The Legend February 2013

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V O L U M E 12

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ISSUE SIX

Time to play

the UNIVERSITY OF LETHBRIDGE

Crossing borders through science

History leads the way in supporting SOS

Pellis studies play and its role in brain development

Alumni duo takes knowledge into business world

The U of L Legend is published monthly during the academic year by the communications unit within University Advancement. Submissions, comments and story ideas are always welcome. The Legend reserves the right to refuse any submitted advertisement. The Legend can be found online at issuu.com/ulethbridge.

A DV E R T I S I N G For ad rates or other information, contact: legend@uleth.ca CREDITS Editor: Trevor Kenney Designer: Stephenie Karsten CO N T R I B U TO R S: Amanda Berg, Bob Cooney, Jane Edmundson, Erica Lind, Suzanne McIntosh, Kali McKay, Alison Nussbaumer, Leslie Ohene-Adjei, Stacy Seguin, Marika Stevenson, Katherine Wasiak, Lori Weber, Richard Westlund and Jamie Woodford

University of Lethbridge 4401 University Drive Lethbridge, AB T1K 3M4 www.ulethbridge.ca

The inaugural Play Day at the University was a huge success. Here, Katie Mahon, daughter of University of Lethbridge President Dr. Mike Mahon, assists in the construction zone. Join the U of L for this year’s circus-themed Play Day on Feb. 18.

INTERNET PORTAL TO REVOLUTIONIZE OUR WEB WORLD

BY TREVOR KENNEY

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magine a world where you sign on to your computer in the morning and have access to every University service you currently use online, including all elements of The Bridge, Moodle, e-mail and your personal timetable.

Imagine being greeted with messages that pertain only to you and your position in the University, to be linked to your interests and clubs and to be able to customize your personal dashboard to reflect your University personality.

That day is coming in the form of the new University portal system, and it promises to revolutionize the way in which faculty, staff and students interact online.

“When we first started talking about the portal it came out of the recruitment and retention project,” says Provost and Vice-President (Academic) Dr. Andy Hakin. “It was about giving students one electronic gateway to the University, allowing them to be able to map out their whole environment in terms of courses, personal timetables, Moodle, e-mail, all of the pieces that should really assist them in navigating through the curriculum and the university experience in one place.”

Designed as an aggregator of information, the portal will not replace the systems the University currently has on the web, rather it will bring them together so that they can be accessed in one space with a single sign-on.

“We already have in place a lot of the elements that will be a part of the portal system but they are all distributed in various places and many of them require separate signon,” says Hakin. “The idea is that with single sign-on, you have access to all these elements that affect your daily interaction with the University.”

“What I really like about this project is that it was designed with the student element as the focus.”

DR. ANDY HAKIN

What began as a tool to liberate the student web environment and similarly enhance student engagement with the University has since grown in scope.

“It has turned into a piece whereby many of the other campus units saw utility in it for themselves,” says Hakin. “Everyone who has seen it can see parts of what they want to accomplish with the tool.”

Jamie Chinn, a senior business systems analyst and one of the project team leaders, says the focus of the first stage of implementation of the portal is on core needs.

“Right now, the pressing need is to integrate a number of items that are of interest to students and which also would be generally of use to faculty and staff,” says Chinn.

“These are what we would call everyday items like access to The Bridge, Banner (the U of L’s financial, student, alumni and employee management system) the Library, Moodle (an online courseware program), e-mail, and other services people now make use of, such as frequently-used web links and tabs, a notice board-style page, and our news and information services.”

In recent weeks, focus groups consisting of faculty, staff and students have helped shape what content will be going into the portal upon initial launch of the product and then as subsequent updates to the system are integrated.

At the end of the day, the portal can be whatever the University community makes of it, and has the potential to make the web experience much more personal and engaging.

“What I really like about this project is that it was designed with the student element as the focus and it has become clear that it can be utilized in many other ways,” says Hakin.

As the portal project moves into the next stages of development, including testing and soft implementation, the University community will be continually updated on its progress through UWeekly, the Notice Board and the Legend.

the Legend

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UNIVERSITY OF LETHBRIDGE

OPENMike

University of Lethbridge President Dr. Mike Mahon chats about what’s happening in the University community

It was with great pleasure that the University hosted the respective boards of the Lethbridge Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Lethbridge to campus recently.

The tour was part of a busy morning for both boards as they first ventured to Lethbridge College to view their trade facilities and gain an appreciation for the planned Trades & Technology Renewal and Innovation Project.

They then came to the U of L to see the science facilities on campus and learn about the Destination Project, the proposed science complex that would at long last bring state-of-the-art technologies to our science students and researchers and revitalize University Hall.

We had a wonderful dia-

CAMPUS

logue with both boards and it was readily apparent that they understood the need each of our institutions had for these projects, and even more importantly, how these projects would not only invigorate Lethbridge College and the University of Lethbridge but the city of Lethbridge and southern Alberta as a whole.

While the Destination Project meets a number of needs on our campus, from spurring research activities to recruiting students and faculty and transforming University Hall, the boards were quick to realize the value that the project would also have to Lethbridge.

From simply bringing more students to the city, to creating employees for new and emergent technologies, to creating

kudos

Faculty members and students from the Faculty of Fine Arts performed in the Lethbridge Symphony Orchestra’s Chamber Series III event in January as part of Aeris Brass: Nick Sullivan (Music), Thomas Staples (Music); and the U of L Faculty Wind Quintet: Kelsey Plouffe (student), Margaret Mezei (Music), Thomas Staples (Music), Joelle Strang (student), Paul Sanden (Music).

Donna Townley (Economics) recently received a Certificate of Appreciation award from the Kalispell, MT, Tourism and Convention Bureau for her work in bringing Canadian dragon boat teams to the Flathead Valley to attend the first annual Montana Dragon Boat Festival this past September. Two teams from the U of L attended last year, had a great time, and are confirmed to attend this coming year. Anyone interested in attending the Montana Dragon Boat festival in 2013 can contact Townley at donna.townley@uleth.ca Deric Olsen’s (New Media) article, Neither Villain nor Supercrip: Cyborg Representation in Film and the Augmentation of the Invalid Other was published

in Volume 9, Issue 12 of The International Journal of the Humanities.

Paul Sanden’s (Music) book Liveness in Modern Music: Musicians, Technology, and the Perception of Performance, was published in late December

by Routledge in the Routledge Research in Music series.

Taras Potataiko (Art) was recognized in Canadian Art Magazine as one of the engaging Canadian artists who have had major breakthroughs in 2012, as a result of his internationally publicized exhibition Sleeping Beauty.

Lana Gabor’s (BFA ’07, MFA ’11) Emily Carr exhibition celebrating the rich, but mysterious culture of the little-known Chinarian people entitled Tracing the Elusive Past of the Chinarians appeared in the Helen Christou Gallery. The exhibition consisted of artifacts, replicas and reenactments drawn from the vast collections of the Museum of Chinarian Art & Artifacts (MOCAA) revealing surprising details that trace the roots of the Chinarian people.

incubator space for fledgling companies, the Destination Project is not just a University of Lethbridge project, but rather a community project that will see economic and cultural benefit on a number of levels.

That is why it was so important to bring the city’s business leaders on campus so that they could gain an understanding of the magnitude of these projects and thereby champion their worth to the provincial government and potential donors.

I am especially thankful to former mayor Bob Tarleck for addressing the boards and remarking on the key role the Chamber of Commerce once played years ago, when it pushed the province for the establishment of a university in Lethbridge.

FINDING THE FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE STUDENTS The Recruitment and Retention Project (RRP) Team has identified a need to better understand the risk factors that impact new high school students and their persistence (retention) rate from the first to the second year of postsecondary studies. Further, the RRP Team is looking to develop strategies to enhance recruitment and improve student retention as a result.

The Predictive Modelling Subject Matter Team (SMT) was created to identify and review risk factors that impact persistence of new high school students. Through Institutional Analysis, the SMT evaluated data with Noel-Levitz, a higher education consulting firm, to identify significant factors that influence U of L learners’ persistence rates. The result was a model that can now be used to predict new high school student persistence.

The Predictive Modelling SMT subsequently identified the need to develop an applicant-toenrolment model to effectively target recruitment efforts. NoelLevitz assisted in the development of this second model.

While related, the created models are very distinct, since risks and potential solutions

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These are community projects and it is important that we continue to engage our community so that they see the benefit of a strong post-secondary presence in the city, and that we can count on their support to communicate that to the external world.

Along those lines, our 2nd Annual Play Day celebration, to be held on Monday, Feb. 18 (Family Day), is another way to engage the local community and show off everything we have to offer here on campus.

