JOURNEY LAKEHEAD ALUMNI MAGAZINE | WINTER 2017
FLYING HIGH WITH CANADA GOOSE
Spencer Orr has been to the North Pole, Europe, and Asia in his quest to design the perfect parka PLUS Lakehead Orillia celebrates its 10th Anniversary Meet the alumni shaping Ontario's future
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CONTENTS 3 ON THE MAP The latest news from our Thunder Bay and Orillia campuses
6 LAKEHEAD ORILLIA’S 10TH ANNIVERSARY Dr. Kim Fedderson looks back on a decade of exceptional education
8 A CAREER IN CONSERVATION Orillia charter class grad Debbie Balika is on an exciting journey
9 A 2016 GRAD SPEAKS UP
18 POLLING THE POLITICIANS
Rebecca Scott is a true student leader and educator
Meet five legislators committed to serving Ontario communities
10 CREATING A NATURAL RESOURCES LEGACY
22 THE POWER OF LANGUAGE
Student Julia Ieropoli becomes the inaugural Naysmith Scholar
Professor Scott Pound gets students engaged in democratic discourse
12 THE CALL OF THE WILD
24 TURNING POINTS
Canada Goose VP Spencer Orr embraces his outdoor rec roots
Alumni milestones and achievements
Students had a blast at the Orillia 10th Anniversary celebrations which featured a birthday party, barbecue, and golfing.
Cert no. XXX-XXX-000
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WINTER 2017
Volume 33, Number 1 Lakehead University Alumni Magazine is published twice a year by the Marketing team which is responsible for establishing policy, editorial direction, and content for the Magazine. The views expressed or implied do not necessarily reflect those of Lakehead University or the Marketing team. Publications Mail Agreement Number 40062450
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CONTACT US
Marketing Director Clayton Browne Editor, Publications Tracey Skehan Graphic Designer Gail Zanette Telephone: 807-343-8134, Fax: 807-346-7770 Email: editor@lakeheadu.ca CONTRIBUTORS
Editor Tracey Skehan, Kathy Hunt, Bonnie Schiedel
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Office of Alumni and Community Relations Lakehead University 955 Oliver Rd., Thunder Bay, ON Canada P7B 5E1 Telephone: 1-800-832-8076 Fax: 807-343-8999 Email: alumni@lakeheadu.ca or online alumni.lakeheadu.ca
ALUMNI ASSOCIATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS President Michel Beaulieu Past President Lou Pero Vice-President Debra Woods Vice-President Jennelle Therrien Secretary/Treasurer Chris Valliant Board of Governors' Representative Bill Keeler LUSU Representative Roman Jakubowski Executive Director Mark Tilbury Director Nancy Angus Director Karen Boz Director Harry Curtis Director Chris DaSilva Director Marc Gagnon Director Al Law Director Nancy Luckai Director Josh McQuay Director Paul Popo-Ola Director Ashleigh Quarrell Director Kara Smith Director Yolanda Wanakamik
EXTERNAL RELATIONS TEAM
External Relations Vice-President Deb Comuzzi Alumni & Community Relations Director Mark Tilbury Government Relations Director Richard Longtin (Toronto Office) Marketing Director Clayton Browne Philanthropy Director Jennifer Childs Administrative Coordinator Patricia McCluskey Alumni & Community Relations Associate Diane Robnik Alumni & Community Relations Associate Meghan Hanbury Alumni & Community Relations Associate Anna Sampson Campaign Operations Assistant Jennifer Steers Donor Events Associate Alexandra Jones Donor Events Manager Patti Merriman External Relations Associate Jacquie Kent (Orillia Campus) External Relations Coordinator Mohsin Bhujwalla (Toronto Office) Gift & Database Administrator Laara Losier Marketing Communications Officer Kathy Hunt Marketing Editor Tracey Skehan Marketing Graphic Designer Gail Zanette Philanthropy Associate Lee-Anne Camlin Philanthropy Associate Kathryn Davidson Philanthropy Associate Dean Jobin-Bevans Philanthropy Associate Devon Ottertail
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THE JOURNEY CONTINUES . . . The reaction to our refreshed magazine, Journey, has been universally positive. The magazine design and content reflects Lakehead’s brand as an exceptional and unconventional university and the alma mater of almost 59,000 alumni worldwide! The fall of 2016 started with the usual flurry of activity as students and professors returned to the classroom. Commencement – a new Thunder Bay campus tradition – began with a formal procession as President and ViceChancellor Dr. Brian Stevenson, students, faculty, senior administration, and board of governor members walked from the Chancellor Paterson Library to the Hangar for a special ceremony marking the beginning of the students’ academic journeys. Another milestone occurred after Labour Day, when our Lakehead Orillia campus celebrated its 10th anniversary with a party that included a barbecue and a colossal birthday cake. With the fall colours at their height, we held our second Annual Homecoming Weekend on September 30 and October 1. Highlights included the Zanatta Alumni Games, varsity hockey and basketball games, and the Alumni Awards Dinner. This year, the Alumni Association of Lakehead University (AALU) recognized Liana Frenette, David Lod, and Peter Lau with Alumni Honour Awards while Nathan Lawrence and Coleman Hell were given Outstanding Young Alumni Awards. Bill Keeler received the Alumni Legacy Award and Joy Himmelman was made an AALU Honorary Member. At a ceremony in Orillia, Joshua Briand and Ofelia Jianu received Outstanding Young Alumni Awards. Our annual awards program is just one way that we celebrate our accomplished alumni. This issue of Journey features grads Rebecca Scott, Debbie Balika, and Canada Goose VP Spencer Orr along with profiles of alumni who’ve chosen careers in politics and public service. We also take a look back at the last 10 years of the Orillia campus with Principal Kim Fedderson. Finally, the Alumni Association is hosting many events throughout the winter. Check out the Upcoming Events section at alumni.lakeheadu.ca to see if we’ll be in your community. Michel Beaulieu, President Alumni Association
Mark Tilbury, Director Alumni and Community Relations
2016 Alumni Award recipients (l-r): Bill Keeler, Coleman Hell, Liana Frenette, Nathan Lawrence, Joy Himmelman, and David Lod
ON
TH
EM
AP
GIVING TUESDAY On November 29, Lakehead held its inaugural Giving Tuesday event to raise funds for student scholarships and bursaries, support student athletes, and enhance the student experience. Giving Tuesday happens every November the day after Cyber Monday. Since this international movement started in 2012, it has become a great way to kick off the giving season and help non-profits help others. This year, Lakehead’s social media champions united to encourage others to support our students through an in-person or online gift. People also shared photos of themselves on social media using the hashtags #GivingTuesday and #lakeheadu. Giving Tuesday was a resounding success. In total $21,489 was donated and the Alumni Association of Lakehead University contributed $20,000 for a combined total of $41,489.
