UNews - Faculty of Management

Alumni Profile - Jason Elliott

trevor.kenney — Fri, 15 Jun 2018 16:40:30 +0000

Alumni have always played an important role in the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ community and the U of L Alumni Association (ULAA) has been key in that process. Whether at ULAA executive meetings, or board and senate meetings, this diverse group represents U of L alumni around the world.

But just who are they? Get to know your ULAA council members through this series of profiles.

The Human Resources Manager at the City of Lethbridge, alumnus Jason Elliott was one of the first to go through the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's Co-op program.

Meet Jason

His interests span from community involvement to sailing on the prairies. Learn more about Jason Elliott (BMgt ’95), the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Alumni Association Secretary.

Major: Human Resources Management and one of the first students to participate in the Co-op program

Student Clubs/Activities: Vice President of the Management Students' Society

Current Job: Human Resources Manager at the City of Lethbridge

Favourite U of L Memory: I remember looking forward to a delicious sandwich made with love by Pearl at the Fresh Express in the main hall. She was like a mother to many students and the length of the sandwich line every day reflected how good she was!

What is the first thing you want people to know about you?: I love our community and am passionate about public service. I am so proud to be living in Lethbridge and thrilled to be raising my family here.

What is an unusual habit or an absurd thing you love?: Sailing on the prairies. For some unknown reason I became interested in sailing at a young age. I took courses and learned how to do it and in my university days bought my first boat from former Faculty of Management Dean, Dr. George Lermer. I still have that boat and while I don’t get out on the water as much as I would like, it is still a passion that I hope to pass along to my kids.

What is your favourite fail (A time when an apparent failure was for the best): When I graduated from university in the mid-1990s, job prospects were difficult to come by. I worked hard on a long shot connection to a business owner in the British Virgin Islands. After some time, it was starting to line up and I was planning to go there to work on one of his two wooden sailboat charters. Right near the end of that process an opportunity presented itself here in Lethbridge in my chosen field of human resources. I interviewed and was offered the job on the same day that I was to decide on the BVI opportunity. I opted for the HR job and called the business owner from the interview room to decline the sailing gig. About a month later a hurricane went through the islands and destroyed both of his boats…

What is the best investment you've ever made? (Can be money, time, energy, etc.): My best investment has been buying an engagement ring for my girlfriend. I was actually working at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Development Office at the time I purchased the ring. It has continued to pay dividends for the past 23 years.

What purchase of $100 or less has most positively impacted your life in the last six months?: A few weeks ago, I was in Fernie, BC with my 13-year-old daughter. The two of us went for a wonderful breakfast and enjoyed some special time together in conversation.

What belief, behaviour or habit has most improved your life since graduation?: Stay committed to what you want and/or what you believe in. The trip down the road will have all kinds of obstacles but stay focused on your objective and keep moving!

Transformational gift from Calgary real estate magnate initiates Dhillon School of Business

trevor.kenney — Wed, 14 Mar 2018 14:00:26 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge today announces the transformation of its Faculty of Management to the Dhillon School of Business, which will have a strategic focus on finance and business innovation.

In recognition of Bob Dhillon’s generous contribution, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ is renaming the Faculty of Management to the Dhillon School of Business.

Navjeet (Bob) Dhillon, President and CEO of Mainstreet Equity Corporation, pledged a $10-million gift to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, the largest donation announcement in the institution’s history. In recognition of Dhillon’s generous contribution, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ is renaming the Faculty of Management to the Dhillon School of Business.

Along with a new name, the business school will build on its current curriculum by expanding its focus on finance and business innovation, entrepreneurism and internationalization. For example, the Dhillon School of Business will emphasize futuristic learning through innovative subject areas and new technologies such as blockchain, cryptocurrencies and new growth industries, including artificial intelligence and robotics.

As an innovative and transformational entrepreneur, Dhillon created a real-estate empire by identifying an underserved niche in the market, supporting it with resources and nurturing its massive growth. He sees the same opportunity and potential in the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge.

