2008 Peace & Liard Regional Report

PEACE & LIARD 2008 Fort St. John

Dawson Creek

Hudson’s Hope

Graduates

Graduates

Graduates

Award Recipeints

Kristy Lynch

Jessie Luchinski

Ashley Bentley

Marguerite Le Hegarate

Jason Farquharson

Anthony Stregger

BComm Marketing BSW Social Work

Jody Giesbrecht

BComm Accounting & Finance

Certificate in Child Welfare BSc Biology

Jennifer Tremain BSc Psychology

Deloitte & Touche Scholarship, UNBC Scholars Program

Nicole Klassen

Shoppers Drug Mart/Imasco Community Involvement Bursary

Michelle Miller

Linda Hiebert

Sharona Supernault

BA Joint International Studies & Political Science

Lynette Harris of Da

wson Creek

Kristy L ynch of

Hudson

’s Hope

UNBC Scholars Program

William Pollon

UNBC Scholars Program

Tashana Warkentine UNBC Scholars Program

MD Medicine – Northern Medical Program

Glenda Wagar

Certificate in Child Welfare

BA International Studies

Award Recipients

Katherine Moore

Julie Alexander

UNBC In-Course Scholarship

Taya O’Neill

UNBC Scholars Program

Diella Schatz

UNBC Graduate Scholarship

Phillips, Hager & North Investment Ltd. Bursary

Heidi Anderson

Katherine Lightburn

Rachel Toppin

Taylor

Rolla

UNBC Leadership Award, UNBC Scholars Program

Award Recipient Award Recipient Ingebjorg Jean Mattson Graduate Entrance Scholarship

Larissa Lukac

UNBC Scholars Program

Kristen MacDonald

UNBC Scholars Program

Four Year Guarantee Scholarship

Laine Cosens

Ryan Mackay

John and Eileen Bryan and Family Bursary

Megan Harwood

Award Recipient

UNBC Transfer Student Award

Danielle Patterson

BA History

BMO Bank of Montreal Aboriginal Scholarship

Graduate

Rory Plunkett

MD Medicine – Northern Medical Program

Linda Hiebert of Dawson Creek

John

Stefanie Oestreich

Chetwynd

BSW Social Work – Child Welfare Specialization

Kerri Pandachuck

Certificate in Public Administration

BSc Biology

Award Recipients

Jody Giesbrecht

Lynette Harris

D’Arcy Michiel

BSc Computer Science

UNBC Merit Award

BSc Natural Resources Management – Wildlife Fisheries

BA English

Benjamin Knutson

Marli Cooper

Laine Cosens

As

entle hley B

rt St. y of Fo

Rotary Clubs of BC Bursary, UNBC Faculty and Staff Bursary

Meaghan-Lyn Tomkins

UNBC Transfer Student Award

Maria Neumann

Four Year Guarantee Scholarship

Omesh Syal

UNBC Scholars Program

UNBC In-Course Bursary

Graduate Juanita Hunder BA Anthropology

Graduates Lori Banks

BA Joint English & Political Science

UNBC Scholars Program UNBC Scholars Program

Alexandria MacDonald UNBC Scholars Program

utson of Fort

St. John

Stepha of Daw nie Oestreich son Cre ek

Above: Rachel Toppin Left: Larissa Lukac

UNBC Scholars Kyle Vandersteen

One World Scholarship, Pacific Horizons Scholarship, Simons Foundation International Scholarship

Laine Cosens of Dawson Creek

Juanit of Pou a Hunder ce Co upe

CONGRATULATIONS GRADS!

MD Medicine – Northern Medical Program

Award Recipients Lori Banks

Benjamin Kn

830 students graduated from UNBC this year, making history as the University’s largest graduating class ever.

Convocation ceremonies took place in Prince George, Quesnel, Fort St. James,Terrace, New Aiyansh, and Prince Rupert.

Christina Neufeld

MD Medicine – Northern Medical Program

Lindsey Kermer

www.unbc.ca/about

15 year old Taneille Johnson of Charlie Lake had the experience of a lifetime working with renowned cancer researcher Dr. Chow Lee and his team at UNBC. Taneille placed third in a national science fair competition and was paired up with Dr. Lee as part of a provincial mentorship program. During her time at UNBC, she conducted experiments on a gene that is believed to prolong the longevity of cancer cells.

