UNews - Robert (Bob) James Ellis

Significant And Mentionable

trevor.kenney — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 15:46:20 +0000

Chancellor named Citizen of the Year

Widely known as one Alberta's most influential people, ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Chancellor Richard Davidson was recognized in May as the Lethbridge Citizen of the Year by the Rotary Club of Lethbridge and the Lethbridge Herald.

"Clearly in his law practice, his work with the Chamber of Commerce, his work with the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge and his work with virtually every other volunteer organization you could imagine, this is one cool dude," says Lethbridge Mayor Bob Tarleck, who also presented Davidson with a key to the city. "This is the highest honour we can bestow upon anyone, and Richard is extremely deserving."

Davidson was appointed a Queen's counsel in 1986 and is a partner at the law firm of Davidson & Williams. In recognition of his many contributions to the community, he has received numerous awards including the Commemoration Medal for the 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada by the Governor General, the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal, the Alberta Centennial Medal and the Law Society of Alberta Distinguished Service Award for Service to the Community.

U of L at forefront of water hub

World Water Day, on March 22, served as the perfect occasion for federal Environment Minister Jim Prentice to announce $1.5 million in funding for the creation of the Water and Environmental Sciences Water Hub at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge.

The Hub, which will be developed over the next two years, will serve as a data repository and will be an authoritative public source of information, providing tools to analyze water and environmental data. This data will be used by governments, industry, academia and the public to make more-informed decisions regarding water, and will create a better understanding of this resource by these stakeholders.

Prentice explains that the government needs reliable water data to make better decisions concerning water.

"To make good decisions, governments in Canada need good information – and it's not as though you can just turn on a tap to get it. We need knowledge generated by scientists and researchers who can provide the evidence for informed decisions about freshwater use," says Prentice.

Ellis welcomed as new management dean

On July 1, Dr. Robert (Bob) James Ellis will join the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge as the new dean for the Faculty of Management.

Originally from Vancouver, B.C., Ellis is an accomplished administrator who successfully bolstered business programs at both the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Northern British Columbia and Wilfrid Laurier ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ.

With a collaborative and visionary approach, he has a strong record of attracting accomplished faculty and raising the research profile of programs. His current research focuses on increasing educational opportunities in society, specifically for aboriginal students in a business environment.

Ellis is looking forward to the creative atmosphere he sees within the Faculty.

"Throughout my career, my focus has always been to try and increase opportunities for students through the development of new courses or new programs," says Ellis. "The faculty at the U of L are very innovative, and I think at the forefront of management thought and action."

Ellis succeeds Dr. Murray Lindsay, who spent the past five years in the position and is returning to the academic community at the U of L.

Education dean O'Dea passes leadership to Loewen

After 10 years of incredible success, Dr. Jane O'Dea will step away from her role as dean of the Faculty of Education at the end of June. And while she is handing the reins of leadership over with plans to return to the classroom, she has no plans to leave the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ.

Dr. Craig Loewen

"Absolutely not. This is a tremendous ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ. I love its size, I love its entrepreneurial innovative spirit and its emphasis on community and student engagement," says O'Dea.

Taking over the Faculty, Dr. Craig Loewen (BEd '84) will serve as acting dean for a two-year term.

A veteran faculty member, Loewen admits he will miss the classroom, but stands firmly in a belief that whatever the setting, teaching is an important calling.

"You're looking after the path, building for the future, caring about the kids of today. I find it really hard to see anything much more important than that," he says. "The person who you are can, at some point, be traced back to a teacher or mentor."

CREATE funding translates to employment opportunities

On June 10, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) announced the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge as the recipient of the CREATE program award. The U of L will be the only institution in Alberta to receive the award this year.

With more than $1.6 million, the CREATE program award provides funding for approximately 50 undergraduate, graduate and doctoral candidates working in satellite and other imaging programs, including photonics, climate change, civil engineering and optical networks.

Through the program, 20 projects will receive $32 million over six years, support that will help science and engineering graduates upgrade their skills to make a successful transition to the workplace.

As part of this, participating students will complete work placements with local, national and international organizations including companies such as Iunctus Geomatics, the Alberta Terrestrial Imaging Corporation, Natural Resources Canada, NASA and several European research institutes.

U of L Vice-President of Research Dr. Dan Weeks says this will give students a strong mix of professional skills development and workforce preparation.

"The exciting aspect for me is the employment rate for graduates," says Weeks. "It isn't unreasonable to expect 100 per cent employment, because we are looking at this as a model that will provide for sustainable training for research workforce preparation."

Top 40 Under 40

Dr. Olga Kovalchuk, a biological sciences and epigenetics researcher at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, can now add recipient of Canada's Top 40 Under 40TM to an already long list of accomplishments.

Dr. Olga Kovalchuk

Canada's Top 40 Under 40TM, a prestigious national award program, annually honours 40 Canadians in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors under the age of 40.

With more than 1,200 nominees, honourees were selected by an independent advisory board based on five key criteria: vision and leadership; innovation and achievement; impact; community involvement and contribution; and strategy for growth.

