EX men (and women): extroverted extensioneers exuberantly expound edmonton exhibition Another typical Thursday at Extension found 28 volunteers marching around the streets of Edmonton, accompanied by Smurfs, Shriners, eminent Alberta politicians, beauty queens, and men in dresses blowing into inflatable plaid bags that produce a sound not unlike an army of dying sheep. The July 21 parade kicked off Edmonton’s summer fair, Capital Ex, and Extension representatives wound around downtown avenues from 10:00 a.m. to noon for the third year running. Some dressed as students from various programs, some toted balloons, and others, like the Faculty’s Dean, Katy Campbell, spent an uncharacteristically hot Edmonton morning in stifling, elaborate period costumes. This nod to the city’s history was especially appropriate this year, as Extension was joined by volunteers representing Marshall McLuhan’s Centennial celebration. Among their ranks were several volunteers from Extension’s Masters program in Communications and Technology, who successfully lobbied the Mayor to declare the day
“Marshall McLuhan Day” in honour of the late media luminary’s 100th “birthday.” Over 200,000 people attended the parade, after which the weather once again relented to a far more familiar pattern of grey skies and rain. As of the publication date of this article, Extension’s parade coordinator, Brianne Thomas, refused to comment on accusations she had arranged with the forces of infernal darkness a deal for certain meteorological favours.
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ELP student profile: iryna hryvenko Iryna Hryvenko is a Dentistry student from the S.I. Giorgievsky Crimean State Medical University in Ukraine who took our summer term last year on an Alberta Education scholarship. She returned to our May term on her own funding and has been accepted into an American University’s dentistry program with a scholarship for one year there. She has already done two years of dentistry school at Ukraine. Extension’s Matt Steringa had the opportunity to chat with her on her last day in Canada: How do you end up going from Ukraine to Canada? First of all, I applied for a scholarship through the government of Alberta. My father helped me find it. We understood that, if a person wants to be a specialist in his or her profession and to be successful, they should know English. And a very good opportunity for this is to study in an English-speaking country. We applied for the scholarship, and a few weeks later, I found out that I won it. It was a little intimidating, because it’s very far from the Ukraine—30 hours of flight and four planes. And Canada is very different from Ukraine culturally. Can you give me a for-instance? Well, first of all, people are very friendly here. So, people in Ukraine are mean? No! They’re not mean!! But Canadians are very, very kind. Everywhere, they’re ready to help you, even if your English is very bad. I was worried about how I could stay in a new country not being able to speak English, but very quickly, I realized that in Canada, I do not have to worry, because people are very helpful. In August, I will go to the United States. When I was last in Ukraine, I found out I got another scholarship in America, but I don’t know where yet exactly. So now I’m worried about going there! It’ll be a great experience, though. By the way, I want to say that I especially appreciate Rebecca [Yau, of the English Language Program]. She helped me so much! She was like my mom. When I first came here, she guided me, she helped me adjust to the new environment… she was just very great throughout the process. You came here two years ago on a scholarship, but you came back for another semester on your own dime. Why? I applied again for the scholarship, but this year, I didn’t receive it. I came back because I fell in love with Canada. I could have gone to the United Kingdom instead (or any other English-speaking country), but I said I don’t want to go anywhere else, because Canada is such a beautiful country, and I like the University of Alberta very much. I like my teachers (from last year and this year); they are very hands-on and very great teachers. The lessons were interesting and my English improved dramatically. Last year, I was studying really hard, because my English was not so good, so I didn’t have time to visit many beautiful places in Alberta. This year, I did have the opportunity because my English was a little bit better and I didn’t have to spend as much time studying. I went to Jasper and Drumheller, and I was amazed.
