s p r i n g 2012
Out of the Ashes
Slave Lake’s Miraculous Wildfire Recovery UNIVERSIT Y OF ALBERTA
ALUMNI MAGA ZINE
Pioneering Potential
Douglas Goss Leads the U of A Board of Governors
creative currency Global economy banks on the arts, humanities and social sciences
new trail.ualberta.ca
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Thursday – September 20 Alumni Recognition Awards 7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Join us as we celebrate the outstanding accomplishments of U of A graduates.
Engineering: • Class of 1952 Alumni Luncheon • Dean’s Reception (for all Engineering alumni)
Friday – September 21
Law: Centenary Gala Physical Education & Recreation: • 50th Anniversary of Recreation and Leisure Studies • Pub Night
A Decade Out 7:30 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.
Rehabilitation Medicine: Back Pain Symposium
Expand your network — join this mixer to meet up and mingle with recent (within the past 10 years) U of A grads and their friends.
School of Public Health: Dean’s Wine, Cheese and Strings
School of Business: Class of 1962 Anniversary Dinner Computing Science: Alumni Reception Earth & Atmospheric Sciences: Centennial Celebrations Visit http://easweb.eas.ualberta. ca/page/events for details Education: Homecoming Luncheon
Science: Department Events, Campus Tours & Lectures are listed on-line
Agricultural, Life & Environmental Sciences: Alumni Breakfast
Pharm Scien Reuni
School of Business: Dean’s Brunch and Open House
Physi Break 50-ye
Earth & Atmospheric Sciences: Centennial Celebrations
Physi See “ comp
Visit http://easweb.eas.ualberta. ca/page/events for details Engineering: • Dean’s Alumni Breakfast (for alumni from 1967 and earlier) • Cocktail Reception
Fraternity Alumni Chapter: Fraternally Yours: Open House and House Tours Law: Open House & Dean’s Lunch
Saturday – September 22 Alumni Dinner & Dance Shaw Conference Centre 6:00 p.m. Cocktails 7:00 p.m. Dinner Party at the grand event of the weekend.
Library & Information Studies Alumni Association: Celebration Pastry Brunch Medicine & Dentistry: • Medical Reunion Reception • Dental Hygiene Alumni Reception
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macy & Pharmaceutical nces: ion Brunch and Tour
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ics: “Tours” and “Lectures” for a plete list of great offerings
abilitation Medicine: mni Brunch, Faculty Talks Tours
nce: artment Events, Campus Tours ctures are listed on-line
day – September 23
ersity Symphony and phonic Wind Ensemble oncert p.m.
Campus Tours • • • • • • • •
Athabasca Hall Tour Atkins Shell Collection Biology Greenhouses Birds of a Feather: The Ornithology Collection Bug Bonanza! Strickland Entomological Museum Campus Art Walk Dating the Earth, Diamonds, & Killer Whales: Everyday Research in EAS Devonian Botanic Garden Tour & Lunch
Tuck Shop Tent It’s the perfect place to meet friends, enjoy a Tuck Shop cinnamon bun, hear fabulous entertainment or speakers, inquire about events, or join a campus tour. Look for the Tent in Quad. Friday, September 21 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. Saturday, September 22 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
• • • • • • • • • • •
Dinosaurs in the Dungeon Edmonton Clinic Health Academy Tour Fantastic Fossils & Magnificent Minerals Geoscience Garden Human Ecology Clothing & Textiles Collection Tour Low Temperature Quantum Nanoscience Lab Observatory Paleomagnetism Lab Sam Steele: The Journey of a Canadian Hero Ultrafast Laser Labs What’s New in the Chemistry Centre?
Campus Express Campus Express golf carts will roam campus Friday & Saturday, fully equipped with friendly and knowledgeable drivers.
Accommodations Special rates are subject to availability so be sure to book early. See the website for complete details and pricing.
Lectures Back pain, black holes, lasers and more. Check on-line for the full lecture schedule.
Class Reunions Visit the Tuck Shop Tent to catch up with friends and receive a special gift.
Parking on campus is complimentary Friday (9:00 a.m.) through Sunday (5:00 p.m.) of Alumni Weekend. Go on-line for family-friendly itineraries. Cost involved.
Celebrate ’52: Friday 2:00 – 3:30 p.m. Celebrate ’62: Friday 3:30 – 5:00 p.m. Celebrate ’72: Saturday 2:30 – 4:00 p.m. Celebrate ’87: Saturday 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Consider creating a class legacy. Go to www.ualberta.ca/alumni/classgiving.
780-492-6530. Re r w www. l . / um / e
Don’t miss out
FACULTY EVENTS • DINNER & DANCE • A DECADE OUT ALUMNI RECOGNITION AWARDS • TUCK SHOP • CAMPUS TOURS www.ualberta.ca/alumni/weekend 780-492-3224 or 1-800-661-2593 alumni@ualberta.ca
S P R I N G 2 012 VOLUME 68 NUMBER 1
On the cover: Illustration by Raymond Biesinger, ’04 BA. Learn more on page 15.
features 6 Campus Myths Revealed Delving Into Rumours About the U of A
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10 Creative Licence Betting on Thinkers to Shift the World Economy
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17 Out of the Ashes Slave Lake’s Miraculous Wildfire Recovery
24 On the Map The U of A’s Connections With Our U.S. Neighbours
17 28 Extending the Promise The Faculty of Extension Celebrates 100 Years
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Executive Director Sean Price, ’95 BCom, MBA Supervising Editor Cynthia Strawson, ’05 BA Acting Editor Christie Moncrief Contributing Editor Kim Green Associate Editor Sarah Ligon Art Directors Marcey Andrews, Ray Au, ’88 BFA Associate Art Director Lisa Hall, ’89 BA Advisory Board Anne Bailey, ’84 BA; Linda Banister, ’83 BCom, ’87 MPM; Susan Colberg, ’83 BFA, ’91 MVA; Deb Hammacher; Lawrence Kwok, ’04 BSc(Eng); John Mahon, ’76 BMus, ’83 MBA; Julie Naylor, ’95 BA, ’05 MA; Jane Potentier CONTACT US E-mail (Comments/Letters/Class Notes) alumni@ualberta.ca Address Updates 780-492-3471; toll free 1-866-492-7516 or alumrec@ualberta.ca Call 780-492-3224; toll free 1-800-661-2593 Mail
Office of Alumni Affairs, University of Alberta, Main Floor, Enterprise Square, 10230 Jasper Avenue, Edmonton, AB T5J 4P6
Facebook U of A Alumni Association
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30 Pioneering Potential Douglas Goss Leads the U of A Board of Governors
departments 28
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Your Letters Our Readers Write
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Bear Country The U of A Community
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Whatsoever Things Are True Column by Aritha van Herk
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Question Period Lesley Scorgie Shares Her Wealth Wisdom
33 Trails Art From an Alumnus 34 Events In Edmonton and Beyond 36
Class Notes Keeping Classmates Up to Date
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In Memoriam Bidding Farewell to Friends
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Photo Finish The Picture-Perfect Finale
Twitter @UofA_Alumni TO ADVERTISE CALL 780-492-3224 This University of Alberta Alumni Association magazine is published three times a year and mailed free to over 135,000 alumni. The views and opinions expressed in the magazine are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the University or the Alumni Association. All material copyright ©. New Trail cannot be held responsible for unsolicited manuscripts or photographs. ISSN: 0824-8125 Copyright 2011 Publications Mail Agreement No. 40112326 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: Office of Alumni Affairs University of Alberta, Main Floor, Enterprise Square 10230 Jasper Avenue Edmonton, AB T5J 4P6
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OFFICE OF ALUMNI AFFAIRS Sean Price, ’95 BCom, MBA Associate Vice-President Cynthia Strawson, ’05 BA Director, Marketing, Communications & Affinity Relationships Gina Wheatcroft, ’94 BEd Director, Alumni Programs Kyla Amrhein, ’09 BA Assistant, Alumni Branches Chloe Chalmers, ’00 BA Co-ordinator, Student Engagement Lesley Dirkson Administrative Assistant/Receptionist Colleen Elliott, ’94 BEd Co-ordinator, Alumni Special Events Coleen Graham, ’88 BSc(HEc), ’93 MEd Executive Project Manager Lisa Hall, ’89 BA Co-ordinator, Graphic Communications Jennifer Jenkins, ’95 BEd Class Giving Co-ordinator Shelley Josey, ’02 MEd Assistant, Alumni Recognition Jodeen Litwin, ’90 BSc(HEc) Co-ordinator, Alumni Recognition Christie Moncrief Sarah Ligon Communications Co-ordinators Cristine Myhre Co-ordinator, Alumni Chapters John Perrino, ’93 BA(RecAdmin) Co-ordinator, Alumni Branches Andrea Porter, ’03 BCom Finance and HR Co-ordinator Tracy Salmon, ’91 BA, ’96 MSc Manager, Alumni Travel & Edmonton Programs Daven Seeberran Class Giving Co-ordinator Angela Tom, ’03 BA Co-ordinator, Edmonton Programs Diane Tougas Assistant to the Associate Vice-President Vi Warkentin Assistant, Alumni Chapters Katy Yachimec, ’04 BA Assistant, Edmonton Programs Debbie Yee, ’92 BA Co-ordinator, Electronic Communication
Alumni Council President Jane Halford, ’94 BCom Vice-President: Reputation & Messaging Mary Pat Barry, ’04 MA Vice-President: Educational Engagement Rob Parks, ’87 BEd, ’99 MBA Past-President, Vice-President: Nominating & Bylaws Jim Hole, ’79 BSc(Ag) Vice-President: Alumni Giving Glenn Stowkowy, ’76 BSc(ElecE)
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Board of Governors Representatives: Jim Hole ’79 BSc(Ag) Don Fleming, ’76 BEd Vice-President: Recruitment & Mentorship Kirstin Kotelko, ’06 BSc Senate Representatives Stephen Leppard, ’86 BEd, ’92 MEd, ’03 EdD Anne Lopushinsky, ’79 BSc Vice-President: Traditions & Spaces Cindie LeBlanc, ’01 BA Faculty Representatives Academic Representative Randy Wimmer, ’87 BEd, ’96 MEd, ’03 EdD Agriculture, Life & Environmental Science Kirstin Kotelko, ’06 BSc Arts Michael Janz, ’08 BA Augustana Jason Collins, ’97 BA Business Rob Parks ’87 BEd, ’99 MBA Campus Saint-Jean Cindie LeBlanc, ’01 BA Dentistry Matthew Woynorowski, ’05 BSc, ’10 DDS Education Lorne Parker, ’08 BEd Engineering Glenn Stowkowy, ’76 BSc Extension Mary Pat Barry, ’04 MA Graduate Studies Mark Ramsankar, ’87 BEd, ’04 MEd Law William Ostapek, ’79 BSc, ’83 LLB Medicine Richard Fedorak, ’78 MD Native Studies Darlene Bouvier, ’91 BA, ’09 BA(NS) Nursing Janis Sasaki, ’83 BScN, ’87 LLB Pharmacy Adam Gordon, ’08 BSc (Pharm) Physical Education & Recreation Wanda Wetterberg, ’74 BA Public Health Ximena Ramos Salas, ’87 BSc Rehabilitation Medicine Linda Miller, ’89 BSc Science Luca Vanzella, ’81 BSc, ’88 MSc Ex Officio Honorary President Indira Samarasekera Vice-President (University Relations) Debra Pozega Osburn Chief Advancement Officer O’Neil Outar Executive Director Alumni Association Sean Price, ’95 BCom, MBA Dean of Students Frank Robinson Graduate Students’ Association Hillary Sparkes Students’ Union Rory Tighe
upfront One thing is certain: the challenges we face today cannot be solved in isolated silos. Our alumni are actively engaged in solving some of the world’s most pressing issues, and we love sharing your stories. Our students, researchers and faculty, too, take advantage of geography and the highest levels of expertise to form partnerships, which, in turn, extend to alliances with other organizations and places of learning around the globe. We see this in many places, from the Festival of Ideas — where students, faculty, alumni and the public alike are encouraged to dream big, and dream together — to the National Institute of Nanotechnology, where an artist–in–residence works alongside chemists, biologists and physicists to find solutions to energy and medical crises. Sadly, there are plenty of crises to address: global warming, water shortages both current and imminent, renewable energy or the lack thereof, food riots, child soldiers. Amidst these and many other social and political problems, a novel approach to research and learning has been emerging and gaining momentum the world over, particularly since Richard Florida coined the term “creative class” 10 years ago. It is strongly interdisciplinary, and, in many instances, the social sciences, humanities and fine arts are providing the centrifugal force. In this issue of New Trail, we hope you enjoy reading about the importance of creative thinkers in today’s economy (page 10); how alumni are working across silos to rebuild the physical and emotional infrastructure of Slave Lake (page 17); and new leadership with the Board of Governors (page 30). We need each other, and — because we are human, and all of these problems are human problems — we need the perspectives of those working in the social sciences, humanities and fine arts. Henry Marshall Tory would agree: if we are to “uplift the whole people,” we must see the people as a whole.
Jane Halford, ‘94 BCom, President, Alumni Association
Sean Price, ‘95 BCom, MBA, Associate Vice-President, Alumni Affairs; Executive Director, Alumni Association
We would like to hear your comments about the magazine. Send us your letters via postal mail or e-mail to the addresses on page 1. Letters may be edited for length or clarity.
Another Perspective on Another Perspective I have been writing books for 40 years but I have never responded in print to a critic until now. Readers’ opinions often differ from mine and that has always seemed to me to be fair game. [In the Winter 2012 issue of New Trail, page 3] James Horsman, however, chooses to accuse me of “ignorance” and “malice” (in my book All True Things: A History of the University of Alberta, 1908-2008), and that seems to require a public response. Rod Macleod, ’62 BA, Edmonton, AB To read Rod Macleod’s full letter, visit New Trail online.
Healthy Living As usual, the latest New Trail [Winter 2012] was very well done. However, I was very disappointed by one of your cover stories: “The New Face of Health Care: Edmonton Clinic Health Academy Makes its Debut.” My disappointment was not in the pictures and script that was presented, but in the script that was not presented. The article conveyed that these new facilities will be a major step forward in the U of A’s teaching capacity of physicians, dentists, nurses and various other “health” workers — the implication being that this will increase population health. However, systematic evidence indicates that increasing the numbers, competence and skills of health workers will have very little effect on the population health of rich nations such as Canada. Richard W. Nutter, ’69 MSc, ’72 PhD, Edmonton, AB To read Richard Nutter’s full letter and a response from Jane Drummond, ’81 MSc, vice-provost (health sciences council), visit New Trail online.
Clarification
Call Me The picture of the phone sculpture you showed on page 48 [Winter 2012] is from the 1975 Queen Week Engineering Ice Sculptures (now called Gear Week) that were constructed each year in Quad. The telephone was done by the Electrical Club, and the Alberta Shield appears to have been done by the First Year Club. The latter sculpture had an inscription stating: “Stuck in Oil.” Bob Baird, ’75 BSc(CivEng) Calgary, AB
On page 15 of the Winter 2012 issue of New Trail, Donna Goodwin, [’78 BPE, ’80 MA, ’00 PhD], director of the U of A’s Steadward Centre for Personal and Physical Achievement, is shown in a picture “with a student.” This “student” is actually Karen Slater, the Steadward Centre’s associate director. Lisa Workman, ’02 BPE, ’04 MA, Edmonton, AB
Can Did The letter to the editor entitled “Can Do” on page 3 of New Trail [Winter 2012] and the Editor’s note below it are an attempt to clarify the statement “The first CANDU reactor begins operation at Gentilly, Quebec,” which appeared in the Autumn 2011 New Trail. While the Editor’s note regarding the history of Gentilly-1 is accurate, it does not address the fact that the original statement should have been “Gentilly-1 CANDU prototype boiling light water reactor begins operation at Gentilly, Quebec.” (Gentilly-1 used boiling light water for cooling, whereas the standard CANDU power reactor uses pressurized heavy water). Excellent histories of CANDU power reactors can be found online. The Pickering “A” units 1 and 2 at Pickering, ON, began operating in 1971 and were the first commercial CANDU reactors. From 2001 to 2005, I worked on a major refurbishing project that returned Pickering “A” Units 1 and 4 to service. This was the last major project that I worked on during a rewarding 39-year career with Atomic Energy of Canada Limited. Jim Saltvold, ’64 BSc(ElecEng), Red Deer, AB new trail spring 2012 3
For more online-exclusive Bear Country stories, visit New Trail online.
sports savvy It has been said that nothing unites people like sport, whether as participants or as fans. Now Edmontonians have even more ways to unite, with the 2011 opening of a new wing of the Saville Community Sports Centre at the U of A’s South Campus, a multi-sport and recreation complex that offers sporting opportunities for recreational and highperformance athletes alike. The sports complex boasts nine NBA-sized basketball courts, nine volleyball courts, 10 curling rinks, a 2,043 square-metre gymnastics centre, 10 tennis courts and a top-notch
fitness centre. And it’s all thanks to a community commitment by three sports organizations — the Edmonton Grads Basketball Association, the Edmonton Volleyball Association and Ortona Gymnastics — along with the U of A. On any night of the week, the centre is a hub for Edmonton’s sports community, hosting wheelchair basketball teams, high school volleyball squads, curling teams, tennis players and gymnastics. The U of A’s highperformance Golden Bears and Pandas basketball, curling, volleyball and tennis teams also call the centre home.
To Kerry Mummery, ’94 PhD, dean of the Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation, “This sports complex is one of Canada’s finest, and I have no doubt it will be a cornerstone of athlete development in a number of sports for decades to come.” The centre is named for Edmonton businessman, philanthropist and sports enthusiast Bruce Saville, who has generously supported community and university sport since 2004, when the curling, tennis and fitness facility was built. – Jane Hurly
For more information, visit www.savillecommunitysportscentre.ca.
