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CELEBRATING THE BEST OF THE UNIVERSITY OF THE FRASER VALLEY
END OF AN EVERED ERA Dr. Mark Evered retires from UFV Presidency — a look at his legacy
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On the cover: Dr. Mark Evered at one of the many Convocation ceremonies he has presided over at UFV. Photo: Darren McDonald.
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FEATURES 8
MARK HIS WORDS President Mark Evered reflects on eight years at the helm of UFV
13 HELPING HOPS HAPPEN Sam Glasgow is fostering the comeback of the long-dormant hop industry
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18 AT HOME IN SPACE Jelena Brcic investigates how astronauts and people in other extreme environments make themselves at home
22 A RASPBERRY ARRAY A group of young alumni are boosting the burgeoning Fraser Valley arts scene with Raspberry magazine and other creative endeavours
26 PLAYING WITH A PURPOSE
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Joanna Sheppard is helping children gain basic physical literacy skills that will keep them healthy for life
30 IT’S NOT ROCKET SCIENCE — OR IS IT? UFV’s Mechatronics program emphasizes the applied side of physics to prep students for industry
42 COSTCO-SIZED SUPPORT Alumnus turned Costco manager comes through in a big way by arranging business bursary
44 MISSION’S MARVELOUS MARCELLUS DUO J im and Cathy Marcellus honoured with bursaries by their family
DEPARTMENTS & SECTIONS 4 President’s message 5 UFV News
ALUMNI 34 Alumni notes 36 Distinguished Alumni 38 Keeping in Touch
GIVING 40 A culture of giving at UFV 41 2016 Town & Gown report
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Skookum: good, best, ultimate, first-rate. The name of UFV's magazine reflects our goal to offer the best undergraduate education in Canada. This strong word is from the Chinook jargon, a trade dialect that brought different cultures together as it was used by groups of Aboriginals and multi-ethnic newcomers to British Columbia.
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Photo: Darren McDonald
A MESSAGE FROM UFV PRESIDENT MARK EVERED
AS MARK MOVES ON, A NEW CHAPTER BEGINS I will soon reach the end of my term as President and Vice-Chancellor of our university. What a great honour it has been to serve you. As I reflect on nearly half a century in university life on three continents and in three Canadian provinces, I see how fortunate I have been to finish my career at UFV. I will cherish this opportunity always. Thank you for letting me be part of this great work. There are many ways to judge a university, and although much is often made of the rankings, seldom are these based on what I consider the two most important measures: the success of the graduates and the success of the communities they serve. After all, this is the reason we do what we do. Or at least it should be! Making our world better, student by student. In this edition of Skookum, you will find many examples of the achievements of our current students and our alumni, and the ways that they are making a difference in communities both local and far beyond. I am sure I speak for all when I say how indebted we are to the devoted faculty, staff, administrators, benefactors, and volunteers whose knowledge, skill, and passion make this possible. Finally, please join me in welcoming our colleague and friend, Jackie Hogan, who will take the helm for the next year or so. I have no doubt about the continuing success of UFV under her leadership. We face challenging times, but we have a great team, the momentum is strong, and the future will be built on the values and principles that have guided us for more than 43 years. With respect and gratitude,
Mark Evered, PhD President & Vice-Chancellor, University of the Fraser Valley
Mark Evered takes a rainy break outside one of his many UFV events.
UFV NEWS Photo: Darren McDonald
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J ACKIE HOGAN TAKES THE HELM ON INTERIM BASIS Current Chief Financial Officer and VP Administration Jackie Hogan will be UFV’s interim president starting on July 1. She will take over from the retiring Mark Evered until a permanent president is hired. A Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA), Hogan also holds a Bachelor of Accounting Science from the University of Calgary. She is an alumna of UFV and earned the Lieutenant Governor Silver Medal for academic excellence with her Business Administration diploma. Hogan joined UFV in 1989, rising through the organization to become Chief Financial Officer in 2010. In 2014, the Association of Women in Finance awarded Hogan the prestigious PEAK Award for Excellence in the Public Sector. 1
HONORING EXCELLENCE AT CONVOCATION Four outstanding individuals will be recognized with honorary degrees at UFV’s Convocation ceremonies on June 6 and 7. Kirsten Brazier, a pilot and advocate for women in the aviation industry; Dr. Nadine Caron, Canada’s first female
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Aboriginal surgeon; Tamara Taggart, a broadcaster and champion for children with disabilities; and Andy Sidhu, founder of the Punjabi Patrika newspaper, will all grace the Convocation stage to be honoured. Other award winners at UFV this year are Dr. Ian Affleck for Teaching Excellence, Dr. Miriam Nichols for Research Excellence, Liana Thompson for Inspirational Leadership, Cherish Forster for Staff Excellence, and the Global Lounge for Teamwork Excellence. UFV ATHLETES 2 SHINE Cascade student athletes represented UFV well this year. Wrestler Brad Hildenbrandt won UFV’s first-ever U SPORTS (formerly CIS) gold medal by grabbing top spot in the 120 kg class at the nationals. Karla Godinez Gonzalez was the Canada West female wrestling rookie of the year. In women’s golf, Sharon Park and Hannah Dirksen were Canadian Collegiate Athletics Association All-Canadians. Basketball players Kayli Sartori and Manny Dulay were Canada West second-team all-stars. Women’s soccer player Monika Levarsky was a Canada West first-team all-star and a U SPORTS second-
team All-Canadian. Her teammate Tristan Corneil was a Canada West first-team all-star. In men’s soccer, Tammer Byrne (first team) and Daniel Davidson (second team) were both Canada West all-stars. Five volleyball players (Joel Kleingeltink, Isaiah Dahl, Ben Friesen, Jessica Funk, and Rachel Funk) were league all-stars, and Kleingeltink was also a CCAA All-Canadian. UFV SCORES HAT TRICK AS ONE OF BC’S TOP EMPLOYERS For the third year running, UFV has been named one of BC’s Top Employers, in recognition of its compensation, benefits, and workplace culture. The competition is run by Mediacorp Canada, which manages the well-known Canada’s Top 100 Employers project and the Eluta.ca job search engine. UFV also joined prestigious universities like MIT, Yale, and Johns Hopkins University in receiving the Seal of Distinction from WorldatWork, a non-profit human resources association and compensation authority. In addition, UFV was recognized for its efforts in creating an inclusive environment at the recent Fraser Valley Diversity Awards, and received the
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Leadership Campaign Spirit Award from the United Way of the Fraser Valley. UFV PLANS FOR DIGITAL HUB Planning has commenced for the UFV digital hub, the next major building the university would like to open on the Abbotsford campus. UFV has contracted Stantec, a global engineering and professional services company, to assist with planning. The digital hub will serve as a technologically advanced innovation centre for students, industry, and the Fraser Valley community. The new facility will have ultra high-speed internet access and flexible and active spaces configured with learning labs, digital communication platforms, leading-edge performance studios, and industry-standard digital tools that will form the foundation for problem solving and experiential learning with an entrepreneurial mindset. NEW DEGREES OF SUCCESS UFV received provincial government approval to launch several new degrees in the past year, in disciplines such as Agriculture Science, Education, Indigenous Studies, Peace and Conflict Studies, Media
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Photo: Darren McDonald
Photo: Anne Russell
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Arts, and Theatre. The university has also reinvigorated its Bachelor of Arts degree. UFV Arts students will gain and demonstrate competency in four core skill areas: communication, critical thinking, quantitative literacy, and scientific literacy. A key part of our BA 2.0 is a multimedia portfolio showcasing project and extracurricular work. CHANDIGARH FACILITIES EXPAND UFV has added a new facility to its campus in Chandigarh, India. The modern building will host students in the Bachelor of Business Administration and Bachelor of Computer Information Systems programs. The new space will provide much needed room to accommodate the growing demand for UFV’s programs in India. 3
BEAVIS EXCELS IN BUSINESS AND LEADERSHIP
As a member of Métis Nation BC, UFV business student Keenan Beavis is proud of his Aboriginal heritage, something he embraces, shares, and benefits from through his involvement in the Ch’nook Scholars program. Ch’nook is a leading organization in the development and
encouragement of business education for Aboriginal students and professionals. Beavis is helped by a $2,000 scholarship, plus the networking and mentorship opportunities the program provides. 4
HUMAN LIBRARY FULL OF GREAT READS
Students and members of the public had the chance to check out living books at UFV’s Human Library event this spring. The special guests attending became “human books” and told their unique story. They included science communicator Carin Bondar; Buddhist nun Sister Jessie; Aboriginal role models Shirley Hardman and Elaine Malloway; Sufist Sandy Hill; firefighter Lisa Axelson; women’s rights activist Kulwant Gill; physical educator Joanna Sheppard; mental health advocate Adria Roberts; and queer artist Christina Billingham. 5
FRIESEN APPLIES MATH TO MARKETING
When you think about what kind of summer job a physics student might land, would marketing pop into your mind? It certainly didn’t for UFV physics and math student
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Josh Friesen, but he completed a work semester in the marketing department of Prospera Credit Union in Abbotsford. He discovered the analytical skills he’s learned in his physics and math classes were well suited to the job. His work at Prospera involved analyzing the credit union’s databases to figure out ways to help develop current and potential members. Friesen is working on a Bachelor of Science degree with double minors in physics and statistics, while concurrently completing UFV’s Data Analysis certificate. And he’s also pursuing the Cooperative Education option at UFV by completing a series of paid work terms at businesses and organizations. 6
Photo: Darren McDonald
Photo: Anne Russell
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APPETITE FOR RESEARCH TOOK NEWMAN ACROSS CANADA
Dr. Lenore Newman has eaten her way across Canada. She and her appetite have traveled more than 40,000 km on a fiveyear quest to explore Canadian cuisine. And in her new book, Speaking in Cod Tongues, Newman asserts that what makes Canadian food culture unique is our love of wild food like salmon and berries, our sustained respect for seasonality (such as waiting for fresh Chilliwack corn in July rather than buying California corn
in March), and our enthusiasm for adapting and integrating foods from other countries into a Canadian Creole as we welcome immigrants from around the world. Newman, who holds the Canada Research Chair in Food Security and the Environment at UFV, is a faculty member in Geography and the Environment. BIOPOD INITIATIVE WINS AWARD A unique partnership between UFV, the City of Surrey, and the John Volken Academy has won a Leadership and Innovation in Agriculture award, presented by the Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM), the BC Agriculture Council (BCAC), and the Ministry of Agriculture. The award recognized the BioPod Initiative, which aims to stimulate agri-tech development, provide opportunities for careers in agriculture, and strengthen the local food system. The initiative also provides agricultural skills training and certification for academy students in recovery, builds the qualified labour force for greenhouse operations in the region, and provides a commercial greenhouse for agri-tech development and demonstration.
