New Trail Autumn 2015

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Due to provincial legislation, our auto and recreational vehicle insurance program is not offered in British Columbia, Manitoba or Saskatchewan. *Average based on the home and auto premiums for active policies on July 31, 2014 of all of our clients who belong to a professional or alumni group that has an agreement with us when compared to the premiums they would have paid with the same insurer without the preferred insurance rate for groups and the multi-product discount. Savings are not guaranteed and may vary based on the client’s profile. ® The TD logo and other TD trade-marks are the property of The Toronto-Dominion Bank.

A U T U M N 2015 V O L U M E 71 N U M B E R 2

On the cover: A cup of tea. An honest conversation.

Helping young people flourish can begin with asking, “How are you?” and really listening to the answer. More on page 18.

Illustration and lettering by Katy Dockrill

features 18

18 Mental Wellness

The conversation on campus has turned to mental health — how talking about these issues now can create better citizens and a better society

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31 Alumni Awards 2015

From a psychiatry champion to a science celebrity, meet 28 alumni who do great things every day

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40 Getting to Know the New President David Turpin once worked as a scuba instructor — and more fun facts about the U of A’s 13th president

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Supervising Editors Mary Lou Reeleder Cynthia Strawson, ’05 BA, ’13 MSc Editor-in-Chief Lisa Cook, @NewTrail_Lisa Managing Editor Karen Sherlock Associate Editor Christie Hutchinson Art Director Marcey Andrews Senior Photographer John Ulan Digital Editor Karen Sherlock New Trail Digital Shane Riczu, ’12 MA; Ryan Whitefield, ’10 BA; Joyce Yu, ’07 BA Staff Writers Amie Filkow, Sarah Pratt, Bridget Stirling Copy Editor, Proofreader Philip Mail Advisory Board Anne Bailey, ’84 BA; Jason Cobb, ’96 BA; Susan Colberg, ’83 BFA, ’91 MVA; Glenn Kubish, ’87 BA(Hons); Kiann McNeill; Robert Moyles, ’86 BCom; Julie Naylor, ’95 BA, ’05 MA CONTACT US Email (Comments/Letters/Class Notes) alumni@ualberta.ca Call 780-492-3224; toll-free 1-800-661-2593

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Your Letters Our Readers Write

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Bear Country The U of A Community

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Continuing Education Column by Curtis Gillespie

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Whatsoever Things Are True Column by Todd Babiak

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Question Period Pat Kiernan on movie cameos and Shreddies

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What’s Brewing Column by Greg Zeschuk

48 Events In Edmonton and Beyond 50 Books Alumni Share Their New Work 54

Class Notes Keeping Classmates up to Date

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In Memoriam Bidding Farewell to Friends

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Photo Finish The Picture-Perfect Finale

Mail Office of Advancement, University of Alberta, Third Floor, Enterprise Square, 10230 Jasper Ave., Edmonton, AB T5J 4P6 Facebook U of A Alumni Association Twitter @UofA_Alumni Address Updates 780-492-3471; toll-free 1-866-492-7516 or alumrec@ualberta.ca TO ADVERTISE lesley.dirkson@ualberta.ca This University of Alberta Alumni Association magazine is published three times a year. It is mailed to more than 180,000 alumni and non-alumni friends, and is available on select newsstands. The views and opinions expressed in the magazine are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the University of Alberta or the U of A Alumni Association. All material copyright ©. New Trail cannot be held responsible for unsolicited manuscripts or photographs.

ISSN: 0824-8125 Copyright 2015 Publications Mail Agreement No. 40112326 If undeliverable in Canada, return to: Office of Advancement University of Alberta, Third Floor, Enterprise Square 10230 Jasper Ave. Edmonton, AB T5J 4P6

new trail autumn 2015 3

OFFICE OF ALUMNI RELATIONS

Law Ian Reynolds, ’91 BCom, ’94 LLB Medicine Vacant Native Studies Carolyn Wagner, ’06 BA(NativeStuHons) Nursing Keith King, ’04 BScN Pharmacy Sheena Neilson, ’06 BSc(Pharm) ALUMNI COUNCIL EXECUTIVE Physical Education and Recreation President Bill Werry, ’73 BA(RecAdmin) Mary Pat Barry, ’04 MA Public Health Past-President Paul Childs, ’05 MPH Glenn Stowkowy, ’76 BSc(ElecEng) Rehabilitation Medicine Vice-President: Affinity & Alumni Benefits Linda Miller, ’89 BSc(OT) Kevin Higa, ’85 BCom Science Vice-President: Awards Fred Johannesen, ’84 BSc(Spec) Sheena Neilson, ’06 BSc(Pharm) Members at Large Vice-President: Council Experience Jessa Aco, ’14 BCom Jason Acker, ’95 BSc, ’97 MSc, ’00 PhD, ’09 MBA Ken Bautista, ’99 BEd Vice-President: Edmonton Programs & Outreach Ayaz Bhanji, ’91 BSc (Pharm) Rayan Bou Farraj, ’13 BSc(Spec), ’14 MA Ayaz Bhanji, ’91 BSc(Pharm) Emerson Csorba, ’14 BA(Spec) Vice-President: New Program Development Christine Causing, ’97 BA Charlene Butler, ’09 MBA Nick Dehod, ’11 BA Vice-President: Student Awards & Grants Steven Dollansky, ’09 BSc, ’12 JD Steven Dollansky, ’09 BSc, ’12 JD Kevin Higa, ’85 BCom Darryl Lesiuk, ’87 BA, ’91 BCom, ’07 MBA Board of Governors Representatives: Della Lizotte, ’10 BA(NativeStu) Jane Halford, ’94 BCom Julie Lussier, ’11 BCom Rob Parks, ’87 BEd, ’99 MBA Amy Shostak, ’07 BA Senate Representatives Charity Slobod, ’10 BA, ’01 BA(Cert) Cindie LeBlanc, ’01 BA River Wilson, ’01 BA, ’06 MScRS(SLP) Ron Glen, ’89 BA(Spec), ’04 MBA Robert Moyles, ’86 BCom Interim Associate Vice-President Tracy Salmon, ’91 BA, ’96 MSc Director, Alumni Programs Kara Sweeney Director, Alumni Engagement Coleen Graham, ’88 BSc(HEc), ’93 MEd Senior Manager, Strategic Initiatives

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Sitting onstage at the June convocation offered a unique perspective on the journey from student to alumnus.

It wasn’t the first time I was part of the platform party, but it was my first time as president of the University of Alberta Alumni Association. It was also the first time I knew several graduates crossing the floor. It was personal.

The sea of caps and gowns combined with the cheers and applause from proud friends and family was intoxicating; the shared sense of possibility and potential, tangible and real. What fresh ideas, perspectives and enthusiasm would these graduates lend the world?

Where would they go, what would they accomplish and who would they become?

Life holds many points of transition. Soon a new cohort of students will infiltrate campus. Excited expectations will be balanced with tender trepidations. New connections and acquaintances will be made. Out of need and circumstance, comrades-in-arms will emerge.

Friendships that become vital to the university experience will form and, as alumni know, often remain for life.

For many, university is the time we discover personal passions. It’s the time we make the choices that start to define who we will become as people and as citizens. As our cover story (page 18) describes, the experience can be easier when students know they have options, resources and support.

How can you help? If you’re a student, be generous; share your connections and your encouragement. If you’re a parent or family member, know that your children are joining a strong, supportive community that will buoy them for the rest of their lives. If you’re an alumnus, perhaps this is the time you can give back. You were a new student once. The students of today experience many of the same highs and lows you did. Be interested in who they are and what they are feeling. Share your survival tactics and let them know they’ll get through it!

And four … or five … or more … years from now, when those AGAZINE MAGAZINE MAGAZINE UM CA CA crossIX Dthe stage at convocation, DU students CA celebrate their possibility and DU IX IX potential not only for the world, but as they become full members of our alumni family, lending their support to those who come after them.

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EX OFFICIO FACULTY REPRESENTATIVES Honorary President Academic Representative Jason Acker, ’95 BSc, ’97 MSc, ’00 PhD, ’09 MBA David Turpin Interim Vice-President (Advancement) Agricultural, Life & Environmental Sciences Colm Renehan Reint Boelman, ’97 BSc(Ag) Acting Dean of Students Arts Robin Everall, ’92 BA(Spec), ’94 MEd, ’98 PhD Randa Kachkar, ’86 BA(Spec) Graduate Students’ Association Augustana Alphonse Ndem Ahola Sandra Gawad Gad, ’12 BSc Students’ Union Business Navneet Khinda, ’14 BA Charlene Butler, ’09 MBA Campus Saint-Jean Marty McKeever, ’02 BEd Dentistry Judy Clarke,’87 Dip(DentHyg), ’04 BSc(DHS) Education Heather Raymond, ’82 BEd, ’86 Dip(Ed), ’95 MEd, ’02 PhD MAGAZINE MAGAZINE MAGAZINE Engineering CA CA CA DU DU DU X IX IX TonyI Valente, ’01 BSc(MechEng) Extension Nikki van Dusen, ’96 BA, ’10 MA Graduate Studies Chris Michell-Viret, ’83 BSc, ’84 BSc(SpecCert), ’89 MSc

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We would like to hear your comments about the magazine. Send us your letters by post or email to the addresses on page 1. Letters may be edited for length or clarity.

Partners in Research

As an alumna of the University of Alberta and CEO of the Alberta Cancer Foundation, I was very pleased to read the latest issue of New Trail magazine. [“Teaming Up to Conquer Cancer”] was a great article that shares the same vision we do at the ACF: breaking down boundaries to speed up discovery.

The ACF is proud of our partnership with the University of Alberta and it is wonderful to know an even wider audience will see how so many of our investments are paying off. Our donors funded many of the success stories profiled here, including clinical trials, Alberta Cancer Research Biobank, Ing Swie Goping’s BAD biology research project, Dr. John Lewis’s work as the Frank and Carla Sojonky Chair in Prostate Cancer Research, and Dr. Lynne-Marie Postovit’s Sawin-Baldwin Chair in Ovarian Cancer. We consider ourselves good stewards of our donors but appreciate it when our partners share that same message about pushing the pace of progress for Albertans facing cancer. –Myka Osinchuk, ’90 BSc(Speech/Aud), ’98 MBA, CEO, Alberta Cancer Foundation, Edmonton

Language Overload

My congratulations on your Spring issue! I was particularly intrigued by the article “Second Chance at a Second Tongue” by Todd Babiak (page 14) because I have no language ability whatsoever. When I was doing graduate work in art history at another university, interesting work in the field was coming out of Germany, so I thought I should learn German. I enrolled in a summer course in the language but realized the course was probably not for me when, during the first coffee break in the first class, more than half of the students went up to the professor and spoke to him — in German! I might also mention that the instructor spoke English with a very broad Scottish accent, which added an additional “linguistic layer” to the class. Furthermore, during the three days I remained in the course, what did I hear when I was in my study attempting to make my “sprechening” sound less English? Chinese music from the apartment across the alley!

So there I was: I had a professor with a Scottish accent, I was hearing Chinese music and I was trying to learn to speak German. Obviously the language gods had abandoned me, and ever since then I’ve resigned myself to being a unilingual former Albertan. –Chuck Crockford, ’62 BEd, Waterloo, Ont.

Solving Pressing Problems

My compliments on your Spring 2015 issue, and in particular the articles “Teaming Up to Conquer Cancer” and “Minds Without Borders.”

I am heartened and proud that my alma mater is using collaborative, interdisciplinary approaches to advance knowledge and use it to solve pressing problems. The quality of the writing was excellent, particularly in view of the very advanced subject matter. More articles of this nature would be appreciated. Keep up the good work. –Ellen Nygaard, ’70 BA, ’88 MBA, Edmonton

A SAD NOTE We note with sadness that Tanya Prochazka, who was featured in the Spring 2015 cover story “Teaming up to Conquer Cancer,” died May 12, shortly before the issue came out. Prochazka’s story — and her life — were filled with hope and love for her family. Our condolences to those who knew her and to those who were touched by her story. –lisa cook, editor-in-chief, new trail

CLARIFICATION In the Spring 2015 issue we neglected to note that Deborah James, who was listed as the former executive director of the Cancer Research Institute of Northern Alberta (page 27), is an alumna. She should have been listed as Deborah James, ’89 BSc(Pharm), ’96 PhD.

Keep in touch between New Trail issues.

Find web-exclusive stories, videos and more online, or sign up for our monthly email, Thought Box, by visiting newtrail.ualberta.ca.

‘Five in Five of Us Have Mental Health’ Students talk mental health in a video featuring students and faculty from the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

‘You’re Not the Kind of Human We Were Talking About’ On the 10th anniversary of legalized samesex marriage, an LGBTQ lawyer ponders the case that helped topple discriminatory laws.

Why Does a Landlocked University Need a Marine Station?

Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre is a West Coast treasure.

Star Trek Science Patent pending and pre-ordering. There are benefits beyond the XPrize for three alumni competing to design a real-life tricorder.

Put This in Your Thought Box Read more stories like this in Thought Box, our new e-newsletter. Not already getting it? Update your contact information online. new trail autumn 2015 5

RESEARCH IN THE NEWS U of A research is always garnering media attention. Here’s the lowdown on what’s been causing a buzz.

SURGERY IS RISKIER FOR OBESE PATIENTS

Parents can play an important role in the early detection of autism in their children.

“Parents are the experts when it comes to their kids, and their observations are really valuable,” says Lonnie Zwaigenbaum, co-author of a U of A study and a professor in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry’s Department of Pediatrics. “In some respects, parents are picking up on differences at six and nine months of age that we have a much harder time seeing in the clinic.”

Professionals who act early on parents’ concerns can improve the outcome for children at risk of autism spectrum disorder, or ASD, the study says.

Zwaigenbaum and Lori Sacrey, a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Pediatrics, looked at concerns reported by parents from about 300 families before their children were three and compared them with clinical assessments done when the children were three.

They found parents of children at high risk for ASD reported more early concerns than other parents — concerns that can be predictive of ASD. “They reported more sensory and motor concerns starting at the age of six months,” says Sacrey. “Then they increasingly reported more language and social concerns at about 12 to 15 months of age.”

The earlier patients get support, the better the prognosis, says Sacrey.

–ross neitz 6 newtrail.ualberta.ca

Lack of Transportation Can Put Seniors, Disabled at Risk

Squirrels — Just Your Typical Teenagers Young squirrels are as moody and radical as some human teens, it seems. In a study of how red squirrels’ personalities change as they age, University of Alberta biologist Amanda Kelley, ’14 MSc, found young squirrels show more extreme personalities, as measured by their activity and aggression. As they age, they become conformists, with the intense squirrels settling down and the timid squirrels becoming more confident. Kelley notes a squirrel’s personality may affect mating, the success of offspring, where they end up living and their survival. –cbc

Seniors and disabled people living in rural areas with few public transportation options are prone to feelings of isolation, depression and a decreased quality of life, according to U of A research. They’re also at greater risk of harm as a result of driving when they shouldn’t, says researcher Bonnie Dobbs, ’93 BA(Hons), ’99 PhD, a professor of family medicine and director of the U of A’s Medically At-Risk Driver Centre. The study used Statistics Canada data from 2012 that found 10 per cent of legally blind seniors had driven in the previous month, as had 27 per cent of those with severe cognitive impairments.

The U of A study of 16,369 respondents 65 and over also found more than 70 per cent who had disabilities said their transportation needs were not being met.

–edmonton journal

THINKSTOCK

Parents Can Detect Autism Earlier Than Doctors

Nearly one in five severely obese patients did not survive after surgery and many more suffered post-surgery complications, a U of A study showed. The researchers looked at 111 severely obese patients who underwent urgent operations such as appendectomies, gallbladder surgery and hernia repair between 2009 and 2011. They found that nearly half of the patients had to be admitted to intensive care following the surgery. One-third required multiple surgeries and 17 per cent died in hospital. Underlying health problems, such as high blood pressure, increase the patient’s risk of blood clots and other postsurgery complications. As well, many severely obese people are malnourished, eating food deficient in the vitamins and minerals critical for recovery from illness or surgery.

Study authors Sandy Widder, Suzana Kupper, ’06 BSc, ’11 MD, and Rachel Khadaroo recommend patients get nutritional support and move around soon after surgery to improve circulation. They also recommend that hospitals be prepared to deal with an increasing number of obese Canadians. –the starphoenix

ALUMNI IN THE NEWS

Igniting the Body’s Immune System Against Cancer

ALAMY

In the ongoing search for a cancer cure, a U of A team is looking to unleash the immune system so that it attacks powerful cancer cells and heals itself.

The researchers are developing specialized small molecules that will trigger the body’s T-cells to recognize tumours as foreign bodies and attack and destroy them. T-cells are an important part of the body’s immune system, but malignant tumours deactivate T-cells so they are unable to see and destroy bad cells.

Research into the small-molecule treatment, called the Immune Checkpoint Program, is being led

by Khaled Barakat, ’12 PhD, research assistant professor in the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. He’s heading a multidisciplinary

team that includes some of the brightest minds in the fields of oncology, virology, immunology, chemistry, dentistry and pharmaceutical sciences. The project is backed by a $5.4-million partnership between the Alberta Cancer Foundation and the U of A’s Li Ka Shing Institute of Virology.

The treatment would be less invasive and less expensive than the current methods of treating cancer, and research suggests it

could be used to fight different types of cancer.

“The concept has been proven by antibodies in many cancer types, including advanced melanoma, one of the hardest cancers to treat,” says Barakat.

The research team is using computer modelling and experimental testing to develop and test the small molecules and hopes to find a pharmaceutical partner to get the drug ready for human trials by 2020. –sandra pysklywyc, ’01 ba (rec/leisure)

U of A alumni who made headlines recently

Margaret-Ann Armour, ’70 PhD, ’13 DSc (Honorary), spoke on CBC Radio in May about the worldwide Twitter reaction after a male astronomer was quoted as saying scientists are just “boys with toys.” Within days, more than 17,000 female scientists had posted photos of themselves with their scientific “toys” under the hashtag #girlswithtoys. Armour, associate dean (diversity) in the Faculty of Science and founding chair of WISEST (Women in Scholarship, Engineering, Science and Technology) at the U of A, said she wasn’t happy about the comment but was delighted with the online response, adding that she hoped the twitterstorm raised awareness about women in science. –cbc edmonton Today’s Parent listed The Sky is Falling by Kit Pearson, ’69 BA, as one of the 100 best Canadian children’s books of all time. First published in 1989 by Puffin Canada, the book has won numerous awards, including the Canadian Library Association’s Book of the Year for Children. Pearson lives in Victoria and continues to add to her list of publications. –today’s parent Ian Herbers, ’92 BPE, is the new assistant coach with the Edmonton Oilers. Herbers, a native of Jasper, Alta., was head coach of the U of A’s Golden Bears hockey team for three seasons. His teams captured three Canada West conference championships and two Canadian Interuniversity Sport national championship trophies. –sportsnet Pierrette Requier, ’71 BEd, is Edmonton’s sixth poet laureate. The Franco-Albertan educator and spoken-word artist was also writer-in-residence at MacEwan University, a mentor for the Writers’ Guild of Alberta and helped organize events at the Edmonton Poetry Festival. –edmonton journal

new trail autumn 2015 7

CAMPUS NEWS A brief look at what’s new at the U

The Faculty of Native Studies will offer a course about residential schools in the winter 2016 semester.