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photos by Richard Siemens
Research VP Wins Top Prize The U of A’s Lorne Babiuk was recently named a recipient of one of the world’s most prestigious awards for research in medical science, the Gairdner Award, for his work in vaccine development. Babiuk, the U of A’s vice-president of research, received the Canada Gairdner Wightman Award “for his extraordinary national and international leadership in vaccine development and research in human and veterinary infectious disease control,” according to the Gairdner Foundation, which announced the seven 2012 Gairdner Award recipients at a breakfast in Toronto on March 21. This year, Babiuk is the only Canadian recipient of the award, which includes a gift of $100,000. Since the inception of the awards in 1959, 78 recipients have gone on to receive the Nobel Prize in science or medicine.
Babiuk is a leading researcher in infectious diseases, particularly zoonotic diseases — those that pass from animals to humans — and is acclaimed for his work in vaccine development. He developed Canada’s leading vaccine development centre, the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization, and has been instrumental in the establishment of the Li Ka Shing Institute of Virology, founded with the help of a $25-million gift from the Li Ka Shing (Canada) Foundation and $52.5 million from the Government of Canada. Why is Babiuk’s work in infectious diseases so important? The World Health Organization estimates that approximately one third of all annual human deaths are caused by infectious diseases. These include everything from influenza, E. coli infection and whooping cough to HIV, SARS and hepatitis.
“I’ve always been interested in seeing how research can help society,” says Babiuk. “Vaccines, in my opinion, are one of the most effective ways to improve economic activity and quality of life while reducing rates of sickness and death. I wanted to do something that has relevance to people and society.” Babiuk is the second U of A researcher to receive a Gairdner Award. The first, Raymond Lemieux, ’43 BSc, ’91 DSc, acclaimed for his work in synthesizing sucrose, was recognized in 1985. The only other U of A alumnus to receive this award was Tak W. Mak, ’72 PhD, in 1989. – Deb Hammacher To read the full story on Babiuk’s award, visit New Trail online.
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myth:
A series of underground tunnels once linked the entire campus, allowing staff and students to bypass Edmonton’s harsh winter. Originally appeared in The Gateway, Oct. 19, 2011.
The Gateway reporters Justin Bell and Ryan Browsgrove shed light on rumours about the U of A
myth:
The statue in Dewey’s is stuck inside the bar because it’s too big to be taken out the door. If you’ve been in Dewey’s, you’ve seen it: as tall as it is confusing, a large wooden sculpture sitting in the corner watching over the bar. Some refer to it as “that creepy statue.” Clearly the work of a skilled artist, some patrons quietly enjoy its silent gaze. It was moved into the bar many years ago after being carved in Quad. But after a round of renovations in Dewey’s, the story is that the statue became a permanent fixture, as the new doorways were made too small to allow the statue ever to escape. The statue’s average diameter is around 110 centimetres and about 100 centimetres across at the narrowest point. The largest door frame in the room containing the statue measures 90 centimetres across. Conclusion: the statue won’t be leaving the bar anytime soon. So you might as well embrace that unsettling creation and learn to love it. You may not know front from back, but you don’t have much choice about removing it without hacking it to pieces. And you can’t hack art. 6 newtrail.ualberta.ca
This one appears to be at least half right. Tobie Smith, communications officer with Facilities and Operations, says there is, in fact, a series of underground tunnels on campus. But rather than conveying people from building to building, the tunnels bear only a series of tubes and cables that run under campus. “They convey utility services, except for storm and sanitary services, which are located outside the service corridors,” says Smith. “Utility services include voice and data cables, steam, condensate return, chilled water, domestic water, natural gas, demineralized water, high voltage power and compressed air.” Called service corridors, they have never been open to students or staff and, according to a February 1995 Gateway article, they cover 14 kilometres and are so large that staff can drive small motorcycles through them.
myth:
The Civil Engineering Building once played host to an oil well, supplementing revenue from tuition. The Civil Engineering Building overlooking Quad played host to the Department of Physics while it awaited its new home in CCIS. When physics professor John Beamish, ’75 BSc, ’77 MSc, ’82 PhD, moved in, he found what looked like a wellhead in the basement. “I always half-jokingly said we had an oil well, but I’m pretty sure there was never any oil,” says Beamish, explaining it was more likely an old water well. “It might actually have been more for testing and teaching,” Beamish continues. “They did a lot of engineering in hydrogel geology, where it’s more water than oil they’re interested in.” During the renovations that prepared the building for Physics’ occupation in 2006, CEB was stripped down to its concrete shell. In the process, the well was cemented over, leaving little trace that it was ever there.
Photos by Dan McKechnie
myth:
myth:
The Biological Sciences building is a confusing mix of floors and areas because of infighting among contractors. While we can’t disprove there were arguments, it seems unlikely that this somehow contributed to a labyrinthine building with various halffloors and confusing spaces. There is, however, an interesting history to the construction process. “It was one of the last buildings built under the Alberta Public Works model, which saw the government responsible for designing the building and contracting out the work,” says Smith. There were, in fact, four contractors working on the project, but they each worked on separate aspects of the building. One was responsible for mechanical systems, one for electrical, and two for control systems. While the building was put together in three phases, the chief architect and engineer were the same for all three phases. The number of contractors is consistent with practices used for construction today.
The Education building used to have rooftop gardens.
There are various stories about secret gardens atop some of the buildings on campus, and science student councillor Kim Ferguson confirms that the thirdfloor balcony space of Education was, indeed, once garden-friendly. The gardens were closed after being damaged in 1987 during “Black Friday,” when a tornado ripped through Edmonton, killing 27 people, injuring more than 300 and destroying over 300 homes. The gardens were never reopened because the height of the balcony railings was not up to code. But botany enthusiasts need not despair. The U of A Office of Sustainability has allocated a grant to refurbish those gardens to help teach children about plants and vegetables,
while Facilities and Operations will bring those railings up to code. And what of the myth about the large mural on the building’s north side? “The
myth is that for every graduating class in education, the original artist will add another panel,” says Ferguson. “Not true. It’s not a work in progress. It’s done.” new trail spring 2012 7
myth:
There was once a second-and-a-half floor in the Students’ Union Building. According to officials from the Students’ Union, this rumour is true. While the elevator doesn’t — and never has — stopped on it, there is, in fact, a space between the second and third floors. Students’ Union vice-president (operations and finance) Andy Cheema says the space was once an office and is now used for air-handling equipment.
“There’s just mechanical access now,” says Cheema. “In the past, there was a spiral staircase descending from the third floor and access from the roof.” When it was first put in, the space housed the office of the arts and crafts studio manager. It had a couple of different occupants throughout the ’80s, but currently no one occupies floor 2.5.
The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page. —Saint Augustine
“For me this trip was a perfect 10 out of 10!” — 2008 Peru traveller
“Having everything taken care of for us made it so easy.” — 2009 China traveller
“Our tour guide was exceptional and brought it all alive.” —2010 Egypt traveller
University of Alberta Alumni Association Travel Program Explore the world with us! With almost 30 trips to exciting destinations planned for the upcoming year, there is an itinerary to suit almost every preference. alumnitravel@ualberta.ca | 1-800-661-2593
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The Stendhal Syndrome and Truth by Aritha van Herk
W
e live in a focused age, determined to solve vexatious problems, eager to find the shortest route between one day and the next, hurrying hard to reach a goal not necessarily commensurate with the energy expended. Science has invented enormous conveniences, improving our access to information and lessening our physical challenges; it has made our lives much easier to negotiate than when we had to hew wood and haul water. As creatures who respond to all that is bright and shiny, we are understandably seduced by the technologies that hitchhike in pockets and satchels: our cellphones, cameras, computers and consoles. These tools make more accessible the large and varied world, a connectivity that we take for granted. Science and technology have transformed the imaginable into the probable. Despite earthling imperturbability, it is still magical to fly on an airplane, to view the seas of the moon through a telescope, or to talk to someone in Zagreb on Skype. And there surfs the wavering line between what is practical and what is true. We know that humans are capable of symbolic thought and an appreciation for the marvelous — qualities that evoke emotion or
trigger memory. Woe and wonder are themselves not technical responses, but surprises, the heart suddenly ignoring the sensible, ambushed by some greater transfiguration. The French writer, Stendhal, overwhelmed by the cultural abundance of Florence, Italy, when he visited that extraordinary city in 1817, wrote: “As I emerged from the porch of Santa Croce, I was seized with a fierce palpitation of the heart,” and he goes on to describe how he struggled not to faint. An Italian psychiatrist, Graziella Magherini, noted similar physical symptoms in many first-time visitors to the city and named the syndrome after Stendhal. Her science “diagnosed” the “condition” and its physical manifestations — dizziness, nausea and rapid heart rate — when faced with so much extraordinary art. She proceeded to research further these prodromes and worked toward a “cure” for those struck by the “illness.” But why try to cure such an experience? Surely that breathless stumble is an epiphany, a revelation or insight that surpasses what we understand in the known world. Why does beauty strike the heart into a wild gallop? Why does culture lift our spirits? Why does exposure to art transform a moment from ordinary to transcendent?
Culture and the humanities remind us to seek not simple answers but complicated truths. Science is beginning to research how art and literature enable us to know ourselves and others better, intelligence that makes us smarter than chairs and gentler than alarm clocks. This spring, I stepped out of a Florentine coffee shop at that hour of the evening when liquid gold spills over the tiled roofs and when every face is cousin to Botticelli. A man and his son bumping over the stones on a bicycle gave evidence of miraculous balance. On the lattice of balconies, couples linked arms and exchanged wordless glances. Soon the slow lanterns would bloom into muted Bellagio light. And this exquisite suffusion was amplified by the peal of the bells of Santa Croce, as continuously joyful as centuries past. What value this breathless reminder of human grace and suppleness, the exquisite ordinary that can take a moment by surprise? I did not quite faint, but I knew I had been given an inexpressible but resoundingly truthful gift, a wordless epiphany. Writer and professor Aritha van Herk, ’76 BA, ’78 MA, lives in Calgary and has a habit of direct and imaginative speech. She is a member of the Alberta Order of Excellence, the province’s highest honour. To read more of Aritha’s work, visit New Trail online. new trail spring 2012 9
by Omar Mouallem | illustrations by RAYMOND BIESINGER, ’04 BA
creativelicence Though science and technology earn the limelight, the arts, humanities and social sciences play an essential role in the global economy When Todd Babiak, BA ’95, and Shawn Ohler walk into a boardroom, employees aren’t sure what to expect. Are they team builders or consultants? Will Babiak and Ohler ask the employees to catch a colleague’s fall, or are they there to listen to growth strategies? Neither. Babiak and Ohler want to have storytime. “It usually starts off a little quiet for the first while,” says Babiak, a bestselling novelist who launched the consulting company Story Engine last year with Ohler, a former journalist. “We try to show them that, first, a story is really powerful, that everything they remember and admire of their heroes is connected to a story — all the great moments of their careers are story moments. And every company is a story company.” Using their expertise in literature, Babiak and Ohler ask employees to, quite simply, tell a story. “Usually about an hour and a half in, people are loosening their ties and having fun,” says Babiak. “They’re out of that usual business language like ‘stakeholder groups’ and ‘clients’ and ‘synergy’ and ‘ideating.’” He cringes.
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What, exactly, would organizations like ATB Financial, the Calgary Arts Academy, Port Alberta and the Rural Alberta Development Fund want from these storytellers? Creativity, for the creative economy. Although creativity can’t be measured, its value to the workforce can be. When Forbes polled executives from top-brand companies about creativity last year, more than half said it was critical to create a strong creative culture within their organizations. Nearly the same amount agreed that the business world had already entered an “imagination economy,” while 62 percent of respondents said it’s very important to have creatively inspired leadership. (Curiously, only 39 percent of people in human resources, who do much of the actual hiring, felt the same.) In 2010, IBM surveyed more than 1,500 CEOs and got similar answers: “More than rigour, management discipline, integrity or even vision,” read the report, “[over 60 percent of CEOs polled believe] successfully navigating an increasingly complex world will require creativity.” “‘Creativity’ is making something out of nothing,” says Babiak. “I think it’s very
easy to think, ‘How do we make money?’ But it’s very difficult to think, ‘How do we change people’s lives? How do we move people?’” It has been 10 years since popular urban studies theorist Richard Florida made mantras of the terms “creative economy” and “creative class.” His bestselling book The Rise of the Creative Class was never meant to be a corporate manual, though some companies have made it one. However, his observation of a trend in the U.S. workforce — that “creativity-oriented jobs” grew from 10 to 30 percent over the century and “routine-oriented physical jobs” shrunk from 60 percent to 25 percent — helped make The Rise of the Creative Class a household name among the business elite. The former are paid to come up with ideas; the latter to build material goods. Canada is ranked seventh in the world on the Global Creativity Index from the Martin Prosperity Institute, which Florida directs, with its creative class comprising nearly 40 percent of its workforce. The hunger for creativity-oriented companies is so big that the United Kingdom now offers investors a 50 percent tax break for investing in creative startups
such as those in the technology, music or film industries, an obvious bet on the future of the new professional class to boost economies. “We are now seeing creativity as the driving force both economically and culturally,” says Florida. “For the first time in human history, the basic logic of our economy dictates that further economic development requires the ongoing development and use of human creative capabilities.” In fact, last year, when Google announced a massive hiring sweep of 6,000 new workers, they wanted about 80 percent of them to be graduates of humanities or liberal arts. What did the biggest Internet company in the world want from them? Their creative abilities, sure, but also interpersonal and critical-thinking skills. In other words, their ability to understand what people want and why they want it. “I’m not sure creative people look at problems completely differently, but we know creative-class jobs often require the highest level of analytic and social skills,” says Florida, who’s also a senior editor at The Atlantic Monthly and president of consulting company Creative Class Group.
new trail spring 2012 11
“The greatest challenge of our time is to find ways to tap into every human’s creativity. ... [It will require industry and university partnerships] to prepare our workforce for the creative jobs of tomorrow.”
“These skills include persuasion, social perceptiveness, the capacity to bring the right people together on a project, the ability to help develop other people and a keen sense of empathy. Essentially, they are the quintessential leadership skills needed to innovate, mobilize resources, build effective organizations and launch new firms.” And this is why Babiak and Ohler are called to help an organization. What Story Engine’s clients are learning, whether they realize it or not, is the power of direct, evocative language, says Babiak. If there’s one commonality he and Ohler have noticed in every boardroom, it’s that they can easily identify the leader — whether by title or social dynamics — because he or she is always the best storyteller. “Whether you’re two or 82, you’re influenced by the same things in life: by story. And natural communicators understand that.” Higher university attendance is one battery in this socioeconomic trend; the second is technology. Author Don Tapscott, ’78 MEd, ’01 LLD (Honorary), described by many as a prophet of the digital age, sees the “net generation” (better known as Gen-Y and Millennials) as the direct benefactors of this revolution, where products don’t necessarily come from someone’s hands or from the ground anymore. Rather, they increasingly come from people’s minds. In a natural-resource-rich region like Alberta, betting on thinkers to shift the economy might sound unbelievable, but it’s not.
Cross-Disciplinary Creativity At the National Institute for Nanotechnology (NINT) — a partnership between the U of A and the National Research Council that is perhaps the crystal ball of Canada’s medical, biological and technological industries
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— interdisciplinary scientists braid together their knowledge to conduct research that could find answers to many problems: energy scarcity, diseases, even the complex field of nanotechnology itself. But something was missing amongst the chemists, physicists and biologists: an artist. Enter the Scholar in Residence Program, launched in 2011 at NINT. The first scholar in residence, U of A associate professor Heather Graves from the departments of writing and English and film studies, was tasked with researching and reporting on the differences in the scientists’ rhetoric. If they are to communicate with one another something that can’t be seen with the eyes, and sometimes, not even with data, understanding each other is key, says George Pavlich, U of A associate vice-president of research. “For nanoscience people, that’s particularly useful for understanding the rhetoric involved in writing and making an argument, which may be different from the way you do it in chemistry.” Pavlich, whose background is in sociology and law, says the skills from an arts and humanities education open unique windows to understanding the world, but we have to mobilize its virtues — critical thinking, human understanding and creativity — to reach their full potential. “The greatest challenge of our time,” says Florida, “is to find ways to tap into every human’s creativity.” He says in order to accomplish this, educators can’t just spark students’ imaginations, they must also make sure students take their natural skills down the right paths. “This will require a new way of thinking about education; we will have to experiment with new partnerships, models and environments. It will require stronger partnerships between
industry and universities to develop programs to prepare our workforce for the creative jobs of tomorrow.” Pavlich also says creativity is not exclusive to certain parts of academia. In fact, it exists across the entire academy. “I think creativity exists across the board. It takes different forms. What we have to understand is that in the social sciences and the humanities, creativity is harnessed in various ways and is used in different methodological and theoretical approaches.”
