UNews - Owen Holmes

Annual Long Service Awards and Retiree Recognition Ceremony, May 6

trevor.kenney — Tue, 28 Apr 2015 19:44:42 +0000

The annual Long Service Awards and Retirement Recognition Ceremony will be held on Wednesday, May 6, at 1 p.m. in the Students' Union Ballrooms. Faculty and staff are invited to join in the celebration. Please visit the Notice Board for more information and a full list of recipients.

This year, 146 employees will be honoured at this event, along with 17 retiring employees. We recently caught up with Drs. Reg Bibby and Peter McCormick, who both are celebrating 40 years at the U of L. Check out the photos from their early days on campus.

Dr. Peter McCormick

After an illustrious 40-year career at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, Dr. Peter McCormick will be retiring this year. He won’t be slowing down, though – McCormick plans to pen two books, including a biography of Supreme Court Chief Justice Beverly McLachlin, and will continue to teach at the U of L.

“I’ve had a wonderful time at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ,” McCormick says, explaining that he has constantly expanded his research and teaching horizons as his career progressed.

McCormick has taught a wide variety of political science courses over his tenure, and has had the opportunity to mentor many students. “I’ve had many fantastic students. Some have gone on to be Rhodes Scholars, some have clerked at the Supreme Court,” he says, “The most gratifying thing, for me, is seeing everything clicking together for them. It’s so rewarding to see that.”

Dr. Reg Bibby

When Dr. Reginald (Reg) Bibby came to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge in 1975, he didn’t anticipate staying for very long. “I had a bit of ambivalence about coming here,” he says. “Lethbridge was very small and the university was relatively unknown at the time. I was afraid I might disappear.”

This year, Bibby celebrates 40 years with the U of L and says the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ has provided him with incredible opportunities as a researcher and teacher. “I’ve been given the resources to do everything I have wanted to do,” he says. “There’s also a certain tranquility to the city and the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ. It’s a great base to work from.”

Bibby also credits fellow faculty members for his success. “I’ve worked with some exceptional colleagues,” he says, adding that Dr. Owen Holmes (LLD ’05) served as an important mentor in his early years at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ. “He was wise, generous and encouraging – I owe a lot to him. Owen symbolized the best of the U of L.”

Bibby’s research has focused on social trends, youth, and religion, and has received considerable media attention throughout his career. “My explicit goal has always been to make the material accessible not only to ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ but to others with an interest in the material,” he says. That goal has clearly been met – Bibby’s research has been featured on the cover of Maclean’s four times, and his work has been featured by a variety of media organizations, including the Globe and Mail, CNN and The New York Times. More than 150,000 copies of his fourteen books have been sold. In recognition of the impact of his work on Canadian life, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2006.

“My passion for research comes from my love of ideas. Picking a research area and delving into it is so enjoyable for me,” he says. Currently holding his third U of L Board of Governors Research Chair appointment, Bibby has two new books scheduled for publication in 2016.

Dr. Jennifer Mather

After 30 years at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, Dr. Jennifer Mather continues to be inspired by her research and teaching endeavours.

“I keep enjoying what I’m doing,” she says. “I love research and teaching, and I keep postponing my retirement.”

Mather’s primary research is in the behaviour of cephalopod molluscs (octopuses and squid), and her areas of expertise include women in science and examining teaching and learning in higher education. Over the years, she has helped facilitate more than 100 applied studies, and believes in equipping students with the skills and passion required to succeed in a variety of fields.

“I love giving students the opportunity to learn. Watching them grow as individuals, and as scholars, is so rewarding,” she says.

As part of two courses she teaches, including one on Schizophrenia, which she has taught since 1993, and another on Alzheimer’s, Mather requires students to gain personal contact with those affected by the illness.

“In the textbook, it’s a few paragraphs. In the real world, it’s someone’s life,” she says. “For a lot of the students, it’s life-changing.”

As she looks ahead, Mather will continue doing what she enjoys – advancing knowledge and inspiring the next generation.

Fiat Lux Address stimulates liberal education dialogue

trevor.kenney — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 20:40:07 +0000

Dr. Andy Hakin has posed the question, and now we look forward to the discussions that will ensue.