Tracy Bear, ’07 BA(NativeStu), ’07 BEd, will teach the pilot course, which she hopes will help increase understanding of the impact of residential schools on Aboriginal citizens and all Canadians.

The final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada was released in June.

The Arts and Convocation Hall is 100 years old. When it opened in 1915, it was the most expensive ever constructed in Alberta but it almost wasn’t completed. Funding ran out just when the building was almost finished. Henry Marshall Tory convinced the contractors to finish the building but be paid for the work at a later date.

Students anywhere in the world will have access to two new MOOCs launching in fall 2016. Mountains 101 is an interdisciplinary course focusing on the biological, physical and human dimensions of mountains. Indigenous Canada, offered by the Faculty of Native Studies, will explore historical and contemporary relationships between Aboriginal Peoples and newcomers.

8 newtrail.ualberta.ca

Egg Research Could Put Wheat Back on the Menu for Celiac Sufferers

People with celiac disease could soon be able to have a beer with friends or dig into grandma’s cinnamon buns.

Researchers at the U of A have developed a natural supplement from the yolks of chicken eggs that prevents the absorption of gliadin, a component of gluten.

The supplement binds with gluten in the stomach and helps to neutralize it, limiting the damage gliadin causes to the small intestine, says Hoon Sunwoo, ’98 PhD, an associate professor in the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. He teamed up for the project with Jeong Sim, a retired professor from the Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences.

The researchers hope the supplement could be available to the public within three years.

The next step is testing its effectiveness in humans, with trials expected in 2016.

One in 133 people in Canada is affected by celiac disease, the Canadian Celiac Association estimates. The disease can damage the small intestine, preventing the absorption of important nutrients, and cause symptoms including weight loss, anemia, chronic diarrhea, headaches, bloating and fatigue. –sandra pysklywyc, ’01 ba (rec/leisure)

BOTTOM PHOTO THINKSTOCK; TOP PHOTO PROVIDED BY NATURAL RESOURCES CANADA

Doug Goss, ’81 BCom, ’84 LLB, is stepping down at the end of August from his role as chair of the U of A Board of Governors after 31⁄2 years. He announced July 21 that, with President David Turpin now in place, he has fulfilled one of the board chair’s most important roles: heading the search for a new president.

He now plans to refocus his energy on helping prepare for the largest campaign in university history. Dick Wilson, ’74 BDes, ’75 LLB, an active member of the Alumni Association and current Board of Governors vice-chair, has been named acting chair effective Sept. 1, and will remain in that role until a new chair is appointed.

Ice Collection Offers View Into Past A collection of Canadian ice cores dating as far back as 800,000 years is moving to the University of Alberta.

When Natural Resources Canada was looking for a new home for more than 1,000 metres of ice samples housed in Ottawa’s Ice Core Research Laboratory, it chose the U of A. The collection offers incredible research opportunities: each metre-long sample contains evidence of past climates and atmospheres, ancient microbes, pollutants and extreme weather events.

“Ice cores are one of the best repositories of information about past climates and past environments,” says U of A glaciologist Martin Sharp, “and the better we can see into the past, the better we can predict the future.”

The samples, scheduled to make the move to Edmonton in 2016, will

add to the university’s reputation as an international leader in climate history.

U of A researchers will continue to build the collection, sending expeditions to Canada’s North to collect new samples. The U of A already has laboratories worth close to $18 million across four faculties devoted to the analysis of snow, ice and permafrost.

Plans are in the works to build a new state-of-the-art cold storage facility for the ice cores. “[The ice core collection] is a national treasure and deserves to be situated in a place where we can make the most of it, not simply treated as an archive but as something to which we can continue to contribute,” says Deputy Provost Roger Epp, ’84 BA(Hons), who worked on the bid to house the samples at the U of A. –geoff mcmaster

new trail autumn 2015 9

LECTURE HALL TO LEGISLATURE

STUDENT LIFE

After the provincial election, Albertans suddenly found themselves with dozens of fresh-faced MLAs. None was fresher than Thomas Dang, Edmonton-South West, who made headlines for becoming the youngest MLA in Alberta history. Dang, who turned 20 the day the election was called, was a second-year computing science major at the U of A before turning his attention to politics. He’s taking the fall semester off, for obvious reasons.

How did you juggle your academic responsibilities during the campaign?

The election was called a couple days after classes ended. However, I did have exams during the campaign period, so I’d campaign all day during door-knocking hours, and outside of that I just studied as much as I could, pretty much. It was a lot of jumping back and forth, definitely a couple of allnighters. My schedule was a bit funny — I had four exams in three days, I think. It wasn’t exactly the lightest schedule.

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Was there anything in your academic career that helped prepare you for being an MLA? I was a member of the U of A debate club, which helped out a lot. In terms of academics, it was definitely a bit of a different direction than what people in comp-sci typically take. A lot of the students there would say, “Oh, you’re running. That’s kind of odd. That’s not a technical thing — that’s a social thing.”

Thomas Dang has been in a lot of classrooms lately — from U of A lecture halls to a crash course in “how to be an MLA” — as part of his new role as a member of the Alberta government.

What was the moment you realized you’d won?

We were always campaigning as if we were 10 votes behind, but [the news commentators] called the election very early, at 8:25 or 8:30 p.m. They said, “Thomas

Dang has been elected in Edmonton-South West.”

I thought, “It’s not even 9 yet!

How could they know?” So I actually sat there and watched the numbers come in for another good hour before it sunk in.

All new MLAs go through orientation, but your class went through an entire mock legislature session as well. What was that like?

It was a really good experience. We got the opportunity to ask a few questions and be heckled a little bit back and forth, which was fun. It was sort of like being back in class again: “Here’s how we do this and that. You’ve got a few readings to prepare.”

I thought I was done with school for now, but it looks like it’s right back to studying. –michael hingston

PHOTO BY JOHN ULAN

What were people’s reactions at the door when they heard you were a university student running for a seat in the legislature?

Definitely, you got a lot of mixed responses. But most of it was, “Wow, that’s exciting — somebody who’s young and excited to be part of politics!” In a province where we’ve typically seen very low youth-engagement rates, I think people are happy and encouraged to see youth involved in trying to make change.

FROM THE COLLECTIONS

UNCOVERING CAMPUS TREASURES These works and more than 100 more will be part of Brain Storms: UAlberta Creates, an exhibition featuring works by U of A alumni, including works in visual arts, fashion design, creative writing and furniture. The exhibition runs from Sept. 24 to Jan. 23 at the University of Alberta’s Enterprise Square Galleries.

Chetak

Ryan McCourt, ’97 BFA, ’99 MFA Chetak was inspired by the 1576 battle of Haldighati, in which the forces of Mewar, led by Maharana Pratap, were outnumbered by Emperor Akbar’s Mughal army, led by Raja Man Singh. Because the Mewar cavalry was up against mighty Mughal war elephants, Pratap came up with a plan to disguise his horse, Chetak, as a baby elephant, so that he might ride through the enemy ranks unharmed. Chetak died in this battle, sacrificing himself for the Maharana.

Business and Leadership Programs Find your program and boost your career with part-time studies at the University of Alberta.

Log Bowls

Business Analysis, Management Development, HR Management, Leadership, and many more credential programs available.

Doha Chebib Lindskoog, ’04 BDes

IMAGES COURTESY OF THE ARTISTS

Half of an innovative furniture and housewares design company called Loyal Loot, Lindskoog combines natural beauty with a high-gloss finish in her Log Bowls. Each bowl is created from naturally harvested, locally reclaimed wood that is hand selected.

Register online at UAB.ca/boost, or call 780.492.3027.

E=MC Squared Jane Ash Poitras, ’77 BSc(Spec), ’83 BFA, ’15 DLitt (Honorary) All across campus are the 29 interdisciplinary collections that make up the University of Alberta Museums. This unique model distinguishes the U of A as one of the world’s great public universities.

The collections are used daily for teaching, research and community engagement, and many are open to the public. museums.ualberta.ca

Poitras explores a range of Aboriginal culture, history and politics in her work. In E=MC Squared, she showcases her storytelling ability as she combines new and different ways of interpreting the world. new trail autumn 2015 11

‘DEGREES’ OF SEPARATION THE GREEN & GOLD EDITION We’ve all played the “six degrees of Kevin Bacon” game—but what if we apply a U of A filter?

How many degrees separate you from Leo DiCaprio? Or the Stanley Cup? We make a few connections below.

Cameron wrote and directed the movie Titanic , starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet.

Avatar was written and directed by Canadian James Cameron.

AS AN ALUMNUS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA, YOU ARE CONNECTED TO… Todd Cherniawsky, ’93 BFA, art director on the movie Avatar.

Gregg played as a defenceman in the NHL for 10 seasons between 1981 and 1992, all but one with the Edmonton Oilers.

The Oilers brought home the Stanley Cup five times while Gregg was on the team.

12 newtrail.ualberta.ca

Randy Gregg, ’75 BSc, ’79 MD, a well-known doctor of sports medicine in Edmonton.

Gregg’s Oilers teammates included Wayne Gretzky, ’00 LLD (Honorary), and Mark Messier.

Richard E. Taylor, ’50 BSc, ’52 MSc, ’91 DSc (Honorary), who won the 1990 Nobel Prize in physics with two others.

Each Nobel Prize recipient was presented with a diploma and medal by the King of Sweden.

ALAMY – STANLEY CUP, OCTAVIO PAZ, MIKHAIL GORBACHEV, AL PACINO, MARLON BRANDO, TENNESSEE WILLIAMS, THE SIMPSONS, SIR EDMUND HILLARY, SIR EDMUND HILLARY AND TENZING NORGAY; BROADIMAGE/REX FEATURES (2246845X)/THE CANADIAN PRESS – WAYNE GRETZKY; DAVE BUSTON/THE CANADIAN PRESS – RANDY GREGG (OILERS UNIFORM); DEREK STORM/EVERETT COLLECTION/THE CANADIAN PRESS – JAMES CAMERON; EPIC PHOTOGRAPHY – RANDY GREGG; ERIC RAPTOSH PHOTOGRAPHY – TODD CHERNAIWSKY;

Huston was the first recipient of the Sir Edmund Hillary Foundation Award for Humanitarian Services, presented to her by Hillary in 1991.

Helen Huston, ’49 BSc, ’51 MD, ’85 LLD (Honorary), who spent decades working as a doctor in remote areas of Nepal.

Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa guide Tenzing Norgay were the first to reach the summit of Everest in 1953.

Norgay’s son Jamling reached the top of Everest in 1996, two weeks after a sudden storm descended on the mountain, killing nine climbers.

For his bravery in helping climbers in the storm, Jamling Tenzing Norgay received an award from the Dalai Lama.

Scarface starred Al Pacino.

Alan Bleviss, ’67 BA, who voiced the movie trailer for Scarface.

Pacino also starred in The Godfather with Marlon Brando.

Brando starred in the film adaptation of A Streetcar Named Desire, written by Tennessee Williams.

Bleviss also voiced commercials for the U.S. Democratic Party during Bill Clinton’s presidential campaigns.

Writer Octavio Paz and former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev were among the other 1990 Nobel Prize recipients who gathered in Stockholm to receive the honour.

A cartoon Clinton appeared more than a dozen times on The Simpsons .

JOHN ULAN – JOEL COHEN; KCR/REX SHUTTERSTOCK (4875904AZ)/THE CANADIAN PRESS – MARK MESSIER; MARK PETERMAN – ALAN BLEVISS; MUSTAFA YALCIN/AA/ABACAPRESS.COM/ THE CANADIAN PRESS – KING OF SWEDEN (KING CARL XVI GUSTAF); SLAC NATIONAL ACCELERATOR LABORATORY/TOM NAKASHIMA PHOTO – RICHARD E. TAYLOR; THE ALBERTA ORDER OF EXCELLENCE – HELEN HUSTON; THINKSTOCK – KATE WINSLET, LEONARDO DICAPRIO, DALAI LAMA

Joel Cohen, ’88 BSc, is a writer and producer for The Simpsons.

new trail autumn 2015 13

Getting Off the Fence

THERE’S NOTHING WRONG WITH BEING IN OVER YOUR HEAD — AS LONG AS YOU HAVE A WELL-STOCKED FIRST-AID KIT CLOSE AT HAND

Learning doesn’t end when you accept your degree. We are all lifelong learners, whether we pursue lessons in a class or a lecture hall — or these lessons pursue us. Curtis Gillespie, ’85 BA, reflects on the continuing opportunities for education that life throws our way, sometimes when we least expect them.

the power auger was half a metre deep and drilling furiously when its teeth bit hard into a tree root. The auger’s left handle twisted violently out of my grip and hit me in the lower rib cage, which caused me to instinctively hold tighter to the right handle, an unfortunate consequence in that the right handle was also the throttle. The 11/2-metre-long drill blade — which I’d just filed to a sharp edge — whirled like a Tasmanian devil up and out of the hole and, although I released the throttle, it must have stuck somehow because once freed from the hole the entire gas-fed contraption spun and caught and bucked like a leg-trapped badger, lashing out, narrowly missing my thigh. It hit the ground, the throttle released, the engine died and the drill blade wound down and came to a rest.

12 newtrail.ualberta.ca

by Curtis Gillespie

I’d probably come close to losing a chunk of lateral quadriceps, but my first concern was the neighbours. Not that they were nearby but that they might have been watching. I looked around. Nobody in any of the yards.

No movement behind any windows. It felt safe to continue free of excessive embarrassment.

I picked up the auger — with something less than full confidence, it has to be said — and got back to work on the eighth of 32 postholes that needed to be dug. Before cranking up the auger motor, I took a moment to look around the yard and consider the amount of work that remained. It had already been a massive grunt job to tear the old fence down. It was going to be a titanic job to line up the new postholes in the right place and get them dug. And all that effort was only going to get me to the visible start line of the actual job I’d set out to do: build a new fence. I wondered at that point, not for the first or last time, what I was doing, what I was trying to prove, what the value was in this.

We’ve been in our current house coming on 10 years now. It’s in a quiet and friendly Edmonton neighbourhood near the river and the ravines, and we’ve enjoyed living in it from the start. But from the day we moved in — no, from the day we first laid eyes on the property — it was clear the fence was eventually going to need serious attention if not divine intervention. Our lot is pie-shaped and the crust had been crumbling since we took possession. Initially, the fence sagged only here and there. After we’d been there five years or so, I had to pound support bars into the ground beside a few rotting posts. Four years ago, whenever a good wind came up, the north side began to sway and ripple like an unfurled mainsail. Things got serious when the back gatepost collapsed and I had to use grey duct tape to repair it (since the wood wouldn’t hold a nail or a screw). That was three years ago. My wife and I both agreed at the time that it was a project I needed to get on right away.

Which was why I spent a good portion

ILLUSTRATION BY WESLEY ALLSBROOK; PHOTO BY JOHN ULAN

c­ontinuingeducation

c­ontinuingeducation

of that summer doing the planning that the project clearly required; it was not something to blithely dive into. The next summer we took a longer-than-normal family holiday, meaning that without ample periods of open time it would have been not just imprudent but irresponsible to embark on such a major project. That brought us to last year; unfortunately, I hurt my back playing squash, meaning it would have been not just imprudent but irresponsible to embark on such a major project. When this spring rolled around, my wife pointed out that we weren’t going away anywhere and also pointed out that I was relatively healthy (though she restricted that diagnosis to my physical health). From our kitchen window, she then pointed out something else. The whole rear length of the fence was billowing like the bellows of an accordion and the gate was upright only because it was leaning against the garage.

“What?”

Playing dumb usually works out smartly for me, but not this time. She didn’t laugh. I sighed. It was time.

I blame my father. For the fact that I took the job on, that is. We all entertain beliefs about ourselves that vary in degrees of attachment to reality, and mine is that, despite being a writer who sits around most days staring into a screen, seemingly (and frequently, actually) doing nothing, I’m a handy guy.

