Guelph The Portico Magazine, Summer 2013

The goal is to stop cancer Treating pets with cancer is our first priority, but humans benefit, too.

Climate change has a I human face Sustainable r: taurants

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the portico •

summer 2013

3 - president's page • BetterPlanet update - 8 • great guelph grads - 22

in and around th e university

- 10 cover story

ANIMAL CANCER CENTRE OPENS TO WIDE ACCLAIM A new cancer centre at the Ontario Veterinary College offers Canada's most advanced diagnosis and treatment for pets.

U

o F G scientists use plant breeding techniques to create enriched eggs. Other researchers look for new ways to fight drug- resistant bacteria and partner with industry to reduce Ca nada 's greenhouse gas emissions.

alumni matters

U

GAA HONOURS three distinguished alumni, prepares for

Alumni Weekend and gets ready to launch a new edu cational travel program. Student scholarship winners thank their donors, and the Gryphons think ahead to Homecoming.

-16on the cover DVM student Laura Golding with Bailey, a cancer patient at the Ontario Veterinary College

CLIMATE CHANGE HAS A HUMAN FACE Geographer Barry Smit says younger Canadians recognize that we need to do a better job of adapting to the realities of global wanning.

-19Portico online More U of G news at uoguelph.ca/theportico

College News Look inside for news from

PHOTO BY DEAN PALMER

your college and alumni association. See page 19.

STUDENT RESTAURANT IS ALSO A LABORATORY Guelph students rethink PJ's food service every semester; now it's one of Canada's most sustainable restaurants.

'lf · .

The MA (Leadership) Program

Your Career.

Your Way. At Guelph.

theportico Summer 2013 .

VOLUME

45

ISSUE

2

Editor Mary Dickieson

Assistant Vice-President Charles Cunningham

www. uoguelph.ca/cme/ma-leadership

Art Di rection Peter Enneson Design Inc.

'' One of the best decisions I have made in terms of my future, my career and how I can be a better me."

Contribut ors Susan Bubak Lori Bona Hunt Kevin Gonsalves Wendy Jesper.;en Teresa Pirman Andrew owle , B.Sc. '84

Marva Wisdom Principal, Wi sdom Consulting

Advertising Inquiries Score Ander.;on 519- T-9169

Don't Let Your Memories Fade Visit:

www.guelphgradphotos.ca

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2

THE PORTICO

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_llNBlERSITY COMMUNITY ADVANCES BE

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WISH ALL OF OUR READERS could see the series of lamppost banners now adorni ng Go rd o n Street and Stone Road around our campus. Installed this year, those banners highlight 35 Guelph fac ulty members w ho hold Canada Re~earch Chairs (C R C) and pu t a human face on the important re earch being done here at U of G. The federal g0\·e nm1ent's CR C program is designed to help umver itie attrac t so m e of th e wo rld 's to p re ·ear her - both established and ri sing stars. Ca nada pmnde funding to encourage resea rch excellence in Jl\'..1! that impro\'e both our quality of life and the coun~·· economy. \: 'e \\ nred to champio n G uelph 's C R C fac ulty becau e they are excep ti onal leaders and beca use their work ad\''Jnces the University's vision of building a better planet. H1ghlighring their photos on these street ba1mers 1gnal the fact that we are a communi ty of individ uals \\ r mg together to achi eve that visio n.

Our rnnununal efforts are al ready payi ng off in those al\'.a 1denafied as BetterPlanet Proj ect priorities: health, i . ennronrnent, co mmunity, and teachin g and learnmg. The articles in this issue o f Th e Portico demo nstrate that ucce s, beginning w ith the cover story on ca ncer tream1ent for companio n anim als. Guelph resea rch that improves health ca re fo r our pets - no matter w hat th e

d1 ea e or afflictio n - co ntributes new knowledge th at ultimately benefits human health as well.