The second annual Fiat Lux Address (Sept. 27, 2012) was the purview of Hakin this time around, after President Mike Mahon gave the inaugural address in 2011. And from the outset of Hakin's presentation, the provost and vice-president (academic) made one thing abundantly clear – he was going to initiate a dialogue about liberal education and not conclude one.

"My intention today is to ask questions," said Hakin. "There's no solution here – if you're looking for a solution you're at the wrong talk."

Weaving a narrative that first spoke to the need to differentiate the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ within the province's post-secondary landscape, Hakin paid homage to some of the institution's founders such as Drs. Owen Holmes and Luke Stebbins. He referred to conversations he'd had with former Provost Dr. Seamus O'Shea and Dr. Chris Nicol as he shaped is opinions on liberal education at the U of L.

"The need for differentiation within Alberta's post-secondary system has never been greater, for our students and for us," he said. "There are many things we could do but what are the right ones? It's a time for focus and a time to review the options that are in front of us."

One of those options is to take a real look at the liberal education ideal through the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's curriculum and to not be afraid to ask the hard questions.

"Is the GLER (general liberal education requirements) list a liberal education?" he asked. "I've been here 23 years and it doesn't seem to have evolved much from those lists. For some of our students, it becomes ticking off boxes to complete a degree – but is that a liberal education? I don't think so, and I think we have to be a little more purposeful."

Time and again, Hakin would go back to a common refrain, saying, "It's time to get into it."

He acknowledged there was a fear to open up the liberal education discussion, mainly because the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ community is not entirely sure just what liberal education is today.

"It's not going to come, in a comprehensive academic and research institution, at the expense of the strength of our majors. This is not about downgrading the quality of our majors, but if we're serious about the quality of the whole of the degree that we offer, then we have to try and build an experience not just around the major but the whole beast."

Hakin challenged faculty, as the generators of curriculum, to examine their own thoughts on liberal education.

"I'm asking for us to reinvest in curriculum," he said. "We have strong programs and majors but I think we can do better. It's not that it's bad, I'm just asking the question, is it purposeful and does it address the needs of today's students and differentiate us in a manner that it could?"

He concluded by putting the conversation into historical context, harkening back to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's founding principles, hashed out at the 1967 Waterton Conference.

"Liberal education has historically been very important to us," he said. "We need to ask, does it still have that importance to us as an institution? I know where I stand, I want to know where you stand."

Let the dialogue begin.

This story first appeared in the October 2012 issue of the Legend. To see the full issue in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Physics Department history reflects U of L story

trevor.kenney — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 22:13:50 +0000

The history of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge is one of bold beginnings and independent ideals, traits that are reflected in the histories of the individual departments on campus. The evolution of the Department of Physics and Astronomy may embody that more than any other.

"Our story is really the story of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ," says department Chair and associate professor Dr. David Siminovitch. "For us, in particular, there were some moments it could have gone quite badly and we might not even be here, but we are and we've triumphed."

The department's story has caught the eye of the Canadian Association of Physicists (CAP) and is featured in the latest edition of its quarterly magazine, Physics in Canada.

"CAP approached me several years ago to do this but I just didn't have the time," says Siminovitch. "Finally, a couple of years ago I sat down and said if I don't do it now, I'm never going to do it. I literally set aside two weeks where I dropped everything else and worked on writing the history of our department. Since then I'd spent a week here or there polishing it."

For Siminovitch, who came to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ in 1990, the exercise proved to be very enlightening.

"There was a lot that happened before me," says Siminovitch.

"I had some help from the department and particularly from Dr. Arvid Schultz, one of the founding members, and from Drs. Keramat Ali and David Naylor. It was very satisfying for us to get it done and the nice thing is, it now goes into something that is read by virtually every member of the Canadian physics community, including faculty members but also graduate and undergraduate students."

The department's history spans four decades, each of which has significant milestones, taking the department from its establishment in 1967 as an independent unit of the Faculty of Arts & Science focused principally on teaching to today's comprehensive research and development group.

Over the past 40-plus years, the department's maturation has been anything but linear, and Siminovitch points to a particularly poignant period in history when the future of physics at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ was in question.

He describes a department lacking support as it approached its second decade, with a low sense of morale and experiencing high rates of attrition. In 1979, academic vice-president, Dr. Owen Holmes, requested an external, independent review of the department. Its resulting report was frank and blunt, recommending as a bare minimum step to rebuild and strengthen the department that two new faculty be recruited immediately, both active in experimental physics.