It all started in my father’s shop — my delusion, that is. He ran his own glass and trim business and it was in his shop — a large warehouse-style space full of work tables and industrial sewing machines and five aisles of stacked fabrics and pegboard walls hung with tools — that I watched him make or fix anything and everything. It extended to home, as well. He fixed the refrigerator, the stove, the TV. He built our garage with the help of a neighbour. There wasn’t much he couldn’t fix or at least try to fix. And so I blame him for the belief I have carried my whole adult life that I not only could fix or build things, but that I should. I’ve completed, mostly successfully, a few jobs around the house over the last decade or so, but none of 14 newtrail.ualberta.ca

lines — the more I came to see that them prepared me for replacing a 32-post the thing of most value in the whole fence 77 metres in length. When the exercise was precisely that it put me out lumber arrived, they needed a special of my comfort zone. Muscles only grow crane to unload all 3,000 kilograms of by pushing them to the point where they the lumber. Three tonnes of lumber. suffer micro-tears; it’s the process of reAfter the lumber truck left, I stared at healing that actually creates the larger the three giant stacks of pressure-treated muscle. Self-belief is like that. wood. My first thought should probably My father did things for himself and have been to get moving on the teardown, believed in himself, and I can’t help but but instead I stood there wondering just think those two facts are connected. I how far over my head I really was. have always respected people in that The technical aspect of being handy, vein, no matter their station, because which is merely an extension of doing there is intrinsic value in the honest things for yourself, is actually not that effort. In some ways, you are what difficult. The Internet is a tremendous you attempt, though one or two of my resource, though you do have to be on guard for bad advice, in that the Internet, neighbours might have wished my mantra had been: you are who you hire. my daughters tell me, is not exclusively Speaking of the neighbours, perhaps staffed by well-meaning experts. But the most poignant irony was being more important than what you learn reminded that self-reliance is not about the doing of such projects is what actually the goal. I built the fence myself, you learn about yourself by taking on but the most enjoyable aspect of the the project in the first place. Learning experience was getting to know my how to handle a circular saw while neighbours better through having no standing on a rickety ladder evading fir barriers between us for a few weeks. We branches and trying to trim the cap off traded stories about the neighbourhood, a 21/2-metre post is … OK … well, actually our families, our pets. As I was putting it is rather important to learn how to up the last section, my neighbour to the do that in a literal sense. The value of west said, with a hint of melancholy, any metaphorical content will be vastly “Well, it was nice getting to know you reduced by the sight of a couple of your better.” I agreed and said I would poke fingers lying on the lawn separated from my head over every now and then to say your hand. hi. Still, it seemed far too significant a It’s hard to say precisely what was symbol putting up that last slat. the most significant physical challenge I plan to keep taking on things that or metaphorical moment of the project: make me uncomfortable and that I’m dropping a two-by-four on my temple, not really even sure I have in me, though opening up a gash. Dropping an old it may be a while before I have a go at post spike on my leg, opening up a gash. another task that big. I pinched a nerve Raking a sawtooth stump of four-byin my neck pulling out a tree stump near four across my calf, opening up a gash. the fence line, and although I don’t know Did I mention augering 32 postholes? I how long it’s going to take to heal, I can believe I have already made it clear that confidently predict that it will bother the power auger might be the most nonme for about as long as it takes me to user-friendly piece of equipment ever dodge the next major home construction invented, although I suppose it could project. After all, there’s only so much also have had something to do with the learning a man can handle. in-over-his-head operator.

But then, what’s wrong with being in over your head? In fact, the more Curtis Gillespie has written five books, I thought about it — and I had a lot of including the novel Crown Shyness, and time to think about things while sawing has earned seven National Magazine and hammering and driving screws Awards. He lives in Edmonton with his and digging holes and putting up level wife and their two daughters.

“Suck it up” — Unhelpful Advice We've All Heard

Let's change the message. Together we can help students handle the challenges of university life. No one needs to feel hopeless and alone. Participate in UAlberta Giving Day to support student mental health.

OCTOBER 13, 2015

#UAlbertaGivingDay | uab.ca/givingday

whatsoeverthingsaretrue

The Winter of My ‘Obsesso-Hyperventilitis’

IN MY MID-20S, I ENCOUNTERED SOMETHING WORSE THAN FREEZING THROUGH A JANUARY IN MONTREAL. NOW I REALIZE, I’M NOT THE ONLY ONE

in my first year of gr aduate school , I began to dread public transit.

I had grown up believing that Alberta was the coldest place in the world, but it turns out Sherbrooke Street in Montreal, in January, is colder. Still I walked it, long before the era of Canada Goose jackets, despite a reliable metro system humming underneath me.

I preferred to be out in the icy air.

When I was 24, something sinister happened if I was stuck in an enclosed space. In the metro or on a bus, my thoughts had volume. Everyone, it seemed, was listening. They knew! I would think about myself thinking about myself thinking about myself thinking, and my temperature would go up, and my heart would thump and my lungs would stop working and I would need to touch something — that woman’s perfectly black hair — or get out of the metro right now lest I faint or die or worse.

There was actually something worse than dying, or so it seemed on the metro: an imprecise, buzzing horror that was at once in me and beyond me.

I tried to make a joke of it to my closest friends, hoping one of them would say, “Oh yes, that feeling on the metro. Of course, Todd. It’s called obsesso-hyperventilitis. We all have it.”

16 newtrail.ualberta.ca

No one did. My friends were understandably alarmed by my not-atall-funny joke about touching strangers’ hair on public transit. And my “obsessohyperventilitis” spread into classrooms, into libraries, into my apartment and into the pub where I medicated it away with cheap draught beer. It reached a peak, a crisis, when I began calling in sick — for everything.

It never occurred to me to make an appointment to speak with a doctor.

I wasn’t really sick. It was something else, a vile monster inside me. I don’t remember seeing any posters or awareness campaigns on campus or anywhere else. This was long before hashtags encouraging us to talk about mental illness. Whatever was happening to me, I was not prepared to think of it as a mental illness let alone talk.

I wanted my friends and peers and professors and girlfriends to see me as

intelligent and controlled. No one would ever hire me, or date me, if they thought I was a loon.

I took multivitamins. I listened to Bach when my roommate was out. I eliminated meat. I eliminated dairy. I added them back.

And then it just went away. I had read an article in a fitness magazine, when I should have been writing an essay, about the relationship between exercise and our brains. So I turned the “obsess” part of my self-diagnosis into training five or six days a week. Maybe that had something to do with the monster going away. Maybe I just grew out of it, like acne and punk music.

I’ve met people, since then, who went through something similar — a quarterlife crisis. With my company, Story Engine, I was lucky enough to work with neuroscientists from across Alberta a few years ago. They are among the most accomplished in their field, anywhere in the world. What surprised and delighted and terrified me about these brilliant men and women was their willingness to say, “We don’t really know.”

The human brain is surely the most amazing thing on Earth, and I envy people who are lucky enough to study it. My informal brain research is on narrative and what it does to us, on our capacity for empathy and compassion and — when the time is right — action.

It’s better today, much better, for a university student than when I was 24.

But it isn’t better for everyone.

Depression and dementia affect every family. Our streets and hospitals and prisons are full of people suffering from mental illnesses.

For those of us who aren’t working in laboratories, the best we can do is to empathize, to sympathize and, when someone asks, to help. Obsessohyperventilitis? Of course, my friend.

Tell me more.

Todd Babiak, ’95 BA, co-founded the company Story Engine and has published several books, including Come Barbarians, a national bestseller.

ILLUSTRATION BY DUSHAN MILIC; PHOTO BY SELENA PHILLIPS-BOYLE

by Todd Babiak

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How do students cope when homesickness turns to isolation and course overload leads to anxiety?

18    newtrail.ualberta.ca

The answer can define a young person’s success long after university.

new trail autumn 2015 19

or David Manuntag, ’14 BCom, the daily bus ride from North Campus to his parents’ home in southwest Edmonton was normally quick and uneventful. But stepping onto the bus one cloudy May afternoon in 2010, Manuntag was carrying a massive burden. One week earlier, the first-year student had received an official notice of academic probation.

The first one in his family to attend university, Manuntag chose economics as a major without really knowing why. He soon found himself adrift. He was overwhelmed by class sizes and underwhelmed by the subject matter. He started skipping classes. Now his grades had slipped below a 2.0 average, and the kid who had graduated from high school with an above-80 per cent average didn’t know how to tell his family he was in danger of being kicked out.

“I really had no clue what I was doing or what I wanted to do. The transition from high school was difficult and I wasn’t really talking to many people. I just went to school, went to lectures and went back home. I didn’t really have a support network.”

On the bus that day, he ran into a friend from high school. They hadn’t seen each other in a while, but Manuntag was feeling in over his head and just needed to talk to someone. He sat down and told his friend what he hadn’t yet said out loud to anybody: he was thinking about quitting university. “I just wanted to get it out. I just wanted to share,” he says, recalling that day.

His friend listened carefully and then encouraged him not to give up. “Just try,” he said. “Try it for one more year. You don’t want to look back and say you didn’t try.”

That one conversation made all the difference for Manuntag. It helped him get back on track and, eventually, it would lead him to create a way to help other University of Alberta students in need of someone to listen.

20 newtrail.ualberta.ca

new trail autumn 2015 21

Canada spends more than $6 billion every year on uninsured mental health services and time off from work for depression and anxiety.

One in Five

“We take illness far more seriously than health,” social psychologist Corey Keyes says as he shows slide after slide demonstrating how mental health is waning among university students.

With his silver moustache, hipster glasses, rolledup shirtsleeves and jeans, Keyes looks more like an honorary member of the Grateful Dead than a leading mental health researcher. On this poetically gloomy day in Calgary, the professor from Emory University in Atlanta, Ga., is delivering the keynote speech at the 2015 Wellness Summit: a meeting of students, faculty and staff from 26 colleges and universities across Alberta, including 32 people from the University of Alberta. Their collective goal on this day is to develop a framework for post-secondary mental health and addiction.

Mental health is a major issue for young people.

It’s a problem that goes beyond universities and it’s a problem that goes beyond Alberta. In North America, mental illness has an earlier onset than anywhere else in the world — about a year earlier, according to Keyes. In Canada, three-quarters of mental health problems emerge during childhood or adolescence, according to the Canadian Mental Health Association. Only one in five young people who need mental health services get the help they require. “More and more students arrive at university already in treatment,” Keyes says. “Isn’t the point of life to start with a full tank?”

Keyes, who specializes in positive psychology, makes an important distinction between mental health and mental illness.

People who are clinically depressed or diagnosed with bipolar disorder could actually be thriving — as long as they are living a healthy lifestyle and have support. Likewise, someone who has never been diagnosed could be languishing — living with anxiety or depression, feeling isolated and painfully lonely, feeling overwhelmed or generally unable to cope.

Mental health in young people has become an increasingly talked-about issue, and most Canadian universities are taking action.

The National College Health Assessment was completed at the U of A for the first time in 2011 and again in 2013. The U of A is on par with other North American institutions but the numbers are disconcerting. In the 2013 survey of 5,000 randomly 22 newtrail.ualberta.ca

Steve Knish says it’s important for young people to learn resiliency — how to bend but not break.

Without this skill, they are at risk for a lot of problems.

“It’s only a failure if you stop and don’t learn anything.”

selected U of A students, half of respondents “felt things were hopeless” in the previous 12 months. Nearly two-thirds felt very lonely. More than 54 per cent felt overwhelming anxiety. And 8.5 per cent — representing 3,400 students — had seriously considered suicide.

Though more than a third of all students felt so depressed that it was difficult to function, only nine per cent reported being diagnosed or treated for depression. What happens to the rest? “If you’re free of mental illness, you’re on nobody’s radar,” says Keyes.

Students living with poor mental health are not dealing simply with a disappointing test result or a bout of homesickness. These are behaviours, thoughts or emotions that bring real suffering and can interfere with school work, jobs, how they interact with people — even students’ ability to live on their own, says the Mental Health Commission of Canada. And if these issues aren’t tackled at this stage in students’ lives, they can follow young people for decades. “If gone untreated, mental illness will follow youth into the labour market.

Among 20- to 29-year-olds, including those just entering the workforce, mental illness is prevalent and problematic,” wrote the mental health commission in a 2013 report, “Making the Case for Investing in Mental Health in Canada.” Canada spends more than $6 billion every year on uninsured mental health services and time off from work for depression and anxiety. What’s more, “languishing” adults — researcher Keyes’ term for those who have poor mental health but are not clinically depressed — miss as many workdays and visit the doctor and therapist more often than depressed adults.

The Right Time, the Right Place

University is a unique period in a person’s life. It’s a kind of crucible: a test of strength, a time and place that challenges us, but also where our adult selves are forged. Our university experiences can push us, bend us and sometimes bring us to our knees, but by the time we cross the convocation stage, we are irreversibly transformed.

As a university community — students, faculty, staff and alumni — we could view the struggles of students as a rite of passage, a necessary requirement as young people transition to adulthood. But universities are realizing they are uniquely placed to serve as a safe space, to help provide a safety net as students cross the gulf between adolescence and adulthood. Universities can create supports that help young people gain personal insights, test their boundaries, learn how to seek guidance when they need it and begin to build the resiliency they’ll need to thrive in the world beyond graduation.

As Keyes puts it: “Imagine what we could do if we didn’t make the road so God damned hard for people.”

In the past decade, the U of A has begun to place new emphasis on mental health. But it was two years ago that things really started to change, thanks to a three-year provincial grant that allowed the university to add more counsellors and become the only university in

new trail autumn 2015 23

“It’s real life, and the more you talk about it the more you face it and leave it in the past. It’s really hard but you keep going.”–Vivian Kwan

North America with a group of registered community social workers. In 2012-13, before the new funding, the campus Mental Health Centre (now Counselling and Clinical Services) treated 5,142 students and had to turn people away. In 2014-15, the centre served 7,400 students. Nobody was turned away.

That provincial funding is set to run out in 2016.

While acute care services are crucially important, the conversation on U of A campuses is increasingly centred on finding ways to intervene before students break down. The goal is to create an integrated support system that is proactive, integrated and holistic, focusing on prevention and early identification as well as building a community trained to listen and help. The idea is to make sure students are able to have the kinds of conversations that can transform a struggling young person into a flourishing adult. (See Other Supports on Campus, page 30.)

Chengtao Yan was no stranger to stress. He had encountered plenty in China’s highly competitive secondary school system. Yet, like many international students, he found the transition to Edmonton overwhelming. In his second year studying at the U of A, the environmental and conservation sciences student began to feel depressed. He found some of his classes uninteresting. His GPA was slipping. He didn’t get along with his roommates. And, as his Chinese friends graduated, he became less social. As the pressure continued to build, Yan felt increasingly isolated from his classmates. “In my major there is a big age range, so it was hard to identify with the other, older students who had already done a degree and who had a different destination. I couldn’t ask them, ‘Oh, what’s your strategy to deal with this stress?’ I started to lose my focus — I was procrastinating, not sleeping and wasting a lot of time online.”

Finally, a good friend noticed that Yan was disengaging. That friend pulled Yan aside for a conversation, urging him to see a counsellor.

“After talking to my friend and the counsellor, I started to step out. I realized that it takes time to follow your path, to find what you like. “Online video games often have user reviews with tips, like, ‘if you go this way, you can maximize your points.’ In video games, you have a pathway and you push yourself through that pathway.

But real life doesn’t work that way.”

The transition to university can be a rude awakening. It’s often the first time young people are living on their own, working and having to be 24 newtrail.ualberta.ca

responsible for themselves. University students — many of whom were their high schools’ top achievers — struggle with the expectations of this new environment: the pace, the workload, feeling unnoticed by professors in a sea of students. In order to keep up, some lose sleep. They don’t eat well.

They don’t exercise. Sometimes they turn to substance abuse or self-harm.

Steve Knish, ’94 PhD, a clinical psychologist at the U of A, calls these “welcome to the human race” problems.

“They’re trying to deal in a competitive environment. Some of them are working 16 hours outside of school. There could also be family issues.”

Half of the students Knish and his colleagues see at Counselling and Clinical Services are in their first and second year — a critical time to identify issues. And counselling staff know that if first-year students get help to manage the transition to university life, they will be more likely to succeed in their programs. Research shows that if students have a positive first six weeks of university, and if problems are identified early, they are more likely to graduate within four years.

Of course, not all students are “traditional” in that they enter university right out of high school.

Mature students face additional expectations and an array of complexities that can lead to mental health issues. International graduate students often arrive on campus with families in tow, unsure of where to find services and support. Students coming to the city from rural areas and Aboriginal students, too, face unique challenges. (See story, page 26.)

‘Is This World Even Real?’

In the waiting room, anticipating her fourth appointment with a campus-based counselling psychologist, Vivian Kwan wasn’t alone. In front of her, another student was anxiously pacing back and forth. “She reminded me of myself, nervous about something because you really don’t know what to expect,” Kwan recalls. “So I waited for her.” When the student came out of the session, her eyes were puffy and she seemed emotionally drained. “Let’s grab a coffee,” Kwan suggested.

A few months earlier, at the start of her second year at the University of Alberta, Kwan had been diagnosed with depression and anxiety. She can point to a number of factors that contributed: a heavy academic workload during her first year in neuroscience, overtaxing herself, a difficult breakup, the fact that

WHERE TO GET HELP Anxiety and depression can be a problem at any age: one in five Canadians will experience a mental illness in their lifetime. If you or someone you know is dealing with the issues described in this story, there are places to turn. Here are some resources. For assistance finding a service within the Edmonton area, call 211.

On campus Peer Support Centre 2-707 SUB 780-492-4357 (help line) 780-492-4268 (for information and appointments) } su.ualberta.ca/services/psc U of A Community Social Work Team 780-492-3342 } cswteam@ualberta.ca U of A Counselling and Clinical Services 2-600 SUB, 780-492-5205 } mentalhealth.ualberta.ca Off campus “You share it like a story, a memory. It doesn’t define you,” says Vivian Kwan, who talked openly about anxiety and depression as part of her Students’ Union campaign.

she’d move out of her parents’ home to live on campus.

Kwan felt depressed and her anxiety mounted to the point where she was afraid to leave her dorm room.

On the days she could make it to class, she would look down to find her hands shaking and cold.

Kwan’s roommate encouraged her to seek help.

After a few counselling sessions, she seemed to be doing better, so when she met Lucy and Nicole (not their real names) in the waiting room, she wanted to pay that support forward. The three women bonded over their shared struggles with mental health.

“It was like being in a confession box — even though we didn’t know each other that well, it was weirdly comfortable to share our feelings,” Kwan says.

Inspired by the progress they each felt after the counselling sessions, the trio pledged that, once they were better, they would help others in the same circumstances.

It turned out that Kwan would have to fulfil that pact on her own. The worst two weeks of Kwan’s life began the winter of 2013. A month had passed since she had last seen her two friends. Kwan texted Lucy.

Lucy replied that she wasn’t feeling well.

She hadn’t been to counselling in a while.

Kwan offered to bring her something. Lucy said no.

A few days later, Kwan learned that Lucy had taken her own life.

“It was a complete shock. I didn’t see it coming. I just thought she was sick,” Kwan says.

Unbelievably, a week later, Nicole also took her own life.

“I thought, ‘Oh my God, is this world even real?’ ” Kwan remembers through tears.

After the deaths of her friends, Kwan spiralled. She stopped going to counselling.

She didn’t go to class. She wasn’t speaking to friends. She had a hard time getting out of bed. “I dived into that dark, dark place again,” she says. “I didn’t think life could get any worse.”

Kwan began hurting herself. “I just

HealthLink (24/7) 811 City of Edmonton Assessment and Short-Term Counselling 780-496-4777 } edmonton.ca Walk-In-Counselling Society of Edmonton (WISCOE) 780-757-0900 } walkinedmonton.org The Support Network- Crisis Support Centre (24/7) 780-482-4357 } crisissupportcentre.com Adult Mental Health Crisis Response Services (24/7) 780-342-7777 Addiction Helpline (24/7) 1-866-332-2332 across Alberta Kids Help Phone 1-800-668-6868 How You Can Help This year’s U of A Giving Day, Oct. 13, will support student mental health. } uab.ca/givingday

new trail autumn 2015 25

needed that little bit of reassurance that I was still feeling something, because I wasn’t feeling anything for a long time.”