Shawna Pandya, BSc ’06, is a breathing example of creativity’s amorphousness. The 27-year-old medical student has a scholarly background in neurosciences and space sciences, a business background in information technology and an artistic background in singing and piano. No wonder she looks to Da Vinci for inspiration. She spent her 2009 summer vacation in NASA’s Research Park campus in Silicon Valley, where she was one of 40 students selected from a pool of 1,600 for the inaugural graduate studies program at Singularity University. Co-founded by inventor and futurist Ray Kurzweil
and space scientist Peter Diamandis, the program splits students — whose backgrounds might include law, medicine, computer science or business — into groups to think of a product that would positively impact the lives of one billion people. Pandya’s group decided that challenge was too small. “What if we could positively impact seven billion, instead? What problems do we face that are relevant to everyone?” The answer was disaster response. “The way we do it now, we can actually be doing much, much better. It’s very generic,” says Pandya. When there’s a bomb threat, gas leak or wildfire encroaching on human safety, authorities can put a message out through traditional media and hope all in danger receive it. The smartphone, however, is more pervasive and increasingly more common. By 2015, Pandya estimates, there will be one in every second pair of hands. “We have an exogenous brain,” she says. “[A smartphone is] like having a brain you can hold in your hands.” So her study group invented CiviGuard, a public-safety software application that sends your smartphone automatic notifications when there’s a crisis near you or your loved ones, then gives you a map to safety. CiviGuard can even recognize when a safety zone fills up and will reroute your evacuation accordingly. Not only that, but its built-in toolbox educates users on disaster awareness. Three years later, her class exercise is a startup company that’s getting noticed. Entrepreneur magazine included CiviGuard in its annual 100 Brilliant Companies list. Pandya, the chief medical officer, works on it from Edmonton, while other members of the team spread its name in their parts of the world, including the U.S., Europe and Asia.
new trail spring 2012 13
“What was studiously defaulted as ‘arts’ is enjoying a new paradigm. The artists aren’t the entertainers, they’re actually the innovators.”
Pandya wants to see this kind of unbound collaboration happening at the U of A, and has served as guest lecturer in Dr. Kim Solez’s graduate class Technology and the Future of Medicine, which is open to students of all faculties. “The best innovations come from crossing boundaries among disciplines,” Pandya says. “It comes down to the fact that you have curious people no matter what department you’re in, whether it’s engineering, arts or literature. Curiosity is a fundamental trait.”
Shifting the Creative Paradigm In many ways, this type of interdisciplinary work is a return to the University’s roots. When its first president, Henry Marshall Tory, ’28 LLD (Honorary), and Alberta’s first premier, Alexander Rutherford, ’08 LLD (Honorary), established the institution, they borrowed a German academic philosophy that the arts and sciences were codependent. Hence, the original Faculty of Arts and Sciences, where modern languages, physics, English,
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history, classics and mathematics collided like electrons around a nucleus and blended like paint on a palette. But over the next half-century, a split occurred and further divided academia into segmented faculties. Today, the public debate persists over the value of such courses as gender and religious studies, world history, contemporary music and just about anything coming out of an arts faculty that seemingly doesn’t have a direct career path. So what are “creative” courses of study worth? “I deeply resent giving that value an answer,” says Beverly Lemire, professor of history, Henry Marshall Tory Chair and founding director of the U of A’s Material Culture Institute, based in the Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences and the Faculty of Arts. “Teaching people to think more creatively is a deeper and more profound value than I can qualify.” She continues, “Creativity is something that’s been recognized in various circles, including corporate circles, for a long time. And the capacity
to present yourself, and information, coherently, in a polished and wellorganized fashion, is a skill that only comes with practice, and that’s what students get with an arts degree.” The reason for this divided attitude, hypothesizes music alumna Haley Simons, ’85 BA, ’00 PhD, is because the prosperous post-war world saw universities as job creators, not citizen creators. Simons is president of CreativeAlberta, a non-profit organization in Edmonton that’s based on a U.S. model from the Lincoln Center Institute for Arts in Education. One of CreativeAlberta’s intents is to influence the public education system and promote cross-disciplinary work to help make the province renowned for its creative and innovative output in education, commerce and culture. The more Simons dedicates herself to the cause, the more cross-disciplinary work she sees coming out of the U of A. “We’ve come full circle in about a century. That’s not bad.”
It’s a far cry from her days as a student, she says. “I started on this campus in 1981 and I’ve never seen the inside of most buildings,” she says. “All through my bachelor’s degree and my doctorate, I didn’t have to step out of the Fine Arts Building very much at all.” At least it was easy to get between classes, she jokes. Up until this point, Simons says she could sum up her life story in 20 words: “From the time I was three years old, I was trained to be a pianist. And I became a pianist.” But the more she performed on world stages, the angrier she got with how the arts were viewed: as a thrill, and the artists as pure entertainers. “Imagination is not unicorns and rainbows. It’s not fiddlers; it’s not jugglers; it’s so much bigger. What was studiously defaulted as ‘arts’ is enjoying a new paradigm. The artists aren’t the entertainers, they’re actually the innovators.” But while the U of A looks to inspire creative collaboration at the post-secondary level, one of CreativeAlberta’s key goals is to nurture it in early childhood education. Simons wants to see a measurement tool that goes beyond math and language arts skills, to quantify creativity with a model similar to one used in Massachusetts public schools. Further, she believes a sustainable society has four pillars: cultural vitality, environmental responsibility, social equity and economic health. “There’s an opportunity to talk about the role of creativity as vital in all of these areas,” she says, adding “and education is not only one of them, but is, in fact, the point at which it starts.” This way, Simons says, creativity is not something “trained and ingrained” just in the artists of the world, but in the entire global workforce. “I don’t believe in this arts-versus-sciences attitude — I don’t believe it exists. There’s a huge overlap and a huge collaborative potential.”
Babiak agrees and asks: “Should we continue removing and constricting arts, liberal arts and fine arts from our economies? Or should we start experimenting with injecting that into these very important disciplines like science, technology and engineering?” He adds, “We have to be oriented around an ideas economy. Everyone in the world wants that. Everyone wants the same thing, and they’re all fighting for that.” Lemire says friction is the best way to ignite those ideas, and throughout history and today, urban centres have been the best places for friction. “You have the literal friction of the streets, where you’re rubbing against each other and you see so many things and you hear so many things,” she says. “Universities have always been city equivalents, even if they’re in cities that aren’t very large.” For many undergraduates who come from communities across Canada and the world, as well as for those from Edmonton, the U of A is their first taste of this collision of concepts, of personalities, of philosophies. In his book Who’s Your City?, Florida says the most important decision people make is not what they study but where they live after their studies — where they’ll take their ideas next. Increasingly, it’s Edmonton and Calgary, which a 2011 Statistics Canada survey listed as the nation’s fastestgrowing cities, yes, but also malleable metros receptive to new ideas, some successful, most not. “Change something, whatever it is. If you want to do something weird, if you want to fail, fail here,” says Babiak. “You’re never going to change New York, Vancouver and Toronto, [but] you can actually make something in Edmonton. There’s a real appetite for it. I think graduating [from university] in Edmonton at this moment would be a thrilling thing.”
Cover illustrator Raymond Biesinger, ’04 BA, graduated with a degree in European and North American political history and is a former illustrator for The Gateway. He has illustrated more than 1,000 projects on four continents for clients such as Walrus, the Globe and Mail, The New Yorker, Time, the New York Times, WIRED, NewsWeek, The Economist and the Financial Times. Biesinger’s New Trail cover illustration deftly captures a few of the disciplines that comprise the “Creative Class,” a key driving force for economic development. On the image’s left is a scientist at her desk. Below that, a money and time-savvy businessman. At right is a painter in-studio. “It’s rare that I get to reach into my own environment to show what a creative type might have in his or her own studio,” Biesinger says of the autobiographical elements he included in the drawing. “In the artist’s ‘room,’ I used a few books from my own (very thoroughly U of A arts grad) collection, and, on her shelf, the black modelling clay I bought a month ago at Deserres.” A former longtime Edmontonian, Biesinger moved to Montreal with his wife, Elizabeth Hudson, ‘03 BA, in 2010. When he’s not illustrating for major publications, Biesinger also plays guitar and sings in the noise-garage duo The Famines. To see more of Biesinger’s work, visit www.fifteen.ca.
new trail spring 2012 15
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by Christie Moncrief
out of the ashes With devastating wildfires a year behind it, the Slave Lake REGION is making a miraculous recovery due to the resilience of its residents and the generosity of strangers
photo by richard siemens
W
hen asked what comes to mind in describing the past year, the town of Slave Lake’s young, soft-spoken mayor, Karina Pillay-Kinnee, ’94 BSc, pauses, absorbed in contemplative reflection before responding with three words: “courage, humanity and endurance.” One year ago, the rural northern Alberta community suffered one of the most devastating natural disasters in Canadian history when unprecedented
wildfires consumed almost a third of the town. Four-hundred-and-seventyfive homes, six apartment blocks and 10 businesses were levelled in a matter of hours, in addition to 56 lost throughout the heavily forested Municipal District (MD) of Lesser Slave Lake. With insurance claims totalling more than $700 million, it’s the costliest Canadian disaster since the ice storms that ravaged Quebec, Ontario and Nova Scotia in 1998.
Equally disturbing is news from RCMP investigators who concluded that the fire was not the result of natural or accidental causes, but set deliberately. Indeed, it has been a long, challenging year for the residents of Slave Lake and surrounding district, but remarkable progress has already been made in resurrecting the area from near devastation and uplifting the spirits of the region’s stalwart citizens.
new trail spring 2012 17
An Extraordinary Day May 14, 2011, began as the kind of idyllic spring day that winter-weary Canadians crave — bright blue skies, sunshine and a gentle breeze. Residents mowed their lawns and prepared their yards for planting season, children chased each other around playgrounds, people went about their usual Saturday morning business. Wildfires in the densely forested northern region are as common as snow in winter, especially during a dry spell, so it came as no surprise when, later that afternoon, a fire was spotted in a wooded area 10 kilometres south of Slave Lake. But increasing winds throughout that evening and the following morning fanned and spread flames more quickly than anyone could have expected. Pillay-Kinnee received notice via text from a town councillor’s son that the fire had breeched the town. It read: “The neighbours’ house is on fire — what do I do?” Recalling her drive into a smoke- and flame-enveloped region, she says, “The whole landscape had changed. The first thing I said was ‘this isn’t Slave Lake.’ It 18 newtrail.ualberta.ca
A rescue group organized by the Edmonton Humane Society used a Facebook page to reunite worried owners with furry friends lost during the emergency.
looked like a bomb had dropped in our community. It was surreal.” Over the next 24 hours, winds howling at 100 kilometres per hour continued to fan the infernos that blazed through town in a random fashion, engulfing some vehicles and structures with a remarkably intense heat, while leaving others seemingly in its direct path unscathed. A mass exodus was halted when RCMP officials closed Highways 2 and 88 into and out of the area, leaving remaining residents with no immediate escape. Officials scrambled to keep in communication with residents via text message, social media and door-to-door warnings, all while co‑ordinating the evacuation of the hospital and care facilities. The local radio station, Lake FM, did its part to broadcast safety instructions to residents in peril until a town-wide power outage thwarted its efforts. The loss of power didn’t just kibosh communications; the more serious concern was its effect on the ability to douse fires. “Our water reservoir is on a hill, and it takes power to pump water up
to the reservoir, in turn supplying water to the town,” explains town manager Brian Vance, ’81 BSc(Eng). “We lost electricity. Then I got news that we’d lost water pressure. There was silence amongst the group; we all knew that meant there was no water to fight the fires.” Crews did their best to protect vital infrastructure with what little water they had in tank trucks and by plowing firebreaks around the schoolyards and hospital until backup generators were up and running. Without a ready supply of water, however, the wildfires ravaged homes, churches, businesses, the radio station and, eventually, the town’s administrative office and library. Emergency co-ordinators, administrators and remaining residents gathered in open areas, as far from harm as possible, and remarkably, no one was seriously hurt or killed. When fires receded from Highway 2, emergency crews and volunteers from across Alberta converged on the area to join the firefight, while evacuees made their way out of town and into a hazy, unknown future.
photos by epic photography
About 22,000 hectares of land in the Lesser Slave Lake region were consumed by the wildfires.
Truckloads of clothes, personal items and housewares poured in from across Alberta and the country to aid displaced residents.
Picking Up the Pieces More than 10,000 evacuees from the Lesser Slave Lake region funnelled into reception centres in Smith, Wabasca, Athabasca, Westlock and as far afield as St. Albert and Edmonton. Donations of clothing, toiletries and housewares poured in from all over the province for displaced residents seeking refuge. The provincial government kicked in more than $12 million to cover evacuee out-of-pocket incidentals during what would end up being nearly a two-week displacement. Red Cross volunteers from across Canada donated more than 45,000 hours in response to the disaster, distributing more than $212,000 worth of food and nearly $225,000 of household goods to displaced residents. “How people rallied for us speaks volumes about the type of people we are in Canada,” says a grateful PillayKinnee, who never imagined her community would be the recipient of an outpouring of generosity more commonly bestowed on victims of international disasters. Even Slave
More than 10,000 wildfire evacuees sought refuge at reception centres in Smith, Wabasca, Athabasca, Westlock, St. Albert and Edmonton.
“How people rallied for us speaks volumes about the type of people we are in Canada.” Lake’s sister community, Kamishihoro, Japan, sent almost $2,500 in aid. “[They] reached out to us when their own country had been recently devastated, and their loss is more severe than ours. It’s incredible.” When at last fires were conquered and the state of emergency lifted, returning to the town and region was a contrast of emotions for residents. “When you lose a third of your community, someone you know very closely has been impacted,” says PillayKinnee. “Even if you didn’t lose your home, people feel some sense of guilt and they share in that feeling of loss.” A number of events were staged in an effort to buoy spirits and rebuild community morale: a visit by the
Stanley Cup; the Concert of Hope featuring musicians Dwight Yoakam, Susan Aglukark and Ashley MacIssac; and, most notably, a stopover by Will and Kate, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, on their cross-Canada tour. “The hope they brought to this community at that time was extraordinary,” Pillay-Kinnee recalls of the newlywed royals, who toured the burn zone along with then-premier Ed Stelmach. “They broke protocol, went right up to those families [who lost their homes], shook their hands and chitchatted — it was amazing.” Country singer Paul Brandt staged two concerts to benefit Slave Lake’s recovery: a Small Town Heroes concert last October and a fundraising concert new trail spring 2012 19
The Wildfire by the Numbers 22,000 Hectares of land consumed by wildfires 531 Homes lost within the MD of Lesser Slave Lake
85 Percentage of physicians who lost their homes
10,000+ People evacuated from the Lesser Slave Lake region
1Death related to the wildfires (JeanLuc Deba, a helicopter pilot, was killed in a crash while fighting fires)
1,700 Emergency responders from all over Alberta converged on Slave Lake to fight fires and restore power, water, natural gas, fuel, food, hospital and medical services
in Edmonton that raised more than $100,000, 25 percent of which was paid forward to a Haitian community outreach facility. Television show ET Canada brought singer-songwriter Jim Cuddy of Blue Rodeo fame to Slave Lake to play a private concert and hand out gifts to families during the holiday season. “The display of humanity has been amazing,” says Pillay-Kinnee. “It’s inspiring.”
Resurrecting a Community In the wake of the wildfire that left nearly 2,000 people homeless, the Alberta government stepped up to help with $289 million in disaster funding. Recognizing that the tragedy had affected not just residents of Slave Lake but the lives of everyone in the region, a tri-council was formed between the town of Slave Lake, the MD and the Sawridge First Nation to administer recovery efforts in conjunction with the government-directed Regional Recovery Co-ordination Group. Their first order of business: to shelter
“Forest fires are unpredictable. It’s just a matter of what measures can be taken to lessen the impact.” – Andrea McDonald, communications co-ordinator, Regional Recovery Co-ordination Group
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displaced families, earmarking $44 million for 300 interim mobile home units. Already 182 households have been placed in the units, with others staying in self-placed accommodation. “The progress that’s been made so far is outstanding. We didn’t anticipate a rebuild this quickly,” says PillayKinnee. Thanks to a co-operative consortium of insurers, the work of demolition and construction was able to begin months ahead of schedule, and today more than a third of homes destroyed are being reconstructed. Home shows, town halls on rebuilding processes and seminars on insurance claims stirred displaced residents to action. In fact, the town issued more than 155 building permits between August 2011 and March 2012 — a remarkable feat considering the annual average is around 15 to 20. Today, the landscape looks much different than it did one year ago. Construction is everywhere, as multiple contractors work to rebuild neighbourhoods that were completely levelled by the fire. “I’ve built a home
“We’ve got to change our thinking of feeling like victims to feeling like survivors.” – Mayor Karina Pillay-Kinnee
in the best of times and know how much work’s involved in that. But being forced to do that? Trying to imagine everything you had in your closets, your drawers — that’s overwhelming,” says Pillay-Kinnee. “People have been incredibly strong go-getters.” While residents have been busy rebuilding their homes, the town’s administration has had to cope with the loss of its government building and what that means to the function of the organization itself. “We lost all of our hard-copy records,” says Vance. “We lost about a month of computer files. That’s been a real challenge for our staff here as we try to reconcile things like water bills, utility bills, taxes.” Fortunately, neighbouring municipalities sent about 65 additional staff who donated their time to help the administration get back on its feet. Slave Lake’s library, which was housed in the same government building, has also been challenged to recover. “They lost everything,” says Anne Moore, who arrived in October to take on the daunting task of managing and rebuilding the library from scratch. But again, an overwhelming generosity
“It’s one thing to see all the new buildings going up, but the emotional status of our community still needs work and will take time.”
from individuals and organizations has the library already re-established in an interim location with a collection of about 30,000 items — nearly twice the size of the original. “I don’t think people often realize what a library is; it’s like the hub of the community,” Moore says. “It’s tied to so many community organizations, adult education, home schooling. I think people see the library as a symbol of Slave Lake. It really is somewhere where your soul can just relax, and that’s what people need right now.” While bricks and mortar are a physical sign of the region’s recovery, Pillay-Kinnee acknowledges a great deal of healing must also occur. “It’s one thing
45,000 Hours worked by Canadian Red Cross volunteers in wildfire recovery efforts
300+ Pets left behind in the panic and rescued by a group organized by the Edmonton Humane Society
7Months worth of refuse trucked by demolition crews to the regional landfill in June 2011 alone
4,000+ Refrigerators and freezers disposed of due to food spoilage following power failure and evacuation
155+ Development permits issued by the Town of Slave Lake between August 2011 and March 2012
2Numbermillion of man hours the Town of Slave Lake estimates will be needed to rebuild destroyed homes
5Weeks to rebuild the first photos by richard siemens
home (homeowners moved in September 30, 2011)
700 million Dollars in estimated total insurance claims arising from the wildfire disaster
6Dollarsmillion in disaster assistance collected by the Canadian Red Cross and various community groups “There was a lot of doom and gloom that people would move away. But people have their homes, their families, their jobs and they want to stay.” – Brian Vance, manager, Town of Slave Lake
new trail spring 2012 21
to see all the new buildings going up, but the emotional status of our community still needs work and will take time. People are weary.” Andrea McDonald, ’11 BA, who moved north from Edmonton to work as communications co-ordinator for the twoyear regional recovery project, is working on getting the word out about multiple social programs available to residents. “There are monthly speakers brought in to present on various topics. In February we had a speaker from the international
Town of Slave Lake to mark the one-year anniversary [of the fires] and to celebrate the resiliency of their community.” “Sometimes I hear ‘Oh, there’s nothing left in Slave Lake,’ but really, there’s a lot still here,” Pillay-Kinnee says of reports of population decline as a result of the fires and concerns about an overtaxed health services sector following the untimely (though unrelated) departure of five physicians. “I get encouraged when people want to stay here.” And the community isn’t just
“My son, who’s in Grade 7, always asks me, ‘Are you thriving or surviving?’ And I think we’re thriving.”
