UNews - Advanced Education Minister

Mental health support receives $3 million boost

trevor.kenney — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 16:04:19 +0000

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge students will soon see expanded mental health services because of a significant Government of Alberta investment.

On January 16, Alberta Health Minister Fred Horne and Enterprise and Advanced Education Minister Stephen Khan announced the U of L would receive $3 million over three years as part of the first stage of implementing Alberta's Addiction and Mental Health Strategy. Similar investments were made at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary and ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta with the Alberta Student Executive Council (ASEC) receiving $1.5 million over the same period.

"The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge puts tremendous emphasis on the student experience," says U of L president Mike Mahon. "This includes ensuring timely and comprehensive mental health supports are available for our students. This investment greatly benefits the U of L students at our three campuses in Edmonton, Calgary and Lethbridge by helping those with an immediate problems and by mitigating future issues using preventative measures."

The U of L will use these funds to expand mental health, addiction and counseling services at its Edmonton, Calgary and Lethbridge campuses through the hiring of health professionals, holding work shops and training sessions and conducting surveys to ensure the institution continues to understand the types of supports that students require.

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Associate Vice-President (Academic) Bob Boudreau says the Government of Alberta investment is targeting an important demographic.

"Providing mental health supports for a student in need is not only beneficial in the short-term but has a lasting effect," says Boudreau. "Often these supports benefit students over a lifetime. Further, students who deal with issues they face in a timely fashion are more like succeed over the term of their post-secondary studies."

Funding will be used, among other things, to:
• Hire medical professionals, including a two day per week salaried Physician with training in mental health that can act as an expert in the collaboration and liaison needed between on-campus services.

• Expand counselling services at the three U of L campuses.

• Run workshops and training, for example, on suicide prevention. Continuing education of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge team will ensure that best practices are rapidly incorporated into delivery and support programs.

• Support participation in and data analysis of the NCHA and Healthy Minds surveys.

The Government of Alberta media release can be found here: http://www.alberta.ca//acn/201301/3352944E370AE-F03F-0F4A-22170BF973A0B317.html#backgrounder

U of L is Canada's top undergraduate research university

trevor.kenney — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 16:40:14 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge continues to evolve as one of the country's leading research-intensive universities, earning recognition Wednesday as the 2012 Research ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of the Year (undergraduate category) from Research Infosource.

The U of L increased its research income by an astounding 38.7 percent over the past year, and combined with other indicators such as research intensity, publication intensity and publication impact, moved from 9th to 1st place in the 22-member undergraduate classification.

"There is no easy path to achieving the status of Canada's Research ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of the Year (2012 undergraduate category)," says Dr. Dan Weeks, Vice-President (Research). "A research portfolio must be built strategically, over time, and with support throughout the university. It is also dependent on the hard work of faculty members who consistently demonstrate that they are among the very best researchers in Canada. They not only excel in research, but actively engage students in research opportunities that foster the next generation of researchers and innovators."

Research Infosource has ranked the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge as the number one undergraduate research university in the country.

Alberta Enterprise and Advanced Education Minister Stephen Khan says the recognition is testament to the province's commitment to research and innovation.

"The U of L's accomplishment of being named Research ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of the Year in its category speaks to the quality of Alberta's post-secondary system," says Khan. "The U of L's research strength, combined with its traditional excellence in teaching, provides Alberta students with tremendous opportunities, and helps to build Alberta's knowledge-based economy."

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ also ranked third in Research Infosource's top 10 overall ranking for growth and moved from 35^th to 32^nd place in overall research funding.

"There is a real breadth to the research activities that are taking place across campus," says Weeks. "With the establishment of a number of internal funding mechanisms in recent years, it has served as the impetus for new research initiatives that are now being recognized by external agencies. Couple that with the many faculty who already have well established research portfolios and it creates an even more vibrant research environment."

U of L President Mike Mahon says the university's research maturation is positioning the institution to make an even larger difference in people's lives.