“The future of Canada depends on education,” says Dhillon, who holds an MBA from the Ivey School of Business at Western ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ. “I wouldn’t have achieved the success I’ve had if it wasn’t for education. I’m a first-generation Sikh immigrant and I’m very fortunate that I’m in a position to make this contribution. This is my way of giving back to Canada. Supporting innovative education is key to launching Canadian talent in today’s connected world.”

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge President and Vice-Chancellor Dr. Mike Mahon sees Dhillon’s support as transformational.

“Our university was founded by forward-thinking mavericks, people who identified a need for a university in southern Alberta, and who pushed ahead with a wholly unique model that set the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge apart,” says Mahon. “Here we are 50-plus years later and we’re still looking ahead, pushing boundaries and creating an educational experience like no other. This gift, this commitment from Mr. Dhillon, will help drive us forward.”

Dr. Bob Boudreau, dean of the Dhillon School of Business, says that both the Lethbridge and Calgary campus will offer the latest in hands-on training technology with a focus on integrating theory and research into practice.

“Our faculty has a history of creating transformational opportunities for students including: providing them with flexible learning options at our two campuses; creating access to cutting-edge technology like the Centre for Financial Market Research and Teaching, the best equipped academic trading centre in Western Canada; and immersing students in experiential education through professional development programming, co-op, international exchanges, work studies and more.”

Through the U of L, Dhillon eyes opportunity in an underserved market. With strong connections to the region’s business sector through industry partnerships and investment, innovative academic programming and a vibrant and growing immigrant population, he sees the framework of a destination university town rivaling any in Eastern Canada and the United States.

“I was very fortunate that the importance of education was drilled into me by my family, my parents, my brother, really everybody around me growing up,” says Dhillon. “Education is what drives successful global nations and Canada is unique in that there is so much opportunity here. The U of L is a world-class university that the world needs to discover.”

Dhillon is keenly aware of his position as an industry leader and similarly a pioneer for his community. He does not see his philanthropy as a solo act but rather a call to action.

“I am an immigrant and a businessman and I’m extremely thankful for the opportunities I’ve had growing up here in Canada,” he says. “We all have a chance to give back to this country and to do so through education is critical for our country’s young people. I want to see our youth succeed. I want to see Canada prosper. We can do that through education, by making the Dhillon School of Business a leader in financial and business innovation and Western Canada’s destination for finance and business education.”

U of L student to conduct research overseas thanks to Mitacs Globalink Research Award

caroline.zentner — Thu, 15 Feb 2018 23:57:45 +0000

Rashid MD Mamunur, a ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge master’s student studying International Management, has won a Mitacs Globalink Research Award worth $6,000 that will allow him to conduct research in India this summer.

“It’s really exciting. This summer I will have no courses so I can explore the culture of India and, at the same time, do my academic research,” he says.

Photo courtesy of Rashid MD Mamunur.

The award gives senior undergraduate and graduate students in Canada the opportunity to conduct 12- to 24-week research projects at universities overseas.

“I chose India because my project is off-shore outsourcing,” he says. “China and India are lucrative locations for off-shore outsourcing because of lower wage costs and available manpower.”

Mamunur will focus on RMG, or Ready-Made Garments. Most North American clothing companies outsource production tasks to India and, as a result, Indian companies have long-term experience in the RMG manufacturing process. His main goal is to explore how supplier firms in developing countries learn from their outsourcing clients in developed countries. Client firms can transfer their work whenever a new competitive advantage arises, so supplier firms need to continuously improve to retain their business. He wants to examine how they increase their capabilities and competencies so they can offer higher value-added services to their clients.

Mamunur will work with a supervisor at the Indian Institute of Management in Calcutta from June to the end of August. He plans to start by using an online survey with supply chain and production executives or managers at 300 Indian RMG manufacturing firms. From there, the pool will be narrowed to 10 firms, with 20 executives chosen to do in-person interviews.

The study will add to the theory of knowledge and skill acquisition among supplier firms. Results will also help managers fine tune their business strategies. Most of the literature on organizational capabilities comes from the perspective of the client firms but Mamunur’s study will focus on the perspective of the service providers. He hopes to establish causal links to show that learning and capacity development result in moving up the value ladder and help ensure long-term sustainability.

