UNews - Ed McNally

McNally honoured as Friend of Health Sciences Award winner

trevor.kenney — Thu, 06 Feb 2014 22:13:32 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge’s Faculty of Health Sciences has named Dr. Ed McNally (LLD ’05) as the 2014 Friend of Health Sciences Award recipient.

Dr. Ed McNally, the Big Rock Brewery founder, has excelled as a lawyer, farmer/rancher and entrepreneur.

The Friend of Health Sciences Award honours individuals and organizations that make a significant contribution to health education and research in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the U of L.

In 2008, McNally funded a scholarship for every graduate nursing student at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge. He has made a similar gift in each ensuing year, providing a McNally-funded award to every masters-level nursing student in every year of his or her studies.

“By establishing one of the largest student award funds in the Faculty of Health Sciences, Dr. McNally has ensured that graduate nurses will be leading the way for our Faculty, and indeed our university, as we continue our focus as a leading comprehensive academic and research institution,” says Dr. Chris Hosgood, dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences.

To date, 40 U of L nursing students have received a McNally-funded award, named in honour of his mother, Margaret Elliot McNally (Thomson), who was on the frontline of nursing during the First World War. A group of nursing students was responsible for nominating McNally for the Friend of Health Sciences honour.

“Receiving the McNally graduate scholarship helped me not only financially but it also spoke to me and told me that somebody else had invested in my education besides myself, and that can be a very powerful motivator,” says former student Bernadine Wojtowicz, now the Nursing Education in Southwestern Alberta BN Programs Co-Chair and Theory Courses coordinator at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge. “It was encouraging and a great honour.”

McNally, who grew up in Lethbridge, is the founder of Calgary’s Big Rock Brewery. A lawyer, farmer/rancher and entrepreneur, McNally represented farmers who had trouble selling their malting barley. He later became a farmer when he saw potential for development in the market, and turned his focus to brewing in 1985 when he founded Big Rock Brewery, looking to make the beers that he wanted to drink.

Hosgood says McNally’s gift has not only benefited students during the course of their education, but has also contributed significantly to the capacity of the Faculty as a whole and lends support to the next generation of health professionals.

“Dr. McNally’s generosity and his desire to see nurses pursue advanced nursing studies has been particularly beneficial to the Faculty of Health Sciences,” says Hosgood. “Thirteen recipients of the McNally Graduate Studies Nursing Scholarship currently work within our nursing program, and are giving back to students by furthering the profession on a daily basis.”

In 2005, McNally was bestowed an honorary degree by the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge.

For more inspiring stories on the individuals and organizations who have helped shaped the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, please visit: http://www.uleth.ca/campaigns/giving/

Rethinking health

trevor.kenney — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:36:24 +0000

Although Canada's health-care system ranks among the world's best, we face an aging population, increasing rates of chronic disease and a dire shortage of health professionals. It's a host of problems that aren't going away – by 2011, a mere three years away, the demand for nurses and public health practitioners in Alberta and across Canada is expected to peak.

One thing is certain: the need for highly educated, well-trained health professionals has never been greater.

This fall, the U of L's School of Health Sciences launched a new Public Health degree program. As the only baccalaureate degree of its kind in Alberta, it gives students a new perspective on health.

"There is an evolution in our thinking about health. We're now looking at broader social determinants of health like income, working conditions, employment, transportation, education and housing," says U of L public health degree coordinator Sharon Yanicki.

The program will prepare graduates to be life-long learners capable of integrating new approaches with proven methods and will provide them with skills to work in a variety of roles in health promotion, policy and information analysis, as well as community development and project management.

In addition, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ is increasing resources for those pursuing greater levels of education in health sciences. Thanks to the generosity of Dr. Ed McNally, every nursing student in the graduate program received a scholarship of $4,000 this September.

For U of L student Eva McLennan (BN '07), a busy mother of two as well as part-time employee at both Chinook Health and Lethbridge College, the scholarship confirms her goals.

"Of course receiving monetary assistance is beneficial and greatly appreciated – there are very real costs associated with education. But it's more than that. Receiving a scholarship also recognizes that you have something to contribute that makes you worthy of investment," says McLennan.

McLennan believes that having her master's degree will open doors on many levels.

"Today health consumers are better educated and expect more of the health system," she explains. "My graduate degree will give me greater understanding of the ways in which research influences current nursing practices."

Fellow student Karen Leskosek (BN '02) agrees. "The health-care system is constantly changing. Having my master's will enable me to approach client care, nursing education and research with innovation and determination," says Leskosek.

Looking ahead, the U of L takes confidence in knowing that a health plan centred on educating innovative leaders is firmly in place – it's one of the ways the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ is helping ensure that the future of our health will remain in good hands.

Rethinking health

trevor.kenney — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 20:43:09 +0000

One thing is certain: the need for highly educated, well-trained health professionals has never been greater.

This fall, the U of L's School of Health Sciences launched a new Public Health degree program. As the only baccalaureate degree of its kind in Alberta, it gives students a new perspective on health.

For U of L student Eva McLennan (BN '07), a busy mother of two as well as part-time employee at both Chinook Health and Lethbridge College, the scholarship confirms her goals.

McLennan believes that having her master's degree will open doors on many levels.

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McNally honoured as Friend of Health Sciences Award winner

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