TEACHER EDUCATION CELEBRATES 10 YEARS Step into a school in the Fraser Valley and chances are you’ll find an alumnus of UFV Teacher Education guiding young minds. A total of 381 new teachers have graduated from Teacher Education at UFV since the one-year program started in 2007. The credential is now known as the Bachelor of Education, but for most of its first decade it was the Teacher Education certificate. “It is an amazing experience every year to see the people who enter our program undergo the transformation from student to teacher,” says program advisor Barbara Salingré, who has been with the department since its inception. “It is a very memorable year for them — they really bond as a group. When I see them in the grocery store years later, they express gratitude and enthusiasm for the program. And they are out there paying it forward by transforming children’s lives.” Teacher Education at UFV celebrated its 10th anniversary with an alumni event on April 7.
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Photo: Darren McDonald
The StÓ:lō people held an honouring ceremony for Mark Evered on May 10, and bestowed the name Al’aliyatel (humble man, good at everything, works for the people) on him.
EVERPRESENT, EVERSERVING, EVERED One student’s memorial gift helped first-generation learner and UFV President Mark Evered get his start. Now stepping away, he looks forward to where universities are going next BY DARREN MCDONALD Dave Evered, a Hamilton factory worker, pushed callused and grease-streaked hands into the palms of five sons. “Do better, boys,” he implored. “Get an education so you won’t have these dirty hands.” Sixty years later, three smiling UFV students dropped a black cloth to reveal the name of an expansive room inside their new Student Union Building. It was now Evered Hall, named to honour Mark’s and his wife Maureen’s service to UFV students. The First Couple shared a tissue while reflecting together on the incredible journey launched long ago by the wisdom of a man who’d been denied education, but knew its value.
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“I’m sad to be stepping away from this incredible opportunity to serve,” says outgoing UFV President Mark Evered. “I’m getting old just when it’s getting really exciting. Changes are coming at a scary rate, but what an opportunity!” Gregarious, patient, and ever-present, Dr. Evered might be remembered as a people’s president — but what he built, literally and figuratively, leaves a timeless legacy. He retires June 30, eight years after taking the helm, shortly after UFV gained university status. The recession triggered financial challenges, but by leveraging non-traditional donors, goodwill, and partnerships with communities and businesses, Evered found ways to build. He helped steer UFV’s Chilliwack campus onto the Canada Education Park with its new, internationally acclaimed 150,000-square-foot teaching and research building and its celebrated Agriculture Centre of Excellence. UFV’s urban presence evolved with downtown locations in Abbotsford and Chilliwack and the Graphic + Digital Design program in Mission. In Abbotsford, students moved into their new Student Union Building. Transportation between campuses even got a boost with the new morning-to-evening shuttle service. “I’ve had the advantage of working with an outstanding team of innovative and hard-working senior administrators,” says Evered. He is quick to deny credit for any achievements, pointing out examples where nothing would have happened without the commitment and talents of his team, faculty, and staff. Evered also points to the many volunteers so vital to UFV’s success. “I’m so grateful for the outstanding Board members, especially the Chairs and the Chancellors who’ve guided and supported me,” he says.
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A first-generation learner from a working class family, Evered’s climb wasn’t easy or obvious. His father left school to work after Grade 7, his mother Marjory after Grade 10, and the family was not wealthy. “The odds of me going to university were slim,” Evered recalls. “But I’m so grateful for parents who valued education,” he says, “and a devoted mother who forced us to study.” Evered launched his post-secondary education with a BSc in biology from Hamilton’s McMaster University, then earned a PhD in neurophysiology from the University of Western Ontario. He has held teaching, research, and administrative appointments at Cambridge University, the University of Western Ontario, the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health in Melbourne, the University of Saskatchewan, and Thompson Rivers University. He’s an award-winning teacher and his research has been published in leading journals. All thanks to hard work — and the generosity of parents who lost a son far too early. Mark and Maureen married during his first year at McMaster and their first daughter, Lisa, was born that summer. Only 19, Mark knew he had to provide. Books and tuition took a backseat to dinner and diapers. A bursary helped clear the trail. When McMaster student Eric Schlichting died tragically young in a car accident, his friends and family created a memorial bursary. Being the recipient of this gave Evered the funds to continue, but just as importantly it delivered a message of hope and trust. “I saw this bursary as evidence that others had faith in me. Nearly a half century later, I still think of the Schlichting family and hope that they and others feel my years of service to thousands of other students fulfilled their expectations.” Inspired by that gift, the Evereds have responded to their own family losses in a similar way.
First came the David and Marjory Evered Memorial Endowment. Then, after the tragic death of their beloved middle daughter, the Andrea Christine Evered (ACE) Tardij Memorial Endowment Leadership Award. “To see that her name and passion for early childhood education would inspire and support others,” Evered explains. “This is our way of giving back, by paying forward. I am convinced that education is the best investment we can make in our future. That’s why I do what I do. “Well educated people are not only more likely to live wealthier, healthier, longer and more enriched lives themselves, but they are also more likely to contribute to the wealth, health, resilience, and enrichment of their communities. That’s our communities, our future.” Evered saw many new programs created during his tenure. His team also guided academic restructuring such as the creation of the Faculty of Health Sciences, promoted integration of technical and academic programs, and expanded student support services, athletics, and recreation. He also championed the development of a vibrant Alumni Association. “Our students are why we do this,” he says. “It is my belief that the two best measures, and perhaps the only truly meaningful measures, of a university are the success of the graduates and the success of the communities they serve. This is noble work but a big responsibility, building our future student by student.” The number of credentials awarded at Convocation grew by about 50 percent between when he started in 2009 and now. UFV now serves over 15,000 students and the operating budget has risen from $79.5 million to over $127 million. UFV has also been recognized as a top employer and inclusive workplace, and been ranked highly for the
quality of education, student success, and student/faculty satisfaction. Evered’s steadfast work on behalf of students will continue. He points to the strategies in the UFV 2025 plan, to the Institutional Learning Outcomes blueprint, and the Strategic Enrolment Management plan. He is proud of his team’s sound management of UFV finances, buildings, and facilities, its principle-based governance structures, and the many innovations in teaching and learning and student support that are taking place throughout the university. Evered also takes pride in the growing numbers of Aboriginal students and partnerships with Aboriginal communities and the university’s commitment to reconciliation. He notes how international partnerships are enriching UFV programs, too, bringing the world to the Fraser Valley and the Valley to the world. “Our local and global partnerships are portals for the free exchange of ideas and people,” says Evered. “A great example is our thriving campus in Chandigarh, India, and the opportunities we’ve created for our students to study throughout the world.” These and the growing number of practicum and co-op opportunities are giving students a real-world education. Evered believes that the foundation of UFV is strong but more work lies ahead. “Globalization, technology, the changing nature of work and changes in the expectations of employers, students, and communities are challenging the traditions of colleges and universities,” he says. “But I believe that we will navigate these challenges well if we stay true to our values and principles. Especially our focus on student success and the success of the communities we and they will serve.”
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Photo: Patty Wellborn
His successor will need plenty of energy and stamina. Workdays, evenings, and weekends are packed for UFV’s president. It wasn’t unusual to find Evered, fresh off an international flight, heading straight into a meeting or community presentation, highlighting the work of others while reminding all of the long road ahead. Often by his side is Maureen, the love of his life and co-host for countless events and dinners served at Friesen House, UFV’s on-campus presidential accommodation. “We love living on our beautiful campus and being able to open our home to our colleagues, students, special guests, and friends of UFV. It’s our personal way to share the sense of family and community that characterizes this special university.” And their grandkids especially love that Grampa has woods, ponds, and a Tim Hortons in his backyard. The Evereds have enjoyed their time here so much that they’re becoming the first UFV presidential couple to retire in the Valley. “It’s a lovely place. Beautiful valley, wonderful climate, and great friends. I’m especially excited about having the time to help in the community, in ways that I couldn’t as president,” Mark says, reflecting on his wild schedule of the past eight years. Evered has also agreed to help with the transition of the next president. “I’m so pleased that Jackie Hogan, our longserving colleague and award-winning Vice-President Administration, has agreed to serve as Interim President while the search continues,” he says. “She, and the great administrative team at UFV, will sustain the momentum.” Evered also plans to help with some projects at UFV’s Chandigarh campus in India, and he’s been invited to collaborate with colleagues at Xi’an Fanyi University, a school in China that made him honorary president two years ago. He is also exploring some teaching and research opportunities with his UFV colleagues in Kinesiology. “Doesn’t sound like he’s slowing down much,” says Maureen. “He may fail retirement.” While looking forward to new ventures, Evered also reflects on the past. Years after his father implored him to get educated for a “clean” job, he visited Mark’s physiology research laboratory. “Terrible advice you gave me, Dad,” Mark said, as he wiped nasty body fluids from his hands. “All that education and my hands are still dirty. At least the grease on yours was sterile.” “But of course Dad was right. And I’m forever grateful.”