It was Kwan’s roommate who eventually saw what was happening and helped convince her to move back home.

Her family had known she was having a rough time, but they hadn’t known the extent of what had happened. It was the start of her road back to mental health, but the path was not an easy one.

When Kwan’s younger brother expressed his ambition to follow in his sister’s university footsteps, she couldn’t understand why: “You don’t want to experience things in my shoes.”

Bend, Not Break

“University tends to be a culture of a lot of work and not a lot of self-care,” says Steve Knish, the clinical psychologist.

He has worked with students through the U of A’s Counselling and Clinical Services for 13 years.

Whether it’s the dim lamp lighting, the comfortable black leather Ikea chairs, the Persian rug or the offer of tea, Knish’s office might be the most calming room on campus. His walls are covered with reminders of the stories that have been shared in this room. Photographs and a wire guitar hang above his desk.

The guitar was made by a former client, a dentistry student, who felt severely depressed. “I thought we were going to lose her.” But they didn’t. The student has since graduated and owns her own dental practice. The guitar, a token of her appreciation, is a nod to the musical hobby she and Knish share. “It’s made out of braces and dental floss,” he says.

A former hockey goalie and coach for the National Collegiate Athletic Association, Knish uses his interest in sports psychology and the trial-anderror lessons of sports to inform his yoga and group therapy programs for students. “I teach students to be mindful.

When students prioritize themselves and take care of themselves, it’s so self-healing, and that tells me it’s less about mental illness and more about connecting them to their resiliency.”

Knish describes resiliency as the ability to self-regulate, to selfmonitor — in other words, to bend but not break. “We’re trying to teach students how to work with setbacks, 26 newtrail.ualberta.ca

The shift from a small town to a city the size of Edmonton was difficult for Jenna Broomfield. The law student and throat singer is pictured onstage at this year’s Interstellar Rodeo music festival in Edmonton, where she performed with 2014 Polaris Music Prize winner Tanya Tagaq.

‘In the City, You Feel Alone’ Partway through her second year of studies at the U of A, Jenna Broomfield, hit a wall.

“The city became too big and too scary and too expensive for me to stay there,” she remembers. Broomfield was struggling with loneliness and isolation, and was also trying to juggle two jobs on top of a full academic course load. She wasn’t sleeping. Eventually, her grades suffered, too.

These issues are, sadly, not uncommon for postsecondary students: the 2013 National College Health Assessment found that approximately 85 per cent of U of A students had felt overwhelmed or mentally exhausted within the previous 12 months.

But in her case, those issues were compounded by the fact that she is an Aboriginal student.

Broomfield, ’14 BA(NativeStu), ’14 Cert(AborGov/Ptnshp), is an Inuk from North West River, a small town of about 500 people in central Labrador. Before coming to Alberta to attend university in 2007, she had never lived apart from her family and community and was forced to adapt to big-city life on her own.

“Where I came from, our next-door neighbour was my

auntie,” Broomfield says. “Our other nextdoor neighbour was my cousin. Everybody you grew up with would take care of one another. Whereas in the city you feel very alone and you don’t know who to reach out to.”

At the university, Broomfield worked toward her degree in native studies, with an eye on treaty law.

But she found herself isolated from many of her classmates, both culturally and socially. (Broomfield lives her life on the “red road”— meaning she abstains from alcohol.)

Without a car, she found it difficult to get around.

And her financial situation meant it was difficult to see her family, even during winter break. “You can get to South America cheaper than you can get to my hometown,” she says.

So when things got too overwhelming, Broomfield moved back home for a year to reassess. She worked as a substitute teacher and reconnected with Inuit culture through local drum and throatsinging groups. Her inspiration to return to her studies came during a chance trip to an indigenous youth gathering

“Where I came from, our next-door neighbour was my auntie. In the city, you don’t know who to reach out to.”–Jenna Broomfield

in Vancouver, which turned out to be a recruitment for the 2010 Winter Olympics. Broomfield was one of 300 indigenous dancers whose group performance became part of the opening ceremonies. “[These youth] are doing the things they want to do,” Broomfield remembers thinking. “Some are staying in the communities and some are leaving. Why can’t I?” The thought motivated her.

Broomfield returned to Edmonton and took up her studies with vigour.

Her grades improved. She started looking forward to her future again. Plus, this time around she took advantage of the supports offered by the Faculty of Native Studies, from a special housing program for indigenous students to free food and exercise programs on campus.

Today, she is going into her second year of law school at the U of A. She still thinks of the Faculty of Native Studies as her “saving grace” and commends its attentiveness to the unique challenges Aboriginal students can face. “They’re the ones who reached out to their students—and who understood that they needed to reach out to those students.” –michael hingston new trail autumn 2015 27

“At some point or another we’re all going to be affected by mental health. We’re all responsible for creating a healthy and well community.”–Paisly Symenuk

Unitea founders David Manuntag and Maggie Tong (pictured here and on pages 18 and 21), who now live in Vancouver, say the simple act of drinking tea allows people to actively listen. No phones. No distractions.

assignment, he invented a new kind of student group: Unitea, a one-to-one conversation over tea. Given his experience with isolation and anxiety — and the impact of that conversation on the bus — he wanted to make that simple connection available to all students. “I wanted it to be something that anyone could do. You didn’t have to be in business or know someone or be part of something already.”

After launching Unitea in September 2012 with his girlfriend, Maggie Tong, ’14 BScN(Hons), Manuntag was surprised at how much his little idea resonated with the student community. “When two people share an experience, like drinking tea, it’s a lot easier to get on the same page, slow down and just start talking,” he says. “Students are so often on their phones, they’re only half engaged or half there. With tea, the only thing you can have in your hand is the cup of tea, so it allows you to be engaged and listen.”

Tong reflects on the strength of such a simple concept as conversation. “It can make people brave, make them passionate. If talking to them for half an hour changes someone’s trajectory, then it’s worth it.” Manuntag now lives in Vancouver, where he works as a software developer. The Unitea program will be revived and expanded at the U of A in coming months and he hopes it will inspire Students turn to each other before they seek out formal supports, says Sheena Abar, other students to make a difference. (foreground) who co-ordinates the U of A’s Community Social Work Team and helps Connection and conversation can be train Community Helpers, such as nursing student Paisly Symenuk (right). powerful tools to support mental health.

“Students turn to informal supports before they turn to formal supports: their family, their because they just have no idea what to do with a friends, their community,” says Sheena Abar, who co-ordinates the negative experience, where to go with it. But these Community Social Work Team at the U of A. Abar’s team has created experiences need to be normalized: you keep going, a series of outreach initiatives aimed at bringing students together, you keep trying. It’s only a failure if you stop and don’t building community and reducing loneliness. learn anything.”

Community Helpers workshops train students, faculty and staff Students cannot flourish without first being to recognize warning signs and give them the tools to help. “Our resilient. Anything less puts them at high risk for a lot mission is to make campus a place where people feel welcome, feel of problems. comfortable, feel safe, where they want to come and connect with others,” says Abar. Community Helpers and the university’s other outreach initiatives, including suicide prevention training, reached Sip, Chat, Connect more than 10,000 students in 2014-15 alone.

David Manuntag’s 20-minute conversation on the bus The U of A’s large population can be overwhelming for students, was a turning point. That brief connection with an but it’s also an opportunity to create a robust community network of old friend gave him the encouragement he needed awareness and support for mental health. Listening, asking questions to pursue his dream of going to business school. “My and connecting can be seen as a simple thing but it is difficult to do it friend was one of the first people to tell me that I could effectively — and has a more resounding echo in the world — than we do it, that it was possible.” realize.

Manuntag found his niche in the bachelor of “Everyone is responsible for everyone,” says Paisly Symenuk, commerce program. For an entrepreneurship 28 newtrail.ualberta.ca

new trail autumn 2015 29

“Students turn to informal supports before they turn to formal supports: their family, their friends, their community.”–Sheena Abar

OTHER SUPPORTS ON CAMPUS Here are just a few of the programs you might not know about that support mental health on campus: Aboriginal Student Services Centre Services include the Transition Year Program, help with scholarships and funding, housing support, student advising, Elder services, cultural connections, a smudge room and social work support. } aboriginalservices.ualberta.ca Crisis Intervention Training The long-term goal is to see all U of A student services staff trained to properly respond to someone in crisis with the certified QPR Suicide Gatekeeper training. Offered by the Community Social Work Team, the training is also open to students. } community.ualberta.ca Fall Break Week A student-generated idea, the new Fall Break Week offers an academic break for students and an opportunity to build the campus community before the stressful exam and holiday season.

Helping Individuals at Risk (HIAR) and Early Feedback System Co-ordinated systems that train faculty and staff to notice and report students having problems academically and intervene before those problems escalate. The system also provides a confidential, central location to report those at risk of harm to self or others. } disclosure.ualberta.ca/en/Helping_Individuals_ at_Risk.aspx } augustana.ualberta.ca/programs/lab/resources/ early_feedback_system.html Student Success Centre (SSC) Whether it’s helping students prepare for university life or deal with their academics, the SSC strives to help students proactively deal with common mental health stressors. } studentsuccess.ualberta.ca } studentsuccess.ualberta.ca/T2U.aspx Suicide Prevention Framework A co-ordinated and comprehensive project that is building on the existing network of programs and services to proactively prevent suicide among students at the U of A. Unwind Your Mind (Healthy Campus Unit) Designed to help students de-stress during exam periods, the program includes pet-assisted stress relief, fitness classes and healthy snack handouts.

30 newtrail.ualberta.ca

a nursing student who has completed the Community Helpers program and is helping bring Unitea back to campus. Symenuk, like many, struggled during her first year and thought about dropping out. She draws on that experience as she works to help support other students — a role she feels is her responsibility. “However you define your community, we all have a role to play, and at some point or another we’re all going to be affected by mental health. We’re all responsible for creating a healthy and well community.”

A Rising Tide

The university community can offer support, guidance and inspiration, but, like any journey, students have to find their own path.

Resiliency has to start with the students themselves. They have to seek out connections, look for supports and share their stories in order to grow.

When Vivian Kwan began to recover from her depression, she was encouraged by organizers of the student-led Healthy Campus Unit to join their efforts. Before long, she began to find her footing. She joined several campus groups, including the Student Health Committee and the Lieutenant Governor’s Circle for Mental Health and Addiction. She is a co-creator of Positive U, an initiative to help foster resiliency among students and get people talking. Last spring, Kwan was elected to the Students’ Union executive board as vice-president of student life.

One of Kwan’s goals is to build awareness around student mental health. The resiliency she developed has given her strength to forge ahead and carve out a transformative university experience. Now she wants to develop strategies to help other students learn how to cope before a crisis hits, before they find themselves at the end of a closed road where it seems there’s no way out.

Students who seek help often become helpers themselves, and not only helpers, but leaders. The more they get involved — looking out for each other, intervening when they see someone struggling — the stronger leaders they become and the stronger the community becomes. And those campus leaders go on to become compassionate citizens who listen and build a better society.

Our university experiences change us, for better or for worse.

They push us to cope, to grow, to discover. A system of support, both informal and formal, can help students find their way and make the whole experience just a little less scary. So many student mental health issues can be overcome with a listening ear, a helping hand and a calming presence.

In her Students’ Union campaign speech, Kwan shared her struggle with mental illness. “I didn’t think I’d be brave enough to give that speech. People came up to me and said, ‘I didn’t know.’ ... After the speech I wondered why I was afraid to share my story. I mean, it’s something that happened, it’s real life, and the more you talk about it the more you face it and leave it in the past. You share it like a story, a memory. It doesn’t define you.”

And if she could go back and give herself advice, what would she tell her troubled first- and second-year self? “Hang out with friends more. Enjoy the outdoors a little bit more. Build relationships, even if it’s a 10- or 15-minute conversation. Take time to talk to someone about how you feel, even if how you feel is tinged with negativity....

It’s really hard, but you keep going.”

ALUMNI AWARDS UNIV ER SI T Y OF A L BERTA

Meet 28 outstanding alumni, from a bat scientist broadcaster to the ‘Winston Churchill of American psychiatry’ by sarah pratt

new trail autumn 2015 31

POSITIVELY BATTY ABOUT SCIENCE Through TV, print and teaching, he shares his love for the world around us

I

t might be unoriginal to call Dan Riskin, ’97 BSc, Batman, but he really is. The co-host of Discovery Channel’s Daily Planet is one of the most enthusiastic bat scientists you will ever meet. Ask him about catching yellow-shouldered bats in Belize or vampire bats in Trinidad.

He might even keep you enthralled with stories of dog-faced fruit bats flying in a wind tunnel.

Riskin is motivated by fun, he says, and his job with Daily Planet exposes him to the most interesting stories from around the world.

After the success last year of his first book, Mother Nature Is Trying to Kill You: A Lively Tour Through the Dark Side of the Natural World, he is busy planning a second publication. And if his schedule isn’t busy enough, he has taken on a position as an adjunct professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Toronto Mississauga, where he’s working with friend and fellow bat expert John Ratcliffe.

Together, they are researching how bats echolocate and fly at the same time — or, as Riskin puts it, how bats “chew gum and walk.”

When Riskin reflects on his time at the University of Alberta, he remembers that, despite its size, the U of A felt like a community.

He also recalls his excitement at meeting John Acorn, ’80 BSc(Spec), ’88 MSc, then TV’s Acorn the Nature Nut, now a U of A instructor. Acorn invited Riskin on a trip to film Mexican free-tailed bats in Texas. It was Riskin’s first real foray into science TV and an opportunity to hang out with the crew and learn about how the process worked with the host, cameraman and sound person.

“This past winter, when I came to Green & Glow Winterfest, I saw John again and that was amazing,” says Riskin.

“He even showed me pictures

32 newtrail.ualberta.ca

from that Texas trip. He’s such a legend.”

Riskin has more than a few fans, too. His genuine excitement about science is contagious. He tries to live by some wise advice he heard while studying at Cornell University, during a seminar for grad students on how to become a successful professor. One of the speakers, professor Rick Harrison, said something that Riskin has never forgotten.

“He seemed to be winning at the work-life balance,” says Riskin.

“His advice? ‘There’s an inverse relationship between the apparent urgency of things and their actual importance.’ That has stuck with me in a big way. I interpreted that sentence to mean one needs to think long term. I honestly think it’s one of the wisest sentences I’ve ever heard.”

When Riskin isn’t delving into science, he happily puts on his dad hat. He and his wife, Shelby, have three young children.

“My oldest has fallen in love with bike-riding, which is something I’ve always loved,” says Riskin.

DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARD The Alumni Association’s most prestigious award, recognizing living graduates whose outstanding achievements have earned them national or international prominence

“And the twins are revealing more and more of their charming personalities to us each day.

Shelby and I are really enjoying parenthood.”

Although he lives in Toronto, he never forgets his Alberta roots.

“This award is a huge honour. It’s really special to be getting this at home.”

ALUMNI HONOUR AWARD

ALAN D. FIELDING ’65 BA, ’69 LLB

TODD HIRSCH ’89 BA(Hons)

Fielding is a founding partner of Fielding & Co. LLP and a longtime Rotarian who received a Governor General’s Caring Canadian Award in 2014.

This chief economist with ATB Financial and contributing writer for the Globe and Mail was honoured with Canada’s Diamond Jubilee Medal.

FRANK JENKINS ’66 BEd, ’71 MEd, ’87 PhD

ORYSSIA LENNIE ’69 BA

SHAR LEVINE ’74 BA

Jenkins is a multi-award-winning science educator who has travelled the world to work on projects that inspire teachers and students.

After 35 years in constitutional and public policy development, Lennie devotes time to the United Way and the Alberta Research and Innovation Authority.

Levine is an award-winning writer and designer of children’s science books. She sits on national literary and literacy boards.

KRISTA MONSON ’91 BA

THOMAS E. MORIMOTO ’49 BSc(ChemEng), ’52 MSc

ALFRED NIKOLAI ’73 BPE

Monson is a stage director for Cirque du Soleil and a choreographer who was featured in a 2012 CNN series titled Leading Women.

Morimoto is a pioneer of the energy industry. He brought his engineering expertise to Dubai as manager of an internationalscale gas project.

After a career in education and government, Nikolai moved on to Habitat for Humanity and is dedicated to building homes and hope for low-income families.

Recognizing the significant contributions made over a number of years

by University of Alberta alumni in their local communities and beyond

PHOTO BY VANESSA HEINS

new trail autumn 2015 33

ALUMNI CENTENARY AWARD Celebrating alumni who have made an uncommon gift of time, self and energy to the University of Alberta

HELEN KWAN YEE CHEUNG ’13 MA

EDMOND LEVASSEUR ’67 BEd

TREVOR MAK ’82 BCom, ’84 MBA

Cheung is a dedicated U of A volunteer who curated a historical exhibition at the Bruce Peel Special Collections Library and helps collect archival material.

Levasseur has spent his life as an educator. He served on the U of A Senate, helped introduce U School and works to promote Campus Saint-Jean.

Mak is a senior banking executive developing private banking business for Greater China in Hong Kong. He leads the Alumni Association’s Hong Kong chapter.

ALUMNI INNOVATION AWARD Recognizing alumni who have significantly influenced their profession, community, the U of A or society at large by developing an innovative program, process or product

Ray Muzyka, ’90 BMedSc, ’92 MD, and Greg Zeschuk, ’90 BMedSc, ’92 MD, parlayed their passion for video games into a billiondollar business. As freshly minted University of Alberta-trained doctors in 1995, they co-founded BioWare. Initially operated out of Zeschuk’s basement, the company evolved into an award-winning juggernaut. At the invitation of LucasArts, founded by filmmaker George Lucas, the company created Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, which won Game of the Year at the Game Developers Choice Awards in 2004. Muzyka and Zeschuk were inducted into the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame in 2011 and received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Game Developers Choice Awards in 2013. They are both involved now in other ventures — Zeschuk with The Beer Diaries and Muzyka with ThresholdImpact.

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BUILDING THE COMMUNITY Learning a hard lesson early on and continuing to learn in life were key to success for this real estate developer

T

im Melton, ’69 BCom, is a man who learns from his mistakes.

As a freshman at the U of A, he skipped classes and didn’t study. “I fell dreadfully behind and dropped out in my first year,” he says. “Luckily, I was reaccepted, and the second time around I made sure I didn’t fall behind.”