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I also made a lot of friends here; even more than in Ukraine. It’s weird… maybe because people are so open-minded and inviting. Do you miss Ukraine when you’re here? I miss my parents and my family, but I don’t really miss Ukraine. I don’t want to go back [laughs]! Today is actually my last day in Canada, at least for awhile…. I’d like to come back here again and again. Yesterday, I went to the Faculty of Dentistry and asked Mrs. [Pat] LaPointe, who was very nice, about the possibility of taking my Graduate Studies here after graduating from my Ukrainian University. She said yes, so I’m going to try very hard to do that. Are you excited to go to the United States? Yes, very excited! I’ve never been, but I’ve heard that people from Canada are the nicest in the world, so I don’t know if it will be the same. Why did you choose to study dentistry? My father is an abdominal surgeon, and my mother is an accountant. As a kid, I couldn’t make sensible decisions, so I asked my parents to advise me. My father said “It’s your choice. You have to choose for yourself.” See, that’s not fair. I know! My mom said “You should be a doctor,” so I entered into University and started in this stream. I find it very interesting, and I like to help people and to see the smiles on their face. When you bring happiness and health to people, it’s an amazing gift. And the money’s not bad… Yeah! What do you want to do once you’ve got your Graduate Degree? I’d like to come back here, and then maybe try for Canadian citizenship. Why would you need English to be a Dentist? Because a lot of books and scholarly articles are written in English, plus it is a common language at leading workshops and conferences. Dentistry is not as well-developed in Ukraine as it is in the West, and I want to be a good professional with a lot of knowledge, so I have to know English. But in Ukraine you have a different alphabet, so are you at a disadvantage having to learn all new characters? I started working on the English alphabet when I was six, so it wasn’t all that difficult. So they teach English in Ukrainian schools? Of course! There are other schools in Edmonton and elsewhere in Alberta that teach English as a Second Language. Why the University of Alberta? I learned that the U of A is one of the best Universities in Canada. I know it provides an excellent English program, so I don’t regret anything about my choice.
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let us inform you: hundreds head downtown for extension fall information sessions Out of a profound love for lifelong learning (or possibly out of latent guilt brought about by back-to-school commercials), 235 Edmontonians spent August 23 checking out the learning opportunities available over the Fall semester at the Faculty of Extension. Beginning at 6:00 p.m. at Enterprise Square, the first six of the one-hour sessions brought together program representatives, instructors, and potential students to discuss the Adult and Continuing Education, Business Programs, Construction Administration, Fine Arts, Occupational Health and Safety, Spanish Language, and Master of Arts in Communications and Technology programs (the last of which, appropriately, welcomed even guests via web broadcast). The second round of sessions, beginning at 7:30 p.m., welcomed those interested in Business Analysis, Environmental Resource Management, Government Studies, and Residential Interiors. Our many thanks to everyone who attended, volunteered, and helped decimate the infestation of cookies, coffee, and treats provided by our squaremates at Fantasia Café.
CRSC celebrates arts 4 the alley Arts 4 the Alley was held Saturday August 13th in an alleyway north of Jasper between 103 and 105 street. Bringing together the City of Edmonton and a number of community groups for a full day of arts programming, the event asked people to think about how ‘lost spaces’ such as this alleyway might become dynamic destinations. As the first event in the space, the group of volunteers was able to bring awareness to the alley as a unique venue. Painting started early in the afternoon alongside the Farmers Market, attracting both children and adults, producing over a hundred images. Later in the afternoon, these paintings were displayed at the entrance to and along the alley, enticing passers-by check out the music and performances: John Tidswell, Ehren Flais, Whyte and the Avenues, Shawn Lamble, The Bayonets!!, Mikey Maybe, Mercury Opera and Swensonic. A lantern-making workshop (hosted by Harcourt House), and a booth setup by the Wee Book Inn enticed the audience to stay a little longer. To finish the evening, MADE’s screening of This is Berlin, Not New York asked people to question their relationship to art. Plied with free popcorn and beverages the audience left wondering… What’s next for the Alley of Light? Page 4
extension celebrates its 99th at u of a chancellor’s cup Organized by the Senate, the 2011 Chancellor’s Cup was held at the Glendale Golf and Country Club on June 27th. The first sunny day in weeks welcomed a hoard of volunteers, staff, and about 160 community leaders from Edmonton and surrounding communities. The 18 holes, each hosted by a different Faculty or office of the University, provided knowledgeable and informative entertainment for the generous golfers. The Faculty of Extension participated presenting the theme “Extension’s 99th Birthday Party,” focusing on Extension’s accomplishments throughout the last 99 years. Golfers had the opportunity to investigate four images important to Extension history in Alberta: the Banff Center, the Travelling Library, Enterprise Square, and the CKUA radio station. Contestants were asked to identify each photo, what decade it might represent, and how it has been important in Extension’s history. They did so with surprising accuracy! Extension staff volunteers gave out Centenary Edition mugs and birthday-themed treats to participants. Golfers shared personal experiences about Extension, including one golfer who exclaimed, “I absolutely loved the relaxed, mature environment at Extension. It gave me motivation to complete my Spanish Certificate, which has proved so helpful with my travels abroad. Extension has such a supportive, fun atmosphere.” Event “judges” from External Relations visited the hole and commented on the creative and educational game. The day turned out to be a complete success for not only the Faculty of Extension, but for the University of Alberta’s Senate Office and all the golfers that participated.