By opening our doors and allowing families to come in for a day of play, it on one basic level contributes to the health, wellness and quality of life in our community. But on another level, it is an opportunity for the community to learn more about

the U of L, for children to be introduced to our campus and experience it in a fun way so that as they grow up, it becomes a part of their lives through further activities such as science camps, Pronghorn games, theatre events and so on.

Our success going forward will only be enhanced through community support and understanding of how integral the University of Lethbridge is to the economic and cultural vibrancy of our city.

I encourage everyone to come out to Play Day, help out as a volunteer or simply get the word out to the community that we want the city of Lethbridge to come to our campus to see what we are all about.

The following factors significantly impact an applicant’s likelihood of enrolling

The following factors significantly impact a first-year student’s likelihood of persisting

• • • • • •

• • • • •

Residence Geographic region Program Application date Entering average Campus

for the applicant to enrolment phase are unique from the risk and solutions to the first- to second-year phase of a student’s time at university.

“These two models will improve our ability to target recruitment and retention initiatives much more effectively,” says Mandy Moser, team leader of the Predictive Modelling SMT and manager, Institutional Analysis.

“Identification of risk factors and the knowledge that is generated by the application of predictive models is critical to a student-centred approach that will permit the delivery of more timely and effective services for our learners,” adds Heather Mirau, director of Integrated Planning.

The goals of the models and the resulting strategic initiatives are to further increase learner engagement and satisfaction, to enhance recruitment and

Residence Application date Entering average Loans Scholarships

to improve retention. As an added benefit of the consulting process, the U of L now has an improved understanding of how to effectively employ institutional data that, in turn, allows for future in-house development of predictive modelling to inform and facilitate recruitment and retention strategies.

The Predictive Modelling SMT is now entering the next stage of the process – sharing the information with the University as a whole.

Later this month (Feb. 14-15), a Noel-Levitz representative will present the two models and facilitate sessions with University employees to develop potential recruitment and retention strategies. Any inquiries regarding these sessions can be forwarded to either Mandy Moser (mandy.moser@ uleth.ca) or Heather Mirau (mirau@uleth.ca).

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the Legend

UNIVERSITY OF LETHBRIDGE

Crossing borders with bold Brazilian program

BY TREVOR KENNEY

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r. Drew Rendall’s psychology lab might be considered atypical in its student makeup now, but as the University of Lethbridge continues to push internationalization as a key strategic goal, it may soon become representative of many.

Rendall currently has graduate students from Alberta, Manitoba, Sri Lanka and Brazil assisting with his research projects, the most recent addition coming to the University by way of the Brazilian Science Without Borders (SWB) program.

“This is a real boon for us as a university,” says Rendall, professor of psychology in the Faculty of Arts & Science. “Graduate students are kind of the heart of the research enterprise, they are the real engine of it. They collect the data and do a lot of the work, and without graduate students the research enterprise disappears.”

Science Without Borders began as an initiative whereby the Brazilian government is looking to send 100,000 students to universities around the world to study in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The goal is to revolutionize the country’s research and development system.

“Brazilian science has shown great improvement over the last decade but we face many challenges,” says Ednei Barros dos Santos, a Brazilian PhD student who has taken advantage of the SWB program to come study under Rendall at the U of L. “We have a very low proportion of doctors in relation to our population, and there is a low frequency of international collaboration.”

Dos Santos discovered Rendall while researching his master’s degree in zoology. After reading his papers, he decided to contact Rendall to see if he

G E T T H E FA C T S • Science Without Borders was just one of the initiatives discussed when University President Mike Mahon visited Brazil in May as one of 30 Canadian university presidents who took part in an educational tour • Dos Santos is wrapping up a three-month field study of house wrens in Argentina and will be back studying at the U of L in February • The second call for SWB doctoral students runs from Feb. 1 to May 31 for January 2014 intake. The third call runs from June 1 to Sept. 30 for May 2014 intake • Researchers can access the SWB database at the following web address: web.cbie. ca/smi/index_e.html was open to supervising his PhD studies. The two met while Rendall was on field study in Argentina and not long after, dos Santos applied to the SWB program for funding.

“My research focus is on song variations of the house wren. I’m going to compare the male songs of two different populations, one here in Canada and the other in Argentina,” says dos Santos. “We are trying to understand what is the relation between song variation and different mating systems and migratory behaviour.”

That his master’s work in Brazil, where he researched language in animal species, could be so closely related to Rendall’s studies some 11,000 kilometres away, speaks to the value of international collaboration.

Doctoral student Ednei Barros dos Santos just recently returned from a three-month field study in Argentina.

“This program provides an incredible opportunity for Brazilian students to be exposed to scientific innovation at Canadian universities, and will help to spur growth in science and technology sectors in Brazil,” says Trish Jackson, the U of L’s acting manager, International Centre for Students. “The students we are hosting are a wonderful addition to the institution; they have serious academic intentions, and will certainly make an impact when they return to complete their studies in Brazil.”

The SWB program initially provided study opportunities for undergraduate students, placing more than 1,200 in Canadian universities alone. The U of L has 14 students enrolled from the program, including three who began last September and 11 more since January. Currently, a second call is going out for

INTERNATIONAL INITIATIVES THE FOCUS OF NEW INTERIM DEAN

BY ALISON NUSSBAUMER “I thought we already internationalize. Why do we need to do anything about internationalization? Is this a priority? What is the purpose of internationalization? Are we doing anything in China? What is internationalization?”

These are some of the comments and questions that I’ve heard from faculty and staff during my first few months as

Alison Nussbaumer is excited about the opportunities afforded in her new role as the University’s Interim Dean (Internationalization).

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prospective doctoral students, and it is incumbent that faculty members provide the program with details of their research opportunities so that they might be able to participate.

“We’re excited to take part in this program. It’s proven to be very successful at the undergraduate level and is likely to draw exceptionally high quality students,” says Dr. Matthew Letts, Associate Dean of the Faculty of Arts & Science. “The program provides full support for PhD students from Brazil, including tuition, travel, book and living expenses, but potential supervisors need to enter the doctoral research opportunities they wish to provide into the CBIE (Canadian Bureau for International Education) Placement Database to be considered for participation.”

That dos Santos was

accepted by SWB is heartening to Rendall, given that his research is not as applicable as many of the funded students.

“Brazil is very interested in training students who can come back and contribute fairly directly to agricultural initiatives, to resource extraction initiatives and to the information systems industry, for example,” says Rendall. “The thrust of what Ednei is working on doesn’t have immediate and obvious implications but I think it’s pretty encouraging that they are taking a fairly broad approach to this. It shows that they are also interested in training some basic scientists who will come back and contribute to science broadly, and that’s exciting.”

For more information on the program, contact Dr. Matthew Letts (matthew.letts@uleth.ca) or Dr. Helen Kelley (helen.kelley@uleth.ca)

Interim Dean (Internationalization).

In the early years of internationalization, the focus was on student mobility – bringing international students to Canadian campuses and creating a variety of overseas learning opportunities for domestic students.

Internationalization now encompasses the full range of teaching, learning, research and service opportunities; it looks to engage students, faculty and staff.

In 2007, the Association of Universities and Colleges in Canada (AUCC) surveyed Canadian post-secondary institutions about internationalization. The findings identified five key reasons why Canadian universities

engage in internationalization, in rank order: to prepare internationally knowledgeable graduates; to build strategic alliances with institutions abroad; to promote innovation in curriculum and diversity of programs; to ensure research and scholarship address international and national issues and to respond to Canada’s labour market needs.

In the President’s Open Letter (May 2012) he states, “We will develop an international strategy that builds on our present activities in research, student and faculty recruitment and exchange, and study-abroad opportunities while advancing new directions”.

CONTINUED ON PG. 4

the Legend

FEB RUA RY 2013

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UNIVERSITY OF LETHBRIDGE

A historic example of support

BROADENING THE UNIVERSITY STORY

BY ERICA LIND

The quality of faculty, staff and students at the University of Lethbridge, and their respective scholarly, professional and creative activities, has been key in establishing the U of L’s strong national reputation. The Globe and Mail report card, Maclean’s university rankings and the designation of the U of L as Canada’s Research University of the Year (Undergraduate Category) by Research Infosource are indicators of this success.

Individually, U of L faculty, through their teaching and research activities, are performing work that is benefitting the lives of Albertans, Canadians and beyond. As a collective, the magnitude of this benefit is incredible.

The U of L has a tremendous story to tell and one of the powerful platforms to do this is through earned media.

University Advancement, through the new Department of Public Affairs and Government Relations, is working to tell this story to the largest audiences possible. In doing so, University of Lethbridge researchers have the opportunity to promote their expertise through a variety of media channels, while putting the world in perspective for viewers, listeners and readers. What is critical to this process is to be able to quickly highlight this expertise to a journalist who is working to deadline.

