | Ed Tyrchniewicz shared real world experiences with his students
Growing up on a farm on the outskirts of Winnipeg in the 1940s and 1950s, Ed Tyrchniewicz knew he wanted to have a career in agriculture.
But like most people in their late teens, Tyrchniewicz had no idea what he would do for a career or how agriculture would fit into his life. That is, until he took a certain class at the University of Manitoba.
“We had a really fascinating guy, I thought he was really old, he must have been at least 40, teaching a course in agricultural economics. I’d never heard of anything like that before,” said Tyrchniewicz, who lives in Winnipeg and was raised in what is now the non-existent town of Prairie Grove.
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“It was really, really intriguing because he tied into things that were happening in the real world.”
That course set Tyrchniewicz on a path that led to a career as professor and head of agricultural economics at the University of Manitoba, chair of multiple commissions on national and provincial agricultural issues and ultimately induction into the Manitoba Agricultural Hall of Fame in 2012.
Tyrchniewicz became a member of the Hall of Fame at a ceremony in Portage la Prairie July 12. Joining him as the newest members of the elite club were Wilf Chegwin, Edward Hudek, Herb Lapp and Hayden Tolton.
During his decades of work at the U of M and as dean of agriculture and forestry at the University of Alberta, Tyrchniewicz remembered the lesson he learned from that first agricultural economics class: to teach and motivate students an educator must link the classroom to events and issues in the real world.
“It comes back to relating to what is going on in agriculture to what one does in agriculture,” said Tyrchniewicz, who is semi-retired and holds the position of senior scholar in agribusiness at the U of M.
“I had way too many instructors along the way who were (only) teaching their body of knowledge. They couldn’t have given a sweet tweet whether it was going to be used by anybody.”
Brian Oleson, a professor in agribusiness and ag economics at the U of M who nominated Tyrchniewicz for a spot in the hall of fame, said Dr. Ed, his informal title at the university, had plenty of real world knowledge to share with his students.
During his more than 40 year career, Tyrchniewicz frequently stepped outside of the university grounds to engage in public policy related to agriculture.
He chaired commissions on livestock sustainability in Manitoba and participated in provincial and national inquiries that shaped agricultural policy related to livestock, grain handling, transportation and natural resource management.
He also took assignments overseas and influenced agricultural policy in Ukraine, Bangladesh, Thailand, Kenya, India and China.
As an example of his work, Tyrchniewicz was director of research for a royal commission on rail line abandonment.
The topic wasn’t popular with rural citizens or farmers at the time, but Tyrchniewicz took the view that it is better to engage in change than have change forced upon you.
“If you don’t start having a say in driving this, rather than saying no, no, no, it’s going to be done to you by somebody else,” he said.
“A lot of the stuff I’ve been involved in is how do you adapt to change.”
During his lengthy career, Tyrchniewicz was elected fellow of the Agricultural Institute of Canada and fellow of the Canadian Agricultural Economics Society.
Still, Tyrchniewicz said being a member of the Manitoba Agricultural Hall of Fame is unique.
“The hall of fame is a very different kind of award. It focuses on what have you done for rural people. What have you done for the agricultural sector?” he said.
“It’s a recognition from a much broader group than simply one’s professional colleagues and peers.”
