FAll 2013
JOINING FORCES for MENTAL HEALTH When people face mental health challenges, words and thoughts weigh heavy. Mount Royal’s campus community is shedding stigma and sharing support.
Also... Legacy Awards 2013 Sharing the lessons of the Holocaust Pitch-perfect entrepreneurs
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FEATURES 11
Legacy Awards
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Joining forces for mental health
We profile award recipients in Mount Royal’s annual salute to alumni achievement
The President’s Task Force on Student Mental Health brought together students, faculty, staff and administrators to create a more supportive campus environment for mental health.
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Welcoming our new Provost
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Raising the bar on children’s health
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“We survived, but not with hatred”
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Investing in student success
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Rocketing into the world of business
Speaking up and standing out
An accomplished academic administrator, Kathryn Shailer, PhD will lead Mount Royal’s academic operations.
Pioneering research by Mount Royal faculty and students is helping Cardel Place design new ways to get children, their families and their communities more active, more often.
A remarkably fine fellow
For 30 years, Sid and Bronia Cyngiser have spoken at the Holocaust Education Symposium, fostering understanding by sharing their Holocaust experiences with Grade 12 students.
Michelle Dennis’s Valedictorian Address brought the audience to their feet — but few knew of the challenging journey Dennis had taken in becoming the person on stage
Gaining independence and defining success For more than 20 years, Mount Royal University’s Transitional Vocational Program (TVP) has helped developmentally delayed adults transition into the workforce and gain independence
Taking Face to Face into the E-Learning Era Research being undertaken at Mount Royal University is promising to influence e-learning best practice at Canadian universities and beyond
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Every issue 6
Adding value to the community Examples of Mount Royal’s work within the Calgary community and beyond
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Awards and milestones Mount Royal achieves excellence in and out of the classroom
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Faculty abroad MRU faculty members travel abroad to apply their expertise around the world
47 Accomplished alumni Updates on our exceptional alumni
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Mentorship Makes the Match The Harry G. Schaefer Mentorship Program is connecting students with experienced professionals who can help navigate the transition from university to the workplace.
Legacy Challengers Pave the Way Tom and Charlotte Fredericks are investing in student success by making a bequest to Mount Royal University. Now they are challenging others to do the same
48 Mount Royal events 50 Closing words Chair of Student Counselling Services Janet Miller closes this issue with an insider’s look at excellence in education, supporting student success and shaping the future
from the editor IN
the previous issue of Summit, our theme was citizenship and our magazine was filled with stories of Mount Royal University students using their skills and energies to make life better for people in the campus community and beyond. Because citizenship flourishes when people feel a connection with their community, Mount Royal works to create a supportive campus environment where our students feel they belong. We support the success of our students by helping them learn, helping them grow, and helping them achieve their academic and career goals. And we support our students in becoming active in their community and becoming lifelong learners. So to celebrate Mount Royal’s emphasis on supporting the success of our students, we have chosen it as the theme for this issue of Summit. In these pages, you will meet Tiffany Beks, a Psychology alumna who was recently recognized for her work in raising awareness of mental health issues among students. You’ll also read about the President’s Task Force on Student Mental Health, which brought together Tiffany, her fellow students, faculty, staff and administrators to talk about ways to improve student mental health, decrease the stigma around mental illness, and build a support system for students with mental health challenges.
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Mount Royal is renowned for supporting the success of our students.
We’ll explore how Mount Royal works to support students when life takes an unexpected turn. Valedictorian Michelle Dennis experienced many roadblocks during her studies, and a feature article traces how she overcame those roadblocks with the support of the University’s Iniskim Centre and other programs. We also explore the contributions of Sid and Bronia Cyngiser, longtime donors to Mount Royal, whose generosity in sharing their experiences of the Holocaust delivers powerful lessons to high school students from across Calgary about the consequences of racism and prejudice. This issue also celebrates the success of our students and alumni. We profile students from our Transitional Vocational Program, which supports adults with developmental disabilities in the workplace. And we introduce you to the recipients of Mount Royal’s 2013 Legacy Awards, which recognize alumni who have gone on to make their mark in exceptional ways. In this issue, you’ll meet Kathryn Shailer, Mount Royal’s new provost and vice-president, academic, and we offer a look into the Harry G. Schaefer Mentorship Program, launching this fall. Plus you’ll find out how research by Associate Dean Vince Salyers is helping to translate the essence of Mount Royal’s face-to-face brand into an online
environment — and how his work will influence e-learning best practice at Canadian universities and beyond. The larger Calgary community provides invaluable support to our students. You’ll see how we’re working with Cardel Place on a research project called Raise the Bar, which is improving physical activity in children, youth and families. We’ll tell you about donations from Newalta and Pengrowth that are supporting students by helping to fund their undergraduate work and enabling them to travel to conferences to present their research. I hope you enjoy reading about many of the programs Mount Royal University offers to support our students and the people who help our students excel.
Hope Henderson Vice-President, University Advancement, Mount Royal University
Meet the team Editor-in-Chief Hope Henderson
Editors Nancy Cope Angela Sengaus
Art Director Michal Waissmann
Production Management Deb Abramson
Summ
Marketing and Editorial Coordination Mike Hwang
Contributors
Paula Arab, Colin Brandt, Collette Burjack, Nancy Cope, Jondrea De Ruyter, Emily Denooij, Brendan Greenslade, Niya Hurley, James Parsons, Marnie Powell, Karen Richards, Stacey Smith, Jessica Williamson
Photography
get it in writing right on your screen
Kelli Green, James May, Roth & Ramberg
Cover ART Samantha Pratt
Summit is published by Mount Royal University in the spring and fall of each year. Distributed through various internal and external channels, Summit tells Mount Royal University’s ongoing story to its various audiences. Summit’s content will showcase the aspirations, achievements and contributions of Mount Royal students, faculty, staff, alumni and supporters and, in so doing, clarify Mount Royal’s profile as a Canadian leader in undergraduate education. ISSN 1929-8757 Summit Publications Mail Agreement #40064310 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: University Advancement Mount Royal University 4825 Mount Royal Gate S.W. Calgary, AB, Canada T3E 6K6
Summit will be published in the fall and spring each year. Like this issue, its pages will introduce you to the exceptional students, faculty, staff, alumni and supporters of Mount Royal University who are, together, helping to change the face of education in Canada.
Now, you can enjoy Summit by arranging to have a digital version of the next issue delivered right to your desk or home.
IT’S EASY AND ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY Simply e-mail summit@mtroyal.ca with the following subject heading: YES, I WOULD LIKE TO ENJOY MRU SUMMIT BY E-MAIL. Same great stories — now, sustainably yours.
adding value to the community Examples of Mount Royal’s work within the Calgary community and beyond
Recently, Mount Royal ...
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worked closely with the Calgary Emergency Management Agency as floods devastated southern Alberta. Mount Royal offered shelter to vulnerable Calgarians who had nowhere else to turn and provided space to community organizations whose buildings were impacted by the disaster
faculty and students hosted Crops and Cultures: Cultivating Commodities and Communities, the 2013 Agricultural History Society Conference, at the Banff Centre hosted Building the New West, the first conference of the Western Consortium on Integration, Citizenship and Cohesion, which brought community organizations, researchers, graduate students and policy-makers together to examine settlement and integration programming and outcomes across Western Canada students from the Faculty of Communication Studies, the Faculty of Arts and the Bissett School of Business formed Team Alberta with University of Calgary students to create Borealis, a net-zero energy house they will enter in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon in Washington, D.C. in October
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welcomed 2012 Scotiabank Giller Prize-winning author Will Ferguson, who shared his insights about writing and publishing with students and the campus community hosted Redefining Management Education, the Administrative Sciences Association of Canada’s 2013 Conference. Keynote speakers included Mayor Naheed Nenshi; Hal Kvisle, president and CEO of Talisman Energy; Gregg Saretsky, president and CEO of WestJet; Nancy Adler, chair in Management at McGill University; and David Finch, assistant professor with the Bissett School of Business student-athletes visited Calgary kindergarten and elementary schools to promote literacy and the joy of reading through the C is for Cougars program hosted AccelerateAB, the largest startup technology event in Alberta, bringing technology entrepreneurs, investors, students and industry members together to focus on connecting, educating and showcasing the tech companies that call Alberta home
Signed a three-year agreement with the Trico Charitable Foundation to hire one Mount Royal Faculty of Arts student per year to research and write about the needs and challenges facing local social enterprises hosted the third annual MRU Shift social media conference, where more than 20 guest speakers shared their knowledge and expertise with more than 150 attendees hosted the president of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), Chad Gaffield, PhD, who delivered his lecture, Understanding People in the Digital Age, to more than 75 students and faculty Cougar Athletics visited Calgary schools to teach skills and share their experiences with physical education classes. The Cougars on the Court program inspires grade school students to establish academic and athletic goals, and stay physically active
AWARDS AND MILESTONES Achieving excellence in and out of the classroom
Recently, Mount Royal ...