For this reason, the U of L has begun to build a new experts list that is up-to-date, easy to use and searchable. Having a tool that media can use to directly find experts puts U of L researchers in a position to be sought for comment.

Likewise, the tool is extremely valuable for public affairs staff that is actively pitching experts in the context of current events.

A searchable experts database is critical for other University functions as well.

This includes enabling external researchers to find potential col-

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heila McManus doesn’t like to brag, but when it comes to supporting students, she and her department have every right to toot their own horn.

A professor in the Department of History at the University of Lethbridge, McManus is familiar with the financial struggles many students face.

“I was able to get my degrees with the help of student loans and jobs,” she recalls. “The stress of working while going to school was a defining characteristic of all three of my degrees.”

“This is a real point of pride for our department.”

SHEILA MCMANUS

Despite facing those financial challenges as a student, McManus felt it was important to give back to her community.

“As broke as I was as a student, I was aware of how privileged I was in this world,” she says. “I didn’t have time to volunteer, but I thought I could find 10 dollars a month to contribute to causes I cared about.”

Now that she is established in her career, McManus’s philanthropic goals have grown.

“When I became a faculty member here, I felt it was time to take it up a notch and see how much I could contribute,” she says. “It was the natural thing to do to start helping students here.”

McManus became a donor and volunteer for the Supporting Our Students (SOS) campaign, an annual campaign

The Department of History boasts 100 per cent partcipation in the Supporting Our Students campaign for the fourth straight year.

that allows faculty and staff to contribute to scholarships and bursaries for students. McManus knows firsthand what this kind of support can mean for students.

“Any financial support we can get directly into students’ hands means less stress, fewer hours working a part-time job and more time spent on being students and learning,” she emphasizes.

Amazingly, McManus’s entire department donates to SOS. In 2012, for the fourth year in a row, every member of the history department contributed to the campaign.

“This is a real point of pride for our department,” says McManus. “No other department has hit 100 per cent participation four years in a row. We are so proud!”

McManus hopes her department’s ongoing participation in SOS shows students how much they care. On an individual level, she is happy to help students who are working their way through the same struggles she faced.

“It’s a fantastic feeling to be a part of this,” she says.

“I’m helping my students, I’m helping my university and I’m helping my community.”

BY RICHARD WESTLUND

INTERNATIONAL CONTINUED FROM PG. 3 How can we move this forward? In my role, I’ve been asked to facilitate the creation of university-wide strategies for internationalization. I am in the first stage of this effort, which involves having conversations with faculty, staff, administration and students to identify what we are currently doing that contributes to internationalization.

As a university, we are engaged in numerous activities related to internationalization across campus, and what I’ve discovered is that in many cases one individual/group (i.e. Faculty, department, unit or individual) is

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laborators and helping potential graduate students find supervisors.

The U of L’s information technology department is in the process of building this experts database. In the interim, the public affairs office has started to compile the information needed to populate it. The form, which is easy to fill out, and allows faculty flexibility in describing their unique expertise, can be found at www.uleth.ca/survey/expertlist-signup. Physical forms can be picked up and dropped off at the Advancement Office.

The U of L has opportunities to proactively generate media interest and coverage. Journalists are interested in promoting new discoveries, engaging faculty for expert commentary and analysis and student successes. Journal publications, presentations at conferences and funding awards serve as ongoing opportunities for researchers to promote their work and for the University to illustrate the important role it plays in Canada’s post-secondary landscape.

The success of faculty members and the overall success of the U of L are undoubtedly intertwined. The public affairs office will be actively seeking some of these story ideas from the different Faculties, but we welcome and encourage our researchers to highlight their activities to us.

The public affairs office is also improving the way it tells the University’s story online. A new UNews page is currently being tested and will be implemented in the coming months.

This new tool will allow our stories to be more easily shared through social media, will be more visually compelling to readers and demonstrate the media successes achieved by the faculty, staff and students of the University of Lethbridge.

Richard Westlund is the Director of Public Affairs and Government Relations at the U of L

largely unaware of what another individual/group is doing. It is my goal to pull all of this information together to create a holistic view of our campus engagement with internationalization and to communicate this out to the campus community. This is just the first step in the process.

Internationalization is both a process and an ethos. What do you think? What are you doing?

I look forward to hearing about your contributions and engagement in internationalization. I am available to meet with you, your department, Faculty, unit, in person or virtually.

Alison Nussbaumer (alison. nussbaumer@uleth.ca, ext. 4433) is the Interim Dean, Internationalization, for the University of Lethbridge

FEB RUA RY 2013

athletics AT T H E U |

the Legend

UNIVERSITY OF LETHBRIDGE

Ondrus gravitates to leading role for Horns rugby G E T T H E FA C T S • Ondrus has travelled as a coach with two international high school rugby tours, one to England/ Scotland (2006) and one to Wales (2010) and is headed to New Zealand in March 2013

Interim head coach JJ Ondrus.

BY TREVOR KENNEY

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er official title is interim head coach and former head coach Neil Langevin will still be riding shotgun as an assistant, but make no mistake, the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns women’s rugby team knows who will be calling the shots when the 2013 Canada West season opens this fall.

JJ Ondrus (BSc/BEd ’04), who has been with the program since its inception, first as a player, and most recently as Langevin’s assistant coach for the past 10 years, is taking the reins of the perennial national contenders.

“This was a goal of mine probably since the first couple of years being an assistant,” says the 34-year-old Ondrus as she assumes the head role in the wake of Langevin’s one-year leave. “I just never thought Neil would give the position up, I figured I’d have to move to get an opportunity to be a head coach at a university level.”

Ondrus is coming full circle with the program she first helped build as a player. A soccer player through high school, she graduated out of Catholic Central High, earning a soccer scholarship at the U of L. She played just one year of high school rugby, having to suit up

VOLUNTEERS, JUDGES NEEDED FOR CWSF

BY BOB COONEY In preparing for the 52nd annual Canada-Wide Science Fair, hosted by the University of Lethbridge May 11-18, Chief Judge Dr. Roy Golsteyn is faced with a unique challenge.

Evaluating 500 of Canada’s best young scientists requires judges with specific expertise to ensure that participants receive the highest-quality feedback on

• She has served as an assistant coach for Rugby Alberta Senior and U23 Women at Rugby Nationals • Ondrus took two semesters off to work while pursuing her first degree, and gained a unique appreciation for the value of education, saying, “It was a very motivating time in my life.” for rival Lethbridge Collegiate Institute because CCH didn’t yet have a team of its own.

Three years into her post-secondary career, Horns rugby was born and she switched sports.

“I was OK at soccer but more of a bench player than anything,” says Ondrus. “But in rugby I was pretty much the quarterback as a fly half. I was on the field all the time and we played a kicking game and I was the kicker, so I was important and I loved it.”

In her two years as a Pronghorn she experienced just one win, but it’s a memory she relishes, and it was the first brick in the construction of the Pronghorn dynasty that would emerge years later.

“That is still Neil’s favourite win, and I have the newspaper clipping where he says that,” smiles Ondrus, recalling the team’s bronze medal victory over the University of British Columbia at the Canada West cham-

pionship tournament. “I still remember him jumping out of the end zone he was so excited, because we were not supposed to beat anybody that year.”

Ondrus earned her education degree and started her teaching career at Winston Churchill High School. She also went straight into coaching, both at the high school level and as one of Langevin’s assistants. She has never left the program.

Over the ensuing years, Ondrus taught at Nobleford, then Fort Macleod and eventually returned to Churchill, where she is in her fifth year as a science teacher. At every stop she helped build the sport of women’s rugby and like her Pronghorn brethren, played a big role in establishing the vibrant rugby culture in southern Alberta.

“If you look around the high

school league, I’m pretty sure every program has a Pronghorn player on the coaching staff,” she says. “People are surprised when they come to our community and see the level of support we get and especially the balance between boys and girls rugby.

To see 12 girls teams to six boys teams really speaks to the strength of girls rugby in southern Alberta.”

Ondrus admits she is somewhat overwhelmed with her new position. She is heavy into recruiting for the new season, knowing the Horns graduated six players last season and two others are not returning to the program. She’s also acutely aware that the Horns are coming off what is for them a down year, failing to win the Canada West championship for the first time in seven seasons.

“I’ll admit it, I’m a little nervous about that but the coaches and players accept that responsibility and pressure to be the best, we set the bar high and set that expectation on ourselves to go to nationals and compete for a national championship,” she says.

Having been a part of the program since its outset, it’s hard to imagine anyone else better prepared to take over for the only head coach the Horns have ever known. Ondrus is ready to go.