“I’m grateful for this award as it provides a great opportunity for me, or any student, to conduct research in an international environment,” says Mamunur. “I look forward to sharing ideas with other researchers and collaborating on innovative projects.”

Mamunur is originally from Bangladesh, where he obtained a bachelor’s in business administration from Jagannath ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ in Dhaka. From there, he went to Taiwan on a scholarship to complete a master’s in business administration. Prior to coming to the U of L, he studied French at Laval ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ in Quebec.

He has published several papers in peer-reviewed journals, including the Global Journal of Strategies & Governance and the International Journal of Business and Management. He’s also presented his research findings at several international conferences.

Secrets to scholarship success

trevor.kenney — Wed, 31 Jan 2018 17:39:10 +0000

Sworn to secrecy, the first thing ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge student Jill Tataryn did when she found out she was the recipient of the Futures Fund Scholarship for Outstanding Leadership was to treat her mom to a coffee.

The fourth-year, Faculty of Management finance major explains that, “The news was to be kept confidential, so it was a struggle to keep it from my close friends and family.”

Fourth-year finance major Jill Tataryn to be honoured at Canada’s Outstanding CEO of the Year Gala.

Accordingly, Tataryn had to celebrate that moment in secret by doing what she does best — giving back.

Tataryn is one of 10 university business students from across Canada chosen to be honoured at Canada’s Outstanding CEO of the Year Gala being held in Toronto in February. Award winners, who will receive grants of $7,500 each, had to have demonstrated exemplary leadership skills through academic achievement and extra-curricular activities to be chosen.

Tataryn, who hails from Lethbridge, lists the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge’s state-of-the-art trading room, the opportunity to play rugby for the Pronghorns and the opportunist nature of the management degree as reasons to why she picked her program. And at the heart of all of her work, she says, “There’s no better feeling than giving back to your community.”

In addition to earning a high GPA, Tataryn is active in a number of clubs at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ, including the Management Students’ Society (MSS) for which she was chosen to be director academic. Her leadership also extends to the rugby field where Tataryn is part of the women’s rugby team leadership group. She also spends time coaching both her teammates as well as the girls’ rugby team at Chinook High School. Tataryn is also a volunteer with the Good Samaritan Society, the Lethbridge Soccer Association and Project Paintbrush.

In fact, when asked what trait she possesses that she thinks has led her to such success, Tataryn named her desire to be involved.

“It has allowed me to participate in so many opportunities and experiences thus far. Putting yourself out there is the best way to be ‘lucky’ when it comes to getting a job, a volunteer position or a scholarship,” she says.

And on top of giving back and being involved, Dan Kazakoff, assistant dean, Experiential Education Programs, and one of Tataryn’s former professors, recognizes the other ingredient that has propelled the prestigious business-grant winner to success.

“Jill realizes that hard work is necessary to reach your goals and not only has she shown that in the past, I believe she will continue to do so over her career,” says Kazakoff. “Jill is well deserving of this award.”

To all who know Tataryn, all this is no secret.

U of L researcher to examine effects of banking networks

caroline.zentner — Wed, 15 Nov 2017 21:51:06 +0000

People rely on networks to learn about job prospects, good restaurants and local news. Similarly, banking institutions go to their networks when they need information like determining a borrower’s creditworthiness.

While banks are increasingly connected through their involvement in lending networks, no one has analyzed these networks in any depth. Dr. Yutao Li, a ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Management professor at its Calgary campus, wants to remedy that situation. Thanks to an Insight Development Grant worth approximately $39,000 from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), Li will examine the costs and benefits of banks’ connectivity.

“There’s a trend that we’re now living in a more connected world,” says Li. “We are connected with each other through social networks, but I’m looking at the effect of connection among banks. This has been a hot issue since the financial crisis in 2007,” says Li. “There are good things about being connected and it can be helpful.”