hosted the inaugural JMH Venture LaunchPad program, which awarded four Mount Royal students with a total of $35,000 to move their business ideas forward Bissett School of Business students triumphed over students from six other Western Canadian universities at the CFA Institute Research Challenge Canadian Prairies final Chair of Financial Services, Supply Chain Management, Insurance and Quantitative Methods, Jim Fischer, was presented with a Leader’s Recognition Award in appreciation of his service to the Calgary Young Offender Centre. Fischer was also the keynote speaker at the Army Cadet League of Canada’s Annual General Meeting and was recognized for his years of service to the organization Policy Studies student, Karlene Betteridge, received the Laurence Decore Award for Student Leadership — a first for a Mount Royal student — for founding the Policy Studies Student Society (PSSS) Institute for Nonprofit Studies, under the direction of Senior Research Associate Peter Elson, was awarded a $220,000, threeyear research contract from the Trico Charitable Foundation to study the impact of social enterprises and Enterprising Non-Profit (ENP) Affiliates across at least seven provinces
Director of Wellness Services, Kandi McElary, received the Canadian Association of College and University Student Services Award of Honour for her work to facilitate and support post-secondary institutions to participate in the National College Health Assessment
Bachelor of Business Administration graduate, Stephen Guppy, won the Best Suitcase Pitch at AccelerateAB and received a trip to San Francisco to meet the best startup mentors in Silicon Valley received accreditation with the Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing for our Bachelor of Nursing degree program
Became the fifth Canadian undergraduate university to receive a full six-year accreditation from the Council for Interior Design Accreditation Bachelor of Business Administration student, Morgan Loberg, received a scholarship from The Washington Center’s Alberta Internship Program for her internship with Manchester Trade Associate Professor Patricia Derbyshire and Design4Change, a student- and alumni-run boutique marketing agency based out of Mount Royal University, received a grant from Alberta Innovates Technology Futures to continue providing students with opportunities to put their marketing skills to work on real-world projects
Interior Design and Art History Instructor Mark Chambers became the president of The Alberta Association of Architects, the regulatory body for architects and licensed interior designers in Alberta Assistant Professor Catherine RoyHeaton has been re-appointed to the Disciplinary Review Committee of the CFA Institute, responsible for enforcement of the CFA Institute Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct as well as the rules and regulations of the CFA Program Associate professor Brett McCollum was awarded the 2012 Alberta Colleges and Institutes Faculties Association Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Award for his research project Visualizing Molecular Geometries with Handheld TouchScreen Technology. McCollum was also accepted into the Apple Distinguished Educators program for the class of 2015 Faculty of Continuing Education and Extension received the 2012 Professional Development Provider in Project Management Award from the Project Management Institute — Southern Alberta Chapter
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FACULTY ABROAD by Stacey Smith
KELLY SUNDBERG, PhD
JIM FISCHER, MBA
Fourteen years of practical experience as an immigration officer combined with his academic and research background makes Sundberg an exceptional resource for the international policing community. Because of Sundberg’s expertise, he was the only Canadian invited to present at the Australian Institute of Professional Intelligence Officers (AIPIO) annual conference in Canberra, Australia this past July. At the conference, intelligence leaders from Australia, Canada, the United States, Germany, Israel and Britain gained valuable insight from Sundberg’s presentation on the role immigration plays in national security and how agencies can work together to minimize risks. After the conference, Sundberg — who holds a PhD in Political and Social Inquiry from Monash University in Melbourne, Australia — spoke with graduate students at Monash and met with Victoria State Police to continue the conversation about improving national security.
This past spring, Fischer arranged for eight students from his Special Topics in International Business course to have unprecedented access to a major commodities market in Chicago. Over five days, the group visited the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, the Chicago Board of Trade Options Exchange, the Federal Reserve, the Canadian Trace Commission and the Operations Centre for the Illinois Central Railroad, a division of Canadian National Railway. This trip allowed students to see first-hand aspects of the financial world they would not have access to in Canada. Highlights included visiting the S&P 500 Exchange and experiencing the bustle of the trading floor during the first hour of business. Key economists and business leaders were so impressed with the questions and comments from Mount Royal students that they dedicated extra time to their discussions about monetary policies and politics. The group was also able to enjoy cultural tours and activities such as the Art Institute of Chicago and a Cubs game. In the future, Fischer hopes to introduce more Mount Royal University students to other financial powerhouse destinations such as Tokyo, Dubai and Hong Kong.
Department of Justice Studies
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Bissett School of Business
JOE PAVELKA, PhD
Department of Physical Education and Recreation Studies Over the past five years, Pavelka has made the trek to Peru numerous times to facilitate field schools for students in the Bachelor of Applied Ecotourism and Outdoor Leadership (ETOL) program. This past May, however, students from the Department of Child and Youth Studies (CYS) were also invited along for the first time. “The mixing of backgrounds brought different perspectives,” Pavelka says. “It was so powerful. The sharing and teaching amongst the students went beyond my expectations.” The group spent their first week in the city of Cusco, acclimatizing to the high altitude while taking Spanish language classes and working on their research projects. This was followed by an eight-day hike to Machu Picchu along the Salkantay Trail. During the hike, students were given the opportunity to go off the beaten track, live with local families and experience how smaller Andean communities combine tourism and business while maintaining their culture. The field school culminated with the students hiking through the jungle, providing them with yet another perspective of Peruvian community and tourist development. “This was the best field school that we have done,” Pavelka remarks. “These ‘living classrooms’ facilitate new experiences and let students see what is possible.”
RESEARCH STUDY TAGS ALONG MARNIE KRAMER-KILE, RN, PhD, KATJA PETTINEN, PhD and JOE PAVELKA, PhD
School of Nursing, Department of General Education, Department of Physical Education and Recreation Studies During previous field schools, Pavelka noted that some students, even after a 10-day acclimation, experienced one to three days of illness starting on the first day of the expedition to Machu Picchu along the Salkantay Trail. Instead of getting worse, the climbers’ health improved as they increased their elevation. Kramer-Kile, Pettinen and Pavelka were intrigued by this phenomenon and decided to investigate further. They hypothesized that increased anxiety related to undertaking such a major expedition played a significant factor. The
researchers combined their disciplines of nursing, cultural anthropology and geography to design a pilot study. They, along with two second-year nursing students, followed as Pavelka led his students along the Salkantay Trail, interviewing the students and documenting biophysical data. Over the course of the next year the team will be analyzing the records with the goal of better understanding the effects of anxiety and illness at high altitudes.
PATRICIA DERBYSHIRE, MACAM AND PAUL VARELLA, PhD Bissett School of Business This year marked the first-ever Bissett School of Business field school, where Derbyshire and 10 business and communications students travelled throughout Brazil for a three-week period in May to learn first-hand about international marketing and economics. The students started in Campinas — the Silicone Valley of Brazil — where they toured various companies involved in cosmetics, manufacturing, agriculture and magazine publishing. From there, the students flew north to Recife where they studied alternative business and marketing strategies designed to break the cycle of poverty in the area. This harbour city also gave the group insight into the challenges that Brazil faces in transporting goods internally and externally. The trip concluded with the students spending five days in Rio de Janeiro, taking in cultural attractions and cementing the newly formed partnership between Mount Royal University and the State University of Rio de Janeiro. This six-credit course designed by Varella and Derbyshire provided students with new skills to better prepare for life after graduation. Students learned the importance of understanding cultural nuances and how these differences can mold the way business is conducted outside of Canada. The group also came to appreciate each other’s strengths, blending business acumen and creative design. The field school was so successful that Derbyshire and Varella hope to return to Brazil in one to two years.
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Tim Haney, PhD
Department of Sociology and Anthropology Last spring, Haney and 12 students travelled to the southern United States as part of a sociology field school. The goal of the class was to better understand the history, culture and geography of New Orleans and southeastern Louisiana, with a focus on disaster risk, vulnerability and the political economy of disaster rebuilding and reconstruction. The effects of Hurricane Katrina and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill created the perfect microcosm for the group to learn about social inequalities during and after disasters. In addition to attending lectures by leading disaster researchers, students helped administer a survey of local businesses to see how funds could be kept in the community to help with economic recovery. They were also given the opportunity to volunteer with the local chapter of Habitat for Humanity and helped build a home in the Lower Ninth Ward. The most difficult but enlightening part of the trip was hearing from people impacted by the oil spill. They told heartbreaking stories of the health, legal, social and financial challenges their community now faces. Having lived in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina, Haney has seen the effect of these disasters on the city’s demographics and culture. He hopes to take more students there in a few years to continue learning and understanding these changes.
2013 LEGACY AWARD WINNERS Mount Royal University’s annual Legacy
Awards Dinner honours a growing network of more than 85,000 alumni who are
recognized as true leaders. Legacy Awards
recipients are outstanding graduates, students and, above all, citizens — people who
understand the importance of using their
knowledge, expertise, time and energy to
give back to their communities, families and places of work.
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Lifetime distinguished
achievement award Dexter Nelson, B.P.E., MSc, CAT(C) Emeritus University Transfer Physical Education, 1968
For more than thirty years, Dexter Nelson has made significant contributions as an educator and a pioneer in the field of athletic therapy. After completing his studies at Mount Royal, the University of Calgary (Bachelor of Physical Education) and Brigham Young University (Master of Science), Nelson launched his teaching career. He also began to establish athletic therapy as a recognized profession within the specialty of sport medicine. Athletic therapy focuses on injury prevention, emergency care and rehabilitative techniques for athletes at every level. A tireless advocate for the profession in Alberta and across Canada, Nelson was the first president of both the Alberta Athletic Therapists Association and the Sport Medicine Council of Alberta. In 1983, he co-founded the Canadian Pro Rodeo Association Sport Medicine Team. Nelson also initiated the Mount Royal College Sport Therapy Service, which, after moving to the University of Calgary, continues to serve the needs of Calgary’s sport community. Currently serving as vice-president of the World Federation of Athletic Training, Nelson has also been president of the Canadian Athletic Therapists Association (CATA). He worked with the Canadian Core Medical Team at two Pan American Games, the 1978 Commonwealth Games, and the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympic Games. Nelson has received many prestigious awards in recognition of his work. A member of the CATA Hall of Fame, he was named CATA Member Emeritus in 2010. He is also an Honorary Member of the National Athletic Trainers Association and a Lifetime Member of the Sport Medicine Council of Alberta.
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2013 LEGACY AWARD WINNERS
Outstanding Alumni Award
Outstanding Alumni Award
Liz Hannah
Mark Seland, APR
In a communications career spanning more than 30 years, Liz Hannah has established herself as a role model and mentor who leads by example.
An accomplished communications practitioner, Mark Seland’s strategic leadership and crisis management skills have established Canadian Pacific (CP) as a leader in community relations and conflict resolution.
