UNews - Elsa

Faculties of Health Sciences and Management reunion

trevor.kenney — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 16:11:40 +0000

On Sept. 24, more than 250 health sciences and management alumni and friends returned home to celebrate the opening of Markin Hall.

The evening included tours of the new state-of-the-art facility, a "U" photo booth and the chance to catch up with fellow alumni and professors. In addition, both faculties hosted dinners to honour the individuals who helped make Markin Hall possible.

The Faculty of Management celebrated the completion of the Power of 25 initiative, a unique project envisioned by U of L alumni Dan Laplante (BMgt '88), Kevin Nugent (BMgt '88) and Dean Setoguchi (BMgt '89) to recruit 25 alumni to give a minimum of $25,000 each to support Markin Hall.

In the end, the Power of 25 initiative raised more than $2 million, including matching dollars and additional contributions from the participants. More importantly, it united a group of successful leaders who share the same passion, appreciation and pride for the U of L.

Similarly, the Faculty of Health Sciences hosted faculty, staff and friends at the inaugural Friends of Health Sciences Dinner. Former U of L President Dr. Bill Cade and his wife Elsa were honoured with the first Friends of Health Sciences award for their support in growing the Faculty.

A new year for the Edmonton and FNMI chapters

On Oct. 21, the Edmonton Chapter of the Alumni Association had the opportunity to review its first successful year of operation at an Annual General Meeting. The year had focused on further establishing the chapter and in reconnecting with alumni. In addition, the chapter hosted two alumni receptions and a family BBQ. With Jeanette Dotimas (BMgt '01) elected as the new president, the chapter will continue to build on these endeavours.

The First Nations, Métis and Inuit Chapter held its Annual General Meeting on Nov. 2. Chaired by Leroy Little Bear (BASc '72, DASc '04), the chapter will continue to foster a spirit of partnership between the FNMI alumni and students on campus. Participation in activities such as Native Awareness Week and student advisory panels will carry on in the year ahead.

FIAT LUX ring designs

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Alumni Association invites alumni, students and the general community to submit designs for a ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Fiat Lux ring. This ring for alumni will be part of a new tradition in building pride at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge.

For more information or to download the submission form, visit: www.ulethbridge.ca/alumni.

Proposals must be received by Nov. 26, 2010.

For a look at the full issue of SAM in a flipbook format, follow this link.

The Cade Decade

trevor.kenney — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 20:58:29 +0000

UPDATE: Dr. Bill Cade will receive an honorary degree at the Fall 2012 Convocation ceremony, Saturday, Oct. 13, 10 a.m. at the 1st Choice Savings Centre gymnasium

When President Dr. Bill Cade first laid eyes on the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge in 2000, he saw an institution on the verge of a growth spurt, ready to come of age. Still not completely sure of its identity, the U of L was a young, emerging ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ poised to break out of its adolescence.

A decade later, as Cade prepares to wrap up his 10-year presidency, he sees an entirely different picture – the U of L's growth as a comprehensive university reflected by its stunning physical profile atop the Oldman River valley.

"I think it was a well-kept secret," says Cade of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ when he arrived on campus. "I think we were known well in some quarters, but I thought we needed to become more well-known in others.
"Today, I love to stand on the other side of the river with my dogs and look at the campus. I especially like it when the lights are on in the new stadium."

The Community Sports Stadium is the most recent addition to campus (it opened in September of 2009), and when Markin Hall opens this fall (Cade will return for the ceremony), it will bookend the Cade Decade, a 10-year period of unprecedented expansion and self-awareness at the U of L.

"For the past 10 years, as Bill and I worked together to advance the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's relationships with Canada and Alberta, he has been a visionary and dynamic force to identify and further the goals of programs, advancement and infrastructure development," says Dr. Jim Horsman (LLD '04 ), U of L chancellor emeritus (1999-2003) and a former member of the Board of Governors.

