Frank Ventura : the man who became synonymous with the MATSEC examinations system

Abstract

I still recall the meeting of the Department of Mathematics and Science Education (DMSE), University of Malta, during which a proposal was put forward to organize something in honour of Frank Ventura. Professor Ventura was not only instrumental in the setting up of this department in 1978 (even if we have 'lost' some subject area specializations along the way and the Department's name has had to change as a result), but he also headed it for many years. We all agreed that this was an excellent idea and an opportunity to show our heartfelt gratitude towards someone we all look up to and admire for his academic prowess and varied research interests, honesty, integrity, humility, gentle manners and generosity. This positive aura surrounding Ventura extends to our Faculty as well. Being the much-respected person that he is, and possibly also because he is the only still active member from the group of individuals who joined the Faculty of Education in the first few years after it was set up in 1978, there have been various occasions when Faculty sought his advice in view of his widely- accepted ability to bring people of different views talking together around the same table. His soft -spoken approach, even when facing potentially tense situations, is not a sign of weakness: Instead, it operates as an invitation to listen attentively to what he is saying and to reflect on the various options being put forward to Faculty and examine their possible consequences. His known impartiality and lack of hidden agendas render him in fact a most acceptable arbiter and moderator to one and all. [excerpt]