Professional Achievement
Journalism Diploma Program, 1980
After graduating from Mount Royal, Hannah earned a Bachelor of Arts and a master’s degree in Communications from the University of Calgary. She has been leading internal and external communications for Cenovus Energy since it began independent operations in 2009. As Vice-President, Communications, Hannah is responsible for establishing and building Cenovus’s brand and reputation among industry, employees, the general public and other constituents. In 2011, Alberta Venture magazine recognized Hannah as one of its 50 Most Influential People and highlighted the success of Cenovus’s innovative More than Fuel campaign. Other accolades include a Hermes Creative Award (Platinum) for the company’s annual reports and Best in Class in the Oilweek ATB Financial Annual Report Awards. Hannah’s connection to Mount Royal has remained strong. In the 1990s, she developed the curriculum for and taught the first Advanced Writing course in the Bachelor of Applied Communications — Public Relations program. She visits Mount Royal as a guest speaker and welcomes numerous students to Cenovus through Mount Royal’s work term program. As part of her commitment to education, Hannah has also taught at SAIT and in the City’s Continuing Education Management program. She is an active volunteer with her children’s schools and activities as well as non-profit organizations including the Canadian Diabetes Association, the Heart and Stroke Foundation, and Flowers for Hope.
Professional Achievement
Public Relations Diploma, 1990
Prior to joining CP in 1998, Seland built a progressive career in strategic communications planning, issues management and labour communications, working for PWA Corporation/ Canadian Airlines International, Foothills Provincial General Hospital, the Calgary Regional Health Authority, the Government of Saskatchewan’s Department of Health, and FWJ Advertising. Today, Seland is CP’s executive communications lead, overseeing all aspects of corporate communications including international community and media relations as well as issues management. Seland believes in giving back and volunteers as a guest lecturer at Mount Royal and the University of Calgary on strategic communications. He has also served on the boards of the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada, Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, Canadian Public Relations Society, Canadian Health Care Public Relations Association, Calgary Women’s Emergency Shelter, and STARS Air Ambulance. He has received two CPR President’s Awards for Leadership and Rail Safety Act Review (2007); a Canadian Recording Industry Association — Gold Record (2008) for the CP Holiday Train CD; numerous communications industry accolades and, most recently, an Emmy Award for Rocky Mountain Express, a documentary tracing the original route of the Canadian Pacific Railway.
View videos featuring each of the 2013 Legacy Award winners @ mtroyal.ca/legacyawards
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2013 LEGACY AWARD WINNERS
HORIZON Award
Outstanding Future Alumni Award
Ashley Black
Tristan Smyth
“The feeling I get when I fly is inner satisfaction,” says Ashley Black, first officer at Jazz Aviation. During her time at Mount Royal, Black was a member of the Dean’s Honour Roll, the recipient of five scholarships and vice-president of the Aviation Student Executive.
Among the many responsibilities Tristan Smyth shoulders as vice-president, academic of the Students’ Association of Mount Royal University, there is one impressive perk — he gets to job shadow the University’s provost and vice-president, academic. It’s a job Smyth would love to someday hold and, while there are many routes to becoming provost, he plans to start by pursuing a PhD in Art History and Comparative Literature at the University of Chicago.
Aviation Diploma, 2010
Bachelor of Arts
Upon graduation, Black received the Air Canada Jazz Award, which grants recipients an interview with the organization and a flight simulator evaluation. As a result, Black was offered an opportunity at Jazz Aviation. She has advanced quickly in her flying career. Promoted to first officer, she has garnered countless compliments from the captains she has flown with. Among the aviation community, Black is recognized as a significant success story and proof that both she and Mount Royal are able to meet the industry’s high standards. An active volunteer, Black’s positive attitude and commitment to learning have been essential to her success. She always has her eyes on the horizon.
In November, he also plans to present at the International Interdisciplinary Student Conference in Ljubljana, Slovenia. And, Smyth has a list of travel plans: photographing waterfalls in Iceland and exploring the war memorials of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. One final list: Smyth’s top advice for his peers. In no particular order: Pursue the goals of someone you think is better than you. Appreciate the value of silence. Treasure every hand you shake and relationship you make. Create life aspirations based on happiness rather than financial or career success.
“In 10 years, I hope I’m flying left seat. I hope I’m a captain.”
Thank You 2013 Legacy Award Sponsors Presenting Partner
NOMINATE
Event Sponsors
Media Sponsors
Nominate Mount Royal alumni for a Legacy Award! Nominations for the 2014 Legacy Awards will be accepted until Feb. 1, 2014. Find nomination forms at mtroyal.ca/legacyawards
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JOINING FORCES for MENTAL HEALTH O
ver the past year, Mount Royal University students, faculty, staff and administrators have joined forces to create a more supportive campus environment for mental health. Universities across Canada are experiencing growing numbers of students coming forward for help with anxiety, stress and other mental health issues. It’s a trend that inspired Mount Royal President, David Docherty, PhD, to establish a President’s Task Force on Student Mental Health. “Mount Royal is known as an institution that cares about the success and the health of our students, and we have strong services that support our students,” Docherty says. “But all universities ask young people to make very tough decisions and handle a lot of pressure. My goal for the Task Force was to first research what is currently in place to support the mental health and wellness of our students,
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and to then recommend institutional priorities for making Mount Royal a better place for mental health.” Over 18 months, the campus community contributed to the work of the Task Force through action groups, webinars, focus groups, presentations, community consultations, surveys and training. For third-year Bachelor of Science student, Yuritzel (Ritz) Moreno, the chance to participate held a deep personal significance.
“Every member of our campus community has a role to play in creating a safe, healthy and vibrant campus.”
“I have always grappled with how people get through each day on campus when suffering from mental illness,” says Moreno, who served as co-lead on one of the four action groups established by the Task Force.
“It was amazing to see so many people working together to support students so that each day is a positive university experience, not a struggle.” For the chair of the Task Force, Mount Royal Director of Wellness Services, Kandi McElary, the process of engaging the campus community led to meaningful discussions and helped increase awareness of the importance of supporting student mental health. “Every member of our campus community has a role to play in creating a safe, healthy and vibrant campus,” McElary says. “We know people were excited to participate and, more importantly, were pleased that we listened.” Based on this consultation, the Task Force identified four areas of concern — stigma, knowledge and education, research, and resources — and faculty, staff and students formed action groups around each area to conduct research; to identify Mount Royal strengths, gaps, opportunities and resources; and to come up with recommendations for future work. And, true to their name, many of the action groups also presented events on campus — like the In Sight & In Mind art contest — that got people talking about mental illness and sharing their stories. “Mount Royal is in a much better place than a couple of years ago, just because of the work that has been done to date,” says McElary. “It is the community engagement process that has been the most valuable.” That’s echoed by President Docherty, who recently received the final report from the Task Force outlining 41 recommendations for the next three years. “The recommendations will help prioritize ways to improve student mental health, decrease stigma, and build a support system for students with mental health struggles,” Docherty says. “It will help us keep student mental health top-of-mind as we work to support the success of our students — and reassure students who are facing mental health challenges that help is available and they are not alone. “They can talk about their mental health challenges in a forum devoid of stigma and full of compassion.”
JESSICA WILLIAMSON
See, Hear, Speak No Stigma by Samantha Pratt was a winning submission in the 2011 In Sight & In Mind art contest. In 2011, a passion for raising awareness about mental health motivated Mount Royal University alumna Samantha Pratt to participate in In Sight & In Mind — an art contest created by Mount Royal student Tiffany Beks in conjunction with the Canadian Mental Health Association that was intended to help reduce the stigma surrounding mental illness. The artwork shown above was selected as one of two winners and was featured in the spring 2012 issue of Balance Magazine. When Summit chose the theme of supporting student success for this issue, we asked Pratt to create the artwork to be featured on the cover. “I believe that student mental health is imperative to a student’s success, be it academic, personal or societal,” says Pratt, who volunteered her time to create the watercolour. “The front cover shows many of the words that are associated with the student experience,” she says. “They appear jumbled and disorganized, similar to how some individuals describe their own thoughts when they are suffering from mental health challenges.” Pratt, a graduate of the Bachelor of Nursing program, currently works with Alberta Health Services where she continues to support community mental health.
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Mount Royal University is pleased to welcome Kathyrn Shailer, PhD as our new provost and vice-president, academic.
U
niversity President, David Docherty, PhD, describes Shailer as “an accomplished academic administrator whose dedication to teaching, research and service aligns perfectly with Mount Royal’s dedication to small class sizes, student-faculty interaction and personalized learning.” Before assuming her new role at Mount Royal in August, Shailer was dean of the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Sciences at the Ontario College of Art and Design (OCAD) University. “Kathy was a senior administrator during OCAD’s transition from an art college to an art and design university, so she is familiar with both the excitement and the challenges institutions face as they transition to a university,” Docherty says. When asked what drew her to Mount Royal, Shailer sums it up succinctly. “The institution itself, and its background and mission,” Shailer says. “I love Mount Royal’s focus on teaching and learning, and because of my experience with OCAD transitioning from a college to a university, I feel I can make a contribution here.” As she settles in at Mount Royal, getting to know the campus, its people and
programs, Shailer says she sees the University’s commitment to student success every day. “A lot of institutions pay lip service to being student focused and, clearly, wanting to ensure student success is of interest to every institution,” Shailer says. “What I see at Mount Royal is that the rubber really meets the road here in terms of the learning environment and programs to support student success.” As one example, Shailer points to Mount Royal’s Institute for Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, which is an important part of the infrastructure supporting scholarship at the University. Another is that Mount Royal’s executive structure includes a vice-president of Student Services and Campus Life, who oversees programs and services to help students reach their academic and personal goals. “Both examples are real indicators of the institution’s commitment to student success,” Shailer says. Shailer holds degrees from Princeton University (MA and PhD, Germanic Languages & Literatures) and Denison University (BA with Honours, International Relations) as well as a diploma in Marketing and Sales
Management from the University of British Columbia. She also studied politics, economics, history, art history and literature at the University of Munich. Prior to joining OCAD University, Shailer was a senior administrator with the University of Winnipeg (2001 to 2003) and Simon Fraser University (1996 to 2001). She was an assistant professor with the Department of Modern Languages at the University of Western Ontario from 1990 to 1996. She is actively involved in several research projects on learning outcomes assessment and college/university articulation, and recently served as one of seven inaugural members of the Program Appraisal Committee of the Ontario Council on Quality Assurance. Under Shailer’s stewardship as provost, Mount Royal will continue to pursue partnerships with other universities, develop and implement new degrees, and take our next steps in becoming Canada’s premier undergraduate university based on important measures of student success and satisfaction.