Greater connectivity can have benefits. For example, banks that are more connected can get more information to better evaluate borrowers’ credit risk. Alternatively, connectivity can have a downside, like it did in the financial crisis of 2007-2008 when risk entered the financial system and spread throughout the network. Many banks were affected by the subprime mortgage crisis, which illustrated a trend toward lowered lending standards and mortgage products with a higher risk.

As in social network theory, a bank that is more centrally located in a network should have better access to information, because, as Li predicts, that bank can monitor borrowers more efficiently and produce higher quality financial reporting.

“If they are better connected, are they able to make a better decision in their lending because they are able to collect more information? Will this connection help them weather a financial crisis?” says Li. “I’m not sure what I’m going to find but there are arguments on both sides.”

Using the Dealscan database, which contains extensive and reliable information on the global commercial loan market, Li will first identify North American banks’ lending networks. Then she’ll examine their performance during the 2007-2008 financial crisis and in normal times to gauge how their position in a network affected their performance.

As the first study to investigate banks’ lending networks, Li’s research will provide evidence of banks’ connectivity in the syndicated loan market and build understanding about how that affects a bank’s information acquisition, its lending practices and financial reporting quality. For example, Li will examine banks’ loan-loss provisions, which is an estimate of the uncollectible loans.

“This is a very important item in banks’ financial statements,” she says. “Most people think accounting is just numbers, but there’s a lot of discretion and judgement. Some of the banks have a better ability to predict their future loss. It would be interesting to see whether a bank’s connectivity affects its judgement and ability in making such estimates.”

The study will also look at whether banks in the centre of a network are exposed to greater systematic risk. The results will be valuable to regulators and build their understanding of the effect of a bank’s centrality in a lending network on the financial system and the economy.

“The implication for regulators is to understand whether these connected networks are beneficial or detrimental for the financial system,” says Li.

Dr. Gerald Lobo, an accounting professor at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Houston, is a co-investigator on the project.

U of L researchers awarded more than $907,000 in research funding

caroline.zentner — Wed, 15 Nov 2017 17:40:49 +0000

Today, Kirsty Duncan, Canada’s Minister of Science, announced the recipients of several Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) grants and seven ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge researchers are among those who secured funding for their projects.

“I want to commend the grant and scholarships recipients whose tireless efforts help us better understand our world and our relationships with each other,” says Duncan. “Our government is proud to support these talented researchers and scholars who are pushing the boundaries of knowledge to the benefit of Canadians and our growing middle class.”

“We are extremely pleased that seven U of L research projects were successful in this competition,” says Dr. Claudia Malacrida, associate vice-president (research). “It demonstrates the strength of our researchers in the social sciences and humanities and we congratulate each one of them.”

The funding includes Partnership Development Grants, designed to foster new research with new or existing partners, Insight Development Grants that support research in its beginning stages, and Insight Grants for long-term research initiatives. The research projects are diverse, spanning the fields of visual arts, anthropology, psychology, digital humanities, finance and history and gender studies.

Dr. Dan O'Donnell

Dr. Dan O’Donnell, a professor in the Department of English, conducts research in the Digital Humanities, where tools and methods from computer science are applied to humanities fields like history, philosophy and literature. His digital tools, like the Internet, make it easy to share research information widely, but O’Donnell has found the world of research publishing hasn’t changed much, with the same major publishers running the market. He began working on building a different kind of research network called Future Commons where research is freely shared and publicly available and where corporations can still make a profit. The Partnership Development Grant, which includes three other organizations, will facilitate research to further the Future Commons network. For more information visit Future Commons.

Mary Kavanagh

Mary Kavanagh, a professor in the Department of Art, will examine nuclear anxiety in the post-Cold War era through interviews with visitors to Trinity, the site of the world’s first atomic bomb detonation. A rehearsal for the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Trinity was the codename for the test blast in 1945, deep in the desert south of the Manhattan project’s headquarters in Los Alamos, New Mexico. Tourists now flock to the site during bi-annual open houses. Kavanagh, through interviews conducted at the site, plans to generate a series of art works or “chapters” that include moving-image vignettes, photographic works, book works, installations and an experimental documentary film that explores urgent questions of the nuclear age. For more information visit Atomic Tourism.

