UNews - Hokkai-Gakuen ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ in Sapporo

Jurkowski named Dean of Faculty of Fine Arts

trevor.kenney — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 15:37:48 +0000

The Faculty of Fine Arts will be under the stewardship of a new Dean after the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge appointed Dr. Ed Jurkowski to the role, succeeding Dr. Desmond Rochfort.

"It is always exciting to announce the appointment of a new Dean, and it is especially gratifying to be able to promote someone from within the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge community," says Dr. Andrew Hakin, provost and vice-president (academic). "Dr. Jurkowski has been with the U of L for 17 years now and brings with him a wealth of knowledge, experience and a unique understanding of the challenges and opportunities that face the Faculty of Fine Arts."

Jurkowski has been at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge since 1996 when he began a term appointment as an assistant professor of music in the Faculty of Fine Arts. During his tenure here at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ, he has continually progressed, earning tenure as an associate professor of music in 2001 and then full professor of music in 2007.

He most recently served as the Chair of the Department of Music (2003-2009) and has been in the role of Associate Dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts since 2011.Jurkowski earned his bachelor's degree in music (composition) from the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Manitoba before completing his master's and PhD designations at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Rochester in Rochester, NY, where he was also a teaching assistant and instructor from 1989 through 1996.

A visiting exchange professor at Hokkai-Gakuen ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ in Sapporo, Japan in 2006, Jurkowski has published four books, including his latest, The Collected Works of Eduard Tubin: Double Bass and Balalaika Concertos (Series II, Volume 3) in 2013.

"I want to thank Dr. Rochfort for his fine work within the Faculty of Fine Arts over the previous five years," adds Hakin.

Jurkowski's appointment is effective July 1, 2013 to June 30, 2018.

Senate Volunteer Award winners to be honoured

trevor.kenney — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 15:24:03 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge will celebrate its 2010 Spring Convocation this week, Thursday and Friday, and among the honouredattendees will be Senate Volunteer Award winners Elsa Cade and Dr. Robert Hironaka.

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Senate's Volunteer Award recognizes people who have volunteered to serve the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ.

"The award is open to people who volunteer for the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ in many ways," says Chancellor Richard Davidson. "A lot of people don't realize that in addition to our talented faculty and staff, we rely on hundreds of people who perform thousands of hours of volunteer work for the institution each year."

Any member of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ community is eligible for the award, including past and present ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ volunteers and individuals who represent the U of L in the community.

A committee representing volunteers, faculty, staff, alumni and students will screen nominations and develop a pool of approved candidates. Both Cade and Hironaka will be honoured at Thursday evening's Chancellor's Dinner in the U of L Atrium.

Elsa Cade

One of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge's most effective ambassadors, Elsa Cade supports and engages in countless ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ activities and events, and advances the institution's relationship with local and global communities.

Over the past 10 years, Cade has been present at every convocation ceremony, many senate committee meetings, all public dinners and receptions, and has attended student events, public lectures, celebrations or announcements, and much more.

She has graciously hosted a vast number of dinner parties for community people, faculty, staff, students, and volunteers. Cade has also travelled frequently to maintain and enhance the U of L's relationship beyond southern Alberta. In particular she has helped foster the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's important relationship with Hokkai-Gakuen ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ in Sapporo, Japan.

Beyond the U of L, Cade has provided dedicated volunteer service for several community organizations. She is an active member of the Rotary Club and a board member of 5th on 5th Youth Services of Lethbridge. She has served on the board of the Alberta Science Foundation and the board of the Friends of the Galt Museum.

Following the earthquake in Haiti, Cade harnessed the power of blogging and online social networking to raise funds to purchase 118 shelterboxes, large containers that hold a 10-person tent, blankets, a stove, a tool kit, and other equipment needed by the survivors of that natural disaster.

Dr. Robert Hironaka supporter of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge." src="/unews/sites/default/files/main/articles/senate-hironaka.jpg" alt="" />

Former U of L Chancellor Dr. Robert Hironaka has volunteered throughout the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ for many years.

Hironaka was a member of the U of L Senate from 1983 to 1987 and Chancellor from 1995 to 1999. He continues to be one of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's most devoted supporters, making himself available to the U of L whenever he is available to help. He regularly attends special occasions and sporting events at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, and participates in committees, fundraisers, celebrations, campaigns, and special presentations.