Now a real estate developer and executive chairman of Melcor Developments Ltd. with a career spanning more than four decades and counting, Melton continues to learn from the people and experiences in his life. He thinks of himself as a student of human behaviour, both in his work and his personal life, always looking to better understand people. One of his guiding principles, passed down through his family, is “the Golden Rule” — treat others as you would like to be treated.

“Basically, all people inspire me,” he says. “Everyone has their own issues and they try to do their best given their qualities and circumstances. I try to put myself in their shoes.”

DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARD The Alumni Association’s most prestigious award, recognizing living graduates whose outstanding achievements have earned them national or international prominence

He particularly admires people like Helen Keller, who overcame the tremendous adversity of being blind and deaf to become a well-known humanitarian and journalist. “Also, I admire leaders, in all fields, who graciously handle PHOTO BY JOHN ULAN

stress, pressure and criticism while making personal sacrifices.”

Melton has been involved in all aspects of the real estate business.

He is proud of having built communities and provided shelter for people and businesses for 45 years. You could say real estate is in his blood. Melcor began in 1923 as Melton Real Estate Ltd., a family real estate brokerage business in which both his grandfather and father have played roles.

Melton believes it’s important to be involved in his community.

Helping others gives him personal satisfaction and a sense of purpose, he says. The company also values community service, encouraging its employees to contribute to their communities.

Melton has served on public and private boards, and worked with business and community organizations including Junior Achievement Northern Alberta and N.W.T., the Edmonton Police Foundation, the Edmonton YMCA, the Edmonton Eskimos Football Club and Newman Theological College, among others. His community work has earned him the Northern Lights Award of Distinction from the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce, induction into the City of Edmonton’s Community Service Hall of Fame and the YMCA Fellowship of Honour.

Despite his professional achievements and extensive community involvement, Melton says he is humbled to be recognized with a Distinguished Alumni Award. “Considering my [initially] rather mediocre academic record at the U of A, I was pleasantly surprised to receive recognition from this great institution.” new trail autumn 2015 35

SPORTS WALL OF FAME Recognizing the contributions of alumni as athletes and builders of university sport

DEBRA BARNETT (COVEY) ’83 BPE, ’89 MA

JENNY BENKIE (CARTMELL) ’03 BPE

Barnett is a field hockey player and coach who competed in the 1988 and 1992 Olympic Games.

She is head coach of the Newtown City Hockey Club in Australia.

Benkie is a national volleyball champion and former captain of the Pandas volleyball team. In 2011 she was inducted into the Alberta Volleyball Hall of Fame.

DOUG BRUCE ’01 BA

DALE SCHULHA ’72 BPE, ’74 MSc, ’74 Dip(Ed)

After multiple awards as a varsity volleyball player, including oustanding male athlete of the year, Bruce went on to play professionally around the world.

A national varsity football champ who became U of A director of athletics, he won the AustinMatthews Award for contribution to interuniversity sport in 2014.

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A LIFE OF LEADERSHIP Early involvement in campus life laid the foundation for a future built on hard work and contributing to community

F

rancis M. Saville, ’62 BA, ’65 LLB, believes the keys to success in life are energy, hard work and a desire to succeed — not only in the material sense but also by contributing to the world in which you live.

“As Canadians, we occupy a unique position in the world.

As individuals we all need to do our part, be it at the community, local, provincial, federal or international level.”

His dedication to community service was evident even before he started a long career in law.

During his time at the University of Alberta, he served as president of the Students’ Union, the United Nations Club and the Phi Kappa Pi fraternity. As student union president, he was one of the determined group that championed the construction of the Students’ Union Building on North Campus — a project called unique in an October 1967 Time magazine article because it was initiated, planned, built and operated by students.

One of Saville’s early mentors and role models was Cliff Prowse, a lawyer and later a justice of the Alberta Court of Appeal, with

DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARD The Alumni Association’s most prestigious award, recognizing living graduates whose outstanding achievements have earned them national or international prominence

whom Saville worked as a junior in the Calgary law firm of Fenerty Robertson Fraser & Hatch. He was inspired by Prowse’s dedication and perseverance and says he never met another lawyer who worked so hard. “After the Second World PHOTO BY JOHN ULAN

War, where he was shot down, lost his leg and ended up a PoW, Cliff returned to the U of A to get his law degree — an impossible act to follow,” says Saville.

Saville spent his early career as a litigator. He eventually turned to energy and environmental law, thriving on the challenge of helping develop new projects in oilsands, pipelines and other industrial development. In the 1990s, he branched out into the business world, serving as a director of Nexen Inc. from 1995 to 2013, and as a director for Mullen Group from 1993 to 2005.

He was also a founding member, director and chair of the Canadian Institute of Resources Law at the University of Calgary.

His volunteer work has included serving as Canada Olympic Park volunteer chairman for the 1988 XV Olympic Winter Games in Calgary, as trustee and chair with the Lester B. Pearson United World College of the Pacific (now Pearson College UWC), and in roles with the Shock Trauma Air Rescue Service (STARS) board. He still serves as an adviser with the Global Leadership Foundation, an international non-profit group that allows former leaders to confidentially share experiences with today’s national leaders.

Since retiring from law five years ago and from corporate director roles in 2013, Saville and his wife, Linda (whom he met in the Rutherford Library in 1961), have been enjoying their children and grandchildren, as well as their motorhome.

“We love the outdoors but at this stage of our lives we prefer ‘roughing it smoothly,’” he jokes.

Looking back over his university years, Saville says, “It was a lifeforming experience that became the foundation for the future.”

THE HONOURABLE DR. LOIS E. HOLE STUDENT SPIRIT AWARD Recognizing undergraduate students who demonstrate a spirit of caring and community service

BRETTON HARI ’12 BSc Hari is a U of A medical student who also spends time as a fundraiser, musician and volunteer for non-profit groups.

BLUE KNOX Knox has travelled the world to work, study and volunteer as a play worker in Cambodia and with Leadership Africa USA in Washington, D.C. new trail autumn 2015 37

ALUMNI HORIZON AWARD

SALEEM KHALDOON AL-NUAIMI ’09 BMedSc, ’10 MD

VERA CAINE ’98 BScN, ’02 MN, ’07 PhD

A child and adolescent psychiatrist who is helping Syrian refugees with mental health care, he also volunteers with an international relief group.

An associate professor in the Faculty of Nursing, Caine works with community organizations such as the Mustard Seed and HIV Edmonton.

MARY PINKOSKI ’99 BA, ’06 BEd

KRISTOPHER WELLS ’94 BEd, ’03 MEd, ’11 PhD

CARY WILLIAMS ’03 BCom

Edmonton’s former poet laureate is an award-winning spoken-word educator and slam poet who created the city’s youth poet laureate position.

Wells is an award-winning researcher and human rights advocate for sexual and gender minority youth. He helped create Camp fYrefly and other initiatives.

An associate private wealth counsellor, Williams is a business leader who started the charitable group 100 Men YEG.

Celebrating the outstanding achievements of University of Alberta alumni early in their careers

COME MEET OUR AWARD ‑WINNING ALUMNI SEPT. 24 AT EDMONTON’S JUBILEE AUDITORIUM. PRE-REGISTER FOR THIS COMPLIMENTARY EVENT AT UALBERTA.CA/ALUMNI-WEEKEND/ALUMNI-AWARDS.

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50 YEARS A CHAMPION He has devoted his career to protecting and serving the mentally ill and disadvantaged

C

olleagues have called Harold Eist, ’61 MD, the Winston Churchill of American psychiatry.

As a forceful, eloquent advocate for the mentally ill during 50 years of practice, he has been a leader and an agent of change in the medical community.

Eist was director of a mental health clinic in one of Washington, D.C.’s, most deprived communities, where for 25 years he treated “ill and dangerous patients,” both children and adults. His work earned him the honour of Washingtonian of the Year in 1979.

The clinic became a major private resource for people living with mental illness in the D.C. area, receiving the American Psychiatric Association’s Gold Award.

He now works in child and adolescent psychiatry and psychoanalysis in Bethesda, Md.,

DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARD The Alumni Association’s most prestigious award, recognizing living graduates whose outstanding achievements have earned them national or international prominence

and continues to be driven by a desire to help the disadvantaged.

He says he’s motivated by the unfairness of life.

“We have to try to make it more fair,” he says. “My patients inspire me to work hard, to learn and constantly challenge myself to find more creative ways to help.”

His drive to help the less fortunate was sparked when he was a young university student and travelled to the Caribbean PHOTO BY LEN DEPAS

nation of Saint Kitts and Nevis with the non-profit group World University Service of Canada. At the time Nevis, a small island, had no doctor, he recalls, and people would have to cross the water to Saint Kitts for medical attention. He planned to return to help the people there, but then he moved to D.C. and “realized there were severely disadvantaged people in [America’s] capital,” says Eist. “There were people that needed help right there, so I ended up staying.”

Former colleagues credit Eist for his role in protecting the confidentiality of patient records in American psychiatric medicine, risking his medical licence for his conviction. He was recognized with a courage award from the American Psychiatric Association, as well as other honours, for his actions.

Over the course of his career, Eist has served as president of the American Psychiatric Association and as the North American representative on the board of the World Psychiatric Association. He wrote hundreds of journal articles, newspaper columns and book chapters, was called upon to testify before senate and congressional committees and provided commentary for Washington Post, New York Times, 60 Minutes, 20/20 and CBS Evening News.

When Eist thinks back on his time at the U of A, he remembers the friends he made, working as a columnist for The Gateway and founding the Student Philosophical Society. But his best campus memory is meeting his wife, Ann. “I don’t know how a wonderful woman like that has put up with me all these years,” he says. new trail autumn 2015 39

On July 1, David Turpin began his duties as the University of Alberta’s 13th president, getting to know campus better and working to define the priorities for his term. At the same time, the U of A community has been getting to know Turpin. To that end, we present some facts about the new president. For more, watch “Conversations with the President” at newtrail.ualberta.ca.

MEET THE P

BY GEOFF McMASTER n PHOTOS BY RICHARD SIEMENS

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I

t all started with the World Book Science yearbook. His parents bought him the book in Grade 4, and he was particularly inspired by images of Earth taken from the Gemini space capsules. “The book said these photographs would be of great use for geographers and oceanographers,” recalls Turpin.

“And I asked my mom, ‘What’s an oceanographer?’ She told me and I said, ‘That’s what I want to be.’ ” Turpin went on to receive a PhD in botany/ oceanography from the University of British Columbia in 1980. à He worked his way through university as a scuba instructor. In fact, one of Turpin’s first mentors, when he was a young teenager, was his own scuba instructor. “I learned from him the importance of taking responsibility for people around you.” à His major body of academic work is in the area of photosynthesis, respiration and nitrogen assimilation. The title of his PhD thesis was “Processes in nutrient-based phytoplankton ecology.” à His proudest moment was winning the Queen’s University alumni award for excellence in teaching. “When I started off, I wasn’t a very good teacher. I was extremely nervous. I paid a lot of attention to people who were far better than I was. …

I talked to people; I read about how to be better in the classroom. So when I was

PRESIDENT David Turpin, photographed in the office of first University of Alberta president Henry Marshall Tory

new trail autumn 2015 41

A Passion for Education The new president’s wife, Suromitra Sanatani, has a passion for education. “My parents were professors, my aunts and uncles ... and of course my husband,” she says. “There’s a component of education, I think, that’s a real key to changing people’s lives.” Here are a few more facts about Sanatani.

She holds a law degree from the University of Ottawa. She has also held vice-president roles at Partnerships BC and the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. “My career has always been about bringing together people of different backgrounds.”

Before law, there was French. She is fluent in French (also German) and holds a BA in French literature from UVic. Victor Hugo, JeanPaul Sartre and Gabrielle Roy are among her favourites.

honoured with that award, I was extraordinarily proud to receive it because of the hard work that went into it. What that taught me was that it’s important to recognize your weaknesses, because if you know what they are then you can work on them.” à Before coming to the U of A, he was president of the University of Victoria.

From 2010 to 2013. à He has been involved in more than 250 meetings about the U of A before even starting his term as president.

“So many people we’ve met speak with fierce pride about the U of A and have shared with us their belief that this university — having already made countless contributions — has the potential to have an even greater impact on the well-being of the city, province and country.” à During his time as president of UVic, Aboriginal enrolment increased tenfold. From around 80 students when he started to more than 1,000 when he 42 newtrail.ualberta.ca

stepped down. “The fastest-growing youth population in Canada is our First Nations population, and yet educational attainment in that population is amongst the lowest in the nation. There’s a huge responsibility we have as Canadians and as academics to reach out and provide opportunities for Aboriginal students.” à He believes a public institution should take on tough issues.

Universities have a responsibility to participate in public discourse on tough and controversial issues, says Turpin. “One of the things I love about universities: you’ve got this incredible group of extraordinarily talented people who are working on issues that really matter to society.

And one of our responsibilities is to talk openly about them.” à In his free time, he heads for the outdoors. Turpin and his wife, Suromitra Sanatani, are looking forward to exploring the many opportunities to get out and get active in Alberta. “Suromitra and I just love

Until recently, she was chair of the Royal BC Museum. “What an opportunity to tell people where we’ve been and inform us about where we’re going.”

Her varied volunteer roles have included the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and UVic Board of Governors.

She’s looking forward to meeting more alumni.

“Those I have met so far are very passionate about the university.” –lisa cook

being outside. We love boating. We have a place in the wilderness that we retreat to and really enjoy being out in nature.” à Edmonton is already starting to feel like home. “Suromitra and I have been so warmly welcomed into this community—we have never felt anything like it.”

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by SCOTT ROLLANS, ’82 BA

Pat Kiernan,

’90 BCom

PHOTO BY JOHN ULAN; ALAMY (SPIDER-MAN)

As morning news anchor for NY1 (and star of countless TV and movie cameos, including one in the upcoming Ghostbusters reboot), he is one of New York City’s most recognizable faces. We recently caught up to Kiernan just before his daily afternoon nap.

Even as a quintessential New Yorker, you hang onto some Canadianisms. For example, I understand you eat Shreddies cereal for breakfast every morning. How do you maintain your supply? For years, it’s been very simple. Whenever I go home [to Canada], I bring an extra suitcase, and whenever anyone comes to visit us, they’re under orders to bring several boxes of Shreddies. The economics have changed since the airlines started charging $25 for an extra bag. Now I tend to just order a crate online. It costs about the same as my extra bags — and I don’t have to explain it at customs.

I’m a crispy Shreddies guy, but I understand you leave yours until they’re soggy. What’s the magic there? I think one time when I was six years old I accidentally soaked them and decided they tasted better that way.

Your face seems to pop up whenever a movie or TV show needs a newscaster character.

That must be fun. Last year,

somebody put together that I am the only character that crosses over the Marvel Comics universes. I don’t read the comics enough to have a full appreciation of how significant that is, but there are those who assure me that it’s a big deal. [Every other character] appears in one universe or the other.

I did an episode of Nurse Jackie last year, and this time they actually stuck Pat Kiernan into the script. I had to show up at the hospital and check myself into the emergency room and complain that I was fatigued and needed their help. That was actually like acting — I even had lines to memorize. It was my most challenging role to date. [Laughs] I’m sure you get recognized all the time in the United States. Does it ever happen in Canada? My father-in-law is a retired professor [Mel Lerohl, ’60 BSc(Ag)], and we were having dinner at the Faculty Club a few years ago on one of our Edmonton visits. I was parking on campus, and the attendant actually recognized me from my old Global/ITV days.

Any U of A memories from your time as a student? I remember one of the best business courses I took. For a semester we broke a class of students into labour and management groups, and we had to hammer out a collective bargaining agreement for the projectionists at Cineplex Odeon Corp. To this day, when we cover labour-management issues [in newscasts], I think of the things I learned in that course.

And, about halfway through my degree, a couple of things happened.

One, I did some volunteer work at CJSR, the campus radio station, which led to an opportunity to do Saturday and Sunday newscasts for what was at the time 96 K-Lite. Then I got involved with the campus newspaper, The Gateway, which is where I really got to know my wife [Dawn Kiernan, ’91 BA]. And those two things led me quite firmly onto the journalism path.

In other words, you can draw a straight line from CJSR to your news desk at NY1. You really can — you’re right! new trail autumn 2015 45

what’sbrewing

by Greg Zeschuk

brew 20 or 30 barrels at a time.)

The Golden Brown Dandy is an English pale ale, which should have a pleasant malty backbone supporting an English-style hop character. (English hops tend to have more earthy or herbal qualities versus the pine resin and citrus quality of many American hops.)

And this beer nails it. On first taste, the Golden Brown Dandy shows a herbal, almost steeped-tea bitterness balanced with spicy biscuit malt. This follows through the finish, and the smooth carbonation enhances the dryness and complexity. Hearty and refreshing, it’s a perfect beer for those slightly cooler summer days leading into fall.

RUNDLESTONE SESSION ALE

(Late) Summer Brews

THERE’S JUST ENOUGH SUNSHINE AND HEAT LEFT TO WET YOUR WHISTLE WITH THESE THREE SUMMER FAVOURITES FROM ALBERTA BREWERIES

ice. cold. beer . To me, summer wouldn’t be summer without it.

Whether quenching your thirst on a sunny patio or accompanying a perfectly grilled burger at a backyard barbecue, beer is synonymous with Canada’s fair-weather months. Here, I’m showcasing great Alberta-made beer that can pair up with our summer highs, lows and everything in between. Read on for a few of my summer beer picks.

SCONA GOLD

by Alley Kat Brewing Co., Edmonton

By far my easiest choice, this Kölschstyle beer was just named 2015 Beer of the Year at the Canadian Brewing Awards. Technically, to be a true Kölsch, the beer must be brewed in Cologne, Germany, but Alley Kat took a shot at this iconic style and came up with a true winner.

Like any good Kölsch, Scona Gold pours a straw-gold colour and shows absolutely brilliant clarity and sparkling character. Grainy and bready malt notes dance with pear and citrus hops in 46 newtrail.ualberta.ca

perfect balance. It finishes slightly dry and fruity with just enough bitterness to demand another sip. Crisp and light for those scorching summer days, Scona Gold is great for simple quaffing or deep contemplation of its elegant craftsmanship.