a new direction: gordon gow takes over the big chair in communications and technology From an Email by Dean Katy Campbell, 03 June 2011: It is my great pleasure to announce that Dr. Gordon Gow has agreed to be the Academic Director of the Master of Arts in Communications and Technology, effective July 1, 2011. Dr. Marco Adria will “retire” his role of Academic Director, but will not actually retire until December, 2011. From July 1 to December 31, he is a full-time professor in the MACT program, with the usual learning/discovery/ citizenship responsibilities. This summer, he and Gordon are devoting considerable effort to the Marshall McLuhan centenary celebrations, which will include hosting an international conference of the Media Ecology Association. After that time, he will remain with the Faculty on a post-retirement arrangement for three years. Gordon inherits a program that, over a decade, has steadily evolved into one of the most successful graduate programs at the U of A. Marco was its first Director and has guided many graduate students, instructors, and colleagues in developing the field and has attracted the best and brightest in all those groups as well as Adjunct Professors who are internationally recognized. Gordon is a well-known scholar and public intellectual sought out by international organizations, policy makers, colleagues, students, the media, and many communities for his insights on public alerting and related issues, increasingly involving social media. Please join me in congratulating Gordon on his new role and Marco on a new phase of his life.
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new hope for aya: extension’s english language program reaches out to japan earthquake survivor It was mid-afternoon on a Friday at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport in Sendai, capital city of Japan’s Miyagi Prefecture; by all auspices, it was business as usual for Aya Miura and her office-mates. And then the building started shaking. Earthquakes are not uncommon in Japan; because the country lies atop four major (and constantly-shifting) tectonic plates, the nation’s written history documents strong earthquakes dating back at least the last 1600 years. As the first shocks of this March 11, 2011 quake thrummed through the Ministry, Aya and her co-workers took cover under their desks, as they had been taught to do since grade school. “I just waited for the earthquakes to stop,” said Aya. She would end up waiting what seemed like an eternity. What Aya was living through would eventually be known as the 2011 Tokohu earthquake (or “Eastern Japan Great Earthquake Disaster”)—the most powerful known earthquake to ever hit Japan, and the most expensive natural disaster on record. The epicenter at the quake was a mere 130 km from Sendai. Famously, the magnitude-9.0 quake also triggered massive, 130-foothigh tsunami waves, causing unthinkable damage to Japan’s population and infrastructure, as well as large-scale meltdowns at three nuclear reactors. “After the quake was over,” explained Aya, “everyone [at the Ministry] went up on the roof and watched seawater rushing up a nearby river, but luckily our office was a safe distance from the tsunami.” Mercifully, Aya’s family home in Sendai was not destroyed by the tsunami, but as she explained, “We didn’t get gas, electricity, or water for about a week.” More, she said, “we had to line up for hours to buy gas, and several days, I had to bike 20 kilometres to work.” For months afterward, the Internet was glutted with photos illustrating the extent of the destruction wrought by what Japan’s Prime Minister Naoto Kan called “the toughest and most difficult crisis for Japan.” Offers of aid poured in from all corners of the globe, and here at Extension’s English Language program, Executive Director Mimi Hui and team scrambled to do everything they could to contribute to the relief effort. “Many of our students come from Japan, and we have many partner institutions throughout the country,” said Mimi. “The shock, uncertainty, and sadness brought about by this disaster shot through our classrooms and offices immediately.” The point where these two timelines converge is the “Hope for Japan” program for survivors of the Earthquake. A bursary support system proposed by Mimi and coordinated by Languages Canada, Hope for Japan offered scholarships to 150 Japanese students to study English in Canada at any of 30 accredited language schools, including the University of Alberta. “My family friends in Canada told me about this program, so I checked out the details on the Canadian Embassy website,” said Aya. “I had a working holiday in Vancouver a few years ago and have always wanted to come back to Canada. Last year was very stressful in Japan, so the Hope for Japan Project sounded like an excellent opportunity for me to come to the U of A.”