"Firstly, they had the good sense to go outside the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ to find out what they should do," says Siminovitch. "Then they had the courage to act on the recommendations, hiring both Dr. Ali and Dr. Naylor. The rest really is history. They did right back in 1979 and the department is alive and well because of that."

With the history now written and published, Siminovitch encourages other ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ departments to look into their pasts and to put down their own histories.

"I view this as both telling our story but also telling our story at a very important moment in the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's history," he says. "The nice thing now is that this history lives on the web (www.uleth.ca/artsci/physics-astronomy/department-history) and it is dynamic, so we plan to continually update it, not only as we move along year to year but also adding to our past as more stories emerge."

This story first appeared in the January edition of the Legend. For a look at the Legend in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Pioneer Holmes looks back at ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's beginnings

trevor.kenney — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 23:49:33 +0000

A chemist, teacher, and university administrator, Dr. Owen Holmes (LLD '05) helped shape the character of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge as a liberal arts institution.

Holmes began his career as a research chemist, making significant discoveries in electron spectroscopy, before turning to teaching and administration on the Regina campus of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Saskatchewan. He later moved to the Lethbridge Junior College, where he became acting principal, and then Dean of the Academic Section and Professor of Chemistry. When the Academic Section of the college became the nucleus of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, Holmes was the institution's first dean of Arts and Science. He went on to become the vice-president (academic) of the U of L, in which capacity he served for a decade.

As an academic leader of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, he infused the academic and administrative sides of the institution with the philosophy of liberal education. His great achievement was to create a successful liberal education program, the first in western Canadian post-secondary education and an approach that was less than popular at the time.

Many of the ideas Holmes implemented - liberal arts education, small class sizes, independent research opportunities, and student-professor interaction - have shaped the unique character of the U of L and have persisted in the institution to this day.

Holmes's leadership and vision contributed immensely to the success of the fledgling ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, and he has dedicated much of his career to creating and consolidating the U of L's reputation of academic excellence.

As he neared retirement, Holmes embarked on a new career as an archivist for the U of L and the City of Lethbridge. When he retired from the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, he continued to serve in educational and social service agencies in Lethbridge.

Physics Department history reflects U of L story

trevor.kenney — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 22:22:14 +0000

The department's story has caught the eye of the Canadian Association of Physicists (CAP) and is featured in the latest edition of its quarterly magazine, Physics in Canada.

For Siminovitch, who came to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ in 1990, the exercise proved to be very enlightening.

"There was a lot that happened before me," says Siminovitch.

With the history now written and published, Siminovitch encourages other ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ departments to look into their pasts and to put down their own histories.

This story first appeared in the January edition of the Legend. For a look at the Legend in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Oordt remembered as a prof who inspired students

trevor.kenney — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 14:57:34 +0000

The following is a story that appeared in the Apr. 13 edition of the Lethbridge Herald

By CAROLINE ZENTNER
Generations of university students were blessed to be taught by Marty Oordt although they may not have known it at the time.

Oordt was one of the first faculty members hired at the fledgling ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge in 1967. Owen Holmes, the dean of arts and sciences at the time, remembers meeting a lively and enthusiastic young man who wanted to inspire students.

"Marty was a real enthusiast for liberal education. I think of him as Mr. Liberal Education at the university," Holmes said. "In that context he was a great inspiration to a whole generation of students and a really great colleague when we were all trying to foster that kind of a beginning for the university."

Oordt passed away April 8 at age 73 after a brief illness. Born and educated in the United States, he joined the English department at the U of L and stayed for 30 years. He received the Medal for Distinguished Teaching in 1996.

Oordt was a writer and poet and, after he retired in 1997, publisher of Lethbridge Living magazine. He supported several local organizations as a volunteer.

"He was certainly an inspiration and a mentor to many students and to many people," said Jenn Schmidt-Rempel, a former student who took over Lethbridge Living from Oordt and his wife Mary in 2006. "He was always easy to talk to and you could always pick up where you left off when you saw him last. He was certainly more than just an instructor and he took a great deal of interest in his students and the projects they were working on."