GOLDEN BROWN DANDY ALE

by Dandy Brewing Co., Calgary

One of Alberta’s newest breweries, Dandy is a true nano-brewery, producing volumes of only three barrels at a time. (For comparison, it’s not uncommon for regional breweries to

Greg Zeschuk, ’90 BMedSc, ’92 MD, is executive director of the Alberta Small Brewers Association and a beer judge recognized by the Beer Judge Certification Program. He is a beer writer for AskMen.com and runs a beer media channel called The Beer Diaries.

BEER PHOTO BY RICHARD SIEMENS, TOP PHOTO BY JOHN ULAN

by Grizzly Paw Brewing Co., Canmore, Alta.

And finally, another pale ale, but this time it’s a hybrid — with a twist! Grizzly Paw’s Rundlestone Session Ale uses English malts and adds a combination of American and English-origin hops, but its key distinguishing factor is that it’s a “session ale.” In the beer world, the term “session” has special meaning: the beer has the expected flavour but a lower alcohol content. While your average beer has an alcohol by volume (ABV) of five per cent, the Rundlestone has 4.5 per cent. So, the suggestion is that you can enjoy multiple beers in a single session (without getting too carried away).

The Rundlestone pours a golden, amber colour with a light cloudiness.

The aroma has notes of grassy, earthy hops with a hint of citrus and spicy, caramel-tinged malt. The finish is delightfully gentle with interwoven bitterness, and it displays the light body characteristic of most session ales and a clean, dry finish. Definitely a nice beer to enjoy on the patio.

ALUMNI EVENTS

THINGS TO DO AT ALUMNI WEEKEND 2015 SEPT. 24 | ALUMNI AWARDS Join us at the Jubilee Auditorium in Edmonton for an inspirational evening celebrating some of the U of A’s most outstanding graduates.

SEPT. 25 | CAP ’N GOWN All graduates of the Class of 1965 are invited to join us for a celebration marking the 50th anniversary of their convocation.

SEPT. 25 | GREEN & GOLD DAY, FEATURING SOCK FIGHT! Show your U of A spirit by wearing green and gold. Meet in Quad on North Campus at noon for an aerial photo. Afterward, join in the second annual Sock Fight — duck, dive and toss 2,015 pairs of socks that will be cleaned and donated to local charities.

REGIONAL ACTIVITIES Stay involved with the U of A through one of the more than 50 active alumni chapters around the world. Check online for information about events near you.

EDMONTON | SEPT. 11 President Turpin Alumni Reception EDMONTON | SEPT. 26 Pride Alumni Chapter ‘Grad You Never Had’ Celebration at RATT EDMONTON | SEPT. 26 Library and Information Studies Alumni Association Reunion Brunch EDMONTON | SEPT. 26 Dental Hygiene Alumni Chapter Reunion Reception CALGARY | OCT. 6 President Turpin Alumni Reception EDMONTON | OCT. 14 Educated Luncheon TORONTO | OCT. 26 President Turpin Alumni Reception VICTORIA | NOV. 1 Annual Alumni Brunch VANCOUVER | NOV. 3 President Turpin Alumni Reception EDMONTON | DEC. 9 Educated Luncheon

SEPT. 25-26 | THE TENT Be in the centre of the action for the weekend’s festivities. Event info, campus tours, pancake breakfast, beer gardens, family-friendly activities — it’s all here!

SEPT. 25 | THE DEN: SPEAKEASY AND CASINO Earn “Bear Bucks” for great prizes in the fun-money casino, get mixology lessons and unwind with friends in the relaxing jazz hideaway.

SEPT. 26 | THE NEXT 100 YEARS Come to a TED talk-style event featuring Alumni Award recipients sharing their predictions for the “Next 100 years” — what might change and what might stay the same.

More on all events at ualberta.ca/alumni/weekend

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES CAPS CAREER FORUMS EDMONTON | ONGOING Share your career stories and inspire students looking to answer the question: what do I do next?

FALL JOB SHADOW WEEK EDMONTON | NOV. 9-14 Give a student a behind-the-scenes look at your career at the first fall job shadow week. Application deadline Oct. 2.

U SCHOOL EDMONTON | ONGOING Bring your enthusiasm for learning to U School and inspire the next generation of U of A students.

UNWIND YOUR MIND EDMONTON | DECEMBER Help students stay energized during long study sessions by delivering free healthy snacks at campus libraries.

DO GREAT THINGS AT ALUMNI WEEKEND EDMONTON | SEPT. 24-27 Join the fun assisting with the Alumni Association’s largest event of the year.

SHARE THE CHEER EDMONTON | DECEMBER Share the joy of a Canadian holiday meal with international students spending the winter break in Edmonton.

TRICK OR TREAT EDMONTON | OCT. 31 Help collect food donations on Halloween for the Campus Food Bank.

More at ualberta.ca/alumni/volunteer

Dates are subject to change; events are added daily. For more or to register, visit

48 newtrail.ualberta.ca

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1 Alumni Association president Mary Pat Barry, ’04 MA, helps Spruce Meadows owner and founder Margaret Southern, ’53 BPE, cut a cake marking 20 years of the Southern family hosting and supporting the annual alumni event.

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2. Members of the Hong Kong chapter of the Alumni Association, including Trevor Mak, ’82 BCom, ’84 MBA, meet with outgoing U of A president Indira Samarasekera at a farewell event in April.

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3. Alumni team up with Soup Sisters and Broth Brothers at a Calgary volunteer event in June to make soup in support of Discovery House, which provides shelter, hope and education to families affected by family violence. From L to R: Christine Vandenberghe, ’99 BA, ’04 MEd, Coral Lukaniuk, ’95 BSc(MetEng), Angela Lum, ’92 BA, Betty Davis, ’66 BEd, ’74 BA, ’80 Dip(Ed), ’95 EdD, Terry Davis, ’67 BA(Hons), ’68 MA, and Julianne Larson, ’06 BA. 4. Melvin Comisarow, ’63 BSc, and Aubrey Tingle, ’67 MD, ’10 DSc (Honorary), chat during outgoing president Indira Samarasekera’s alumni farewell reception in Vancouver in May.

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5. Following his inspirational Centenary Leadership Lecture titled “Be A Difference Maker,” Rick Hansen, ’11 LLD (Honorary), meets with alumni at the opening event of the Alumni Association’s Leadership Summit in May. Photo by Ryan Whitefield, ’10 BA 6. Alumni work together to assemble 30 bikes during the Alumni Association’s Do Great Things Leadership Summit in May. The completed bikes were later donated to U School students. Photo by Laughing Dog Photography/ Kaylee Waterfield

new trail autumn 2015 49

BOOKS U of A alumni share their new books, including a collection of poems, a look into the world of high performance and essays on digital humanity.

Compiled by CHRISTIE HUTCHINSON and BRIDGET STIRLING

collaborations. The book aims to serve as a road map for researchers and those interested in the digital humanities, women’s writing and Canadian culture and literature.

Dead Reckoning in Dublin

by Patricia Trudeau, ’77 Dip(Ed), Moose Hide Books, moosehidebooks.com ——— The sixth in Trudeau’s Agnes Carroll mystery novel series, Dead Reckoning in Dublin sees Agnes go abroad to write a play for a university lecturer only to find herself investigating a fatal shooting at Dublin’s Trinity College campus.

Cultural Mapping and the Digital Sphere

by Ruth Panofsky and Kathleen Kellett (editors); foreword

by Susan Brown, ’91 PhD, and Mary-Jo Romaniuk, The University of Alberta Press, uap.ualberta.ca ——— This collection of 14 essays enriches digital humanities research by examining Canadian cultural works and the advances in technologies that facilitate interdisciplinary 50 newtrail.ualberta.ca

fortress where the Council of Constraint controls everything.

In return for surrendering freedom, citizens receive survival, and most don’t mind the exchange. The Son of Sara isn’t like most people. Then one day, he receives a letter from the Nightingale, the Keep’s mysterious dissident. After that, nothing stays the same.

Read On Even beyond campus, alumni have the perks of accessing U of A resources, libraries and bookstores.

NEW ACCESS TO ONLINE RESOURCES

The Closet Poet’s Collection: My Life in Verse 1969 to 2014

by Wayne Pendleton, ’65 BCom, ’83 BEd(VocEd), Selfpublished, pennedprose.odi.st ——— His poems were scrawled on paper napkins, sketched on the inside of a cereal box or typed on his beloved old typewriter.

The Closet Poet’s Collection is a raw, personal compilation of 45 years of poetry inspired

by Pendleton’s relationships, experiences and travel.

9 780968 145029 >

Sustainable High Performance

by Cal Botterill, ’72 MA, ’76 Dip(Ed), ’77 PhD, Jason Brooks and Aman Hussain, McNally Robinson, mcnallyrobinson.com ——— Drawing on more than 50 years of experience in highperformance fields, the book describes lessons, strategies and perspectives that have proven valuable in optimizing health and high performance.

Testimony and examples from medicine, sport and business are included.

■ Keen to do more serious reading? Alumni can access thousands of online publications and academic journals in English and French through the new eResources website. Read the latest on the social sciences and humanities, science, history, engineering, law, business, theology, philosophy, art, theatre, film, health sciences, classics and more. The service is free to alumni until Oct. 31, 2015. alumni.library.ualberta.ca KEEP ON LEARNING AT U OF A LIBRARIES ■ Did you know alumni can access U of A libraries?

A ONEcard allows alumni to check out books. Even without a ONEcard, alumni are welcome to use the libraries as a place for reading, writing and research. guides.library. ualberta.ca/alumniborrowing BOOKSTORE DISCOUNT

Keep

by Dave Madole, ’99 BEd, Selfpublished, dissidenttrilogy.com ——— Only desert and destruction exist beyond the Keep, a lone

Tell us about your recent publication. Mail your write-up and book to New Trail Books, Office of Advancement, Third Floor, Enterprise Square, 3-501, 10230 Jasper Ave NW, Edmonton, AB, T5J 4P6.

Or email a write-up with a high-resolution cover image to alumni@ualberta.ca.

■ Just in time for Green & Gold Day (Sept. 24), your alumni ONEcard also gives you a 10 per cent discount at U of A bookstores, excluding textbooks and computer software and hardware. Order online at bookstore.ualberta.ca or by calling toll-free in Canada at 888-933-9133.

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A God in Ruins

by Kate Atkinson Her latest novel revisits some of the characters from her 2013 book Life After Life, which 6 That book is about I adored. the life and death and life and death, again and again, of Ursula Todd. I’ve never read anything like it before or since.

Fatty Legs:

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Top6 librarian-approved Reads

picks for your reading list*

W

hen I tell people that I’m a librarian, the conversation inevitably turns to a readers’ advisory, as in “please advise me in my choice of book to read.” Book recommendations are tricky business, full of nuance and aspiration. And it’s hard to feel aspirational when I feel like all I’ve been reading is my email, Twitter and Buzzfeed (yeah, not proud of that one). Luckily, I can rely upon my friends, family and colleagues who are inveterate readers and sharers, so I always have books in my to-read queue: fiction, non-fiction, bestsellers, some new titles, some older ones, too. Here’s what I look forward to reading:

*No book report required Angie Mandeville, ’03 MLIS, is the public service manager and a subject librarian for human ecology at the U of A Cameron Science & Technology Library and has worked at U of A libraries since 2003.

6 A True Story

by Christy Jordan-Fenton and Margaret Pokiak-Fenton Recommended to me by my eight-year-old daughter. This is the powerful story of a young Inuk girl’s experience at a residential school in the Northwest Territories.

All My Puny Sorrows

by Miriam Toews It’s a story about sisters, love and death. I expect that I’ll laugh and I’ll cry. Because Toews is a marvellous writer. I can’t wait to read this one.

What Should We Be Worried About? Real Scenarios That Keep Scientists Up at Night edited by John Brockman Granted, not a light and breezy read, but I am a science and technology librarian, so this book of essays — with fascinating titles such as “We are in denial about catastrophic risks” and “The rise in genomic instability” — is a must.

Dear Sir, I Intend to Burn Your Book: An Anatomy of a Book Burning

by Lawrence Hill Come. On. That’s a captivating title! Highly recommended for librarians — scratch that, for ANY citizen concerned about freedom of expression and literature.

Restless

by William Boyd A thriller about a beautiful Russian spy working for the British Secret Service in the Second World War? Yes, please. new trail autumn 2015 51

PHOTO BY HANNE PEARCE, ’00 BA, ’10 MLIS; TOP PHOTO BY RICHARD SIEMENS

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BOOKS

Prairie Bohemian: Frank Gay’s Life in Music

by Trevor W. Harrison, ’93 PhD, The University of Alberta Press, uap.ualberta.ca ——— Until his death in 1982, Edmonton luthier and composer Frank Gay built guitars for several famous musicians, including country star Johnny Cash. Though Gay was a well-known musician in his own right, few recordings of his work exist. In Prairie Bohemian, Harrison shares the fascinating story of this private and often troubled man.

Why Grow Here: Essays on Edmonton’s Gardening History

by Kathryn Chase Merrett, ’92 MA, The University of Alberta Press, uap.ualberta.ca ——— Vacant lot gardeners, rose gardeners and horticultural societies have all contributed to the beautification of the capital city of Alberta.

Merrett’s collection of essays depicts the development of Edmonton’s social, cultural and physical landscape.

Hillsdale Book

by Gerald Hill, ’90 MA, NeWest Press, newestpress.com ——— In his new poetry collection, Hill fuses history, geography and autobiography to document life in Regina’s suburbs, then and now. Readers are invited to take a cruise down the streets of Hillsdale, learn about its architecture, rehearse its schoolyard taunts and sample its denizens’ favourite drink recipes.

A Cree Healer and His Medicine Bundle

by David Young, Robert Rogers, ’71 BSc, and Russell Willier, North Atlantic Books, northatlanticbooks.com ——— In this study and guide, a native healer opens his medicine bundle to share his repertoire of herbal medicines. Young and Rogers chronicle the life, beliefs and healing practices of Willier, who offers his knowledge for future generations.

From Realism to Abstraction: The Art of J.B. Taylor

by Adriana A. Davies, ’65 BA, ’67 MA, The University of Calgary Press, uofcpress.com ——— J.B. Taylor spent his career striving to depict the idea of the mountain. Davies’ book, filled with images of Taylor’s work and photographs of his life, focuses on Taylor, his importance to western Canadian artistic communities and his role in the evolution of landscape ideals and technique.

Dramaturging Personal Narratives: Who Am I and Where Is Here?

by Judith Rudakoff, ’77 MA, The University of Chicago Press, press.uchicago.edu ——— How do people identify, locate or express home?

Rudakoff’s book explores the relationship between personal and cultural identity by investigating how people perceive and creatively express self, home and homeland through showcasing various innovative artistic processes and resulting projects.

Blank

by Trina St. Jean, ’92 BA, ’95 BA, ’96 BEd, Orca Book Publishers, orcabook.com ——— Waking from a coma, Jessica has no memories of her life before the accident at her family’s bison ranch. Returning to school is a nightmare — especially when she overhears someone say she is faking her amnesia. When a new friend presents an alternative to staying in her old life, Jessica must confront the reality of what it means to leave her past behind.

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PHOTO BY RICHARD SIEMENS

The Bastard of Fort Stikine: The Hudson’s Bay Company and the Murder of John McLoughlin Jr.

by Debra Komar, ’99 PhD, Goose Lane Editions, gooselane.com ——— In spring 1842, the chief trader at Fort Stikine was shot dead by his own men. Using archival research and modern forensic science, Komar re-examines the long-closed case, unlocking the mystery of what really happened the night John McLoughlin Jr. died.

CL A SS NOTES

1930s

’36 Evelyn (Toots) Buxton Cave, BA, who died earlier this year, was fondly remembered by her niece Bonnie Buxton, ’60 BA, who wrote to us to say: “[Evelyn] was an amazing woman and had been hoping to attend this year’s 100th [Alumni Association] anniversary until she was

struck with a sudden illness.

“My favourite Toots story is when she buttonholed then-prime minister R.B. Bennett at the Edmonton train station as he was starting out on a cross-country publicity trip.

She was a student reporter at the time, and [the article she wrote about the encounter] was quite a funny Gateway story. Toots was a militant feminist, and as Bennett set out on the train, she yelled, ‘See you in the House of Commons!’ That article won her the Tegler scholarship for one year of studies at the University of Toronto.

“Toots was a feminist who never stopped being bossy and a truly unforgettable woman — who sometimes drove her children crazy!”

Bonnie, who now lives in Toronto, adds, “I, too, am sorry to miss this special [U of A alumni] anniversary. One of the highlights in my own life was graduating with a bachelor of arts in English in 1960. As I walked across the stage to pick up my diploma, I was able to hug my father, Earl Buxton, ’42 BA, ’48 BEd, who was sitting with other professors on the stage.

Dad taught in the Faculty of Education, and after retirement was elected chairman of the Edmonton Public School Board for two terms.

Earl Buxton School was named after him.

“Oh, yes, you can take the girl out of Edmonton, but you can’t take Edmonton out of the girl!”

ALUMNI ELECTED TO APEGA COUNCIL Engineering alumna Connie Parenteau, ’80 BSc(ElecEng), was sworn in as president of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta in April. Other newly elected alumni are president-elect Steve Hrudey, ’70 BSc(MechEng), ’12 DSc(Honorary), and councillors Art Washuta, ’73 BSc(CivEng), John Rhind, ’84 BSc(Spec), and Jeff DiBattista, ’95 MSc, ’00 PhD.

54 newtrail.ualberta.ca

’37 Elizabeth (Betty) Lilge, BA, recently celebrated a milestone birthday. Her son Jay Lilge, ’71 BA(Hons), ’73 MA, wrote to tell us about the occasion: “On April 24 my mother celebrated her 100th birthday. My sister Rhoda Witherly [’67 BMus, ’71 MMus] and I organized a birthday party on May 2 at the Faculty Club, where mom is a member. Guests from all over Canada and Europe participated in the party and had a wonderful afternoon as Mom caught up with many old friends and relatives.

“My dad [Ewald Lilge, ’33 BSc(MiningEng), ’37 MSc] was a professor at the University of Alberta and was chair of the Department of Mining and Metallurgy for many years as well. He passed away 12 years ago at the age of 98, and Mom has been on her own since his passing.

My mother is quite remarkable, as she continues to live in the same house, cooks all her meals, cleans her house, does her own shopping and makes use of the Edmonton Transit System to get around. She enjoys sports and news on the television and subscribes to the Edmonton Journal. She quit driving at age 96. She plays bridge with a group at the Faculty Club in the winter, gardens in the summer and enjoys reading and is a member of a local book club. My mother has wonderful neighbours and friends and enjoys their company and friendship.”