L-R: Thunder Bay-Rainy River MP Don Rusnak, Minister of Northern Development and Mines Michael Gravelle, Minister of the Status of Women Patty Hajdu, Lakehead President Dr. Brian Stevenson, Lakehead’s Water Resource Science Program Director Dr. Amanda Diochon, and Research and Innovation Vice-President Dr. Andrew Dean
$14 MILLION INVESTMENT The federal and provincial governments announced that they will invest $14 million in Lakehead infrastructure projects as part of their strategy to foster innovation and create jobs. The funds will be used
to modernize and expand an existing building on the Thunder Bay campus which will become a new state-ofthe-art research complex known as the Centre for Advanced Studies in Engineering and Sciences.
#1 RESEARCH UNIVERSITY
MRS. ANNETTE AUGUSTINE
For the second year in a row, Lakehead has been ranked Canada’s number one research university in the undergraduate category by Re$earch Infosource. “Our researchers and students are tackling the scientific, social, economic, and political questions of the future,” said Dr. Andrew Dean, Vice-President, Research and Innovation. Re$earch Infosource has determined that Lakehead is eighth in Canada in research-income growth, climbing nearly 300% in 15 years, and third in the amount of research publications, an increase of 250% during the same period. “This means that these changes are not just a one off – they are systemic,” said Re$earch Infosource CEO Ron Freedman.
Community leader Mrs. Annette Augustine passed away on November 2, 2016. Annette was a Fellow of Lakehead University and one of our 40 Northern Lights – a group of extraordinary women and men who made a difference to the growth and development of the University. Annette was an exceptional ambassador who served on Lakehead’s Board of Governors from 1989 to 1995 and co-chaired the Music and Visual Arts Centre Capital Campaign. Born and raised in Kitchener, Ontario, Annette was an Honours Graduate of the Ontario College of Art. She married
her high school sweetheart Dr. John Ross Augustine – another of Lakehead’s 40 Northern Lights – in June 1952, two days after he graduated from medical school. After moving to what is now Thunder Bay, Annette was actively involved with countless organizations including the Women's Auxiliary of Westmount Hospital, the Thunder Bay Salvation Army, the Lakehead Region Conservation Authority, and the Thunder Bay Historical Museum Society. In 1999, Annette was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada in recognition of her lifetime of volunteer work. We are deeply indebted to Mrs. Annette Augustine for her generous and selfless service to Lakehead University.
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$1 MILLION GIFT
Lakehead and Simcoe County representatives gathered to mark the latest milestone in their successful partnership (l-r): Orillia Campus Principal Dr. Kim Fedderson, Councillor Bill French, Lakehead President Dr. Brian Stevenson, Simcoe County Warden Gerry Marshall, Councillor Harry Hughes, and Councillor John O’Donnell.
HISTORIC APPOINTMENT Dr. Cynthia Wesley-Esquimaux has been named Lakehead’s Chair on Truth and Reconciliation. Since July 2013, she has served as the University’s Vice-Provost, Aboriginal Initiatives. In her new role, she will advocate for truth and reconciliation within the Lakehead University community and serve
as an ambassador for truth and reconciliation issues regionally, provincially, and nationally. “This is an important statement by Lakehead about its commitment to moving forward on the process of reconciliation,” she explained. In 2015, Dr. Wesley-Esquimaux was made an Honorary Witness for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.
We’re better,
SOCIAL WORK MILESTONES
The first group of Master of Social Work students at the Orillia campus began their studies this fall. Congratulations to students Ellen Osei-Afriyie, Carly Roberts, Amanda Shaw, and Luke Cuppage. Because of the University’s telepresence technology, the students are able to attend classes with their peers on the Thunder Bay together. campus.
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The County of Simcoe presented a $1 million cheque to Lakehead Orillia during a special event at Simcoe Hall on October 18. This generous donation brings the County’s total contribution to the Orillia campus to $6.5 million since 2009. “County Council understands that our region’s postsecondary educational facilities will play a vital role for generations to come,” said Simcoe County Warden Gerry Marshall.
Congratulations also to Master of Social Work student Meghan Young who recently received a prestigious Joseph Morrison Legacy Fund bursary which is awarded to Aboriginal students who exemplify the values of the late Justice and Elder Joseph Donald Morrison and who have demonstrated the ability to overcome adversity.
SUSTAINABLE FOOD
LEGACY SOCIETY
Dr. Charles Levkoe has been named Lakehead’s Tier II Canada Research Chair in Sustainable Food Systems. His research will investigate how academics and communitybased practitioners such as food producers, public health workers, and Indigenous communities can build food systems that address social, economic, and environmental challenges.
On September 1, 2016, the William G. Tamblyn Legacy Society – an honorary organization celebrating donors who designate gifts in their estate to Lakehead – was launched on the Orillia campus. The launch coincided with the opening of the New Sun Art Gallery in Simcoe Hall’s Alumni Commons where the announcement took place. The gallery is named in honour of Lakehead donor Joy Harvie Maclaren. “Her legacy gift
supported the gallery’s establishment and makes her the inaugural member of the University’s Legacy Society on the Orillia campus,” said Lakehead President Dr. Brian Stevenson. Joy, who died in 2014 at the age of 92, had a lifelong interest in promoting education, particularly for Aboriginal youth. She was given the honorary title of “New Sun” by the Mohawk, Ojibway, and Blackfoot First Nations in recognition of her work for First Nations communities across Canada.
HOMECOMING WEEKEND Lakehead alumni from across the country returned to campus for the second annual Homecoming Weekend which ran from September 30 to October 1. Grads enjoyed a welcome reception hosted by the Thunder Bay Alumni Chapter, campus tours, and the sold-out 2016 Alumni Awards reception. Another highlight of the weekend was the annual John Zanatta Alumni Games which gave former varsity athletes the chance to play volleyball and basketball and relive fond memories.
Pink cheeks Snowdrifts AND
ARE CALLING.
INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS The first-ever day of celebration for Simcoe County international students took place on October 24. More than 500 international students currently enrolled at Lakehead Orillia and Georgian College got together for orientation sessions, tours of Orillia and Barrie, and an afternoon of workshops, exhibits, and festivities at Georgian College in Barrie. The event was presented by the County of Simcoe in collaboration with Lakehead University, Georgian College, and the cities of Orillia and Barrie.