“I’ve been with the program since it started in 2000, so it is near and dear to my heart,” she says. “I am very excited for my new role and cannot wait to bring my energy and ideas to the table. Neil has set the bar pretty high, but I know, as he does, that I am ready!”

their exceptional projects.

This national event is a program of Youth Science Canada (with local host Southern Alberta Technology Council) and strongly supported by corporate, community, federal, provincial and city organizations.

While Golsteyn, who leads the Cancer Cell Laboratory at the U of L, is a talented researcher and committed volunteer, he can’t do this alone. A total of 300 judges are being sought to make sure the participants get the highest-quality feedback on their projects.

There are three qualification levels for judges, including

those with master’s degrees or greater in sciences, those with professional diplomas such as engineering or veterinary medicine, and those with professional diplomas and experience in a science and technology-related field.

Judges with French language skills are also especially welcomed.

To date, the U of L community has stepped up to commit more than 60 judges, and the overall tally of committed judging volunteers has passed 150, but Golsteyn says there is still a need for judges from a variety of backgrounds including health

sciences, math and digital arts.

“Our University has a leadership role for science in southern Alberta. The values of the Canada-Wide Science Fair are perfectly aligned with the U of L’s values of education, mentorship and research,” says Golsteyn. “Being a Judge is an excellent way to share these values.”

“Finding 300 judges for the CWSF is no small feat. We are halfway there and we would like to build on this momentum. Plans are in place to solicit volunteers and judges from a variety of organizations in Lethbridge and area, and from across the province. The Science

Fair competition will be a truly memorable experience. I am looking forward to engaging the U of L and broader community as judges and volunteers to share this experience and to support science in our country. ” If you are interested in learning more about becoming a judge, e-mail Dr. Roy Golsteyn for more information at roy. golsteyn@youthscience.ca.

In addition to judges, volunteers are required to assist with a variety of hosting duties, and there will be a specific need for those with bilingual capabilities. For more information, e-mail admin@satclethbridge.ca.

Ondrus looks to bring the program back to national prominence, as shown here winning the 2009 CIS title.

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the Legend

FEB RUA RY 2013

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UNIVERSITY OF LETHBRIDGE

Moving forward brings change

BY JAMIE WOODFORD

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t’s been said that the only constant in the world is change. That’s certainly the case when it comes to the University of Lethbridge. With 40-year-old infrastructure that is starting to show its age, the University has been slowly upgrading the Lethbridge campus’s physical attributes.

The Department of Facilities is working to create more modern spaces in a more sustainable environment, making the U of L a destination to be desired with better access, enhanced food services and

CURE EVENT IS ALL ABOUT CONNECTING It’s not quite speed dating, but the idea is similar.

On Mar. 22, the Office of Research & Innovation Services (ORIS) team will host its first Community/University Research Exchange (CURE) event where they are looking to do some relationship building between community groups and University of Lethbridge researchers.

Researchers often experience barriers when trying to involve external partners in their research programs. The CURE event aims to reduce those barriers by bringing community partners and U of L researchers together to talk with, and learn from, each other at a one-day open house.

A broad cross-section of external community groups and partners are going to be invited to participate and attend the event, which will take place in Markin Hall.

The event will feature keynote speakers with extensive expertise in the transfer of research outcomes to the public domain, displays and posters that highlight research outcomes of U of L faculty and graduate students, a series of short talks

state-of-the-art research facilities.

Unfortunately, you can’t have change without, well, change. Renovations to existing structures and new construction can be noisy, messy and just plain inconvenient. That’s why the department arranges to do the majority of its construction when classes are not in session.

While there are less people on campus during the summer months, the U of L is still buzzing with activity during this time and every effort is made to minimize the inconvenience to those who remain.

Most projects are completed

between May and September, but some factors, such as Mother Nature (who likes to keep contractors on their toes) or unforeseen construction obstacles, can delay projects well into the fall semester. Some projects are so big that they will extend even further into the year. The impending PE Tunnel Rehabilitation and South Plaza Replacement is one of them.

Replacing the concrete in the south plaza presents a unique challenge as the PE Tunnel sits directly below and no more than 10,000 lbs. of weight can be placed on top of the tunnel at any time. Removing the concrete slabs above the tunnel will therefore require some creative manoeuvring.

The PE Tunnel restoration includes leak repairs, the installation of new air handling units to enhance air quality and the addition of new lighting. The tunnel will be closed throughout the duration of the project.

From May to possibly the end of the year, the outdoor area from the PE Building along the Students’ Union Building up to the rotunda near the Library will also be closed to allow heavy equipment to move easily within the construction site. The closure also includes the bus loop, and the Department of Facilities

from researchers and community group representatives, plus a networking reception where those who attended CURE can interact face-to-face.

“In the current funding environment, events like this are vital to sustaining funding levels and growing research programs,” says Dr. Lesley Brown, the U of L’s associate vice-president (research) and a kinesiology researcher who, with her students and colleagues, has developed a number of productive and successful community-based research partnerships.

“We are already working quite successfully with a number of community organizations across all Faculties and in the School of Graduate Studies,” says Brown. “We expect that this event will provide an opportunity for our faculty and students to communicate with even more people, and make more connections.

This will increase their accessibility to community members interested in participating in future research projects. ” Federal granting agencies, including the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Natural Sciences & Engineering Research Council (NSERC) and the Social Sciences & Humanities Research (SSHRC), as well as provincial funders such as the Alberta Innovates corporations, are seeking the involvement of external partners in funding applications.

“It is becoming imperative that universities become proactive in engaging the local, provincial and national communities in their research programs.”

One way to make this happen, says Brown, is to gather as many people as possible, let them talk with colleagues and community representatives so that they can learn about the various ways they can work together.

To achieve this goal, ORIS is currently seeking volunteers from all areas of the academic community, including graduate students, to share the outcomes of their research or details regarding their current and future programs at CURE. “As part of the University of Lethbridge Strategic Plan (20092013), the institution has named building internal communities and enhancing relationships with external communities as one of the major strategic directions,” says Brown. “We have taken this priority to heart, and we want to have as many people as possible join us for our event.”

To register as a participant, from either the faculty, student or external community, those interested are asked to e-mail oris@ uleth.ca with subject: CURE. If you have any questions, regarding CURE, please contact Penny D’Agnone in the ORIS at penny.dagnone@uleth.ca or 403-382-7198.

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has been working with the City of Lethbridge to establish a new, temporary bus route – the details of which will be released once they have been finalized.

Library roof

Nearby, the roof of the Library will undergo work as crews replace the roofing membrane that has been lifted by the area’s notorious winds. As long as Mother Nature cooperates, the project will last from about May to mid-July. During this time the south entrance to the Library will be closed.

West parking lots

The second phase of the parking lot redevelopment project will see Lots E and G undergo substantial work. In addition to repaving the lots, a storm water management and drainage system along with new trees and landscaping, windbreaks, concrete curbing and sidewalks, and new lighting will enhance the area. As a gateway to the University, this parking area is one of the first areas of campus that people see. The project will help create a sense of place and welcoming to new and returning guests.

UCA North Patio

The wood and concrete flooring on the North Patio off the University Centre for the Arts (UCA) building will

be replaced this summer. The entrance into the patio area at the bottom of the pathway will be closed, but pedestrians should still be able to access the path by alternate means.

Food Services

Now that the U of L has a new food vendor coming on board, work to update the food services area in UCA will get underway this summer.

In addition to these major projects, several others are already occurring in less obtrusive areas such as the Prairie Quad north of Markin Hall, University Hall Breezeway infrastructure upgrades, elevator upgrades in UCA, Students’ Union Building and Turcotte Hall, and various flooring replacement and building control upgrade projects that will take place on evenings and weekends.

More information on these and other upcoming projects will be communicated to the University community as details emerge. The facilities department would like to thank everyone in advance for their patience during the busy construction season ahead.

Jamie Woodford is the project assistant, communications, for the Department of Facilities

NOW SEEKING NOMINATIONS

Ingrid Speaker Medal FOR DISTINGUISHED RESEARCH, SCHOLARSHIP, OR PERFORMANCE

The Ingrid Speaker Medal for Distinguished Research, Scholarship, or Performance recognizes the central importance of research, scholarship and performance to the philosophy and goals of the University of Lethbridge and provides recognition to those members of the academic staff who excel in these areas.

Deadline for nominations and supporting documents:

February 28, 2013 The award is open to all full- and part-time members of the academic staff currently employed at the University of Lethbridge. Nominations are welcome from any member of the University community, including faculty, alumni, staff, students, Senate and Board of Governors.

