UNews - ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge

U of L kicks off 50th anniversary celebrations with Founders’ Day Weekend

caroline.zentner — Mon, 09 Jan 2017 16:21:05 +0000

Now that the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge has officially reached the age of 50, celebrations to mark the occasion are in order.

“We are inviting everyone with a connection to the U of L to participate in the many celebrations we have planned to commemorate our 50th anniversary,” says Dr. Chris Hosgood, dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences and co-chair of the 50th Anniversary Committee. “If not for the support of the community, this university may have never broken ground. We want to acknowledge the determination and commitment of our founders to make this institution a reality.”

The Founders’ Day Weekend on Jan. 13 and 14 provides a way to acknowledge the contributions of the many forward-thinking individuals behind the idea of a university in Lethbridge and all those people who have played roles, large and small, in making the U of L the leading institution it is today.

The journey to becoming a full-fledged university is highlighted in Let It Shine On, a song written by John Wort Hannam (BA/BEd ’96) to mark the U of L’s 50th anniversary. His lyrics tell the U of L story, from the ‘plans that were laid’ to ‘times of unrest, lines of protest,’ to a future filled with the ‘power of hope and the power of dreaming.’

“We are excited to premiere this song during our Founders’ Day Weekend,” says Chris Horbachewski, vice-president of Advancement and co-chair of the 50th Anniversary Committee. “John has captured our past, present and future in his song and we look forward to sharing it with the community during Founders’ Day Weekend and playing it at special occasions for years down the road.”

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ will be launching several special initiatives during the Founders’ Day Weekend. They include the unveiling of the U of L tartan and naming the winner of the tartan contest. A specialty beer label will be revealed, details of the 50 Voices oral history project will be announced and the Shine On Fund will be introduced. In addition, a special birthday cake made in the shape of ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Hall will also make its appearance. Baked and decorated by Amy Whipple (BA ’07), this architect of fondant has used more than 30 pounds of butter, about 90 cups of sugar and 13 dozen eggs to create a birthday cake like no other.

Local nursing education program achieves accreditation

caroline.zentner — Mon, 17 Oct 2016 17:12:34 +0000

The Nursing Education in Southwestern Alberta (NESA) program, delivered collaboratively by Lethbridge College and the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, has met national standards for nursing schools and obtained accreditation by the Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing (CASN).

The NESA program has always been an approved program at the provincial level. CASN accreditation means the program has met the national standards for nursing programs across Canada.

“We have accreditation for five years, which is fantastic,” says Chris Hosgood, dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences. “It absolutely confirms what I’ve always thought, which is that we have a wonderful program with incredibly engaged and dedicated instructors.”

“This accreditation is a result of exceptional collaboration between the two institutions,” says Debra Bardock, dean of Lethbridge College’s Centre for Health and Wellness. “The program is a success due to the commitment, dedication and consistent pursuit of excellence by faculty and staff to support the success of students.”

The designation means the NESA program meets the standards for both curriculum and faculty research. The program offers a united curriculum over four years, with students spending their first two years at the College and their final two years at the U of L.

“The benefit for students is that they have a CASN-accredited program supporting their access into graduate programming in nursing, as well as international nursing opportunities,” says Hosgood, adding that the U of L offers a master of nursing and a doctorate in population studies in health.

“Students also receive life experience that is the best of both worlds,” says Bardock. “They experience both university and college life, and ultimately get to benefit from the success of the high-level collaboration between the two institutions.”

The accreditation process took around three years. The first step was a self-study of the program according to a set of criteria identified by CASN. After the self-report was completed, four external reviewers from other nursing schools in Canada, but outside of Alberta, visited both the U of L and the College.

“The reviewers met with students in the classroom and at their clinical sites, partners in the community, faculty members, and senior administrators at both institutions and in the health system,” says Hosgood.

“The support of our external partners cannot be over-stated,” says Bardock. “Health environments across southern Alberta that provide practice-based opportunities for our students are as invested in their success as we are.”

Programs like NESA, where students spend the first two years at Lethbridge College and the final two years at the U of L, aren’t uncommon. However, the level of collaboration between the College and the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ is unique, says Hosgood. The collective approach to the program means both sides share knowledge and resources, with a focus on excellence and student success.

The NESA program was launched in 2002 and is celebrating a decade of graduating students in 2016.