Thi magaz ine and th e U niversity of G uelph web1te regularly fea tu re sto ri es th at show how we are ach1t:nng our BetterPlanet goals.Am ong exa mples published durmg the win ter semester are th e fo llowing: • Health re-;earchers are identifying interactions between gene . diet and nutritio n to help redu ce obesity; • uenti ~ here have developed a new breed of co rn cont.11nmg antioxida nts th at can be transferred through chic ·en teed to eggs, to help pro tect o ur vision; • •.\ tudy led by Guelp h microbiologists pi npo ints a ba< renal enzyme with promise in th e fight against drugre 1 m bacteria; • oi G and three other O ntar io universities hosted a forum to envision "Life in 2030," including a Guelph pre emanon on the ro le of the arts and humanities in bu1ldmg u tainable comm un ities; • .<)mmerce student Shwetha C handrashek har won a national bu ine · competition for predicting w hat the workforce w1ll look like in 2040 and developing propo al to prepare employers and em ployees; • Guelph chemis are collaborating wi th colleagues in France on more efficient ways to capture and separate C02, processes essential for controlling greenhouse gases.

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~ T he Bette rPl anet P roj ec t not on ly foc uses ou r resea rch and teac hin g goals but also drives o ur efforts ~ to accelerate the pace of discove ri es that will imp rove ~ o ur lives and sustain the reso urces we depend o n . We ~ ca n meas ure our impact thro ugh more fre qu ent U of G stori es in th e nati onal medi a and co ntinuing growth in resea rch fundin g. In th e las t decade, funding fro m fede ral g ranting co un cils and business and industry has grow n by 25 and 39 per ce nt, respec ti ve ly. Overall , U of G's resea rch budget now exceeds $150 million a year.

T hat's also th e number of dollars raised so far through th e BetterP lanet Proj ec t fundraising ca mpaign . D ono rs have already designated more than $110 million fo r fac iliti es, resea rch and teac hin g initiatives, and almost $40 millio n to help students more directl y thro ugh sc holarships and awa rds. We hope to reac h th e targe t of $200 million in 2014.

Prospective students are payi ng atte nti on.T he nu mber of students w ho nam ed U of G thei r first choice for admissio n this fa ll increased by 7 .2 per cent over las t yea r, accordin g to a Janu ary repo rt fro m the Ontario Uni versities' Applica tion Ce ntre.

T he Unive rsity of Gu elph- Humber saw an increase of 14.6 per ce nt; th e average amo ng Ontari o universiti es was 2.4 per cent.These increases reflect the strength of our reputati on, the diversity of our programs, and th e acco mplishments of our fac ul ty, staff and grads.

It's shaping up to be a bann er yea r for the Uni ve rsity of G uelph - in more ways th an one.

A LASTA IR S UM MERLEE, P RES IDENT

8

Summer 2013 3

I

& Corn Breeders Create Enriched Eggs

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ORN COULD OFFER a solution to vision problems that many people fa ce ~ as th ey age, acco rding to a new U of G z study led by plant agriculture professor Eliz~ abeth Lee. :::;; Research ers at G uelph crossed Argeniii tine Orange Flint maize with standard 0.. North American corn to create a new strain ~

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of corn containing the antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin, which protect eyes. The novel corn was fed to chickens that laid eggs rich in these helpful carotenoids.

The paper published in the journal Crop Science reported that the high-caro tenoid diet produced eggs containing the antioxidants, although eggs from hens fed this corn contained less lutein than those of hens fed marigold petal extrac t, the current way of producing hi gh-lutein eggs . But the researchers believe that it is possible to make a new breed of corn that contains even more lutein and zeaxanthin, leadi ng to eggs with more of th ese beneficial compounds.

In age-related macular degeneration, a progressive eye disease that is the leading cause of blindness in older adults, the eyes are low in lutein and zeaxanthin. Doctors routinely recommend eating leafy greens, the only other vegetables rich in these antioxidants.

Prof. Barry Shelp, Plant Agriculture, also worked on the study. "Elizabeth had th eo-

rized that it was possible to breed corn with increased lutein and zeaxant hin, and we wondered wh ether it was possible to get these antioxidants to people;' he said. "Since most h ens are fed corn, the best solution seems to be egg yolks where the carotenoids would be accompanied by oils, which may facilitate absorption by the human body. We fo und th at lutein and zeaxanthin contents of th e eggs were increased in hens ingesting this novel co rn."

"This was something that we felt had potential for not just egg producers but also Ontario corn farmers," said post-doctoral researcher Andrew Burt. "The goal for our tea m was to take o ur co ncept and create products that would be beneficial to farmers and which consumers w ill want.We still have some work to do, but we proved the concept is a valid one."

