UNews - moving forward /unews/position/moving-forward en O'Dea's contribution to Education a lasting legacy /unews/article/odeas-contribution-education-lasting-legacy <div class="field field-name-field-op-author field-type-node-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="rnews:creator schema:creator"><div class="view view-openpublish-related-content view-id-openpublish_related_content view-display-id-block_1 view-dom-id-de9fe2ec4d41c1cd48fb176bb23a8c4e"> <div class="view-content"> <div class="views-row views-row-1 views-row-odd views-row-first views-row-last"> <div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="views-label views-label-title">by</span> <span class="field-content"><a href="/unews/profile/trevor-kenney">Trevor Kenney</a></span> </div> <div class="views-field views-field-created"> <span class="field-content">June 18, 2012</span> </div> </div> </div> </div></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item even" property="rnews:articlebody schema:articleBody"> <p>Finding a way to coax Dr. Jane O'Dea to talk about herself as she reflects on her 10 years as dean of the <a href="http://www.uleth.ca/edu" rel="nofollow">Faculty of Education</a> 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.</p> <p>"It's not so much what I achieved over the 10 years, rather it's what we all achieved together," says O'Dea.</p> <p>"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."</p> <p>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.</p> <p>"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 <a href="http://education.alberta.ca" rel="nofollow">Alberta Education's</a> 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."</p> <p>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 (<a href="http://www.uleth.ca/alumni/fnmi/index.html" rel="nofollow">FNMI</a>) graduate programs.</p> <p>"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 <a href="http://www.redcrowcollege.com" rel="nofollow">Red Crow College</a>, and bringing issues in First Nations education to the forefront of discussions at the 免费福利资源在线看片 and in the province."</p><p><div class="video-filter"><iframe src="//www.youtube.com/embed/bsox6bf296k?modestbranding=0&amp;html5=1&amp;rel=0&amp;autoplay=0&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;loop=0&amp;controls=1&amp;autohide=0&amp;showinfo=0&amp;theme=dark&amp;color=red&amp;enablejsapi=0&amp;start=0" width="400" height="400" class="video-filter video-youtube vf-bsox6bf296k" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></div></p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field-group-format group_related_topics field-group-div group-related-topics block-title-body speed-fast effect-none"><h2><span>Related Topics</span></h2><div class="field field-name-opencalais-facility-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Facility:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/unews/facility/red-crow-college" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Red Crow College</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-opencalais-organization-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Organization:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/unews/organization/faculty-education" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Faculty of Education</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/unews/organization/red-crow-college" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Red Crow College</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-opencalais-person-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Person:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/unews/person/metis" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Metis</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/unews/person/cathy-campbell" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Cathy Campbell</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/unews/person/jane-odea" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Jane O&#039;Dea</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-opencalais-position-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Position:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/unews/position/niitsitapi-teacher" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Niitsitapi Teacher</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/unews/position/moving-forward" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">moving forward</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/unews/position/dean" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">dean</a></div></div></div></div><span property="rnews:name schema:name" content="O&#039;Dea&#039;s contribution to Education a lasting legacy" class="rdf-meta"></span> Mon, 18 Jun 2012 21:44:54 +0000 trevor.kenney 3201 at /unews EUS Society celebrates 30 years /unews/article/eus-society-celebrates-30-years <div class="field field-name-field-op-author field-type-node-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="rnews:creator schema:creator"><div class="view view-openpublish-related-content view-id-openpublish_related_content view-display-id-block_1 view-dom-id-290807eb6868ae65f915b1f47e86e84f"> <div class="view-content"> <div class="views-row views-row-1 views-row-odd views-row-first views-row-last"> <div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="views-label views-label-title">by</span> <span class="field-content"><a href="/unews/profile/trevor-kenney">Trevor Kenney</a></span> </div> <div class="views-field views-field-created"> <span class="field-content">December 13, 2011</span> </div> </div> </div> </div></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item even" property="rnews:articlebody schema:articleBody"> <p>What started as a primarily social club, the Education Undergraduate Society (EUS) is now one of the most socially responsible clubs on campus.</p> <p>Celebrating its 30th anniversary, the EUS has evolved into a community leader for educational initiatives, reaching out to southern Alberta on a variety of platforms that connect the 免费福利资源在线看片 to the broader community in multiple ways.</p> <p>"In the last year or so, that's something we've really been working on, going further with our community involvement," says EUS president Alisha Janiga, a fifth-year education student from Crowsnest Pass.</p> <p>While the EUS has been active with its Anti-Bullying and Cyberbullying Awareness Week and Bust the Backpack campaigns for the last four years, it has now involved itself with the first Word on the Street festival and local Boys and Girls Club.</p> <p>"We had a presence at Word on the Street talking about our tutoring program, and we just started working with the Boys and Girls Club as a resource for them, doing some tutoring and working with the kids there," says Janiga. "We're really proud to have been around as a society for 30 years. We've been looking back at resource binders from previous executives and all the work they've done in the past and it's really inspired us to keep going and to try and expand the scope of the EUS."