UNews - Metis

Ferguson earns provincial award

trevor.kenney — Fri, 24 May 2013 21:57:02 +0000

Elizabeth Ferguson (BA '03, MA '05, Native American Studies), the co-ordinator of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge's Native Student Advising office, has received an award from the Institute for the Advancement of Aboriginal Women (IAAW) for her work to support First Nations, Metis and Inuit students at the U of L.

As the first recipient of this award from the U of L community, Ferguson joins more than 300 women from 76 communities across the province who have been recognized for their strength and accomplishments.

"Elizabeth has single-handedly developed a lot of the support systems we have in place for our FNMI students, and has done so in a resourceful, gracious and determined way," says Dr. Judith Lapadat, the U of L's associate vice-president, students. "I am extremely proud of her, as are our staff members who work with her to support our FNMI students. Elizabeth is a key point of contact for all of them at some point in their ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ life, and does everything she can to make their experiences here better. As a U of L graduate who returned to school as an adult, Elizabeth has the inside knowledge they appreciate."

The U of L currently has more than 400 FNMI students from all parts of Canada.

Ferguson, a member of the Dene community, is well known on campus and in the community for her advocacy for, and wholehearted participation in, numerous activities that showcase the achievements of the U of L's FNMI students. These include the annual Native Awareness Week celebration, an event for families and graduates at spring and fall convocation ceremonies and her role in enhancing the presence of Elders on campus.

She also started an FNMI student-specific food bank, made sure that the campus food services providers learned how to make fry bread, berry soup and other traditional foods at FNMI-focused events and works with students to provide settlement assistance when they relocate to attend school.

Her external community activities include a city-appointed position as the First Nations representative on the board of Economic Development Lethbridge, among many other commitments.

"Elizabeth Ferguson has been invaluable in the cultural, spiritual and scholarly advancement of First Nations, Metis, and Inuit students on the campus of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge and has served the larger campus community by her leadership," says Dr. Carol Williams, a faculty member and Chair of the Department of Women and Gender Studies. "She has successfully shown the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ how, and why, ensuring student success through cultural specific and sensitive policy and practices is crucial to their success."

O'Dea's contribution to Education a lasting legacy

trevor.kenney — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 21:44:54 +0000

Finding a way to coax Dr. Jane O'Dea to talk about herself as she reflects on her 10 years as dean of the Faculty of Education is a lesson in futility. Only within the context of describing the faculty's achievements will she discuss her stewardship, and even then, she'll deflect credit away from the individual to that of the collective.

"It's not so much what I achieved over the 10 years, rather it's what we all achieved together," says O'Dea.

"I'm tremendously proud of the things we accomplished because they were achievements that involved every single faculty member and all of our support staff."

Recognizing she was inheriting a faculty with a long and proud tradition, and balancing that with a need to create new and innovative programming that would reflect emerging educational challenges was a juggling act that O'Dea mastered.

"I was tremendously fortunate to become dean of a faculty that has a fabulous tradition of collaboration and partnership with the professional community," she says of the faculty relationship with Alberta Education's Zone 6 schools and teachers. "That isn't something I brought about, that's something the founding members of the faculty created. It was my privilege to come in both as a faculty member and later as dean, become familiar with those structures, realize how important they were and then use that as a foundation to work with our faculty in moving forward."

One of the great legacies of O'Dea's leadership is the establishment of First Nations programming, specifically through the creation of the Niitsitapi Teacher Education and the First Nations, Metis and Inuit (FNMI) graduate programs.

"She made First Nations education one of the priorities of her deanship," says Education faculty member Dr. Cathy Campbell. "She succeeded in developing relationships with the Blackfoot speaking nations, initiating collaborative work and programming with Red Crow College, and bringing issues in First Nations education to the forefront of discussions at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ and in the province."

Round table discussion supports FNMI tech future

trevor.kenney — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 20:25:06 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge (through the office of the Chief Information Officer) hosted an information-sharing round table discussion recently with the First Nations Technology Council (FNTC) of B.C., representatives of Red Crow College, and the Information & Communications Technology Council.

"Part of our focus," says CIO Clark Ferguson, "was to support our First Nations, Metis and Inuit (FNMI) program by bringing Alberta and B.C. information technology leaders together in an effort to identify strengths and to support each other."

Ferguson adds that by partnering on initiatives, participants can become more effective and introduce more programs and new services to First Nations groups in our area. The meeting was the first of a series of planned get-togethers to further that goal.