Schmidt-Rempel had been a freelance writer for Lethbridge living for several years before she became managing editor in late 2006. As a student, she said Oordt helped her learn to think critically about her creative work, to take a step back and look at plot, structure and development. At the same time he was encouraging.

"Out of all the things that I really remember is probably my first day at university sitting in his English 1900 class. He was asking us to come up and develop characters for a short story that we were working on," she said, adding she had what she considered a ridiculous idea about a child and a cat. "He was really encouraging about that and he said 'You know what, it's your idea, go for it.' The whole thing spawned a series of probably 12 to 15 stories about this kid and her cat."

When Oordt joined the U of L, he came with the attitude that students should come first.

"Education was the flourishing of the student more than just the transmission of information. That was the spirit of it and Marty was right in that spirit all the way through," Holmes said. "He and some others organized a special program called Colloquium Study at the university. That was a pure form of liberal education; it was a
wonderful experience."

A celebration of Oordt's life is scheduled for Saturday, Apr. 30 at 6:30 p.m. at the Galt Museum.

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Archives plays important role in preserving institutional history

trevor.kenney — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 15:34:20 +0000

By MICHAEL PERRY

Every year, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge produces vast quantities of official records on paper, in video, photographs and, increasingly, in electronic format. Much of the material is retained in the various departments across campus until it reaches the end of its ongoing usefulness. What happens to it then, and who preserves the history of our institution?

Records that are scheduled for retention, destruction or archival selection are sent to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Library's Records Management office (403-329-2750).

Records management is a broad term that is used extensively in the day-to-day operations of institutions and businesses, while the role of archives is less understood. Where records managers are concerned with the administration of the current records of an organization, archivists deal with those records that have been selected to be kept for their continuing value.

Interestingly, only 10 per cent of official records are usually selected for permanent preservation. The office responsible for controlling, preserving, protecting and making available this "institutional memory" is the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Archives.

Established in 1968 and under the stewardship of numerous people (Donald Wick, Owen Holmes, Jane Freeman, Winston Jones and Michael Perry), ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Archives is a comprehensive collection of material relating to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's history – and it is continually developing.

Although the office was closed for a few years in the late 1980s and was most recently suspended for three years, the Archives is once again accepting official records through Records Management, as well as unofficial historical artifacts, photographs, etc. directly from departments across campus and the larger academic community.

As an example, we have just received a number of documents and items essential to the institution from Dorothy and William Beckel (William Beckel was the U of L president from 1972-79).

The core functions of archivists include the acquisition, selection and appraisal of official and non-official records, their arrangement and description, storage and maintenance, conservation and preservation, access and reference.

Materials selected for inclusion include meeting minutes, correspondence, announcements, university publications, reports, building plans, photographs, posters, drama productions, videos, audio tapes, personal papers, artifacts, theses and dissertations. Any other material that assists in providing documentation of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's fulfillment of its teaching, research and public service, thus rendering the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's long-range accountability to the society that sustains it, are also maintained.

Currently, the work of the archives includes acting on a preservation assessment completed by a conservator working for the Archives Society of Alberta; working through a huge backlog of official records currently being held in Records Management; migrating our analog collection of video and audio to digital media; and providing much needed advocacy and outreach to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ community.

In the past, students have assisted with projects in the archives through completing independent and applied studies courses. Re-integrating the archival program into the academic sphere will assist to keep it relevant and indispensable.

If you have any questions about this process, or any material you think belongs in the archives, please do not hesitate to contact the Records Management office.

Michael Perry, ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Archivist

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Archives plays important role in preserving institutional history

trevor.kenney — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 20:58:31 +0000

Every year, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge produces vast quantities of official records on paper, in video, photographs and, increasingly, in electronic format. Much of the material is retained in the various departments across campus until it reaches the end of its ongoing usefulness. What happens to it then, and who preserves the history of our institution?

Records that are scheduled for retention, destruction or archival selection are sent to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Library's Records Management office (403-329-2750).

As an example, we have just received a number of documents and items essential to the institution from Dorothy and William Beckel (William Beckel was the U of L president from 1972-79).

If you have any questions about this process, or any material you think belongs in the archives, please do not hesitate to contact the Records Management office.

Michael Perry, ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Archivist

UNews - Owen Holmes

Annual Long Service Awards and Retiree Recognition Ceremony, May 6

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