For nomination forms, contact: Office of the President, 403-329-2286 www.uleth.ca/president/awards/ ingrid-speaker-medal

FEB RUA RY 2013

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the Legend

UNIVERSITY OF LETHBRIDGE

Dr. Sergio Pellis

Dr. Sergio M. Pellis has been a professor at the University of Lethbridge since 1990 with the main focus of his research being on the role peerto-peer play has in the development of social competence. Using various species, ranging from laboratory rodents to primates, such as the great apes, Pellis has shown that rough-and-tumble play is composed of dissociable subcomponents (e.g., attack, defense) and that there are species differences in how such play can be modified at different ages and contexts.

posed an intriguing problem concerning development. The last step came when I was doing postdoctoral research in behavioural neuroscience and realized that looking at the brain was another important avenue by which to understand behaviour and how it changes over time. Altogether, this led to an interest in how the brain produces and regulates play behaviour and how play behaviour changes the functioning of the brain.

What first piqued your interest in your research discipline?

Aside from providing a model for further research into understanding the mechanisms that underlie the feedback relationship between brain and behaviour, the “real world” applicability of my research concerns our societal practices in child rearing. The current trend for both parents and schools to curtail the opportunity for free play in general, and rough and tumble play in particular, may have important implications for the development of social skills in children. Indeed, there is data, albeit given the limits imposed on research on humans, that show that children with greater

It came in several steps. The first, when I was five years old and realized that my ambition in life was to study animals; the second, midway through my undergraduate degree in zoology when I realized that the behaviour of animals was what turned me on the most; the third, by the end of my degree when I realized that the most intriguing aspect of animal behaviour was how it develops; and the fourth step was when I discovered that play, a feature of behaviour common to the childhood of many animals,

INTERNS A BOON TO LIBRARY You can call it a mutually beneficial relationship.

For the past six years, the University of Lethbridge Library has had an ongoing association with the University of Western Ontario’s (UWO) co-op intern program.

Currently, there are three librarian interns working in the library, each pursuing her Master of Library and Information Science degree at UWO. Carla Reimer and Laura Riggs are originally from Ontario and Emma Thompson was born and raised in Nova Scotia.

The interns work at the

How is your research applicable in “the real world”?

opportunity to engage in free play, especially rough housing play, are socially more proficient and score better in their academic work. Our laboratory-based experiments on rats provide evidence for the causal mechanisms by which play may have these beneficial effects.

What is the greatest honour you have received in your career?

To have been able to work on the problem that has been of most interest to me, to have made some novel discoveries and to have peers use some of my work as a basis for developing and testing hypotheses. Even more exciting has been independent support for some of the ideas generated in my laboratory. That is about as good as it gets.

How important are students to your research endeavours?

Undergraduate and graduate students, as well as post-doctoral fellows, have been an instrumental part of my research program and the successes that I have had in that program. Students bring several assets to a research program. First, they are young and full of energy. Second, they are

motivated to succeed. Third, they bring fresh eyes and insights to the problem under investigation.

The best students that I have had are those who have challenged what I told them is important or noticed something new in the phenomenon that I had missed.

I have found that directing a good student to a problem, giving them ownership of that problem, and letting them loose on it, has, many times, produced major breakthroughs in the research. I wouldn’t have reached the level of understanding about play that I have without the valuable contributions of the students who have worked with me.

If you had unlimited funds, which areas of research would you invest?

As well as unlimited funds, this scenario would require multiple lifetimes, but if you are going to dream, dream big. I would still study play, but I would push the two lines of research that I study now to greater depth.

First, I would combine levels of analysis – behaviour, brain anatomy at the cellular and subcellular level, genetic and other molecular changes associated with play, and electrophysiology of specific brain areas known

Information and Research “The hands-on expeAssistance Desk, where they rience at the library proassist faculty, students, staff vides real-world insight and community members that complements the with their research and academic theory I studied information needs. at school,” says Riggs.

“Hiring co-op students Reimer agrees, addis an excellent way to ing that this experience enhance the level of service will give her a better unthe library can provide to derstanding of where she our varied clientele,” says wishes to take her career.

Brenda Mathenia, associate “I look forward to From left: library interns Carla Reimer, Laura University librarian-Client gaining an understanding Riggs and Emma Thompson.

Services & Facilities. “I of the trends within the believe in supporting libraryprofession and learning and library staff to develop the specific co-op and placement about opportunities within acalibrary’s collection, update cataprograms because of my own demic librarianship.” log records, deliver introductory experience with similar initiaThe library has an estabinformation, literacy instructives when I completed my Maslished history of hiring librarian tion and create library research ter of Science in Information.” interns from UWO. Since 2007, guides. Interns also participate in Beyond working at the infor- ongoing projects at the library on the library has had interns on mation desk, the interns particistaff for four-to-eight month an as needed basis. These activipate in a wide variety of activities ties provide interns with opporpositions. It has proven to be a at the library. This includes work- tunities to build practical skills win-win for both parties and ing with professional librarians brings a great new perspective and professional knowledge.

7

to be associated with play. Such an integrated approach would allow a full mapping of the brain changing effects of play experience in the juvenile period, and characterize how those changes transform the functional capabilities of the brain.

Second, one of the insights that has arisen from my work on the play of rats and other rodents is the finding that the ability to ‘play with play’ depends on specialized mechanisms in the cortex, particularly the prefrontal cortex. It is likely that changes in these mechanisms have led to the evolution of the human exaggeration of fantasy in their play.

I would like to finally answer the question of how humans have evolved their seemingly unique features of play, and so would be able to characterize the brain changes that are involved in producing those features.

Each month, the Legend will present 5 Questions With . . . one of our researchers. For a look at the entire catalog of 5 Questions With . . . features, check out the Office of Research and Innovation Services website at www.uleth. ca/research/research_profiles. If you’d like to be profiled, contact Penny Pickles at pickpj@uleth.ca

into the library.

“Carla, Emma and Laura are a great addition to our staff,” says Mathenia. “They bring a level of enthusiasm and energy that is simply refreshing and contagious.

Another added benefit is, as students themselves, they provide the library with valuable insight into how students use information, which is helping us in our ongoing efforts to enhance the student experience.”

Thompson, who has been at the U of L since September, has gained a real appreciation for the University as she works with its faculty, staff and students on a daily basis.

“The U of L is a top-notch institution with an excellent reputation,” she says. “I’ve found that there’s a real engaged student body and I’ve felt a strong sense of community since I’ve been here.”

the Legend

FEB RUA RY 2013

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UNIVERSITY OF LETHBRIDGE

Alums Myshak, Brown turn knowledge into business

BY STACY SEGUIN

W

hen they began their academic adventures at the University of Lethbridge, co-owners of the newly formed Isis Geomatics Incorporated, Steve Myshak (BSc ’10) and Owen Brown (BSc ’09) were heading down very different career paths.

In fact, Brown wasn’t planning on staying at the University for long. Originally enrolled in pre-engineering, he intended to transfer to the University of Calgary to complete his degree there, but one semester in geography at the U of L and he knew he was hooked.

Myshak entered the University of Lethbridge as a mature student, looking for a fresh start.

He initially majored in history but after switching majors several times, he found his true passion.

“I took Geography 1010.

They had it set up so that all the different geography professors came into the class and each took a week to show us the breadth of geography,” says Myshak. “After I took that class, I decided that geography was what I liked and what I wanted to do.”

They both graduated from the University with their bachelor of science degrees, Brown in 2009 and Myshak in 2010, and are both set to complete their master of science degrees at the University this summer.

“I’d always thought about getting my masters. I had a good relationship with my professor, Chris Hugenholtz; I had done some independent studies with him and I liked the classes he taught. I took a semester off after I graduated, but when Chris asked me one day if I would be interested in the masters’ program I just ran with it,” recalls Brown.

Myshak, who began studying for his masters under the supervision of Drs. Craig Coburn and Karl Staenz, also began studying the possibility of starting up his own company.

“When I was doing my mas-

IT BRINGS OFFICE SUITE TRAINING ON SITE The University of Lethbridge continually offers opportunities for personal and professional growth and the Department of Information Technology is getting on board with a series of Microsoft Office

G E T T H E FA C T S • Detailed information on ISIS Geo and its services can be found at www.isisgeomatics.ca • Isis Geo is based out of Tecconnect in Lethbridge • Myshak and Brown are currently licensed to fly UAV’s in Alberta and Saskatchewan, and have flown over 400km incident free • Both are set to complete their theses this summer.