Malawi teacher sees new possibilities through U of L studies

caroline.zentner — Tue, 09 Aug 2016 21:01:52 +0000

Travelling halfway around the world to take classes in the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge’s Faculty of Education has opened Wyson Ndhlovu’s eyes to the possibilities. Now, he looks to bring this new world of potential to his homeland and create opportunities for the young Malawi girls he teaches at the Atsikana Pa Ulendo Girls Education Project.

Through a collaborative agreement between the Rotary Club of Lethbridge, the U of L and the Malawi school, Ndhlovu has spent the past seven months in Lethbridge taking a full load of classes designed to give the deputy headmaster a new perspective on teaching and education.

Wyson Ndhlovu, centre, walks through the coulees with U of L President Mike Mahon, right, and Pat Killoran, past president of the Rotary Club of Lethbridge.

“The purpose of the whole thing is for me to have an educational and cultural experience and to take back home what I feel is appropriate and applicable at our school,” says Ndhlovu, who has ventured away from Malawi for the first time in his life. “I didn’t know what I’d learn but now that I’m here, there’s so much.”

“Having Wyson in our education classes has provided our students with an alternative perspective on teaching and learning across the world,” says Dr. Richelle Marynowski, an education professor. “The students really took him in as one of their own and coordinated book donations and a fundraiser event to support the students at his school."

His trip is sponsored by the Rotary Club of Lethbridge, while the U of L has given Ndhlovu free tuition for the eight courses he was enrolled in over the spring and summer sessions. Rotary and the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ have also previously combined to outfit a computer lab at Ndhlovu’s school, an all-girls academy for 400 rural students.

“With so many issues in the world, the fundamental way to improve these is through education,” says Pat Killoran, past president of the Rotary Club of Lethbridge.

He says the club initially considered bringing one or two students from Malawi to Canada to assist in their education but instead decided a greater impact might be achieved by helping the school’s teachers help themselves.

“We saw the Canadian experience, both culturally and educationally, as being something that could add a dimension to the teaching staff and, in turn, impact the students,” says Killoran.

Malawi is a landlocked nation in southeastern Africa that is home to more than 16 million people in an area roughly 20 per cent the size of Alberta. Largely agricultural, its citizens struggle with poverty and educational opportunities are severely lacking, especially for young girls. In 2006, Canadian teacher Christie Johnson joined with Malawi educator Memory Mdyetseni to form Atsikana Pa Ulendo (Girls On The Move), and the school has blossomed ever since. It currently operates thanks to a collaboration between the Atsikana Pa Ulendo Malawi Education Foundation (located in Canada) and the APU Malawi Trust (located in Malawi).

Ndhlovu says a lack of resources is the greatest problem he and his teachers face, but with the help of donors, they are slowly bringing technology into the classroom. While that may not allow his students to participate in scientific experiments, for example, at least now they will be able to watch them on video to gain a greater appreciation for the lesson that cannot be achieved through a textbook.

“When I came here I was exposed to different technologies through the lessons I had,” says Ndhlovu. “My professors would often use video presentations and I also taught practicum at Victoria Park High School and we used these resources and I found I was very motivated by it. This is something we need to adopt in our school back in Malawi.”

He’s also learned some valuable teaching techniques that he looks to incorporate back home.

“The difference I’ve noticed is that in Malawi, I used to plan a lesson that was one-size-fits all. With my experience here, I see that’s not the way,” he says. “You have to plan and teach bearing in mind that the students have different abilities. So, as you plan a lesson, you must think about every student in the class.”

Killoran says the success of Ndhlovu’s school in the 10 years that it has been open is remarkable, and slowly, communities are being changed, along with the future of young girls in Malawi.

“The girls who have graduated are now going back into their communities with education and doing things that weren’t being done before and certainly weren’t being done by girls,” he says. “We’re seeing a number of girls going to university, a number of girls getting jobs, a number of girls taking control of their lives.”

More information can be found on the history of Atsikana Pa Ulendo at the school’s website: http://malawigirlsonthemove.com/.

Perseverance pays off for Patel

caroline.zentner — Mon, 30 May 2016 20:01:33 +0000

When Priscilla Patel first came to the city in 2009 to begin her studies at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, she saw land, lots of land, in fact, more land than buildings. And the buildings — most of them single-storey, were so unlike the highrises in her native Malaysia. The bustling neighbourhoods of her homeland were replaced by far more sedate streets.