Salvation Army organization who’s been on the front lines of disasters,” says McDonald. “Relaying his experiences lets everyone [here] know that they’re not alone — others have gone through the same kind of thing.” Various family-oriented events keep Slave Lakers occupied and give them plenty of opportunities to connect with one another and share their experiences. In addition, the Canadian Red Cross has set up shop in Slave Lake to assist with social recovery for the next two years to help residents of the region find a new normal. “We’ve provided thousands of dollars worth of school supplies to ensure that kids have the tools they need to learn,” Leila Daoud, ’07 BA, Red Cross spokesperson, says of some of the projects the organization is taking on in the area. “We’ve supported a variety of community initiatives like family fun nights, and we’re working with the
22 newtrail.ualberta.ca
rebuilding what was lost; the town is flourishing with new developments, apartment complexes and businesses. “My son, who’s in Grade 7, always asks me, ‘Are you thriving or surviving?’” says Vance, sweeping his hand to the window overlooking Slave Lake’s bustling main street. “And I think we’re thriving.” Slave Lake and the surrounding region have several major projects on the horizon: the reopening of a multirecreation centre, which underwent a $13-million facelift (and, luckily, escaped the wildfires unscathed), the construction of a new evacuation centre, and establishing Slave Lake as a model FireSmart community. “FireSmart runs on the basis of healthier forests, safer communities,” explains McDonald of the $20-million project, “so it’s a matter of assessing and addressing all the hazards and risks in the municipal district that
would contribute to fires.” Residents are invited to attend FireSmart demonstrations where they can learn how to protect their properties from destruction. Representatives from the program are also working with builders, advising on fire-protective building materials and landscaping options, ensuring future fire preparedness. Stew Walkinshaw, ’93 BSc(Ag), a forest technologist and project manager of the FireSmart initiative in Slave Lake, says helping the region establish an effective wildfire preparedness guide will also have a substantial impact on the region’s ability to strategize emergency response in the future. “When the smoke is coming over the hill,” Walkinshaw says, “the firefighters can open up the plan on the hood of the truck and say, ‘We’ve got houses here, we’ve got a power transmission facility here, so we need to protect them and this is how we’re going to do it.’” While an RCMP arson investigation is ongoing, Pillay-Kinnee remains steadfast in her resolve to celebrate the positive progress that’s been made, uplifting the hopes of the community with encouragement to heal and move forward. “We’ve got to change our mindsets from feeling like victims to feeling like survivors,” says the mayor. “May 15 is going to be an important day for us. We have to make sure we pull together that day and celebrate what we’ve accomplished.” Many challenges still lie ahead for the community and the region — most pressing being recruitment of human resources, especially health care professionals — but Pillay-Kinnee is looking forward. She notes on her blog that spring signifies “rebirth, renewal and hope,” adding that as the physical rebuilding and emotional healing continue, residents will “find strength and encouragement that Slave Lake will rebuild stronger and better than ever.”
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U.S.A.
WASHINGTON MISSOULA
SEATTLE
OREGON IDAHO
BERKELEY
As our closest neighbour, primary trade partner and the largest economy in the world, the United States is one of Canada’s, and Alberta’s, most important international connections. Recognizing this, the U of A is growing an extensive student recruitment program and is actively establishing study and research partnerships with U.S. peer institutions, with 17 memorandums of understanding already in place. In 20102011, there were 448 students with American citizenship enrolled at the U of A (representing steady annual growth), and more than 5,200 U of A alumni living in the U.S. Here, we explore a few more of the U of A’s valuable connections to our superpower neighbour to the south.
students
CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES
ARIZONA PHOENIX
P a c i f i c O c e a n
de Ca lif or ni a
In November 2011, the U of A Alumni Association was proud to support the interdisciplinary art exhibition Perceptions of Promise, an exploration of the legal, ethical and social issues around stem-cell research, which officially opened at the Chelsea Art Museum in mid-town Manhattan. Conceived by U of A professor in printmaking, Sean Caulfield, ’92 BFA, ’96 MFA, and his brother Timothy Caulfield, ’87 BSc, ’90 LLB, research director of the U of A’s Health Law and Science Policy Group, the New York show grabbed the attention of some 200–300 attendees. Also contributing to the show were Derek Besant, Royden Mills, ’88 BFA, ’90 MVA, Liz Ingram, ’76 MVA, Bernd Hildebrandt, ’78 BFA, ’80 MVA, Shona McDonald, Marilene Oliver, Daniela Schlueter, and Clint Wilson, ’85 BFA. To read more, visit New Trail online.
ALASKA
lfo
In 2011-2012, eight U of A students with an interest in working and learning in Washington, D.C., are taking advantage of extensive for-credit internship programs through the Washington Center for Internships. Academic courses and lectures facilitated by national and international leaders are offered, as well as small group meetings with members of Congress, site visits, embassy visits, workshops and other activities.
FAIRBANKS
Go
The U of A’s Calgary Centre recently hosted a lecture entitled “U.S. Primaries, Presidents and Political Marketing in North America” by Kenneth Cosgrove, the Fulbright Visiting Research Chair in North American Integration Studies at Carleton University. Cosgrove discussed how parties in the U.S. and Canada brand and market politics to their citizens and the extent to which the governments, political parties and media systems in both countries influence political marketing. To watch the full lecture, visit New Trail online.
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UTAH
STANFORD
events
In 2006, the Alberta Smithsonian Internship Program was launched by the Government of Alberta and the Smithsonian Institution, the world’s largest museum complex. Today, eight U of A students in a variety of disciplines, such as art and design, business, fine arts, history and culture, music, and science and technology, are working alongside recognized scholars, scientists and educators either at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., or at one of its affiliated sites around the world. For more information, visit New Trail online.
Undergraduate students at the U of A can participate in the Killam Fellowships Program, which is designed to foster a mutual understanding between citizens of Canada and the U.S. Students are awarded $5,000 (US) for one semester or $10,000 (US) for a full academic year exchange at one of 13 U.S. institutions. Learn more online.
NEVADA
research Sandeep Mohapatra, assistant professor in the U of A’s Department of Resource Economics and Environmental Sociology, has been working with researchers in California to find ways to reduce pesticide use through educational programs. Mohapatra and his team studied the effects of such programs on the habits of California almond farmers over a 10-year period. His findings, published in the American Journal of Agricultural Economics, revealed that simply educating farmers about the hazards of pesticides — rather than forcing them through government regulations — creates an internal incentive that can reduce their likelihood of pesticide usage by nine percent. Read more online.
Canada ORONO
MONTANA
NORTH DAKOTA
PLATTSBURGH
MINNESOTA
MAINE
ITHACA
VERMONT WELLESLEY WISCONSIN SOUTH DAKOTA
NORTHAMPTON
MADISON
WYOMING
NEW YORK
MICHIGAN
UNIVERSITY PARK
MASSACHUSETTS RHODE ISLAND
BOSTON
BRIDGEWATER
IOWA
CONNECTICUT
PENNSYLVANIA
NEBRASKA
WASHINGTON
ILLINOIS
INDIANA
NEW YORK
OHIO
NEW JERSEY DELAWARE
WEST VIRGINIA
COLORADO KANSAS
CAMBRIDGE
NEW HAMPSHIRE
MISSOURI NASHVILLE
MARYLAND
VIRGINIA
KENTUCKY
NORTH CAROLINA CLEMSON
TENNESSEE NEW MEXICO
OKLAHOMA
ATLANTA
SOUTH CAROLINA
ARKANSAS
LAS CRUCES
MISSISSIPPI ALABAMA
A t l a n t i c O c e a n
GEORGIA
TEXAS LOUISIANA
FLORIDA
Mexico
G u l f
o f
partnerships
M e x i c o
MIAMI
Visit New Trail online for more web-exclusive U of A connections with the U.S.A.
alumni
The Alberta Institute for American Studies was founded at the U of A in 2005 to provide Canadian policy-makers and leaders with informed counsel, based on sound research, to address Canada’s U.S.-specific challenges and opportunities. A partnership of four major faculties (Arts; Alberta School of Business; Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences; and Law), the institute’s leadership includes Michael Dark, executive director; Greg Anderson, assistant professor in the Department of Political Science and a fellow of the Institute for United States Policy Studies, as research director; and former Liberal MP Anne McLellan, ’07 LLD(Honorary), as academic director and distinguished scholar in residence.
Shirley A. Hopkinson, ’81 BEd, ’82 MEd, ’86 PhD, is an Alumni Awardwinning educator who has made a difference in the lives of countless children and their families. Her heroic work has earned her the District of Columbia Teacher of the Year Award, an American Teaching Award and a Principal of the Year Award from the U.S. Federal Head Start Program. Hopkinson co-developed Project CAPABLE, an after-school program to help parents reinforce classroom lessons, and she also created Next Step, a collaboration with an inner-city early childhood centre that helps give all children a chance for achieving excellence in education. Learn more about how Hopkinson is living the U of A Promise at New Trail online.
The U of A has established 17 formal memorandums of understanding with U.S. foundations, universities and research institutes. In addition, facultyspecific agreements exist with others, including fellow World University Network members University of Washington, University of Wisconsin and Penn State, as well as Emory University, New Mexico State University, University of Montana, Harvard, Carnegie Foundation, Northeastern University, University of Alaska and University of California Berkley, to name just a few.
Pat Kiernan, ’90 BCom, morning news anchor with New York City’s NY1 since 1997, has become widely known for his “In the Papers” feature in which he summarizes the colourful content of New York’s daily newspapers with his trademark deadpan humour. Recently, fans were delighted to watch Kiernan realize his longtime dream of co-hosting the daytime talk show Live! With Kelly. Go online to watch a clip of Kiernan on the show.
new trail spring 2012 25
Lesley Scorgie,
’05 BCom,
financial consultant, business analyst and bestselling author of Rich by Thirty and Rich by Forty, talks with fellow alumna Bridget Casey about smart spending, investing wisely and being more than just financially wealthy
You’ve been saving and investing since a young age. What inspired your interest in money so early in life? Getting started early was the result of my mom and dad taking the time to explain how money works. I bought my first Canada Savings Bond with $100 that my grandparents sent me for my 10th birthday. My mom took that opportunity to talk to me about compound interest, telling me, “You can buy a bicycle or you can invest that $100 and in seven years it will be worth $135.” She told me the earlier you start [investing], the more money you’ll have.
You already knew a lot about money before you started university, so what did your education in business teach you about finances that you didn’t already know? My marketing classes at the U of A are where I got inspired for Rich by Thirty. We were talking about market niches, and it drove me crazy that there was no niche out there for young people when it comes to money. So my schooling at the U of A directly supported my business plan for my first book and the frameworks that I used to look at personal finance.
When I was 18 years old, I opened my first stock account. Within a week, I went to the hairdresser to get my hair done, and my hairdresser suggested I buy a certain tech stock. I purchased this stock and I lost everything. At 18, I had a lot less to lose, but it impacted me because that was my tuition money and suddenly it was gone. It was a really hard lesson because I knew that rich people don’t do that — they take time to research good investments and they take time before they make any type of big purchase. (And, to this day, I still can’t find a great hairdresser.) 26 newtrail.ualberta.ca
photo by Richard Siemens
What has been your biggest financial mistake and what did you learn from it?
How should someone who’s inexperienced in investing get started in the stock market? First, it’s just about getting out there — reading blogs, the Financial Post and good books. Second: get some advice. Our generation is really prone to not asking for advice because we can download everything we need to know online. Go to your local financial institution and set up an appointment with a professional advisor. And third, just do it — open an account and start investing. Watch your investment go up, watch it go down and you’ll learn a tremendous amount.
What’s your advice to postsecondary graduates for dealing with student debt? Having student debt is the norm, and it’s not considered “bad debt.” Bad debt is used to fund things like Prada shoes; good debt is used to buy an asset. Your earning ability as a graduate of any type of program is anywhere from one-and-ahalf to three times greater than if you did not pursue any type of post-secondary studies. You’ve made an investment in your education and investments are longterm; they pay off down the road. You just need to figure out to whom you owe money, what the interest rates are, and focus on getting rid of the debt with the highest interest rate first. The faster you can get rid of debt, the sooner you’ll be financially free.
What advice do you have for people who’ve delayed saving for retirement? The older you are, the bigger the focus on your bottom line. Prioritize, rein in spending and save, save, save more aggressively than if you’d started when you were younger. The most powerful tools to save for retirement are the RRSP and the TFSA [tax-free savings account], which are government-sponsored,
tax-advantaged savings plans. Most Canadians have access to these through their employer, and every time you get paid, a portion of your paycheque can go directly into these savings plans. The benefit of being in your 30s, 40s or 50s is that you’re typically earning more and can hopefully prioritize your savings and invest larger amounts.
What are the biggest barriers to becoming financially secure? Limited budgets and debt. People overextend themselves, they earn less than they thought they would, or perhaps there’s unexpected unemployment. We have a million different priorities for our money these days, so unless you make saving a number one priority before anything else, it will never happen.
What does it mean to be wealthy? We often associate richness with a dollar value and I don’t think that’s the case. Truly wealthy people have a balance between wise spending, investing for the future (usually 15 to 20 percent of their income) and giving others in the community what I call “time, talent and treasure.” Doing those things makes people rich personally and financially, and also gives them the flexibility to do what they truly want to do in life. For more of Lesley’s wealth wisdom, visit www.lesleyscorgie.com, or follow her on Twitter, @Lesleyscorgie.
Alberta School of Business Women’s Alumni Network Lesley Scorgie is one of seven founding members of the newly formed Alberta School of Business Women’s Alumni Network. Realizing the value of networking and mentorship in their own careers, this group of proud business alumnae wants to give current female business students opportunities to meet new people, try new things and expand their networks through the support of alumnae mentors. This past fall, the Women’s Alumni Network held its inaugural event, Chocolate and Challenging Yourself, a two-day, all-expensespaid getaway to Vancouver for three lucky business students, Jessa Aco, Jenny Albers and Priya Kapur. Students were joined by alumna mentors and took part in some exclusive professional development opportunities. In the future, the Women’s Alumni Network hopes to partner with the International Labour Organization to help empower Aboriginal entrepreneurs and women in developing countries, and to assist business students with their plans to host a women’s conference in 2013. If you would like to get involved with the Women’s Alumni Network, please contact nella.sabo@ualberta.ca.