</p> <p>Ashley Lepage is the EUS vice-president external, and was thrilled to find one of her most influential high school teachers have a history with the EUS.</p> <p>"Looking back at some of the photos of past executives, I found one of my favourite teachers was a part of EUS," she says of a high school English teacher from her hometown of Airdrie. "She was one of the main reasons I wanted to become a teacher and I never knew she was in EUS when she attended here."</p> <p>The current Bust the Backpack campaign is on a mission to fill 50 backpacks with basic school supplies for those children who cannot afford the educational necessities. It was born out of need, something that EUS members recognized when they were in schools for practicum experience.</p> <p>"We distribute the backpacks in January, and that's a time when a lot of students are running out of supplies and in need of help," says EUS vice-president internal, Chelsey Merkel, a Drumheller native.</p> <p>"We've had a lot of positive feedback from the schools telling us how much their students appreciate it and how it helps them become better learners, so that kind of keeps us going."</p> <p>Janiga says that the 30th anniversary of EUS has given the executive an excuse to look back and it's exciting to see how much the society has grown.</p> <p>"It seemed to start as a social support for education students, an outlet to have some fun outside of class and over the years it's grown to become more academic, relating more with faculty and the community," she says.</p> <p>In fact, it's that faculty support that has been a big part of the EUS moving forward.</p> <p>"They are our foundation," says Janiga. "If we have any questions they are always there. Both Dr. Rick Mrazek and Dr. Lorraine Beaudin sit on our executive and they help us with so much. If there is anything we need, the faculty has always been beside us with support."</p> <p>If anyone has information from the early years of the EUS, they are urged to contact <a href="mailto:alisha.janiga@uleth.ca" rel="nofollow">alisha.janiga@uleth.ca</a></p> <p><em>This story first appeared in the December 2011 issue of the Legend. If you'd like to see the full issue in a flipbook format, follow this <a href="http://issuu.com/ulethbridge/docs/the_legend_1104_december2011" rel="nofollow">link</a>.</em></p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field-group-format group_related_topics field-group-div group-related-topics block-title-body speed-fast effect-none"><h2><span>Related Topics</span></h2><div class="field field-name-opencalais-organization-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Organization:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/unews/organization/eus-society" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">EUS Society</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/unews/organization/education-undergraduate-society" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Education Undergraduate Society</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/unews/organization/boys-and-girls-club" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Boys and Girls Club</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-opencalais-person-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Person:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/unews/person/alisha-janiga" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Alisha Janiga</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/unews/person/ashley-lepage" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Ashley Lepage</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/unews/person/rick-mrazek" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Rick Mrazek</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/unews/person/chelsey-merkel" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Chelsey Merkel</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/unews/person/lorraine-beaudin" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Lorraine Beaudin</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-opencalais-position-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Position:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/unews/position/vice-president-external" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">vice-president external</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/unews/position/teacher" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Teacher</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/unews/position/vice-president" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Vice-President</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/unews/position/president" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">President</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/unews/position/moving-forward" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">moving forward</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/unews/position/community-leader" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">community leader</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-opencalais-provinceorstate-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">ProvinceOrState:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/unews/province-or-state/alberta" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Alberta</a></div></div></div></div><span property="rnews:name schema:name" content="EUS Society celebrates 30 years" class="rdf-meta"></span> Tue, 13 Dec 2011 17:58:32 +0000 trevor.kenney 3796 at /unews Education Undergraduate Society celebrates its 30th year /unews/article/education-undergraduate-society-celebrates-its-30th-year <div class="field field-name-field-op-author field-type-node-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="rnews:creator schema:creator"><div class="view view-openpublish-related-content view-id-openpublish_related_content view-display-id-block_1 view-dom-id-c77b6304215f739754520f4fbd948fb8"> <div class="view-content"> <div class="views-row views-row-1 views-row-odd views-row-first views-row-last"> <div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="views-label views-label-title">by</span> <span class="field-content"><a href="/unews/profile/trevor-kenney">Trevor Kenney</a></span> </div> <div class="views-field views-field-created"> <span class="field-content">December 13, 2011</span> </div> </div> </div> </div></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item even" property="rnews:articlebody schema:articleBody"> <p>What started as a primarily social club, the Education Undergraduate Society (EUS) is now one of the most socially responsible clubs on campus.</p><p>Celebrating its 30th anniversary, the EUS has evolved into a community leader for educational initiatives, reaching out to southern Alberta on a variety of platforms that connect the 免费福利资源在线看片 to the broader community in multiple ways.