The building boom was just beginning in 2000 with the addition of Anderson Hall, a multi-purpose classroom and office facility. A year later, the $34 million Library Information Network Centre (LINC) and Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience (CCBN) would follow, and while their planning had begun before Cade's arrival, it was he who introduced the new U of L look to the broader community. It was a role he was ideally suited to perform.

"Bill is the greatest cheerleader the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ has ever seen – it must be the Texan in him," says Greg Weadick (BSc '77), MLA for Lethbridge West. "Under his watch, the U of L has become a stronger community partner and a source of immense pride for all southern Albertans."

Cade recognized early that the U of L had a great story to tell, and a southern Alberta community eager to not only listen to that story but become a part of it, too.

"Initially, I don't think I had an appreciation for the prominence of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ and the office of the president in this community, and that turned out to be one of the very enjoyable aspects of the job," says Cade.

His previous position, at Brock ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ in St. Catharines, Ont., did not afford that luxury. Whereas Brock was one of many players in the eight-million person Golden Horseshoe region of southern Ontario, the U of L is a benchmark southern Alberta industry.

"When Dr. and Mrs. Cade arrived in Lethbridge, it became clear quite quickly that their outgoing and positive approach to community involvement was going to make a difference in the connection between the community and the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ," says Cheryl Dick, chief executive officer, Economic Development Lethbridge.
"The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ has grown during his tenure through new facilities, but its footprint has also grown in terms of influence. By association, the reputation and respect of our city has also increased."

Cade and the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ couldn't accomplish this simply by putting up buildings. Growth for the sake of growth, in Cade's own words, "is stupid," and what the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ was able to do over the last 10 years was identify areas of need and create programming that connected with emerging trends.

"We grew because we're in the business of admitting students to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ, we're not in the business of excluding them. I've always been proud of that fact," says Cade.

Already blessed with a solid base of undergraduate programs, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ sought to increase its presence in the graduate world. The spring following Cade's installment saw the CCBN taking shape and the first doctoral students for the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's PhD in Neuroscience program being accepted.

While expanding graduate programming along with the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's research portfolio stood out as key priorities, to do so required money – a lot of money. The answer came in the form of an advancement office.

"I'd learned the advancement structure at Brock, and I enjoyed asking for money," says Cade. "It's easy to ask if you've got people who know what they're doing and will point you in the right direction. I thought building our reputation, letting people know who we are and what we were doing was a real priority.
"Asking for money is the easiest part of it; the hardest part is building up to it. If you've done the proper work leading up to it, I think you're OK to ask."

As funding for graduate programming grew, so did the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's research portfolio. In the past 10 years, the U of L's research funding has soared a phenomenal 610 per cent, taking what was a primarily undergraduate university to a research-intensive, comprehensive university with a focus on both undergraduate and graduate studies.

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's Community of Research Excellence Development Opportunities (CREDO) initiative, a new grant program for researchers in the social sciences, humanities, fine arts, education and management, was established. The U of L's allocation of Canada Research Chairs, nine, was met, and unique, issue-driven programs such as the Alberta Ingenuity Centre for Water Research were established. In 2008, the Alberta Water and Environmental Science Building (AWESB) opened, and in 2009, the U of L attracted foremost neuroscientist Dr. Bruce McNaughton and $20 million in funding to the CCBN, earning the inaugural Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research Polaris Award.

"The research side of our mandate has certainly grown tremendously and is as high a quality as you could find around the country and around the world," says Cade, noting that the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ has worked hard to maintain its foundation of providing a personal, supportive small-school approach.
"We've done that while keeping our undergraduate and graduate programming very strong as well. If you don't grow in terms of new programs and evolve your interests in other degrees, you stagnate, and if you're starting to stagnate by resting on your laurels, you're in trouble."

Modestly, Cade is the first to admit that some of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's growth was a matter of being in the right place at the right time. While the U of L worked hard to create the community alliances necessary to open the new 1st Choice Savings Centre for Sport and Wellness in 2007, the Community Sports Stadium, a crown jewel for southern Alberta sport, was basically dropped on the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's doorstep.