She, her three siblings and their mother, Malti, left Penang so Priscilla could study new media at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, qualifications she would need for her dream job of being an animator at Pixar. Her father, Ashok, stayed behind in Malaysia to run the family’s textile business. The family became aware of the U of L through a Study in Canada event. Even so, her first sight of the Lethbridge landscape was a shock.

“I remember calling my dad up right away and telling him ‘You’ve got to book me a plane ticket; I need to come home now,’” she says. “I remember him saying ‘Just try it out for a month. If you don’t like it, you can come back.’”

Seven years later, she’s graduating (with distinction) with her second degree from the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge. Along with a Bachelor of Fine Arts she earned in 2013, she will soon add a Bachelor of Management to her credentials.

“I’m glad I took the risk. I’m very thankful for my family because, without them, I wouldn’t be here. To have an education and to have so much support, not many people get that,” she says. “The Faculty of Management, I think that was my biggest support. I made friends with many of my student colleagues and professors. I don’t think I could have found that social network anywhere else and I’m very thankful for that, and for having profs who encourage students to come talk to them about anything.”

Priscilla found her way to the Faculty of Management after completing an internship in the marketing department at Lethbridge College. Even though she was passionate about graphic design, her supervisor, Carmen Toth, saw that she was also a people person. Toth suggested she consider marketing and, after a year of working as a general clerk at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Library, Priscilla heeded the advice.

“I loved it,” she says of her time as a management student. “The first class I took was Marketing 2020 with Mike Madore. As soon as I got in that class, I said ‘Yup, this is it. This is where I belong.’ I’m very grateful because I experienced a real connection with my professors in the Faculty of Management.”

While each of the professors she encountered in the program played a role in helping her attain her degree, it was Madore and Dr. Mike Basil who especially motivated her to always do her best, she says. Priscilla credits the faculty with helping her learn presentation skills, how to handle pressure, manage a team and multi-task.

“If you ask any of my peers who started the program with me, they would tell you I was shy and I wouldn’t want to present,” she says. “If you ask my professor about the case analysis I presented last semester she’d say ‘I would never have known.’ Giving presentations boosts your self-confidence and makes you want to do the best you can. They always say you want to learn how to sell yourself. If you can’t sell yourself, no one’s going to want to listen to you because time is money.”

She, under Basil’s supervision, also did an independent research study investigating the predictors of celebrity effectiveness in advertisements.

“I found out that I love marketing research, collecting and analyzing data and being able to test my hypothesis,” says Priscilla.

Priscilla continues to work at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Library and has taken on a special project for the summer, reviewing teaching materials in the Faculty of Education’s Curriculum Laboratory. Once the project has wrapped up, Priscilla hopes to begin her first career position and she’s ready to go wherever that might be.

When Priscilla crosses the stage and receives her parchment at Friday’s convocation ceremonies, her thoughts will be with her father, who won’t be able to attend. While he planned to join his family in Canada much sooner, economic circumstances have delayed his departure. Ashok hopes to be in Canada within a couple of years.

“I’m graduating with distinction and I want to make my dad proud. I want to tell him ‘I actually did it, taking six classes for three semesters. It paid off,’” she says, wiping away a few tears.

U of L’s Centre for Oral History and Tradition to offer public workshops

caroline.zentner — Tue, 03 May 2016 17:11:13 +0000

Oral history projects help bring the past to life through the voices of people who lived at the time. Members of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge’s Centre for Oral History and Tradition (COHT), in partnership with the Galt Museum and Archives, a

Dr. Jenna Bailey

re offering their expertise as oral historians to help southern Albertans make their projects a reality.

“There’s definitely more and more interest in oral history in Alberta these days,” says Dr. Jenna Bailey, COHT senior research fellow. “People realize it’s a wonderful way to collect local history and many museums and community organizations are doing oral history projects.”

“Oral histories are found in many archives and the Galt Archives is no exception. They are valuable historical sources as much as letters, diaries and official documents,” says Andrew Chernevych, the Galt Museum’s archivist. “Oral histories help preserve experiences of people who don’t commit their memories to writing; this is perhaps the only way to capture some unique aspects of history.”

Andrew Chernevych

Oral history projects often involve collaboration amongst the generations. As people in a community get older, younger generations may realize that much local history resides in people’s memories, especially in rural areas. Oral history projects provide a way for that knowledge to be preserved.