</p><p>"In the last year or so, that's something we've really been working on, going further with our community involvement," says EUS president Alisha Janiga, a fifth-year education student from Crowsnest Pass.</p><p><div class="image-caption-container" style="width:435px;"><img src="/unews/sites/default/files/main/articles/eus-backpack.jpg" alt="EUS Society" title="Members of the Education Undergraduate Society, including Chelsey Merkel, Alisha Janiga and Ashley LePage display backpacks from their Bust the Backpack initiative."><div class="image-caption">Members of the Education Undergraduate Society, including Chelsey Merkel, Alisha Janiga and Ashley LePage display backpacks from their Bust the Backpack initiative.</div></div></p><p>While the EUS has been active with its Anti-Bullying and Cyberbullying Awareness Week and Bust the Backpack campaigns for the last four years, it has now involved itself with the first Word on the Street festival and local Boys and Girls Club.</p><p>"We had a presence at Word on the Street talking about our tutoring program, and we just started working with the Boys and Girls Club as a resource for them, doing some tutoring and working with the kids there," says Janiga. "We're really proud to have been around as a society for 30 years. We've been looking back at resource binders from previous executives and all the work they've done in the past and it's really inspired us to keep going and to try and expand the scope of the EUS."</p><p>Ashley Lepage is the EUS vice-president external, and was thrilled to find one of her most influential high school teachers have a history with the EUS.</p><p>"Looking back at some of the photos of past executives, I found one of my favourite teachers was a part of EUS," she says of a high school English teacher from her hometown of Airdrie. "She was one of the main reasons I wanted to become a teacher and I never knew she was in EUS when she attended here."</p><p>The current Bust the Backpack campaign is on a mission to fill 50 backpacks with basic school supplies for those children who cannot afford the educational necessities. It was born out of need, something that EUS members recognized when they were in schools for practicum experience.</p><p>"We distribute the backpacks in January, and that's a time when a lot of students are running out of supplies and in need of help," says EUS vice-president internal, Chelsey Merkel, a Drumheller native.</p><p>"We've had a lot of positive feedback from the schools telling us how much their students appreciate it and how it helps them become better learners, so that kind of keeps us going."</p><p>Janiga says that the 30th anniversary of EUS has given the executive an excuse to look back and it's exciting to see how much the society has grown.</p><p>"It seemed to start as a social support for education students, an outlet to have some fun outside of class and over the years it's grown to become more academic, relating more with faculty and the community," she says.</p><p>In fact, it's that faculty support that has been a big part of the EUS moving forward.</p><p>"They are our foundation," says Janiga. "If we have any questions they are always there. Both Dr. Rick Mrazek and Dr. Lorraine Beaudin sit on our executive and they help us with so much. If there is anything we need, the faculty has always been beside us with support."</p><p>If anyone has information from the early years of the EUS, they are urged to contact <a href="mailto:alisha.janiga@uleth.ca" rel="nofollow">alisha.janiga@uleth.ca</a></p><p><em>This story first appeared in the December 2011 issue of the Legend. If you'd like to see the full issue in a flipbook format, follow this <a href="http://issuu.com/ulethbridge/docs/the_legend_1104_december2011" rel="nofollow">link</a>.</em></p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field-group-format group_related_topics field-group-div group-related-topics block-title-body speed-fast effect-none"><h2><span>Related Topics</span></h2><div class="field field-name-opencalais-organization-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Organization:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/unews/organization/education-undergraduate-society" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Education Undergraduate Society</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/unews/organization/undergraduate-society" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Undergraduate Society</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/unews/organization/boys-and-girls-club" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Boys and Girls Club</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-opencalais-person-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Person:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/unews/person/alisha-janiga" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Alisha Janiga</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/unews/person/ashley-lepage" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Ashley Lepage</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/unews/person/rick-mrazek" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Rick Mrazek</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/unews/person/chelsey-merkel" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Chelsey Merkel</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/unews/person/lorraine-beaudin" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Lorraine Beaudin</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-opencalais-position-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Position:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/unews/position/vice-president-external" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">vice-president external</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/unews/position/teacher" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Teacher</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/unews/position/vice-president" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Vice-President</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/unews/position/president" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">President</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/unews/position/moving-forward" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">moving forward</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/unews/position/community-leader" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">community leader</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-opencalais-provinceorstate-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">ProvinceOrState:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/unews/province-or-state/alberta" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Alberta</a></div></div></div></div><span