"Clearly there were things that we went after and we got them, but there were things that came out of the blue. Serendipity is a wonderful thing," says Cade.
"We didn't see the stadium coming, we didn't know that was something the city would propose, but seizing the opportunity is a really important part of it; that's something the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ has done since its inception, seize opportunities."

With more than 8,000 students, a new home for the Faculties of Health Sciences and Management ready to open and a continually emerging research presence established, is Cade comfortable with how he is leaving the U of L?

"At the risk of sounding egotistical, yes, I think so," he says. "I think in terms of our academic development and in terms of having a functioning advancement office and having an outstanding faculty and good facilities, yes, I think so. There's always more you can do, but I feel pretty satisfied."

He pays no heed to trying to write his own legacy.

"I hope I have a legacy," he laughs. "I feel extremely good about the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ. It is without question the most satisfying experience of my professional life. But as to a legacy? Somebody else has to figure that one out."

Perhaps it's the western skyline that will tell his story, now pierced by the glass and steel that represent a transformed campus and a new, confident identity.

"I scan the horizon and I can see the new stadium, the residences we put in, I can see Markin Hall rising, and from a certain vantage point you can see the Alberta Terrestrial Imaging Centre satellite dish, the AWESB and, of course, the new gymnasium. If you had told me 10 years ago that all of these things would be happening on campus, I would have thought it was wishful thinking."

A timeline of major ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge events occuring over the previous 10 years

2000
• Dr. Bill Cade officially jumps into his new role as president and vice-chancellor of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge.
• The U of L actively takes steps toward moving from a small, undergraduate institution to a comprehensive university – the first graduate students are admitted into the Master of Science in Management program, as well as the first doctorate students to the PhD Neuroscience program.

2001

• The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ recognizes its third Rhodes scholar, Russell Goodman.
• On the first day of fall classes, the $34 million Library Information Network Centre (LINC) opens. The 201,922 square foot facility stands as one the largest construction projects to take place on campus since the completion of ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Hall in 1971.
• Two months later, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ celebrates the opening of the $7.3 million Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience. As the only research building of its kind in Canada, it helps lay the foundation for the U of L to emerge as an expert in the mysteries of the mind.

2002

• The traditional Blackfoot name, Medicine Rock, is given to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ to recognize its 35th Anniversary.

2003

• Six new townhouse units open to house 96 students in 24 four-bedroom suites. The $6.15 million expansion project also includes the construction of a 5,000 square foot amenities building.

2004

• Continuing to meet students' needs, doctoral degrees offered at the U of L grow to include Bio-molecular Science; Biosystems and Biodiversity; Earth, Space and Physical Sciences; Evolution and Behaviour; and Theoretical and Computational Science.
• At spring convocation, the first graduates of the neuroscience PhD program cross the stage.

2005

• The U of L continues to grow beyond anyone's greatest expectations, and in September, combined enrolment for the U of L's Lethbridge, Calgary and Edmonton campuses exceeds 8,000 students.
• As plans form to build a new regional health and wellness centre, students agree to contribute $2.5 million and the City of Lethbridge approves a $5.3 million contribution.
• Then-Premier Ralph Klein visits the Lethbridge campus at the end of October to announce $1.2 million in provincial funding to help purchase scientific equipment for the Alberta Terrestrial Imaging Centre.
• A $3 million donation from Dr. Allan Markin kicks off the Legacy of Leadership campaign – the most ambitious campaign in the U of L's history.

2006

• A year of milestones: the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ proudly holds its 100th convocation ceremony, while the Faculty of Management celebrates its 25th anniversary.
• President Dr. Bill Cade is inducted into Kainai chieftainship, a group limited to 40 living individuals recognized by members of the Blood Tribe for their service to the community.
• The Prentice family announces an $8.25 million gift to establish the Prentice Institute for Global Population and Economy.

2007

• The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge launches its 40th anniversary celebrations at the grand opening of the 1st Choice Savings Centre for Sport and Wellness, with more than 2,000 people attending the celebration.
• The Government of Alberta invests more than $78 million toward developing the U of L campus, including Markin Hall, ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Hall and the Alberta Water and Environmental Science Building (AWESB).