Brown’s thesis is titled Terrestrial Laser Scanning of Surface Roughness: Protocols and Applications, while Myshak’s thesis is titled The use of remote sensing for the detection of head emergent in wheat and barley canopies. ters, I was working with Agriculture Canada and I spent a lot of time in the field. We were using ground-based remote sensing. I thought there had to be a better way to get the data. I came up with the idea to attach sensors to UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) and get the data that way. I looked into government funding, IRAP and Techterra, and found that there was funding available, but I needed someone else’s opinion,” says Myshak.

“Our masters’ class used to unwind on Fridays at Backstreet Pub. That is where I approached Owen. I told him I needed a partner and asked him what he thought of my idea. We had taken a couple of classes together in our undergrad and in our masters. Owen is very mature in the way he thinks, he has worked in industry and hasn’t just spent all his time at the University.

Working with Owen was just a natural fit.”

“He caught me a little off guard I guess, because I always thought I would just get a job

Suite sessions in the coming months.

Beginning in February, faculty and staff at the U of L will be eligible to participate in the first of these sessions, Entry Level Excel.

This introductory course will be offered over the course of four weeks, with two-hour sessions each Thursday afternoon from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. in E640.

The first session is Thursday, Feb. 21, followed by sessions on Feb. 28, Mar. 7 and Mar. 14.

“This was something that

Owen Brown, left, and business partner Steve Myshak are off and running with ISIS Geomatics Incorporated.

when I finished my masters. I never thought about a business.

I talked to my parents and they were very supportive. I decided to try it,” says Brown. “We got started right away. Steve had already gotten some government funding, so we put a business plan together, put our nose to the grindstone and got to work.”

They incorporated in August 2011. Although there has been a definite on-the-job learning curve, both Brown and Myshak feel strongly about the knowledge base they received and the support they continue to get from the University.

“You gain a lot of critical thinking skills doing research and lab work at the University.

You are given a task and there may be several different ways to do that task. You just have to break it down and do it step by step,” says Brown. “We have learned fantastic problem solving skills. The breadth of knowledge we have gained is

unbelievable, and the support from our professors on our business has been great.”

Using the technical knowledge they gained throughout their academic and work experiences, Myshak and Brown are quickly breaking into the agriculture industry. Judging by the feedback on their recent presentations, they are hopeful that ISIS Geo will soon become a familiar name in the oil and gas industry as well.

“We use UAVs to acquire imagery and then transform that imagery into data using geographic information systems (GIS). UAV’s have been used in police and military applications but there are many applications for it in the commercial world,” explains Myshak.

“For example, we do vegetation health mapping for remediation, livestock counting and recently we have been doing a lot of work for municipalities, measuring volumes of gravel piles for

municipal audits. We have also done some mapping applications as well,” says Brown.

Such aerial imaging work has traditionally been done by satellite, but ISIS Geo has a much more detailed response and quicker turnaround of data.

With satellite information data, each pixel is 5m x 5m, but with UAV technology, Myshak and Brown can provide data that is 3cm x 3cm.

“One of the advantages is the much better resolution,” says Myshak. “The other advantage is that we can fly and have the data the same day, whereas satellite data can take up to two-to-three months to get. We are also less expensive than satellite and we can work when it is cloudy because we fly the copter under the clouds.”

Over the past eight months, they have been working on pilot projects that have proven to be highly successful. For this innovative new company, the sky’s the limit.

was consistently identified by our service management tool as a need on campus,” says Chris Robinson, manager IT Client Services.

“The first session is Entry Level Excel but that should not discourage those who have been using Excel for years because this course is very detailed and can help anyone learn more about the product.”

The Excel course is the first of a series of Office Suite courses designed to help faculty and staff get the most out of their office

resources. An Outlook Tips and Tricks session is available Mar. 21, followed by three weeks of Entry Level Microsoft Word.

A certified Microsoft Office Suite instructor will teach all sessions.

“We thought it was best to bring somebody in who was well-versed in teaching these products, as opposed to having one of our technicians do the instruction,” says Robinson. “We may know the technical aspects of these products very well but we felt it was best to have

a teacher conduct the sessions from a less technical point of view.”

A new round of courses will begin again in May, including Excel Level 2 and so on.

Only 30 spaces are available per session an it’s expected the spots will fill quickly.

For more information, or to take part, contact the Solutions Centre at 403-329-2490, help@ uleth.ca or Chris Robinson (chris.robinson@uleth.ca).

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FEB RUA RY 2013

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UNIVERSITY OF LETHBRIDGE

L I V I N G W E L L AT T H E

U of L

STRETCH

IT OUT

BY SUZANNE MCINTOSH February 28 is international repetitive strain injury awareness day.

Do you know why not sitting still is good for you?

Researchers at Queen’s University recently published findings linking our ‘figityness’ to our overall cardiovascular health. The findings were published in the Medicine & Science in Sports and Exercise, the journal of the American College of Sports Medicine.

Activities that the researchers refer to as incidental physical activities are associated with cardiorespiratory fitness.

Intensity is important, as is a cumulative 30-minute increase in moderate physical activity throughout the day.

A total of 62 per cent of University of Lethbridge employees who responded to the 2012 Employee Health and Wellness survey indicated that they have experienced the following symptoms while at work: soreness, pain, burning, tightness, achiness, numbness, or tingling in the hands, arms, shoulders, neck or back!

Others have experienced other signs of progressive or

ARAMARK ON BOARD AS NEW VENDOR A major culture shift is taking place on the University of Lethbridge campus and our palates will be the first to judge its success.

The U of L has reached an agreement with Aramark Canada to provide onsite food services on its Lethbridge campus for the next 10 years, marking a transformative food services change. Sodexo and its affiliate companies had served the campus for the past 30 years.

“The University of Lethbridge prides itself on the experience it offers its students,” says President Dr. Mike

repetitive strain injuries while at work, including weakness of extremities, lack of endurance, fatigue or clumsiness (dropping or fumbling with items).

So what can you do about it?

Try what the Faculty of Education (or the ‘Ed Angels’) team has been doing.

They decided that for 10 minutes, twice daily, they would get together and stretch. They participate together, reminding each other it’s time to get up and away from their desks, and to have fun while doing so.

The group recently invited Paula McDonald, U of L Fitness Centre Supervisor, to attend a session to ensure they were completing the stretches correctly.

Lorraine Beaudin, assistant dean of Education, printed off copies of the Get Fit at Work, Stretch and Strengthen program and the group has decided to pick 10 exercises to do each session.

The Get Fit at Work, Stretch and Strengthen program was designed specifically for you in mind – developed by one of our own kinesiology students, Jeanine Baxter (BSc ’10).

You can use the exercises in the program on their own, or a few

Mahon. “We recognize that food quality is critical to that experience, and we are thrilled that our campus community will be provided with a variety of high-quality food options for the foreseeable future.”

A thorough and extensive review of food services on campus led to a Request for Proposal for campus food services in the summer of 2012.

The process in choosing a new food vendor included many campus constituency groups, the most critical being students.

Students were surveyed, invited to participate in discussion groups and included as members of the final selection committee.

“We listened to what our students told us about the importance of food services on campus,” says Mahon, mindful of the fact that 70 per cent of U of L students come from

at a time, any time throughout your day at work or at home.

Proper diet and regular exercise helps strengthen our bodies and contributes to mental alertness, and also helps our bodies prevent injuries and spring back from injury much faster.

A few things to remember about stretches • If you are under medical treatment, please contact your physician before doing the Stretch and Strengthen program • Perform all exercises within your comfort zone, and breathe naturally • Stretches should be done slowly and smoothly. Do not bounce or strain. If you feel discomfort, STOP • Check out www.uleth.ca/hr/ wellness and search ‘stretch’ or click on the Weekly Wellness Tips tab The February Wellness session on Tuesday, Feb. 12 is Sleep Myths – and what you can do about them. It runs from noon to 1 p.m. in Markin Hall

outside the Lethbridge area and that food services play a crucial role in recruitment. “It was critical to have them included in the process of choosing a food services provider.”

University of Lethbridge Students’ Union President Armin Escher says students will benefit greatly from a variety of food options, and that he is looking forward to experiencing the transformation of food services on campus.

“A variety of food options not only adds to the quality of campus life for students, but high-quality offerings are essential for student health and student success,” says Escher.

In approving the agreement with Aramark, University of Lethbridge board members recognized a tangible link between providing high quality food and the ability of the University to recruit students.

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(M3003) and features presenter Dawn Filewych of the Chinook Sleep Clinic.

Pre-registration for this class is recommended as space is limited. E-mail wellness@ uleth.ca to register.

As well, check out the free Mini-Massage event on Wednesday, Feb. 27. Running from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in L1102, massages can be booked at 15-minute intervals. Again, e-mail wellness@uleth.ca to register.

