UNews - Paul

Horns' Millman always had U of L on his mind

trevor.kenney — Tue, 10 Sep 2013 20:56:58 +0000

Peter Millman’s track career began with him trying to run over hurdles as fast as he could. Today, Millman could just hurl them out of the way and waltz down the track – he’s clearly found his niche.

“I thought I was going to be a hurdler in Grades 6 through 8 and honestly, was really bad, and it was sort of embarrassing for my dad,” laughs Millman, whose father Paul coached track at the provincial and national level. “So I started throwing the discus in Grade 8, won provincials my second year and that’s basically where my throwing career began.”

Ready to embark on his second year of studies at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, Millman is already a known commodity on the Canadian Interuniversity Sport track and field scene. That will happen when you win gold and silver medals in your first Canada West Championship meet and are named Canada West Rookie of the Year – and that was just the beginning.

Millman, 19, spent the summer racking up personal best throws and more accolades as he claimed three medals at the Canadian Junior Track and Field Championships. The Truro, N.S. product won gold in the shot put and silver in each of the discus and hammer throw events. He was then named to Canada’s Pan American Junior Championship team and competed in Medellin, Colombia at the end of August, qualifying for the finals of the hammer throw event and improving his Pan Am ranking from 10th to seventh position.

Peter Millman prepares to throw the shotput during the Pan American Junior Athletic Championships.

“Coming here and focusing on throwing and training with Larry Steinke, I believe opens everything up for me,” says Millman, who eyes world championship and Olympic appearances in his future. “I had opportunities to go to the United States but to me, it looked like an athlete factory down there and with Larry, it’s one-on-one focussed training designed to get you to the next level.”

The U of L didn’t have to spend a lot of time recruiting Millman, he was essentially in the family from the time he took his first training trip to Lethbridge in his Grade 10 year.

“I tried to convince my parents to let me move out here in Grade 10 and just start training with Larry but that wasn’t going to happen,” he says. “I had chosen the U of L by Grade 10, it was always where I was coming.”

The draw of course is head coach Steinke, leader of the national throws program and the mentor to Olympians Jim and Heather Steacy. He’s been mining talent from Truro for years, having previously brought Kate Forbes and Jonathan Doucette (now the coach at Dalhousie ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ) to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ. Along with Millman came Kayla Gallagher (last year’s CIS gold medallist in weight throw) and Montana Forsyth. In the fall, Millman says his dad will bring another high school group to Lethbridge for a week of training, possibly laying the foundation for future throwing prospects attending the U of L.

“The thing about Larry is that his programs are so individually based and he’s so knowledgeable about track, even outside of throws events, he knows the sport so well,” says Millman. “He understands what you need in terms of lifting, really everything within your training, he sets it up. Everybody has their own program focused on what they individually need to develop.”
Millman has changed his academic focus this fall, moving away from international management and focusing on history. He admittedly struggled last year and looks to return to the strong classroom performances he put in while in high school.

“I wasn’t going to force myself to study something I didn’t really want to do,” he says of the management vein he tried to follow in the shadow of father’s career (he runs an international student recruitment program in Nova Scotia). “I want to take something where my interests lie and I’ve done that this year. I really like the courses I’m in this semester so I hope things go a lot better.”

His competitive goals are enhanced this year as he looks to build off his rookie success as well as the summer experience he gained internationally.

“Hopefully, I want to medal this year at the CIS Championships. I had such a great outdoor season with the shot, I hope it transfers to the indoor season,” he says. “After that, theoretically the NACAC Under-23 (North America Central America and Caribbean) Games are a possibility. I’m still pretty young and would have another shot at it in two years but it’d be great to make that team.”

GET THE FACTS

• Millman says he still has an autograph from former Pronghorn thrower and Olympian Jim Steacy on his bedroom wall back home in Truro from his initial visit to Lethbridge in Grade 10

• Millman competes in each of the discus, hammer/weight and shot put events but says, “I’m starting to think that maybe I have more potential in the shot put.”