Lee and her team are encouraged by the findin gs, wh ich show that resea rchers ca n breed plants to produce functi onal foods.

Make Sense of Functional Foods

H

ELP ING OLDER ADULTS understand the benefits and labelling of functional foods is th e purpose of a new toolkit developed by U of G professor Alison Duncan, Human Health and Nutritional Sciences.

Designed primarily for health professionals, the Functional Foods for Healthy Aging Toolkit is available to the public on the Agri-food for Healthy Aging website: aha.the-ria.ca . rr: Duncan says functional foods such as pro-

Alison

~ biotic yogourt, otnega-3 eggs and high-fibre

it cereals contain "bioactive ingredients" shown ~ to improve health. "Functional foods have a 0 iii lot of potential as a strategy to help optimize ยง health, but there is so much information on

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the labels of these products that consun1ers

4 THE P ORTICO

may not have th e tools to fully understand them. This toolkit will help, and it will be especially beneficial to older adults."

The toolkit provides definitions of func-

tional foods, regulatory information, detailed explanations and case studies oflabels found on common products.The kit also provides reso urce sheets for cli ents and results of a study funded by the Canadian Foundation for Dietetic Res ea rch (C FDR) on fun ctional food consumpti on by older adults.

Duncan worked on the toolkit with former graduate students Hilary Dunn , Laura Stratton and Meagan Vella, and undergraduate students Sarah Dainty and Brittney Kay. This project was funded by the uttition R esearch in Focus program ofCFDR and the Agri-Food and Rural Link program, a partnership between th e Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food, an d the University of Guelph.

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~NEW ART GALLERY OPENS DOWNTOWN

U

of G's School of Fine Art and Music

(SOFAM) and the Macdonald Stewart Art

Centre (MSAC) are partners in a new public art gallery in downtown Guelph .

The Boarding House Gallery opened Feb. 28 with an exhibition of contemporary Canadian art works by SOFAM faculty Diane Borsato, James Carl, Susan Dobson, FASTWURMS, Christian Giroux, Will Garlitz, John Kissick, Nestor Kruger, Jean Maddison, Martin Pearce, Sandra Rechico, Monica Tap and Laurel Woodcock. The show also featured a number of works selected from MSAC's permanent collection.

The gallery will feature the work of SOFAM Anthony Clarke, left, and John Pfeffer

faculty and students for nine months each year.

U of G Researchers Fight Drug-Resistant Bacteria RU G COMPAN I ES looking for new ways to fi ght antimicrobial drug resistance are paying attention to a new study led by Prof.Anthony Clarke, Molecular and Cellular Biology. His research tea m has show n for the fir st time the workings of a common bacterial enzyme that might offer a new target for battling disease-causing bacteria.

Th eir paper was published in the ] 011rnal of Biological Chemistry .The lead author is John Pfeffer, who began working with C larke as an undergrad, completed a PhD in late 2012 and is now a po t-doc re earcher in th e professor's lab.

Their co-author, Joel Weadge, completed hi s do ctorate with Clarke in 2006 and is now a biology professor at Wilfrid Laurier University.

Bacteria have evolved many variations of defensive enzymes, say the researchers . Knock out one target with an antibiotic, and the bug often deploys a different protein to elude treatment.

What's promising is that the panic-

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ular enzyme they are looking at - called 0-acetylpeptidoglycan esterase, or "Ape" - has shown little redundancy. So drugs might be more effective or doctors might be able to outwit the bugs longer, although Pfeffer says bacteria will eventually find a way around potential new treatments.

The Guelph team studied bacteria that cause gonorrhea - U.S. surveys show up to three-quarters of infections may involve antibiotic-resistant strains - but Pfeffer says the Guelph finding might also help in treating other drug-resistant strains that pose a threat for people in hospitals and long-term care facilities.

This winter Clarke attended a meeting of the Canada/UK. Partn ership on Antibiotic Resistance, a collaboration of the Canadian Institutes of H ealth Res ea rch and the British Medical Research Council. H e is co-leader of a research tean1 studying infectious organisms that are increasingly impervious to drug treatments.

MSAC will use the other three months to exhibit items from its permanent collection, most of which is in storage.