Bridget Casey, ’10 BSc, graduated with a degree in chemistry and biology, and now works as a recruitment and student liaison specialist for the U of A’s Faculty of Engineering. Her personal finance blog, Money After Graduation (www.moneyaftergraduation.com), chronicles her ongoing journey from student debt to financial security. To read more about Bridget and her adventures in personal finance, visit us online for our e-Trail exclusive story. new trail spring 2012 27
Fine arts group sketching the Riverboat “Keno,” July 1961
Extending the Promise The U of A’s Faculty of Extension celebrates 100 years of community engagement, near and far
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in his inaugural address, the U of A’s first president, Henry Marshall Tory, said: “The University should be the most practical of institutions. It should strive to find answers to the economic and social problems of common, everyday people and then share its knowledge with them.” Just four short years later, in 1912, the Department of Extension was born, allowing the U of A to uplift communities across the province with a mandate “to find out from the people what the University can do for them beyond the classroom and laboratory.” One hundred years later, the Faculty of Extension celebrates its long history of creating opportunities for lifelong education by continuing to engage the University and communities in learning, discovery and citizenship. In its inception, the Department of Extension was just that: an extension of the U of A to people in rural communities. In the early days, Extension co-ordinated travelling libraries to visit many far-flung parts of the province, offering knowledge to its then-widely scattered population of 375,000. It also reinforced the physical presence of the University by sending press bulletins to high schools, editors of newspapers, librarians
and members of the legislative assembly. About 25 editions of these bulletins annually dealt with topics ranging from sewage management to roads to power development and distribution. In 1914, Extension launched a series of “Magic Lantern” shows under the guidance of then-director of Extension, A.E. Ottewell, who believed the opportunity for visual instruction was “unlimited and should be taken advantage of.” He was right: small-town audiences were delighted by the showings of educational slides on a variety of subjects, including news from the First World War, geography, history and milk bacteria. In fact, the popularity of Magic Lantern shows grew so quickly that they were often standing-room-only, which was particularly remarkable considering movie theatres were prohibited in the province during those years. Evolving with the ever-changing technology of the times, Extension’s distance education offerings expanded in 1925 with the inclusion of radio broadcasts as a medium for U of A outreach. Three years later, this innovation led to the founding of CKUA radio station, which broadcast popular dramatic entertainment programs, science question-and-answer sessions and citizens’ forums. The Department of Extension was also responsible for establishing the Banff School of Fine Arts in 1934. Today called the Banff Centre, the school is Canada’s creative leader in arts and culture, fostering the knowledge of exceptional international artists and leaders in areas such as theatre, music, visual arts, film and new media. The growing industrialization of Alberta during the 1950s saw the establishment of Canada’s first university-run petroleum school, which was offered in co-operation with the Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering. The courses were designed for roughnecks, tool pushers and oil
Department of Extension staff, circa 1918
A.E. Ottewell, Director of Extension, 1912-1928
drillers. “Mud School,” as it was then known, was offered in many locations, delivering courses in petroleum technology, workplace safety and supervisory development. As a result of its continued growth, Extension was granted faculty status by the University in 1975. Throughout that decade, Extension developed and launched two successful programs: the Local Government Studies program (today, home of Canada’s only Information Access and Protection of Privacy certificate), and English Language and Cultural Seminars, now the booming English Language Program, which is an important access route for international students to the U of A. In the 1990s, Extension began to offer certificates in Spanish and
Environmental Resource Management, and, by the end of the decade, the online graduate program in Communications and Technology admitted its first cohort of students. In 2007, Extension became the major academic tenant at Enterprise Square in downtown Edmonton’s historic Hudson’s Bay building, firmly planting Extension amidst Edmonton’s downtown communities. Today, more than 8,000 students — many of whom already hold degrees — enrol in the Faculty of Extension each year to earn professional certificates, learn foreign languages and attend seminars, conferences and lectures. Their reasons are many, ranging from graduate study to career advancement to the simple pleasure of learning something new. One hundred years after its founding, the Faculty of Extension continues the U of A’s commitment to lifelong learning and uplifting the whole people, near and far.
In 2012, Extension is celebrating 100 years of touching lives with a number of events, symposia and conferences. Please visit www.100yearsofextension.ca to find out when and where to celebrate with us. new trail spring 2012 29
by Ron Chalmers, ’68 BA, ’76 Dip(Ed)
Pioneering Potential New chair of the Board of Governors, Douglas Goss, believes the U of A has a pivotal role to play in Alberta’s economic evolution
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photo by richard siemens
A
timely convergence of economic and political opportunity creates “a very exciting time for postsecondary education and especially for the University of Alberta,” says Douglas Goss, ’81 BCom, ’84 LLB, the new chair of the Board of Governors. “This province has about $75 billion in assets managed by Alberta Investment Management Corp.,” he says. The sheer size of that portfolio, which includes pension fund reserves and the Alberta Heritage Savings Trust Fund, reveals the financial strength of the provincial government and its potential to make visionary investments in a province that, while economically strong, faces enormous challenges. “Just try to find a jurisdiction, across this country or the U.S., that doesn’t wish they had our assets,” Goss muses. In the short term, Alberta’s economy may rise and fall on oil and gas prices and on the environmental politics of oilsands development, hydraulic fracturing of natural gas pools and pipeline construction. But Goss looks beyond those immediate issues to a longer-term vision suggested last May, in the report of the Premier’s Council for Economic Strategy, chaired by David Emerson, ’68 BA, ’70 MA. “We must plan for the eventuality that oilsands production will almost certainly be displaced at some point in the future by lower-cost and/or lower-emissions alternatives,” the report stated. Rather than seeing our economy decline with an obsolescent industry, “Albertans’ best chance for sustained prosperity will be to pioneer once again,” the report said. Fortunately, Alberta has developed a base of financial, human and infrastructural resources to enable such a transition. “The vision for the province
has to be to ensure that it invests the bulk of its assets in a post-non-renewableresources energy era — which is inevitable,” Goss says. Here he sees great opportunity for the U of A: “If we’re going to compete successfully in a post-oil-and-gas world, we must invest in research and education — from kindergarten to Grade 12 and postsecondary institutions.” Such an educational and economic transformation will be expensive but rewarding. “This province has been given a lot,” Goss says, then quickly adds: “To whom much is given, much is expected in return,” quoting former U. S. president John F. Kennedy — who in turn was borrowing from the New Testament (Luke 12:48). Goss is convinced that “the case is there” for the U of A to play a lead role in transforming the province but recognizes that it will turn crucially on government funding. “All we can do is lay out the case,” he says. “Hopefully, the people in government are listening.” He calls the U of A “the flagship of the post-secondary system,” but he advocates for the entire fleet. The recognition of education as a catalyst to Alberta’s economic evolution “must include kindergarten to Grade 12, MacEwan and Athabasca University, the universities of Calgary and Lethbridge, plus NAIT and SAIT,” he says. The U of A’s potential often has been linked to its excellent programs in engineering, environmental studies, medicine and the sciences. But along with such practical programs, the University’s studies in social sciences and humanities hold equal value. Goss quotes Henry Marshall Tory, the U of A’s first president, who spoke of “uplifting the whole people,” and declares that “we need challenging thought, at the top of our game, across the board. Nobody should be left behind.”
New at the Helm On February 2, 2012, the Alberta government appointed Douglas Goss, QC, as chair of the U of A Board of Governors. He replaces Gordon Clanachan, who has been acting chair since the former chair, Brian Heidecker, stepped down in October 2011. Goss has served on numerous boards and currently chairs the Telus Edmonton Community Board, the Fort Edmonton Management Company and ATAC Resources Ltd. He previously chaired the NAIT Board of Governors, the Edmonton Eskimos Board of Directors, the Edmonton Oilers Community Foundation Board of Directors and the 2003 Molson Heritage Hockey Classic Organizing Committee. He also co-chaired the 2010 Grey Cup. Goss was born in Edmonton, where he attended Ross Sheppard High School, then earned his bachelors degrees in commerce (1981) and law (1984) from the U of A. He practises corporate and commercial law with Bryan & Co. Goss is married to Joanne Goss, ’81 BA, ’84 LLB, a justice on the Court of Queen’s Bench. They have three children, one a U of A graduate, one a U of A undergrad and one an undergrad at the University of Western Ontario.
What is the Board of Governors? The Board of Governors is the University’s senior governing authority, with powers conferred by the Alberta Post-Secondary Learning Act. It comprises the chair, who is appointed by the Alberta government, the president, the chancellor and 17 other members, also appointed by the province. They include two members of Alumni Council (currently Jim Hole, ’79 BSc(Ag), and Don Fleming, ’76 BEd), one member of the Senate, two members of the academic staff, two or three students and one member of the non-academic staff. Terms are fixed, not exceeding three years, with possible reappointment. The board is responsible for the management and operation of the University, including approval of the mandate, the budget, tuition fees, financial statement, investment policy, collective agreements and the appointment of the president. It does much of its work through a structure of seven committees. Most portions of meetings are open to the public. For more information about the Board of Governors, visit www.governance.ualberta.ca. new trail spring 2012 31
Celebrate a century of learning and practice in medicine at the U of A!
The U of A is interdependent with the wider community. “I’ve seen a lot of movement where the University has reached out to the business community, developers and politicians,” Goss says — pointing to the U of A moving downtown into Enterprise Square and expanding to South Campus. But entering established neighbour hoods can also create conflicts, as witness concerns recently expressed by residents living near South Campus. “We can always do better,” Goss acknowledges. “We need to be seen
as acting in the best interests of the community.” That can be tricky, as the University must serve several stakeholders, Goss says. “Our job is to deliver the greatest possible return on investment to the people of Alberta — students, taxpayers and industry. We must keep pushing the envelope and, when we’ve done the best we can, push it a little further.” Yes, “there’s lots of work to do” to attain the U of A’s goal of being “a firstclass institution that can compete with any in the world,” Goss says. “The exciting part is that the potential is here.”
Submit your story, reflections, poetry or other work to be included in ‘The Heart of Medicine: Reflections of medical school alumni, faculty, staff and students at the University of Alberta.’ Inspiring conversation and creative exchange, the publication will celebrate the heart, compassion, dedication and innovation that have characterized the School of Medicine since its inception.
For submission information visit www.ualberta.ca/alumni/heart 32 newtrail.ualberta.ca
photo by john ulan
Beyond funding, Goss says, the future of the U of A depends on the future of the city of Edmonton. “We continue to have a challenge: to ensure that our city is eminently livable, as a place for people to visit and to live in, where people want to raise their children and, when they get those great ideas, will continue to live here.” How can our city attract and retain people who can help us develop as a centre of educational and economic innovation and progress? “Right now, we need a bit of a sell job to get the best people to come here and stay here,” Goss says.
FOLLOWING THE FOOTS TEPS OF U N I V E R S I T Y O F A L B E R TA A LU M N I
Clayton Patterson, ’76 BEd, moved from Calgary to New York City with his girlfriend, Elsa Rensaa, in 1979. In 1983, the couple (now married) bought a former dressmaker’s shop at 161 Essex Street in the city’s Lower East Side, long before gentrification would turn the area into, as he says, “the hip place it is today.” From the beginning, Patterson began chronicling his changing neighbourhood in pictures, film and video, as the Lower East Side was morphing from a place where young, emerging artists could find small apartments for less than $50 per month into a trendy area where the same apartments can now rent for upwards of $2,500 per month. In 1985 — and lasting until 2002 — Patterson began taking portraits of Lower East Side residents (such as the one shown here) using his graffiti-covered front door as his backdrop. The photos were eventually assembled into the Front Door Book. “I didn’t realize it at the time,” Patterson said in The New York Times, “but I was capturing the last of the wild, free, outlaw, utopian, visionary spirit of the Lower East Side.” Any doubt that he was capturing the last of that wild spirit was dispelled in 2009 when he received a notice from the sanitation department ordering him to remove the graffiti from his door. To book a tour of Patterson’s studio, e-mail him at clayton161@earthlink.net. – Kim Green Slug, a member of punk band Sewage, circa 1992.
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alumni events
Wherever your U of A degree takes you, the Alumni Association is there. In Edmonton, around the world, or online, we’ll help you reconnect with old friends and make a few new ones.
EVENTS IN EDMONTON Educated Gardener Calling all green (and gold) thumbs! Get your hands dirty learning sustainable gardening approaches from master gardeners and apply newfound know-how to your own garden — be it on the balcony or on the farm. www.ualberta.ca/alumni/gardener May 16, 2012 – Edmonton, AB Hate weeding? Flummoxed by fertilizers? Get a lesson in permaculture and leave a lighter environmental footprint in your garden. June 27, 2012 – Edmonton, AB Herbs, perennials and fun — oh my! Learn what grows well in Zone 3A, planting procedures and care at this hands-on workshop at the Devonian Botanic Gardens. Memorial Service May 26, 2012 – Edmonton, AB We honour members of our alumni and student family who passed away in 2011 at the Alumni Association’s annual Memorial Service. This interfaith service conducted by University chaplains features the University of Alberta Mixed Chorus. E-mail colleen.elliott@ualberta.ca for more information, or call 780-492-0866. For more information and to register for any of these events, visit us online at www.ualberta.ca/alumni/events.
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FIND US ON FACEBOOK The Alumni Association has more than 50 active branches that extend the boundaries of the U of A community to the far reaches of the province, the country and the world. Likewise, 17 chapters with 150 volunteers connect more than 20,000 alumni to the faculties, activities and student groups that made time on campus memorable. Visit www.alumni.ualberta.ca to connect with fellow alumni via the following branch, chapter and class reunion Facebook pages: Branches Hong Kong Melbourne New York San Francisco Singapore Toronto Vancouver Mexico
Chapters University of Alberta Mixed Chorus University of Alberta School of Business Alumni Association Lister Hall Alumni – U of A
Reunions U of A Dental Hygiene Class of 1986 U of A Dental Hygiene Class of ’91
For more events, contests and up-to-date information, subscribe to e-trail, the Alumni Association’s monthly electronic magazine, at www.ualberta.ca/alumni/e-trail.
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1. Gilbert Parent, ’80 BEd, and Ian Porteous, ’95 BSc(Eng), of Les Bûcherons entertained a crowd of alumni, friends and families at the Alumni Association’s Cabane à Sucre in March.
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2. Dean of Agricultural, Life & Environmental Sciences John Kennelly, ’80 PhD, and Patches the Panda were on hand to cheer 4,979 staff, students and alumni who reclaimed the Guinness World Record for largest dodgeball game. Photo by: Ken Mathewson
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3. Old friends and new connect at a Calgary alumni reception. From L-R: Julia Frohlich, ’11 BSc(Env&Cons), Krystyn Wasylyszyn, ’11 BSc(Env&Cons), Lacey Sven, Karen Taguchi, ’86 BCom, Leon Lau, ’01 BSc, ’06 MSc, Holly Tomte, ’03 BCom. 4. San Francisco alumni were treated to a presentation by Timothy Caulfield, ’87 BSc, ’90 LLB, Canada Research Chair in Health Law, at an event in February. From L-R: Chief Advancement Officer O’Neil Outar, Kirk Miller, ’65 BA, Melynnie Rizvi, ’99 LLB, ’95 BCom, and Alumni Association Executive Vice-President Sean Price, ’95 BCom.
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5. The inaugural Educated Critic event held in March featured a performance by the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. From L-R: Debby, Ray, and Graham Semeniuk, ’08 BA. 6. New York alumni broke out their skates for the Alumni Association’s annual Skating and Pasta Party in Central Park. From L-R: Marilyn Parker, ’61 BSc, ’66 BEd, Reg Moncrieff, ’70 BA, and friends Curtis and Oliver Probst. 7. Alumni and student winners of a hockey ticket giveaway (courtesy of MBNA) celebrated an Oilers win with friends at Rexall Place in February. To read more about the contest winners and game, visit New Trail online. Photo by: Ken Mathewson
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cl a ss notes
1950s
’51 Allen Wells, BSc(Ag), published his autobiography, The Winter Count, chronicling a life that led him around the world, and his ties to the U of A, which are still strong 60 years after his graduation. The book is available in many bookstores and through Xlibris Publishing, www.xlibris.com. ’59 Victor Snieckus, BSc, Queen’s University professor, was recently awarded the 2011 Queen’s University Prize for Excellence in Research. Victor, who is the Bader Chair Emeritus of Organic Chemistry, was recognized for his exceptional impact on the fields of organic and organometallic chemistry.
1960s
’62 Leonard (Len) Skowronski, BSc, taught mathematics and science in public schools in Carstairs, AB, and Banff, AB, after completing his degree at the U of A. He moved to Calgary, where he worked as a seismic interpreter for Western Geophysical before joining Canadian Pacific Oil & Gas Company Limited as a programmer. In 1993, Len took a foreign assignment with Azzawiya Oil Refining Co. Inc. in Libya. He returned to Calgary in 1995 to join KPMG as a senior consultant and then as partner in charge of management consulting with KPMG Kuwait. From 1999 to 2002, Len was director in charge of information technology consulting for the Middle East region of Deloitte & Touche. In 2007, Len was elected leader of the Alberta Social Credit Party. As leader, Len writes that he is “focused on rebuilding the Party so it can return the good government it provided from 1936 to 1971.” ’63 Lynne Bowen, BSc(Nu), saw her sixth book, Whoever Gives Us Bread, The Story of Italians
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’62 Carol Peterson (St. Clair), BSc, ’64 MSc, received a PhD in botany from the University of California, Davis. She has retired as distinguished professor emerita from the University of Waterloo, where she was a professor in the Department of Biology for 30 years. Carol is a past-president of the Canadian Society of Plant Physiologists and was the first president of Plant Canada, an organization she helped found. Carol is also a recent recipient of the Lawson Medal from the Canadian Botanical Association.
in British Columbia, published by Douglas & McIntyre this spring. ’64 Dieter Buse, BA, received many positive reviews for his recently published coffee-table book, Come on Over: Northeastern Ontario, A to Z, co-authored with Graeme S. Mount. The book, which includes more than 120 photographs, highlights the communities in one of Canada’s most historically rich areas and shares traditions, legends, facts and figures from those towns and cities. Come on Over is on bookshelves around Ontario and available for purchase online at www.scrivenerpress.com. ’64 Eugene Lechelt, BSc, ’66 MSc, ’69 PhD, was recently honoured for having completed his second and final three-year term as a director and vice-chairman of the national board of directors for the Canadian National Institute for the Blind. Lechelt has received numerous volunteer awards for his community service to Albertans experiencing vision loss and his leadership in ameliorating conditions
of visual impairment throughout Canada. He also received the Arthur Napier Magill Distinguished Service Award reflecting the international impact of his work and leadership in the rehabilitation of those with vision loss. ’66 Jim Edgson, BSc, writes to say he is busy enjoying his retirement in Killiney Beach, BC, with his wife, Anne. Jim and Anne retired to their Okanagan property — where they built the log home of their dreams — after 32 years working with Schlumberger in field management and marketing. In 2007, after many years of volunteering, Jim was elected as the first director of the electoral area of the Regional District of Central Okanagan-West. He successfully ran again in 2008 and 2011. ’66 Mary Maxie (Sheddy), BA, has published eight books and should have another four published by the end of 2012. She’s currently living in Phoenix, AZ, near her three granddaughters, one of whom helps her maintain her website, www.marymaxieauthor.com.