• Millman has a younger sister in Grade 12 who he describes as a “genius”. She also throws hammer and is looking at attending an Ivy League school in the eastern United States

• Millman placed fifth in shot at the Pan American Junior Athletic Championships, while Horns teammate Kayla Gallagher won bronze for Canada in the hammer throw

Mahon assumes leadership role

trevor.kenney — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 18:30:52 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge is officially under the leadership of Dr. Michael James Mahon.

On Friday, Oct. 15, Mahon was officially installed as the U of L's 6^th President and Vice-Chancellor. He begins his tenure as President by addressing the students, staff, faculty and supporters of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge. Following is his Installation address.

Presidential Installation Address

Welcome and Greetings

YOUR HONOUR Chief Justice of Alberta Catherine Fraser, CHANCELLOR

New ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge President and Vice-Chancellor, Dr. Michael James Mahon.

RICHARD DAVIDSON, BOARD CHAIR ROBERT TURNER, SPECIAL GUESTS, MEMBERS OF OUR CAMPUS COMMUNITY, VISITORS TO OUR CAMPUS, and EVERYONE WATCHING ON THE WEB

It is an honour and a pleasure to stand before you today as the sixth president and vice-chancellor of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge.

Thank you for being here as we celebrate the future of our great ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ. In doing so, we reflect on the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's past, the foundation the institution was built on and the many people who have contributed to the emergence of this world-class institution.

Our history begins with the Blackfoot people and the sacred land on which the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ sits. I would like to begin my address with a thank you to the Blackfoot community and the role they have played in the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's rich history.

To the Blackfoot People:

NIII TSI KSI NII YII TSI PA, NII TSI TA PII WAH SINI

(Loosely translated, this means "I am grateful and thankful for the Blackfoot way")

Since its founding in 1967, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge has evolved from a small and very successful primarily undergraduate university to a research-intensive, comprehensive university with a focus on both undergraduate and graduate studies.

This is a place where ideas ignite thanks to inspired teaching combined with superior research. A place where a collaborative community of scholars and researchers has built a culture of support – for students, both undergraduate and graduate, for each other and for the broader communities of southern Alberta and beyond. Everyone at this university and in this community contributes to our success.

Today, more than 8,500 students from approximately 85 countries call the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge's campuses in Lethbridge, Calgary and Edmonton home. Our student-body has grown by more than 50% in the last 10 years. Despite this growth, we have remained true to who we are – a community focused on the student and grounded in liberal education.

There is no doubt that the history of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge is one of community.

The success of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge is a reflection of the many people who have played a role in its development. More than four decades of students, faculty, boards of governors and senate members, administrators, employees, community supporters and 32,000 alumni have contributed to the emergence of a world-class institution.

Without question, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ has exceeded the expectations of its most optimistic founders.

As I begin my first year as president, I assure you, our university will continue to provide each and every student with the most vital and engaging learning environment in the country.

The last four months have validated all of my impressions of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ and the southern Alberta community. The experiences my wife Maureen and I have had have brought the U of L to life for us. As part of my introduction to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, I was given the opportunity to meet with every unit on campus and participate in activities that form part of their daily lives. I spent an early morning with the dedicated staff in care-taking vacuuming and cleaning classrooms. I drove a street-sweeper, delivered a baby and got lost in a corn maze, we visited classes in drama, critical thinking and poetry and learned to line dance again, which brought back memories of our disco years in the 70's. Through these experiences, Maureen and I have been made to feel very quickly that we are members of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge family.

I am struck by how often that term is used as people reference the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge – family. This has truly reaffirmed our decision to join the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, as family is foundational to us.

I was born in Winnipeg into a very close-knit family of five children. My mother Lucille and two siblings Susan and Patrick are here today and my dad Jim and siblings Kathy and Paul are watching on streaming-video back in Winnipeg.

Growing up in Winnipeg I came to appreciate cold, heat, wind, rain and snow. During our first summer in Lethbridge we have experienced all of this and thus feel right at home.