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The scholarship, through which the University’s English Language Program covers Aya’s course tuition, was lauded by Canada’s Minister of International Trade, the Honourable Ed Fast: “Thanks to these generous scholarships, we hope that Japanese students… will enrich Canada through the strength and courage they have displayed here, which will no doubt help them become global leaders.” For Aya, the program has already yielded positive results: last December, she completed her first semester of study (“weekly vocabulary tests, unit tests, and assignments are very hard, but I’m learning a lot”), and acclimatizes to a fickle Edmonton winter in the company of her homestay family. She acknowledges that much still needs to be done to reverse the incredible destruction brought on by the earthquake, but remains positive about Japan’s future. “In 1995,” she pointed out, “there was a big earthquake in Kobe, but the city has recovered as though it never happened, so I believe Japan and Japanese people will recover again in the future.” The Faculty of Extension would like to extend its warmest wishes to our partners and friends in Japan for their stoicism in the face of unbelievable adversity.
testing our limits: extension’s english language program gets certified to deliver prestigious IELTS test Since 1973, The University of Alberta’s English Language Program has tirelessly continued to one-up itself in delivering the most air-tight second language program available worldwide. Appropriately, their most recent achievement puts them in global good standing as one of Edmonton’s only test centres for the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). A joint project initiated by British Council, IDP, IELTS Australia, and the University of Cambridge, IELTS claims no less a title than “the world’s proven English Language test,” according to their website. Legitimately so: As a 2011 IELTS press release points out, “there are over 6,000 institutions globally that rely on the rigour and reliability of the IELTS test to make informed decisions where English Language Skills are a key requirement.” Mimi Hui, Director of the University’s English Language program, asserts that the certification process to deliver IELTs was at least as rigorous as the test itself. “We have gone through a solid three weeks’ training with Mr. James Balazs, National Manager of IELTS Test Centres from Melbourne, Australia,” said Mimi in an August 15 email message. “The training was grueling, as we learned the many standardized IELTS processes that are in place.... Processes included securing a double-locked area to store exams, requiring passport photos on application forms, taking on-site photos of test-takers, and recording their fingerprint verifications of the day.” As Tony Pollock, Chief Executive of IELTS points out, “IELTS is a high-stakes test and… it’s so critical that the test continue to be a robust and rigorous measure of English Language proficiency.” 1.5 million IELTS tests were taken in 2010, a new record in a streak of new records that began in 1995. Mimi Hui is eager to help make 2011 another record year.