University Librarian Karen Keiller stands next to the portrait of our Founding Chancellor Norman M. Paterson.
the perfect getaway - it’s in our nature.
visitthunderbay.com
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Q&A
with Lakehead Orillia Principal Dr. Kim Fedderson
Almost 10 years ago, Dr. Kim Fedderson became the founding dean of Lakehead’s Orillia campus and since 2015, he has served as its principal. The former Thunder Bay campus English professor and dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities was excited by the prospect of building a university from the ground up. Principal Fedderson is proud of the campus’s dramatic growth and the way that the community has embraced Lakehead Orillia. WHAT WERE YOUR FIRST WEEKS LIKE AS THE FOUNDING DEAN OF LAKEHEAD ORILLIA? It was an absolute thrill to come here in September 2007 but it was also quite overwhelming. I arrived a year after the campus had opened and I came in as an academic focused on this innovative interdisciplinary studies program we were about to offer. There was only a one-day transition period before I took the reins from the departing director of operations, Sally-Ann Burnett. She had done a marvellous job connecting with Simcoe County. Although I didn’t have a background in communitybuilding, I quickly became familiar with the students, faculty, and community members. During that period I was working at our Heritage Place location in downtown Orillia and living on the floor above, so that definitely helped! WHO WERE SOME OF THE PEOPLE WHO HELPED ESTABLISH THIS NEW CAMPUS? In the late 1950s and 1960s, Orillia citizens like former city councillor Sue Mulcahy and the influential Ontario educator Lloyd
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Dennis advocated for a university in Orillia. They were unsuccessful, however, the community’s passion for a university never abated. Then in 2002, a group of civic-minded Orillians took up the cause again. They met every month to play poker (and still do) and talk about ways to improve the quality of life in the city. This group was led by Anderson Charters and Bruce Waite, a current member of the Lakehead Board of Governors. Together they formed the Orillia University Committee and lobbied Orillia Mayor Ron Stevens. Ron, in turn, set up the Mayor’s Taskforce which had a mandate to establish a university in Orillia. The project received a major boost when Mary Ann Chambers, the minister of Training, Colleges and Universities, recommended that they talk to Lakehead University’s president. Within two years, Lakehead had launched its campus in Orillia. Once the doors were opened in 2006, there were many people who got the campus up and running. Director of Operations Sally-Ann Burnett who managed the campus during its first year, Kelli Gray (now MacCullough) who was responsible for student affairs, and Orillia Associate Vice-President Brian Jeffs who oversaw the building of the 500 University Avenue location. Of course, the campus’s charter faculty members played a huge role. There were just seven of them – Professors Alice den Otter, Tim Kaiser, Glenn Legault, Linda Rodenburg, Nanda Kanavillil, Thomas Stiff, and Derek Irwin. In that first year they built the reputation of Lakehead University in Orillia and the students loved them.
WHAT IS ONE OF YOUR FAVOURITE MEMORIES FROM THE LAST 10 YEARS? There are so many memories, but our first convocation in 2008 was a highlight for me. Ten students received their degrees at the city council chambers in Heritage Place. We were only in our second year of operation, so the students had fasttracked through the program. They were mature students with family commitments that didn’t allow them to go away for school and they were really dedicated scholars. In that group, three applied to medical school and eventually all three were accepted. For years, I would dine out on the story that 30% of our graduating students go to med school. That convocation was a turning point for me because I realized that this was a community that really wanted to have a university. It was also a special occasion because we honoured Sue Mulcahy with our first Civitas Award, now given annually to a community member who has made a significant contribution to the Orillia campus.
WHAT IS UNIQUE ABOUT LAKEHEAD ORILLIA’S CURRICULUM AND APPROACH TO UNIVERSITY EDUCATION? The principal cornerstone of Lakehead Orillia is a commitment to inquiry-based and interdisciplinary learning. One of the things that distinguishes Lakehead University is that we provide undergraduate students with the opportunity to do research. We have Orillia students who are publishing as undergraduates and that’s a rarity in the Canadian university system. Also at the heart of Lakehead Orillia's curriculum is a focus on sustainability; in particular, triple bottom-line sustainability – social, economic, and environmental. Our Honours Bachelor of Arts and Science degree was created to provide students with the skills they will need to meet the challenges of sustainability today and in the future.
We also have exceptional Lakehead University Student Union (LUSU) executive members here. Ian McCrae was the previous LUSU vice-president and Sami Pritchard is our current LUSU vice-president. They are amazing – the work they do to make sure that successive generations of students are supported and welcomed into the community is something I’ve never seen before. THE ORILLIA CAMPUS OPENED IN 2006. WHAT DOES REACHING ORILLIA’S 10TH ANNIVERSARY MEAN TO YOU? It was really wonderful being able to celebrate our 10th anniversary the year after Lakehead’s 50th anniversary.
The 50th was a milestone for the university – it had a dignity and majesty about it. When the 10th anniversary arrived this fall, we had a community celebration with fun and games and treats. We celebrated it like a 10-year-old’s birthday party. It had a very youthful flavour and was the perfect way to mark our first decade. Our anniversary gave us the chance to applaud the many outstanding individuals and partner organizations who’ve made Lakehead Orillia so successful.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE ORILLIA STUDENTS? It’s changed over time. There was a great deal of pent-up demand before we came here so there was a large group of mature students waiting for a university. Since opening Simcoe Hall at 500 University Avenue, a greater number of our students are younger and more typical of university students generally. The thing that hasn’t changed is the students’ enthusiasm. It’s a passion not just for university, but a passion for Lakehead. Boy, are they proud to be Lakehead students. Everywhere you look, you see people wearing their Lakehead regalia – hats, t-shirts, sweatshirts. It’s like a daily affirmation.
The Fall 2016 orientation was extra special because it marked the start of Orillia's 10th Anniversary celebrations.
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Charter Class Grad DEBBIE BALIKA Excels in Science by Kathy Hunt
Debbie Balika (HBASc/BEd’11, MSc’14) Debbie Balika not only has the distinction of being a member of Lakehead Orillia’s charter class, but she is also one of the first Orillia graduate students. Debbie came to Lakehead with the intention of becoming a school teacher, but along the way she took advantage of opportunities that led her to a career in science. As Debbie says, “I just seemed to keep walking through the doors that Lakehead opened.” Before starting at Lakehead in 2006, Debbie was a pharmacy technician in a retail environment. As a single parent with two young children, she found working in retail a challenge. Realizing that she needed to further her education, she enrolled at Georgian College with the goal of becoming an educational assistant. It was during her first coop placement that a series of “open doors” began to appear. “My supervisor at Georgian had graduated from Lakehead’s Thunder Bay campus and knew about the opening of the Orillia campus. She encouraged me to pursue my teaching degree – I took her advice!”