"The problems being addressed by U of L researchers are helping to create a better quality of life for local and global communities," says Mahon. "While many factors have contributed to building this capacity, the exceptional work by current and former faculty has played a significant role in attracting additional world-leading researchers."

As a comprehensive university with a focus on both undergraduate and graduate education, the U of L's unique approach creates research opportunities for students early in their undergraduate studies. By investing in the establishment of nine research centres and institutes, and a clear objective outlined in the 2012-2017 Research and Academic Plan, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ is focused on continuing to grow as one of Canada's most influential universities.

"The education I received from the U of L was second to none," says Jennifer Arthur (BA '07, MSc '12), who recently completed her master's studies at the U of L. "My undergraduate research experience gave me an opportunity to work with great faculty who encouraged me to pursue graduate education."

Research Infosource is Canada's leading provider of research intelligence for business and higher education. Canada's Top 50 Research Universities List is released each fall. Using Statistics Canada data and the Canadian ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ R&D Database, the list ranks universities by their research income. Accompanying the Top 50 List each year are Research Universities of the Year rankings based on a balanced scorecard of input, output and impact measures.

To view the complete rankings list, visit www.researchinfosource.com

Town Hall Meeting will update budgetary process

trevor.kenney — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 18:16:35 +0000

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge President Dr. Bill Cade chats about what's happening in the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ community

This past spring, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ held a town hall meeting for staff and faculty to address issues surrounding the economic downturn and an expected shortfall in the provincial operating grant.

At that time, much of what we talked about was based on speculation and an expectation that the provincial funding grant increases for the years 2010 and 2011 would come in at zero per cent.

As you read this Billboard, senior administration has just returned from a meeting in Edmonton with Advanced Education Minister, Hon. Doug Horner. He invited the board of governor Chairs and presidents from the province's post-secondary institutions to discuss the state of the provincial budget and what the allocations will be to the post-secondary system.

Now that we have this information, I invite everyone to attend the Friday, Oct. 9, Town Hall Meeting so that we may discuss the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's financial situation further. The feedback from the previous town hall was generally positive and some very good ideas were generated as a result. I expect Friday's town hall will be just as beneficial.

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ just recently unveiled a Voluntary Retirement Program as one measure aimed at alleviating some of the financial stress on our operating budget. It is hard to say what impact this initiative will have but it has already received a number of inquiries. The nature of our organization, as with any educational institution, is that salaries make up the majority of the operating budget and all avenues are being explored to best handle the expected shortfall in provincial funding.

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ celebrated a major event last month with the grand opening of the new Community Sports Stadium. The festivities were spectacular by any measure. I'm still thrilled by the Friday night football games featuring four of our local high school programs. I have no rooting interest in any of these teams and yet I was swept up in the emotion of the evening. The traffic, the people, the spirit of the stadium was truly alive. Our own Pronghorn teams then carried that momentum over into Saturday, making it a very memorable weekend.

Another good news story this month is the realization of our largest enrolment figure to date. At 8,248 students, we are well ahead of last year's Fall Semester numbers, which is a testament to the hard work of many ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ departments. At one point, projected enrolment saw us at a 17 per cent decline from the previous year, but as is the nature of the U of L, a concentrated interdepartmental effort tackled the challenge and produced wonderful results.

Congratulations to Dr. Reg Bibby, recently honoured by the Confederation of Alberta Faculty Associations (CAFA) with the CAFA Distinguished Academic Award for 2009. One of our most recognized faculty members due to his groundbreaking and oft-cited research interests, this honour is well deserved.

I am looking forward to celebrating another graduating class at the Fall 2009 Convocation later this month. With Son Soubert and Paul Brandt here to receive honorary degrees, as well as the return of our first Rhodes Scholar, Dr. Cheryl Misak, as the Alumna of the Year, it promises to be a prominent event.

UNews - Advanced Education Minister

Mental health support receives $3 million boost

Related Topics

U of L is Canada's top undergraduate research university

Related Topics

Town Hall Meeting will update budgetary process

Related Topics