Maureen and I met in Edmonton in 1981 and have been married for 27 years. Our careers have led us to Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario and North Carolina. I have however, lived in Western Canada for all, but three years of my life, and as a result have a fundamental and deep-rooted connection to the West.

We are fortunate to have three wonderful children in Katie, Brennan and Seann, who are here today, as are a number of Maureen's family members including her mother Cathy.

The support of Maureen, our children, and my extended family has enabled and empowered me throughout my career. I will bring this fundamental belief in the multiple contributions of a family to my new home.

My parents were dedicated to education, volunteerism and diversity. They were role models to me as volunteers, dedicated to community building and in particular supporting the needs of those who are vulnerable. This commitment to service has been instilled in me since my childhood. I believe I am here to support and serve the people who make up this ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ. I believe in collaboration, in trust, in foresight, listening and empowerment. My first commitment to you as President is that my role as leader of this ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ will be to serve and to help enable the dreams and aspirations of all who work, learn, create, and study, at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge. I make this same commitment to the community that we as a ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ serve and are accountable to.

The foundation of our culture and identity as a ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ is a commitment to this community of people. Regardless of whether they are students, faculty, staff or alumni, people form the basis of our strength. They define the character of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge. As we strive to realize our aspirations as a ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ, we cannot lose this defining feature of who we are and what we value.

I believe this includes creating an environment that supports healthy living and balanced lifestyles for students, faculty and staff and takes seriously its role in promoting this in the broader community.

Since its inception, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge has made a promise to provide a very personal experience to our students. This promise will be continued and indeed enhanced as we go forward.

We must commit all aspects of our university to taking a Student First approach.

Whether it is in academic programs and research, how we recruit and orient our students, our class sizes, our residences, recreation and sport opportunities, health services, or the environment of our campus, we will all ensure that we bring to life this moniker of the Student First.

A note I received in September from a parent of one of our first year students' sums up the essence of our Student First approach and the value of the people who make up this ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ:

This Mother Wrote –

"From the first contacts we had with the university last fall through the orientation day, each and every piece of correspondence and every phone call, I have been overwhelmingly impressed with the caliber of the individuals and the overall feeling of satisfaction I have with the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge as an institution and a community … I remain a proud parent of an alumnus and a student at an institution that is, in my mind, a national treasure and truly committed to the individual student thriving in and beyond your campus."

Individual people working towards a common goal are an important theme at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ. It is the story of our founding, and it is the story that has and will continue to lead us to greater success. Much of this success has been rooted in the principles of interdisciplinary collaboration. It is this concept that Dr. Arthur Erickson sought to foster through his design of ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Hall.

And it is this concept that U of L faculty have used to build research teams and conduct their works of creativity and inquiry. The importance of research across the academy and the potential for multiple disciplines working together to unlock many of the important questions in our world and to contribute to the furtherance of our society cannot be emphasized enough. Our future as a comprehensive university will continue to be rooted in interdisciplinary research and discovery across the academy.

It is the bridge however between teaching and research - to both inform and support undergraduate and graduate education - that is the underlying principle of a comprehensive university.

I arrive at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, with an abiding respect and enthusiasm for working across our academy, to build our capacity as a comprehensive university but to do it in a way that is respectful of our history and identity. We must rededicate our university to high quality, student-centered undergraduate liberal education. In doing so we must also encourage and nurture the research aspirations of our colleagues and their graduate students.

The U of L grew up as a primarily undergraduate university renowned for the quality of its teaching, but has provided thousands of undergraduate students with research experience and the opportunity to work with our world-class faculty researchers - an experience that is reserved for masters and doctoral students at most other universities, and one we should continue to embrace. Recently, the U of L has also dedicated itself to creating more opportunities for graduate education. We must use our experience and commitment to excellence in undergraduate education as a springboard for the development and improving access to graduate level programming.We must however ensure that our commitment to and successes in graduate education and research are balanced across all disciplines. There is no model I look to that will guide us in this achievement, we will continue to create our own .