Dr. Catherine Kingfisher

Dr. Catherine Kingfisher, an anthropology professor, will explore urban collective housing communities as non-individualistic approaches to well-being. Such communities work to balance independence and interdependence by including both personal/private and shared/collective spaces, and, unlike many intentional communities, are integrated with, rather than segregated from, society at large. Kingfisher will compare communities in Tokyo and Vancouver to gain insight into how this model of the good life operates in cultural contexts that historically and ideologically have stressed different aspects of individualism and collectivism. The project is situated in the context of increasing academic and governmental interest in happiness and well-being. For more information visit Intentional Communities.

Dr. Fangfang Li

Dr. Fangfang Li, a psychology professor, will examine factors that may influence speech errors in second-language learners. She found that errors made by local students in French Immersion programs persisted over time, even though researchers expected the students would make fewer speech errors when they reached higher grades. Li hypothesizes that the errors persist because opportunities to speak with native French speakers are limited in a community where English is the dominant language. Li’s research will look at a mixed bilingual program in Edmonton to see if the second-language learners there, who have more opportunity to speak with native speakers, produce more accurate speech as they advance to higher grades. For more information visit Second-language Learning.

Dr. Yutao Li

Dr. Yutao Li, a professor in the Faculty of Management at the U of L’s Calgary campus, will explore the costs and benefits of banks’ involvement in lending networks. While greater connectivity in a network can be helpful because it gives a bank more information it can use to evaluate a borrower’s credit risk, it can also be detrimental if risk enters the financial system and spreads throughout the network, as it did during the financial crisis of 2007-2008. Li’s study is the first to investigate banks’ lending networks and the research will help build understanding about how banks’ network connectivity affects information acquisition, lending practices and quality of financial reporting. For more information visit Banking Networks.

Dr. Paul Vasey

Dr. Paul Vasey, a psychology professor, will delve into competition for mates in cultures that recognize third genders, specifically the muxes in the Istmo region of Oaxaca, Mexico and the fa’afafine in Samoa. The fa’afafine and muxes are same-sex attracted feminine males or what could be termed transgender in North America. They engage in sexual activity with masculine men who are bisexual, thus creating a competitive atmosphere for heterosexual women. In contrast, women in Euro-American cultures most often face competition from other women. Vasey and his students will conduct research in Canada and at their field sites in Samoa and Mexico to see how the presence of third-gender males affects the behaviour and psychology of heterosexual individuals. For more information visit Mate Competition.

Dr. Carol Williams

Dr. Carol Williams, a professor in Women and Gender Studies and History, and her collaborators, Linda Weasel Head, Hali Heavy Shield and Faye Heavy Shield, will assemble diverse and new historical accounts of Kainai women’s social reform work between 1968 and 1990. The researchers will engage with the Kainai community and propose a series of cultural and historical workshops for all age groups to encourage conversation and storytelling. The study hopes to challenge the colonial character of the archives as they exist and the myths of Indigenous-Settler relations. The study, in line with the recommendations from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, seeks to expand historical literacy about how Kainai women transformed their communities. For more information visit Kainai Women’s Activism.

U of L alum sailing with Canada C3 voyage to celebrate Canadian diversity

caroline.zentner — Fri, 13 Oct 2017 15:56:30 +0000

When Ahmed Saffar (BMgt ’15) and his wife emigrated from Dubai, they chose Canada as their new home.

“We didn’t regret that decision at all,” says Saffar. “We came to Canada in 2007 and we’ve been building our family ever since. We’ve been trying to survive and flourish in this great country.”

Based in Calgary, Saffar and his wife are the parents of two sons aged eight and 13. He says their experience in Canada has been largely a good one, but he admits that he and his children sometimes hear negative comments.

“We try to stay positive and work toward the idea that Canada is a country for everyone, not only for certain people,” he says.

That inclusive attitude and a desire to learn more about Canada led him to apply to participate in the Canada C3 initiative, a 150-day sailing expedition around Canada’s three coasts from Toronto to Victoria via the Northwest Passage.