Hironaka has been an active member of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Alumni Association for several years, in many roles, from executive officer to member at large. He freely shares his expertise and knowledge, and volunteers for many Alumni Association events. A key member of the Alumni Association's Recognition Committee, he is diligent in maintaining this committee's high standards. In 2002, Hironaka received an honourary Doctor of Laws degree from the U of L, in recognition of his service to the institution.

In addition to his ongoing support of the U of L, Hironaka is an active volunteer for community organizations like Rotary and the Nikka Yuko Japanese Gardens (which he helped found).

Whatever volunteer work he is doing, he is an exemplary ambassador for the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge.

Cade, Hironaka honoured with Senate recognition

trevor.kenney — Fri, 07 May 2010 20:17:47 +0000

Elsa Cade

Dr. Robert Hironaka

Former U of L Chancellor Dr. Robert Hironaka has volunteered throughout the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ for many years.

In addition to his ongoing support of the U of L, Hironaka is an active volunteer for community organizations like Rotary and the Nikka Yuko Japanese Gardens (which he helped found).

Whatever volunteer work he is doing, he is an exemplary ambassador for the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge.

Vital signs - the phenomenon of physician burnout

trevor.kenney — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 16:15:51 +0000

Physicians are healers. Far and wide their profession is revered, their status impeccable. It seems contradictory, even wrong, that today's doctors may be the one group of professionals most in need of urgent care. Yet that's exactly the startling finding that ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge professor Dr. Bob Boudreau uncovered through his research on the subject of burnout. As it happens, doctors are more at risk for professional burnout than any of the dozens of other occupations that Boudreau and his research team have examined.

Boudreau has been studying occupational stress for more than two decades. His 1985 dissertation was a theoretical paper on the critical development and directions within the field of stress and burnout. He furthered his investigation on the subject while on exchange at Hokkai-Gakuen ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ in Sapporo in 1988.

Dr. Bob Boudreau examines professional burnout and how doctors seem to be more at risk.

"Our early research surveys on Japanese workers led to further research opportunities on occupational health and burnout levels of workers in Canada, the United States, Belarus, New Zealand and Australia. The study of global burnout has continued to attract attention and grow in interest and importance over the years," Boudreau says.

In the last several years, Boudreau has focused his studies on stress levels and burnout in specific occupations. In 2002, he connected with Taber physician Dr. Rob Wedel to kick-start research on doctors. As fate would have it, Robin Robertson from the Alberta Medical Association overheard their conversation, and quickly thereafter it was decided that the study was something that would be conducted provincewide.

Boudreau developed a survey aimed at examining the prevalence and severity of burnout in Alberta physicians using a series of demographic questions and four measurements of burnout. More than 1,100 doctors
participated in the provincial study, and less than a year later, Boudreau was asked by the Canadian Medical Association to conduct a similar survey nationally.

What Boudreau was surprised to discover was that out of all the occupations he'd examined, doctors were by far at the highest risk for professional burnout. In fact, almost half of the physicians who participated in the study were in what Boudreau categorizes as advanced stages of the condition.

"It doesn't seem to matter whether they are specialists or GPs. Doctors as a group are worse off than other professionals when it comes to burnout. There are a lot of cracks in the health-care system and physicians are suffering in a whole host of different ways."

Boudreau believes the incidence of physician burnout in Canada can be attributed to many factors, not the least of which is the pressure that comes with being responsible for the well-being of hundreds of patients. Tie that in with an over-taxed health-care system rife with shortages, plus the day-to-day pressures of running a busy practice and you have the perfect prescription for professional exhaustion.

"We need to continue to develop a better diagnostic set of measures so we can gain a greater understanding into this complex problem," says Boudreau. "Once we figure out what it is, we will be in the best position to try to manage burnout and many of its related workplace cousins such as increased job conflict, poor performance, helplessness, higher absenteeism, lateness and poor health."

New avenues for Boudreau's research include the development of a bibliography of burnout, which will be a compilation of approximately 13,000 previously researched references on the subject put together in a user-friendly format that other researchers and students around the globe can use. With a background in industrial psychology, Boudreau aims to further his work on professional burnout in an effort to better the working environments of not only physicians, but professionals across the board.

"The strategy is to find the cracks in each occupation we study and develop the tools and strategies people need to cope with their own professional situations," he says.

Future endeavours for Boudreau include a meta-analysis on published physician burnout surveys, and a study of the effects of burnout in relation to the assessment and management of fatigue in chronic illness, conducted with an interdisciplinary team of researchers from across Alberta.

UNews - Hokkai-Gakuen ��Ѹ�����Դ���߿�Ƭ in Sapporo

Jurkowski named Dean of Faculty of Fine Arts

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