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Sam Glasgow having a field day with resurrected hops industry
Hopping  happy By Darren McDonald
Photo: Darren McDonald
Sam Glasgow (Ag Dip ’14), field manager for Valley Hops, out in his happy place, a local hopyard.
A group of Indigenous hop pickers in a field between rows of hops, including Captain John Sualis, of the Soowahlie First Nation at Cultus Lake.
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Photo: Chilliwack Museum and Archives.
Sam enjoys sampling the wares at Ravens Brewing with brewer Aaron Dawson.
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Ankle-deep in gummy mud for Skookum’s photo shoot, Sam Glasgow can’t help but smile. His Cascades are cresting. Chinook fight through rich, black soil. Hops are back — and Glasgow’s leading the way. “I like producing food that people enjoy,” he says, firmly planted between rows of early spring hops. “And these days, especially, it’s pretty easy to see people love their beer.” Hop fields are sprouting across the valley and reclaiming land once thick with pickers and poles, thanks to people like Glasgow, a 2014 UFV Agriculture grad turned field manager for Abbotsford’s Valley Hops Ltd. “We’re taking care of people who want to produce income with their land. Hops have been around for a long time here, but a new chapter is definitely firing up.” B.C.’s hop industry took root in the 1890s, growing quickly when the 1924 draining of Sumas Lake exposed a swath of fertile farmland. The industry’s high-water mark topped in the 1940s with nearly 4,000 people employed through harvest season. “Everyone seems to have a grandparent or two who used to work in the hop fields,” Glasgow says. “It’s hard to imagine today just how big it was here. They say the air was thick with the hops smell every harvest.” Friendships and families started in those fields — many now covered by pharmacies and coffee franchises. Pickers lived among the fast-growing plants, setting up small communities, building bath houses and playing cards. Picking was an important economic activity for Indigenous people, including local Stó:lo, as well as Mennonites and South Asians. Sometimes entire families picked together. That work scaled back in the ’50s when picking machines arrived that could harvest more in one day than hundreds of hired hands. Chilliwack’s hop industry dried up after Fred Haas, whose John I. Haas Hops Company had acquired all 1,325 acres of hops fields, willed them to Georgetown University in the 1990s.
GL ASGOW M ’ A
Driftwood 20 Pounder Double IPA
Ravens Dark Mild — English Mild Ale
Hell’s Gate Genuine pale ale
Old Yale Screaming Banshee Irish Cream Stout
It didn’t take long for that land to be sold — snapped up by local buyers to satisfy tastes for cattle, corn, and shopping centres. The recent hops resurrection is fuelled by a craft beer boom that drove the number of B.C. breweries to about 140 in 2016 from only 50 a few years earlier (an increase of 240%). Rising demand and challenging climate issues created concerns for a global hops shortage in 2016. People like Glasgow are taking action to meet the increased demand. Valley Hops manages partner-farmer fields, recommending what varieties to plant, providing input on a variety of agricultural areas including irrigation design, field and crop health management, and harvest techniques. At harvest time, Valley Hops drives the cut bines over to a sister company — BC Hop Co. — and feeds plants into a German-made Wolf harvester. The size of a small ship, the harvester sends hop cones into an equally large beast of a drying machine. Dried to a specific humidity, the hops eventually draw into bags shaped like hay bales that are hand-sewn shut and sent for pelletizing. They’ll be pressed into the shape of rabbit pellets, packaged tightly with a blast of CO2 , and launched into the hands of eager brewers. The total land in B.C. covered by hop farms won’t be known until 2016 Agricultural census numbers are released, but Glasgow says Valley Hops alone will manage 120 acres in 2017, up from 50 the year before. “It takes a lot of work and resources,” he says. “Hops are pigs for water. They want it running past their roots and drink it all day, but don’t want to sit in a puddle. They’re kind of picky, I guess.” Another major local hop provider is Chilliwack Hop Farms, while some independent growers like Chris Sartori continue the tradition of working their family farms. His daughter, UFV women’s basketball standout Kayli Sartori, is an Agriculture student studying with an eye on the hop industry.
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Glasgow started studying at UFV with plans to be an English major, but lost interest in his original goal of teaching. Having worked in blueberry fields as a teenager, he changed paths. “Education is important, but feeding people is also really important,” he says. “You’ve got to be able to live before you can learn, so I switched over to Agriculture. UFV’s program was touted as one of the more hands-on programs. It was close to home, which was nice. I could keep a job and go to school so I didn’t fall into any debt issues. I also learned how connected the instructors were with industry professionals. And now that I’m in the industry, it’s even more obvious.” Needing a theoretical business plan to complete one of the courses in the program, Glasgow considered his own interests. “Like many university students, I liked to drink beer,” he recalls. “And I didn’t want to do the typical blueberry thing, so I developed a 10-acre hop farm plan.” While at UFV, Glasgow worked as a tree planter and research assistant with the provincial Ministry of Agriculture. After graduating and a short stint selling nursery pots to greenhouses, he headed back to hops, becoming a founding board member of the BC Hop Growers Association, a non-profit association supporting
BREWING PROCESS
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Early beer only had three ingredients — at least that’s what people thought.
The German Beer Purity Law of 1516 declared beer can only have three ingredients: barley, hops, and water.
Science of the day couldn’t identify a vital fourth ingredient was also needed: yeast.
hop farmers and bringing industry issues to government attention. When he started growing, the bulk of hop production was taking place in Washington State, but even small variations in climate meant Fraser Valley fields demanded special attention. “We can’t just be dumping nitrogen into the soil trying to get their production numbers, we need to think things through.” Glasgow’s UFV instructors left a lasting impression: don’t memorize information that changes. “The most important thing I learned from the instructors at UFV was to be an autodidact [self-taught, lifelong learner]. How to learn, how to search, how to be skeptical, how to keep working to get the answers you need.” Glasgow wants to be a big part of B.C.’s hop future, and already has plans to incorporate some tree planting and fruit harvesting practices into his fields. “We need to make sure our product meets the high standards breweries have come to expect. A lot of people count on hop producers and, at the end of the day, that’s what I’m looking for,” he says. Another smile sneaks through his thick copper beard. “Well … that and maybe a beer.”
Barley is harvested, moistened and dried. Brewers mill that grain, combining specific amounts of various malted barley to steep in water of a certain temperature which converts starches into sugar. Some beers call for adjuncts like rice or corn. The sweet wort is extracted and boiled with hops. Wort is cooled to a specific temperature before yeast is added, converting glucose into ethyl alcohol and CO2. Once yeast exhausts itself, a beer is born.
Photo: Darren McDonald
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rom biology to brewing, Nick Fengler’s hop odyssey is anything but ordinary. After graduating from UFV in 2010 with major in Biology and minor in Chemistry, Fengler worked as a field biologist, conducting bird counts and providing environmental consulting. “I remember standing in the Tsawwassen flats up to my knees in mud at 5 am in the cold rain counting bird poo and thinking ‘Ahh, this is not right for me.’” At the urging of friends who homebrewed, Fengler sent letters asking if breweries could put his science degree to work. Aldergrove’s Dead Frog answered yes, but said he would have to start at the bottom. Within two years he rocketed from keg washer to head brewer. Now he is head brewer at Abbotsford’s Ravens Brewing, where he uses hundreds of pounds of Sam Glasgowgrown hops and sees a steady stream of his former UFV professors and classmates. “I enjoyed UFV and I’m really glad it helped lead me here. Brewing’s very satisfying, a lot of room for creativity. It’s a blend of my science and technical background, but also gives me this creative outlet — best of both worlds, really.”
Hops give bitterness to the otherwise sweet wort made by steeping malted barley in hot water that will eventually ferment into beer. Different kinds and quantities of hops are used depending on beer style. A lager like Molson Canadian might use some Tettnang or Hallertau hops, while an Old Yale IPA could include heaps of Cascade, Centennial, and others. Usually inserted during the boil, hops are occasionally added after fermentation in a process called ‘dry hopping’, adding aroma and cranking hop’s floral or citrus characteristics.
Photo: Darren McDonald
What do hops do?
UFV alumni Simon Dalton (BA ’05) and Brandon Kelley (BBA ’07) have homebrewed for about three years, using local hops in 5-gallon batches with styles ranging from German lagers to Belgian sours and wildly hoppy west coast IPAs. Both are members of the Ten Corners Homebrew Club, which rotates monthly meetings between Chilliwack and Abbotsford. “I love making something from scratch,” Dalton says while helping brew an ale in Kelley’s east Abbotsford garage. “There’s satisfaction when you and your friends can enjoy something you made yourself.” Kelley, a chartered professional accountant who served as treasurer for the Abbotsford Chamber of Commerce, agrees. He built his own beer tap system out of spare wood and an old freezer. “I like having a hobby I can drink,” he says. “It’s usually great beer and cheaper than buying commercially. Hard to beat that.”
BY ANNE RUSSELL
SPACE ODYSSEY
FROM ATHLETES TO ASTRONAUTS AND FROM ORBIT TO THE ARCTIC CIRCLE, JELENA BRCIC WANTS TO KNOW WHAT MAKES US TICK It began with an earthbound observation about why one team was so much better than another. “It all started with volleyball in high school,” Dr. Jelena Brcic recalls. “I played on one team that had an average skill level but really kicked butt. Then I was on another one that had some excellent individual players, but didn’t gel as a team. I was wondering why some teams perform better than others. This got me interested in psychology. Once I started my undergraduate education, I had fallen in love with studying how people interact in groups.” Now, Brcic’s fascination with how people connect knows no limits.
Her curiosity has led to cutting-edge socio-psychological research on how humans cope in extreme unusual environments (EUEs) — including in space. As an assistant professor at UFV, she brings it all back down to Earth, applying her knowledge to teaching human resources management in the UFV School of Business.