Saffar first heard about the journey on the radio and went online to check it out. Applicants were asked to indicate their community involvements and he shared his beliefs about diversity, inclusion and his efforts to help newcomers adjust to life in Canada by volunteering for the Calgary Immigration Society. Earlier this year, he learned he was one of 200 people out of 5,000 applicants chosen to participate. He will join the Canada C3 voyage for 10 days on its 15th and final leg.

“It was a great surprise for me,” says Saffar. “I’m a new Canadian and I want to learn about the aspects of the coastal communities from coast to coast to coast in Canada and learn about the Indigenous people and their culture.”

Saffar departs for Campbell River on Thursday, Oct. 19 where he’ll board the MV Polar Prince, a Canadian-flagged research icebreaker. The 15th leg goes from Campbell River through the Georgia Strait and Gulf Islands to Victoria. The expedition will meet with diverse communities along the way, from artist and musician havens to First Nations communities and fishing towns. The Polar Prince will also stop at Vancouver before sailing to Victoria.

“The themes of the Canada C3 trip are diversity and inclusion, reconciliation, youth engagement and environment, so all of our activities will be around those themes,” says Saffar. “We will be interacting with Indigenous communities in those areas we visit to understand their struggles and also try to communicate the message of these communities all around Canada.”

Participants will also learn about the diversity of their environment and different living styles among Canada’s peoples.

Canada C3 is an initiative of the Students on Ice Foundation (SOI) and a Signature Project for Canada’s 150th Anniversary of Confederation. SOI, a leader in polar education and youth engagement, has undertaken more than 30 educational expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctic since 2000. Geoff Green, SOI founder and president, is the expedition leader for the Canada C3 voyage, which is designed to give Canadians new perspectives and to spark new ideas on how to build a better Canada. People can follow the Canada C3 journey online.

Born in Baghdad, Iraq, Saffar, who earned a degree in computer science in the Middle East, worked in Abu Dhabi and Dubai before coming to Canada. A few years after settling in Canada, Saffar decided to change his career to supply chain management and that led him to the U of L’s Calgary campus.

“It was the most wonderful experience that I had in Canada since moving here, but I think now the Canada C3 will be the highest in the rank,” Saffar says. “I enjoyed studying at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ here. It opened my eyes to many aspects of Canada’s educational and cultural background and I got to know the communities here in Calgary. It was a great experience.”

Saffar currently works for the City of Airdrie.

Mitchell demonstrates the power of persistence

caroline.zentner — Tue, 10 Oct 2017 16:26:50 +0000

During his studies at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, Tyler Mitchell had to draw on his willpower and determination on more than one occasion. His persistence has paid off and that will be demonstrated for all to see during fall convocation ceremonies when he receives a Bachelor of Management with a major in First Nations’ Governance.

Tyler Mitchell will receive a Bachelor of Management in First Nations' Governance at Saturday's convocation ceremonies.

A member of the Cowessess First Nation in Saskatchewan, Mitchell was born and raised in Fort McMurray, a region rich with development and Indigenous culture. Although he spent summers attending powwows and family feasts, he grew up surrounded by the oil and gas industry and it fueled his desire to work in aboriginal and government relations like his older sister. He earned a Business Administration diploma and a certificate in Human Resources at Keyano College before coming to the U of L to complete a degree.

“I chose the U of L specifically for the First Nations’ Governance program,” he says. “I really like the idea of a management degree where traditional knowledge and cultural values are taught at the same time as things like finance, accounting and economics.”

At the core of Mitchell’s desire to learn aboriginal governance is the belief that Indigenous communities will prosper more through economic and resource development, strategic partnerships, and social and environmental responsibility.

“I knew from a young age that finding ways to positively bring the two sides together was what I wanted to do as a career,” says Mitchell. “As an Aboriginal person, I have a vested interest in the inclusion of Aboriginal communities in resource development through proper consultation, ensuring equal opportunity in procurement, reclamation and treat right protections. My cultural values, traditional knowledge, experience in the industry and formal education has given me a unique foundation to further build a successful career.”