"We hope that Alberta's First Nations groups will participate in FNTC's First Nations Summit next spring where they will be exposed to potentially hundreds of colleagues," says Ferguson. "A broader network of contacts will support their objective of improving educational services in local communities."

The group met on campus for a morning session, then took tours of Red Crow College and Kainai High School in the afternoon.

"With each step through the institutions, our group's commitment to supporting the community through dialogue and action was strengthened," says Ferguson.

For further information on this meeting, or to participate in future sessions, contact Ferguson at 403-332-4109 or via e-mail at clark.ferguson@uleth.ca.

FNMI Chapter meeting Tuesday night

trevor.kenney — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 19:59:40 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Alumni Association will be holding its Annual General Meeting for its First Nations, Metis and Inuit (FNMI) chapter on Tuesday, Nov. 2 at 7 p.m. in Andy's Place (AH100).

In 2008, the FNMI Chapter was established to renew, strengthen and enlighten life-long relationships with each other, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge and the Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal community.

The FNMI Chapter is looking for interested alum's to share their ideas, volunteer at events and to participate on the board of directors. Those who would like to get involved can e-mail the Alumni Association at alumni@uleth.ca or contact by phone at 403-317-2825.

For more information on the FNMI Chapter of the Alumni Association, visit this link.

ULSU by-election nominations open

trevor.kenney — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 17:19:24 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Students' Union (ULSU) will be holding an internal by-election to fill four vacancies in the General Assembly.

Positions to be filled include: Management Representative; First Nations, Metis, and Inuit Representative; Calgary Campus Representative; and Board of Governors Representative.

The nomination period for this by-election runs from Wednesday, Sept. 8 to Monday, Sept. 20 at 4 p.m. Nomination forms can be picked up at the Students' Union Office (SU180).

Candidates will be required to give a brief presentation to the ULSU General Assembly on Tuesday, Sept. 21 at 6 p.m. at the monthly meeting.

Jackson proud to follow in mother's step

trevor.kenney — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 21:56:58 +0000

Byron Jackson (BA '10) doesn't have to be told to smile for a photograph.

The beaming U of L graduate (kinesiology and Native American studies) celebrated his achievement at the recent Spring Convocation ceremonies with a big group of family and friends, and looks forward to starting his career with the benefit of preparation through the
U of L's First Nations Transition Program (FNTP).

Jackson returned to school as an adult and after spending time in the workforce, where he realized that progress in a job meant educational progress as well.

"I was a former teacher assistant at the Piikani Nation Secondary School, and all of my co-workers and friends were teachers and had an education. I thought I would go back to school, not only to help myself but my people and society in general," says Jackson. "The FNTP program helped me get back into the rhythm of school again."

As a support to First Nations, Metis and Inuit students during their transitional year at ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ, the FNTP gave Jackson some additional resources. He was introduced to better study skills, a library science course and referrals to internal or external learning resources.

Among other jobs, Jackson worked for his father's bus transportation business, and is now self-employed with a vehicle of his own. He never lost sight of his desire to finish ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ, especially since he had others in his family who had completed their studies at the U of L.

"One of the other major reasons for going back to school was my mother Sheena, who is also a U of L grad (BA/BEd '95). I thought it would be fitting that I go to the U of L to follow in her footsteps."

As to what's next, Jackson says he now feels he has many options.

"I plan to gain experience outside my community and perhaps work on a master's degree. Overall, I want to help my people."

O'Dea's contribution to Education a lasting legacy

trevor.kenney — Fri, 07 May 2010 16:09:01 +0000

Finding a way to coax Dr. Jane O'Dea to talk about herself as she reflects on 10 years as dean of the Faculty of Education is a lesson in futility. Only within the context of describing the faculty's achievements will she discuss her stewardship, and even then, she'll deflect credit away from the individual to that of the collective.

"It's not so much what I've achieved over the last 10 years, rather it's what we've all achieved together," says O'Dea, who will step away from the role of dean at the end of June and return to the faculty ranks, where she started at the U of L 20 years ago.

"I'm tremendously proud of the things we've accomplished because they were achievements that involved every single faculty member and all of our support staff."

Dr. Leah Fowler echoes that assessment, saying O'Dea personifies the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's ideals of accessible education.