When she started considering graduate studies, she heard about the opportunity to work on the topic of team dynamics in space at the University of British Columbia with Dr. Peter Suedfeld.
“I just thought ‘how cool is that?’ and from then on I was ALL IN,” she recalls with characteristic effusiveness. Throughout her graduate work, she was part of the research team led by Suedfeld and Dr. Phyllis Johnson and worked on At Home in Space, a study conducted on the International Space Station and funded by the Canadian Space Agency. “The idea was sparked at a space conference in Moscow back in 2009,” she says. “A group of us thought of the topic of how astronauts make their environment home-like, and we started writing ideas on the back of a napkin. I was there for the beginning as a young graduate student and am still involved with the team at UBC. It took until 2015 for us to start collecting data.”
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Brcic is part of an interdisciplinary research team examining how astronauts create a home in space, how they cope with the stressful environment, and whether a unique space culture develops among the crew at the International Space Station. Researchers are hoping to have 12 participating astronauts from several countries answer questionnaires before, during, and after their missions. “Astronauts are a special and rare breed and a very small portion of the human population, so having 12 of them agree to be interviewed would give us some real insight into how humans cope with long stints in space.” Space is not the only place that Brcic’s research has taken her, figuratively speaking. For her PhD dissertation, she applied the topic of coping and motives in extreme unusual environments to mountaineers on Everest expeditions, military units, and search and rescue groups. “We wondered if their approaches to coping with stress and challenges would differ in terms of leadership or because of the different environments, and also what motivated them,” Brcic says.
She and her team conducted a thematic content analysis, studying documents such as journals, books, and blogs recounting the experiences of teams in EUEs. “There had been a lot of research in silos, but none looking comparatively across these different types of groups,” she notes. “There are two ways of coping with stress: a problem-oriented approach where one deals with the problem at hand, and an emotion-oriented approach in which they would try to reframe the problem.” “All the groups we studied mostly relied on a problemoriented approach with flexibility of coping when appropriate. It was nice to see them coping in what I assumed was a ‘healthy’ way. We found that their main motivators were, first, mastery achievement, then affiliation, and then power. And we all became fascinated with the narratives of the mountaineering expeditions, rooting for them on their journey.”
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SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY CAN BE APPLIED TO THE STUDY OF WORK-TEAM DYNAMICS, WHICH IS WHAT PEOPLE IN HUMAN RESOURCES AND QUALITATIVE BEHAVIOUR STUDY.
Brcic’s current research is still connected to our final frontier of space. This year she received a three-year $200,000 grant from the Canadian Space Agency to study group functionality in space by studying analogous environments on Earth. Her research will take her to one of Earth’s most isolated outposts next winter: the Canadian weather station at the Eureka research base on Ellesmere Island in Nunavut. “Since there are so few opportunities to conduct research in space, we are learning about space functionality by studying extreme environments on land. People who work at Eureka spend long times in small groups, isolated and away from their families, immersed in darkness for part of the year. We want to see how they create a home away from home, and how a community develops.” Management of employees from a distance is another aspect of the research applicable to space. “Autonomy is very important in this context,” she notes. “You can’t micromanage if you’re sending people to Mars, as humankind hopes to one day. You have to let them make decisions. The same applies to remote locations like Eureka.”
CONTINUED ON PAGE 47
Photo: Courtesy of NASA
An astronaut aboard the International Space Station
Photo: Wikipedia
Eureka Research Base, Ellesmere Island
Jelena at the 61st International Astronautical Congress, in Prague, Czech Republic.
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BRIGHT BERRIES SEE A JUICY FUTURE WITH RASPBERRY MAGAZINE
Photos: Rick Collins
BY ANNE RUSSELL
Photo: Darren McDonald
Raspberry editor-in-chief Katie Stobbart
Bands blast, rappers lay down beats, and poets are slamming — all in one night and all in one room. One young woman is in her element, putting herself on the line and reading for a live audience. It’s all part of a fundraising evening organized by the Raspberry collective at the Reach Gallery and Museum in Abbotsford. Katie Stobbart is one of several entrepreneurial UFV alumni bringing together a fragmented arts culture and boosting the burgeoning arts scene in the Fraser Valley. Like many of millennial peers, she’s taking a DIY approach to her career and volunteer activities, rather than waiting for the fulltime job with benefits to materialize. In another part of The Reach, artist Shannon Thiesen (UFV’s Distinguished Young Alumni for 2016) gives a live painting exhibit demo while video game developers show off their new product.
The UFV content is in abundant supply here. Guests sip local Maan Farms wine and try Ravens Brewing beer (both businesses have UFV alumni connections and are enjoying success). Gallery visitors also sample Mt. Lehman cheese, and peruse the silent auctions for local art and cultural gems. The reason for the gathering? To raise funds for Raspberry magazine, a local arts and culture publication started by Stobbart and co-founder Anthony Biondi and their friends, mostly UFV alumni who worked on The Cascade newspaper and the Louden Singletree literary magazine during their university days. They have published ten online editions now and have a dream of bringing their magazine into print. Raspberry is run by volunteers and presided over by the non-profit Red Press
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Photo: Darren McDonald
Most of the Raspberry Collective: Nick Ubels, Joel Smart, Katie Stobbart, Sasha Moedt, Anthony Biondi, Alex Rake, Jess Wind, and Aymee Leake.
Society. They aren’t in it to make money or to create jobs for themselves. Their vision is more altruistic. “As I was growing up and then attending UFV, I was very concerned about the brain drain in the Fraser Valley. There just wasn’t enough cultural stimulation to convince young people to stay,” she says. “We want to change that.” The energy and impetus behind Raspberry mirrors UFV’s mission of changing lives and building community. These UFV alumni are doing just that. For instance, Raiseberry, the cleverly named fundraising evening, wasn’t just about raising money for the magazine. It was also about celebrating art and culture and creating a venue for people to enjoy it in a live setting. “People are doing cool things all over our community but other people are not necessarily aware of it,” says Stobbart. “The arts scene is a bit fragmented and we want to help bring it together.”
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“ A S I WAS GROWING UP AND THEN ATTENDING UFV, I WAS VERY CONCERNED ABOUT THE BRAIN DRAIN IN THE FRASER VALLEY. THERE JUST WASN’T ENOUGH CULTURAL STIMULATION TO CONVINCE YOUNG PEOPLE TO STAY. WE WANT TO CHANGE THAT.” — KATIE STOBBART
Raspberry magazine, produced on a monthly basis, publishes previews, reviews, and interviews on the cultural side of the Fraser Valley community. It also features original art and writing from local emerging and established artists. And the producers of Raspberry gained the skills involved in producing a magazine through their extracurricular activities at UFV, in particular producing The Cascade newspaper. In Stobbart’s case, that’s where she found “her people” while studying at UFV. Her first experience in post-secondary was leaving her roots in Abbotsford behind and attending an eastern university with large classes and not much opportunity for connecting with other students. “It wasn’t my style of university,” Stobbart recalls. “I had been very involved in the community while in high school and I wasn’t finding that there.” So she enrolled at UFV — but struggled at first to find her fit. “Then I went to a launch event for Louden Singletree, UFV’s literary magazine, and signed up to be an editor,” she recalls. “I felt empowered. I had been looking for ways to get involved and found what I had been lacking: a community of keeners who also loved writing.” A friendship forged with fellow Louden Singletree board member Jess Wind led to her writing for The Cascade, which led to her becoming staff writer, then copy editor, then editor-in-chief. She also served as president of the English Students Association before graduating in 2015 with an honours BA in English and a focus on creative writing. While at UFV, she particularly enjoyed honing her writing skills with professors Andrea MacPherson and Trevor Carolan. Then graduation came and the real world loomed. “By the end of my degree, I’d developed such a strong community that the idea of leaving it was daunting,” she recalls. Raspberry provides a vehicle for her and her fellow UFV alumni friends to continue to work creatively together and do their part to foster the arts and culture scene. They’ve forged connections with The Reach Gallery and Museum, the Jam in Jubilee music series, UFV’s CIVL Radio, and the Fraser Valley Music Awards, and hope to be publishing for a long time to come. Of course, Stobbart also has to pay the bills. Some of the jobs she’s held so far include serving as a summer project
“I WENT TO A LAUNCH EVENT FOR LOUDEN SINGLETREE, UFV’S LITERARY MAGAZINE, AND SIGNED UP TO BE AN EDITOR. I FELT EMPOWERED. I HAD BEEN LOOKING FOR WAYS TO GET INVOLVED AND FOUND WHAT I HAD BEEN LACKING: A COMMUNITY OF KEENERS WHO ALSO LOVED WRITING.” — KATIE STOBBART
assistant at Abbotsford’s Kariton House, where she organized a member’s fair for the Abby Arts Council and a literary panel, and coordinating the Abby Arts Council Arty Awards. She has also worked as a freelance editor and recently presented at UFV’s Literary Week on the state of the BC publishing industry. Stobbart and Jess Wind recently teamed up to form QuiQuill Communications, which offers services ranging from content creation and writing to social media management and marketing. So she and her cohort are putting the skills they developed both inside an outside the classroom at UFV to work as they transition into their careers. Raspberry volunteer and former Cascade staffer Sasha Moedt was recently hired as an event planner for the Langley School District, where fellow Raspberrians Anthony Biondi and Nick Ubels also work. At the Raiseberry evening, Moedt reflected on how UFV experience has helped her post-graduation. “The skills and experience I gained working on The Cascade and in extra-curricular activities are the main things that job interviewers have wanted to talk about.” Such are the benefits of experiential learning. Read more about some of the other Raspberrians in our Keeping in Touch section on page 38. Find Raspberry magazine at raspberrymag.ca
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JOANNA SHEPPARD HELPS LAY THE FOUNDATION FOR A LIFETIME OF GOOD HEALTH BY DARREN MCDONALD 26  SPRING 2017
Photo: Darren McDonald
Joanna Sheppard encourages everyone to make physical literacy a priority.