“In an era of so much electronic communication and ever-changing technology, we must consciously record and preserve aspects of our history,” says Dr. Heidi MacDonald, history professor and director of COHT. “Oral histories, preserved in archives, will be a wonderful source for future generations of family and professional historians.”

Oral history is an intimate way of capturing the history of a place as well as the diverse histories of individual lives. Engaging stories are the result and those who offer up their own history often enjoy the opportunity to share their lives as part of a wider history.

Dr. Heidi MacDonald

“For organizations or individuals who recognize the importance of the history of an area but don’t necessarily have a huge budget or team, oral history interviews are an accessible way to capture history,” says Bailey.

Workshop participants will learn how to plan an oral history project from the ground up, including what kind of recording device to use, what questions to ask and obtaining consent.

The COHT and the Galt Museum & Archives are delivering the workshops with several co-partners — the Crowsnest Community Library, the Crowsnest Museum & Archives, Stavely and District Museum, Claresholm & District Museum, and the Esplanade Arts & Heritage Centre in Medicine Hat — who are hosting the individual sessions. Beginner workshops are scheduled for May 27 at the Galt Museum, June 10 at the Crowsnest Community Library, June 11 at the Stavely & District Museum and September 23 at the Esplanade Arts & Heritage Centre in Medicine Hat. An intermediate workshop is scheduled for October 21 at the Galt Museum & Archives.

The keynote speaker for the workshops is Kimberly Lyall, project manager for the Governor General’s Award-winning Coyote Flats Oral History Project. She’ll share her experiences and offer tips for carrying out an oral history project. Other workshop presenters are trained oral historians.

The cost is $70 plus GST for adults and $25 plus GST for seniors and students. To register for the May 27 workshop, call 403-320-3954 or 1-866-320-3898, ext. 0 by May 20. For the June 10 workshop in the Crowsnest Pass, call 403-563-5434 by June 3. For the June 11 workshop in Stavely, call 403-549-0189 or send an email to jmbmab@gmail.com by June 4. For the Sept. 23 workshop in Medicine Hat, call 403-502-8777 by Sept. 16. The deadline for registration for the intermediate workshop at the Galt is Oct. 14.

U of L researcher to investigate the challenges of acquiring water for new housing in the Calgary region

caroline.zentner — Tue, 12 Apr 2016 16:33:33 +0000

A ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge water management researcher will examine the challenges of acquiring water for new housing developments in one of the fastest-growing regions of Alberta.

Dr. Lorraine Nicol, a research associate, has received $25,000 from the Alberta Real Estate Foundation to determine if housing developers in the Municipal District of Foothills, Rocky View County and Okotoks face or anticipate constraints in acquiring water.

“In my previous studies in the Calgary region, I have found some evidence that housing developers have concerns over accessing water for housing development. The issue certainly warrants more in-depth study,” says Nicol.

Housing development is a major economic engine in Alberta, worth about $10.8 billion in 2014. One means of accessing water for new housing is by buying a licensed water allocation through the water market. In this process, a developer is tasked with finding a willing seller of a licensed water allocation, negotiating a price and going through an environmental review process, which has taken up to three years in the past.

A developer may find it necessary to navigate the water market because no new licensed water allocations have been issued in the Bow, the Oldman and the South Saskatchewan River sub-basins for the past decade. In 2006, Alberta Environment placed a moratorium on accepting applications for new licence allocations after a study showed a number of rivers and river reaches were in distress.

Water licences are typically held by municipalities, irrigation districts, private irrigators, industrial users, and water co-ops. In Alberta, water is allocated on a first-in-time, first-in-right basis where, if enacted in drought years, priority would be given to those with senior water rights. However, Nicol has found preliminary evidence that, even in normal years, some sectors such as housing developers are facing water challenges due to the way water has historically been allocated under the province’s licensing framework.

“I’m interested in how water moves around among water licence holders and licence seekers,” she says. “There has to be some elasticity in the system in order for existing licence holders to be able to sell their licence to other individuals, be they towns or industries or housing developers that need the water.”

The water management framework in the region is such that the City of Calgary, before the Bow River basin was closed to additional allocations, obtained enough water licences for three times its current population. However, many communities in the surrounding region did not.

An additional factor is the Calgary Regional Partnership, which began in 2005 when 18 municipalities came together to develop an overarching land and water management framework. The idea was that Calgary, with its excess water licence capacity, would share its water with communities in need. By 2009, the four rural municipalities involved in the partnership departed. This may have contributed to water challenges being experienced now in Rocky View and the M.D. of Foothills. Okotoks stayed in the partnership and now has a water-sharing agreement with Calgary, but it will require building a pipeline from Calgary to Okotoks at a cost of more than $30 million.

