UNews - interim director

Ken McInnes named Interim Executive Director, Sport & Recreation Services

trevor.kenney — Mon, 06 Jul 2015 22:16:35 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge has named human resources professional Ken McInnes as its interim director of Sport and Recreation Services (SRS).

McInnes has been with the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ for over 25 years in a variety of leadership roles, and will step out of his current position as the Executive Director, Human Resources to work with the SRS team. His focus will be to position Pronghorn Athletics and U of L Sport & Recreation Services programs for the future.

McInnes will begin to implement recommendations from the recently completed review of Sport and Recreation Services programs, which focussed on a new sport delivery model. He will also work with the SRS team on strengthening recreational programs and services.

Additionally, McInnes will focus on consulting and collaborating with partners, supporters and stakeholders of Pronghorn Athletics and Sport & Recreation Services programs to build on past successes and to promote excellence into the future.

In addition to being an experienced human resources leader, McInnes is a former Pronghorn track and field athlete who has competed at the national level in shot put, discus and hammer throw.

McInnes has an MBA from Royal Roads ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ and is an alumnus of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge with undergraduate degrees in management and kinesiology.

Drawing on experience

trevor.kenney — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 22:00:46 +0000

Of everything that sets the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge apart from other post-secondary institutions, its deeply-rooted relationship with First Nations, Métis and Inuit (FNMI) peoples, and specifically the Blackfoot nation, is intrinsically unique.

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ can justifiably take pride in being among the first universities in Canada to include a major in Native American Studies among its liberal education components. It can also take pride in the extensive range of innovative academic programs, research and creative activity related to FNMI peoples developed across Faculties, coupled with active student services support programs.

And yet there are gaps in those supports and incongruences across campus in the delivery of academic programming related to Aboriginal Peoples.

Roy Weasel Fat, the interim director of the FNMI Centre, sees education as a means to self determination.

In September 2011, President Mike Mahon asked professor Dr. Leroy Little Bear (BASc (BA) ’72, DASc ’04), Roy Weasel Fat (Red Crow Community College vice-president academic) and professor Dr. Jane O'Dea to develop an overarching strategy that would create support for FNMI students, faculty, staff and community members at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge.

The FNMI Report to the President (available at www.uleth.ca/president/fnmi) was the result, and the development of an FNMI Centre, of which Weasel Fat is now the interim director, is a key recommendation of the report.

"Like all Native centres in Alberta, it's basically focused around student support – what can the centre provide in terms of supporting students so that we can improve their retention and completion rates," says Weasel Fat.

A master's degree holder in education and major player in establishing the current relationship between the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ and Red Crow College (he served 17 years there, most recently as the vice-president academic), Weasel Fat speaks to the importance of education in bettering the Aboriginal community.

"Education is the most recognized path to reach self determination," he says.

"There are many people from my generation who are going back to school and their kids will follow and also become educated. Once the parents become educated, then it's an expectation for their children, and that helps bring our people out of that cycle of poverty."

He understands better than most that this cannot be accomplished without the proper support systems for Aboriginal students and the FNMI report identifies seven major recommendations to help achieve that goal.

From the creation of a Niitsitapi Gathering Place to the establishment of an Elders Program and Aboriginal Education Policy, the report is closely aligned with the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's 2009-2013 Strategic Plan.

One aspect especially important to Weasel Fat is the involvement of band elders.

"When we looked at other centres across B.C. and Alberta, what I noticed was that there was very minimal elder involvement," says Weasel Fat. "This is something our students have asked for and one of the mandates of the FNMI Centre, to increase the elders' presence here so that they can be available to the U of L community."

He describes the role elders play in traditional Blackfoot communities as integral.

"Their role in the community is to act as traditional mentors, to provide spiritual support and to keep our history and culture alive," he says.

Weasel Fat sees the Niitsitapi Gathering Place as a community room that would benefit the entire ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ.

"There is a lot of Aboriginal activity across campus through programs in virtually every Faculty but a centre like this can provide a venue for dissemination and collaboration of research for those who are working in these areas across the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ," he says.

Weasel Fat speaks quietly, but with an eagerness that is genuine in its belief. He is a product of what an education can achieve, and he has passed those lessons on to his family through his example. He recently had two sons graduate from the U of L (Roy Jr. BA '12 and Cy BA '11) and quickly move into managerial roles on the Blood Reserve, while his daughter Triscia is a fourth-year student and looking to enter the Faculty of Education next fall.