Call it the rubber chicken recipe for bouncing back from broken hips. Or better yet, not falling at all. “We don’t all need to know how to dribble a basketball,” says UFV Kinesiology associate professor Joanna Sheppard, a former competitive point guard. “But we need to know how to dodge, deke, dive to get out of the way to keep ourselves alive — and that’s why there’s this huge push for physical literacy.” Spearheaded by renowned health expert Margaret Whitehead and driven at UFV by champions like Sheppard, physical literacy helps pre-adolescents form the foundations that will support healthy, capable lives.
“Run, jump, land, throw underhand, boom, you’re ready to build,” she says. From there, it’s a mindful and proactive approach to continuously growing non-sport-specific activity — finding the motivation, confidence, physical competence, knowledge, and understanding to value and take responsibility for engagement in physical activities for life. “The same physical literacy skills that helped me walk as a toddler now let me stand on a chair to grab a jar of pickles,” explains Sheppard. “Eventually I’ll need them for balance in my 80s to stop from falling in the bathroom and breaking my hip. These are vital physical life skills that go beyond hockey or baseball.”
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Photo: Darren McDonald
A young Active FUNdamentals participant.
And while increased competition feeds sport-specific training for today’s youth, it’s also burning kids out at earlier ages, leading to them to drop organized sports entirely. After that, says Sheppard, they get even less foundational training. Enter the rubber chicken. With pimpled skin and yawning beak, the gag prop seems a world away from athletic gear. But you can still throw, catch and kick it, enabling non-sport-centric fundamental skill building. That kind of out-of-the-box thinking helps Sheppard lead a range of activities equally demanding in effort, ingenuity, and scope For nine years, she’s led an annual trip to Antigua, where UFV Kinesiology and Teacher Education students teach physical literacy to local schoolchildren. Called Champions for Health, the project is a program where students pay their own way to help improve the life chances of children and their families within Antigua/ Barbuda through health and physical education initiatives. Dozens of UFV students have made the trip, helping hundreds of smiling children become better equipped with fun physical and health activities that focus on life skills
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Joanna Sheppard in Antigua with Champions for Health program.
learning such as making good decisions, being responsible for their actions, and being respectful towards others and the environment. UFV’s ambassadors leave behind physical and health education lesson plans for teachers, healthy living plans for parents, soccer balls for school kids — even the odd rubber bird. This year, UFV partnered with the University of British Columbia and School District #43 (Coquitlam) to secure a $25,000 Learn to Play grant from the Royal Bank of Canada to build capacity for physical literacy for children in Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, and Port Moody. If that wasn’t enough, UFV’s Kinesiology students charged into spring break this year with dozens of kids aged 5–12 for Active FUNdamentals Camp — teaching fundamental movement skills through fun and cooperative games-based programming, arts, and crafts. And while starting kids on the right path is important, physical literacy isn’t just for the under-20 set. The process isn’t linear. Anyone can launch mid-stream — and you’ve probably already started. “Cleaning houses, vacuuming stairs, going shopping, gardening, dancing in the kitchen to your favourite song
Photo: Rick Collina
UFV nursing and kinesiology students encouraged physical literacy among residents at Worthington Care Centre in Abbotsford in a special program.
— movement is so many different things. You need to recognize your ability and opportunity and that’s the power of this physical literacy movement. It’s pulling those things together. It doesn’t have to happen in a sports gym. It doesn’t have to happen in a fitness centre,” Sheppard says. “If you’re counting your steps on your FitBit, climbing the stairs at work regularly or asking a colleague to go for a walking meeting, these changes could contribute just as much as going for a run.” As we go through life, the way we achieve activity changes, she explains. “Up until the stage of our lives where we’re told our health is in jeopardy, we take it for granted. That component of responsibility has to go back on us as individuals — especially with mental health being at the forefront. We know if you’re physically active it will help you with depression and anxiety and the goals you want to achieve. But you have to be mindful that this is happening and you have to be the one to do something about it.” To learn more about physical literacy, visit phecanada.ca. For more on UFV’s engaging Kinesiology program, see ufv.ca/kinesiology.
KINESIOLOGY The study of the principles of mechanics and anatomy in relation to human movement.
PHYSICAL LITERACY The motivation, confidence, physical competence, knowledge and understanding to value and take responsibility for engagement in physical activities. (Whitehead, 2016)
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Photo: Darren McDonald
APPLYING A LITTLE ENGINEERING PHYSICS/MECHATRONICS OPTION ADDS EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING TO SCIENCE PROGRAM BY ANNE RUSSELL
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Mechatronics is an emerging field that marries mechanical, electrical, electronic, control, and software systems to create smart technologies for a wide range of use. Mechatronic systems and devices range from microwave ovens to medical probes to lunar rovers.
The senior physics lab at UFV is bursting with energy on a Monday afternoon. It’s team time. There’s no formal lecture taking place; this is the time when the students in the Engineering Physics in Mechatronics program work on their group projects. One team of four students is working on a quad copter, built from scratch in the hopes that this baby will fly someday soon. For now it’s bolted to a support, because one small tilt could ruin months of work. Team member Perrin Waldock is stoked by the hands-on nature of the project. “It’s really cool watching stuff actually happen and being involved in it from the beginning,” he says. “It’s one thing to be looking at equations on a board, and it’s way cooler to plug in a motor of something that you’re involved in building and see it do what you want it to do. I had done programming before, but never with motors. That’s the best part — applying the physics we’ve learned. The worst part is the frustration when you put hard work into something and things don’t work out anyway.” As he and Dennis Schimann work on the ’copter itself, teammate Nikola Trotzuk works on the controller and Alex Vogt works on ultrasonic sensors for obstacle avoidance. “If the quad copter gets too close to objects, this will tell it to stop,” he notes. Another team, not present in the lab today, is working on a breathing phantom, a device that simulates breathing for use in radiation therapy. These physics students working on real-life challenges, complete with nuts, bolts, circuitry, joysticks, and electronic transmitters, represent a concerted effort by the UFV Physics department to add an applied component to its menu.
Dennis Schimann, Perrin Waldock, and Christopher Hack work on their quadcopter project.
Photo: Darren McDonald
“We found that we were doing a very good job of graduating physics majors, but most were in the theoretical physics realm — they tend to do very well and go on to either graduate studies or teaching careers,” notes Dr. Tim Cooper, a physics professor who guided the development of the program. “But we weren’t offering enough for students who wanted to go apply their physics knowledge to industrial workplaces. We wanted to give them more hands-on skills.” The solution? A Engineering Physics diploma in Mechatronics, a two-year credential that can be taken on its own after one year of physics and math prerequisites, or blended in with a UFV Bachelor of Science in Physics degree. Dr. Lin Long, an engineer with significant industry experience in both 32 SPRING 2017
China and Canada, was brought on board to teach the mechatronics component of the program. For four semesters, students in the program combine physics with computing, engineering, and electronics courses. For some of their courses, they use the electronics and prototyping labs in the UFV Trades and Technology Centre, forging new connections between trades and science. One of these is a week-long intensive summer course, taught in part by Dean of Applied and Technical Studies John English, where students learn how to use welding equipment, laser cutters, 3D printers, and more. It all culminates in a capstone project where students apply what they’ve learned to an industrial-type project. The capstone projects for the inaugural class have included (see opposite page for details):
»» An automatic honey extraction system for a commercial honey operation »» A laser alignment system for medical linear accelerators at the BC Cancer Agency »» A robotic arm »» An automated sorting system that could tell one colour of Smarties candy from another »» A greenhouse monitoring system that would turn fans on when sensors detected too much humidity. For some, the capstone project led directly to employment. Cameron Appeldoorn and Brandon Vangenderen, for instance, are now working for the BC Cancer Agency, refining the testing device for medical linear accelerators.
QUADCOPTER DRONE
ROBOTIC ARM
Current Project
2016 project
A hobby drone project that students initiated. Instead of buying the modules from the market, they designed the on-board controller and remote controller from scratch. They are adding obstacle avoidance and autonomous function into the drone so that it can fly autonomously or manually-controlled.
Students designed and programmed the controller for a robotic arm so the arm can identify different colored objects, pick up the objects, and sort them into different piles. Possible future applications in berry production or manufacturing.
HONEY EXTRACTION DE-BOXING MODULE BREATHING PHANTOM SYSTEM Current Project — In collaboration with the BC Cancer Agency This system is a medical device used in the quality assurance procedure for improving lung cancer radiotherapy. The lung motion during the inspiration cycle makes it very challenging for oncologists to treat the moving target lung tumor. The breathing phantom system simulates the motion of the target tumor in synch with the patient’s breathing cycle. This means the radiation treatment can be delivered to the target tumor more precisely. UFV Mechatronics students designed the lung phantom vertical motion mechanism, and designed and programmed the main controller to synchronize the motion of lung phantom and target tumor, allowing for more accurate and effective treatment of lung tumours.
2016 project — In collaboration with the Worker Bee Honey Company This module is part of the honey extraction process, where the honey super (a box with nine honeycomb frames inside) will be delivered to the de-boxing platform and then the nine honeycomb frames will be pushed up to a rail automatically.
AUTOMATING MECHANICAL QUALITY ASSURANCE TESTS FOR MEDICAL LINEAR ACCELERATOR 2016 project — In collaboration with the BC Cancer Agency In radiotherapy cancer treatment, patient positioning is critical for ensuring the radiation beam is delivered to the target tumor. This positioning is guided by a system of lasers embedded in the walls and ceiling of a treatment room, which are prone to slight shifts over time, requiring daily checks and periodic calibration. Currently, this laser alignment is controlled manually. In this project, UFV students designed and programmed a device that uses a system of cameras and computer vision algorithms to perform quality assurance tests on the medical linear accelerators. The system automatically realigns the patient positioning lasers. Their work means shorter test completion times and higher accuracy than manual measurements, ensuring patients receive the most accurate treatment possible.