Fort Nelson

Jennifer Douse

Pouce Coupe

Cancer Prodigy

First-year students Larissa Lukac of Dawson Creek, Rachel Toppin of Chetwynd, and Tashana Warkentine of Hudson’s Hope can all earn UNBC degrees tuition-free after receiving UNBC Scholars awards this past year. The awards are presented annually to the top student from each northern BC high school.

Doctors from the North Jennifer Douse and Christina Neufeld of Fort Nelson and Kerri Pandachuck and Sharona Supernault from Dawson Creek are among the first 23 graduates of the Northern Medical Program delivered by UNBC and UBC. Dr. Douse will also be the first to participate in a new family practice residency program in Fort St. John and Dawson Creek.

UNBC Courses in the Peace

UNBC News in the Peace

September to December 2008

Linking the North

Education 620

A new project to link northern communities through technology is gaining momentum. The first of five courses in a new Mental Health and Addictions Certificate was offered through video-conferencing from Prince George to students in Quesnel, Terrace, and Fort St. John. The course was full at all four sites. In response to the growing demands for courses throughout the region, UNBC is working with the colleges to implement high-definition video-conferencing and expand the course options.

Educational Assessment & Evaluation Grande Prairie Only English 212

Survey of English Literature II Online Course English 430

Special Topics in Canadian Literature Online Course English 471

Creative Writing – Fiction & Creative Non-Fiction Online Course

Environmental Planning 205

Environment & Society Online Course

Environmental Planning 305

Environmental Impact Assessment Online Course

Social Work 300

Social Work Communication Skills Face-to-face in Fort St. John Social Work 301

Critical Social Work Practice Face-to-face in Fort St. John Social Work 402

Social Work Field Education II Face-to-face in Fort St. John Social Work 422

Child Welfare Practice Online Course

Social Work 426

Current Issues in Child Welfare Practice Online Course

Social Work 455

First Nations Governance & Social Policy Online Course

History 301

The Canadian North Audio-Conference History 360

Environmental History

More UNBC Courses

Political Science 403

UNBC offers academic courses online and Continuing Studies courses locally.

Online Course

www.unbc.ca/programs

Audio-Conference

Social & Health Policy & Administration

BC-China Partnership A research partnership spanning the Pacific may bring great economic and environmental benefits to the oil and gas fields of northeastern BC. UNBC Environmental Engineering professor Jianbing Li is one of only 13 BC researchers to receive funding from a BC-China research program designed to foster international research collaboration.

Dr. Li will be working with a colleague at Tsinghua University to develop environmentally friendly techniques for cleaning petroleum-contaminated sites. In particular, Dr. Li is using a state-of-the-art lab on campus to test the effectiveness of microscopic organisms in breaking down pollutants and returning contaminated sites to a more natural state. Interest in these organisms has grown in recent years due to their potential use in cold climates and in environmental protection.

Course availability is subject to change.

UNBC Milestones: 2007/08 • New degree programs: Forest Ecology and Management, Human Resources Management, and Public Administration & Community Development.

• The National Post named UNBC one of Canada’s Research Universities of the Year.

• The Charles Jago Northern Sport Centre opened in Prince • Maclean’s ranked UNBC the best George, where the UNBC small university in western women won the provincial Canada and fourth nationwide. basketball championship.

Contact UNBC in Fort St. John Box 1000, 9820-120th Ave. Fort St. John, BC V1J 6K1 Phone: (250) 787-6220 Toll-Free: 1-800-935-2270 Email: prl-info@unbc.ca

www.unbc.ca/regops/prl

Printed on 100% recycled paper

The Chet-Wind Project No energy source is perfect, but Biology professor Ken Otter is conducting research at three sites near Chetwynd to ensure that wind farm installations are as bird and bat-friendly as possible. Working with the Canadian Wildlife Service and supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Ken and his team of researchers are using radar and other technologies to understand the habitat and flight patterns of birds along ridgelines proposed for development. This would allow wind energy companies to locate their turbines in areas that would have the least impact.

The Moose is Loose UNBC research has determined that the areas around Fort St. John and Dawson Creek are among the most dangerous in the province for collisions between vehicles and moose. To make matters worse, many of the worst “hot spots” don’t have any moose warning signage.

In an attempt to reduce the number of collisions, researchers are pinning down the reasons why moose frequent certain areas and then using that information to recommend actions that may deter their use of the roadsides. Around BC, there are nearly 10,000 collisions with animals per year, resulting in $23 million in claims to ICBC.

www.unbc.ca

Jody Giesbrecht of Fort St. John