My entire educational experience was rooted in the philosophy of liberal education. These liberal education roots are the same as those of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge. This includes a fundamental belief in the importance of community service learning outside of the classroom. I was in grade 11, during a community service-learning experience, when I had a life changing and career-focusing experience. As part of a school-based volunteer requirement, I worked at an institution for children and adults with severe intellectual disabilities. This experience was the impetus for 33 years of work dedicated to understanding and supporting people with disabilities.

My high school volunteer experience and subsequent career in disability studies had a significant influence on my philosophy of education. In keeping with that philosophy, it is my goal to ensure that during my tenure as President and continuing thereafter, each of our U of L students has an opportunity to complete at least one community-based experience during their undergraduate program. We are committed to building a ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ culture that promotes social responsibility and community engagement. We have an obligation to give back to the community that supports us, and our students have an obligation to give back to the community that welcomes them and enables their education.

Abigail Adams, an advocate of women's rights and the abolishment of slavery in the 19^th century United States, summarizes this obligation very well by saying, "If we do not lay out ourselves in the service of mankind, whom should we serve?"

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge is a treasure: a treasure that is recognized throughout the province and across the country – approximately 70% of our students come from outside of our city. While this is an impressive measure of our reputation, one of our goals must be to ensure that the citizens of Lethbridge and southern Alberta continue to take great pride in the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge as their university. That it be the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of choice for their children. At the same time it is important to recognize the opportunity and need to continue to promote the U of L as a university of choice for students from across Canada and indeed the world. Every student we bring from outside Lethbridge, makes significant contributions to this community.

During my tenure as President, I wish to see the U of L truly recognized as a premier Canadian comprehensive university dedicated to providing a second to none student experience for both undergraduate and graduate students. To achieve this vision, we must continue to build our capacity to house students on campus, by increasing residence space. In turn, this will ensure increased access to affordable housing in the city for Lethbridge residents. We must promote ourselves and continue to vocally and publically celebrate the successes of our colleagues in the faculty and staff ranks, of our students and of our graduates and alumni.

We must ensure that we no longer hear that we are, "One of Alberta's best kept secrets." Instead, we will hear that we are one of Canada's top destination universities.

Our journey forward will continue to recognize the importance of internationalization. With over 85 countries represented in our current student population, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge is already an international campus. Our goal of becoming a destination university will be achieved in part through our ability to continue to attract international students. These students contribute immeasurably to our campus. They must be made to feel welcome at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ and in the city of Lethbridge. Internationalization is also about providing opportunities for Canadian students to grow through an international experience offered as part of select academic programs and to be exposed to an international, multi-cultural campus.

Our Strategic Plan provides an exciting vision for our university; one that has been embraced by our campus community and a vision I completely endorse. As I have heard repeated, it is a path we have chosen to follow, not a set of railroad tracks that will dictate where we will end. It is not a directive – it is a vision we collectively must contribute to or we will be unsuccessful in achieving it. Each of us has a unique role to play in this endeavor. I am committed to doing my part to get us there.

There is a wonderful promise outlined in the academic calendar of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge. With slight modification, today I make this promise to you,

To our students, to our faculty and staff and the community of supporters of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, I make a promise:

· A promise to do my best, so you can be your best.

· A promise to foster exploration, to share ideas and information, to teach but also to learn.

· A promise to help build the buildings, acquire the technology, cultivate the partnerships, and welcome the people essential to advancing an environment that excites and ignites learning, teaching, research and creativity, while contributing to the sustainability of the environment within which we live.

· A promise to create an environment where professors and students are colleagues and everyone grows together, an environment that recognizes the power of every student's dream. And helps that dream come true.

We will have many new challenges ahead us but I know we are ready to take them on. Along the way we will be guided by our roots epitomized in the ever-changing light of the prairie landscape. Fiat Lux- Let there be light!

UNews - Paul

Horns' Millman always had U of L on his mind

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