When he arrived in Lethbridge, he knew what he wanted to study but didn’t know anyone and, being Saulteaux and Cree, he wasn’t sure what to expect in Blackfoot territory.

“The community in and around the school is excellent. It’s full of very friendly people and very smart students who also like to have fun. They were very welcoming to someone from far away and I found it invaluable to learn about the local culture,” he says.

When the Fort McMurray wildfire broke out on May 3, 2016, Mitchell was on day two of his job working in aboriginal relations for the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo. He soon moved into emergency management, assisting evacuees and organizing help where needed. His parents were unable to return to their home and spent a year living in Edmonton while their house was fixed. Although he didn’t know it at the time, the experience, along with jobs he held at Syncrude and Suncor, helped him land his current contract position as an aboriginal analyst in emergency management with Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain Expansion Project.

Mitchell’s resolve was tested by personal adversity again during the December break, just before he was to start his final semester. He lost a loved one and suffered an injury in a vehicle collision.

“My last semester was a tough one for me but I didn’t give up. My advice to other students is, no matter what they’re going through or what kind of adversity they might be facing, to not just give up but talk to somebody,” he says. “Talk to a professor because everyone at this ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ is very understanding. Never be afraid or too proud to ask for help.”

In addition to his sister, Lana Hill, whom he calls his best friend and biggest mentor, Mitchell feels he couldn’t have persevered without support from his family.

“My mom and dad raised me to be confident in myself and to always work hard to achieve my goals and dreams,” he says. “They showed me what a strong work ethic was all about, but even more so, the importance of kindness.”

Mitchell also has high praise for his instructors for offering support when he needed it most.

“In the future, when I look at my degree it’s going to remind me that if I got through that, then I can get through anything,” he says. “Two people I want to thank specifically, both for helping me go through personal things as well as being great overall professors, would be Don McIntyre and Lois Frank.”

Now based in Calgary, Mitchell is working towards his vision of building a better future for Indigenous people.

“I am a firm believer that there needs to be more of an Indigenous voice in boardrooms of corporations,” he says. “At the end of the day, I want to make sure my people are benefitting from development and that things are fair and beneficial to both sides. I want nothing more than to close socio-economic gaps, lower Aboriginal unemployment rates and increase our educational rates.”

In the future, Mitchell has his sights set on completing a master’s degree in public policy.

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Calgary campus opens Centre for Financial Market Research and Teaching at BVC

trevor.kenney — Thu, 28 Sep 2017 21:01:17 +0000

Faculty of Management students at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge’s Calgary campus at Bow Valley College now have access to the latest in hands-on training technology with the opening of the Calgary Campus Centre for Financial Market Research and Teaching (CFMRT).

The Centre is a state-of-the-art facility, complete with a 42-foot, full-colour LED stock ticker, that focuses on the integration of theory and research with practice. Research databases, trading simulation software, and access to global financial resources allow students to link classroom lessons to real-life securities and markets.

“Our programming is geared toward working professionals looking to earn the skills and credentials needed to advance their careers,” says Lynda Thai-Baird, manager of the CFMRT on the U of L’s Lethbridge campus. “Our focus is to meet the needs of our Calgary campus student population by providing these students the same level of accessibility, and creating a seamless learning experience, on both campuses.”

The Centre, created in collaboration with Bow Valley College, is designed to provide a focal point for research and training in a range of financial disciplines, including investment strategy and portfolio management, financial engineering and risk management, trading and analysis of the microstructure of markets.

In 2010, the U of L’s Lethbridge campus opened the first CFMRT and it has proven to be a big draw for students, giving them the opportunity to participate in real-time exercises under actual market conditions. The Faculty of Management introduced the Student-Managed Investment Fund (SMIF) in 2011, providing $100,000 of real money to be invested under the direction of CFMRT advisors but traded by students enrolled in the specific SMIF course.

“The trading room helps the learning experience by taking the theories we have learned in class and showing how these theories are used by financial professionals on a day-to-day basis using the same software they utilize,” says Tanner Johnson, a fifth-year finance and accounting major and president of the Finance Club. “SMIF takes this further by providing the rare opportunity to learn about the challenges of managing real money while still working within a learning environment.”