2008

• With more than $35 million raised, the Legacy of Leadership Campaign concludes. When combined with government funding, the result is a $113 million investment in the U of L.
• The U of L is the recipient of the inaugural Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research Polaris Award, which brings Dr. Bruce McNaughton, one of the world's foremost brain scientists, and $20 million in research funding to the U of L's CCBN.
• The U of L campus continues to transform with the opening of both Turcotte Hall and the AWESB. The AWESB brings experts together and allows for up to 100 new graduate students.

2009

• The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ charts its course for the next five years with the release of the 2009-2013 Strategic Plan. The plan affirms what has taken place and promises to stay true to what the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ has done well, while making a call to move into a more comprehensive framework and to expand graduate programs.
• In March, President Dr. Bill Cade announces he will step down at the completion of his second term.
• In late September, the new Community Sports Stadium officially opens. Built on partnerships, the estimated $12 million multi-purpose, public-access facility is equipped with an artificial field, a natural practice field, a 400-metre synthetic track and bleachers for 2,000 fans.
• The School of Graduate Studies celebrates its 25th anniversary.
• Pronghorns women's rugby team successfully claims its third straight CIS national title.
• Just before the new year, Dr. Michael Mahon is appointed as the U of L's next president.

2010

• The U of L celebrates with its littlest members and opens a daycare facility.
• The U of L community bids farewell to President Dr. Bill Cade and wife Elsa while looking forward to another decade of success and growth.

To view the entire issue of SAM in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Hats off

trevor.kenney — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 17:18:50 +0000

Looking back, native-Texan Elsa Cade recalls that after living in cloudy Ontario for 23 years, the decision to relocate to Alberta felt like coming home.

"The idea of moving out west and enjoying the big sky, the sunshine and the down-to-earth nature of the way people are here really appealed to us," explains Elsa, wife to ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge President Dr. Bill Cade. "Yes, it was hard to leave, but settling in was made so much easier because of the way we were received by the community."

And while she admits that at the start there were occasional times when the couple felt like "deer caught in headlights," it didn't take long until both Bill and Elsa were a deeply knit part of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ. In large part, that reality can be credited to Elsa's attitude.

"I always saw myself as a servant. It's a model I've held for years: if you want to see something done, you need to get involved and just do it," says Elsa. "I knew I was part of a presidential couple, and I felt that part of my role was to support Bill in accomplishing the mission of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ."

Now, 10 years later, it's hard to imagine any ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ function without the cheerful presence of Elsa. Not only has she graciously hosted many groups and individuals in her home, attended countless dinners, student receptions, lectures, celebrations and other events, but she has been to every convocation since arriving.

"I really do enjoy each one of the ceremonies – they're all so different. Besides, it's given me a chance to wear my hats," says Elsa with a laugh.

As for Bill, having Elsa by his side is something he doesn't take for granted.

"I could have done nothing without Elsa's help, assistance, friendship and love over the years. I just couldn't do it," says Bill.
"I'm not a real party person, and we've gone to many, many functions over the years and having Elsa along allows me to do that. I'm much more comfortable sitting at home with my wife and my dogs."

An accomplished teacher and educator in her own right, Elsa earned her Alberta certification when the couple first moved to Lethbridge. While the demands of her role did not allow for her to carry a full-time job, she has still managed to make a huge impact on the greater community.

Only a short time after arriving in Lethbridge, Elsa began a google-search to find out what was happening in science education in Alberta. She soon satisfied her "itch" to be involved in this area through active volunteer involvement with Science Alberta Foundation, as well as 5th on 5th Youth Services.

In recognition of Elsa's contributions, both on campus and off, Elsa received a Senate Volunteer Award at the Spring 2010 Convocation.

"I feel extremely good about that," says Bill. "It makes me feel very satisfied that the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ acknowledged her in that capacity."

As for the next chapter, in October Bill and Elsa will embark on a six-week research adventure throughout South Africa, with the first stop of Namibia, somewhere Bill has promised to take Elsa for years.

