UNews - Deborah Jarvie

High school students meet the challenge of university coursework

caroline.zentner — Mon, 09 May 2016 20:56:12 +0000

The high school students in Deborah Jarvie’s Systems and Supply Chain Management class are well on their way to being ready for university-level coursework, thanks to the dual credit initiative (DCI) between Lethbridge Collegiate Institute and the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge.

The class was the second DCI course; Liberal Education 1000, offered in the fall semester, was the first. The DCI is currently a pilot program being funded by Alberta Education. The students don’t pay tuition fees but have full access to U of L facilities and resources. The program allows high school students to earn high school and university credits at the same time.

High school students taking Systems and Supply Chain Management posed for a photo with their instructor, Deb Jarvie, wearing a red scarf, following their recent final presentations.

Jarvie has been teaching at the post-secondary level for about 20 years so she wasn’t sure what to expect when she began teaching Grade 11 and 12 students.

“They were such a lovely group of students. They were really eager to participate in everything we did. They dived into their project work like nobody’s business,” she says.

The class incorporated everything from inventory and procurement of materials to facility management and customers and suppliers. Supply chain management looks at all aspects of management, from the raw materials in the ground to the final consumer and, eventually, to recycling.

One of the main objectives of the course was to give students an understanding of the technical aspects of supply chain management and have them apply that understanding to the world around them. They saw theory at work when they took a field trip to Haul-All Equipment Systems, the corporate sponsor for the class. The students toured the manufacturing plant and saw the steps involved in the manufacturing process.

Gerald Rogers, a Grade 12 student, says the trip to Haul-All was a high spot of the course because he could see the principles he learned in the classroom put into action.

“Another highlight of the course for me was learning about the processes involved in creating a product. For tech businesses, a mineral that goes into a computer can start in Africa and end up in the phone in your pocket,” he says.

Like students in any university course, what they took away from the course depended on their interests going in. Megh Patel, a Grade 11 student, took the course because of his interest in business and he knew he would learn a lot in the process.

“I learned just how complex businesses can get when they’re growing and how companies have to work and change their supply chain in order to find success,” says Patel.

“I want to go into politics and I felt like this course would help me. A lot of politicians today don’t really know how business works,” says Anthony Castillo. “This course helped me learn how everything’s not separate; it’s all interconnected.”

Jarvie says the course gave students the opportunity to explore what learning is like at the post-secondary level, where students have to be more self-directed and independent in pursuing coursework.

“There wasn’t a teacher pushing me the whole time. It was more myself — I have to finish this project; I need to meet up with my group. I think it’s a good lesson to get ready for university, to get mentally prepared for the challenge, but I’m really excited for it,” says Paul Dumont, a Grade 11 student.

“High school courses are all so structured and the curriculum is straightforward — this is what you’re going to learn. But in this class, she gives you the textbook, she gives you the discussions in class but then you go through it yourself and you talk about it with your group and you apply it to other things. It makes so much more sense; you can apply it everywhere. It was cool,” says Allie Edwards.

The students recently gave their final presentations in a U of L lecture theatre. The topics included retailing, Coca-Cola’s distribution system, starting a student-focused laptop company, and outsourcing and its effects on manufacturing. In the audience was Don Lacey, a trustee with Lethbridge School District No. 51.

“The dual credit initiative is something that should expand,” says Lacey, adding he expects it will be funded on a more permanent basis in the future, thus allowing post-secondary institutions to develop courses and plan several years ahead.

“Overall, I think it’s a fantastic program. I’m really happy that the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ decided to go down this road,” says Jarvie. “I’m thrilled I was able to be a part of it. It was an honour to work with this group of students.”

Edwards says she wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the course to other high school students.

“Definitely take it. It was a really good opportunity; it was lots of hard work but I enjoyed it,” she says.

Honouring long service

trevor.kenney — Tue, 17 May 2011 21:24:26 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ held its annual Long Service Awards and Retirement Recognition Ceremony recently, honouring 116 employees who have completed 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, and 40 years of service. A total of 23 retiring employees were also honoured.

Following is a list of honoured employees.