’67 Hank Zyp, BEd, was the first illustrator hired by the Hudson’s Bay Company advertising department in Edmonton in 1955 and, later that same year, was promoted to advertising art director. He and his wife, Tillie, worked with Aboriginal Canadians for 45 years and are founding members of Rainbow for Hope and Change for Children charitable organizations. Hank suffered a stroke in 2002, which left him with aphasia, but he says: “Each of us in big and little ways can be a rainbow of hope for some child or community here and now and make the world a little better, one step at a time.”
’67 John W. Stamm, DDS, professor at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, was awarded an honorary degree from King’s College, London. John is a professor in the Department of Dental Ecology at the UNC School of Dentistry and is an adjunct professor of epidemiology in the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. At the honorary degree ceremony, John was recognized as a “truly international figure in dentistry, with enormous standing and influence, whose pursuit of excellence and promotion of advances in dental education and oral and dental science underpin his outstanding contribution to dentistry.”
’68 Frank MacInnis, BA, ’71 LLB, chair and recently retired CEO of the Connecticut-based EMCOR Group, was recently elected to the board of directors of Gilbane Incorporated, a construction and real estate development firm. ’69 Jeffrey Dvorkin, BA, is now a lecturer and director of the journalism program at the University of Toronto Scarborough. ’69, Ronald Hannah, BSc, ’73 BA, ’75 MA, reports that in November of 2011 the Lions Gate Sinfonia of North Vancouver, conducted by Clyde Mitchell, performed his composition Divertimento for Strings. In January 2012, Ernst Birss, ’83 BA, ’86 BA(Cert), ’95 MA, performed Ronald’s Pastoral Suite for Guitar at McDougall United Church in Edmonton.
John (centre) with the Marquess of Douro (left) and King’s College, London principal Sir Richard Trainor (right).
Are you celebrating yoyour 25th, 45th, 245 or 645 Reunion? Reunion Class Gifts make a difference with students while creating a legacy for your class. Visit us online at www.ualberta.ca/alumni/classgiving new trail spring 2012 37
cl a ss notes
1970s
’70 David Simpson, PhD, retired and living in Chester, England, is planning a move to Norfolk to be closer to most of his grandchildren. He’s anticipating the imminent arrival of his newest grandchild in Toronto and hopes to make a trip to Eastern Canada next year.
Two journeys… One historical, in search of a new life. One modern, in search of justice.
’82 Kenda Gee, BA, and Tom Radford, ’66 BA, co‑producers and directors of the feature-length documentary Lost Years, won in the Best Documentary A PEOPLE’S STRUGGLE FOR JUSTICE on History and Culture category at the Guangzhou International Documentary Film Festival in December 2011. The documentary made its Canadian national premiere on CBC in February 2012, and replayed on CTV Two for the Alberta audience. Kenda reports that Lost Years is on the precipice of becoming the largest-viewed made-in-Canada production in TV broadcasting history as a result of media meetings with commissioning editors in China. Kenda, also a graduate of Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto, finished in the top three of AMPIA’s Producers Program in 2004, its inaugural year. View a scene from Lost Years at New Trail online. A documentary by Lost Years Productions Inc. www.lostyears.ca
PRODUCED, DIRECTED & WRITTEN BY: Kenda Gee & Tom Radford ASSOCIATE PRODUCER: Wei Wong EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Fred Locke & Allan Kwan EXECUTIVE PRODUCER for CBC: Steve Glassman PRODUCTION EXECUTIVE for ACCESS-TV: Kern Goretzky DIRECTOR of PHOTOGRAPHY: Rene Jean Collins EDITOR: Brenda Terning MUSIC COMPOSED & CONDUCTED BY: Darren Fung ASSOCIATE MUSIC PRODUCER: Tristan Capacchione MUSIC ENGINEER & MIXER: Jeremy Tusz MUSIC COORDINATOR & ORCHESTRA CONTRACTOR: Frank GF Yang MUSIC ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT: Tom NW Zhang SOUND BY: Perry Blackman Group SOUND RECORDIST: Larry MacDonald ADDITIONAL SOUND: Jamie Kidd ADDITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY: Grigori Ozerski, Daron Donahue COLOUR CORRECTION: Joe Owens, Presto!Digital PRODUCTION MANAGER: Emma Radford PRODUCTION ADMINISTRATOR: Ellen Au PRODUCTION ASSISTANTS: Derek Kwan, Sharon Murphy GRAPHIC DESIGNER: Helen Wong Adhikari PUBLICIST: Stephen Tsang NEW MEDIA DIRECTOR: Ashton Wong COMMUNITY LIAISONS: John Yee, Peter Wong
Produced in association with
In collaboration with
Through the support of
Chinese Graduates Association of Alberta
Community Historical Recognition Program
Produced with the assistance of
Alberta Multimedia Development Fund
With the participation of Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit
New Media supported in part by Industry Canada Small Business Internship Program
ACCESS-TV
’71 W. Douglas Eaton, BA, of North Vancouver, BC, was recently appointed technical advisor of Wolverine Minerals Corporation. He is CEO and president of Strategic Metals Limited and Silver Range Resources Limited. ’71 Pearl Murray, BEd, wrote and illustrated the recently published A Baker’s Dozen: The Way It Was. The book recounts stories of the lives of early pioneers in the Hairy Hill, AB, area. To obtain a copy, visit www.chapters.ca. ’73 Tony Boogmans, BSc(Eng), of Calgary, was recently elected to the board of directors of Birch Lake Energy Inc. He has more than 30 years of experience working with both private and public oil and gas companies, and he was one of the founders of Innovative Energy Ltd. ’73, Mary-Anne Neal (Gillese), Dip(Ed), ’75 BEd, ’99 MEd, sits on the Royal Roads University (RRU) Research Ethics Board. With the RRU School of Communication and Culture, she travels to China teaching the MA in educational leadership and management to school principals in Beijing. She also teaches
courses for the MA and BA in professional communication, as well as supervising students in the MA in human security and peacebuilding program. Since 1995, MaryAnne has developed courses and taught in the leadership program at Camosun College in Victoria, BC. When the youngest of her four children graduates from high school in 2012, she plans to retire from 30 years as an active parent volunteer in the K-12 school system. ’73, Laurence (Laurie) Walker, PhD, recently published 200 Years of Grammar, a Canadian resource for English teachers and students trying to explain or learn the language. Lawrence’s interest in, and research of, the education of teachers has taken him to New Zealand, Australia and Kosovo. Visit him online at www.canadiangrammar.com.
’75 Kenna McKinnon, BA, writes that her first young adult science fiction novel, The Jive Hive, will be released in both e-book and trade paperback formats in summer 2012 by Imajin Books. Visit www.kennamckinnon.blogspot.com for more information. ’77 Joe Daniel, BPE, has retired from the U of A after 31 years as an administrative/ professional officer. His career spanned several departments, starting in the Registrar’s Office and ending in the Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation. In his retirement, Joe looks forward to travelling with his wife, Betty, and spending time with twin grandchildren, Hailey and Christian. ’77 Margaret McCuaig-Boyd, BEd, retired from a career of teaching and administration in the Peace River School Division in March 2009.
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Banff, Canadian roCkies
She is enjoying her new position as vicepresident of Grande Prairie Regional College, Fairview Campus. ’77 Ian Soles, BPE, opened Salutaris Centre, a private, leading-edge lymphatic and massage therapy clinic, in March 2011. Located in Edmonton, the centre is dedicated to offering manual lymphatic drainage and combined decongestive therapy to lymphedema, postoperative and accident-recovery patients. Visit www.salutariscentre.com for more information. ’78 Allan Franklin, BCom, relocated to Orlando, FL, in 1988, and recently retired after 30 years in corporate finance with the Dow Chemical Company. Allan writes, “The majority of my time is spent golfing, beach-going and travelling. I have recently pursued pickleball in place of racquetball and tennis. My daughter [Alaina Franklin, ’93 BA], now in Sydney, Australia, graduated from the U of A with a degree in psychology.” Allan also notes his grandson and granddaughter now attend the U of A School of Business in second and fourth year, respectively. ’78 Amil Shapka, BSc, ’90 DDS, founded the non-profit volunteer organization Kindness in Action (KIA) in 1993. KIA provides free dental care to patients in developing countries around the world. This year, the U of A’s Dentistry Students’ Association hosted a fundraiser that raised $28,000 for the 10 or more dentistry students who will offer their services in such faraway places as Uganda and Cambodia through KIA. To learn more about KIA, visit www.kindnessinaction.ca.
In January, the Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Activity recognized 20 women on its 2011 list of Most Influential Women in Sport and Physical Activity. Several U of A alumnae were among those recognized as women “who share a passion for sport and physical activity — and use it to improve the lives of others.” On the list were: ’74 Wendy Frisby, BPE, a UBC professor whose research is having a positive impact on women and sport in Canada; ’79 Karen Rackel, BCom, ’82 LLB, of Edmonton, recently appointed as the first female president of the Royal Canadian Golf Association (Golf Canada) in its 116-year history; and ’93 Jodi Abbott, MEd, ’96 PhD, president and CEO of NorQuest College in Edmonton, a Skate Canada board member and an internationally respected official who was a judge at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.
’78 Don Tapscott, MEd, ’01 LLD(Honorary), earned the ninth spot on Harvard Business Review’s list of the Top 50 Business Thinkers in the World. His most recent book, Macrowikinomics: Rebooting Business and the World, was runner-up for the Best Business Book of the Last Two Years. ’79 Norman Eady, BA, ’81 MBA, founded North of 56 Research and Economics, a small business based in Whitehorse, YT, after he retired from his position as assistant comptroller with Northwestel Inc. ’79 Howard Eng, BSc, ’80 BCom, was recently appointed president and CEO of the Greater Toronto Airports Authority. Previously, he worked at the Hong Kong International Airport.
’76 Darrell Menard, BPE, ’81 MA, who was inducted into the U of A Sports Wall of Fame in 2011, was named to the 2012 Canadian Olympic Team. He will be a physician on the core medical team, providing medical care to the entire Canadian Olympic team.
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cl a ss notes
1980s
’80 Glen Armstrong, PhD, won the Brockhouse Canada (NSERC) Prize recognizing outstanding Canadian research teams in the fields of natural sciences and engineering in the past six years. In accepting the award, Glen said, “By understanding the exact shape of key molecules from an infectious bacteria or virus, we can create new substances that can combat it or reduce its ability to gain a foothold and cause an infection in the first place.” Glen is the head of the University of Calgary’s Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Infectious Diseases. ’80 Scott Edwards, BSc(Forest), received a Commander’s award for outstanding support of Air Force operations in his role as the senior staff officer for Environment and Hazardous Materials for 1 Canadian Air Division. He also received regional and national awards from the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada for his work with the institute. To top it off, he learned his second grandson will be born in early 2012. Scott looks forward to his upcoming retirement and spending more time with his wife, Karen. ’81 Douglas Goss, BCom, ’84 LLB, was recently named chair of the U of A’s Board of Governors. A past Alumni Honour Award recipient, he is a highly respected lawyer dedicated to his profession and community. Read more about his appointment on page 30. ’83 Chris Hanson, MBA, of Balwyn, Australia, writes that he is retiring after 25 years as a financial planner. “Having sold my practice, I now intend to work on some community projects, my golf handicap and travel ubiquitously with my wife, Dubravka,” Chris says, adding, “hopefully the share market will co-operate.” ’83 John Lowe, BA, of Edmonton, was recently appointed president of AltaGas Utility Group Inc. ’84 Steve Patterson, BSc, ’89 DDS, received the Barb Tarbox Award of Excellence for his work
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’83 Tracy Marsden, BSc, ’86 BSc(Pharm), George Gillson, ’85 PhD, and Rhoneil Velasco, ’91 BCom, are celebrating their 10th year in business together as owners of Rocky Mountain Analytical (RMA). The Calgarybased company they founded in 2002 was RMA owners (from L-R): George Gillson, Tracy named one of the fastest growing companies Marsden and Rhoneil Velasco. in Canada in 2011, and made the top 200 list in Profit magazine. RMA is accredited by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta to conduct patient tests not covered by medicare and is the only accredited laboratory in Canada providing wellness-testing services specifically for practitioners of complementary and alternative medicine. in tobacco cessation. Steve, the U of A School of Dentistry’s associate chair (academic), has been involved in tobacco reduction and cessation initiatives for 25 years and has also been a leader in tobacco control in Alberta. ’85 Pat Bowne, PhD, a biology professor at Alverno College in Milwaukee, WI, has created her own fictional university — the Royal Academy at Osyth — which has a Demonology Department whose faculty are up to all sorts of ghoulish things. As Pat says, “Most academic administrators only think they work with demons from hell.” To read more about Pat’s fantasy fiction set in academia, go to www.raosyth.com. ’85 Tom Noseworthy, MSc, was recently appointed as Alberta’s new associate chief medical officer for Alberta Health Services. He is the former head of Community Health Sciences in the medicine faculty at the U of C. ’87 Ross Mitchell, BSc(Forest), ’05 PhD, writes that he is currently working as a senior consultant with Environmental Resources Management in Calgary, and his work takes him around the globe. “In the past year, I’ve been on ice roads in the NWT, visited farms in Poland and travelled through the arid landscapes of northern Chile on mining and energy projects.” Ross and his wife, Martha, have been married for nearly 20 years and have two children who will soon be graduating from high school.
’87 Faith Irving, BEd(Aug), writes, “I am currently completing a professional doctorate at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. My research interest is in teachers’ work in social and cultural ‘boundary zones’ and how this is best supported by professional learning.” ’88 Charles Lucy, PhD, a U of A professor, recently won a 3M National Teaching Fellowship, Canada’s most prestigious teaching award, which recognizes leadership and contributions to university teaching. ’88 Richie Mah, BSc(Dent), ’90 DDS, ’95 MSc, ’95 Cert(Dent), was elected president of the Canadian Association of Orthodontists. Richie runs a private practice called MetroPointe Orthodontics in Burnaby, BC, and has also served as clinical assistant professor in the University of British Columbia’s undergraduate dental program since 1996. Richie and his wife and fellow orthodontist, Lenore, have an energetic young daughter, Aveline. ’89 Peter Flipsen Jr., BSc(Spch&Aud), received tenure at Idaho State University in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders and was promoted to the rank of professor. ’89 Abdul Khan, MSc(Eng), ’95 PhD, has been working in the U.S. for more than five years but remains a Canadian citizen and hopes to one day return to Canada with his wife and three children.
1990s
’90 Pat Kiernan, BCom, morning anchor on NY1 News, co-hosted Live! with Kelly in March 2012. Was it his dream job? “There’s no dissatisfaction with my current job, but this is one of those great jobs in television that it would be a privilege to do occasionally or a privilege to do regularly,” Pat told FishbowlNY. ’94 Mel Varga, BEd, reports that in August 2011, he and his family returned to Macau, where he accepted a teaching position at the International School of Macao. Mel says, “I am currently teaching physical education 10, 20 and 30, as well as information communication technology 7 and 9. I am also nearing completion of my MEd from the U of A, and started the last course of the master’s of education in educational studies program in January 2012.” ’95 Alison Clarke, BA, writes that she has published two children’s stories — The Adventures of Eli the Elephant and Eli Goes to the Moon, which she also illustrated. Both books are accompanied by CDs of narration and are available for purchase by contacting Alison by e-mail at monetlover200@yahoo.ca.
BOTTOM right photo by Fish Griwkowsky
’95 Scott Gilmore, BCom, of Ottawa, ON, a social entrepreneur with experience in business, aid and diplomacy, recently became president of Anchor Chain, a for-profit social enterprise that helps companies move from corporate social responsibility to creating shared value. He is also the founder and CEO of Peace Dividend Trust, a non-profit social enterprise that
’91 Grant J. Venables, BEd, writes that he is currently writer-in-residence at the International School of Kuala Lumpur and is awaiting publication of his collection of 17 short stories titled Bangkok — Just Under the Skin (Monsoon Books, Singapore). To learn more, visit Grant’s blog, www.grantjvenables.blogspot.com. Grant with one of his twin boys, Heathcliff-Manx, in their banana grove in Chiang Khan, Thailand, where they have an organic tropical fruit farm.
creates jobs and sustains peace in developing countries by championing local entrepreneurs and connecting them to global supply chains. In 2010, Peace Dividend Trust won the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship. Scott will also receive a Distinguished Alumni Award at Alumni Weekend 2012 this September. ’95 Noel Ratch, MA, of Wetaskiwin, AB, was appointed by the Government of Alberta as the director of the Reynolds-Alberta Museum. ’96 Heather Stretch, BA, returned to Edmonton for a few days in February to promote All the Dirt: Reflections on Organic Farming. The book was co-written by Rachel Fischer and Robin Tunnicliffe, with whom Stretch co-owns Saanich Organics, a farmer-run local food distributor on Vancouver Island, BC. ’97 Barclay Spady, BEd, was one of three Canadian coaches to join the coaching staff that led the International Federation of American Football’s World Development Team as part of the U.S. Football International Bowl in Austin, TX.
’95 Trevor Anderson, BA, of Edmonton, was recently awarded the DADD Short Film Award at the Berlin International Film Festival for his 25-minute musical, The Man That Got Away. The festival, also called the Berlinale, is one of the world’s leading film festivals. Trevor’s award includes a grant for a three-month artist residency in Berlin. For more about Trevor’s work, visit www.dirtcityfilms.com.