property="rnews:name schema:name" content="Education Undergraduate Society celebrates its 30th year" class="rdf-meta"></span> Tue, 13 Dec 2011 17:57:19 +0000 trevor.kenney 3317 at /unews O'Dea's contribution to Education a lasting legacy /unews/article/odeas-contribution-education-lasting-legacy-0 <div class="field field-name-field-op-author field-type-node-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="rnews:creator schema:creator"><div class="view view-openpublish-related-content view-id-openpublish_related_content view-display-id-block_1 view-dom-id-97ccd18fc9092d5a106866e7bbedb38d"> <div class="view-content"> <div class="views-row views-row-1 views-row-odd views-row-first views-row-last"> <div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="views-label views-label-title">by</span> <span class="field-content"><a href="/unews/profile/trevor-kenney">Trevor Kenney</a></span> </div> <div class="views-field views-field-created"> <span class="field-content">May 7, 2010</span> </div> </div> </div> </div></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item even" property="rnews:articlebody schema:articleBody"> <p>Finding a way to coax Dr. Jane O'Dea to talk about herself as she reflects on 10 years as dean of the <a href="http://www.uleth.ca/edu" rel="nofollow">Faculty of Education</a> 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.</p> <p>"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.</p> <p>"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."</p> <p>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.</p> <p>"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 <a href="http://education.alberta.ca" rel="nofollow">Alberta Education's</a> 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."</p> <p>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 (<a href="http://www.uleth.ca/alumni/fnmi/index.html" rel="nofollow">FNMI</a>) graduate programs.</p> <p>"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 <a href="http://www.redcrowcollege.com" rel="nofollow">Red Crow College</a>, and bringing issues in First Nations education to the forefront of discussions at the 免费福利资源在线看片 and in the province."</p> <p>Dr. Leah Fowler echoes that assessment, saying O'Dea personifies the 免费福利资源在线看片's ideals of accessible education.</p> <p>"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."</p> <p>Her personable approach is highly respected by her peers, but O'Dea gives credit to the 免费福利资源在线看片 for fostering an atmosphere that embraces one-on-one learning.</p> <p>"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."</p> <p>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.</p> <p>"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."</p> <p>She also trumpets the research portfolio the faculty has developed over her tenure.</p> <p>"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.</p> <p>"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 免费福利资源在线看片 and proud to be so."</p> <p><strong>GET THE FACTS</strong></p> <p>&bull; 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."</p> <p>&bull; 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."</p> <p>&bull; Over O'Dea's tenure, the faculty boasted a 97 per cent rate of employment within one year of graduating</p> <p>&bull; Despite stepping away from the dean's position, O'Dea has no plans to leave the 免费福利资源在线看片. "Absolutely not, I think this is a tremendous 免费福利资源在线看片. I love its size, I love its entrepreneurial innovative spirit, and its emphasis on community and student engagement."</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field-group-format group_related_topics field-group-div group-related-topics block-title-body speed-fast effect-none"><h2><span>Related Topics</span></h2><div class="field field-name-opencalais-facility-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Facility:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/unews/facility/red-crow-college" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Red Crow College</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-opencalais-industryterm-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">IndustryTerm:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/unews/industry-term/information-technology-leadership" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">information technology leadership</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-opencalais-organization-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Organization:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/unews/organization/faculty-education" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Faculty of Education</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/unews/organization/red-crow-college" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Red Crow College</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-opencalais-person-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Person:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/unews/person/metis" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Metis</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/unews/person/cathy-campbell" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Cathy Campbell</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/unews/person/leah-fowler" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Leah Fowler</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/unews/person/jane-odea" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Jane O&#039;Dea</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-opencalais-position-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Position:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/unews/position/niitsitapi-teacher" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Niitsitapi Teacher</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/unews/position/moving-forward" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">moving forward</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/unews/position/teacher" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Teacher</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/unews/position/dean" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">dean</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/unews/position/accomplished-recital-piano-player" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">accomplished recital piano player</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-opencalais-technology-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Technology:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/unews/technology/neuroscience" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Neuroscience</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/unews/technology/information-technology" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">information technology</a></div></div></div></div><span property="rnews:name schema:name" content="O&#039;Dea&#039;s contribution