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ne evening in early April of
1968, Joe Kirman — a teacher
at a special service school in
New York City — debated
whether to accept a professor position in
the University of Alberta’s Department
of Elementary Education. He made up
his mind at about 10 p.m., when his wife
woke him up and told him Martin Luther
King Jr. had been assassinated.
“The school I was teaching at was
in a depressed neighbourhood with
predominantly African American
students, and there were riots going
on in New York City at the time. My
principal there was walking around with
a plainclothes detective as a personal
bodyguard, and we thought, all hell’s
gonna break loose, so I was on the phone
the next morning to the U of A.”
That dark day led to a bright U of A
career for Kirman, one that spawned a
social studies textbook used across Canada
that went through four editions and 194
published papers researching elementary
education — including one on using “birds
as a teaching tool for geography.”
It also brought him up close with the
Campus Food Bank, which provides
meals for students who aren’t in a
position to provide for themselves. As a
professor, Kirman didn’t “see the students
in that position because they’re not going
to let [me] know,” but he knew enough
to donate to it regularly over the decades.
When he retired, Kirman eschewed the
customary department gift and asked
those who would have chipped in to
donate to the food bank instead.
But retirement only seemed to make
Kirman more giving, so he established his
first fund with Edmonton Community
Foundation under the Edmonton Jewish
Community Charity Fund — and then
he established six more (including one to
support Edmonton’s Food Bank).
Kirman says he established the fund for
two big reasons. “The first is that I liked the
idea that long after I’m gone, this favorite
charity of mine is going to be getting
money. And the second is that I had a
friend — his name is Zane Feldman, he was
a philanthropist — and his motto was ‘Give
while you live so you know where it goes!’”
And as an orthodox Jewish person,
Kirman says “it’s considered a mitzvah,
a righteous act, to do whatever you can
with your money to try to make this
world a better place to live in. So this
dovetails with my religious philosophy.”
Joe Kirman’s career—and retirement—is a testament to helping
students flourish on full stomachs by Cory Schachtel
Food for Th oughts
O
Professor
Joe Kirman
feeds the future
photo Paula Kirman