UFV alumni Cameron Appeldoorn and Brandon Vangenderen with Professor Lin Long at the 2017 BCTECH conference.
SPINOFF COLLABORATION UFV has received a National Science and Engineering Research Council Collaborative Research and Development grant to work with Worker Bee Honey Company on an automated honey extraction system. Four current Engineering Physics in Mechatronics students will work on the mechanical design, control system design, and PLC (programmable logic controller) program for this project. The students will collaborate with the industry partner, industry consultants, and faculty researchers.
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ALUMNI NOTES FROM THE DESK OF NIK VENEMA — ALUMNI ASSOCIATION CHAIR’S LETTER
COMMON THREAD OF GENEROSITY WEAVES THROUGH UFV There is a common thread among the stories you will read in this year’s publication of Skookum. That thread is generosity: people giving of themselves and investing in their communities. This thread weaves individual stories together into the unique patchwork of our university’s narrative. Each of the stories is unique in its own way, informed by different values, heritage, culture, experiences and so much more, but bound together with an ideology of generosity. As alumni of UFV, we have much to give and we’re grateful to give it.
We believe in the transformative power that education plays in society to change lives and build community. I’m proud to share that the UFV Alumni Association continues to lead in generosity at UFV with 100% Board participation in giving of their time, talent, and treasure. Partnering with UFV, we’re changing the world and we invite you to join us in our work. Reading these stories, I feel incredibly proud and privileged to count myself as a member of the UFV family. I hope you do too.
ALUMNI OPEN GOLF TOURNAMENT Join us for our third annual UFV Alumni Open golf tournament on Fri, Sept 15. Bringing together community leaders, businesses, UFV alumni, students and friends, this is a signature annual event for UFV supporters. If you’re not a golfer, you’re welcome to join us for the après golf reception dinner following the tournament. REGISTRATION INCLUDES: • Gift for each golfer • Après golf dinner • Snacks & refreshments • Reception with team and contest prizes • On-course activities & contests REGISTRATION FEES: Early Bird Golf Registration — Single $150 Early Bird Golf Registration — Foursome $600 Après Golf Reception Only — $50 Registration is now open: alumni.ufv.ca/events BECOME A SPONSOR Explore our sponsorship opportunities for the golf tournament and other events by contacting us at 604-557-4008 or alumni@ufv.ca.
IF A LOT OF GRADS GAVE A LITTLE CASH — CLASS OF 2017 GIFT CHALLENGE
OF
Can you spare $20? And 17 cents? If you’re graduating this year, consider giving back to UFV just a little to “pay it forward” to future grads. We encourage all of our new graduates to give a little — $20.17 (you know, like the year) — back to UFV as a way of supporting the students that come after them. MATCHING FUNDS Thanks to the generosity of President Mark Evered, Board Chair John Pankratz, the Student Union Society, the Alumni Association, Alumni Chair Nik Venema, and the estate of Mabel Cousineau… each $20.17 donation will be matched SEVEN times! Learn more at ufv.ca/ClassGift
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S AS
LIMINAL STATE OF EPHEMERALITY INSPIRES 2017 WINE LABELS Introducing the 2017 Commemorative Wines, selected at a tasting by the Association Board of Directors. The UFV Alumni Association, in partnership with Chaberton Estate Winery, produces yearly Commemorative Wine in honour of the graduating class with label artwork designed by UFV Alumni. The 2017 wines being offered are Chaberton Estate Winery’s 2014 Valley Cab and 2016 Bacchus. Special thanks to alumna Nastasha Mol (BFA ’14), whose artwork appears on the labels. Nastasha is currently pursuing graduate studies at SFU. The artwork featured on this year’s commemorative wine labels was inspired by the transitory state between the seasons of the west coast. Titled Liminality — from the Latin word limen, meaning a “threshold” — this piece captures a moment within this liminal state of ephemerality and engages the viewer with the movement, colour, and transience of nature.
AFFINITY AGREEMENTS Being a UFV alumni has its perks! Here are just a few of the benefits you can take advantage of by virtue of your UFV alumni status: • Order your UFV Signature Ring at the UFV Bookstore • Alumni Commemorative Wine by Chaberton Estate Winery • Discounted accommodation at Sandman Hotels in Abbotsford and Langley • Convocation flowers for your grad • Discounted alumni business cards • Discounts through Amazon.ca via the UFV alumni website • Invitations to educational and social events at UFV • Alumni social networking opportunities online and in person • BMO affinity credit card • Discounted insurance through TD Insurance Meloche Monnex
For more details and a full list of benefits, check out our website at ufvalumni.ca.
Alumni wine label artist Nastasha Mol.
ORDER YOUR 2017 COMMEMORATIVE WINE TODAY AT ALUMNI.UFV.CA
2016 WINNER YOUNG DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI
SHANNON THIESEN: ARTFUL TEACHER
Inspired by her 30 students and sometimes smeared by squeegee or fork, the paintings created by UFV’s 2016 Young Distinguished Alumni Award winner Shannon Thiesen make their mark in more ways than one.
She was the very last student to join her UFV Teacher Education cohort — accepted only two days before classes began. Now she’s the program’s first graduate (2011) to win UFV’s Young Distinguished Alumni Award. While copying the drawings of a Grade 4 classmate, the art spark slowly caught fire with Shannon, but the considerations of a practical career inexorably pulled her in a different direction. Thiesen started with journalism at Carleton University before settling into a major in English literature with minors in law and women’s studies. From there she jetted to Japan, teaching private-school English. “During my time in Japan, I realized I was meant to teach,” she says. “It took me that long to discover my passion.” She credits UFV instructors for inspiring her to become a great teacher for her own students at the Abbotsford School of Integrated Arts North Poplar campus, teaching a Grade 4-5 split class. Thiesen flew to New York City with a colleague to help an underprivileged school though a program called Sing For Hope, where she transformed a piano to look like a moose. The moose piano was one of many pieces inspired by her students. She paints with her students during class and then breaks out the brushes when she gets back to her apartment. “When I get home I get so excited to paint, and if I didn’t teach I don’t know if I’d have that inspiration.”
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A talented and award-winning artist, Thiesen uses oils and acrylics to paint “anything organic that lives and grows and breathes.” She even re-purposes her students’ discarded art, collecting clippings from the classroom garbage and recycling bins and pasting them onto canvas, then painting fantastical backgrounds for the kids’ characters to live on. Called Imagination to Reality, the exhibition was a great success at Kariton Gallery in Abbotsford, where students visited to see their drawings re-imagined with new perspective. A live art veteran, she won Art Battles in the Valley before being crowned the B.C. champ in Vancouver and then competing at the national championships in Toronto. Her pieces are in even higher demand after winning a Fraser Valley Arty Award in Visual Arts. “Live art is thrilling,” she says. “It helps people understand what went into creating art — the time and excitement that goes into brushstrokes.” Accolades are gratifying, but at the end of the day it’s all about her kids. “We’re creating these 21st century learners; the majority of the jobs that we’re trying to get them ready for haven’t been invented yet. So what we’re really trying to get kids ready for is how to be creative, how to think critically, how to work as a team, and how to connect with our community.”
2016 WINNER DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI
GARY BASS: TOP COP/STELLAR STUDENT
He might not match your vision of a university student, unless your default is a high-level, mid-career RCMP leader in his 50s. That’s the stage of life Gary Bass was at when he first attended UFV.
Bass was part of the first cohort of UFV’s Master of Arts in Criminal Justice, graduating in 2007. His career in the RCMP spanned almost four decades. Now retired from the force, he continues to work as a senior research fellow for a criminal justice think-tank based at Simon Fraser University that has connections to UFV. Over the decades, Bass worked his way up to Office in Charge of Major Crimes in BC, then Commander of E Division (BC and Yukon), then Deputy Commissioner for Canada West. At the height of his career, he was responsible for thousands of employees and an annual budget of more than $2.4 billion. Bass joined the RCMP in 1972. Over the term of his career, policing became much more sophisticated, relying more on technology and theory. Bass kept pace by taking courses in criminology and other subjects. Once he moved to BC in 1992, he began to build connections with UFV. Working with Darryl Plecas, then head of UFV Criminology and Criminal Justice, Bass was instrumental in establishing an RCMP-funded research chair partnership, criminology computer labs where the RCMP and university could share information securely, and educational bridging options for RCMP officers, enabling them to complete a bachelor’s degree through UFV. So it was almost a natural transition from educational partner to student when UFV launched its master’s degree in criminal justice.