Nicol plans to interview between 15 and 20 housing developers over the next few months to determine if they are facing any water-related constraints in creating new housing developments, how they manage to gain access to water, the costs involved, how that might affect the price of homes, and the potential impact on the real estate market. She plans to have the results analyzed by September.

“If fewer houses are built, fewer houses will end up coming on the market in future years as those new houses are resold. When new houses are built, they are typically sold by the housing developer but when they are resold they will likely go through a real estate agent,” says Nicol. “If my study results in more effective management of the water system then it’s worthwhile. I’m thankful for the funding that’s been provided to me and trust the study will be constructive.”

U of L student honoured with national award for inorganic chemistry research

caroline.zentner — Wed, 17 Feb 2016 22:16:57 +0000

Chemistry research is play for Jackson Knott, and he talks about his work in the lab with as much excitement as someone who’s found buried treasure. His fire for chemistry research hasn’t gone unnoticed as he recently received a national honour from the Canadian Society for Chemistry (Division of Inorganic Chemistry) for his research work done at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge.

Knott has been named the outstanding recipient of the 2015 Award for Undergraduate Research in Inorganic Chemistry (AURIC), signifying that his research work has been judged to be of exceptional quality.

“They only give out one of these a year so it’s an honour to get and be able to put that on your CV,” says Knott. “The first thing I did was call my mom. What that award actually fully entails was a lot to take in.”

Dr. Paul Hayes, a chemistry professor, and Dr. Matthew Zamora, a former post-doctoral fellow, nominated Knott because they considered his work of a sufficiently high calibre to compete for the award.

“As Jackson’s research supervisor since 2012, I am very proud of his growth as a scientist and the well-deserved recognition he has earned. The AURIC is a highly competitive national award and is a testament to both Jackson’s past research accomplishments, as well as his future potential,” says Hayes. “I am extremely excited he has elected to pursue graduate studies in my laboratory; I look forward to continuing to work with Jackson and the science we will do together.”

As part of the award, Knott will give an invited presentation on his research in June at the society’s annual conference, held this year in Halifax. A fifth-year student, Knott is in his final semester of a bachelor of science, after having taken a year off to work at a co-op placement at NOVA Chemicals in Calgary.

“I’ve gotten quite a bit of research experience in my five years of university and one-year of a co-op,” he says. “Now I’ve got an academic perspective and a little bit of the industrial perspective on the research.”

Inorganic chemistry is the study of metals and main group elements as found in the periodic table. Knott is also interested in organometallic chemistry, which is the study of compounds or complexes that have metal-carbon bonds.

“A lot of organometallic and inorganic complexes are used as catalysts for reactions,” says Knott. “Such catalysts can play a role in the formation of biodegradable plastics, for example. My far, hopeful dream is CO₂capture and conversion into commercially important small molecules, which has industrial and environmental applications. I really want to take a stab at that and see what I can do.”

Knott, from Coleman, graduated from high school in 2010 and started at the U of L that fall. He’d enjoyed all the sciences in high school and came to ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ prepared to take courses in physics, biology, chemistry and math to see what he liked best.

“I took organic chemistry with Dr. Greg Patenaude and that class just hooked me. It was the first time I saw an instructor get really passionate about what he or she was teaching and the line of thinking kind of clicked and made sense,” says Knott. “Of all the sciences, I would do homework for the other classes because I had to, but for chemistry, even once my homework was done, I would go back and do more just for fun.”

Knott got his first taste of research in Hayes’ lab in the fall of 2012 and he’s been doing it ever since.

“Research takes you down a lot of unexpected paths,” he says. “The science kind of unfolds, you have to be there and follow along with it and do some creative problem solving.”

Knott will start graduate school at the U of L in May. He has a few research projects in the works that he’d like to pursue as he completes a master’s degree. He will continue working in the lab under the supervision of Hayes.

“I’m not fully sure what I’ll do beyond school but I really would like to keep doing research, be it in an industrial or academic job,” he says. “Research is really a lot of fun. I like to say I’m good at it and I’ve developed a passion for it.”

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge welcomes new Research Chair in Potato Science

caroline.zentner — Tue, 26 Jan 2016 17:17:15 +0000

Funded by a consortium of association and industry partners, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge has appointed Dr. Dmytro Yevtushenko as Research Chair in Potato Science.