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Following her third year at Lakehead, Debbie applied for and accepted a summer position as a researcher with the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies/Biology. She worked with Professors Sree Kurissery and Nanda Kanavillil on water quality projects. Professor Kurissery immediately saw Debbie’s potential as an academic researcher and teacher. “Debbie was highly committed and dedicated to her projects and naturally took on a leadership role,” notes Kurissery. “I have always loved the outdoors and felt that this new path could help me look after our environment – not only from a recreational point of view, but from a research perspective.” – Water Quality Specialist Debbie Balika Following this research experience, Debbie knew she wanted to continue her studies in biology. “Everything fell into place that summer,” she says. Debbie expressed her interest to Professor Kurissery, thinking that it wouldn’t be possible to pursue graduate studies in Orillia. “Too bad I couldn’t do a master’s degree here,” she said, and her future supervisor responded with, “Oh, but you can!”
Another door opened and Debbie walked through. Following her graduation from Lakehead in 2011 with an Honours Bachelor of Arts & Science and a Bachelor of Education, Debbie began her Master of Science in Biology. She successfully defended her master’s thesis in 2014 and continued her work at Lakehead as a contract research assistant and co-investigator on a Lake Couchiching water quality study. She was also a Faculty of Education contract lecturer during the 2015-16 academic year. She admits that as a mature student, going back to school can be intimidating. “It was especially encouraging to discover supportive professors who were so good at guiding me and pushing me to be better.” Debbie is now fostering sustainable environments as a water quality specialist at Kawartha Conservation in Lindsay, Ontario. She is also a volunteer science consultant for the Coalition of Haliburton Property Owner’s Association and a turtle taxi driver with the Kawartha Turtle Trauma Centre. With Debbie’s enthusiasm, knowledge, and expertise, there will certainly be many more doors opening for her.
REBECCA SCOTT A True Student Leader by Kathy Hunt
Rebecca Scott (HBASc/BEd’16) Five years ago Rebecca Scott, an aspiring teacher, thought she had chosen her prospective university when a recruiter from Lakehead came to her high school in Hanover, Ontario. The recruiter, Danielle Poeta, gave a presentation that motivated Rebecca to take a road trip with some friends to see the Orillia campus. “That visit completely changed my mind,” Rebecca says. “Lakehead had the right feeling – it was just home – and I felt like there would be lots of opportunities at such a new university campus.” Rebecca was right about the opportunities. She was able to combine her Honours Bachelor of Arts & Science and Bachelor of Education studies with rewarding campus experiences. In her first year she worked parttime at the campus front desk, helping with reception duties. Rebecca then went on to become a resident assistant (RA) in her second year, a role she would hold for three years. As an RA, she lived in residence and was responsible for the students living on her assigned floor.
“I was there to help and guide new students, especially through the difficult challenges that come from being away from home and embarking on life in a totally new environment,” she explains. “It was really all about enabling them to figure out who they were as individuals and how they could be successful as students.” Being an RA allowed Rebecca to build many relationships and friendships over the years, while learning “leaps and bounds” about leadership and mentoring. “The time has come to step out of our comfort zone and into the real world. It’s time to use our skills and take some risks.” – 2016 Voice of Convocation Speaker Rebecca Scott She was encouraged by many of her peers to apply for the prestigious 2016 Voice of Convocation position. Rebecca applied and this past June, she delivered a stirring graduation message to her fellow students, capping five years of exceptional involvement with the Orillia campus. Rebecca was truly honoured to represent her classmates. “This was another awesome opportunity for me,
and I was happy to share what I had learned from my fellow students – to continue to pursue what you are passionate about and to never give up. The sky’s the limit – it’s your life, live it!” Another highlight of the convocation ceremony was having in the audience, along with her family, a young student with Down Syndrome that she had worked with as a volunteer educator for over 10 years in her hometown. It was this student who inspired Rebecca to pursue a career in special education. “I was introduced to a whole different community with such a positive feeling of acceptance. I also discovered that these students could easily fall through the cracks. My volunteer experience made me want to try my hardest to fill in those cracks with success and positivity.” Rebecca has now launched her teaching career and is excited to have achieved her goal of working in special education. She is currently a special education teacher with the Bluewater District School Board which serves students in Ontario’s Bruce and Grey counties. Congratulations Rebecca!
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The Inaugural Naysmith Scholar Preparing Students to be Leaders in Natural Resources Stewardship Dr. John Naysmith and Julia Ieropoli Forests from the Canadian north to the southern tropics protect every aspect of our global ecosystem. Trees play a key role in carbon storage, flood control, soil stability, and clean air and water. No one understands this better from empirical example than Dr. John Naysmith – the former director of Lakehead’s School of Forestry and the founding dean of the Faculty of Forestry.
Management student who has completed their third year. “This award will further encourage Lakehead students to cultivate informed dialogue concerning global human needs and nature’s capacity to meet them,” Dr. Naysmith explains.
His love of forests is longstanding. In 1947 while still a high school student, he had a summer job with an Abitibi Power and Paper Company timber cruising party responsible for sampling tree stands. The job entailed walking through dense forest, Now Dr. Naysmith’s daughter JeanAnn and son-in-law Bob Rooney have sleeping in tents, and canoeing uncharted established an endowment, to which water. “I loved every minute of it,” Dr. John's wife Etoile immediately made Naysmith says. a substantial contribution, to honour Since then, he has helped transform and John Naysmith’s legacy. strengthen the field of natural resources. One On September 30, 2016, Lakehead University announced that $2,000 will be awarded annually to the individual selected as the Naysmith Scholar – an Honours Bachelor of Science in Forestry or Honours Bachelor of Environmental
of his internationally-recognized achievements was his leadership in the development and writing of the National Conservation Strategy for Nepal. Another fulfilling aspect of his career has been working with Lakehead students. “They were so enthusiastic – it was inspiring for me.”
L-R: Bob Rooney, Jean-Ann Naysmith Rooney, Dr. John Naysmith, Julia Ieropoli, Lakehead President Brian Stevenson, Natural Resources Management Dean Ulf Runesson, and Sasha Naysmith McMonagle (Dr. Naysmith’s granddaughter)
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In the 1990s, Dr. Naysmith established an international exchange program involving students from Lakehead, Ghana in West Africa, and Nepal in Southeast Asia. “This sparked discussion between young people from different parts of the world about approaches to forest stewardship,” he says. Dr. Naysmith’s continuing relationship with Lakehead includes judging undergraduate thesis presentations. “The skill with which these young people express themselves is remarkable – their ability to connect with others is precisely what is needed today.” That’s why he is so thrilled with Julia Ieropoli, a fourth-year forestry student and the inaugural Naysmith Scholar. Julia is the co-president of the Lakehead Natural Resources Student Society and she’s currently organizing a symposium on stewardship. “It’s been amazing to get to know Dr. Naysmith,” Julia says. “I wish I’d had the opportunity to have a class with him. He’s so intelligent and such a gentleman – there’s really no one like him.” When she graduates in June 2017, Julia will be working as an assistant forest engineer for a forestry company on Vancouver Island.
