UNews - full professor

Professor Emeritus Spinks passes away

trevor.kenney — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 21:34:57 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ community expresses its most sincere condolences to the family, friends, former students and colleagues of the late David Spinks, a Professor Emeritus in the Faculty of Fine Arts (Theatre and Dramatic Arts) who passed away at his home in England at age 81 after a brief illness.

He is survived by his wife, Jo, and daughter Elisabeth. A memorial service is scheduled to take place July 4 beginning at 3 p.m. near Martlesham Heath at the Seven Hills Crematorium in Nacton, UK.

Spinks arrived from England in 1971 as the first regular faculty member in Dramatic Arts. He had distinguished himself in drama and education in England, teaching for Cambridge ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ and producing plays for children, youth and adults throughout Cambridgeshire.

His knowledge of, and passion for, theatre combined with his boundless enthusiasm and charismatic personality propelled the department forward at lightning speed. He drafted the first curriculum, integrating it into Arts and Science and hired the first faculty members. Spinks also worked closely with the architects to design the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Centre for the Arts theatre spaces, including an experimental theatre which was later named the David Spinks Theatre in his honour.

He was promoted to full professor in 1988 and retired in 1990, in the process earning the respect and love of his students and one of the first Distinguished Teaching Awards.

Dean Emeritus Ches Skinner recalls Spinks as a mentor and friend.

"He had an unrivalled passion for teaching and excelled at helping students find their own voices and then enabled them to find the confidence to use them," says Skinner. "Students flocked to his classes and through David's inimitable style shared in his passion for theatre and particularly that aimed at children and young audiences.

"Whereas David sometimes directed scripted work (plays written by others as found in the library etc.), he was exceptional at encouraging students to find the drama in their own lives and then creating shows that were meaningful to the performers and audiences alike. He left some of his magic behind...I know it continues via his students and teaching colleagues."

"David Spinks was a gentleman of good humour, intelligence and extraordinary generosity," says long-time colleague Richard Epp. "His leadership as a teacher and his encouragement of colleagues permitted the arts to play a major role on this campus in its formative years. I am privileged to have known David and to have worked with him in the dramatic arts."

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.

Global institute draws renowned demographics researcher

trevor.kenney — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 16:53:07 +0000

Nothing illustrates the role of the economy in our lives like the current economic downturn.

With families across North America foreclosing on mortgages, baby boomers delaying retirement and new graduates scrambling for jobs, almost every demographic has been affected.

The economy is an ever-evolving force with tremendous influence on how and where people live. In fact, understanding how global populations and economies inform one another is crucial for understanding everything from international relations to when Canadians retire, explains Dr. Susan McDaniel, the newly appointed Prentice Institute Director and Research Chair.

A renowned demography expert, McDaniel returns to Alberta from Utah, where she was a senior scholar at the Institute of Public and International Affairs and Professor of Family and Consumer Studies at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Utah from 2007 to 2009. She will lead the new Prentice Institute for Global Population and Economy, which is the product of a multi-million dollar endowment from Alberta agribusiness entrepreneur, the late Dr. John Prentice (LLD '06) and his family.

"It's interdisciplinary, so the institute is expected to bring in researchers from across Alberta, Canada and the world. It will be a global institute focused on global issues and a global population," she explains.

McDaniel previously spent 15 years at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta as a full professor of sociology and another three at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Windsor. She currently holds grants from agencies like the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) and the Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C.

One of her current research projects focuses on perceptions of aging and retirement trends. In a recent study - soon to go to press- she interviewed middle-age Canadians and Americans during the financial crisis to find out how they anticipated their older years.

Many Americans expressed panic about how they'd manage their health, while Canadians were more proactive, expressing greater confidence that they'd handle whatever challenges they encountered.

"That's what's so exciting about doing this research; you discover such interesting things," she says.

While the institute is still in development, McDaniel believes it will become an area of extreme excellence for which the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ will become known.

"It's a tribute to the U of L that they managed this. The funding could have gone to any of the universities, but it came here," she says.

Prentice Institute taking shape with McDaniel appointment

trevor.kenney — Tue, 12 May 2009 16:15:48 +0000

Numbers can be cold, hard and impersonal. Put them in the hands of Dr. Susan McDaniel however and they can be used to influence policy decisions that effect change at the most personal of levels.

The newly appointed director of the Prentice Institute for Global Population and Economy is an internationally renowned sociology researcher and demographics expert, combining her love for mathematics with a penchant to study people and society's big-picture issues. It was a research focus that was initially unintentional but has proven to be a life's work.

"Demography allows you to see how individual actions don't add up to what you think they'll add up to," McDaniel explains.
"The collective outcome of individual actions is very different than what the individuals intend and it's that kind of mystery that entices me. To me it's phenomenal because some of it is counter-intuitive and I'm still fascinated by that."

McDaniel returns to Alberta (the place she mostly refers to as home) from Utah where she was a senior scholar at the Institute of Public and International Affairs and Professor of Family and Consumer Studies at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Utah. Previously, she'd spent 15 years at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta as a full professor of sociology and another three years at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Windsor.

Her return is a testament to the U of L, its vision and the opportunity afforded her as the first director of the Prentice Institute.

"There were no push factors for me leaving Utah, it was all pull," McDaniel says. "I'm hoping to really build this institute as a centre that people will say, 'The Prentice Institute is a leader on . . .'. That would really be great."

The mandate of the Prentice Institute is to promote the research of big-picture issues relating to global population change and demographics, among other topics. McDaniel is enthused by the opportunity to be in on the ground floor of constructing the Institute and its reputation.

"My goal is building something that's not just flash and dash but something solid that will last for a long time, and when people think about population issues and economy, they think about the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge," she says.

Getting to this point has been a long and non-traditional route for McDaniel.
Entering post-secondary study as a math major, a bad experience in her first course turned her eye elsewhere and she found demography.

"It was a question of using mathematics to study people and I thought, wow, I've found my calling," she says.

Through demography she slowly made her way into studying the societal impacts of her demographic research. Ironically, she is now world renowned as a research sociologist, has written an introductory sociology textbook and taught the course at a post-secondary level but because she entered the field through the back door, never actually took introductory sociology.

McDaniel's extensive research, publishing and teaching record reflect her varied interests and research on demographic aging, generational relations, family change and the social impacts of technology.

The arrival of the Prentice Institute comes at a perfect time for the U of L as it continues to emerge as a leading comprehensive university. McDaniel revels in building graduate programming, has a long record of collaborating with the best doctoral and post-doctoral researchers and trumpets the concept of community outreach, from local to international levels.

"The idea is to build interdisciplinary research that will have public and policy interest, but also to have outreach to the community. I want to see public issues of importance addressed here, and in a profound way," McDaniel says.
"What interests me is the notion that this is global. This is a new concept at the U of L and an area of strength that we're planning on building."

GET THE FACTS

• The Prentice Institute for Global Population and Economy was established in late 2006, when John Prentice, a Calmar, Alta., based agri-business entrepreneur, with his wife, Connie, donated $8.25 million to the U of L – the largest private philanthropic gift the U of L has received in its 40-year history.

• McDaniel took her undergraduate studies at ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Massachusetts, studied a master's degree at Cornell ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ and her PhD at ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta.

• A lover of bird watching, walking and jogging, McDaniel is apt to be spotted enjoying the outdoors with her one-year-old Maltese puppy Victoria

• Her research on gender and aging issues led to her involvement in the Dove soap self-esteem campaign

• McDaniel is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada

• In addition to her role as director of the Prentice Institute, McDaniel will also teach an undergraduate course at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ

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