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new trail spring 2012 41
cl a ss notes
2000s
’00 Christopher Kyba, BSc, is currently a postdoctoral fellow at the Free University in Berlin, where he is investigating unexplored aspects of light pollution. Previously, Christopher completed his PhD in particle physics and a post-doc in radiology both at the University of Pennsylvania. ’01 Rebecca Anderson, BA, ’06 MA, is one-half of the folk duo F&M, whose beautiful rendition of the theme from the TV show The Littlest Hobo is featured in the recently released hockey movie Goon. Maybe Tomorrow is from the band’s fourth album, Sincerely, F&M. Visit www.fandmtheband.com. ’01 Q. Cindy Gao, ’01 MSc, joined Southcoast Physicians Services and began practising at the Southcoast Health System in Wareham, MA, in December 2011. She is board certified in internal medicine and is a member of several professional medical associations. ’01 Mark Watson, BA(RecAdmin), of Vancouver, BC, writes that since 2005 he has been the principal of Eaton Arrowsmith School, a school for students with learning disabilities and/or ADHD. ’02 Melissa Chau, BCom, took a job in Taipei through an international exchange program following her graduation from the U of A and then went to Beijing and Shanghai on a federal government internship program. Now settled in Singapore, she works as a research manager for IDC Asia Pacific. In October, Melissa, whose research area is hand-held devices, was interviewed on CNBC and Bloomburg about the launch of the newest iPhone and the death of Apple CEO and co-founder, Steve Jobs. Visit New Trail online to watch video clips of the broadcasts. ’04 Steve Lillebuen, BA, launched The Devil’s Cinema on March 28 at LitFest in Edmonton. The book examines the bizarre and horrifying real-life case of Mark Twitchell, an aspiring
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’00 Cameron Franchuk, BSc, ’02 MSc, was awarded the 2012 Harold L. Morrison Rising Young Professional Award by Consulting Engineers of Alberta. The award is presented annually to recognize the achievement of a young professional who demonstrates excellence in his or her field of expertise and dedication to the community, and to increase awareness of the value of young professionals in the Alberta consulting engineering industry.
filmmaker whose murder of Johnny Altinger mirrored the events described in Twitchell’s own screenplay. Steve is an experienced crime reporter whose work has been published in a wide range of respected media, including the Edmonton Journal, the Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star, the National Post, the Sydney Morning Herald and around the world through the Associated Press and its related agencies. He currently divides his time between Edmonton and Australia. For purchase information on The Devil’s Cinema, visit www.stevelillebuen.com. ’04 Eric Oh, BSc(Eng), is using his engineering skills to help those living in marginalized communities. Last summer, he spent a week in Haiti with a team of architects and engineers who volunteer their time with Calgary-based Engineering Ministries International Canada. Eric helped prepare the design for a children’s village (orphanage), school and church/ community centre in the earthquake-affected community of Grand-Goâve. Previously, Eric volunteered with Engineering Ministries International on a project in Guatemala.
’06 Sophia Adamia, PhD, of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, MA, was recently awarded a competitive and prestigious American Society of Hematology Scholar Award for 2012. ’07 Michael Sean McMurtry, PhD, was recently presented with the Heart and Stroke Foundation Distinguished Clinical Scientist Award. An assistant professor at the U of A, he is also the director of the Cardiovascular Risk Reduction Clinic at the Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute. ’07 Paul Welch, BFA, was the recipient of a Betty Mitchell Award for Outstanding Performance as an Actor in With Bells On, performed at Calgary’s Lunch Box Theatre in December 2010. ’07 Colin Priestner, BA, along with Alanna Bateup, of Edmonton, created a three-minute video of comedy skits that puts a local spin on the “stuff people say” phenomenon. Their YouTube video went viral after a few hours and features some Edmonton celebrities. To watch the video, visit New Trail online. ’08 Seema Marwaha, MD, recently received a Frank Knox Memorial Fellowship, a full scholarship for grad studies at Harvard University. Seema writes, “I will be doing my master’s in education, focusing on technology, innovation and media, and will finish my internal medicine residency at the University of Toronto.”
Eric Oh assesses construction methods in Haiti.
’09 Hussein Girnary, BSc, writes that his work and family life are going well. He is currently working towards his professional designation in geology.
The Upside Down-Under An education alumnus shares his family’s adventures living and working in Australia — spiders, cold weather and all
M
y wife [Erin Basisty, ’98 BPE, ’01 BEd] and I have just returned from a year-long teacher exchange in Australia, and I can claim that my wife’s arachnophobia is officially cured. Before arriving last January in Bowral, New South Wales, we braced ourselves for the perils of spiders and snakes. The first several weeks involved me vacuuming dozens of spiders daily, with my wife standing, hysterical, on a chair. After a couple of months, the fear subsided and acceptance set in. With three little girls, my concern was snakes, which luckily we never encountered. Oddly enough, it was Australia’s weather that threw us. Winters in the Southern Highlands average eight degrees Celsius, accompanied with winds and rain. However, most homes are not insulated and have no central heating, so mornings and evenings matched the outdoor temperature. We wore many layers and I became skilled at making fires in the wood-burning heater. It took us many months to get used to crossing streets and intersections, as drivers have the right of way. Fortunately, it was a quick transition to learn to drive on the other side of the road. The real test was mastering the M5 motorway in Sydney during rush hour in a torrential downpour with three crying kids and a shouting wife.
The town of Bowral (pop. 8,000) has a very English look to it, with beautiful shops, gardens and homes. Refreshingly, there are no convenience stores or fast food outlets, which reinforced a healthier lifestyle for all of us. We found Australia to be expensive — about 25 percent more for retail goods and groceries. With one income, this required us to be creative with our budget, including grocery shopping for a weekly menu and going without a cellphone. I’ll never complain about gasoline prices in Alberta again, as it costs about $1.50 per litre in Australia. Private schooling seems to be the way for many Australians. This is costly to parents, with fees ranging from $3,000 to $45,000 per year. My
daughter Mckenna attended the same school where I taught, making mornings simple and stress-free. My Grade 5 class loved learning about Canada. We played more floor hockey than we should have, and I got the students intrigued about the NHL and CFL. It was challenging travelling with three small children to another country and teaching a different curriculum, but we are grateful for our experience and the wonderful people we met. We’ve discussed another exchange (maybe to Scotland), but we’ll wait until the girls get much older. For now, I will be returning to teach at Brentwood Elementary in Sherwood Park, AB. – David Basisty, ’01 BEd
A number of U of A grads are working toward rejuvenating the Friends of the University of Alberta, a group established in 1947 to keep alumni and the general community connected to the University. The group invites all alumni and friends to attend its annual general meeting on Monday, May 28, at the Faculty Club. Details can be found at www.ualberta.ca/friendsofuofa.
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cl a ss notes
Alumni Named to the Order of Canada Three alumni were appointed as Members of the Order of Canada on December 30, 2011. They will receive their insignia at a ceremony at Rideau Hall at a later date. ’58 Donald J. Taylor, BSc(Eng), ’60 MSc, of Bragg Creek, AB, was recognized for his contributions as an entrepreneur and generous philanthropist. ’64 John T. Ferguson, BCom, ’98 LLD(Honorary), of Edmonton, was recognized for his contributions as a business and community leader. A strong supporter of his alma mater, he served as U of A chancellor from 2000 to 2004. ’77 Cheryl Bartlett, BSc, of Sydney, NS, was recognized for her contributions to developing a new approach to integrating Mi’kmaq learning traditions into post-secondary science education.
The Women’s Executive Network announced the recipients of its 2011 Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Awards in December 2011. The awards recognize proven achievers — and leaders — in the private, public and non-profit sectors, and several U of A graduates made the list: Lynne Fafard, ’75 BCom, CEO and president of Riverbend Group of Companies; Dana Hayden, ’82 BSc(Forest), ’84 MSc(Ag), British Columbia deputy minister of jobs, tourism and innovation; Arlene Ponting, ’69 BSc(Pharm), ’95 PhD, CEO of Science Alberta Foundation; Lesley Scorgie, ’05 BCom, owner of financial consulting company Rich By Incorporated; Jacqueline Shan, ’93 PhD, co-founder and chief scientific officer, Afexa Life Sciences; Heather Shaw, ’82 BCom, executive chair, Corus Entertainment; and Janet Wood, ’82 BCom, executive vice-president, Maintenance Go-to-Market, SAP.
ALUMNI AMBASSADORS
Volunteers giving their time and talent in support of the University of Alberta
Alumni can get involved and give back in many ways: • giving career advice • recruiting students • helping with Alumni Association events • giving back to the community through special projects To learn becoming an Alumni Ambassador contact Jennifer at To learn moremore aboutabout becoming an Alumni Ambassador contact the Office of Alumni Affairs at 780-492-3224 (1-800-661-2593) visit www.ualberta.ca/alumni/ambassador. 780-492-6530 or visitor www.ualberta.ca/alumni/ambassador.
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Awa
Prix d rded a bronze for Bes ’Excellen t Alum ni In ce by t
itiativ he Ca for the nadian Coun e Advan cil Educat cement of ion in 2 011!
in memoriam
The Alumni Association notes with sorrow the passing of the following graduates (passings occurred between May 2011 and March 2012 unless otherwise noted) ’35 Ena Webster, Dip(Nu), of Calgary, AB, in September
’44 Mary Kathleen Stelck, BA, ’69 BEd, of Edmonton, AB, in September
’48 John Robert Settle, BSc, ’52 MD, of Calgary, AB, in February
’50 Evelyn June Miller, BCom, of Vancouver, BC, in November
’52 Harold Aubrey Reid, BEd, of Calgary, AB, in October
’36 Ethel Agnes Brown (Fife), BSc, ’41 BSc(HEc), of Edmonton, AB, in August
’45 Alvin Trott, MD, of Calgary, AB, in February
’49 Charles Anthony Bailey, BEd, ’53 BA, ’71 MEd, of Westerose, AB, in December
’50 Samuel Lloyd Steeves, BSc, ’52 MD, of Kelowna, BC, in July
’52 Margaret Louise Shade (Chevraux), Dip(Ed), ’53 Dip(Ed), of St. Andrews, MB, in February
’36 Beatrice Winnifred Fuller, BSc(HEc), of Edmonton, AB, in January
’45 Doris M. Watt, Dip(Nu), of Edmonton, AB, in December
’49 Martin Berezanski, BEd, of Westlock, AB, in January
’50 Donald Kenner Stratton, DDS, of Mission, BC, in July
’52 Marjorie Joyce Tomie, BSc, ’70 BLS, of Calgary, AB, in February
’36 Robert Lee O’Brien, BA, ’46 BSc(MiningEng), of Kimberley, BC, in October
’46 Michael Ernest Chonko, BSc, ’48 MD, of Edmonton, AB, in December
’49 Victor Roland Cox, BSc(CivEng), of Vernon, BC, in October
’50 Frances Daurel Sutherland, BA, of Calgary, AB, in December
’52 Joseph A. Trepanier, Dip(Ed), of Edmonton, AB, in October
’38 Walter E. Harris, BSc, ’39 MSc, of Edmonton, AB, in October
’47 Donald Bruce Baker, BSc, ’48 MSc, ’50 MD, of Caldwell, ID, in November
’49 W. Robert Grainger, BCom, of Calgary, AB, in May
’50 Alfred J. Theiss, BCom, of Sidney, BC, in July
’53 Donald Ralph Kohut, MD, of Nanton, AB, in January
’39 Catherine Margaret Dunlap, BA, ’45 BEd, of Edmonton, AB, in December
’47 Mary K. Mortimer (Robertson), Dip(Nu), ’47 BA, of Ottawa, ON, in May
’49 Robert Edward Hutcheon, BEd, of Chilliwack, BC, in January
’50 William Wanat, BSc(ChemEng), ’51 MSc, of San Mateo, CA, in June
’53 Stephen W. Mendryk, BPE, of Edmonton, AB, in November
’39 Laura Marion Lipinski, BA, ’40 Dip(Ed), of Edmonton, AB, in December
’48 Shirley Vivian Appleby (Haynes), MD, of Prescott, ON, in November
’49 Lawrence Keith Lynn, BEd, of Sidney, BC, in November
’50 Robert Harris Wilde, BSc(CivEng), of Welling, AB, in November
’53 Russel Alexander Petterson, Dip(Ed), ’54 BEd, ’66 Dip(Ed), of Ponoka, AB, in October
’39 Margaret Ida Robblee (Tredger), BSc(HEc), of Edmonton, AB, in January
’48 John Macdonell Ballachey, BA, ’49 LLB, of Calgary, AB, in January
’49 Urban Joseph Pittman, BSc(Ag), of Lethbridge, AB, in September
’51 Glenn Stanley C. Brant, BSc(PetEng), of Goshen, IN, in December
’53 D. Bryce Thompson, BSc(Pharm), of Calgary, AB, in January
’39 John Smulski, BSc, ’42 MD, of Edmonton, AB, in October
’48 William Neil Barnes, BSc, of Edmonton, AB, in February
’49 Raymond Alan Rudkin, BSc, of Calgary, AB, in November
’51 A. Doreen Brown, BCom, of St. Albert, AB, in January
’53 Charlton Raymond Wickens, BSc, of Calgary, AB, in October
’40 George Dunbar Raitt, BSc(ChemEng), of Dollard-desOrmeaux, QC, in September
’48 James Scott C. Dunn, BSc(ChemEng), ’52 MSc, of Pender Island, BC, in October
’50 Arthur Wayne Amundsen, BSc, ’52 DDS, of Summerland, BC, in September
’51 Thomas Demco, DDS, of Edmonton, AB, in January
’54 Jacob Peter Bekker, DDS, of Grand Forks, BC, in November
’41 Margaret Leslie Wilson (MacLean), BA, of Brevard, NC, in January
’48 Douglas Ray Ells, BSc(CivEng), of Naramata, BC, in January
’50 Gerald Ernest Barker, DDS, of Banff, AB, in January
’51 Anders Andersen Kjearsgaard, BSc(Ag), of Edmonton, AB, in November
’54 Ethel Mary Brown, BEd, of Tofield, AB, in January
’42 William George Corns, BSc(Ag), ’44 MSc, of Victoria, BC, in October
’48 Elinor Katheryn Emlet (Stolee), Dip(Ed), ’51 BEd, of Falls Church, VA, in September
’50 Charlie Woodbury Bryant, BEd, of Coaldale, AB, in May
’51 Hugh Patrick MacDonald, BA, ’52 LLB, of Edmonton, AB, in February
’54 Arno Kutzner, Dip(Ed), of Loma Linda, CA, in November
’42 Harry Rex Patching, BSc(Ag), of Calgary, AB, in September
’48 Eldon Lloyd Fowler, BSc(CivEng), ’50 MSc, of Edmonton, AB, in June
’50 Lorne Wilfred Bunyan, Dip(Ed), ’61 BEd, ’66 Dip(Ed), of Calgary, AB, in November
’52 Arthur Maurice Bolle, BA, of Beaumont, AB, in October
’54 John Douglas Milne, BSc, ’59 MD, of Calgary, AB, in January
’43 Peter W. Hudson, MD, of Richmond, BC, in August
’48 Thomas George Halford, BCom, of Aurora, ON, in January
’50 David L. Dworkin, LLB, of Calgary, AB, in October
’52 Doris Anita Jones, BSc(HEc), of Calgary, AB, in December
’54 William Penchuk, Dip(Ed), ’55 BEd, ’63 BSc, of Barrhead, AB, in December
’43 Maxwell John Lipkind, DDS, of Calgary, AB, in November
’48 Eunice Helen R. Hanna, BA, ’56 MA, of Calgary, AB, in October
’50 Donald William Hunt, BSc(Ag), of Calgary, AB, in December
’52 Frederick George McBean, BSc(PetEng), of White Rock, BC, in November
’55 Donald Jerome Corse, BEd, ’76 MEd, of Edmonton, AB, in December
’43 Kenneth Gordon Smith, BSc(ElecEng), of Indianapolis, IN, in February
’48 William Duncan McLeod, BSc, of Calgary, AB, in October
’50 Stanley Gordon Jones, BSc(EngPhys), of Calgary, AB, in November