NANCY COPE
summit – FALL 2013
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Raising the bar on children's’ health
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ount Royal University faculty and students are part of a pioneering research project that is helping Calgary children, youth and families increase physical activity levels and follow healthier lifestyles.
He and fellow Mount Royal faculty member, Nadine Van Wyk, are conducting research that will offer local solutions to address the risk of health complications that result from sedentary lifestyles in children.
The project, called Raise the Bar for Healthier Generations, teams Mount Royal with Cardel Place, a public recreation centre in north central Calgary. Support for the project is also being provided by the Flames Foundation for Life and other community organizations.
According to government statistics, one in three Canadian children is overweight or obese, and the cost of health complications due to inactivity is approaching $10 billion annually.
“This is the first time a recreation centre and a university have worked together to determine how Canadian public recreation facilities can be better designed, programmed and operated,” says Dwayne Sheehan, PhD, who is an associate professor in Mount Royal’s Bachelor of Physical Education — University Transfer program and the principal investigator for the project.
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“We will provide high-quality, objective evidence to help guide decision-making by 21st century recreation leaders,” says Van Wyk, a lecturer in Mount Royal’s Department of Physical Education and Recreation Studies who is the research coordinator for Raise the Bar. “Our research is focusing on new approaches to getting kids, their families and their communities more active, more often,” says Sheehan.
Sheehan and Van Wyk have enlisted four Mount Royal students to help collect, organize and analyze data collected from more than 550 Calgarians participating in the first phase of the project. Two of the students are Anna Mollo, a Bachelor of Arts student, and Collette White, a student in the Bachelor of Business and Entrepreneurship — Sport and Recreation program. Working with Eric Jeong, a fourth-year psychology student, and Laura Fisher, a student in the Bachelor of Applied Ecotourism and Outdoor Leadership program, they used the data to compile a baseline evaluation of physical activity levels among three age groups: four- to five-year-olds; six- to nineyear-olds; and ten- to fifteen-year-olds. They found that, while the children in the study were more active than kids of similar age and gender in other North American studies, more can be done to help Calgary kids improve their coordination and balance.
raise the bar REsEARCh PROJECT 2012 BAsELINE Mount Royal students helped compile a baseline evaluation for this research project. Key learnings included how Calgary children participating in Raise the Bar compare with the Active Healthy Kids Canada 2011 report card.
37 62 14,279 % %
of children monitored for physical activity levels achieved 60 minutes a day for six or more days a week compared to 7% of Canadian children and youth.
of children monitored for physical activity levels achieved 60 minutes a day for three or more days per week compared to 44% of Canadian kids.
Average number of steps children in the study take per day compared to 11,350 average steps per day by Canadians 5- to 19-years-old.
Source: Child + Youth Action Research Project Report Card No. 1, Spring 2013
“The experience has been really great so far,” says Mollo. “Dwayne and Nadine are amazing mentors who have not only helped us refine our research skills, but have also been supports for our overall education. They have helped us with defining our career paths and have become our ‘work family.’” For White, the project has provided networking opportunities with various community leaders including representatives from Alberta Health Services, Alberta MLAs and the general manager of Cardel Place — connections White feels will serve her well in her job search upon graduation. Van Wyk is also looking forward — she will use the project as the focus of her PhD.
“Our research is focusing on new approaches to getting kids, their families and their communities more active, more often.”
“In Phase II of the project — the intervention cycle — we will be using the data we collected over 18 months in Phase I to inform recreation program planning at Cardel Place,” says Van Wyk. “It will help Cardel Place plan and develop purposeful recreation programming so kids will achieve specific outcomes upon completion of the programs they participate in.” By informing practice with research, there is no telling how high the bar can be raised as Mount Royal University and Cardel Place come together to improve the health of children and youth in the Calgary community and beyond.
BRENDAN GREENSLADE
summit – FALL 2013
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“ We survived, but not with hatred.”
When Sid and Bronia Cyngiser talk with students at the Holocaust Education Symposium, their personal memories of imprisonment in Nazi concentration camps offer a visceral lesson on the consequences of discrimination and racism. The couple’s goal is simple: to spread understanding. “When I speak, I don’t come with hatred,” says 89-year-old Sid, who tells of how he endured beatings, hunger, hard labour and the constant threat of death as a prisoner in the camps. “It doesn’t matter who it is and what happened to me, I don’t hate.” He and Bronia have been coming to Mount Royal University to share their Holocaust experiences with Grade 12 students since the Symposium began 30 years ago. Hosted by Mount Royal and the Calgary Jewish Federation with the assistance of Calgary’s public and separate school boards, the Symposium brings students together from across the city so they can
hear first-hand from Holocaust survivors, or their children, who are now living in Calgary. To date, more than 50,000 students have attended the Symposium. Mount Royal Associate Professor Carrie Scherzer explains that, for many, their only exposure to the Holocaust outside of school is through books, movies and television. “Meeting survivors, hearing their testimonials and being able to go up and speak to them afterwards makes it a lot more powerful,” says Scherzer, who is a lead coordinator of the Symposium along with her fellow faculty member, Associate Professor Pearl Herscovitch. In 2011, students listened as a woman shared her mother’s story, which took on special significance when they learned her mother was a classmate of Anne Frank, the Jewish teenager whose diary is published today in more than 70 languages. “That was an interesting connection to someone many of the students had heard of,” says Mount Royal Professor Izak Paul, one of the founders of the Symposium. “My hope is that the students realize they have a personal responsibility not to remain silent, but to speak up and protest against all forms of discrimination, anti-Semitism and racism,” Paul says.
summit – FALL 2013
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Bronia was only 11 years old when she and her family were transported from a work camp to Auschwitz by cattle car. She remembers her mother kissing her and saying goodbye when they were told to go to the showers. For many thousands, the showers meant death — but not for Bronia, who was sent to an actual shower and kept alive to labour in the camps. She also remembers crying with pain as her prisoner number was tattooed on her left arm. “The inmate who gave me the tattoo said, ‘Don’t worry, don’t cry. When they tattoo you, it means you will live a little longer.” Bronia and her father were the only members of her family to survive. Eventually, she was taken the BergenBelsen concentration camp in Germany, where she was liberated at the end of the Second World War and taken to hospital. It was in that hospital that she met and fell in love with Sid Cyngiser, who had also been liberated from a concentration camp. He was 21 years old, he stood 5’9”, and he weighed just 72 pounds. His father had died in the war; his mother, his grandmother and his three sisters had been killed in the gas chambers. He vividly remembers being forced to walk from one concentration camp to another, travelling barefoot for days in what he describes as “your own funeral march.”
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During their time together in hospital after the war, Sid and Bronia often met Jewish American soldiers who were visiting the patients. One day in 1946, a soldier offered to send an airmail letter to anyone who had relatives overseas. Sid instantly remembered how, as a child, he had helped his father write letters to an aunt living in Calgary. He remembered the address he had written on the envelopes. “It was a miracle,” Sid says. He immediately wrote to his great-aunt using that address, telling her he had survived the war. Last April, after a death in the family, his letter was found carefully preserved in a box, and it was returned to Sid 67 years after he sent it. Sid and Bronia understand the impact of such a poignant link to the past. In 2005 and again in 2013, they donated funds to Mount Royal University to create the Sid and Bronia Cyngiser Holocaust Education Collection. It allows Mount Royal’s Library to develop a diverse collection of survivor testimonies, scholarly publications, fiction and films to help increase awareness and understanding of the Holocaust.
“We survived, but not with hatred. Otherwise, I would still be an inmate and that’s what the Nazis would have wanted. I’m free and I appreciate this country.” - Sid Cyngiser
“Course offerings in Holocaust and genocide studies have recently been expanded at Mount Royal, underscoring the value of this growing collection,” says Pearl Herscovitch, who is chair of the University’s Library. “This collection not only supports teaching and student research, but it aligns with Mount Royal’s mission to graduate strong and well-informed citizens.” The Cyngisers have also created the Sid and Bronia Cyngiser Multicultural Education Scholarship at Mount Royal to foster mutual respect and understanding between people of different religious, cultural and ethnic backgrounds. “We want to help create a different and better world,” Sid Cyngiser says. “I always tell the students, ‘Some of you may be tomorrow’s leaders.’ Hopefully they’ll understand, remember and respond.”
Jondrea De Ruyter and Angela Sengaus
ROCKETING into the world of BUSINESS
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islinn Grant is a third-year Health Sciences student who is also an entrepreneur, building her own line of all-natural therapeutic bath products called Aisycakes.