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strip appeal appeals to the globe and mail reprinted from the globe and mail, december 26, 2011 Imagine a strip mall that allows pedestrians to walk up a ramp onto a grassy rooftop to play soccer in the summer and toboggan in the winter. Picture these mundane suburban retail spaces transformed into greenhouses, outdoor movie theatres or the meeting places for a caravan of food trucks. Or envision a strip mall that has been stripped to the ground and a new tiny neighbourhood of homes has risen up from the inventory of leftover parts. These are some of the creative re-imaginings of the ubiquitous and often unloved strip mall. Twenty concepts have made the shortlist in an international design competition dubbed “Strip Appeal,” now under way at the University of Alberta. Architects, designers, academics, students and regular folks from 11 countries—places as far-flung as Australia, Brazil, Egypt, Germany and Iran— contributed more than 100 ideas for 21st century strip malls. They may be the postwar model of suburban retailing, but in many cases the concept is long past its best-before date. “It’s functional, but there’s so much lacking,” said Rob Shields, the University of Alberta professor who spearheaded the competition. “It isn’t something that actually contributes in more than the most minimal way in terms of making life better.” While some ideas might be fanciful, the concepts might not be that far-fetched and could be incorporated in redevelopments throughout the commercial real estate world. “Things that are viable economically are real contenders to be picked up very fast,” added Prof. Shields, who is also director of the university’s City-Region Studies Centre, a research unit dedicated to making communities more livable. In terms of design competitions, the prizes are meagre—$1,000 to the winner, a spot in a travelling road show and a book of designs —but the impact could be significant. Strip malls have been a fixture of the landscape as development sprawled out from city centres.
Arterial roads took workers between their suburban homes and downtown workplaces and asphalt pads were plunked along them to accommodate parking and single-storey retailing. Up sprung rows of convenience stores, pizza joints and drycleaners. “You drop in, you get your groceries and you get back into your car and you drive home and you drive into your garage and you go into your suburban dream,” said Merle Patchett, a postdoctoral fellow at the research centre. “Of course, the suburban dream as we know it has turned a little bit sour.” The suburbs are becoming urbanized. The Internet is transforming shopping. Big-box stores, or so-called “power centres,” are replacing small ones. Getting around in cars isn’t as easy, and it’s expensive. Municipal planners are finally demanding building densification. And younger generations want to live somewhere hip where they can walk to local stores. “The endless expansion of the commercial strip— that homogeneous cluster of sign clutter and asphalt that leads out from every town—is reaching the end Page 8
of its useful life,” according to Edward McMahon of the Washington, D.C.-based Urban Land Institute, who has written much on the future—or lack thereof—of strip malls. The problem might be most pronounced in the United States where, between 1960 and 2000, retail space increased tenfold—in some years, it was growing five to six times faster than retail sales, Mr. McMahon pointed out. Estimates now suggest that 11 per cent of U.S. strip malls are derelict—victims of an outdated mode of retailing and a crumbling economy. Prof. Shields said his initial research suggests that a strip mall has a 50-year lifespan and in that time, the property is really only successful for the first 15 years. Then, it becomes a matter of land value speculation and tax write-offs. “Essentially, an owner would need a portfolio of these properties and some would be booming and others would be just carrying,” Prof. Shields said. “They’re carrying and they’re looking for an idea or an opportunity.” Bigger landlords are looking at redevelopment ideas to bring in more people to higher quality tenants, said John O’Bryan, vice-chairman of the commercial real estate firm CB Richard Ellis Ltd. He points to RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust, which owns and manages Canada’s largest portfolio of shopping centres, as one of the leaders in the strip mall revolution. In a recent management presentation, RioCan told investors that its U.S. expansion is focused on groceryanchored strip centres and that it has been rezoning its urban properties to accommodate mixed use projects over the last few years. But Mr. O’Bryan isn’t quite ready to pronounce the death of the strip mall. “Retail evolves anyway,” he said. “It is the most fluid of all of the asset classes. If you look at office buildings and industrial buildings, they’re not radically different than they were 30 or 40 years ago, but if you look at retail, it is.” A jury of experts will select the winners in the Strip Appeal contest, but the public can also vote early next month at www.strip-appeal.com. The finalists will be announced Jan. 18. Already some developers have been sniffing around, according to the organizers. “What we see in the potential for these is to reinvigorate the communities,” Ms. Patchett said.