"When I first started out in education, my first instinct was to go back home and help my people," he says. "Education has been of benefit to my own family as well as my community and I will continue to promote education to our community plus share the Blackfoot culture with the U of L."

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

Hunt announced as new ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Registrar

trevor.kenney — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 16:54:49 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Board of Governors has approved the appointment of Donald E. Hunt as the new ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Registrar. Hunt follows Leslie Lavers, who retired from the U of L after a 31-year career as Registrar and Associate Vice-President Student Services.

"With an extensive business background in finance and accounting, decorated military service in the United States Army and information technology experience implementing complex institutional data systems, Don brings a wide variety of skills to his new position," says Vice-President (Academic) and Provost, Dr. Andy Hakin. "We look forward to having him on our team, and welcoming him into the U of L and broader community."

Hunt was most recently the deputy registrar at Case Western Reserve ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ, a 10,000 student, private university in Cleveland, Ohio. He also served as the interim director of Registrar Operations at the 16,000 student Cleveland State ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ.

Prior to joining the academic community, Hunt was a consultant and advisor to universities and colleges at Datatel Corp., an international supplier of high-volume databases and records management software.

He has worked as a quality assurance advisor to software development companies, and served in the United States Army as a finance and accounting specialist, where he received a Soldier of the Year Award and was posted to a number of locations worldwide.

Hunt holds a bachelor of science degree in business administration and a master of science degree in technology management from the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Maryland, and continues to be active as a member of several professional development organizations focused on student recruitment, retention, registration and enrolment management.

Investigating global population and economies

trevor.kenney — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 21:11:23 +0000

The extent and implications of population change and the dynamics of economies raise questions that demographers and social scientists alike are working to better understand. Taken together in a global context, the number of questions only increases. Yet both population and economies affect our lives, our choices and our policies.

At the Prentice Institute for Global Population and Economy at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, global population challenges are explored from different angles and potential solutions are investigated in new ways.

By DANA YATES

Like many people, John Prentice of Calmar, Alta., dreamed of making a difference in the world. But the late agri-business entrepreneur and philanthropist didn't just stop there; he wanted to change the course of history altogether.

It was an ambitious goal – and one that prompted Prentice, along with his wife Connie, to donate more than $8 million to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge in 2006. The endowment marked the largest-single gift in the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's history and established the Prentice Institute for Global Population and Economy. The institute, which was officially launched in 2009, studies changes in the world population and their lasting impact on demographics, economies and societies.

Just a short time later, the Prentice Institute has become a leading research centre, one of only a few worldwide that is focused on global population changes and the economy. What's more, the institute has attracted many external research grants and is building graduate programs, along with bringing together 20 research affiliates from across eight departments at the U of L.

From looking at how people move through life stages in different economies with different demographic structures, to questions of food security, ethnic diversity, immigration and international trade, the Prentice Institute for Global Population and Economy at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge is at the cutting edge of demographic research.

"It's magical when you get that cross-pollination of expertise," says Dr. Trevor Harrison, a U of L sociology professor who served as the Prentice Institute's interim director between 2007 and 2009.

At the Prentice Institute, sociologists, historians, anthropologists and economists work alongside experts in such diverse fields as nursing, public health, political science and women's studies. Those researchers, in turn, create partnerships with experts across Canada and around the world. The result: global population challenges are explored from different angles and potential solutions are investigated in new ways.

"John Prentice was a big thinker," says
Dr. Susan McDaniel, the institute's current director. She also holds the Prentice Research Chair in Global Population and Economy, the first endowed position of its kind at the U of L. "John was a Renaissance man who understood how things were connected."

Indeed, many forces and factors affect – and are connected to – the global population and economy. But the links between the former and latter are not well understood. Prentice Institute researchers are advancing our understanding of this relationship and using data to verify or refute popular beliefs about demographic changes. This "myth-busting" practice can be applied to numerous situations, says McDaniel.

"We often hear, for instance, that providing health care to an aging population will bankrupt the system," she explains. "In reality, there are much wider concerns. Medical treatments are expensive, and there is a deepening problem of poverty and the health issues associated with it."

To that end, Prentice Institute researchers are studying various issues that appear, at first blush, to be unconnected. They include international trade, migration, aging and family size. But while the subjects may seem disparate, McDaniel says cause-and-effect relationships are at work – and they are having a major impact on the world's citizens.