And Mount Royal University’s innovative JMH Venture LaunchPad program is making it possible. LaunchPad is offered through the University’s Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Institute Director Ray DePaul says the program supports and mentors Mount Royal’s most entrepreneurial students in launching their own business ventures. “Our goal is to nurture the entrepreneurial spirit,” DePaul says. “The LaunchPad program gives passionate students the resources to succeed in starting their own companies.” LaunchPad was created through a donation of $250,000 over five years from JMH&Co., one of Alberta’s largest independent chartered accounting firms. The program is available to students in every Mount Royal faculty. There are two components: a $2,500 readiness grant and a LaunchPad pitch competition, where students can win up to $10,000 in cash to move their business idea forward while continuing to study at Mount Royal. Aislinn Grant received a readiness grant in January 2013 and used it to improve her Aisycakes website and packaging. At the LaunchPad Pitch Competition last April, she was awarded a further $7,500 by a panel of five entrepreneurs. “The money is helpful, but what’s just as important is for the judges to say my business is worth the investment,” Grant says. Three other Mount Royal students were also awarded cash at the competition: Ian Drake, whose business, The Lube Dude Inc., offers car owners a convenient alternative to oil changes; Dan Gyorffy,
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summit – FALL 2013
whose Cage Recreation company builds enclosed turf fields for soccer and other sports; and Stephen Guppy. Guppy — who just completed his Bachelor of Business Administration through Mount Royal’s Bissett School of Business — received $10,000 towards GNS3, an open-source training software company. “Our software has helped train millions of people for major network companies such as Cisco, and we are putting the LaunchPad money towards launching a new version of our software that will change how networks work,” Guppy says. That may sound overly ambitious, but it’s backed up by insights Guppy gained when he took a Mount Royal course called Innovation and the Entrepreneurial Experience. “That course was about figuring out your business and finding value in it,” Guppy says. “It helped me see the potential in GNS3, and helped me understand why I’m doing what I’m doing.” It’s also backed up by the industry insiders Guppy has met through the LaunchPad process, including Ray DePaul. Before coming to Mount Royal, DePaul was in charge of bringing the BlackBerry to market during its first five years. DePaul believes GNS3 is on its way to becoming a multi-million dollar business, and he’s introducing Guppy and Jeremy Grossmann, Guppy’s business partner, to mentors who can help their business succeed. “The LaunchPad competition has connected us to so many people, but it has also opened my mind to the business,” Guppy says. “GNS3 has grown more in the past three months than in the previous six years.”
NANCY COPE
Left to right:
Dan Gyorffy (Cage Recreation), Aislinn Grant (Aisycakes), Stephen Guppy (GNS3), Ian Drake (The Lube Dude Inc.)
summit – FALL 2013
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Investing in student success M
ichelle Dennis reached a remarkable milestone as she took the podium to deliver her valedictorian address last June.
Standing before her peers during one of Mount Royal University’s three Spring Convocation ceremonies, Dennis represented drive, determination and achievement. Earlier in the ceremony, she had been awarded the University’s prestigious 2013 Centennial Medal, given to one valedictorian each graduating year who exemplifies academic excellence and leadership. Now her inspiring remarks brought the audience to their feet — but few knew of the challenging journey Dennis had taken in becoming the person on stage. After leaving home at 16, it took Dennis a couple of years to believe she could make the leap into post-secondary studies. Then, just before the start of her very first university semester, her father passed away. Still, Dennis was determined to succeed. She began her time at Mount Royal in Open Studies, which helped her work towards the Bachelor of Communication — Public Relations (PR) program. “It was my dream to go to university and I know my dad would have wanted me to reach my potential,” says Dennis. During her year in Open Studies, Dennis also volunteered with the Students’ Association of Mount Royal University (SAMRU). The experience she gained as a communications representative helped support her application to the PR program. After being accepted into the PR program, however, Dennis continued to face substantial obstacles. “In my first year of studies, I faced health challenges which forced me to take a full year off,” she explains. Dennis returned to university with a renewed commitment to finishing her degree no matter what other challenges came her way.
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Michelle Dennis takes a break from working in downtown Calgary to contemplate the future alongside Jaume Plensa’s sculpture, Wonderland
summit – FALL 2013
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In her second year, when she experienced problems finding affordable housing, Dennis accessed the Aboriginal Student Housing Program through Mount Royal’s Iniskim Centre. The Centre supports Aboriginal students in their academic endeavours, and Dennis decided to help spread word of its programs to fellow Métis students. She used the skills she was learning in her PR classes to write the Centre’s inaugural newsletter, including a special feature on Métis heritage. The Centre published four issues of the newsletter that year. At the end of her third year, when her financial situation had her questioning whether she would be able to afford her degree, Dennis had faith that her hard work would pay off and things would work out.
And so it did — Dennis soon received the welcome news that she was the recipient of SAMRU’s Outstanding Student of the Year Award. It came with a cash prize that allowed her to pay her rent. During her fourth year, Dennis landed an interview for a sought-after summer student position with Nexen — but found herself without suitable business attire.
With her newly professional look and her PR skills, Dennis landed the job at Nexen and continued to gain the confidence and momentum to succeed. She also continued paying forward the support she had received by helping other students facing their own educational challenges. She created the Mount Royal Métis Student Club, and she helped support other Métis students navigating through funding application processes. She became involved with various initiatives through the Iniskim Centre, where she worked as a student mentor and volunteered during New Student Orientation.
“It was my dream to go to university and I know my dad would have wanted me to reach my potential.”
“I didn’t have quite enough money for rent, and I was terrified about what I would do,” she says. “But everything has a way of working itself out if it’s meant to be.”
So, Dennis once again looked to Mount Royal for support and accessed Mount Royal’s Career Services clothing food drive — an initiative that allows students to exchange food items for business apparel donated by faculty and staff.
Dennis also continued to serve on the SAMRU executive, eventually serving as vice-president, student external affairs.
As part of that role, she acted as the voice of the Association on a national stage. “I will never forget speaking with Mount Royal Associate Professor, Jeremy Berry before going into my first real media scrum,” Dennis says. “I was scared and I remember asking, ‘What if I forget my key messages?’ And he paused, smiled and confidently responded, ‘You won’t.’” And Berry was right — Dennis proved her skills and professionalism in front of a battery of cameras. She showed that poise again during her valedictory address. As she stepped away from the podium, Dennis was taking the first step in a new journey, working in stakeholder relations with Suncor Energy and demonstrating that the return on Mount Royal’s investment in student success is yielding resilient citizens capable of changing the world.
BRENDAN GREENSLADE
SPEAKING UP
AND STANDING OUT “I came to Mount Royal with a very personal purpose,” says Tiffany Beks, a 2013 Bachelor of Arts — Psychology graduate. “I wanted to channel my experience with anxiety and depression into something beneficial.”
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uring her three years as a student at Mount Royal, Beks worked tirelessly to raise awareness about student mental health. Last spring, she was awarded the 2013 Canadian Association of Disability Service Providers in Post-Secondary Education (CADSPPE) Student Leadership Award.
“I don’t think there’s anyone more deserving,” Blankert says. “Tiffany overcame her own challenges, and then she turned around to offer other students peer support.” “When you receive this type of recognition it rejuvenates your sense of purpose,” says Beks. “It confirms you are on the right path.”
This national award is given to a student whose exceptional leadership enhanced the quality of life for students with disabilities on campus or in the community. For Bonnie Blankert, access advisor for Accessibility Services at Mount Royal, nominating Beks for the award was an easy choice.
summit - spring 2013
For Beks, that path was not always smooth. Six years ago, she had to drop out of university. “I didn’t have the coping skills to deal with the stresses in my life,” she recalls. “I had a lot of anxiety.” With the support of her community, Beks found the tools to manage that anxiety. She then made the decision to move across the country and re-start her academic career at Mount Royal. Determined to use her experience to help other students, Beks began volunteering as a peer health educator through Mount Royal’s Wellness Services, which supports students in taking care of their health. In 2011, she received national media attention after she started In Sight & In Mind, an annual art contest that raises awareness about mental health.
Her remarkable passion and relentless drive also caught the attention of Wellness Services Director Kandi McElary and of Leanne Edwards with Student Counselling Services. They joined Blankert and Associate Professor Patricia Kostouros, PhD in encouraging Beks to participate in the 2011 Student Mental Health Town Hall, hosted by the Canadian Association of College and University Student Services (CACUSS). From there, Beks became a driving force on Mount Royal’s President’s Task Force on Student Mental Health (PTFSMH). “She was involved right away at the grassroots level,” says McElary, chair of the PTFSMH. “She gave voice to the student perspective.” As co-chair of PTFSMH’s Stigma Reduction Action Group, Beks orchestrated numerous campus initiatives, including National Depression Screening Day and Movember Mental Health Jeopardy. Beks credits her success — and her student leadership award — to the support she received. “I feel like it is an award for Mount Royal. I would not have done any of these things if not for the people around me, and if not for their support and their passion,” Beks says. “It was their belief in me and what I was doing that made me believe in myself.”
Collette Burjack
Pengrowth Undergraduate Presentation Fund
You.
Staying current
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engrowth Energy Corporation has donated $25,000 to enable Mount Royal University students to share their work with professionals, researchers and fellow students around the world.
The Pengrowth Undergraduate Presentation Fund will allow 25 to 30 students to present their research at national and international conferences. “This is an unusual opportunity for undergraduate students,” says Associate Vice-President of Research Services, Trevor Davis, PhD. “Pengrowth’s donation will help our students gain valuable leadership and communication skills and begin to build professional networks.” Since its launch in winter 2013, this initiative has met with great success. For Nicole MacInnis — one of the fund’s first recipients — presenting at the Canadian Sociological Association Conference last June fostered new insights into her work on sexual victimization.
As an MRU grad, you know our commitment to your success. Continuing Education offers the programming excellence and personal attention that you expect from Mount Royal. Continuing Education programs meet your personal and professional development needs. • Practical, industry-recognized programs • Schedules for busy working adults • Many online programs
Come back to MRU for lifelong learning.
“I was not only able to present my research at a national conference, but I was also able to gain valuable feedback from professors within the sociology community,” MacInnis says. With the connections she forged at this conference, MacInnis continues to develop her research while pursuing her master’s degree in Sociology at the University of Manitoba. Davis hopes the Pengrowth Undergraduate Presentation Fund will inspire more students like MacInnis to uncover their potential and pursue their ambitions.