You can contribute to the well-being of our planet and its people by making a gift to the Naysmith Scholar endowment fund. Please contact Devon Ottertail at 807-343-8198 or by email at devon.ottertail@lakeheadu.ca
Department of
Music
“We included Lakehead University in our will because we believe in the transformative power of education.� Dr. Bill Heath Professor Emeritus, Lakehead University Ms. Betty Heath Lakehead Alumna
Creating a will is arguably one of the most important things you can do for yourself and your family. Not only can a will protect those you care for, it can also detail how you would like your estate managed. A gift in your will to Lakehead University can provide future financial support to a student, create a lasting legacy and provide significant estate tax benefits.
Your Will is a Gift For information call Lee-Anne Camlin, Philanthropy Associate
EXCEPTIONAL. UNCONVENTIONAL.
(807) 346-7792 Email: rlcamlin@lakeheadu.ca All requests remain confidential with no obligation
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CALL of the
The
WILD
SPENCER ORR
Embraces his Outdoor Rec Roots by Tracey Skehan
Spencer Orr (HBOR’02) launches himself into new experiences with wholehearted abandon – like racing down the main street of Anchorage, Alaska, with a herd of reindeer on his heels. In March 2014, Spencer – the merchandising and product strategy vice-president of the iconic outerwear company Canada Goose – was in Alaska for the start of the Iditarod dog sled race. He’d travelled there with chief brand officer Kevin Spreekmeester to cheer on Lance Mackey, a four-time Iditarod winner and Goose Person (the term the company uses to describe its ambassadors). While the two execs were having lunch, a fellow diner mentioned that the annual running of the reindeer was happening that
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afternoon. “Spencer turned to me,” Kevin recalls, “and said, ’Buddy, we’re in.’” Adventure seeking came early to Spencer. His father was the superintendent of Terra Nova National Park on the east coast of Newfoundland. “We lived in the park until I was 10,” Spencer says, “and it gave me access to back country camping, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, and even scuba diving.” His enthusiasm for outdoor life extended into equipment and clothing. “As a kid, I’d go to bed every night with a stack of Mountain Equipment Co-op and other outerwear catalogues, reviewing hiking boots in my mind.”
Spencer’s affinity for nature led him to study marine biology at Dalhousie University, but he changed course when he got a summer job up in Muskoka. “I met a Lakehead University student who wouldn’t stop bragging about his outdoor recreation program,” he says. “I realized then and there that outdoor rec could be a great stepping stone for me.” By that August, Spencer was officially a Lakehead student on the Thunder Bay campus. “For the first couple of months I was pinching myself because I was able to take a biology-heavy course load which merged all my passions.” Being in outdoor rec also brought camaraderie. “We were very tight.
You saw other rec’ers no matter where you went – social events, the local climbing crag, mountain biking trails,” he says. “We were easy to spot – you just picked out the guy or girl wearing Birkenstocks and a backpack.” Spencer’s time at Lakehead was momentous for another reason. He met his future wife Jenny Brown in 2001 at a party after his third-year canoe trip. Jenny, who was a genetics/ anthropology student and varsity wrestler, was immediately drawn to Spencer’s dynamism. “On one of our first dates,” Jenny says, “he took me rock climbing, which I’d never done before – then we started mountain biking, canoeing, and snowboarding together.” By his fourth year, Spencer was holding down jobs at a local restaurant, a bar, and a Sierra Designs store called the Trip
Outdoors. He saw this retail position as a way to advance his career. “I remember asking in my interview about the likelihood of moving up from the sales floor to head office. The store owner looked at me and said, ‘You’re taking a part-time minimum wage job. Are you sure you want to take that kind of risk?’” He did, and when a Sierra Designs product manager came to the store, Spencer was prepared. “I’d become a high-performing salesperson, so I was able to pull him aside and give my elevator speech. I said, ‘The pocket angle doesn’t work on this jacket and this cuff doesn’t make any sense, and have you thought about this?’” The manager agreed to meet with Spencer who flew to Sierra’s head office in Toronto on a Friday. On Sunday evening, his new mentor emailed Spencer a Corel Draw software program – which he’d never
Durability, craftsmanship, and innovation are all highly valued by Canada Goose
used before – and told Spencer to deliver original designs to his inbox by Tuesday morning. Spencer knuckled down and came up with
Spencer says of his design sense that "geeking out on every feature of every outerwear jacket for years helped me understand what works and what doesn’t."
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“If I want to see our factory,” Spencer says, “I just open my office door and turn left. In the world of global sourcing that’s not very common.”
27 designs that showed enough raw potential to get him hired on a trial basis. Eventually, Spencer convinced Sierra Designs to hire him full time and he and Jenny loaded up a U-Haul and moved to Toronto. He became a Sierra product coordinator and Jenny landed a job at the Hospital for Sick Children laboratory where she is currently a genetic technologist. The couple now have two young daughters who are just as active as their parents. The family heads out of the city every weekend to go camping, cycling, and bouldering in the summer and skiing in the winter. Spencer’s next big break in the outerwear world happened a few years later when his mentor moved to a different company two weeks before a major sales conference. “My boss looked around and said ‘Who’s going to present the line?’ I put my hand up and my boss whispered to 14
the guy next to him, ‘Who is that?’” Spencer ended up giving a four-hour presentation to international reps and when he stepped off the stage, he was offered the product manager position. By 2009 Spencer was running the entire apparel division for Sierra Designs and was ready to venture out in a new direction. He applied to Canada Goose, a third-generation family business founded in 1957. The company has established a reputation for putting function and quality first. “We keep our promise to protect people from the elements whether it’s rain, wind, or snow,” says Spencer, “as well as make sure that they look good wearing them.” Canada Goose is worn by everybody from research scientists in Antarctica to fashionable New Yorkers to extreme athletes (famous mountaineer Laurie Skreslet was sporting a Canada Goose parka when
he became the first Canadian to summit Mount Everest in 1982). Their jackets have become the standard uniform of movie crews who need to stay warm in frigid conditions. Oversized pockets and speciallydesigned features for storing gear and cables means that crews don’t have to tote around heavy backpacks anymore. Well-known actors and celebrities such as Daniel Craig and Emma Stone have also taken a shine to Goose parkas, both on and off set. This popularity has fuelled the company’s expansion over the past few years. It has factories throughout Canada, offices in New York and Paris, and sells its products in nearly 40 different countries. This meteoric ascent is paralleled by Spencer’s own rise through the ranks of Canada Goose. He started out as a product manager, was promoted to director of design and merchandising and then vice president design and
merchandising. In 2016 he became the vice president of merchandising and product strategy overseeing a team of 12 people. He has found his home. “Our CEO Dani Reiss says, ‘If you find the right job, you don’t work a day in your life.’ And I love it here,” Spencer says. “It feels like family.” “Spencer eats, sleeps, and breathes Canada Goose,” Jenny says. “He’s been great for the company and the company has been great for us.” Chief brand officer Kevin Spreekmeester agrees. “Spencer is focused on evolving products to make them more comfortable and he’s made a real impact by introducing our HyBridge Lite jacket.” The jacket won Outdoor Magazine’s Gear of the Year Award and opened the doors for Canada Goose in the lightweight category. Spencer is continuing this push to help the company transition into a three-season brand: fall, winter, and
spring. He has been intimately involved in the design process of garments – from concept all the way through development, product engineering, and compliance. “I’m always asking, ‘Is it possible that this is not a best-in-class product?’” The nature of his job means that Spencer criss-crosses the globe on a regular basis. He has seen all of Asia and Europe, keeping his finger on the pulse of the outerwear industry. He’s at tradeshows, fashion shows, and retail stores as well as at the mills where yarn is made and the dye houses where fabrics are coloured. But one travel experience stands above all the others. In 2015, Spencer journeyed to the North Pole to conduct field tests on Canada Goose gear – he wanted to see for himself how they stood up to the harshest of conditions.