F O REV E R G RE E N & G O LD

We all have a campus memory — whether it’s a personal moment or a shared experience that connects us all. Share your memory at alumni.ualberta.ca/connect/class-notes.

PICNIC ON THE GOLF COURSE

Five students, unfamiliar with the mysterious pastime of golf, discover the perfect grassy spot at the Mayfair Golf Club

ILLUSTRATION BY SONIA ROY/COLAGENE.COM

The golf course picnickers in 1953 (L to R): Nans Davies, ’54 MD, Margaret Jean Blumhagen (Denham), ’53 Dip(Ed), ’54 Dip(Ed), Elsie Morris (Konkin), Betty Evans (Gray), ’53 Dip(Ed), ’54 Dip(Ed), and Kathleen (Kay) Moffitt, ’54 MD.

I WAS INDIFFERENT to another U of A alumni reunion until an email arrived informing me that my former housemates would be going for the 60th celebration. My ears pricked up; I would go, too.

We arrived back on campus, a little worn at the heels but smiles and sparkles unaltered.

The youngest, at 82, was a mere child, while we older ones up to 86 and carrying the chalice of wisdom, welcomed her into our aging tribe. We sat around the dinner table swapping stories of do-you-remember followed by gales of laughter. No one could forget our picnic on the golf course.

It was a cold autumn Sunday in 1953 when the five of us decided to picnic on the golf course. Just off campus, the Royal Mayfair

Golf Club was resplendent with its rolling lawns, stately evergreens and poplars raining gold. Coming from small towns and farms, my housemates and I were not well-versed in the pastimes of city living. Golf, for example, was a mystery to us. The players would hit a ball then spend all their time looking for it. It made no sense.

A tiny knoll of trees in a grassy dimple out of the way of the golfers, made up our picnic site. As we sat on the ground shivering our way through sandwiches, just over the hill we could see clubs waving wildly and hear some choice language surpassing even my dad’s repertoire when the cows broke through the fence.

“I wonder what’s wrong with them?” I said to the girls. “They keep yelling ‘four’ for some

reason. Are they trying to tell us something?”

Before they could reply, we were bombarded by flying white missiles that showed no respect for our noses. We agreed that it was a good idea to get back to the safety of our basement sanctum for some hot coffee.

Six decades later, upon my return to Edmonton, I marvelled at that same golf course and campus robed in the splendour of living green and shimmering gold. Green and Gold truly lived up to its name.

Elsie Morris, ’54 BEd, is a retired teacher living in Lethbridge, Alta. She has published articles, a cookbook and a children’s story. new trail autumn 2015 55

CL A SS NOTES

1960s

’60 Myron Semkuley, BSc, ’64 MD, and Elaine Semkuley, ’62 BSc(Pharm), were recognized with a Lifelong Achievement Award at the third annual Prime Minister’s Volunteer Awards. In 1992, using their own funds, Myron and Elaine began delivering medical supplies along the Thai/Burmese border and in western Ukraine, risking their own well-being to help people in need.

That endeavour grew into Medical Mercy Canada, a non-governmental organization that continues to serve people in need throughout Ukraine, Burma, Nepal and India. The couple also contributes to numerous other humanitarian causes, including turning their 50th wedding anniversary celebration into a fundraiser for post-flood restoration of the women’s shelter in High River, Alta.

1970s

’74 John Tenove, BSc(Med), ’76 MD, received the 2014 Alberta Rural Physician Action Plan Rural Physician Award of Distinction. John has been practising medicine in Nanton, Alta., since 1979. He fell in love with the community after completing his residency in the town and decided to return there to practise full-scope family medicine. He is currently supporting plans to build a new medical clinic for the community, which has outgrown the existing facility, and he hopes to continue his practice for many more years. ’78 Bill McCaffrey, BSc, ’82 BSc(CivEng), was named to the Saskatchewan Oil Patch Hall of Fame. Originally from Regina, Bill is the founder, president and CEO of Meg Energy Corp., one of the largest private oil and gas companies in Canada.

’77 Jane Ash Poitras, BSc(Spec), ’83 BFA, ’15 DLitt (Honorary), was granted two honorary degrees this year: a doctor of letters from the University of Alberta at convocation ceremonies for the faculties of Education and Native Studies on June 3, and a doctor of laws from the University of Calgary on June 10. A celebrated artist, Jane is respected for her generous support of Aboriginal and community causes. Her numerous honours include an honorary bachelor of arts from Humber College in Toronto, the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Distinguished Artist Award, the Alberta Centennial Medal, the National Aboriginal Achievement Award for Arts and Culture, the University of Alberta Alumni Award of Excellence and the City of Edmonton Arts and Culture Hall of Fame Salute to Excellence.

’69 Ron Hannah, BSc, ’73 BMus, ’75 MMus, had several European performances and premières during the spring of 2015. “Two Songs After Christine de Pisan” for soprano and harp; “Suite of Antique Dances” for flute, harp and hurdy-gurdy; and “Dances for Camille,” a suite for two pianos, all premiered in Vienna. No. 5 of “Five Preludes for Organ” was also featured as part of the London Festival of Contemporary Church Music.

Ron looks forward to more performances over the coming months.

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APEGA SUMMIT AWARDS ’74 Douglas LaValley, BSc(CivEng), Anastasia Elias, ’02 BSc(EngPhys), ’07 PhD, and Pierre Mertiny, ’05 PhD, were honoured at the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta’s Summit Awards, which honour significant achievements by individuals and organizations in professional engineering and geoscience across the province.

TOP PHOTO BY RICHARD SIEMENS

Ron Hannah

1980s

’83 Nikolaus Demiantschuk, LLB, has recently been promoted to honorary consul general for Alberta by the president of Austria. This elevation in rank follows Nikolaus’s almost 14 years of service as honorary consul for Alberta. ’83 Sue Colberg, BFA, ’91 MVA, has won an Alcuin Society Award for Excellence in Book Design. She won first prize in the category “prose non-fiction illustrated” for her work on The Body in Question(s)/Le corps en question(s), published by the University of Alberta Press.

’87 Narmin Kassam, BSc, ’91 MD, was elected governor of the Alberta chapter of the

CALLING ALL 1980 MEDICINE ALUMNI Alumni of the U of A’s 1980 medicine class are invited to join a 35-year class reunion Oct. 9-12, 2015, at the Delta Grand Okanagan Resort in Kelowna, B.C. For details on the event, please contact Brian Guspie, ’78 BMedSc, ’80 MD, at bgus@shaw.ca.

American College of Physicians, the national organization of internists. Narmin is an associate professor and the division director for internal medicine at the University of Alberta. ’88 Nancy Goebel, BA, ’90 MLIS, head librarian at the U of A’s Augustana Campus, is the winner of the 2015 Association of College and Research Libraries Women and Gender Studies Section Award for Significant Achievement in Women and Gender Studies Librarianship.

The award honours a significant or one-time contribution to women’s studies librarianship.

Nancy was recognized for her leadership in establishing the Augustana Human Library, which focuses on themes important

to women and gender studies such as balancing motherhood and school, challenging transphobia and healing from sexual abuse. ’88 PearlAnn Reichwein, BA, is the 2015 recipient of the Canadian History Association’s Clio Prize (Prairies) for her book Climber’s Paradise: Making Canada’s Mountain Parks, 19061974, which explores the history of Canada’s mountain parks through the story of the Alpine Club of Canada.

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CL A SS NOTES

1990s

’90 Pilar Martinez, MLIS, has been named the new chief executive officer of Edmonton Public Library following a North America-wide search.

Formerly EPL’s deputy chief executive, Pilar replaces Linda Cook, ’74 BA, ’75 BLS, ’87 MLS, who steps down after 18 years at the helm. ’94 Kathleen Linaker, BSc, has been appointed as the dean of Mohawk Valley Community College’s Center for Life and Health Sciences in Utica, N.Y. After graduating from the U of A, Kathleen went on to earn her doctor of chiropractic from Northwestern Health Sciences University and a PhD in higher education from Loyola University. She also completed a radiology residency from the National University of Health Sciences in Lombard, Ill. ’96 Heather Boyd, BSc(Hons), went on to earn her PhD at Emory University in 2003. For the past decade, she has lived in Copenhagen, Denmark, working as a senior researcher in the Department of Epidemiology Research at Statens Serum Institut. In October 2014, Heather was named one of 17 recipients of a prestigious YDUN (Younger Women Devoted to a University Career) grant. The name also

refers to Ydun, the goddess of eternal youth, from Nordic mythology. These large, multi-year grants are awarded to young female research talents identified from across all research disciplines in Denmark. Heather received 6.4 million Danish kroner (approximately C$1.2 million) to fund a four-year research program entitled “Anti-angiogenic imbalance — the missing link between pre-eclampsia, cardiac disease and cancer?” Through a combination of epidemiologic, biomarker and genetic studies, the research will examine potential mechanisms common to hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, cardiac disease and cancer. The YDUN award provides funding for two PhD students and a statistician, as well as data and laboratory costs. ’97 Trevor Ingram, BCom, was elected partner with law firm Shearman & Sterling, where he works in the capital markets group of the firm’s Singapore office. Following his studies at the U of A, Trevor studied law at Dalhousie University, where he completed his LLB before going on to earn a master of law at New York University. ’99 Stephen Lau, BCom, ’05 LLB, is a real estate agent working at Edmonton Home Pros Real Estate Group. Stephen also managed the University of Alberta Alumni Association LinkedIn account from 2010 until 2015. We are grateful for his volunteer efforts on behalf of the association.

SPIRITUAL ARTS COLLECTIVE Four U of A alumni have come together to work on a new project that sprouted from Robertson-Wesley United Church.

The Spiritual Arts Collective provides an empowering and safe place for community participants to share their spiritual journey through the arts, including visual arts, drama, dance, music, writing, community initiatives or political commentaries. The program is the brainchild of RobertsonWesley minister Karen Bridges, ’94 BA; music director Tammy-Jo Mortensen, ’92 BMus, ’14 MMus; and program curator Casey Edmunds, ’08 BA. In June 2013, the group workshopped ideas with professors and other church groups from all over North America at Yale University’s Institute of Sacred Music project. Theirs is the only Canadian congregation chosen for Yale’s prestigious program. Brooke Leifso, ’09 BA, joined the collective as the arts co-ordinator in 2014. The RobertsonWesley Spiritual Arts Collective has hosted nine artists-in-residence over the past two years, and those artists have engaged the public in artistic practices and projects.

They launch their upcoming Spiritual Arts Collective season in September 2015 with four new artists and some wonderful new projects. The wider community is invited to participate. No artistic experience in any particular discipline is necessary. Visit rwuc.org/sac.html for more information.

Robert Kaul, ’90 BSc, Anthony Kaul, ’95 BCom, and Joel Yatscoff, ’03 BDes, have created a modern-day “tricorder” (of Star Trek fame) as part of a team competing for $10 million in the Qualcomm Tricorder XPrize.

Robert is co-founder and CEO of Cloud Diagnostics, one of only seven finalists and the only Canadian company in the international competition. Anthony is chief operating officer for Cloud DX. Joel is a product designer on the project, working for Cortex Design in Toronto. Called the Vitaliti, the team’s wearable device monitors five vital signs, including oxygen saturation, blood pressure and heart electrical activity, and can diagnose 16 medical conditions. Joel writes that the team delivered its prototypes just under the wire after a mad scramble of 18-hour days for more than a week, adding, “I thought it might be nice to reach out to the institution where three members of this team were educated, shaped and influenced.” Cloud DX is up against some big players — Scanadu in the U.S. and HTC in Taiwan — and three teams have already dropped out. The top three winners will be announced in January 2016.

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WHO

CL A SS NOTES

2000s

ORDER OF CANADA

’00 Tara Martin (Dragon), BCom, wrote to say, “The past eight months have been a whirlwind of change for me and my family! It started in the fall with a return to Edmonton from Calgary, and we welcomed our first child, Alexander James Paul Martin, on April 9, 2015. I was also recently named partner of C3 Associates Inc., a consulting firm that specializes in information management.”

workshops and projects over a one-year period.

Christopher earned his medical degree at the University of Calgary and is a resident in emergency medicine at McMaster University.

Passionate about governance and policy, he was the youngest member ever appointed to the board of the Health Quality Council of Alberta, where he helped develop health-care policy reforms.

’04 Jason McKee, BEd, was named Alberta Junior Hockey League Coach of the Year for the second consecutive year. Jason coaches the Spruce Grove Saints, currently considered the AJHL’s most successful franchise, where he brings his hockey experience and teaching training to his role as the team’s head coach.

’08 Bryan Birtles, BA, Stefan Duret, ’06 BSc(EngPhys), and Bryan Kulba, ’97 BSc, ’12 BDes, make up Edmonton web design agency Kobot. At the Advertisting Club of Edmonton’s 36th annual ACE Awards, Kobot was honoured to receive awards in two categories: The ACE Award for Best Website for jonmick.ca, and an Award of Distinction for Not-for-Profit Website for cjsr.com. Bryan Birtles says, “It was the first time we had entered the ACE Awards, and we were surprised and delighted to be honoured.”

’07 Christopher Skappak, BSc, ’14 PhD, was named a 2015 Action Canada fellow in a program that fosters the next generation of public policy leaders through intensive

ALBERTA ORDER OF EXCELLENCE Three alumni were recently named to the Alberta Order of Excellence: Fil Fraser, ’08 DLitt (Honorary), Jacob Masliyah, ’13 DSc (Honorary), and Frits Pannekoek, ’69 BA(Hons), ’70 MA. The order is the province’s highest honour, awarded to Albertans who have made an outstanding provincial, national or international impact. The official investiture ceremony will take place Oct. 14, in Edmonton.

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Albert Bandura, ’10 LLD (Honorary) was named an officer of the Order of Canada “for his foundational contributions to social psychology, notably for uncovering the influence of observation on human learning and aggression.”

2010s

’10 Igor Cesar, BA, has been named Rwanda’s ambassador to Germany. Born in Germany, he grew up in Tanzania and Burundi and is fluent in six languages.

Since coming to Edmonton in 1993, Igor has been involved in numerous francophone organizations, serving in several leadership roles. He is also the co-founder of Ubuntu Edmonton, a charity organization working with widows of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.

’11 Chris Gainor, PhD, has been contracted by NASA to write a book on the pre-launch history of the Hubble Space Telescope. Chris has published four books and a number of articles on the history of space exploration and aeronautics and is second vice-president of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada and a fellow of the British Interplanetary Society. ’12 Petros Kusmu, BA(Hons), and Emerson Csorba, ’14 BA(Spec), have been accepted to the Global Scholars Symposium, which brings together top Rhodes, Gates, Cambridge Trust, Fulbright, Marshall, Churchill, Chevening and Truman scholars from across the United Kingdom to meet with world leaders and discuss global challenges over three days.

IN MEMORIAM

The Alumni Association notes with sorrow the passing of the following graduates (based on information received between March and June 2015)

’37 Barbara Mary S. Langfeldt (Jarman), BSc(HEc), of Toronto, ON, in January 2015

’45 Clarence Everett Anderson, BSc(MiningEng), of Edmonton, AB, in May 2015

’49 Daniel John E. Davies, BEd, of Salt Spring Island, BC, in March 2015

’51 John W. Cox, BSc(ElecEng), of Calgary, AB, in February 2015

’53 Arthur Leslie Harris, MD, of Saskatoon, SK, in March 2015

’37 Margaret Elizabeth Shortliffe (Aldwinckle), Dip(Ed), ’37 BA, of Victoria, BC, in May 2015

’45 Bernice McKean Tims (Gordon), Dip(Nu), ’46 BSc(Nu), of Calgary, AB, in April 2015

’49 David Lawrence C. Judge, BSc, ’51 MD, of Edmonton, AB, in June 2015

’51 Donald Gordon Murchie, BSc(Ag), ’71 Dip(Ed), of Edmonton, AB, in April 2015

’53 Jean Marie Knudsen (Wilson), Dip(Ed), ’75 BEd, of New Norway, AB, in May 2015

’46 Harry Alexander Gilchrist, BSc, ’48 MD, of Vernon, BC, in February 2015

’49 Jean Stewart Montgomery (Smith), BSc(HEc), of Edmonton, AB, in March 2015

’53 James Cleugh Mawdsley, BSc(Hons), ’54 MSc, of Calgary, AB, in February 2015

’46 Verona Lee Milner (Elder), BCom, of Calgary, AB, in April 2015

’49 Robert H. Watson, BSc, of Calgary, AB, in February 2015

’51 Betty May Sims (Barker), BA(Hons), ’52 BEd, of Edmonton, AB, in February 2015

’38 Margaret Jean Baxter, Dip(Nu), of Calgary, AB, in May 2015 ’38 Ruth Fadum, Dip(Nu), of Camrose, AB, in February 2015 ’38 Franklin Winthrop Jones, DDS, of Winnipeg, MB, in January 2007

’47 Barbara Meriel Bromley (Strong), Dip(Nu), ’48 BSc(Nu), of Yellowknife, NT, in February 2015

’40 Martha Ruth Cohen (Block), BA, of Calgary AB, in February 2015

’47 Grayson Michael (Mickey) Hajash, BSc(MiningEng), of Victoria, BC, in March 2015

’40 Marshall Woodworth Dewis, BSc(ElecEng), of Calgary, AB, in May 2015

’48 Margaret Joy Baxter (Verge), BA, of Calgary, AB, in April 2015

’40 Gerald Middleton Hutchinson, BA, ’43 BDiv, of Edmonton, AB, in April 2015

’48 Donald Burrows Black, BEd, ’49 MEd, of Calgary, AB, in March 2015

’42 Marjorie Louise Jones (Legate), BSc(HEc), of Calgary, AB, in March 2015

’48 Wesley Harrison Coons, BA, of Caledon, ON, in April 2015

’42 Kathleen Mitchell Murray, Dip(Ed), ’43 BEd, of Forest Park, WA, in February 2015 ’43 Mary Elizabeth Hargrave, Dip(Nu), ’44 BSc(Nu), of Calgary, AB, in April 2015 ’43 Walter William Maday, BSc(Pharm), of Edmonton, AB, in June 2015 ’44 Joseph Paul Moreau, MD, of Edmonton AB, in March 2015 ’44 Guinivere Torrie, BEd, of Taber, AB, in February 2015