arts day afternoon On Saturday, October 1, many local artists gathered in the art gallery space in Enterprise Square for Alberta Arts Days. Hundreds of unique paintings hung on the walls as art enthusiasts munched on food provided by Haweli Restaurant and co-hosted by Extension’s Liberal Studies unit and the Extension Centenary. As one local artist put it “Arts Days are a great way to connect the community with local artists. People need to see the talent that the Edmonton Arts Community holds!” Alberta Arts Days are an annual, province-wide initiative to explore the arts in Alberta for one weekend. Page 9
a program of one’s own: fledgling life skills program grows legs thanks to extension’s fay fletcher Six years ago, Extension instructor and academic researcher Fay Fletcher was tapped to help lead an initiative to create and sustain a one-of-a-kind life skills program for the Alexis Nakota Sioux First Nation. Located Northwest of Edmonton, the Alexis Nation had identified a need for a program to educate their children about substance abuse. Though such programs have existed in various incarnations for several years worldwide, to implement one in a First Nations community while integrating the history, culture, and language of its people was going to require a level an extraordinary combination of expertise, sensitivity, and tact. Dr. Fletcher, whose research for several years has concentrates on exploring social determinants of health in minority populations, particularly in Canada’s First Nations, was selected by team lead Lola Baydala (of the University’s Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry) to develop the Nimi Icinohabi program for the Alexis Nakota. “Initially, the community had approached [Professor Baydala] about the program, since she was at the time working as a pediatrician in the Alexis Nation,” explained Fay. “I was brought aboard as coinvestigator to lend some community experience and qualitative research abilities to the project.” But this was by no means the full extent of Prof. Fletcher’s involvement, she explained: “We found a program developed by Dr. Botvin from Cornell University that had a great proven rate of success, but of course, it had never been adapted for delivery in First Nations communities. We knew we absolutely had to make the program culturallyrelevant to the lives of the Alexis Sioux children and to their community history overall.” All on a shoestring, piecemeal budget, no less. “At the beginning, we were going from small grant to small grant to try to get this program off the ground,” said Professor Fletcher. “What time we weren’t spending on community consultations, surveys, focus groups, and other research was spent scratching together funding from various agencies.”
By 2006, Nimi Icinohabi was ready for its pilot year, delivering to grades three to eight lessons in self-management and social skills to avoid potential substance-abuse problems in adulthood. The pilot was an almost instant success, so much so that today, the Alexis Sioux Nation has taken over all funding for the program, which is now a permanent fixture in their school system. More than this, the program is now being implemented this Fall in the Cree nations of Hobbema, Alberta. The secret of success, according to Dr. Fletcher, was a conjoined effort in research and collaboration between the Alexis Sioux and the University. “Alexis has a history of doing research in their community,” she said, “and it was wonderful to have the support of the elders in mobilizing the community. We’re hoping to enjoy the same sort of success now, as we’re seeking funding to do a similar project with the parents in the community.” Dr. Fletcher takes a community-based participatory approach to research, partnering with communities in order to identify critical issues, appropriate methodologies and relevant recommendations for future research and program development. This approach is grounded in the belief that documenting and exploring individual experiences of culture and diversity in Canadian society will increase our understanding of their impact on health and education. Page 10
IAPP wins national access to information Award The Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada has selected for the inaugural winner of its Grace-Pépin award the University of Alberta’s Information Access and Protection of Privacy (IAPP) program for “an exceptional contribution to the promotion of the principles of transparency, accountability, and the public’s right to access information held by public institutions.” On-hand to accept the award at the seventh annual International Conference of Information Commissioners in Ottawa were Dr. Katy Campbell, Dean of the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Extension, and Wayne MacDonald, Manager of the Program. “As a Faculty, we are very proud of the role we play in bringing together academic expertise with community groups to meet the learning needs of stakeholders,” said Mr. MacDonald in his October 3 acceptance speech. “This is community engagement at its finest.” The letter of nomination sent by Laurence Kearley, President of the Canadian Access and Privacy Association, posited that the IAPP Certificate program deserved to be honoured by virtue of its status as “the first and only comprehensive online, post-secondary program for information rights specialists offered by a Canadian University. It is unique in North America and around the