The local potato industry is poised to benefit from Yevtushenko’s experience as a plant biologist and from his expertise in potatoes, a plant he has studied for more than 25 years.

“This is a dream job, tailored for me,” says Yevtushenko, who assumed the position on Jan. 4. “Thanks to the Potato Growers of Alberta (PGA) and the remarkable people at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ who have the vision for the potato and agriculture in Alberta, I can start this program in a relatively short time.”

The PGA, McCain Foods, Lamb Weston and Cavendish Farms made a $1 million investment over five years to establish the Chair in Potato Science. Western Canada has few researchers dedicated to the potato industry and the new Chair will enhance and expand the current capacity.

“Dmytro’s arrival in southern Alberta is a result of unprecedented collaboration between the potato industry and the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ,” says David Hill, Director of Development, Southern Alberta Agriculture Program. “For the potato growers and processors to have had the long-term vision, insight and dedication to work with the U of L to enable a potato research program focused on the needs of the industry is significant. This initiative is a key element of the renewed focus on agriculture and agri-business that is being pursued by the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ and its partners. It is an exciting time for the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ and the students who will benefit from participation in this program.”

The PGA is a non-profit potato grower organization working to increase the success of the Alberta potato growing industry, currently worth $1 billion annually.

“Local growers and processors welcome Dr. Yevtushenko and we are eager to start working with him,” says Terence Hochstein, the PGA’s executive director. “Our membership identified a need for university-level research and education in the potato industry and we are excited to have Dr. Yevtushenko and his expertise available to us.”

“Potatoes are a very large part of the economy here in southern Alberta and it’s very important for the people involved in the potato industry to have a feeling that the problems involved are being addressed by research,” says Dr. Joe Rasmussen, a U of L biology professor and Canada Research Chair in Aquatic Ecosystems. “It’s also important for the potato growers to have access to trained people who are ready to work in their industry. Students will gain higher education in an area they would not have had before and in a field that has potential employment for them in this region.”

Yevtushenko plans to co-ordinate his research programs with the needs of the local industry. His major research interests are in the areas of plant biotechnology and breeding, with focus on crop improvement and food safety using modern techniques that involve molecular biology, plant tissue culture, and genetics. While he has researched many plant species, he prefers working with potatoes. His experience working in the plant biotechnology industry has given him an appreciation for the concerns of producers. He has a broad range of research expertise, including development of potato genotypes with wide-spectrum disease resistance and large-scale production of virus-free seed potatoes in vitro. Among other projects, his research plans include improvement of tuber yields through epigenetic enhancement of current potato cultivars and speeding up the potato breeding process using innovative methods.

Yevtushenko is eager to get started and he’ll be visiting local potato farms and facilities in the next few weeks. His lab is being retrofitted in a construction trailer near Hepler Hall, where he will conduct research until lab space becomes available through the Destination Project construction. After it opens this summer, he’ll be starting his research projects. In September, Yevtushenko will teach a course in plant breeding and genetics with a component specific to potato agriculture. He also plans to have students working in his lab and, in the future, he hopes to develop co-operative opportunities for students.

“Potato growers are interested in a new generation of young people who will graduate from university and come to farms with knowledge of potato science,” says Yevtushenko. “Surprisingly, there is a shortage of qualified people in potato agriculture and when they need to hire someone, they hire people from the United States and from Europe.”

Yevtushenko was born in central Ukraine and attended Kiev State ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ, as it was then called. He’d wanted to be a scientist ever since he was in middle school and he arrived at university wanting to study nature and the environment. He discovered a passion for plant biology and completed a PhD at the Institute of Cell Biology and Genetic Engineering in Kiev. He came to Canada for a post-doctoral fellowship at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Guelph. Since then, he’s worked at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Victoria and held various positions in private industry, gaining a broad range of experience in business and research in the process.

Alberta teachers to benefit from linkage of U of L FNMI education database to provincial resource

caroline.zentner — Mon, 25 Jan 2016 17:09:58 +0000

A database of educational resources for First Nations, Métis and Inuit (FNMI) learners developed at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge will gain wider exposure and use when it is added to resources at the Alberta Regional Professional Development Consortia (ARPDC) today.

Dawn Burleigh, a professor in the Faculty of Education, oversees the FNMI Curriculum Collection, a database of more than 1,200 educational resources that bring an FNMI perspective to the Alberta curriculum.