’48 Francis Gordon GoreHickman, BSc, ’50 MD, of Lethbridge, AB, in February 2015 ’48 Gavin Ernest Halkett, BA, of Nanaimo, BC, in April 2015 ’48 Norman Deans Muir, BEd, ’60 MEd, of Edmonton, AB, in March 2015 ’49 Robert Bruce Bailey, BSc(Hons), of Calgary, AB, in March 2015 ’49 W. Gordon Coulson, BCom, of Edmonton, AB, in March 2015

’50 Howard Stewart Baker, DDS, of Edmonton, AB, in April 2015 ’50 Margaret Frances Beames, Dip(Ed), of Calgary, AB, in May 2015 ’50 E. Leo Collins, BA, ’51 LLB, of Calgary, AB, in May 2015 ’50 Edith M. Dodds-Belanger, Dip(Ed), of Calgary, AB, in February 2015 ’50 James Elmer Feir, BSc(CivEng), of Fairfax, VA, in March 2015 ’50 Gregory Rife Forsyth, BA, ’51 LLB, of Calgary, AB, in June 2015 ’50 Dorothy Jean Lowrie, Dip(Ed), ’57 BEd, of Leduc, AB, in June 2015 ’50 Heber Lamont Matkin, DDS, of Lethbridge, AB, in November 2014 ’50 Richard Charles McClelland, DDS, of Edmonton, AB, in June 2015

’51 John Robert Taciuk, BSc(Pharm), of Edmonton, AB, in March 2015 ’51 John H. Wall, MSc, of Calgary, AB, in April 2015 ’52 Andrew Vladimur Antoniuk, BSc(Ag), of Edmonton, AB, in June 2015 ’52 Grace Kay Bobey (Wotherspoon), Dip(Nu), ’53 BSc(Nu), of Edmonton, AB, in March 2015 ’52 Charles Glenn Chinneck, BSc(PetEng), of Calgary, AB, in May 2015 ’52 Robert James Crawford, BSc(Hons), ’54 MSc, of Edmonton, AB, in April 2015 ’52 Roy George Sinclair, BSc(Hons), of Edmonton, AB, in March 2015 ’52 Florence Vivian Stone (Soderstrom), Dip(Ed), of Auckland, New Zealand, in May 2014

’50 Peter Frank Melnyk, BSc(Ag), of Victoria, BC, in April 2015

’53 Leonard David Allen, BSc(CivEng), of Baie-D’Urfé, QC, in March 2015

’51 William A. Douglas Burns, BA, of Victoria, BC, in June 2015

’53 Dennis Edward Duggan, BSc(Ag), of Atlanta, GA, in June 2015

’53 Michael McGillivray, BCom, of New Westminster, BC, in March 2015 ’53 Edward Lee Rogers, BSc(ElecEng), of Calgary, AB, in October 2014 ’54 William Bradford Carpenter, BSc, ’56 MD, of Calgary, AB, in May 2015 ’54 Joan Clark (McMurchy), Dip(Nu), ’55 BSc(Nu), of Okotoks, AB, in April 2015 ’54 Muriel E. Domzy (Nystrom), BCom, of Wetaskiwin, AB, in June 2015 ’54 F.A. Richard McKinnon, BCom, of Calgary, AB, in March 2015 ’54 Helen Margaret Ready (Smyth), Dip(Nu), ’55 BSc(Nu), ’82 MHSA, of Edmonton, AB, in June 2015 ’54 Hector Wilfred Rose, BEd, of Calgary, AB, in May 2015 ’55 Marilyn Annetta Campbell, Dip(Nu), ’56 BSc(Nu), of Jasper, AB, in March 2015 ’56 Eli Adler, DDS, of Edmonton, AB, in March 2015 ’56 Norman Ancrum Clark, BSc, of Calgary, AB, in May 2015

new trail autumn 2015 61

IN MEMORIAM

’57 G. Alan Robison, BSc(Pharm), of Houston, TX, in May 2015

’61 Joanne Elizabeth Fisk (Draayer), Dip(Nu), of Wolfville, NS, in May 2015

’64 Georgia Jean Guy (Linley), BA, of North Vancouver, BC, in May 2015

’66 Fredrick Kovacs, BEd, of Edmonton, AB, in March 2015

’68 Alexander David Pringle, BA, of Edmonton, AB, in June 2015

’57 Blanche Mildred Rothel (Paul), Dip(Ed), ’62 BEd, of Penticton, BC, in February 2015

’61 Nicholas Marchak, BEd, in June 2015

’64 Patricia Gail Mareck (Stocker), Dip(DentHyg), of Medicine Hat, AB, in June 2015

’66 Barbara Frances Nixon, BEd, ’92 Dip(Ed), of Camrose, AB, in April 2015

’68 Annie Marie Spatuk, BEd, of Blairmore, AB, in March 2015

’64 Argyle David McFarlane, BA, ’65 BEd, of Caroline, AB, in March 2015

’67 Thomas William Broad, BEd, ’70 BSc, ’72 MEd, in June 2015

’68 Denis Neil Vester, BSc(MechEng), ’79 MBA, of Edmonton, AB, in May 2015

’64 Russell Mather Purdy, BA, of Edmonton, AB, in May 2015

’67 Colin Kenneth Campbell, BSc(Hons), ’72 LLB, of Vancouver, BC, in April 2015

’68 Douglas W. Williams, BSc, ’73 MSc, of Manhattan, NY, in March 2015

’67 James Alan Dainard, PhD, of Toronto, ON, in December 2014

’69 John Garnet Evans, BSc, ’71 DDS, of Edmonton, AB, in March 2015

’67 Alexander John Guy, MEd, ’71 PhD, of Regina, SK, in March 2015

’69 Alice Fedoruk, BEd, of Vegreville, AB, in May 2015

’57 R. Leslie Thomas, BSc(Ag), ’59 MSc, of Guelph, ON, in March 2015 ’58 John Winston Churchill, BCom, of Calgary, AB, in April 2015 ’58 Shirley Ann Ingram (Girling), BCom, of Edmonton, AB, in March 2015 ’58 James Fredrick Lavers, BEd, ’70 MEd, of Leduc, AB, in June 2015 ’58 Aaron B. Shtabsky, BCom, ’61 LLB, of Paradise Valley, AZ, in March 2015 ’58 Arthur A. Wilkins, BSc, of Calgary, AB, in April 2015 ’59 Alfred Walter Geisthardt, DDS, of Regina, SK, in January 2015 ’59 Wesley Given, BSc(Pharm), of Calgary, AB, in February 2015 ’59 Darcy William Kurysh, BCom, of Edmonton, AB, in April 2015 ’59 John William D. McLeod, BSc(CivEng), of Spruce Grove, AB, in March 2015 ’59 John Nicholas Nasedkin, DDS, of Vancouver, BC, in May 2015 ’60 William Francis Bruyer, BSc(CivEng), of Edmonton, AB, in March 2015 ’60 Linda Mabel Peterson, Dip(RM), of Kamloops, BC, in February 2015

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’61 Lillian C. Sharp, BSc(HEc), of Edmonton, AB, in April 2015 ’62 Stanley J. Dalzell, BEd, of Nanaimo, BC, in December 2014 ’62 Peter Orest Evans, BEd, ’68 MEd, ’70 PhD, of Puslinch, ON, in June 2015 ’62 Johan Wilhelm Greidanus, PhD, of Calgary, AB, in March 2015 ’62 Robert Clyde Martell, BSc(ElecEng), ’67 MSc, of Edmonton, AB, in April 2015 ’62 Sam Morie, BEd, of Castor, AB, in May 2015 ’62 William Alexander Stewart, BEd, ’71 MA, of Parksville, BC, in January 2015 ’63 Jane Louise Boston, BSc(Pharm), of Calgary, AB, in May 2015 ’63 John Michael Mulligan, BSc(CivEng), of Pender Island, BC, in May 2015

’64 Donald Chester Rimbey, BEd, ’71 BA, of Edmonton, AB, in March 2015 ’64 John William Serra, BSc(MechEng), ’66 MSc, of Calgary, AB, in April 2015 ’64 Nick Skladan, BEd, ’73 Dip(Ed), of Lamont, AB, in May 2015 ’65 Maureen Elliott, BSc, of Strathmore, AB, in May 2015 ’65 Michael William Hay, BEd, ’73 Dip(Ed), of Edmonton, AB, in April 2015 ’65 Ron Johnston, BCom, of Spruce Grove, AB, in May 2015 ’65 Edward Francis McRory, LLB, of Calgary, AB, in March 2015

’63 Wayne Douglas Neuss, BSc(CivEng), of Calgary, AB, in June 2015

’65 Andrew Peebles Nimmo, MSc, ’70 PhD, of Edmonton, AB, in May 2015

’63 Thomas Howard Rumball, BA, ’67 DDS, of Peace River, AB, in March 2015

’65 Joseph Nickolas Pochynok, BSc, ’69 DDS, of Edmonton, AB, in March 2015

’64 Kenneth James Brown, BA, ’67 LLB, of Edmonton, AB, in March 2015

’65 George Harvey Roddick, BSc, of Viking, AB, in April 2015

’64 Andre D.J. Cote, BA, ’65 MEd, ’68 PhD, of Ottawa, ON, in April 2015

’66 Rino Angelo Bosetti, MEd, ’75 PhD, of Blairmore, AB, in May 2015

’64 Colin Michael Evans, BA, of Calgary, AB, in April 2015

’66 Katrusia J. Duban, Dip(PHNu), of St. Albert, AB, in May 2015

’67 Roger Clarence McMillan, BEd, of Vegreville, AB, in April 2015 ’67 Craig Kirkham Naylor, DDS, of Vancouver, BC, in April 2015 ’67 Gerald Louis Ohlsen, BA(Hons), of Ottawa, ON, in April 2015 ’67 David Keith Taylor, DDS, of Kelowna, BC, in April 2015 ’67 John Zielinski, BA, ’70 BEd, of Edmonton, AB, in May 2015 ’68 Andrew Hartford, BEd, ’74 DDS, of Spruce Grove, AB, in March 2015 ’68 Norman James Nuttall, BSc(CivEng), ’70 MSc, of Edmonton, AB, in May 2015 ’68 Dianne Margaret Pidhirniak (Duggan), BEd, of Sherwood Park, AB, in May 2015 ’68 Douglas James Porter, BCom, of Sherwood Park, AB, in April 2015

’69 James Floyd McMillan, BSc, ’69 MD, of Edmonton, AB, in March 2015 ’69 Judith Diane Newbert, BSc, ’71 BSc(MechEng), of Crossfield, AB, in June 2015 ’69 Yvonne Denise Retallack (St. André), BEd, of Sherwood Park, AB, in April 2015 ’69 Horst Seer, BEd, of Calgary, AB, in February 2015 ’69 Herman Wilco VandenBorn, BSc(Hons), of Edmonton, AB, in April 2015 ’70 Cyril Basil Frank, BSc, ’73 Dip(Ed), of Calgary, AB, in March 2015 ’70 Thomas Earl Hughes, BEd, of Edmonton, AB, in May 2015 ’70 Laura Anne Pogue (Paterson), BA, ’72 BLS, of Regina, SK, in February 2015 ’70 Ted William Sayko, BSc, of Vancouver, BC, in May 2015 ’71 Lloyd Baldwin, BSc, ’73 DDS, of Chilliwack, BC, in March 2015

’71 Gwen Beverly Schienbein, BEd, of Pasco, WA, in February 2015

’74 Alfred Vance Dempsey, BEd, of Vernon, BC, in March 2015

’77 Grace Delores Schacher (Heiberg), BA(RecAdmin), of Tofield, AB, in April 2015

’85 James Lionel F. Gladstone, LLB, of Blood Reserve, AB, in May 2015

’95 Corrie Dean Richardson, BSc(Spec), of Edmonton, AB, in April 2015

’71 Terry David Sosnowski, BSc(Med), ’72 MD, of Spruce Grove, AB, in March 2015

’74 Jackie Dean Jamerson, PhD, of Nelson, VA, in January 2015

’78 Aime Joseph Auriat, BSc(Ag), of Edson, AB, in April 2015

’85 Theresa Alexcis Lofgren, BEd, of Edmonton, AB, in November 1992

’96 Kerri Lucile Addy-Nicklin, BFA, ’97 MFA, of Edmonton, AB, in April 2015

’72 Kent Johnson Edinga, BSc(ChemEng), of Calgary, AB, in May 2015

’74 Margaret I. Rees (Young), BSc, of Edmonton, AB, in January 2015

’86 Jeffery Peter Joseph Cena, BSc(Spec), of Westlock, AB, in March 2015

’96 Deric Sankey Kryvenchuk, BA, of Calgary, AB, in May 2015

’72 Grace Mcdonald Flaska (Forbes), BEd, of Waskatenau, AB, in March 2015

’74 Marlene Ann Rempel, BEd, of Raymond, AB, in February 2015

’86 Penny Suzanne Sharp (Merton), BScN, of Calgary, AB, in March 2015

’01 Warren Anthony Schmitz, BCom, of Edmonton, AB, in March 2015

’72 Betty Fern Gilbertson, BEd, of Simcoe, ON, in March 2015

’74 Monica J.A. Ullman, BEd, ’84 Dip(Ed), ’92 Dip(Ed), of Edmonton, AB, in March 2015

’86 Chrisina Lynn Tannous, MA, ’93 PhD, of Fountain Valley, CA, in May 2015

’03 Michael Khanh Hai Bao, BSc(Pharm), of Calgary, AB, in May 2015

’87 Helen Jane MacZala (Sadgrove), BSc(AgEng), of Peace River, AB, in February 2015

’07 Thomas Watson Hamilton, BCom, of Ponoka, AB, in March 2015

’72 Victor William Petruk, BEd, of Viking, AB, in March 2015 ’72 Alhandro Kui-Shing Poon, BSc(Pharm), in June 2015 ’72 Delamay Emeline Royan, BA, of Morinville, AB, in February 2015 ’72 Janet Kay Slemko, BPE, ’73 Dip(Ed), of Calgary, AB, in February 2015 ’72 Albertus H.J. Ticheler, BEd, of Leduc, AB, in March 2015 ’72 Paul Herbert Workman, MBA, ’96 LLB, of Edmonton, AB, in February 2015 ’73 Robert Bruce Cameron, BA, ’74 BEd, ’79 MEd, ’89 PhD, of Edmonton, AB, in April 2015 ’73 Evelyn Irma M. Chouinard, BEd, of High River, AB, in June 2015 ’73 Christina Lukomskyj, BA, of Edmonton, AB, in March 2015 ’73 Samuel Glen Phillips, BA(Spec), of Edmonton, AB, in April 2015 ’73 Vladimir Pomajzl, BSc(CivEng), of Salt Spring Island, BC, in February 2015

’78 Alexander David Beveridge, MBA, of Burnaby, BC, in December 2014 ’78 P. Varghese Joseph, BSc(CivEng), of Edmonton, AB, in June 2015 ’78 Kathryn Jay MacMillan (Smith), Dip(Nu), of St. Albert, AB, in April 2015

’75 Job Denotter, BEd, ’85 MEd, of Edmonton, AB, in June 2015

’78 Rajendra Prakash Mathur, BEd, of Vancouver, BC, in March 2014

’75 Diane Lee Earl, BPE, of Parkland County, AB, in February 2015

’79 Robert Bruce MacMillan, BSc(Forest), of St. Albert, AB, in April 2015

’75 Susan Margaret Belcher El-Nahhas, Dip(Ed), ’81 MEd, ’99 PhD, of Edmonton, AB, in February 2015

’79 Walter August Meyer, BCom, of St. Albert, AB, in April 2015

’76 Allen Rueben Adams, BSc, of Morinville, AB, in March 2015

’80 Margaret Catherine Maher (Ludlow), BScN, ’87 MHSA, of Sherwood Park, AB, in June 2015

’76 Ronald Lawrence Chomyc, BSc(ElecEng), of Edmonton, AB, in June 2015

’81 Shannon Alexandra Hohol, BEd, of Cold Lake, AB, in March 2015

’76 Lillian Hampel, BSc(Spec), of Edmonton, AB, in April 2015

’81 Medhat Hishmat Rahim, PhD, of Thunder Bay, ON, in January 2015

’76 Anne Hochachka (Sawchuk), BEd, of Devon, AB, in March 2015

’81 Becky Lynn Sjare, BSc(Hons), ’93 PhD, of St. John’s, NL, in March 2015

’76 Catherine McCarthyLundberg, BSc(Speech/Aud), ’86 MEd, of Edmonton, AB, in May 2015

’83 Gertrude Joan McDonald, BEd, of Rocky Mountain House, AB, in April 2015

’76 Carol Anne Ross, BEd, in March 2015

’84 Eleanor June Messer (Reid), BSc, ’86 BPE, ’90 LLB, of Calgary, AB, in January 2015

’77 Lacia Marie Leskiw, BEd, of Ardrossan, AB, in March 2015

’84 William Walter Shiell, BEd, of Edmonton, AB, in March 2015

’87 Brian William Noseworthy, BEd, in May 2015

’10 Jessica Dawn Reynolds, BEd, of Calgary, AB, in March 2015

’87 Peter William Skretting, BSc, of Camrose, AB, in June 2015 ’89 Kenneth Douglas McCarthy, BA, of Edmonton, AB, in May 2015 ’90 Lilia Witzke, BCom, in May 2015 ’92 Darren Edward Penner, BSc(ElecEng), of Calgary, AB, in June 2015 ’92 Blair Pierre J. Pigeon, BSc(Forest), of Duncan, BC, in March 2015 ’93 Leslie Blyth, BEd, in June 2015 ’93 Paula Marie Haeberle (Stiles), BEd, of Sherwood Park, AB, in April 2015 ’94 Deborah Anne Blair, BSc(Nu), of Calgary, AB, in June 2015 ’94 Donna Maureen Chovanec, MEd, ’04 PhD, of Edmonton, AB, in March 2015

If you’ve lost a loved one who is a University of Alberta alumnus, contact alumni records at alumrec@ualberta.ca, 780-492-3471 or 1-866-492-7516. new trail autumn 2015 63

Barbara Paterson, ’57 BA(SpecCert), ’88 BFA, carefully sculpts The Visionaries, a monument honouring University of Alberta founders Henry Marshall Tory and Alexander Rutherford, in her Edmonton studio. The bronze sculpture, a 100th anniversary gift from the Alumni Association to the university, will be unveiled Sept. 24 as part of Alumni Weekend celebrations.

64 newtrail.ualberta.ca

PHOTO BY RYAN WHITEFIELD, ’10 BA

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