’52 William Pawluk, BSc, ’54 MD, of Edmonton, AB, in October
’55 Lawrence Joseph Donnelly, BCom, of St. Albert, AB, in January
’44 Elizabeth Ann Schwob, BA, ’69 BLS, of Edmonton, AB, in February
’48 Mary Lenore Robinson (King), Dip(Nu), of Calgary, AB, in November
’50 Norma Jean Lake (Heichen), BEd, of Pincher Creek, AB, in December
’52 Margaret Edith Penrose (Bath), Dip(Nu), ’53 BSc(Nu), of Medicine Hat, AB, in December
’55 Gordon Clarke Duthie, BSc(CivEng), of Edmonton, AB, in August
new trail spring 2012 45
in memoriam ’55 Lloyd Glen Gillette, BSc, of Calgary, AB, in December
’59 Lorne Thomas Nelson, LLB, of Calgary, AB, in January
’63 Dennis Eric Frazer, BSc, of Victoria, BC, in January
’65 William Silas Salter, BA, ’68 MA, of Richmond, BC, in February
’68 Lawrence Louis J. Peltier, BEd(VocEd), of Chatham, ON, in August
’55 Morley William Hamilton, BSc(Pharm), of Edmonton, AB, in February
’60 Donald James Bentley, BSc, of Kelowna, BC, in January
’63 Martin Levitt, MD, of Winnipeg, MB, in August
’65 Zelda Marie Wilson (Ratzlaff), Dip(PHNu), of Moscow, ID, in December
’69 Sharron Lea Darling, BEd, of St. Albert, AB, in October
’55 Anne Krawetz (Palynchuk), Dip(Ed), ’58 Dip(Ed), ’60 BEd, of Edmonton, AB, in December
’60 Mike Ostafichuk, BSc, ’66 MSc, of Edmonton, AB, in November
’63 Faith Marie Pritchard (Strom), BSc(MedLabSci), of Edmonton, AB, in October
’66 Roger Allan Davis, BEd, ’67 Dip(Ed), ’69 MEd, ’76 PhD, of Wetaskiwin, AB, in February
’69 Geoffrey W. M. Dunn, BSc(CivEng), of Edmonton, AB, in February
’55 Lois May Peeling, Dip(Nu), of Courtenay, BC, in September
’60 Geoffrey Leslie Pawson, BSc, of Regina, SK, in January
’63 Victor George Strembitsky, BEd, ’67 BA, of Edmonton, AB, in January
’66 Lorne Eugene Ellingson, BA, of Toronto, ON, in January
’69 Eugene Marvin Kalita, BEd, ’89 MEd, of Edmonton, AB, in December
’55 Janet R. Ruttan (Lee), BEd, of Provost, AB, in February
’60 Walter Rogalski, BSc, ’62 BEd, of Calgary, AB, in November
’63 Howard R. Wilson, BA, of Ottawa, ON, in February
’66 Douglas Wayne Fleming, BA, ’74 MEd, ’84 MEd, ’94 EdD, of Westlock, AB, in January
’69 Janusz Wojciech Malinowski, BA, of Calgary, AB, in October
’56 Phyllis Norma Daneliuk (Parker), BSc, ’57 Dip(Ed), ’60 BEd, of St. Albert, AB, in November
’60 Marjorie Alwena Tutty, BSc(Nu), of Calgary, AB, in October
’63 Russell John Zaharko, BSc(PetEng), of Calgary, AB, in December
’66 Richard McCrae Hyndman, BA(Hons), of Edmonton, AB, in October
’69 John Raymond Perraton, BCom, ’73 LLB, of Calgary, AB, in February
’56 Murray Arthur Putnam, LLB, of Calgary, AB, in September
’61 William Alexander Brennan, BCom, of Foster City, CA, in November
’64 William Northrup Blake, MEd, ’67 PhD, of Marysville, WA, in November
’66 Brian Robert Nordbye, BSc(Pharm), of Slave Lake, AB, in December
’69 Stephania Yurkiwsky, BEd, ’71 BA, of Edmonton, AB, in September
’57 Charles Andy Barnes, BSc(MiningEng), of Edmonton, AB, in October
’61 Henry William Hodysh, BEd, ’65 MEd, ’67 PhD, of Edmonton, AB, in October
’64 Margaret Teresa Cavanagh, BEd, ’70 BLS, of Calgary, AB, in November
’66 John Radesh, BEd(IndArts), ’69 Dip(Ed), of Vegreville, AB, in October
’70 Gordon Norman Gaudet, BSc, ’72 BSc(Pharm), of Medicine Hat, AB
’57 Dolores Marie Belinski (Schultz), BEd, of Calgary, AB, in September
’61 Robert Smeaton Kergan, BCom, ’71 MBA, of Calgary, AB, in February
’64 Harvey John Elbe, BSc(CivEng), of Duncan, BC, in January
’67 Ernest C. Colman, Dip(Ed), of Kamloops, BC, in February
’70 Mark Olson Gehmlich, BSc(Med), ’70 MD, of Rexburg, ID, in May
’57 Floyd William D. Cooley, BSc(Pharm), of Medicine Hat, AB, in September
’61 Normin Knight, BCom, of Calgary, AB, in November
’64 Joan Isabel Gittins (Neilson), BSc(Pharm), ’66 BSc(Pharm), of Edmonton, AB, in March
’67 Audrey Elsie M. Demchuk, BA, ’69 BEd, ’88 Dip(Ed), ’92 MEd, of Vegreville, AB, in December
’70 Freda Gertrude Henderson, Dip(PHNu), ’73 BSc(Nu), of Edmonton, AB, in October
’57 James Demanchuk, Dip(Ed), ’69 BEd, of Fort Saskatchewan, AB, in December
’61 Thomas R. MacCagno, BA, ’62 LLB, of Lac La Biche, AB, in January
’64 Mary Eliz Hamill, BEd, of Castor, AB, in February
’67 Jean Wilson Gilbert (Bruce), BEd, of Edmonton, AB, in December
’70 Jong Pil Lee, PhD, of Syosset, NY, in December
’57 Joseph Hrdlicka, BSc(Ag), of Daysland, AB, in February
’61 George David J. Rife, BSc(Ag), of Smoky Lake, AB, in January
’64 John Irwin, MD, of Blairmore, AB, in May
’67 Diane Judy Krawchuk, BEd, of Edmonton, AB, in January
’70 Charles Albert Manzara, BEd(VocEd), of Calgary, AB, in February
’57 Audrey Joan Meeres (Tanne), BSc(Nu), of Tsawwassen, BC, in December
’61 Robert James Rosiechuk, BSc, of Lougheed, AB, in January
’64 Donalda Barbara Lloyd (Hagen), BEd, of Edmonton, AB, in October
’67 Kenneth Douglas McIvor, BEd(VocEd), of Edmonton, AB, in February
’70 Sylvester Nicholas Syrnyk, BEd, of Edmonton, AB, in December
’57 Z. Michael Pawliuk, DDS, of Edmonton, AB, in January
’61 James Allen Ross, BSc(CivEng), of Saskatoon, SK, in May
’64 Russ Orichowski, BEd, of Edmonton, AB, in December
’67 Dominica Delphie Meyer, BEd, of Edmonton, AB, in January
’71 Karl Olov R. Andersson, MEd, of Edmonton, AB, in November
’57 Harry George Schaefer, BCom, of Calgary, AB, in October
’61 Steven Raymond Switlick, BEd, ’74 Dip(Ed), of Edmonton, AB, in November
’64 Ralph Angelo Vigna, BEd, of Vancouver, BC, in December
’67 Edwin Joseph Parrent, BSc, of Calgary, AB, in February
’71 Ralph Wayne Ashmead, BSc(Ag), of Calgary, AB, in December
’58 Victor Karl Pedscalny, BSc(ElecEng), of Regina, SK, in January
’62 Terry Wayne Engelhart, BSc(ElecEng), ’71 MSc, of West Vancouver, BC, in September
’65 Stanley Gilbert Fowler, BA, ’68 LLB, of Edmonton, AB, in January
’67 Leo Carl Wiberg, BEd, ’71 BA, of Camrose, AB, in October
’71 John A. Cormack, BA, of Edmonton, AB, in December
’58 Steve Skrypiczajko, BSc(CivEng), of Edmonton, AB, in February
’62 Joseph Lewis Lovsin, BPE, ’68 MA, of Lindsay, ON, in November
’65 Jean Margaret Hanson (Ford), BEd, of Sherwood Park, AB, in December
’68 Robert Bruce Baker, BSc, ’72 MD, of Cedarville, MI, in March
’71 John Michael De Laroque, BEd(VocEd), ’85 MEd, of Athabasca, AB, in November
’59 Paulus Arie Goud, BSc(ElecEng), of Edmonton, AB, in February
’62 Ronald Edward Mathison, BSc(Ag), of Edmonton, AB, in December
’65 Martin Bruce Horn, BEd, of Victoria, BC, in November
’68 June Christina Koopmans (Adams), BEd, of Edmonton, AB, in January
’71 W. James Ferguson, BEd, of St. Albert, AB, in August
’59 Thomas Robert Horn, BSc(ChemEng), of Sidney, BC, in September
’62 Robert Charles Westendorf, BSc(MechEng), of Pattaya City, Thailand, in January
’65 Clarence Lowell Olsen, BEd, ’72 Dip(Ed), of Edmonton, AB, in January
’68 Lorraine MacNaughton, BEd, ’74 Dip(Ed), of Edmonton, AB, in January
’71 Anna Marie Guercio, BEd, of Nelson, BC, in October
46 newtrail.ualberta.ca
’71 Laurie Agnes Martin (Moir), Dip(Nu), of Edmonton, AB, in January
’73 David Francis Merchant, PhD, of St. Albert, AB, in January
’76 Susan Louise Ross, BLS, of Calgary, AB, in December
’83 Pearl Josephine Larsback, MEd, of Calgary, AB, in February
’91 Tammy Mattiello, Dip(Nu), of Spruce Grove, AB, in January
’71 Elaine Marie Nome (Bjorgum), BEd, of Caroline, AB, in February
’73 Edward Joseph Piotrkowski, MSc, of Edmonton, AB, in January
’76 Helen Macdonald Sinclair, MLS, of Edmonton, AB, in January
’83 Christina Ann Scott, BA(Hons), of Cape Town, South Africa, in October
’91 Donna Corinne Neufeld, BA, ’98 MPharm, of Edmonton, AB, in October
’71 John Craig Samson, PhD, of St. Albert, AB, in February
’74 Walter Lotz, BEd(VocEd), of Edmonton, AB, in February
’77 Richard Kenneth R. Butler, BA(RecAdmin), of Cochrane, AB, in December
’84 Thomas Boyes Morrison, MBA, of North Vancouver, BC, in October
’94 Brent Allan Lockhart, BEd, of Wetaskiwin, AB, in January
’71 Rina Varma, PhD, of Vegreville, AB, in November
’74 Frederick William Moffatt, BSc(Forest), of Edmonton, AB, in December
’78 Leonard Eugene Checknita, BSc(ChemEng), of Edmonton, AB, in January
’85 William Tai S. Hsu, BSc(Spec), of Edmonton, AB, in February
’96 Jolene Maria Knapp, BEd, of Spruce Grove, AB, in October
’71 Reginald Williamson, BSc(ElecEng), ’72 MBA, of Edmonton, AB, in December
’74 Brian Elmer Peterson, BA, ’78 LLB, of Edmonton, AB, in January
’79 Marilyn Barbara Aiello (Kuchmak), BSc(Pharm), of Durham, NC, in October
’85 Barry Peter Laiss, BCom, ’89 MA, ’91 PhD, of Edmonton, AB, in February
’97 Wita Louise Holte, BSc(CivEng), of Edmonton, AB, in February
’72 Thelda Ethel Breadner (Wilson), BEd, of Edmonton, AB, in October
’74 Arthur Yates, BA, of Edmonton, AB, in February
’79 Joseph Vincent Follett, BMS, ’81 MD, of Fayetteville, NC, in September
’85 Donald Henry Therrien, BEd, of Edmonton, AB, in December
’97 Kelly Mah, LLB, of Edmonton, AB, in September
’72 Raymond Clarence Gilroy, BEd(VocEd), of Edmonton, AB, in January
’74 Stephen Yurkiwsky, BEd, of Edmonton, AB, in January
’79 David Peter Karpluk, BSc(Spec), of Calgary, AB, in January
’87 Marion Ruth Gloeckler, Dip(Ed), of Edmonton, AB, in January
’99 Harold Joseph Elliott, BEd, of St. Albert, AB, in November
’72 Edward Michael Hall, BCom, ’90 MHSA, of Edmonton, AB, date unknown
’75 Vera Brown, BA, ’77 SpecCert(Arts), of Edmonton, AB, in October
’79 Margaret Jean Ogrodnick, BA(Spec), ’85 MA, of Winnipeg, MB, in October
’88 Helena Florence Brooks, MLIS, of Saanichton, BC, in December
’99 Jill Melanie Farrell (Tetreau), BSc(Ag), of Vermillion, AB, in June 2010
’72 Alfonso Eugene Iafolla, MSc, of Edmonton, AB, in February
’75 Theodora M. Holbrook, BEd, of Calgary, AB, in December
’79 Leona Jean Spence (Robinson), BEd, of Peace River, AB, in February
’88 Monica Harbeck, BEd, of Calgary, AB, in February
’99 Shera Lynn Whitnack, BSc(Env&Cons), of Stony Plain, AB, in April
’72 David James Rode, BDes, ’73 LLB, of Edmonton, AB, in September
’75 Neil Gunn Leckie, MEd, of Khandallah, New Zealand, in September
’81 June Wanda K. Lerner, BEd, of Edmonton, AB, in January
’88 Gordon David Haun, LLB, of Calgary, AB, in September
’02 Maurice Lucien Bidaux, BCom, of Calgary, AB, in June
’72 Marion Aileen Stayner, BLS, of Ottawa, ON, in November
’75 Sophie Joyce Matheson, BEd, of Atmore, AB, in December
’81 Wai Ho Leung, BSc(Spec), of Lindfield, Australia, date unknown
’88 Deborah Lynn Your, BFA, ’92 BA(Hons), ’93 MA, of Edmonton, AB, in November
’02 Gladys Jane Hardy, BA, of Edmonton, AB, date unknown
’72 Frederic Albert Walker, BEd, of Saskatoon, SK, in January
’75 Susanne Lee Tracey (Melnyk), BA, ’81 Dip(Ed), of Sherwood Park, AB, in January
’81 David Milton Poll, BSc(Spec), of Calgary, AB, in November
’89 Brian Dean Gerbrandt, BSc(CivEng), of Edmonton, AB, in January
’03 Kristy Chandra Elhard, BA, ’06 BEd, of Spruce Grove, AB, in November
’72 James Richard Yurko, BSc(Spec), of Edmonton, AB, in February
’76 Allan Clifford Bates, PhD, of Calgary, AB, in December
’82 Sharon Lee Dempster, Dip(DentHyg), ’85 BEd, of Edmonton, AB, in December
’90 Karen Phyllis Glover, BA(Criminology), of Rosanna, Australia, in January
’03 Rodney (Rod) Allan Shulha, MBA, of Edmonton, AB, in February
’73 Jeremy John Dix-Hart, MA, of Cape Town, South Africa, in July
’76 Catherine Crary Burke, BEd, of Edmonton, AB, in November
’82 Robert Andrew Matthews, BA, of Edmonton, AB, in November
’90 Dorothy Helen Gray, MEd, of Edmonton, AB, in February
’05 Robert Thomas Kell, PhD, of Camrose, AB, in November
’73 Rodney Arnold Gietz, MA, of Thunder Bay, ON, in February
’76 Margaret Louise Gillis, Dip(Ed), of Antigonish, NS, in December
’82 Mary Elaine Redcrow, BEd, of Edmonton, AB, in February
’90 Dawnine Marie Jackson, BA(RecAdmin), of Red Deer, AB, in March
’05 Heather Ann Stearn, BSc(OT), of Saskatoon, SK, in January
’73 Rowland Chase Helgren, BEd, of Edmonton, AB, in December
’76 Andre Tarasovich Lytviak, BSc, of Edmonton, AB, in November
’83 Richard John Cherniwchan, BEd, of Hinton, AB, in January
’90 Christine Townsend, BSc(Nu), of St. Albert, AB, in January
’06 Justin Lee Andres, BSc(OT), of Eyebrow, SK, in October
’73 Marlene Kottke (Friedrich), BEd, ’93 BA, ’95 Dip(Ed), of Edmonton, AB, in January
’76 Florence Purves (Reimer), BEd, of Edmonton, AB, in December
’83 Esther Kristine Freeman, BFA, of Sherwood Park, AB, in November
’91 Ronda Lynn Baxter, BA, of Edmonton, AB, in February
Submit remembrances of U of A graduates by sending an e-mail to alumni@ualberta.ca. Tributes are posted to the “In Memoriam” webpage at www.ualberta.ca/alumni.
new trail spring 2012 47
fresh perspectives
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U School photography lessons spark the creativity of young, socially vulnerable students
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hese pictures were taken by U School students on photographic forays around the U of A’s North Campus. U School is an initiative of Chancellor Linda Hughes, ’03 LLD (Honorary), and the U of A Senate to provide a week-long range of new learning and discovery opportunities for Grades 4-9 students from socially vulnerable schools. “The younger grades are an ideal time to capture students’ imaginations about the opportunities a university education can provide,” says Lisa Brunelle, ’90 BEd, U School co-ordinator for the Office of the Senate. “This year, 15 classes from Edmonton’s public and Catholic school systems attended.” U School students celebrate at a special spring ceremony held at the Horowitz Theatre where each participant receives a certificate from Chancellor Hughes. “The strength of the program is due to our wonderful presenters and volunteers from the campus community,” says Brunelle.
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Photography session volunteer Vi Warkentin from the Office of Alumni Affairs uses her own photographs as examples to teach students the six elements of photography: colour, contrast, patterns, perspective, symmetry and texture. After the in-class lesson, the students are given cameras and sent out in small groups to take photos illustrating these elements. When they return to the classroom, there’s an excited buzz as everyone shares the images they’ve captured. “It’s exciting to have the students race back into class to show me their favourite shots,” says Warkentin. “It’s fulfilling to see them get as excited about photography as I do.” “And as you can see,” adds Brunelle, “many students have an eye for photography. Maybe one day we’ll be buying their work.” Visit www.uschool.ualberta.ca for more information or to volunteer with U School. To see more photos, go to New Trail online.
1 Adam from Balwin Junior High 2 Dustin from Balwin Junior High 3 Grant from Mother Theresa ELEMENTARY 4 Susan from Delton School 5 Jesse from Norwood School 6 Philippe from Norwood school 7 Dustin from Balwin Junior high 8 Hani from Balwin Junior High 9 Wyatt from Balwin Junior High
48 newtrail.ualberta.ca
s t r At e g i c thinking smaLL CLass sizes
trAnsforM o p p o r t u n i t y C o L L a b o r at i v e Learning
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ALbertA MbA
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www.mba.net cALL 780-492-3946 or
eMAiL mba@ualberta.ca
PM40112326
Visit the inaugural exhibition of the
Sir Samuel Steele Collection Experience the untold story of Sir Sam Steele, a Canadian hero Records of his life unseen until repatriation by the University of Alberta Libraries from England in 2008
An exhibition over three years in the making
JUNE 1 – SEPTEMBER 30, 2012 MONDAY – FRIDAY 9 AM TO 8 PM SATURDAY – SUNDAY 10 AM TO 5 PM
ENTERPRISE SQUARE 10230 JASPER AVENUE, EDMONTON
Visit Alumni Weekend!
Guided tours – free bus transportation provided from campus Friday, September 21: 10:00am and 2:00pm Saturday, September 22: 10:00am and 2:00pm