"With the Niitsitapi teacher education cohort, and the current masters' cohort, she opened wide the door at the Faculty of Education to restorative education for First Nations, Metis and Inuit students," says Fowler. "That has meant that we all have positively revisited education practice and teacher preparation."

Her personable approach is highly respected by her peers, but O'Dea gives credit to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ for fostering an atmosphere that embraces one-on-one learning.

"One of the things that really impressed me when I first came here was I felt this was a place where they really care about students," says O'Dea. "Here you're not just a number, you actually matter, and people care about the instruction you get. I think that is absolutely tremendous. I have always loved this place."

She speaks glowingly of the collaborative nature of her faculty, crediting their willingness to work collectively in developing niche graduate offerings such as literacy, information technology leadership and inclusive education and neuroscience topics.

"These special niche structures are really quite extraordinary but they take an incredible amount of work, time and administrative finesse," says O'Dea. "I am extremely fortunate to have amazing people working in the offices here and faculty members willing to try out these new programs all the time."

She also trumpets the research portfolio the faculty has developed over her tenure.

"It's a challenge to maintain a proper balance between graduate and undergraduate teaching, all the while factoring in quality time for research," says O'Dea. "That is by no means easy to achieve but it is essential.

"We know what draws students to us is the quality of our programs, and we can't afford to just go down the research route and ignore teaching. On the other hand, to simply concentrate on teaching is to become more like a college and we're not that, we're part of the comprehensive ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ and proud to be so."

GET THE FACTS

• O'Dea's undergraduate degree is in music and she is an accomplished recital piano player. "There's one recital that I haven't done that I'd really like to do and when I get time to practice I think I might like to go back and do that. I won't share that yet, I'm just playing with it right now."

• O'Dea is excited about the opportunity to teach again, saying, "I have a lot of ideas for interesting courses both at the graduate and undergraduate level that I think would be of real interest to students today."

• Over O'Dea's tenure, the faculty boasted a 97 per cent rate of employment within one year of graduating

• Despite stepping away from the dean's position, O'Dea has no plans to leave the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ. "Absolutely not, I think this is a tremendous ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ. I love its size, I love its entrepreneurial innovative spirit, and its emphasis on community and student engagement."

A legacy of collaboration

trevor.kenney — Wed, 05 May 2010 17:24:23 +0000

"I'm tremendously proud of the things we've accomplished because they were achievements that involved every single faculty member and all of our support staff."

Dr. Leah Fowler echoes that assessment, saying O'Dea personifies the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's ideals of accessible education.

Her personable approach is highly respected by her peers, but O'Dea gives credit to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ for fostering an atmosphere that embraces one-on-one learning.

She also trumpets the research portfolio the faculty has developed over her tenure.

GET THE FACTS

• Over O'Dea's tenure, the faculty boasted a 97 per cent rate of employment within one year of graduating

Alberta Blue Cross offering Aboriginal student scholarships

trevor.kenney — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 21:46:23 +0000

Aboriginal students embarking on post-secondary studies once again have the opportunity to access scholarship funds through Alberta Blue Cross.

Every year, Alberta Blue Cross provides three scholarships for Aboriginal students, varying in value from $375 to $1,250, according to the institution the student will be attending. The awards are based on scholastic achievement in Alberta Grade 12 diploma examinations, financial need and community involvement.

Application forms are available from high school guidance counsellors, post-secondary institution student awards officers, some career development centres and Canada/Alberta Service Centre Sites and Alberta Blue Cross. The application form has also been posted on the Alberta Blue Cross website. The new application deadline for the Alberta Blue Cross scholarship is Sept. 20, 2009.

Applicants must be Registered Indian, Inuit or Metis and must have been residents of Alberta during their previous year of study. Applicants must have just completed their final year of high school and be entering into the first year of post-secondary studies at an accredited Alberta post-secondary institution. Applicants will be evaluated based on the results as shown on their Alberta Education High School transcript. The top five courses with a minimum five-credit value will be averaged to determine a percentage score. Financial need and community involvement will also be evaluated in determining the recipients of the scholarship. Students will be ineligible if they are receiving more than $3,500 in other scholarships or bursaries for the current academic year. Field of study includes any full time program of two or more years duration.

Those looking to apply must send applications to Alberta Blue Cross, Corporate Offices, 10009 108 Street NW, Edmonton, Alta. T5J 3C5. Applications may also be faxed to 780-498-8096. The closing date for applications is Sept. 20, 2009.

UNews - Metis

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