"This is an outstanding award for Olga, the members of her lab team, for her research collaborators here and literally worldwide – and for our ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ," says U of L President Dr. Bill Cade.

"Olga has worked very hard to bring new research and new programs to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ and has influenced countless young researchers. With her husband and research collaborator, Dr. Igor Kovalchuk, they have brought new people with a wealth of international talent to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ community. It is an understatement to say that we are extremely proud of her achievement."

A ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Board of Governors Research Chair, as well as a Canadian Institute of Health Research Chair in Gender, Sex and Health, Kovalchuk focuses her research on the effects of long-term exposure to radiation, and how that exposure changes cellular and molecular structures in animals and people.

Inspired by her experience as a high school student living in Ukraine, only 600 kilometres from the nuclear Chernobyl blast, her work examines how radiation induces secondary tumours in cancer patients, the different effects radiation has on women and men, and what can be done to protect the children of radiation-exposed parents from contracting cancer.

Kovalchuk has also played a key role in working toward establishing an Alberta Institute for Epigenetics at the U of L.

Sakamotos give back

Ron and Joyce Sakamoto

Ron Sakamoto (LLD '03), or "Sak," as he is affectionately known, has presented shows from KISS to Shania Twain. In March, the concert provider and his wife, Joyce, announced a $200,000 donation in support of students in the U of L Digital Audio Arts (DAA) program. The gift will be matched by the Government of Alberta's Access to the Future Fund, bringing the total to $400,000.

Launched last fall, the DAA program is the first of its kind in Canada and produces graduates who are experts in music technology and have skills to integrate with visual media, audio and advanced research.

"The role of audio across all media has changed monumentally from the traditional broadcast media of the past. The culture of audio and visual media is growing and evolving rapidly," says Sakamoto.

"Joyce and I are happy to support students in the DAA program. These are the people who will be superstars in the years to come, and I look forward to the contributions this group will make to the music industry."

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

Ellis named new Dean of Management

trevor.kenney — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 22:18:58 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Board of Governors has appointed Dr. Robert (Bob) James Ellis as the institution's new Dean, Faculty of Management. Ellis follows Dr. Murray Lindsay, who spent the past five years in the position and is returning to the academic community at the U of L.

Originally from Vancouver, BC, Ellis is an accomplished administrator who successfully bolstered business programs at both the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Northern British Columbia and Wilfrid Laurier ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ. With a collaborative and visionary approach, he has a strong track record of attracting accomplished faculty and raising the research profile of the programs with which he has been associated.

"Dr. Ellis is known as someone who is a strong recruiter of talented faculty, and is adept at creating an environment that both supports excellence in teaching and innovative research," says Dr. Bill Cade, the U of L's President and Vice-Chancellor. "He has displayed a unique skill of being able to develop relationships with the business community and subsequently integrate those affiliations into the creation of original programming. We are very pleased Bob has chosen to join our team, and look forward to having him in the community."

With an educational background in psychology, Ellis continues to conduct research in the areas of leadership, teamwork and creativity, and also writes business case studies to capture the issues confronting Canadian organizations. His current research focuses on increasing educational opportunities in society, specifically for aboriginal students in a business environment.

Currently, Ellis is on sabbatical from his role as Chair, School of Business, ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Northern British Columbia, a position he has held since 2005. Prior to that, he served in a variety of roles over the span of 24 years at Wilfrid Laurier ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ, including Associate Dean of Business: Faculty Development and Research. Ellis takes up his new position at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge on July 1, 2010.

Ellis says he is looking forward to becoming a part of the U of L and the creative atmosphere he sees within the faculty.

"I'm very excited to be joining the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge and becoming Dean of the Faculty of Management," says Ellis. "I've had a lot of administrative experience in my career and my focus has always been to try and increase opportunities for students through the development of new courses or new programs. The faculty here are very innovative and I think at the forefront of management thought and action."

In addition to publishing numerous scientific articles, chapters, and research monographs,

Ellis has served as a visiting professor internationally, both at the Huazhong ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Science and Technology in Wuhan, China, and at Budapest ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Economic Sciences in Budapest, Hungary. A past winner of the Excellence in Case Writing Award, Case Track, Administrative Sciences Association of Canada Annual Conference, Ellis is a member of the Academy of Management, Administrative Sciences Association of Canada and the North American Case Research Association.

Ellis joins the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ, and specifically the Faculty of Management, at a keystone moment, as the U of L readies to open Markin Hall, the new home for the Faculty of Management.

"I think it will be a wonderful place to study management education, and for management educators, faculty and staff to work together and exchange ideas about how to create new programs and courses for our students," says Ellis. "It will also be a place of welcome for our community. Having a great facility provides a springboard for building relationships between colleagues and our community, and for developing innovative teaching and research programs."

Ellis holds a BA with first class honours in psychology from Carleton ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ (1974), an MA in psychology from the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Waterloo (1978) and a PhD in psychology from the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Waterloo (1981).

UNews - Robert (Bob) James Ellis

Significant And Mentionable

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Ellis named new Dean of Management

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