"We're going to shed our fancy duds and jump into our grubby gear and go back to our life as people in the field, eating SpaghettiOs out of a can on a four-wheel trek," says Elsa.

Not surprisingly, Elsa's life-theme of service remains forefront in her long-term plans, with intentions to move back to Texas and support her parents, now in their 80s. But even so, she's not setting any plans in stone.

"I look forward to spending more time with family and making trips to Africa and to settling into a new life, but I try not to have too many expectations," she says.
"I would never have thought Bill and I would end up out here, I just would have never thought. So it's nice to be open because who knows what the future holds?"

To view the entire issue of SAM in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Lasting Impressions

trevor.kenney — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 16:57:33 +0000

Academic, artist, author and world traveller, Dr. Hiroshi Shimazaki is widely known for his watercolour landscape paintings. Shimazaki's career at the U of L in management and human geography allowed him to incorporate his passion for travel and painting into his life journey.

While working on research projects around the world, he has always recorded his excursions through sketches and paintings.

Here, in his own words, he recalls a trip with ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge President Bill Cade and wife, Elsa. Fondly remembering that time and commissioned by the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ, Shimazaki painted Solid Foundations as a parting gift for the couple from the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge.

I wanted the subject of the watercolour to be a place with which Bill and Elsa connected through their work with the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ, and to reflect their long-standing interest in native cultures and their personal ties. In discussion of its subject matter with the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ, several choices presented themselves, all familiar landscapes: the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, the City of Lethbridge, Lethbridge environs including Waterton National Park, a Kainai site or some other place. What I ultimately chose was Xochimilco (flower field place) at the outskirts of Mexico City, now a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Xochimilco's history is long and, of course, complex, but what speaks to me in relation to what Bill and Elsa have done for the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ these past 10 years is the development of "chinampa" in this area. This agricultural practice enabled the inhabitants to utilize the shallow lake to grow crops and thereby sustain a civilization. The foundation for the crops was created by placing large reed mats on the water, covering them with a thick layer of mud taken from the lake bottom and planting fast-growing trees that put down deep roots to anchor them. Centuries later the chinampa are now solid land crisscrossed by canals like the one in the painting. Families and tourists enjoy music and food on the "trajineras," the colourful boats that ply the canals. The title of the painting, Solid Foundations, speaks not only to the Xochimilco landscape but also to the Cades' innovative, unswerving efforts to strengthen the internal and external foundations of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ, with outstanding results.

Solid Foundations, Xochimilco, Mexico City. Hiroshi Shimazaki.

The original sketch of this waterscape was created in 2002, the year the Cades, Ali Dastmalchian (then-dean of the Faculty of Management) and I visited Universidad Panamericana (UP) and Instituto Panamericano de Alta Dirección de Empresa (IPADE) in Mexico City, and UP's Guadalajara and Aguascalientes (Universidad Bonaterra) campuses to renew the Faculty of Management's first international exchange program agreement. I have wonderful memories of that trip, especially the opportunity it presented for me to get to know both Bill and Elsa better and, of course, the incredible introduction they gave me to the world of crickets as we listened to their love songs on the Aguascalientes campus.

To view the entire issue of SAM in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Farewell Fiesta Wednesday, enter through SU

trevor.kenney — Wed, 19 May 2010 17:21:23 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ community will come together Wednesday, May 19 to celebrate the Cade Decade at the Farewell Fiesta event in Markin Hall.

This free event runs from 3 to 5 p.m. and is open to all staff, faculty and students. ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge president Dr. Bill Cade and his wife Elsa have been prominent figures not only on campus but also in southern Alberta over the past 10 years. On Wednesday the community will celebrate their many contributions to the U of L.

Food, music and some amusing tributes, along with a toonie bar, are all promised.

To gain access to Markin Hall, people are asked to exit the Students' Union Building through the loading dock doors on Level 1. They will then be directed to the east entrance of Markin Hall.

UNews - Elsa

Faculties of Health Sciences and Management reunion

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