Contact Suzanne McIntosh, Wellness Co-ordinator at suzanne.mcintosh@uleth.ca, wellness@uleth.ca or 403-3325217 to schedule a Health Check for U session or if you would like more information on this program.

The sessions take 15-20 minutes for the screening (Thursday mornings) and a 15-30 minute follow-up session (Friday mornings). All screenings and results are confidential.

As always, I look forward to any comments, suggestions or questions!

Be well.

Suzanne McIntosh is the wellness co-ordinator at the University of Lethbridge

“In order for the University to continue to flourish as a destination university, food options and the quality of those options are critical. Providing good food to our campus community will attract students to our campus,” says board member Kathleen Willms.

Aramark is a leader in professional services, providing award-winning food services, facilities management, and uniform and career apparel to health-care institutions, universities and school districts, stadiums and arenas, and businesses around the world.

The U of L’s 10-year agreement with Aramark commences on May 1, 2013. Look for further details about new vendor options and renovations to current vendors in future issues of the Legend and on the Notice Board.

the Legend

5-10 A DAY!!!!

BY LORI WEBER Did you think I meant fruits and vegetables? Actually, when I tell people that it is a good idea to wash their hands between 5-10 times per day, they are usually a little shocked.

In this time of coughs, cold, influenza, stomach flu and a variety of other communicable diseases, the #1 method to decreasing illness is simple hand washing. But we are not washing enough times in the day or washing correctly (usually not long enough or not enough attention to full cleansing of the whole hand).

When you think about it, our day should go as follows: •

Get up in the morning, toilet and wash hands

•

Eat breakfast, wash hands

•

Toilet, wash hands

•

Before eating lunch, wash hands

•

Sneezing and touching eyes or other body parts, wash hands

•

Before eating supper, wash hands

•

Evening events (depending what you do - i.e. work out or sports or crafts or???) - wash hands

Toileting at bedtime, wash hands

This doesn’t even include the other occasions when we need to wash up – we are human beings after all and we do all kinds of interesting things with our hands throughout the day!

Yes, we also need to cover our coughs, stay home if ill, do appropriate self-care, get a flu shot when offered and seek medical assistance when appropriate. In the meantime, try 5-10 a day of hand washing and throw in the fruits/ vegetables too, you just might avoid getting sick completely!

Note: Students, remember to call the Health Centre at 403-329-2484 and leave a message for a Health Centre staff member to call you regarding your illness and resulting need for a sick note.

We DO NOT GIVE SICK NOTES for illnesses that a student did not call or talk to us (or see a physician at time of illness) about. Employees, talk to your supervisor about how to deal with your sick time.

Lori Weber is the manager of the University Health Centre •

the Legend

FEB RUA RY 2013

events C A L E N D A R Pronghorn Athletics Feb. 8-9 | Canada West Men’s Hockey Horns host University of Saskatchewan 7 p.m. nightly, Nicholas Sheran Arena Feb. 15 | Canada West Basketball Horns host University of Calgary Women’s game 6 p.m.; Men’s game 8 p.m., 1st Choice Savings Centre

Performances Feb. 5 | U of L Wind Orchestra and Guests | The Didsbury High School Symphonic Winds orchestra joins the U of L Wind Orchestra in concert | 7:30 p.m., College Drive Community Church Feb. 12 | Music at Noon – Dr. Josh Davies & Dr. Deanna Oye | 12:15 p.m., University Recital Hall (W570) Feb. 12-16 | The Neverending Story The world of Fantastica is doomed and on the brink of being enveloped by the Nothingness!

7 p.m., nightly, University Theatre Feb. 26 | Music at Noon – Musaeus String Quartet with Dr. Janet Youngdahl 12:15 p.m., University Recital Hall (W570) Feb. 28-Mar. 2 | TheatreXtra: Mary’s Wedding | Ethereal, mysterious and poignant, award-winning Alberta playwright Stephen Massicotte’s World War I drama | 8 p.m. nightly, David Spinks Theatre, 2 p.m. matinee Saturday, Mar. 2 Mar. 1 | Lethbridge Symphony Orchestra Chamber Series IV | Musaeus String Quartet with Dr. Janet Youngdahl, Dr. George Evelyn, Colleen Klassen and Doug MacArthur 8 p.m., Southminster United Church Mar. 5 | Music at Noon – Dr. Aaron Hodgson with Magdalena von Eccher 12:15 p.m., University Recital Hall (W570)

Lectures Feb. 6 | Graduate Student Workshop Putting Your Best Foot Forward: A Workshop on Writing a Good Resume/CV presented by Dr. Jennifer Mather | 9 a.m., L950 Feb. 6 | Art Now Speaker – Miruna Dragan | Noon, University Recital Hall (W570) Feb. 7 | Chemistry & Biochemistry Guest Speaker – Dr. David Palmer | Determining enzymatic activities in antibiotic biosynthesis 12:15 p.m., C640 Feb. 7 | Prairie University Physics Seminar Series | Dr. Darren Grant presents Ghosts in the Ice, a talk about the world’s largest neutrino detector at the South Pole Station Antarctica | 1:40 p.m., C640

Feb. 7 | Cade Community Lecture – Karl Rejman | How Can We Find Happiness?

Answers from Philosophers, Persons with Disabilities and Popular Culture | 7:30 p.m., Lethbridge Public Library

Details at www.uleth.ca/artsci/amethyst/ wcdwp-2013-0

Mar. 1 | Art Now Speaker – Lezli Kunda Noon, University Recital Hall (W570)

Feb. 9 | Culture Vulture Saturday – Printmaking | All materials provided | 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., University Hall Atrium

Miscellaneous Feb. 6 | On Campus Services Fair Learn about the advising offices, services and opportunities available on campus | 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., University Hall Atrium Feb. 6 | BMO Financial Group Information Session | Finance students at the University of Lethbridge have the opportunity to learn about career opportunities with BMO Financial Group | 4:30 p.m., AH100

Feb. 8 | Prentice Brown Bag Lecture – Cheryl Currie | Pathways to Health for Aboriginal Canadians: The Role of Cultural Continuity | Noon, L1102 Feb. 8 | Art Now Speaker – Amanda Cachia | Noon, University Recital Hall (W570)

Feb. 6 | New Media Film Series – The Artist | Free New Media Film series focuses on new possibilities and creative currents in 21st century filmmaking | 7 p.m., Lethbridge Public Library

Feb. 8 | PIMS Distinguished Speakers Series – Nassif Ghoussoub | A symmetric Monge-Kantorovich theory and applications Noon, B650

Feb. 7 | CMA & CGA Information Session Career opportunities for those looking to find out about the new CPA designation | 4 p.m., AH100

Feb. 8 | CMA Alberta Speakers Series – Michael ‘Pinball’ Clemons | Canadian Football League legend Michael Clemons speaks to the qualities of teamwork, community leadership and overcoming the odds 2 p.m., Students’ Union Ballrooms

UNIVERSITY OF LETHBRIDGE

Feb. 25 | Architecture & Design Now Speaker – Paul Raff | 6 p.m., M1040

Mar. 4 | Architecture & Design Now Speaker – Hadani Ditmars | 6 p.m., M1040

Feb. 7 | CMA Alberta Speakers Series – Catherine Murray | Part of the MSS Business Day activities, keynote speaker Catherine Murray of BNN’s Market Sense speaks to her experience in the fields of business, finance and retail | 8 p.m., Coast Lethbridge Hotel

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Feb. 7 & 14 | AMETHYST Workshop on Career Development | Annual workshop for the NSERC CREATE AMYTHEST Program

Feb. 11 | Art Now Speaker – Shawn Van Sluys | Noon, University Recital Hall (W570)

Feb. 9 | Ecumenical Campus Ministry Mardi Gras | Cajun dinner, entertainment and silent auction in support of Ecumenical Campus Ministry and the work of Chaplain Erin Phillips | 6 p.m., St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church Feb. 11 | Alberta Innovates – Health Solutions Information Session | For individuals wishing to learn more about AIHS Graduate Studentships, Clinician Fellowships or MD-PhD Studentships | 11 a.m., L950 Feb. 15 | Beading Workshop | Learn how to bead moccasin tops with demonstrations from Doreen Day Rider | 12 p.m., University Hall Atrium Feb. 18 | Play Day | The 2nd Annual University of Lethbridge Play Day invites the entire southern Alberta community to campus for a day of unstructured family play 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., 1st Choice Savings Centre Mar. 1-May 31 | Projects by Museum Studies Interns | Museum Studies interns develop professionally and learn from the art Gallery staff while giving audiences access to the ideas and viewpoints of young adults Helen Christou Gallery

NOW SEEKING NOMINATIONS

Feb. 11 | Architecture & Design Now Speaker – Alfred Waugh | 6 p.m., M1040 Feb. 12 | Retirement Planning Lunch & Learn | Homewood Human Solutions presents The Emotional Effects of Retirement | 1 p.m., AH100

President’s Award

Feb. 12 | Prairie Universities Physics Speaker Series – Else Starkenburg Else Starkenburg of the University of Victoria presents a talk on galactic archaeology 1:40 p.m., C640

FOR SERVICE EXCELLENCE The President’s Award for Service Excellence is awarded annually to an administrative staff member or team in recognition of their provision of exceptional service to the University of Lethbridge and members of the

Feb. 13 | CRCGA Workshop Campus Roots Community Garden Association presents a spring workshop Healthy Soil = Healthy Food | 7 p.m., AH116

University community. Award recipients will be honored at the annual Long Service Awards and Retirement Recognition Ceremony.