RETIREES

Art Aitken, Dayna Daniels, Richard Epp, Rex Forsyth, Eldon Gardner, Wolfgang Holzmann, Bill Hudgins, Joan Kendall, Leslie Lavers, Lucie Linhart, Gerald McConaghy, Linda McLeod, Ken Nicol, Seamus O'Shea, Doug Parker, Ramrattie Ramtej, Donna Seyed Mahmoud, Ches Skinner, Philippe Teillet, Linda Van Esch, Wendy Vogel, Nick Wade and Ian Wells

LONG SERVICE RECIPIENTS

40 Years | Maria Draper

35 Years | Chris Charles, Bryan Kolb, Peter McCormick and Gerda VanderFluit

30 Years | Jane Allan, Cheryl Calver, Dayna Daniels, Gayle Durand, Rex Forsyth, Laurel Hamilton, Jay Johnston, Linda Kucheran, Greg Martin, David Naylor, Shari Platt and Leanne Wehlage-Ellis

25 Years | Shamsul Alam, Lana Barton, Bryson Brown, Cathy Campbell, Patricia Chuchryk, Leslie Gatner, Allan Gergel, Nancy Grigg, Tyler Hayward, Mary Anne Hellinga, Wolfgang Holzmann, Bill Hudgins, Margaret Joblonkay, Kas Mazurek, Alice Miller, Richard Mrazek, Thomas Robinson, Doug Ross, Jadranka Smiljanec, Brian Sullivan, Richard Tedesco, David Townsend, Sandy Wiest and Joan Zimmer

20 Years | Patti-Jo Aiken, Linda Anderson, Roberto Aragon-Garcia, Jochen Bocksnick, Carl Budny, James Byrne, Peter Dibble, Deborah Grant, Bill Halma, Andrew Hurly, Janet Macdonald, Karen McCallum, Louise Miller, Al Mueller, Claudia Notzke, Sergio Pellis, Dwayne Pepin, Vern Peterson, Maria Quinteros, Kathy Schrage, Colleen Sullivan, Brian Titley, Donna Townley and Mark Walton

15 Years | Doug Berry, James Dobbie, Jackie Edwards, Lance Grigg,
Michelle Hogue, Marie Matkin, Ian McAdam, Gerald McConaghy, Chris Moroz, Jeff Oliver, Derek Peddle, Michael Perry, John Poulsen, William Ramp, Keith Roscoe, Elizabeth Schultz, Ivan Townshend and Kenneth Vos

10 Years | Louise Arsenault, Stella Baah, Brenda Bell, Donald Birchfield, Ryan Buckman, Jill Cassidy, Lorena deLange, Christopher Epplett, Margaret Forgie, Don Gill, Bill Glaister, Val Hill, Patricia Horrocks, Nancy Hosgood, Frank Huss, Deborah Jarvie, Helen Kelley, Carol Knibbs, Keith Knowles, Josh Korthuis, Christopher Kukucha, Greg Lacey, Corie Lazenby, Wayne Lippa, Karen Mahar, Jeremiah Merkl, Josephine Mills, Joy Morris, Chris Nicol, Chris Picken, Jeremy Pierson, Mike Pinder, Catharine Reader, Michael Robinson, Victor Rodych, Tammy Rogness, Mark Sabo, Robin Schafthuizen, Shelley Scott, Behnam Seyed Mahmoud, Gerry Ste. Marie, Robert Sutherland, William Tietz, Raquel Trillia, John von Heyking, Kevin Ward, Katherine Wasiak, Robert Williams, Barbara Williams, Jim Wishloff, Robert Wood and Jing Zhu

To view the Legend in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Where aquifers and accounting meet

trevor.kenney — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 20:54:31 +0000

On the surface, aquifers and accounting don't seem to have a lot in common. But if you dig a little deeper, the connection is much more apparent – just ask U of L Faculty of Management accounting instructor and doctoral student Deborah Jarvie. Jarvie is exploring ways to balance human interests and the health of aquifers, the underground layers of permeable rock, sand, silt or clay that have absorbed groundwater.

There is growing concern that aquifers may be increasingly at risk as coalbed methane – a form of natural gas extracted from coalbeds – becomes a more popular alternative to conventional energy like oil and gas. The extraction process requires removing large amounts of water, which could potentially affect aquifers and the environment.

"One of the ways to prevent some of the environmental problems we'll run into – or to help remedy situations that have arisen – is through policy," Jarvie explains.

Jarvie is working on an equilibrium model that will use policy instruments (like incentives or taxation) to encourage companies to be better environmental stewards while maximizing economic gain.

"The model is intended to incorporate and integrate the concerns of the economy, the environment and society, and thereby be used as a tool for determining the best policy mix for all parties concerned," she says.

Her research, once completed, will have direct applications to the corporate world.

"A model such as this would enable businesses to make the most cost-effective decisions based on the policy mixture."

UNews - Deborah Jarvie

High school students meet the challenge of university coursework

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Honouring long service

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Where aquifers and accounting meet

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