world.” Since its inception in April 2000, the IAPP program has provided hundreds of students worldwide with the theories, concepts, issues, and best practices involved in the proper administration of information rights legislation. Delivered exclusively online, the IAPP curriculum is developed and taught by some of the nation’s leading experts in information access and protection of privacy. The program has also long benefited from the support and contributions of Canada’s federal, provincial, and territorial Information and Privacy Commissioners. The Grace-Pépin Award is the latest token of encouragement from the federal Information Commissioner’s Office. The award was introduced this year in memory of two of Canada’s strongest contributors to information rights, John Grace and Marcel Pépin. Both originally journalists by profession, the late Mssrs. Grace and Pépin were fervent advocates of transparency, accountability, and freedom of information. fast facts about IAPP: • The IAPP program began in 2000 as one class offered through the University of Alberta’s Government Studies department, primarily aimed at municipal government employees working within Alberta’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy legislation (FOIP). • During the development of this course, a proposal was put forward to the Alberta Information and Privacy Commissioner to establish Canada’s first access and privacy education program. • The five-course IAPP program was officially inaugurated in 2003. Since that time, over 400 students have graduated from the program. • Governments across Canada now require or give preference to IAPP program graduates in hiring for access and privacy administrative positions. •
In 2012, the program will also be offered completely in French.
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yoshi’s grand debut new director introduced in style as CUP welcomes the age of the happy dragon When Dr. Jeff Bisanz, Founding Director of the University of Alberta’s Community-University Partnership for the Study of Children, Youth, and Families (CUP), announced that it was time for a change in leadership the Faculty of Extension, with its community partners, began the process to select someone capable of filling his BIG SHOES. We found him. Over the noon hour of Tuesday, September 20, Dr. Yoshitaka “Yoshi” Iwasaki was introduced as the successful candidate for the Directorship, following what Dean Campbell described as a fairly determined process of courtship. “I’m here mainly to worship the ground that Yoshi walks on,” Dean Campbell began in her introduction, “and I think you will too. We have been pursuing Yoshi for some time during his recent work with Temple University, and two months ago, we were pleased to receive from him a list of his priorities as the new Director of CUP. One of the first on the list was to build another floor on top of Enterprise Square.”
Dr. Iwasaki also outlined his humanistic and holistic approach to his research, to which he pointed as key factors in choosing to join the team at CUP. “CUP is about partnership and building human capacity, and I’m looking forward to this position and my future research here at the University of Alberta. I spoke with Jeff Bisanz, our former Director, and he told me that he looked forward to coming to work every morning, and I am certainly looking forward to the same.” The celebration carried on throughout the noon hour, with guests from diverse areas of the University and Community enjoying pizza, beverages, and what will most certainly not be Yoshi’s last CUPcake. We welcome Dr. Iwasaki to our Faculty and look forward to his leadership as CUP continues to celebrate over 10 years of bridging the University of Alberta and its many partnering communities.
“With windows!” interjected Yoshi, immediately cementing his reputation at Extension as a person of good ideas. Welcomed to address the crowd of community members, leaders, faculty from across the university, and others, Yoshi began his speech with a lesson in Japanese, drawing two characters on a flip chart representing “Yoshi” and “Taka,” the two parts of his first name, which, he explained, indicates “Happy Dragon” in his native language. “I am Happy Dragon,” he went on; “I’m a casual person, I’ve lived in three countries, and I am happy to be back in one of the best countries in the world.” He then proceeded to run through a verbal highlight reel of his career to date, encompassing his education in sciencebased applied health (PhD, 1998 & MA, 1995, Waterloo; BS, 1993, Maryland), his background in community-based participatory research, and his love of all things hockey. Page 12
a graphic display extension art gallery hosts the collective memory project on eugenics To see or hear the word “eugenics” is likely to dredge up grotesque tableaus of a less-enlightened time in human history; a time when the notion of eliminating so-called “unwanted elements” of the gene pool was not only considered justifiable, but even academically-legitimate. For most of us, it’s a thought so unpleasant we’d prefer to let it collect dust in the annals of our collective memory rather than look any further into it. However, the Collective Memory Project, spearheaded by the NGO Eugenics Archives Canada and supported by the University of Alberta, is trying to bring light to a eugenics movement whose branches extend into the very recent Albertan past, and, it is argued, the present as well as the future.