He made the voyage with a handful of scientists and a group of adventure tourists. They landed in Svalbard, a northern island well above Norway before transferring to a rusted and creaking airplane that flew to a Russian base camp located in the middle of a floating ice field. The only structures were two giant heated plastic tents for sleeping, a dining tent, and a homemade sauna. “One tourist dressed up as Santa Claus and a couple got remarried,” Spencer says. “It was like an arctic Las Vegas.” Although Spencer revelled in the craziness of it all, he says that the best part was being able to walk away from the chaos and “into the wind and the cold to find the empty spaces and solitude I was seeking.” It was an impulse that marked Spencer as an outdoor rec’er at heart – and one who we are proud to count as a Lakehead grad.
EXCEPTIONAL. UNCONVENTIONAL.
LEARNING THAT FITS YOUR LIFE! Interested in expanding your professional skills, completing a certificate or degree, or taking a single course? Continuing Education and Distributed Learning has an extensive selection of flexible yearround options for you.
cedl@lakeheadu.ca
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LAKEHEAD
Annual Fund
SUPPORTING OUR STUDENTS. RIGHT HERE. RIGHT NOW.
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The Lakehead Annual Fund supports and invests in our students by directing your gifts to: • SCHOLARSHIPS to recognize academic excellence • BURSARIES to ensure university education is accessible for all students • Enhancing the STUDENT EXPERIENCE • Support for our dedicated STUDENT ATHLETES
Are you ready to change a life? Each year, Lakehead students are recruited and trained to work on campus as Alumni Outreach and Engagement Callers - students like Joseph (HBSc, 2nd year) and Annessa (HBSW, 4th year). “This is my second year with the Centre and I love having the opportunity to talk to alumni. It’s great to hear their stories about campus life. I also really appreciate the advice that some of them give me,” Joseph says. “I’ve had some terrific conversations with alumni and I’m always impressed by the people who choose to donate. It makes me feel like I have their support,” says Annessa. “Even our recent graduates, who may still have student loans, are generous. That means a lot.” Gifts to the Lakehead Annual Fund support four main areas, but donors are always welcome to designate their gift to another area within the University. Calling begins in the fall and runs through to the spring. If you haven’t heard from one of our students, please update your information using our online form on our website alumni.lakeheadu.ca or by calling our toll-free number at 1-800-832-8972. Joseph and Annessa will be calling you!
Support our Students. Right Here. Right Now. donate.lakeheadu.ca
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Lakehead Annual Fund – Connecting Students and Alumni Some of the funds raised through the Lakehead Annual Fund in 2015-16 were used to create better learning environments and provide other opportunities for our students.
Chancellor Paterson Library
Study Room Renovations
This summer, one of the fourth-floor study rooms in the Chancellor Paterson Library was renovated with the help of the Lakehead Annual Fund. The walls were coated with whiteboard paint to transform the space into one large canvas. Old flooring was replaced with tile, ensuring a hypoallergenic learning area for students, and electrical outlets were updated to include dedicated USB plugs.
This room is now in high demand from students in all disciplines and it’s also used as a showpiece to attract gifts from future donors. Anyone wishing to learn more about funding a similar renovation can contact Lee-Anne Camlin via email at lee-anne.camlin@lakeheadu.ca or by phone at 807-346-7792.
Renovations to this room made possible by donations to the Lakehead annuaL Fund LAKEHEAD
Annual Fund
Support for our StuDEntS. rigHt HErE.
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rigHt now.
Student Internships Undergraduate students Brittany Vescio (HBA, BEd, 4th year) and Georgina Chuatico (HBA, 4th year) were hired for fulltime summer jobs as a direct result of the Lakehead Annual Fund. Through a partnership that matched monies from the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, these students were able to take on challenging research projects. Brittany collaborated with Dr. Isabelle Lemée on research exploring how French-as-a-second language learners use generic pronouns while Georgina worked with Dr. Todd Dufresne gathering new data related to climate change. The results of both projects will be published – demonstrating the unique advantages available to Lakehead University undergraduate students.
donate.lakeheadu.ca
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Polling the Politicians by Bonnie Schiedel
PATTY HAJDU (BA’96/HBA’07) MP Thunder Bay-Superior North and Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour
MICHAEL GRAVELLE (Library Technology & General Arts, 1967-69) MPP Thunder Bay-Superior North and Minister of Northern Development and Mines
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BILL MAURO (BA’87/BEd’88) MPP Thunder Bay-Atikokan and Minister of Municipal Affairs
VIC DHILLON (BAdmin’92, Marketing) MPP Brampton West
DON RUSNAK (IFRM 2000, Integrated Forest Resource Management) MP Thunder Bay-Rainy River
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An education that teaches students “how to think, not what to think,” is at the heart of Lakehead’s mission. Meet five Lakehead alumni who are putting this philosophy into action through their careers in federal and provincial politics.
PATTY
MICHAEL
“I could always hear my uncle’s voice in my head saying, ‘Your degree is a key to the door. You need to get that door open!’” recalls Patty Hajdu (BA’96/HBA’07). Patty enrolled at Lakehead as a part-time mature student, taking classes that fit around her job working with a literacy program and parenting two young sons. “I took an anthropology course and had the great good fortune to be taught by Professor Paul Driben,” she says. “He used the topic of female circumcision to start a discussion of whether anthropologists should be solely observers, or intervene in situations where perhaps someone’s rights were being infringed upon,” she says. “The class was so compelling. I will never forget it.”
