When Jim and Eva Good reflect on their long-standing association with Western, one aspect stands out: The people.
“That’s what made Western memorable for us – and that’s what makes a university,” Jim said.
It’s also the sentiment inspiring the couple’s most recent gift to Western – a $1.5-million donation to establish the James and Eva Good Chair in English Literature. The university is investing an additional $1.5 million through its matching chairs program, and an additional $500,000 is being transferred from the existing Dr. James and Eva Good Faculty of Arts and Humanities Fund to create a $3.5-million endowment, which will fund the position in perpetuity.
“This is our way of ensuring the university can continue to find and retain good people,” said Jim, professor emeritus and former associate dean and dean in the Faculty of Arts and Humanities.
The chair extends the Goods’ legacy of supporting Western through personal gifts and those made through Good Foundation Inc.
“Jim and Eva have always been tremendous champions for the arts and humanities at Western,” said Western President Alan Shepard. “We are grateful for their generous new gift to establish a chair focused on developing and enhancing teaching and research in the department of English and writing studies. It will help Western attract top professors and contribute to igniting a deep love of literature and the arts among our students.”
Manina Jones, professor and chair of the department of English and writing studies, also shared her appreciation for the Goods’ vision to invest in faculty renewal:
“The James and Eva Good Chair in English Literature fuels the continuing vitality of studies in the arts and humanities. This is exciting news for our students and faculty. We’re exceedingly grateful for this gift, which stands among the deep and lasting contributions the Goods have made to teaching, scholarship and leadership at Western.”
Jim and Eva Good (Frank Neufeld)
A couple committed to Western
The Goods, who met at summer camp in high school, forged their first connections to Western as undergraduates.
Eva, Dip’64, BScN’65, came from Vineland, Ont. to study nursing.
“My grandmother had been in London receiving cobalt treatments for cancer at the time, and I remember being intrigued by the whole Victoria Hospital (now LHSC) campus,” Eva said.
Jim, BA’64, MA’65, who grew up in Waterloo County, majored in English and philosophy, having been drawn to the humanities in his formative years.
He credits his school-teacher aunts for cultivating his love of literature, along with regular trips to the library.
“I remember, distinctly, from a very early age, going to the library for children’s hour and sneaking up the stairs and spending time on the main floor, where they had all kinds of interesting exhibits and all these wonderful books,” he said.
Western professor John Smallbridge, whom Jim first met as his Grade 11 and Grade 12 English teacher, also had a profound influence.
“John made a huge difference in terms of showing the scope and the breadth of the humanities and what you could do by studying them,” Jim said.
After earning his undergraduate and master’s degrees at Western, Jim pursued his PhD in romanticism at Columbia University.
It was an exciting time for the Goods, newly married and living in New York City.
Eva worked in a dermatologist office frequented by celebrities, and later taught at a local hospital. Jim completed his dissertation, supervised by distinguished romanticists, Carl Woodring and Karl Kroeber. He also explored New York’s bookstores, honing his eye for rare, first-edition books.
The Goods returned to London, Ont. in 1969, when Jim was offered a teaching position at Western. “At that point, jobs were becoming hard to get. I was so incredibly grateful they wanted me back,” he said.
Eva Good (Frank Neufeld)
Eva soon returned to Western as well, as a dedicated volunteer. She served the university during a critical growth period, taking on leadership roles within the Western Alumni Association as a board member, committee chair and president. She sat as an alumni representative on the Board of Governors, Senate and other university committees. She was also one of the founding directors of Foundation Western, a venture created to build a “culture of giving among Western alumni.”
In 1993, Eva was recognized with the Alumni Award of Merit, an honour reserved for graduates who make “outstanding contributions” to Western.
Upon receiving the award Eva said, “Being involved with Alumni Western added a real focus to my life and through it I have met many wonderful people.”
Enhancing the student experience
The Goods have remained active and engaged alumni over the past two decades, giving their time and energy to advance Western’s mission and to advocate for the Faculty of Arts and Humanities.
Their philanthropic contributions also include significant gifts supporting the restoration of Conron Hall in University College and the Talbot (Paul Davenport) Theatre renovation project.
Jim Good (Frank Neufeld)
In 2005, Jim donated his collection of William Wordsworth and Samuel Coleridge Taylor texts to the Archives and Research Collections Centre at Western’s Weldon Library. The collection includes first, and subsequent editions by both authors, published during their lifetimes. In 2016, he gave Western the funds to purchase a first-edition copy of Wordsworth’s first published work, An Evening Walk, the only copy existing in Canada.
He also made a meaningful gift-in-kind to the Don Wright Faculty of Music in 2008, donating a Selmer Paris bass saxophone, made in 1985.
Giving students the opportunity to play a highly crafted and distinguished instrument was a generous ─ and joyful ─ gesture.
“Often, little things can affect the quality of the student experience,” Jim told Western News in 2009. “In my case, I would hope that for certain music students to have tried a peripheral instrument like a bass sax is one plus in their Western education. The same would be true of a student of 19th century literature who might actually get to hold and look at Wordsworth’s work in the form that he saw it when it was published–something quite different from reading two-column text in a clumsy anthology.”
This thinking mirrored his teaching approach, which over the years drew top marks from student assessments. At a 1999 reception honouring his tenure at Western, then-university president Paul Davenport noted Jim’s reputation as “a knowledgeable, well-organized and caring teacher, with a ready wit.”
That humour served Jim well working with faculty, which, at one point, included Smallbridge, who was cross-appointed to the Faculty of Education and the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, and Jim’s first-year university English teacher, the late professor emeritus Geoffrey Rans.
“You better believe they had a lot of fun with that,” Jim said. “In retrospect, it must have been interesting to have a former student working in administration.”
As a leader, Jim applied the lessons he learned listening to his father, Milton Good, as he discussed his day as an office manager and later as a small and then much larger business owner.
“He’d come home at night and talk about the issues, the problems, the people. In a way, I grew up getting a type of ‘MBA’ in certain ways.”
Jim also credits his father for equipping him, Eva and their two sons with one of the first IBM computers, which allowed Jim to confidently embrace and introduce technology into his faculty, one of the first to use spreadsheets and email.
It was one of the many changes Jim saw across his four decades at Western, from student to dean. But what he and Eva recall most is the relationships.
“It was a real privilege to work with people in the arts. There were all kinds of interesting individuals. We didn’t always agree, but we had respect for each other. You could argue without it becoming personal,” Jim said.
All the more reason the Goods believe the study of the humanities remains essential in contemporary culture.
“Studying the humanities teaches you to organize your thoughts, work your way through problems and make your case with legitimate arguments,” Jim said.
It also speaks to the couple’s desire to attract leading scholars as chairholders who will encourage Western students to think critically and creatively to foster a rich exchange of ideas.
“We just really want to give back to the university and hopefully inspire others,” Jim said. “We had 40 wonderful years with Western and we’d like that world to continue.”