"Growing inequalities, for example, are happening in developed countries, such as Canada and the United States, and in developing countries, too. These inequalities cause health problems and lower everyone's life expectancy," says McDaniel. The process, she explains, is similar to an illness spreading through a classroom. If one unvaccinated child becomes sick, others will inevitably be affected.

That concept of social ramifications is one in which McDaniel is well versed. An internationally recognized sociology researcher and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, her expertise includes demographic aging, generational relationships, family change and the social impacts of technology. Before joining the Prentice Institute and the U of L Department of Sociology two years ago, McDaniel was a professor of family and consumer studies at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Utah and a senior scholar at its Institute of Public and International Affairs.

Having lived in Alberta before, McDaniel's return north of the border has helped attract other researchers to the Prentice Institute. Among them is Dr. Kathrin Komp, a post-doctoral fellow from VU ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Amsterdam. Other researchers, such as Drs. Harrison and Alexander Darku, who were U of L faculty members before the Prentice Institute was created, currently serve as the institute's associate directors. Their collective experience and expertise have made a significant impact on the institute.

For example, Darku, an assistant professor of economics at the U of L, previously taught at McGill and Concordia Universities. He has also served as a consultant to the World Bank at its Washington, D.C., headquarters and has worked as an economist in Ghana. Through his association with the Prentice Institute, Darku has noticed a shift in his research interests.

Whereas he was previously focused strictly on economic policies and international development, he now studies the interplay among international trade, migration and health. Specifically, Darku is currently looking at the growth of multinational companies in developing countries and the resulting impact on populations' eating habits. The situation, Darku has found, contributes to a "nutritional shift" within a population and can increase obesity rates.

"The interdisciplinary nature of the Prentice Institute has brought many new dimensions to my research," says Darku.

Harrison, meanwhile, has shared his research with new audiences; he has spoken at a number of presentations hosted by the institute. Once a visiting professor at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta and Hokkai-Gakuen ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ in Japan, Harrison was the 2010 Fulbright Visiting Research Chair in Canadian Studies at Georgia's Kennesaw State ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ. As a researcher and guest lecturer at the university, he brought a Canadian perspective to the relationship between Canada and the United States since Sept. 11.

Today at the Prentice Institute, Harrison – like Darku – balances his research with administrative responsibilities. And it seems both areas involve big-picture thinking.

"We're developing programs that will keep the institute moving forward. Ultimately, we're creating a research infrastructure that supports creative thinking and incubates good ideas."

One example is a policy concept known as a guaranteed annual income (GAI). While there are many different approaches to a GAI, the initiative would essentially provide each citizen with a base sum of money. Harrison has studied this complex issue since the 1970s, and while the logistics of implementing a GAI system would be considerable, it would also offer a number of advantages. They include administrative efficiencies, the reduction or elimination of poverty and an increasingly mobile workforce that can afford to move around the country.

GAI supplements, however, are just one of many ideas being analysed at the Prentice Institute. And it's all part of an effort to inform public and private policies that will better reflect, and keep up with, a changing Canada and world. To raise awareness of this vital work, Prentice Institute researchers participate in conferences and dialogue sessions, and contribute to articles, journals and books. Finally, there are future plans to build international partnerships with sister institutes.

"There are many challenges that governments, corporations, education systems and individuals have to address," says McDaniel. "But once they have the information they need, they have the potential to act upon it.

"People are hungry for knowledge. And we're training them how to look beyond myths and build a better society. It will lead to better voters, parents, consumers and caregivers."

What can we learn from other countries with regard to population aging and social policy?

Population aging and economic challenges have raised questions about how social policy regimes are, or will be, affected in various types of economies. Some research indicates a downward convergence across countries is inevitable as global economic and demographic pressures work to bring greater homogeneity to social policies. Other studies suggest that demographic and economic pressures can actually have stimulating effects on social policies.

To address these issues, Prentice Institute researchers are investigating Japan, which has experienced population aging and economic challenges simultaneously. Scholars are analysing changing relations among demographics, economics and social policy. They ask what opportunities can be discerned from the experience of Japan for re-creation of social policy regimes elsewhere in the 21st century. Ultimately, researchers will widen the comparative lens to include other Asian and developed countries. The findings from this crucial research will guide policy-makers in various countries facing similar challenges.

Is there a "Canadian exceptionalism" in issues related to immigration and diversity?