He joined the cohort, and packed his weekends and evenings with classes, studying, and research for the next several years. It helped that the research he was interested in pursuing dovetailed nicely with his day-to-day projects at work, which focused on the crime reduction model. Plecas, now MLA for Abbotsford South, remembers valuing Bass’s insight in the classroom. “Throughout the MA program, Gary proved to be as much a great teacher as he was a great student,” said Plecas. “He is a walking gold mine of information and perspectives on criminal justice issues, and that made him an asset in seminars. His classmates loved him.” Plecas also praises Bass’s accomplishments outside the classroom. “Gary has made significant contributions to his profession, including leading B.C. to the single biggest sustained crime reduction in the province’s history. He has also led the province to become a world leader in intelligence-led, technology-led, and offender-focused policing. Through his efforts to establish crime labs and research chairs he created many opportunities for students.” Bass’s accomplishments have been recognized with many awards, including the Lieutenant Governor of BC Award for Meritorious Service, the Lieutenant Governor of BC Award for Outstanding Service, the Governor General’s Award: Officer of the Order of Merit of Police Forces, the Queen’s Jubilee Medal, the RCMP Long Service Medal, and an honorary doctorate from the Justice Institute. SPRING 2017 37
KEEPING IN TOUCH Whitney Fordham & Isabela
Donna Pinning
Dylan Thiessen
Jess Wind
Shea Wind
Joe Johnson
Maggi Lang & Penelope
38 SPRING 2017
The following is a mix of stories from our UFV Today blog and submissions from alumni. Let us know what you’ve been up to. Send a photo too! Write to: alumni@ufv.ca
Congratulations to Alumni Relations Manager Whitney Fordham (BBA ’09) and her husband Peter Skrzyniarz on the arrival of their daughter Isabela Fordham-Skrzyniarz. She was born November 21, 2016, at Chilliwack General Hospital, and weighed 7 lb 8 oz. Donna Pinning (BKin ’13, Teacher Ed Cert ’14) is happy to be teaching in her hometown of Chilliwack. “I am a grade 4/5 teacher at Robertson Elementary and have UFV’s Teacher Education to thank for making me the teacher I have become. I played varsity soccer for the Cascades while obtaining my Bachelor of Kinesiology. “I had the opportunity to earn several scholarships to help financially, took out student loans, worked various jobs, and coached through the duration of my degrees. I had an international teaching experience with the Champions for Health Promoting Schools in Antigua and that solidified my decision to become a teacher. “Outstanding professors who really embody the program values and goals made UFV’s Teacher Education program the number one choice for me. I not only appreciated the constant support from the faculty, but from my colleagues in the program as it is a cohort model. The program is taught in such a way that your own values are challenged and formed through theory and experiential learning. It gave me a secure foundation to build on, but let me discover what type of teacher I wanted to be; It embraced everyone’s individuality. The thing I value most about the program is that it taught me about diversity and inclusion, which is something I am teaching my students every single day. This program takes a lot of work emotionally, mentally, and physically, but the return is well worth it as it is a one of a kind experience, and one that will transform you into a better professional because of it.”
Dylan Thiessen (BA ’16) graduated from UFV in 2016 with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, and is now nearing completion of the first year of his MA program at the University of Calgary. Dylan has received the Queen Elizabeth II Graduate Scholarship twice, is preparing for a presentation at the 2017 British Columbia Political Studies Association’s annual conference, and will be writing his thesis on the tensions that are created or stressed when Indigenous reconciliation is pursued within the framework of a liberal democratic state. He will also be applying to PhD programs later this year. Since graduating from UFV, Jess Wind (BA Hons ’14) earned a graduate degree, moved across the country twice, started her own business, and took up knitting. At Carleton University in Ottawa during her MA program, she planned conferences, molded young minds in communication theory, and wrote a thesis about zombies. Now back in BC, she runs QuiQuill Communications with business partner Katie Stobbart. This new company helps local businesses with their content marketing needs. She also teaches courses in Public Relations with UFV’s Continuing Education program. In her spare time, of which there is very little, she writes for Raspberry magazine. She manages the magazine’s communication and assists with editorial tasks, while running the geek culture beat. She also helms Red Press Society, the nonprofit society behind Raspberry’s production. There she develops new ideas and programs with a board of creative-types to foster a strong arts and culture community in the Fraser Valley (see feature story page 22). Jess hopes to continue with these ventures for as long as it makes sense. So long as she’s writing, or teaching others how, she knows she’s doing something right.
Shea Wind (BA ’13) had a number-one goal after graduating from UFV: to make good use of his history degree. Since crossing the stage in 2013, he worked for the Nikkei National Museum in Burnaby, the Langley Centennial Museum in Fort Langley, and for Dr. Lenore Newman on her project The Agricultural Land Reserve in the News. In 2015, he made his way to the Library and Archives of Canada in Gatineau. There he worked as a digital imaging technician on the Canadian Expeditionary Forces digitization project, where he broke records by scanning approximately 700,000 images. Upon moving back to BC in August, he returned to the Langley Community Museum where he coordinates volunteers and manages the collection, while assisting with exhibit development and execution. Sometimes he’s painting, sometimes he’s designing, and most often he’s accessioning and arranging historical artifacts in the museum basement. Now, as ever, Shea is on the hunt to learn all the things.
Joe Johnson (BCIS ’11) recalls his time at UFV: “The idea of community is one that was instilled in me while I was a student roaming the halls of UFV. As a student, at least in some capacity, I don’t know if there was one area of the university that I didn’t become involved with. But it was only after leaving this second home for the bigger world I went through a real soul-searching process of what to do next. Although, anybody who knows me knows that I have a penchant for getting into things. “Keeping my ties to UFV, I couldn’t stay away and now sit on the Alumni Association’s Board of Directors — along with many outstanding former students who want to give back to an institution that gave them so much. “I’ve continued my radio show on CIVL Radio, Everything Indie, which just hit the three-year mark.” “Truth be told though, it’s after finding my career path of digital marketing that I’m absolutely fulfilled. A year and a half into being the head of web operations at an international flower wholesaler, I’ve
teamed up with another UFV alumni to form a digital marketing agency. It’s very rewarding to embark on a venture where we can give small Fraser Valley businesses the marketing services that they need but might not have the capabilities or resources themselves. I’ve taken to heart the idea that we’re all connected to the valley and have something of value to contribute towards this remarkable community.” Congratulations to Maggi Lang (Associate of Arts ’16) most recently of the UFV Alumni Relations office, and husband Mitch on the birth of their first child, a girl. Penelope Florence Lang was born January 15, 2017. She weighed 8 lb 1 oz and was 52 cm long. When Maggi returns from maternity leave, she will take up a new position in the UFV Bookstore.
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SPRING 2017 39
GIVING NOTES
A CULTURE OF GIVING IS TAKING ROOT AT UFV We believe giving starts with us. All of us. Faculty, alumni, staff, current students, new grads, administrators, and board members all support scholarships, bursaries, and other ways of helping UFV students. They are joined in their generosity by our community donors and corporate supporters.
$20.17 CHALLENGE
MATCHING FUNDS LEADERSHIP GIVING Members of the Board of Governors pledged $68,950 of support to UFV this past year.
GIVING TUESDAY We joined the national Giving Tuesday movement this year, encouraging all of our stakeholders to consider giving to UFV on the Tuesday after Black Friday and Cyber Monday in November.
Thanks to all of our donors for your generous support! 40 SPRING 2017
We encourage all of our new graduates to give a little — $20.17 this time around — back to their university as a way of supporting the students that come after them.
Thanks to the generosity of President Mark Evered, Board Chair John Pankratz, UFV’s Student Union Society, UFV Alumni Association, Alumni Chair Nik Venema, and the estate of Mabel Cousineau, each $20.17 Challenge donation will be matched SEVEN times!
LIFESAVERS ALL AROUND The number of UFV faculty and staff members who supported the Lifesaver Campaign, which funds emergency student bursaries, increased this year.
100% SUPPORT Each and every member of our Alumni Association executive gave back to UFV through a monetary donation this past year. ONE HUNDRED PERCENT SUPPORT! That’s in addition to their volunteer time.
2016 REPORT
TOGETHER WE RAISED $132,000 Town met Gown at UFV’s second annual fundraising dinner on Nov 9. More than 250 people gathered in the Student Union Building to celebrate student success and hear how donors help students. Proceeds from the Town & Gown event go to UFV’s Changing Lives, Building Community Endowment — supporting scholarships for students who demonstrate superior scholastic achievement, leadership, and commitment to the community. And this year, the net total after expenses was slightly more than $132,000. In a serendipitous coincidence, Town & Gown 2016 occurred exactly 10 years to the day after the Fraser Valley community turned out in droves to support university status for their local postsecondary institution. On November 9, 2006, nearly a thousand community members packed a local hotel ballroom to tell the provincial government that they needed to make their university college a fullfledged university. Nowhere else had the provincial government’s Campus 2020 review team seen such community support, so reminiscent of the way local community members fought decades earlier to bring postsecondary education to the Fraser Valley. Dr. Malwinder Dhami (pictured right), an Abbotsford dentist and longtime UFV supporter and donor, announced at Town and Gown that he is funding three new bursaries: one to support the Dental Assistant program and two to support language studies (in Punjabi and in Halq’eméylem, the language of the StÓ:lō people) “There is nothing like your native language, your mother tongue. It is the first language you hear, the first language you use to learn and understand, and the first language you use to participate in everyday life….You can better participate and enjoy your culture and related activities through your mother tongue,” he noted. To find out how you can support UFV, visit our website at giving.ufv.ca or contact us at giving@ufv.ca or 604.851.6354.
“ We are so grateful for the continued generous support of our donors, and we love having the opportunity to meet you in person at our annual Town & Gown event.” SHERRI MAGSON, DIRECTOR, ADVANCEMENT
WE GRATEFULLY ACKNOWLEDGE AND GIVE THANKS TO OUR 2016 TOWN & GOWN SPONSORS:
SILVER SPONSORS Quantum Properties Esposito Group Impark Emil Anderson Construction
PRESENTING SPONSOR
BRONZE SPONSORS Aldergrove Credit Union Manulife Minter Country Gardens RDM Lawyers
PLATINUM SPONSORS
Sevenoaks Shopping Centre
Abbotsford International Airport
SPECIAL THANKS
MNP
GOLD SPONSORS BMO
Save-On-Foods
MEDIA SPONSORS The Abbotsford News
Chernoff Thompson Architects
Chilliwack Progress
The Co-operators
Punjabi Patrika
BY DARREN MCDONALD
Everything’s big with Costco. Big stores, big parking spots, big bags of frozen berries. And now, a big donation.
Thanks to a conversation Abbotsford Costco warehouse manager Mark Johnston had with a colleague at an Ottawa conference, a $50,000 bestowment will lead to an annual bursary of $2,000 that will be available for students in UFV’s School of Business starting in 2018.
Photo: Darren McDonald
NEW COSTCO BURSARY BULKS UP UFV BUSINESS
BBA Alumnus AK Sharma is now enrolled in Costco’s management training program.