Faculty of Management Dean Dr. Bob Boudreau says it was important for the U of L to provide this level of technology for its Calgary students, who are mostly employed mature students looking to enhance their financial literacy and further their careers.

“Opening this space in Calgary furthers the U of L’s mandate as an innovator in new curriculum, business initiatives and software development, which all contribute to enhancing the global competitiveness of our students,” says Boudreau. “This is a big day for us as a Faculty and even bigger for both U of L and Bow Valley College students.”

In addition to the real-time stock ticker, CFMRT also features 40 computer terminals with ultra-wide monitors, two high-end web cameras and a custom-designed digital financial data wall consisting of four, 65-inch LCD displays.

“The CFMRT in Lethbridge quickly established itself as a must-see facility for faculty, students, industry leaders and visitors to campus,” says Dr. Mike Mahon, U of L President and Vice-Chancellor. “It is truly leading-edge technology and allows our students to get instant feedback on their theoretical studies as they participate in hands-on, real-time market activities. This experience is invaluable to them once they graduate.”

In addition to the academic activities taking place in CFMRT, the room in Lethbridge has been used as a site for industry nights, high school trading competitions, university finance competitions, investment clubs and tours, all of which are now possible at the U of L’s Calgary campus at Bow Valley College.

Thriving in crisis

trevor.kenney — Tue, 08 Nov 2016 22:14:36 +0000

How well do you perform in a crisis? Everyone’s response to stress is different, and therefore, outcomes in crisis situations are often different too, depending on who’s making the decisions and what their temperaments might be.

Imagine for a moment that the crisis you’re facing is corporate – that you’re a top executive in a large foreign company, and business has taken an unexpected turn. How will you handle it? How will your team handle it? There are many people involved, many factors at play, and the choices that get made will have lingering effects on the bottom line. How well, in fact, do companies navigate uncharted territory? And if mistakes are made, how well do they learn from them?

Dr. YJ Bao studies how foreign businesses function during tough times.

These are questions that Dr. YJ Bao has been asking for the last 16 years. Bao is an associate professor in the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Faculty of Management. He earned his PhD in public policy and MPA from the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Southern California in Los Angeles, and bachelor degree of law from Fudan ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ in Shanghai.

Bao’s interest in the cognitive side of management – how managers think, react, and make decisions, lead him to conduct research in the areas of TMT decision making, corporate entrepreneurship, rare event learning, tacit knowledge transfer, and trust and justice factors in team performance. Most recently, Bao and his colleagues have turned their research toward the area of crisis management – decision making under extreme conditions – with a specialization in Chinese corporations.

“We chose to study Chinese businesses mostly to differentiate our work,” says Bao. “I was born in China and studied there, and still have good access to companies across the country. The samples we gather are unique and the findings are unique also, so our research offers something of value in a comparative sense.”

Bao began to get interested in extreme cases after observing many companies in the midst of crisis. In fact, based on what he’s seen, Bao says that operating under crisis conditions is actually the norm for companies of all sizes – far more so than the picture perfect scenario of smooth day-to-day business.

“That’s the romantic, fairytale notion of how business works,” says Bao of the phenomenon. “The truth is all business interactions have some element of surprise that need to be handled. Companies have to improvise. They have to make decisions on the spot. It happens every day – that’s the reality of crisis. The problem with most businesses is that they treat crisis as an abnormal state, when it’s actually the opposite. When business people adjust their emotional response to crisis you start to see interesting and creative solutions happening.”

Bao’s findings in the field of crisis management have been published in a variety of academic journals, including the Journal of Management, World Business and International Business Review. He’s published six books on the subject, and also writes weekly columns for four Chinese newspapers and Chinese on-line media. Dr. Bao's new book, Strategy in Peripheral Visioning, will be published by December 2016.

“Every company wants to perform,” says Bao. “But successful business performance is based on a pattern of relating – how people interact in any given situation. In crisis, the variables for relating are heightened, so it’s a very intense example of learning and the outcomes based on the variables highlight were improvements can be made.”

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