Collette Burjack
Continuing Education 403.440.6875 mtroyal.ca/conted
Gaining independence and defining success
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ince 1980, Mount Royal University’s Transitional Vocational Program (TVP) has helped developmentally delayed adults transition into the workforce and gain independence. And for the past 15 years, Craig Baskett, program administrator with TVP, has seen hundreds of TVP students define their own meaning of success. “One of the underlying principles when this program was founded was to give people with developmental disabilities the opportunity to experience postsecondary education. The students come to gain specific competencies, but they also make lifelong connections along the way,” says Baskett. Currently, TVP includes six programs: the Employment Preparation Certificate; Adult Basic Education; Computer Literacy; Safeway Eating Right, Living Right; Volunteer Tutor Adult Literacy Services; and the TVP Alumni Activity Group, which is starting up again this fall after being dormant for more than a decade. TVP faculty and staff work closely with students to determine which program suits the needs of each student and to develop personalized programs to help them achieve their employment and academic goals.
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Allyson White is a recent graduate of the 12-month Employment Preparation Certificate, a full-time program that combines on-campus instruction with community-based work. She says she came away with more than just applicable skills. “I’ve learned how to use a computer and learned basic math and life skills. The program also taught me how to
prepare a resume, where to look online for jobs, how to apply for a job, and how to act in an interview and at work,” explains White. “The program made me much more independent. I can now do things that I never thought I would be able to do. The program encouraged me and pushed me to learn and try new things even when I was a bit scared.”
Because of the confidence White gained, she now finds time to go skiing and take piano lessons. She is also an active volunteer with Between Friends, a charitable organization that creates opportunities for people with disabilities to connect, grow and belong through social and recreational activities. Now White is looking forward to finding on-going employment.
“Everyone’s capabilities are different. No one is the same or perfect.” “I’d like to work five days a week in a job that makes me feel good about myself and proud of what I do,” she says. Barry Thi is another graduate of the Employment Preparation Certificate. He currently works at Calgary Co-op and has developed a passion for lifelong learning. Thi has been taking part-time classes for the past five years through the Adult Basic Education program, improving his math, reading, writing, listening, viewing and speaking skills. “Everyone’s capabilities are different. No one is the same or perfect,” says Thi. “The class sizes are small and Mount Royal’s instructors take the time to understand my learning needs.
You.
Broadening your horizons Adobe Creative Suite Creative Writing Digital Graphic Design Film & Television Floral Design Interior Decorating Introductory Computers Music Personal Finance & Investing Photography Technology for Boomers Video Editing Visual Arts Web Design for Business Web Development Yard & Garden
“The program has taught me the basics of an interview and skills which have helped me find a job.” Thi plans to continue his studies this coming academic year and, along with White, will join the TVP Alumni Activity Group to socialize and stay connected with peers. In fact, many TVP students stay connected to Mount Royal long after graduation. “We have students who visit to share their accomplishments with us. Whether it is getting a new job or living independently, it’s great to hear that TVP is making such a difference in the lives of our students,” Baskett says.
MARNIE POWELL
Continuing Education 403.440.6875 mtroyal.ca/conted
Taking Face to Face into the E-Learning Era
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cross Canada, more than 1.3 million postsecondary students take e-learning courses during the academic year. Using computers, the Internet and other technologies, these courses offer a convenient and flexible way for students to access higher education.
Now, research being undertaken by Mount Royal University’s Vince Salyers, Theresa Matus, Maureen Mitchell and Olga Belen is promising to influence e-learning best practice at Canadian universities and beyond. Through a national research project entitled Meaningful E-Learning (MEL), the MRU team and colleagues from the Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology and from Nipissing University have found that well-designed e-learning courses which are easy to navigate and offer quality interactions can engage students and enhance learning. “The principles for establishing quality interactions, for creating engagement, and for the design of instruction are the same whether delivered in person or in e-learning classroom formats,” says Salyers, the associate dean of Mount Royal’s Faculty of Health and Community Studies.
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His doctoral research focused on the effectiveness of webenhanced instruction for teaching psychomotor nursing skills, and his passion is the integration and utilization of technology and e-learning strategies into program curricula.
“Effective teaching in any environment is all about scaffolding courses, where each concept builds on the next and where design of the learning environment is crucial,” Salyers says. Throughout 2012, the MEL project collected qualitative and quantitative data via surveys and focus groups to examine how e-learning is currently being used, where it is working and how it could be improved. Nearly 1,400 students and 200 faculty members provided important information about how e-learning might be further integrated into university cultures. According to MEL research, a fundamental shift in thinking is required to move in the direction of e-learning. Major themes emerging from the research include a need for 24/7 infrastructure support and dedicated resources to help faculty and students understand the tools available to them.
“We have some wonderful opportunities at Mount Royal to lead in this area, particularly given our fantastic instructors, our focus on quality education, our Institute for Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, and our Academic Development Centre,” Salyers says. In addition to its emphasis on teaching and learning, Mount Royal is renowned for its face-to-face connection between faculty and students, and Salyers is focused on finding ways to bring the key findings from MEL into practice at the University. He is co-creator of his faculty’s E-Learning Task Force, and he says recommendations from the MEL project are informing the goals outlined in the University’s E-Learning Strategic Plan. “We hope results from the MEL study will provide additional momentum and resources for evaluating the integration of e-learning at the course level,” Salyers says. “We’ve opened the e-learning floodgates; now it’s time to ride the next wave.”
Colin brandt
summit – FALL 2013
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MENTORSHIP MAKES THE MATCH
He’s
a third-year Mount Royal University student; she’s a 16-year veteran of the oil and gas industry.
He’s working towards his Bachelor of Science in Geology; she graduated from Mount Royal’s Environmental Technology program in 1996. Now, thanks to a new mentorship program at Mount Royal, he’s landed a summer internship by using her tips on interview techniques and she’s finding new energy in her professional life. He is Zac Colbran; she is Karen Cresine. They are one of 30 pairs of mentors and mentees within the Harry G. Schaefer Mentorship Program. It connects students with experienced professionals who can help navigate the transition from university to the workplace. Colbran and Cresine were matched as a mentor pair because of their mutual interest in the oil patch. From February through June 2013, they met for a couple of hours
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“And I’ve learned that success isn’t only about your marks. It’s about making connections with people.” Cresine is nodding as he speaks. “I can’t help Zac with geology-related technical questions, but I have introduced him to industry colleagues and we often talk about social skills and life skills like time management,” she says. She’s also encouraged Colbran to meet with as many industry people as possible — including company CEOs. “It’s important to interact with your managers so you’re not just a face in the crowd,” Cresine says.
Karen Cresine (left) and Zac Colbran (right) agree mentorship isn’t only about making connections
each month, and one of the first things they discussed was preparing for job interviews.
Once again, Colbran has taken her advice. He’s introduced himself to the ConocoPhillips vice-president who oversees an area which interests Colbrand as a possible career choice. It’s a move that impresses his mentor.
“And I’ve learned that success isn’t only about your marks. It’s about making connections with people.”
“I had just bombed an interview because I was nervous and didn’t know what to expect,” Colbran remembers. “Karen and I reviewed my resume and talked about interview tactics. She also suggested I take along a pen and paper so I could write down the names of the interviewers or draw an answer if they asked me to explain something technical.”
As a result, Colbran tackled his next three interviews with confidence — and landed a summer job with ConocoPhillips. “What I’ve observed in my first month and a half in the oil and gas industry is that the most successful people have a mentor or are mentoring someone,” Colbran says.
“I was too shy to do that for the first five years of my career, so Zac’s light-years ahead of where I was when I started out,” Cresine says. “I wish I had had a mentor then, so I’m happy to help now.” The coordinator of the Harry G. Schaefer Mentorship Program, Ashley Zeller, says this kind of one-to-one mentorship is as meaningful for mentors as it is for students.
summit – FALL 2013
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“This has really opened my eyes to mentorship and how I can be part of it proactively, rather than waiting for the opportunity to happen.” “Our mentors are either Mount Royal alumni or members of the business community, and they are passionate about giving back by sharing their own experiences and demystifying life after graduation for students,” Zeller says. The University’s mentorship program is named in honour of Harry G. Schaefer, a chartered accountant and board member of the Mount Royal University Foundation who was also a mentor to many Calgary business and community leaders. Zeller says the mentorship program is distinctive because, rather than being linked to a specific program, it is open to all third- and fourth-year students in every Mount Royal degree program and to second-year students in every diploma program. “Mount Royal has always supported students during their academic careers, and now we’re connecting students with mentors to help ease their transition from university to the next chapter of their lives,” Zeller says. Colbran is already acting as an informal mentorship ambassador. He’s encouraging his fellow students to participate in the program, which has been expanded to 130 student/mentor pairs this fall. And Cresine is serving as a mentor once again. “This has really opened my eyes to mentorship and how I can be part of it proactively, rather than waiting for the opportunity to happen,” she says. “Now some of my colleagues are interested in becoming mentors as well.” For both Colbran and Cresine, the impact of the mentorship program will extend far beyond the school year. “We’ll probably keep in touch for as long as we’re still working in Calgary,” Cresine says. “Zac can always contact me if he needs information or help, and I’ve made a friend and a colleague.”