“My time at Lakehead was incredibly important to me,” says Michael Gravelle, Liberal MPP for Thunder Bay-Superior North. “It was the place I truly had a chance to hone my analytical abilities. It was pretty apparent even then I was passionate about politics.” Michael attended Lakehead for two years, first in the library technology program and then in the arts program. He recalls two professors in particular – history professor Ernst Zimmermann and political science professor Pradip Sarbadhikari. “Both of them urged me to enter the political world. Pretty fierce debate was encouraged,” he remembers. “Lakehead was a place where I felt very strongly motivated. “
Ten years after graduating, Patty returned to Lakehead to get her honours degree as a precursor to a Master of Public Administration from the University of Victoria. “Both times I attended Lakehead were positive experiences. The instructors were good and it’s a friendly, small campus,” she says. Before entering politics, Patty’s career focused on housing, public health, substance use issues, and harm reduction. “I saw how inaction by all levels of government creates not only great suffering, but great expense in society,” she says. After repeated suggestions to run for office, she took the leap. In 2015, she was successfully elected as a federal Liberal MP and left her position as executive director of Shelter House in Thunder Bay. Shortly afterwards, Patty was appointed Minister of Status of Women in Prime Minister Trudeau’s cabinet, her “dream portfolio.” Then in January 2017, Patty took on the challenging role of Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour. Her riding is marked by resilience, she says. “In the next five years, I want Thunder Bay-Superior North to have more hope for the future. I want people to believe they have a government that sees them and feel supported in the work they’re doing to make their communities vibrant and healthy and strong.”
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During his time at university, Michael threw himself enthusiastically into student life, getting involved with the Lakehead University Student Union and participating in a campus television show called Montage that conducted news and entertainment interviews. When he had the opportunity to work for a federal politician, the Hon. Robert Andras, he decided to take a year off from school to do it. “I was excited about Pierre Trudeau talking about a just society. I was an idealistic leftwing kid, as you can imagine in the late sixties,” he says. Minister Andras became a cabinet minister and former Lakehead president Bill Tamblyn became his chief of staff. So Michael left academics behind to enter political life – first behind the scenes as a staffer and then as a MPP beginning in 1995. He’s currently the Minister of Northern Development and Mines. “The most important work we can do is to serve the people, to be as useful as we can to people who are having problems or challenges,” Michael says. “I learned a lot of that at Lakehead – the kinds of conversations, discussions, and debates I had with my professors and colleagues. It was an amazing time and I look back on it fondly.”
BILL
VIC
DON
In his role as MPP for Thunder BayAtikokan, Bill Mauro enjoys speaking at adult education graduation ceremonies. That’s because he can relate to being an older student. Bill started at Lakehead in his twenties while holding down part-time jobs in construction and other fields.
“Going away to Lakehead was the best thing I ever did in my life,” says Vic Dhillon (BAdmin’92), the Liberal MPP for Brampton West in his hometown of Brampton, Ontario. Leaving home to attend university nearly 1,400 kilometres away gave Vic a new perspective. “You get the real experience of going to school away from home,” he says. “I come from a community in Brampton that is largely South Asian-dominated. It was an eye-opening experience to be in a university where there are people from many cultures. You realize we all want a well-balanced life in a peaceful society. As an immigrant, that was a huge learning experience.”
Classes in Integrated Forest Resource Management including “timber cruising” – walking through the bush to evaluate the quality of tree stands – aren’t the usual path to law school and public office, but for Don Rusnak (IFRM’00), it’s worked out well.
“My path was different. It was night courses while I was working as well as courses when I was laid off,” he says. “It was fortunate for me that we had a university here in Northwestern Ontario because there are a lot of us in this neck of the woods who are not able to, or can’t afford to, attend university out of town.” Bill, like Michael Gravelle, remembers Professor Zimmermann. “He had a great ability to generate conversation, to be a bit controversial, to be direct. I needed that kind of interaction to get enthusiastic about things,” he says. Ten years after graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in History and his teaching degree, Bill turned to political life – much to his surprise. “I’m not ‘political,’ I don’t walk into a room and shake everybody’s hand and say ‘yes’ all the time,” he says. But with his dad and his brother’s encouragement, he ran for the Thunder Bay municipal council and served two terms. He was elected MPP in the Thunder Bay-Atikokan riding in 2003, followed by three more successful terms. Currently, he’s Minister of Municipal Affairs. What’s next? Bill is a staunch advocate of health care for the north and wants to see full cardiac surgery available in Thunder Bay to complement its angioplasty program. In his downtime, Bill hits the trails. “Running is my go-to activity. I love that runner’s high you get,” he says. “The beauty of running is that you can just put on a pair of running shoes and you’re out the front door, wherever your front door happens to be.”
Vic’s studies in marketing have paid off in his political career, which began in 2003. “I find that the theory and the practical knowledge I gained helped me immensely. My job is all business, although it’s a non-profit business: connecting with people, understanding what people want, and trying to deliver it,” he says. “In elections, it’s about how do I contact 100,000 people to relay my message with a limited budget?” He adds that his statistics courses gave him a good foundation for understanding polling and data. “Being in a smaller school and having one-on-one time with a professor to clarify some of the more complicated theoretical aspects was a bonus. I don’t think I would have had that experience at any other university.” Being in Thunder Bay also offered chances for sleigh rides, skiing, and exploring the natural world. “I wouldn’t have fallen in love with the outdoors if I hadn’t come to Lakehead University,” notes Vic. That love of the outdoors shows in both his downtime – he’s an avid home gardener – and his political work. “In the next five years, we have an agenda on infrastructure and climate change. If we mess up our environment there’s no going back.”
“It was always fun going to class,” Don says, and he points to enduring friendships forged at Lakehead University as helping him succeed. “The small class sizes allowed me to build connections with students and professors. We were all really close. We hung out after lectures and we studied together. Today, I have friends in the business world as well as my forestry friends. They’ve become a network of individuals that I can draw upon as I make decisions and move forward in life. They are always there to act as sounding boards and to offer advice about areas I’m not familiar with.” After graduating from law school, Don worked in provincial health care in Manitoba, was a Crown prosecutor in Alberta, and started his own law practice in Thunder Bay. Always interested in public life, Don decided to run in the 2015 federal election campaign. He was elected his first time out as a Liberal MP for Thunder Bay-Rainy River. “I think I’m a good listener and I have a lot of relationships across the country. I wanted to offer these strengths to the people in the riding,” he says. This past June, Don was appointed chair of the Liberal Indigenous Caucus. The group – comprised of nine First Nation, Inuit, and Métis MPs – will shape policy and legislation related to Indigenous issues and Don hopes it will become an important voice for Indigenous people. In his off hours, Don recharges with an annual downhill ski trip, and not surprisingly, three of his buddies from IFRM are with him on the slopes.