to Education a lasting legacy" class="rdf-meta"></span> Fri, 07 May 2010 16:09:01 +0000 trevor.kenney 4475 at /unews A legacy of collaboration /unews/article/legacy-collaboration <div class="field field-name-field-op-author field-type-node-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="rnews:creator schema:creator"><div class="view view-openpublish-related-content view-id-openpublish_related_content view-display-id-block_1 view-dom-id-d3f92119ecc0a44cecec21a86ce86ec6"> <div class="view-content"> <div class="views-row views-row-1 views-row-odd views-row-first views-row-last"> <div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="views-label views-label-title">by</span> <span class="field-content"><a href="/unews/profile/trevor-kenney">Trevor Kenney</a></span> </div> <div class="views-field views-field-created"> <span class="field-content">May 5, 2010</span> </div> </div> </div> </div></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item even" property="rnews:articlebody schema:articleBody"> <p>Finding a way to coax Dr. Jane O'Dea to talk about herself as she reflects on 10 years as dean of the <a href="http://www.uleth.ca/edu" rel="nofollow">Faculty of Education</a> 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.</p> <p>"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<br> U of L 20 years ago.</p> <p>"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."</p> <p>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.</p> <p>"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 <a href="http://education.alberta.ca" rel="nofollow">Alberta Education's</a> 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."</p> <p>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 (<a href="http://www.uleth.ca/alumni/fnmi/index.html" rel="nofollow">FNMI</a>) graduate programs.</p> <p>"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 <a href="http://www.redcrowcollege.com" rel="nofollow">Red Crow College</a>, and bringing issues in First Nations education to the forefront of discussions at the 免费福利资源在线看片 and in the province."</p> <p>Dr. Leah Fowler echoes that assessment, saying O'Dea personifies the 免费福利资源在线看片's ideals of accessible education.</p> <p>"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."</p> <p>Her personable approach is highly respected by her peers, but O'Dea gives credit to the 免费福利资源在线看片 for fostering an atmosphere that embraces one-on-one learning.</p> <p>"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."</p> <p>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.</p> <p>"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."</p> <p>She also trumpets the research portfolio the faculty has developed over her tenure.</p> <p>"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.</p> <p>"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 免费福利资源在线看片 and proud to be so."</p> <p><strong>GET THE FACTS</strong></p> <p>&bull; 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."</p> <p>&bull; 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."</p> <p>&bull; Over O'Dea's tenure, the faculty boasted a 97 per cent rate of employment within one year of graduating</p> <p>&bull; Despite stepping away from the dean's position, O'Dea has no plans to leave the 免费福利资源在线看片. "Absolutely not, I think this is a tremendous 免费福利资源在线看片. I love its size, I love its entrepreneurial innovative spirit, and its emphasis on community and student engagement." </p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field-group-format group_related_topics field-group-div group-related-topics block-title-body speed-fast effect-none"><h2><span>Related Topics</span></h2><div class="field field-name-opencalais-facility-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Facility:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/unews/facility/red-crow-college" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Red Crow College</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-opencalais-industryterm-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">IndustryTerm:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/unews/industry-term/information-technology-leadership" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">information technology leadership</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-opencalais-organization-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Organization:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/unews/organization/faculty-education" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Faculty of Education</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/unews/organization/red-crow-college" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Red Crow College</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-opencalais-person-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Person:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/unews/person/metis" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Metis</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/unews/person/cathy-campbell" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Cathy Campbell</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/unews/person/leah-fowler" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Leah Fowler</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/unews/person/jane-odea" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Jane O&#039;Dea</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-opencalais-position-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Position:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/unews/position/niitsitapi-teacher" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Niitsitapi Teacher</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/unews/position/moving-forward" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">moving forward</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/unews/position/teacher" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Teacher</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/unews/position/dean" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">dean</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/unews/position/accomplished-recital-piano-player" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">accomplished recital piano player</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-opencalais-technology-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Technology:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/unews/technology/neuroscience" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">Neuroscience</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/unews/technology/information-technology" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel">information technology</a></div></div></div></div><span property="rnews:name schema:name" content="A legacy of collaboration" class="rdf-meta"></span> Wed, 05 May 2010 17:24:23 +0000 trevor.kenney 4506 at /unews