Nancy Cope
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STUDENT LEARNING SERVICES Peers, professionals, professors — they all support student success at Mount Royal University by sharing their skills through Student Learning Services (SLS). “SLS provides a comfortable and safe environment that helps students become self-directed learners,” says Catharine Lindland, who manages the wide range of learning experiences offered through SLS. Those experiences include the Peer Tutor Program. Every academic year, 286 student tutors provide more than 4,000 hours of oneon-one tutoring to close to 1,020 students as well as group tutoring through Peer Assisted Study Sessions. SLS also offers workshops, individual appointments and drop-in times with writing and learning strategists, who help students improve their study strategies and become confident academic writers. The Harry G. Schaefer Mentorship Program is the newest offering from SLS. Lindland says the program “inspires lifelong learning through transformational mentorship experiences” which include one-to-one mentorship, mentorship circles, a mentorship program website and online community, and a speaker series. The mentorship program also includes the Harry G. Schaefer Grant, which supports research in student mentorship. Currently, a three-year interdisciplinary research project is being undertaken by Paul Varella, associate professor and chair of the Department of Management; Leah Hamilton, assistant professor in the Department of Management; and Jennifer Boman, assistant professor in the Academic Development Centre.
NEW STUDENT ORIENTATION The first day of school can bring excitement mixed with apprehension — even in university. Navigating a large campus, meeting new people, having certain expectations and not knowing what to expect can often be daunting. But a two-day event called New Student Orientation (NSO) introduces new students to Mount Royal University and helps them make strong connections with peers and professors right from the start. Tierney Edmunds still remembers the orientation session she took as a new Mount Royal student in 2008. “Being able to meet faculty and classmates before class even started really eased my nerves,” says Edmunds, who came to Calgary from a small town in Manitoba. “I saw that Mount Royal has a really great sense of community.”
Each fall, about 2,000 new students participate in NSO, which includes guided campus tours, information sessions on student services, performances, and activities led by more than 200 student leaders from every faculty at Mount Royal. Student leaders are an important component because they not only act as mentors but pay forward their insight and tips for success. During her second year in the Bachelor of Communication — Public Relations (PR) program, Edmunds volunteered as a student leader at the 2009 Orientation, then landed the job of Orientation Student Coordinator as part of her PR program work experience in 2010 and 2011. “As an NSO student leader, you have the opportunity to help others and develop your own leadership skills,” says Edmunds, who graduated in 2012.
Today Edmunds works as a Recruitment Officer in Mount Royal’s Admissions and Recruitment Office, and says she is still friends with people she met as new students. “Orientation is such an exciting time,” Edmunds says. “It’s really refreshing to come back in your second or third year as a leader to remind yourself that university is not just about academics — it’s about the entire experience.”
KAREN RICHARDS
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Legacy challengers pave the way
“I believe that many individuals and families want to support Mount Royal University students,” says Tom Fredericks (Business Administration ’78).
“But they may not know what options are available.”
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amed a distinguished alumnus in 2008, Fredericks is the former chair and CEO of ECL Group of Companies Ltd. He and his wife, Charlotte, have made a bequest to Mount Royal University. Now they are challenging others to do the same. The couple has created the Mount Royal Legacy Challengers, a group dedicated to encouraging alumni and friends of Mount Royal to consider leaving a gift in their will. “Our goal is to create an awareness of the importance of planned giving,” Tom explains. “We aim to raise an additional $2 million in commitments for planned gifts by the fall of 2014.” Planned giving empowers a person to shape the future. After making provisions for loved ones, individuals can plan to donate a portion of their estate to Mount Royal. By funding scholarships, bursaries or other studentfocused initiatives, these gifts establish a legacy that will support students for generations to come.
“It’s about looking forward and choosing to affect other people’s lives in a positive way,” Charlotte says. “Planned giving is about making a commitment now and not waiting until the last minute to make your wishes known.” The Fredericks’ bequest will create a scholarship for single parents — a choice the couple made because Tom remembers the challenges some fellow students faced during his time at Mount Royal. “For the single parents who are struggling to get their degrees and become self-sufficient, it will make their lives a little bit easier if their tuition and books are paid for,” Tom says. “It will help them get through the tough times.” To their friends and colleagues, it comes as no surprise that the Fredericks are taking the lead on planned giving. “Tom’s not only passionate about causes, he also shows great leadership,” says Gord Tallman, former senior vicepresident of the Royal Bank of Canada.
“He doesn’t expect other people to do all the work. Tom’s always at the front of the line, working with everyone else.” That dedication to helping others is one of the reasons why Tallman invited Tom to join the Mount Royal Foundation’s Board of Directors and the Bright Minds, Bright Futures campaign cabinet in 2003. There, Tom inspired those around him with his passion for education, working tirelessly to raise funds for Mount Royal students. By leaving a gift in their will, Tom and Charlotte Fredericks have ensured their legacy of supporting students well into the future. By creating the Mount Royal Legacy Challengers, they are inviting others in the community to consider planned giving — and joining the Challengers is as easy as calling 403.440.7700 or visiting mtroyal.ca/bequests. With this dynamic couple at the helm, there is no doubt the Mount Royal Legacy Challengers will succeed in encouraging others to invest in student success.
Collette Burjack
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A remarkably fine fellow Meet Mount Royal’s Tristan Smyth. A dapper third-year English honours student — and the vice-president for student academic affairs with the Students’ Association of Mount Royal University — he cuts a striking figure on campus, in the lecture hall and in Student Council Chambers.
“No one had the same background or was doing the same thing at their school, but there was no question that we each had a similar personality,” says Smyth. “I’ve never been in a room full of so many people who completely listened to and supported one another.”
Now Smyth is making his mark outside the University as the first Mount Royal student to be selected as a 3M National Student Fellow. Introduced in 2012, this Fellowship honours 10 full-time undergraduate students at Canadian universities who have demonstrated outstanding leadership in their lives and at their institutions.
That focus on the student voice is important to Smyth. A tireless advocate for student engagement, Smyth is one of the most active and involved students at Mount Royal. Yet he sees his leadership role not as an invitation to place himself at the front of the pack, but as the opportunity to support students as a whole.
Last June, Smyth travelled to the annual conference of the Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (STLHE), where he joined the other Fellows in presenting a series of workshops on the role of student leaders at postsecondary institutions.
Throughout his time at Mount Royal, Smyth has worked to devote his energies to supporting as many academic and nonacademic initiatives as he can manage, and the 3M Fellowship has inspired him to take on more.
Working with his fellow student leaders during the conference, Smyth realized that, while each participant was unique, they all shared a desire to support their peers in their respective institutions.
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“Many of the student fellows came from larger or more established institutions, and having the chance to pick their brains and learn what they are doing differently has definitely added a few things to my to-do list at Mount Royal.
Supporting Students & Sustainability Thanks to a generous donation from Newalta Corporation, Mount Royal University students can spend their summers gaining practical, hands-on research work experience. The Newalta Undergraduate Research Assistantship (NURA) program will fund seven 16-week student research assistantships for three years, providing paid employment directly related to students’ field of study.
“While the Fellowship award is nice, what made this opportunity special was the fellowship — being part of a community both with the other nine students and with the instructors as part of the STLHE Conference,” Smyth says. “It opened up new opportunities, friendships and connections that I want to foster.” Currently Smyth is working alongside Mount Royal Associate Professor Scott Murray, PhD, as lead organizer and co-convener of Understanding Atrocities: Remembering, Representing and Teaching Genocide, an interdisciplinary academic conference that will be held at Mount Royal in February 2014. It aims to explore, among other things, the meanings of the words atrocity and genocide, how they are interwoven and how they are understood. Smyth has also served as chair of the Office of Student Conduct; president of the English Student Society; event coordinator of the Film Student Society; editor-in-chief of STOPGap (an in-house literary publication) and student representative on institutional councils and committees including General Faculties Council. “After coming to Mount Royal, I learned not only the value of an education, but also the value of becoming educated,” says Smyth. “I realized that the key to enriching my life — as well as the lives of my fellow students — is in the small projects as well as the large ones.”
“This is the first time a private donor has provided funding for student research assistantships at this level,” says Trevor Davis, PhD, associate vice-president of Research Services at Mount Royal. “These assistantships will allow students to remain immersed in their studies during the summer, increasing their chances of success in their classes and in the workforce.” Beginning in 2014, NURA will be open to students in the Bachelor of Science — Environmental Science program and in the Faculty of Communication Studies. Students will learn research methodology as well as how to effectively communicate results. “Newalta believes that an investment in environmental sustainability is an investment in our future,” explains Stephen Lewis, executive director of Corporate Communications at Newalta. “The NURA program gives our company the opportunity to invest in the educational future of students while they further sustainability initiatives. It’s a perfect partnership for us.”
Collette Burjack
COLIN BRANDT
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THE ULTIMATE CROSSTOWN SMACKDOWN
2013 – 2014 Crowchild Classic Cougars Home Schedule Saturday, Sept. 7 Saturday, Oct. 5 Sunday, Oct. 6 Friday, Oct. 25 Friday, Oct. 25 Friday, Nov. 15 Saturday, Nov. 16 Saturday, Jan. 11 Saturday, Jan. 11 Thursday, Feb. 6 Thursday, Feb. 6 Friday, Feb. 7
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Women’s Soccer Men’s Soccer Men’s Soccer Women’s Volleyball Men’s Volleyball Men’s Hockey Women’s Hockey Women’s Basketball Men’s Basketball Women’s Hockey Men’s Hockey Women’s Hockey
@MRUcougars
UC @ MRU UC @ MRU UC @ MRU UC @ MRU UC @ MRU UC @ MRU UC @ MRU UC @ MRU UC @ MRU Saddledome Saddledome UC @ MRU
12 pm 2:30 pm 2:30 pm 6 pm 7:30 pm 7 pm 7 pm 5 pm 7 pm 5:45 pm 7:45 pm 7 pm
crowchildclassic.ca
Accomplished Alumni In their work, their studies and their lives, our alumni embody Mount Royal values such as lifelong learning, intellectual curiosity and citizenship.