The rapid rise in ethnic diversity in immigrant-receiving countries has resulted in a general anti-diversity, anti-multiculturalism sentiment. Some studies indicate that a generalized trust is more difficult to foster in a multicultural society, resulting in a loss of sense of community and togetherness. However, other research suggests that Canada might be immune from these largely European trends.

At the Prentice Institute, researchers are investigating the extent of, and the reasons for, this Canadian exceptionalism. A clearer understanding of the differences among ethno-racial groups in terms of labour-market integration and social capital could make a significant difference in the lives of Canadians and the global community.

To what extent is population, at root, a problem with respect to food security?

Food is a basic resource essential for human survival. It is estimated that at the end of 2009, more than one billion of the world's population did not have adequate food to meet basic nutritional needs. As the most populous country in the world, China is constantly challenged in providing food for its citizens. Given the sheer size and strategic prominence of China, food security there is a global concern.

As leaders of an international team, researchers at the Prentice Institute are examining the stress points related to food security in various regions in China. The set of indicators of food security and rural development they develop will be an important assessment tool in China and around the world.

How can we achieve economic equality in developing countries?

Throughout most of human history, the conditions of human life have varied from difficult to tolerable, from starvation to subsistence. In some parts of the developing world, these conditions have not changed much, while in others, progress has been made. Disparities in the distribution of economic assets and income exist in a wide range of societies and their nature and cause are issues our world must address.

Researchers at the Prentice Institute are studying how international trade can lead to growth and the distribution of income, especially in developing countries. Another crucial line of research focuses on the relationship between business cycles, poverty and income inequalities.

How will social policy address our aging population?

Wayne Gretzky is credited with saying, "You must skate to where the puck will be." In contemplating the future of aging populations, policy often skates instead to where the puck is now. The presumption is that by studying those who are older now, we can understand those who will be older in the future. But... the older of tomorrow will be very different, as will the socio-economic contexts in which they live.

As leaders of a Canada/U.S. multidisciplinary team, Prentice Institute researchers are studying how people in mid-life in Canada and the U.S. are aging in terms of health and overall well-being. How they help (or not) younger and older relatives now and as they age, and how they anticipate their later years relative to their older relatives now and their younger relatives as they reach their later years, are two of the important questions being addressed. These studies will yield a wealth of information that is critical to addressing policy and family needs in the future.

This story first appeared in SAM Magazine. For a look at SAM in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Sociology researcher Harrison receives Fulbright Scholarship

trevor.kenney — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 21:53:30 +0000

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Sociology researcher Trevor Harrison will become the 2010 Fulbright Visiting Research Chair in Canadian Studies at Kennesaw State ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ (KSU), just outside Atlanta, Georgia as the recipient of a Fulbright Scholarship.

Harrison will be taking a sabbatical from the U of L until December 31, 2010 to travel south to lecture and conduct research at KSU, Georgia's 3rd largest university with a student population of more than 22,500 undergraduate and graduate students.

As a visiting Fulbright Scholar, Harrison is already on the school calendar and, in addition to guest lecturing in several courses, will deliver an opening lecture in mid-September, as well as host a number of informal sessions for faculty and students sponsored by the sociology and political science departments.

Among other topics, Harrison plans to bring a Canadian perspective to the relationship between Canada and the United States Since 9/11, issues surrounding nationalism and something that is sure to be interesting to Atlanta Falcons or KSU Owls fans -- the social history of the Canadian Football League.

Professor Harrison is a full professor in the Department of Sociology at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge. He completed his PhD in Sociology in 1988 at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta after completing his MA (��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary, 1985) and BA (��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Winnipeg, 1979) degrees in sociology.

He has served as Visiting Professor in the Canadian Studies Program at Hokkai-Gakuen ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ (Sapporo, Japan, fall 2006) and at the Univesity of Alberta (1997-2002). Additionally, he was appointed as Interim Director (now Associate Director), of the Prentice Institute for Global Population and Economy (2007). He has served as a consultant for various organizations, both at the international level.

Harrison is the U of L's fourth Fulbright Scholar. Drs Derek Peddle (Geography) Geoffrey Hale (political Science) and Chris Kukucha (political Science) have received past Fulbright awards.

UNews - interim director

Ken McInnes named Interim Executive Director, Sport & Recreation Services

Related Topics

Drawing on experience

Related Topics

Hunt announced as new ��Ѹ�����Դ���߿�Ƭ Registrar

Related Topics

Investigating global population and economies

Related Topics

Sociology researcher Harrison receives Fulbright Scholarship

Related Topics

Hunt announced as new ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Registrar