U of L education professor Dawn Burleigh, at left, chats with Johnel Tailfeathers, centre, and Dr. Marlo Steed, during a break in the session to merge the U of L FNMI database resources to a provincial resource.

“As I see it, First Nations, Métis and Inuit education is the responsibility of all teachers in all classrooms with all students,” says Burleigh. “The new Truth and Reconciliation report has a number of action items related to education and, if teachers are agents in that system, they have to be informed about how to address First Nations, Métis and Inuit issues in the classroom. We also have to uphold our obligations under the treaties.”

The database was started several years ago by Dr. Cathy Campbell, a retired U of L education professor, and Johnel Tailfeathers (BEd ’89), a former U of L education instructor.

“The resources have come primarily from students and teachers in the field. Our students have utilized it over the years and contributed to it as well,” says Burleigh.

She wanted to expand the collection and connect with other existing resources so she and Solange Lalonde (BEd ’06), lead developer with ARPDC’s Provincial First Nations, Métis and Inuit Professional Learning Project developed a partnership. ARPDC provides professional development for teachers and is the umbrella organization for six regional consortia in the province.

Funded by Alberta Education, the ARPDC project serves as a resource to bring FNMI perspectives and content to educational programming. Lalonde has developed a Moodle course of FNMI resources linked to the Alberta curriculum. Moodle is free software that helps educators create online courses.

“We’re still in the implementation phase where we’re trying out different professional learning opportunities, introducing new resources, developing resources and working with leadership from the school divisions that are pilots on the project,” says Lalonde.

U of L students who are Native Education majors will be spending the day cross-linking and adding the U of L resources to the ARPDC Moodle directory. Once the resources are all in one place, teachers can consult with their local communities and Aboriginal liaison workers to ensure the resource is appropriate for their region or treaty area.

“It brings more usage to the collections and makes the material more available to teachers in the field, as well as our students,” says Burleigh.

Bringing an FNMI perspective to lessons is sometimes seen as something strictly for teachers of FNMI students.

“If we want teachers to include First Nations, Métis and Inuit perspectives, a way to empower them is to already have the learning outcome linked to the resource,” says Lalonde, who’s also a U of L master’s of education student. “It’s meant to be an integral part of their planning process.”

The FNMI Curriculum Collection page can be found here.

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge joins the Little Lethbridge Library movement

caroline.zentner — Thu, 17 Dec 2015 21:44:51 +0000

Reading material for all ages is now available at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, as several Little Lethbridge Libraries have made their appearance on campus.

Thanks to Dr. Andy Hakin, provost and vice-president (academic), six little libraries, three indoors and three outdoors, will soon be installed and their shelves ready for books. The City of Lethbridge teamed up with the Ability Resource Centre to build and maintain the little libraries. The little library movement has grown across the country and when Hakin first heard about it, he knew he wanted to get involved.

At right, Jerry Firth, neighbourhood support co-ordinator with the City of Lethbridge, and Kimber Norbury-Sulin, services co-ordinator with the Ability Resource Centre, joined Nicole Eva (centre), U of L librarian, Heather Mirau, U of L integrated planning director, and Dr. Andy Hakin, U of L provost and vice-president (academic), at the installation of the first Little Lethbridge Library in the Atrium.

“The little free library movement based on the theme of “Take a book, leave a book” is perfect for the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ campus,” says Hakin. “It’s a way to further engage with community members coming to campus for sporting events, speaker series and conferences. It’s wonderful that we can share and promote reading on campus with our ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ and local communities through the Little Lethbridge Library program. This program is also a way of promoting general reading within our ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Library. I would like to personally invite everyone to enjoy this supplemental reading.”

The three interior little libraries have already been installed — one in the 1st Choice Savings Centre, another near Starbucks in the LINC building, and the final indoor library in the Atrium.

An outdoor little library will soon be installed by the bus loop by the Students’ Union Building and others will be installed near the Campus Roots Community Garden and Anderson Hall next spring.

The Lethbridge Public Library and the U of L Library have supplied the first books for the little libraries on campus. Books are already being scooped up and everyone is encouraged to donate general reading material for children, teens or adults. Books can be delivered to the U of L Library, Room L1142. Representatives from the Lethbridge Ability Resource Centre will check on the little libraries weekly.

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��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge joins the Little Lethbridge Library movement