ANGELA COLEMAN (NEE SMITH)
Science with a major in General Science, ‘13 Pursuing a Doctor of Medicine, University of Calgary, AB
Miranda Lynn Anderson Policy Studies with a Minor in Business, ‘12 Pursuing a Master of Public Policy, University of Calgary, AB
Shauna Parks Child and Youth Care Counsellor ‘03 Social Work ‘04 Completed a Master of Social Work, University of Calgary, AB
Ross Bullock Financial Services, ‘12 Pursuing a Master in Finance, London Business School, UK
Kelly Chmela Arts and Science Certificate, ‘06 Completed a Master of Management, University of British Columbia, BC
Shawn Anthony Freeman Computer Science ‘06
Completed a Master in Business Administration, Pepperdine University, CA Currently the Chief Executive Officer for Blackline GPS
was stressed. While I have
Laura Wettstein Applied Business and Entrepreneurship — Small Business ‘09 Business Administration — Management ‘09
Pursuing a Master in Management Sciences from University of Waterloo, ON
Pursuing a Master of Engineering in Supply Chain and Logistics for Capital Projects, Clemson University, SC
SARAH MICHELLE HUTCHISON Psychology (Athabasca University at Mount Royal) ‘08
Fahad Zaidi Computer Information Systems with a Minor in Business, ‘12
Pursuing a PhD in Experimental Psychology, University of Victoria, BC
SHOWCASE
always willing to spend
Clark Swanson General Business, ‘89
Pursing a Doctor of Medicine, University of Alberta, AB
Is the founder and owner of Posers Yoga, a rapidly growing business in Calgary
Royal University were time with me to answer my
Alexandria Webb Science with a major in Health Science, ‘13
Madeline Dowhaniuk Small Business and Entrepreneurship – New Venture Major, ‘13
My professors at Mount
questions or listen when I just started medical school, I can already see how my courses at Mount Royal help to prepare me for the rigour of medical school. Even though MRU is an undergraduate institution, I had the opportunity to work in a research lab performing experiments typically reserved for graduate students at larger researchfocused institutions.
Pursuing a Master of Science, IT Project Management at DePaul University, IL
Accomplished Alumni information is submitted by alumni or pulled from media stories. To send us your update, please email alumni@mtroyal.ca
EVENTS CALENDAR OCTOBER
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Building Sound & Song
7 p.m. Cocktail reception 8 p.m. Performances Leacock Theatre Join us for an evening of world-class music in support of the Conservatory’s Academy for Gifted Youth. Savour performances by Academy students, enjoy an exclusive update on construction of the new home of the Conservatory and The Bella Concert Hall, and share in the excitement that’s building for its official opening in 2015. Tickets $95 For more information: mtroyal.ca/soundandsong
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Sweat Box Challenge and Evening with Innovators
6 p.m. – 8 p.m. Bissett School of Business, second floor atrium Take 30 entrepreneurship students, each with a good idea; put them in a room full of proven innovators and entrepreneurs; then let them compete for attention, feedback and “Bissett Dollars.” Pitching an idea in an intimidating networking environment — it doesn’t get more real than this! Free admission For more information: mtroyal.ca/innovate
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Alberta at a Crossroads: Debt, Pipelines and Floods
7 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Moot Court Panelists Deborah Yedlin, Jack Mintz, Roger Gibbins and Bill Whitelaw square off in a debate and discussion moderated by Dean Marc Chikinda. Open to the public Sponsored by the Alberta Global Forum and Mount Royal University
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Did Vimy Ridge Matter? Getting ready for the Great War Centenary
summit – FALL 2013
Innovation Tournament
6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Leacock Theatre How do you create value from an everyday household object? This film festival-style event showcases short videos by teams of students who have created economic and social value from a simple object. Free admission For more information: mtroyal.ca/innovate
NOVEMBER
2 p.m. Jenkins Theatre As the 100th anniversary of the First World War approaches, Jack Granatstein, author of more than 60 books on Canadian political and military history, critically examines the iconic battle long portrayed as transforming Canada from colony to nation. Free admission For more information, contact the Faculty of Arts: 403.440.6961
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OPEN HOUSE
9:30 a.m – 3:30 p.m. Ross Glen Hall, Roderick Mah Centre for Continuous Learning A great opportunity to learn about the programs offered at Mount Royal University. Meet professors face to face and tour the campus and residences. For more information: mtroyal.ca/openhouse
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Fall Convocation
2 p.m. – 5 p.m. Triple Gym Graduates and their guests are invited to attend Fall Convocation at Mount Royal University. Convocation offers graduates the time-honoured tradition of celebrating their accomplishments with faculty, peers, family and friends. For more information: mtroyal.ca/convocation
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Mount Royal University DesigNite
6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Lincoln Park Room An eclectic and provocative group of speakers will present on a common topic related to design and the human experience. Join us for an evening informed by inspiration, cultural diversity and collaboration. Tickets $20 For more information: mtroyal.ca/designite
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2013 Symposium on Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
Banff, Alberta Organized and hosted by Mount Royal University’s Institute for Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, this annual conference for practitioners is dedicated to developing individual and collaborative teaching and learning scholarship, sharing data and results of completed projects and building an extended scholarly community. For more information: isotlsymposium.mtroyal.ca
20-21
DECEMBER
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The Venture Design Studio Finals
4:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. Leacock Theatre In this experiential and engaging project, students are challenged to propose the most innovative and feasible new venture ideas possible. Winning student teams pitch their ventures to a panel of industry professionals. For more information: mtroyal.ca/innovate
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Christmas in Song
7 p.m. Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium Celebrate the festive season with the Mount Royal Kantorei, Artio and Arioso choirs, the Calgary Boys Choir and the Calgary Youth Orchestra. For tickets and more information, contact the Conservatory: 403.440.7770.
2012 – 2013 Crowchild Classic Schedule FEBRUARY
Stronger Families, Engaged Citizens: Mothers Making a Difference
Mount Royal University welcomes the 2013 National Conference of Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) Canada. This conference is dedicated to understanding the theory, practice and experience of those working with low-income or isolated mothers, their families and their communities. For more information: hippycanada.ca
19-21
Understanding Atrocities: Remembering, Representing and Teaching Genocide
8 a.m. – 8 p.m. Mount Royal University This multidisciplinary conference will explore how the view of “genocide as atrocity” frames, focuses, distorts and/or clarifies efforts to understand and represent genocide, past and present. It will consist of plenary addresses, roundtables, film presentations, and multiple panels and workshops relating to recent issues and advances in scholarship and teaching on key aspects of genocide studies, as well as pointing the way toward further research and study. For more information: understandingatrocities@mtroyal.ca
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Alberta Intercollegiate Model United Nations Conference
Jenkins Theatre Post-secondary students from across Alberta will come to Mount Royal University to participate in a simulation of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). Students will represent various member nations of the UNGA and debate issues relating to this year’s theme, universal jurisdiction. For more information, contact the Department of Policy Studies: 403.440.8514
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Crowchild Classic Finale
Scotiabank Saddledome The Crowchild Classic is a yearlong friendly sports competition between the Mount Royal University Cougars and the University of Calgary Dinos. This finale is a men’s and THE ULTIMATE CROSSTOWN SMACKDOWN women’s hockey doubleheader at the Scotiabank Saddledome. For time and ticket information: crowchildclassic.ca
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CLOSING WORDS I’m
sure that all universities are proud of their students, but there’s something unique about Mount Royal University. Our faculty and staff go over and above what is expected, supporting and challenging students so they can achieve beyond what they thought they could. As a faculty member myself, I’ve witnessed that shift in the classroom when a student begins to understand the world in a different way, and in my role as a student counsellor, I’ve had the opportunity to hear countless stories of personal courage, fortitude and triumph. When I think about the students profiled in this issue, I have two reactions. First, I am amazed by the outstanding accomplishments of these fabulous young people. I have had the pleasure and honour of working with some of them, and I am truly awestruck by their attitudes, reflections and contributions. They represent the absolute best of what our university has to offer: intelligence, skill, creativity and resilience. They have been exposed to excellence in teaching. Their enthusiasm for the future is palpable.
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My second reaction is to consider all of the other students who are not profiled here but who reflect these same qualities, for these attitudes are actually quite typical of the Mount Royal community. Our university is full of students who are self-reflective and thoughtful; who enter into their classes with curiosity and motivation; and who take their studies and their chance to further develop as citizens to heart. Their triumph might be breaking the stigma by sharing their experience of living with a mental health disorder, receiving a scholarship award, passing a class they thought was beyond their ability, taking on a leadership role to advocate for a cause they believe in — or all of the above! Our hallways are full of individual stories of personal success. We have a dynamic and active faculty, and it’s hard not to feel inspired by the innovative work they do, in and out of the classroom. They are interested in supporting students, challenging students and investing in student learning. They are committed to excellence in education, and it shows. What’s more, our university includes a host of outstanding services for students. If a student is struggling
with a personal issue, be it academic, career, psychological, medical, emotional, social or physical, there are resources and supports available on campus to help that student cope and succeed. Further, we have resources designed to help students enhance their success before there is a problem. Our investment in student success is woven into the fabric of our institution. We care about who our students are, and who they are becoming. Those of us within the post-secondary system understand the value of excellence in education. It is hard to describe how it feels to see your students move into their careers, knowing you had a hand in their foundation. It’s even harder to describe watching their impact on our global society. But if you’ve had the chance to experience this Mount Royal community, then perhaps you know exactly what I’m talking about.
JANET MILLER, PhD Chair, Student Counselling Mount Royal University
Comments? Email summit@mtroyal.ca
BUILDING SOUND & SONG
Join us for an evening of world-class music and speech arts performances by some of Canada’s finest young artists in support of the Mount Royal University Conservatory and get an exclusive update on construction of our new home featuring the Bella Concert Hall.
SATURDAY, OCT. 19, 2013
Leacock Theatre — Mount Royal University
Cocktail reception Performances
7 p.m. 8 p.m.
To purchase tickets visit mtroyal.ca/soundandsong or call 403.440.7770 Presenting partner
TICKETS
$95