If there is a living cautionary tale about eugenic practices, Leilani is it: A perpetually-smiling, wellspoken fledgling author, Ms. Muir was left by her mother at the Provincial Training School for Mental Defectives in Red Deer, Alberta, at the age of nine. Believed to be of sub-standard intelligence (though an IQ test would not be administered until a full two years later), she was accepted to the PTS only after her mother provided a signature submitting Leilani to compulsory sterilization.
What their website describes as “part art exhibition, part grassroots organizing,” the Collective Memory Project capped off a series of nine events that took place October 17 to 23 with an unveiling of an art show in the Extension Gallery in Enterprise Square.
In a reading from her nearly-complete autobiography, punctuated by a number of pauses during which the whole of the Enterprise Square atrium was uncharacteristically dead-silent, Leilani described in vivid detail her memories of being abandoned by her family, slowly integrating into the bizarre world of the PTS, and being confined alone to a small, austere cement room for misbehaviour.
The show, which displayed “various forms of advocacy, negotiations of identity, and explorations of memory,” officially debuted with words from Edmonton Member of the Legislative Assembly, Laurie Blakeman; Dean of Extension, Katy Campbell; Principle Investigator for the Project, Rob Wilson (also of the U of A); and the Guest of Honour, Leilani Muir.
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She began and ended her speech with this advice: “If anyone out there has children or is thinking about having children, you tell them every day of their lives that you love them. And mean it from the heart.” For more information about the Collective Memory Project, visit eugenicsarchive.ca; to learn more about Leilani’s story, visit her Wikipedia page at http://en.wikipedia. org/wiki/Leilani_Muir.
spring rites extension’s 2011 grads cross the stage “Live as if you will die tomorrow. Learn as if you will live forever.” These were the words of University of Alberta Chancellor Linda Hughes, channeling Gandhi in imparting advice to the crowd assembled at the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium to watch students graduate from their respective programs offered through the Faculty of Extension. On the Friday afternoon of June 10, 2011, 712 Extension students became part of what U of A VicePresident Debra Pozega Osborne called “University of Alberta’s long history of continuing education.” On-hand to join the celebration were a near-capacity crowd of friends and families, luminaries from the community, Extension, and the University at large. Among those who verbally acknowledged the contributions of the graduates were Gordon Clanaghan (representing the U of A Board of Governors), Extension Dean Katy Campbell, and Edmonton City Councillor Don Iveson, who shared his philosophy on lifelong learning with the crowd: “It’s about striving for excellence and the development of the person,” he said, “In other words, the fulfillment of one’s potential. So, we understand our mortal journey as a learning experience from start to finish; then, in a way, when we stop learning, we stop living.” Congratulations to all our past, current, and future grads for actively pursuing a fuller life through continuing education!
laudible linguaphiles ELP students celebrate summer programs in style In August, over 250 students from numerous institutions throughout Japan and Korea gathered at the Hotel MacDonald to celebrate their arrivals to and departures from the English Language Program. The Honourable Iris Evans, Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta; ViceProvost of the University, Dr. Colleen Skidmore; and proud English Language Program staff-members and chaperones shared many memories and laughs over dinner. Excited students and graduates mingled on the stunning Hotel MacDonald patio for a number of photo opportunities. One student, when asked what he’d miss most about the program said, “the opportunity it has given me to meet other students and make friends and memories that will last me a lifetime.” The evening resonated with toasts to learning and international relationships. As Minister Evans put it, “if I were to come back and do it all over again, I’d be sitting where you are tonight… because it is your generation learning to love other languages and other cultures that will change the future.” Page 14