“Any time we can have a relationship with people who are going through business leadership educational training, it’s good for our company. We want to get involved in the local community and support businesses, jobs, and education,” says Johnston, an alumnus of UFV’s Business degree program. “I told him that we have a great university in the Fraser Valley, that I graduated from there and a lot of UFV students work for me and it would be great if we could support them,” he recalls of the Ottawa chat. His colleague went to work on the bursary. “The next thing I knew I got a call from the university saying ‘thanks for the bursary’, so that was fantastic.” The bursary is building interest right now, thanks to the Costco donation. The annual funding is targeted to those with financial need, and not necessarily tied to academic performance. The financial assistance could very possibly end up helping a future Costco employee — though connections to the chain are not required to receive the bursary. “We hire a lot of UFV students and alumni,” Johnston says. “I like working with students, they’re always good employees, and a lot already know each other so it’s a good environment for them to come into.” Like Johnston did nearly 30 years ago,
many UFV students embrace Costco’s College Student Retention Program — starting at the store in their first or second years over the summer, then working weekends during school semesters before returning the following summer. “So they’ve got a guaranteed job every summer while maintaining their hire date, wage, connections, you name it.” During his interview, Johnston shared his office with AK Sharma, a BBA graduate from UFV Chandigarh currently enrolled in Costco’s management training program. “AK’s been awesome for us, and he’s a great example of how a lot of Costco training and promotion is done from within. We typically won’t hire a business grad into a management position, we’d hire them into a cashier position or stocker, have them learn our business a little bit, then if they showed potential in leadership, we’d start them on one of our leadership training programs and give them an overall view of what Costco does.” Johnston oversees 25 managers at the Abbotsford Costco, and a total of nearly 400 employees. “We say to people that whatever your degree is in, there’s probably a job at Costco that could use that,” he says. “Hopefully the new bursary finds people needing that extra bump. It could be the difference that allows them to continue their education and land meaningful, rewarding employment — whether that’s here or elsewhere, we’re more than happy to help.”
SPRING 2017 43
MARVELOUS FAMILY SUPPORTS UFV STUDENTS IN MEMORY OF PARENTS
MARCELLUS DUO By Anne Russell
For two-thirds of a century, the names Jim and Cathy Marcellus were synonymous with health and education in the community of Mission, BC. The memory of these life-long learners will live on in bursaries designed to help UFV students studying in disciplines that were dear to Jim and Cathy’s hearts. The newly established Marcellus Family Annual Bursary in Health Science and Marcellus Family Annual Bursary in English both offer a maximum of $3,000 per academic year exclusively to support students in financial need. Jim and Cathy were pillars of the Mission community and lived there throughout their 67-year marriage. They died 70 days apart in 2014. “Mom and Dad were both passionate about education,” recalls their daughter, Libby Marcellus. “They were teaching the grandchildren how to parse sentences for fun and amusement before the kids started kindergarten. In the community, they were strong educational advocates.”
44 SPRING 2017
The young couple came to Mission in 1947 when that community was desperate for new doctors. Cathy settled into life as a homemaker, while simultaneously feeling the pull to bring more intellectual activity to the community. There were not any opportunities for continuing education in Mission in the 1950s. As a keen scholar who had earned a Bachelor of Arts from Queen’s University by the time she was 20, this didn’t sit well with Cathy. She helped found the local chapter of the University Women’s Club, and later was an appointed school board member. By the early 1960s, she and a local librarian founded Mission’s chapter of the Great Books Club. More than 50 years later, the group is still in place, with two of the original members still attending. In the 1960s and ’70s, she was part of the campaign to bring post-secondary education to the Fraser Valley, which led to the founding of Fraser Valley College (now UFV).
In the 1980s, she was a co-founder of Mission’s Lifetime Learning Society, which provides educational programming for seniors in a variety of general interest and academic subjects. She was a key part of the community lobby to build a new Mission campus for UFV, which opened as part of the Heritage Park Centre in 1996. She returned to university in her 50s, earning her Master of Arts in English literature from Simon Fraser at age 60, going on to teach in continuing education at UFV and in English at SFU. In 2010, in recognition of her decades of community education leadership, she received an honorary doctorate from UFV. Meanwhile, Jim practised medicine, tending to multiple generations of Mission families. When the Mission Hospital was built, but unopened due to political red tape, Jim rallied key members of the community and saw to it that the doors were opened in 1965.
Photo: Rick Collins
Previous page: Jim and Cathy as a young couple at Queen’s University. Above: Cathy contemplating the rhododendrons in their garden in 2010.
Jim Marcellus
Jim was well known for his botanical fascination. His rhododendron garden became an attraction in Mission, and his plants populate hundreds of gardens in that community. After retiring from medicine, he began his studies in Botany at UBC.
two copies of some of Corey’s assigned textbooks so that Jim could study alongside his grandson — a testament to Jim’s acute octogenarian mind. A half century after Jim graduated from medical school, he and Corey studied together for many exams. Jim saw the richness of UFV’s Nursing program and was thrilled with the caliber of education his grandson was receiving.
“My dad was a big supporter of the UFV Nursing program,” recalls Libby, who like her two kids is a UFV alumna, having earned diplomas in Social Services and Fashion Design. Cathy grew up in a family that placed a high premium on education. Her sister was famed BC historian Margaret Ormsby and her brother Hugh, an ophthalmologist, was a co-founder of the national eye bank and worked closely with the CNIB. It was a twist of fate that opened the door to education for Jim. “Dad met a man in a bar during the Depression who asked him what his dream was. When he said he wanted to be a doctor, the man loaned him the money,” Libby recounts. After grandson Corey graduated from UFV with his Bachelor of Science in Nursing, he began his career in the Abbotsford Regional Hospital and within four years began teaching UFV nursing students during their hospital rotations. Seeing the financial stresses faced by these students precipitated his family’s decision to offer assistance.
He created Mission’s official flower, a rhododendron registered with the Royal Horticultural Society and named for his beloved granddaughter Caitlin (who is a proud UFV alumna with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and is now a clinical therapist in the Fraser Valley). Jim viewed nurses as the true pillars and unsung heroes of the medical system. So, when his grandson Corey began nursing school at UFV, the family would buy Corey and Caitlin, grandchildren of Jim and Cathy, with their mother Libby. All are UFV Alumni. 46 SPRING 2017
When the family considered ways to honor Jim and Cathy’s memory, they turned to UFV, where numerous and lifelong connections have built tremendous regard. “We wanted to honour our parents and grandparents in a very respectful way that reflects their passion for education and helps others in need,” says Libby.
Cathy Marcellus
SPACE ODYSSEY CONTINUED FROM PAGE 21
Her latest research grant will allow for the hiring of some UFV undergrad students to help with the research. And when she turns her focus to her human resources management classes at UFV, she finds that what she’s researching is very applicable. “We have so many people going to live and work in mines, security outposts, and oil rigs for a significant part of the year, and our research is directly applicable to those environments,” she notes. Research into living in space is also relevant to seniors faced with the transition of moving into long-term care facilities where they must interact with small, non-family groups every day. So what’s a psychologist doing teaching business? “Psychology is very applicable to business studies,” Brcic notes. “Social psychology can be applied to the study of work-team dynamics, which is what people in human resources and qualitative behaviour study.” Brcic has visited CSA, NASA, and other space agencies, and met quite a few astronauts. Has she ever considered throwing her space helmet into the ring and competing to be one of Canada’s next astronauts? “Oh, I got a few questions into the application form during the current selection process and decided pretty quickly that they wouldn’t want me,” she says with a laugh. “I’m way too extroverted for a long journey in a small space!”
Photo: Mike Savage
Jelena Brcic SPRING 2017 47
UFV takes pride in the many alumni whose lives have changed for the better through their experience as a student here, and for the roles they now play in building their communities. Jackie Hogan, who will serve as UFV’s interim president once Dr. Mark Evered retires in June, 2017, is a stellar example of both values. She’s an alumna of UFV’s Business program, and has played a major part in building our university as Chief Financial Officer and VP Administration. Jackie will guide us through a transition year as we search for UFV’s next president. With her long history at UFV as a 28-year employee, and her award-winning leadership in her field and the post-secondary sector, we are in good hands as we look to future. Look inside to read about more about alumni, students, and faculty who are changing lives and building communities and supporting UFV’s vision. Agriculture grads like Sam Glasgow are growing and modernizing the field. Dr. Joanna Sheppard’s work on physical literacy and Professor Lin Long’s efforts to connect our engineering mechatronics students to industry partners are success stories worth sharing. And a group of creative alumni are fostering culture and community in the Fraser Valley via Raspberry, the magazine they’ve founded. Skookum is published for the University of the Fraser Valley by the University Relations team UNIVERSITY RELATIONS LEADERSHIP TEAM Leslie Courchesne, Executive Director, University Relations Daniel Goertz, Manager, Alumni Relations Sherri Magson, Director, Advancement Dave Pinton, Director, Communications Caleb Zimmerman, Director, Marketing and Student Recruitment SKOOKUM PRODUCTION TEAM Editor: Anne Russell Design & Production: Camilla Coates, Marie Tary Writing: Anne Russell, Darren McDonald Photography: Darren McDonald, Anne Russell, Patty Wellborn, Rick Collins, Derek Ward-Hall, Louise Rousseau, Mike Savage Production Liaison: Auriel Niven Have comments or ideas about Skookum? Send them to: skookum@ufv.ca See Skookum online at ufv.ca/skookum Want to communicate with your Alumni Association? Contact: alumni@ufv.ca or call 604-557-4008 UFV Alumni Relations Office: 33844 King Road, Abbotsford, BC V2S 7M8
Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: UFV Alumni Relations office 33844 King Road Abbotsford, BC V2S 7M8
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Photo: Louise Rousseau
STELLAR ALUMNA WILL GUIDE UFV THROUGH TRANSITION