Deadline for nominations and supporting documents:

March 22, 2013

Feb. 14 | Retirement Planning Lunch & Learn | Homewood Human Solutions presents The Emotional Effects of Retirement | 12 p.m., AH100

Awarded to one APO/ESS and one AUPE staff member, the award is open to all permanent or term (part-time or full-time) AUPE Support Staff, APOs and Exempt Support Staff members who have continuous service of at least three years.

Feb. 14 | Cade Community Lecture – Dr. Catherine Kingfisher | What’s Wrong With How We Think About Happiness? | 7:30 p.m., Lethbridge Public Library

For nomination forms or for more information, contact: Office of the President, 403-329-2286 www.uleth.ca/president/awards/service-excellence

Feb. 15 | Art Now – Leanne Elias Noon, University Recital Hall (W570) Feb. 25 | Art Now Speaker – Paul Raff Noon, University Recital Hall (W570)

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13-01-23 2:00 PM

FEB RUA RY 2013

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UNIVERSITY OF LETHBRIDGE

FINE ARTS

in focus

the Legend

Bringing alive the world of Fantastica

Director Andrew Legg mimics the emotion of one of the many puppet figures that will be used in the stage production.

T

he world of Fantastica is doomed and on the brink of being enveloped by the Nothingness! Atreyu, a young hero in Fantastica, and Bastien, a boy in the real world, must stop the darkness from taking hold by saving the Childlike Empress.

The adventures of these boys and a company of wondrous characters play out on the University Theatre stage, Feb. 12-16 at 7 p.m. nightly. The Neverending Story by Michael Ende and adapted by David. S. Craig is perfect for anyone who has read a book so good they did not want it to end.

Creating the magical world of Fantastica for the stage is no small task. From the creepy crawly characters in the form of imaginative puppets, to a set that transforms between Fantastica and the real world, audiences of all ages are in for a spellbinding experience.

Set Designer, Vicki Moser (BA ’12) explains the delicate balance of creating a set that easily shifts between the real world and Fantastica.

“Part of the director’s concept is to have everything in the imaginary world of Fantastica linked to something we have seen in the real world that

Bastian inhabits,” she says. “Our set incorporates pieces we have in the real world that transform into something else in Fantastica – everything shifts and morphs and moves, literally, as Bastian’s imagination comes to life on stage.”

Director Andrew Legg (MFA candidate) chose to direct The Neverending Story as part of the requirements for his MFA degree because the movie had such an impact on him as a child.

“It’s a story for all ages, because I think we all identify and cheer for the underdog. I remember watching the film

FOOD BANK CONTINUES TO SERVE A VALUABLE NEED

BY MARIKA STEVENSON The phrase “one must eat well in order to learn well,” has never been truer than it is today.

Twenty years ago, graduate students at the University of Alberta launched the first campus food bank and today there are more than 70 student food banks nationwide. The University of Lethbridge Students’ Union (ULSU) is proud to be the host of one of those food banks.

The issue of starving students comes as a result of a number of factors, including increased tuition rates, a shortage of youth jobs and ever-rising food prices. The reality is that most students rely on some form of financial assistance to supplement their post-secondary educations and all too often they stretch their funds by going without healthy meals.

The ULSU recognizes the financial constraints involved with post-secondary education and offers students both single and family-sized food hampers that are designed to give those

in need a healthy alternative to going hungry. However, the food bank is a limited resource, as it is a volunteer-based service that relies completely on donations in order to survive. Events such as the Faculty Food Bank Fundraiser are hosted by the Students’ Union to help meet the food bank’s needs.

For the month of February, bright pink piggy banks can be spotted in departments throughout the University.

Faculty, staff and students are all asked to dig deep and “donate some bacon.” The fundraiser entices its contributors by offering a foodie gift basket and snacks delivered to the department that donates the most bacon, metaphorically speaking.

“This year, I thought it would be a good idea to add some incentive to the project by offering a food-based prize,” says organizer Brady Schnell, ULSU vice-president Operations and Finance. “Last year, $298 was raised and it is my hope to beat that this year by offering a prize and extending the fund-

raiser to an entire month.”

Schnell says that the demand placed on the campus food bank has increased significantly over the last couple years.

“We provided 154 single hampers and 80 family-sized hampers last year,” he says.

“This past November we provided 45 hampers in a single month!”

The ULSU supports a number of initiatives that benefit the food bank. Just last month, Schnell was involved in a local food and beverage exhibition where student volunteers received enough donations to fill six food hampers and were also given an additional $200 to go towards supporting the food bank’s needs.

Schnell says the demand speaks for itself and he’s thankful to everyone in the community and at the University who support the needs of students.

To donate to the food bank, look for the pink piggy banks or visit the ULSU in SU180.

Marika Stevenson is the SU communications co-ordinator

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and immediately connecting with both Atreyu and Bastien,” says Legg. “The Neverending Story is a great hero’s adventure, with wonderfully fantastic characters. I’m thrilled to see it all come to life on stage.”

Recommended for ages 10 and up, tickets for The Neverending Story are available at the University Box Office, Monday through Friday, 12:30 to 3:30 p.m., or by calling 403329-2616. Individual tickets are priced at $15 regular, $10 seniors/students and children.

Regular tickets are also available online at www.uleth.ca/tickets.

WORLD WAR I DRAMA TO CAP THEATREXTRA SEASON Ethereal, mysterious and poignant, award winning Alberta playwright, Stephen Massicotte’s World War I drama, Mary’s Wedding, materializes in the David Spinks Theatre Feb. 28 to Mar. 2 at 8 p.m. nightly.

TheatreXtra’s final production of the 2013-2014 season tells a sensitive and beautiful story of love and loss during a precarious time in history.

“The play is about Mary and Charlie, and their struggles of love during war, but it all takes place in Mary’s dream. I know that audiences will be surprised with how emotional it is,” says director Taylor Fornwald (third-year, drama/education major).

Although there are only two actors in the play, putting together a production that transcends reality is a challenge, and one Fornwald is excited to tackle.

“Above all else, this is a love story and its theme is something everyone can connect with,” he says.

Tickets are available at the University Box Office.

Individual tickets are priced at $11 regular, $7 seniors/ students.

images L ASTING

(TOP) Kenojuak Ashevak, Talelayu, 1979. From the University of Lethbridge Art Collection; Purchased in 1988 with matching funds provided by the Alberta Advanced Education Endowment and Incentive Fund, as a result of the gift of an anonymous donor.

(MIDDLE) Kenojuak Ashevak, Multifeathered Bird, 1961. From the University of Lethbridge Art Collection; Gift of Toni Onley, 1988.

Kenojuak Ashevak was born in Ikirasaq, Baffin Island in 1927. Her father was a shaman, who clashed with other members of the community who had recently converted to Christianity, and he was killed when Ashevak was six years old. After his death, her family moved to live with Ashevak’s maternal grandmother, who taught her traditional craft techniques including sealskin repair and caribou hide preparation.

In 1946, Ashevak married and began to have children, but was separated from her family from 1952 to 1955 by a stay in Quebec City’s Parc Savard hospital, where she convalesced from tuberculosis. Upon her recovery, Ashevak began working with Inuit art promoter James Archibald Houston, and in 1959 she and a group of other Cape Dorset artists formed the West Baffin Eskimo Cooperative workshop. Throughout her artistic career, Ashevak produced thousands of drawings, etchings, stone cut prints and soapstone sculptures, often featuring brightly coloured, stylized representations of animals and mythical beings.

She was the subject of a National Film Board documentary in 1963, made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1967, awarded honorary doctorates from Queen’s University and the University of Toronto, and her work is held in numerous private and public collections across Canada and internationally.

Ashevak died on January 8, 2013 in Cape Dorset.

(BOTTOM) Kenojuak Ashevak, Summer Owl, 1979.

From the University of Lethbridge Art Collection; Gift of an anonymous donor, 1986.