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PR FA OF CU ILE LTY
Professor Scott Pound How Language and Literature Can Bring Out the Best in Us by Tracey Skehan Scott Pound was a big fan of rock music in high school, constantly buying albums and devouring biographies of legends like Bob Dylan. As an undergrad student, songs became the bridge from music to poetry. “I’m strongly drawn to lyricism, a form of poetry expressing intense feeling or crisis,” Scott says. “A lyric poem doesn’t try to solve a problem or reach a resolution the way a narrative might – it drops you into moments of crisis or tension and leaves you there.” He’s now an associate professor with Lakehead’s English department specializing in 20th-century poetry. Scott is also a dynamic and inspiring teacher who received the 2015 Distinguished Instructor Award – the University’s most prestigious teaching award. “When you’re teaching writing and literature,” he explains, “you’re instilling a combination of empathy and critical thinking.” Scott cultivates these faculties by asking students questions – starting with the very general and becoming progressively more specific and nuanced. This cumulative approach takes discussions into the conflicts animating a particular text and introduces students to the larger critical conversations about those issues. Students then seek to enter these conversations through research and by writing papers. Scott sees literature and the humanities as vital to a healthy democracy. “You can build social solidarity through care or you can build social solidarity through contempt,” he says. “If we lose sight of our own or
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other people’s humanity, we end up with injustice and war.” His belief in the power of the humanities is most vividly demonstrated in the Community Service Learning (CSL) courses he offers. CSL is a form of experiential learning that gives students the chance to work with community members and organizations. This enriched learning environment furthers the learning objectives of courses in a way not possible in the classroom.
“I always say to my students, ‘Don’t ever let anyone tell you that a humanities education is useless. The humanities presided over the creation of our democratic institutions, and they are how we keep those institutions functional and healthy.’” – Professor Scott Pound, 2015 Distinguished Instructor This winter, for example, third-year students in Scott’s ‘Life Writing’ course will work with hospice volunteers to help people receiving end-of-life care reflect on their life experience. Moments in their lives will be captured in narrative form and this written record will be given to the clients to share with their families. The idea for the course was born when a former student attended a party thrown to celebrate the Distinguished Instructor Award.
Scott and the student, who was volunteering in hospice care, got to talking. They were both excited by the idea of telling the stories of people in palliative care. “Building the partnership with Hospice Northwest and writing the course has been the most interesting and challenging thing I’ve done as a teacher,” Scott says. “I think it will be a transformative project.” The larger social outcome of the course will be to extend the conversation about death and dying. “We want to help destigmatize these conversations,” Scott says, “and have students engage with people who are at the end of their lives, but still very much alive.”
POETRY PICKS
Scott recommends the works below to people new to poetry as well as to long-time poetry lovers. • Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine • Alien vs. Predator by Michael Robbins • The Weary Blues by Langston Hughes
Class notes
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NG TS I RN IN TU PO KEEP IN TOUCH You may update your address online at alumni.lakeheadu.ca. You may also fax this form to 807-343-8194 or mail it to: Alumni and Community Relations Lakehead University, 955 Oliver Road, Thunder Bay, Ontario, P7B 5E1 Name Telephone Address Email Degree(s) Year(s) of Graduation Employer Employer Telephone Employer Address
Thirty-six graduates from the Bora Laskin Faculty of Law charter class were called to the bar on September 23, 2016. The Lakehead grads were among over 280 licensing candidates who participated in a ceremony at Toronto’s Roy Thomson Hall. “This call to the bar was special as our first set of graduates formally begin their careers as lawyers,” said Law Dean Angelique EagleWoman. These graduates represent the realization of the dream to provide legal education in the North. In 2013, the Bora Laskin Faculty of Law became the first Ontario law school in 44 years.
1960s
The Alumni Association and its affinity partners may contact you occasionally to promote programs and services that generate revenue for Lakehead University.
Former Lakehead Chancellor Lorne G. Everett (HBSc/BSc’66) was named an Honorary Diplomate Water Resources Engineer by the American Academy of Water Resources Engineers at the World Water and Environmental Resources Congress held in Florida in May 2016. He received the Academy’s highest honour for his many contributions to water resources, environmental engineering, and professional engineering as well as his commitment to life-long professional development and service. While a Lakehead student, Lorne was editorin-chief of the student newspaper, athlete of the year, and the 1966 graduating class president. Lorne and his wife Jennifer (née Hawkins), whom he met at Lakehead, live in Santa Barbara, California, where Lorne is CEO of L. Everett & Associates LLC, an environmental consulting firm.
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1970s
• call 1-800-832-8076, or
Perry Snow (HBA’70/MA’74) has been appointed the new executive director, Canada, of the British Home Children Advocacy & Research Association (BHCARA). Perry is a retired clinical psychologist now living in Calgary, Alberta. He became involved with the British Home Children in 1993 while searching for the identity of his father, a former British Home Child. Perry is the author of the widely-read book
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LAW CLASS CALLED TO THE BAR
Neither Waif nor Stray: The Search for a Stolen Identity. Between the 1860s and the 1940s, over 100,000 British children were brought to Canada to work as indentured farm workers and domestics. Perry created the British Home Children Mail List in 2000 and developed the British Home Children Registry which was published in 2016.
1980s Walter Flasza (HBComm’86) is the 2016 recipient of the Ross B. Judge Award of Excellence for his dedication and commitment to the United Way of Thunder Bay. Walter has volunteered with the United Way for more than 20 years. He is also a former board president and he recently helped the Thunder Bay branch develop a new strategic plan.
1990s Elizabeth (Liz) Poulin (BA’91) has received the Marian Maloney Commemorative Award for Advancing & Supporting Liberal Women Candidates. Since moving to Thunder Bay with her husband and four children in the early 1980s, Liz has been a passionate supporter of Liberal women candidates at all levels of government – federal, provincial, and municipal.
PASSAGES Walter Crowe (MEd '79), Professor Emeritus of Business Administration, passed away suddenly in November 2016 at the age of 88. He taught at Lakehead from 1966 to 1993, but was also an alumnus, receiving an MEd in Education Administration in 1979. He also received a BComm in 1951 from the University of London, an MEcon in 1965 from Sheffield University, and a PhD in 1974 from Brunel University. He retired with his wife Joan (Morgan) to Owen Sound in 1993. Joan and two of his children, Anne and David, are also Lakehead University alumni. Anyone wishing to make a donation in Walter’s memory can give to the Owen Sound Regional Hospital or the Nature Conservancy of Canada.
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That’s why we support the things in life that you’re most passionate about. Thank you Thunder Bay, for being connected to the community.
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