The gallery will feature a new exhibition every month . Admission is free.

Located at 6 Dublin St. S. , the Boarding House Gallery takes its name from the origins of the historical bu il ding; it is also the former location of the Guelph Civic Museum.

SOFAM and MSAC say the gallery helps fulfill their mandate of presenting contemporary art exhibitions in a space that is accessible and free to the public. ''The gallery is a venue for the exhibition of work by practising professional artists, and for bringing the work and ideas of our best and brightest students to the downtown core," says Kissick, SOFAM director.

Summer 2013 5

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the

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Forest Ecologist Named Arboretum Director ROF. SH ELL EY HU NT, School of Environmental Sciences (SES), took up her new role as director of the U of G

P

Arboretum in February. She oversees the largest and most comprehensive sanctuary of its kind in Ontario - home to more than 18,000 specimens in more than 30 plant collections as well as gardens, wetlands, nature trails and fore sts.

Hunt completed her B.Sc. and PhD at Guelph and says the 165-hectare green space was one of her favourit e places to visit on ca mpu s w hile a student at the University.

"When I was living in East R esidence, the Arboretum was our backyard , the go-to place for walking, running and occasional late- night cross-country skiing. lt was also wonderfu l to have a place on ca mpus to hone my tree identification skills."

A faculty member since 2006, Hunt has used th e sanctuary as a fi eld site for under-

graduate research projects and led classes on walk-and-talks through the space to reinforce lecture concepts. She will continue to teach and conduct research on forest restoration in so uthern Ontario.

Each year rnore than 73,000 people visit the Arboretum, and more than 6,000 people participate in workshops, guided tours and special events.

"The Arboretum provides opportunities for teaching and research and extensive outreach to the broader community, with dedica ted volunteers from on and off campus.

This is important green spa ce on campus and part of the City of Guelph's natural heritage system,'' she says .

Hunt took over from SES director Jonathan N ewman, who had served as interim director since Prof. Alan Watson stepped dow n from the position in 2012 after more than 20 years at the Arboretum.

w ho named the bea r Winnie for his hometown ofWinnipeg. Part of th e Ca nadian Army Veterinary Corps, he tookWim1i e with him to Europe during the First World War and eventu ally don ated her to the London Zoo.There Winnie became a crowd favourite and th e subj ect of A.A. Milne's stories.

Presidential Search Underway Librarian Donates Rare Book HE U OF G Library recently received a first Canadian edition of Winnie the Pooh, thanks to special collections librarian Melissa McAfee, w ho purchased the rare book and donated it through her 15-yearold Bengal cat, Sandy.

McAfee started to work at U of G last summer, but Sandy still lives south of the border with McAfee's partner, Paul Saenger, a curator at Chicago's Newberry Library.Their

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6 THE PORTICO

A

gift presumes that Sandy wanted to honour the field of veterinary medicine in Canada.

Complete with original illustrations by E.H. Shepard, the bo ok was published by McClelland and Stewart in 1926. Until McAfee tracked down the volume last fall, the library lacked any first edition of Pooh surprising to some, given Winnie's Canadian and OVC provenance.

The original Winnie was a female black bear orphaned in 1911 in White River, Ont. The cub was purchased by Harry Colebourn, an OVC-trained veterinary surgeon,

PRESIDENTIAL SELECTION committee appointed in February is chaired by Dick Freeborough, chair of the University of Guelph Board of Governors, and includes faculty, student and alumni members.

Amon g the selection co mmittee's first tasks are deterrnining general characteristics and capabilities required in a candidate, and soliciting co mment from the University community. To participate, link to the committee's website at www.uoguelph.ca or send email to search.president@exec. uoguelph.ca.

U of G's next president is expected to be in place by summer 2014, when Alastair Summerlee's second term will end.

Read U of G daily news at www.uoguelph .ca

Reducing Greenhouse Gases Goal of Canada/France Project

NOTEWORTHY • Guelph professors Bill Nickling and Ze'ev Gedalof have helped develop a monitoring system for the Jordanian government that includes technology to gauge changes in soil moisture, vegetation and erosion.

They hope their system will help the Middle Eastern country assess land resource changes and, ultimately, halt desertification.

• Geography chair John Smithers will serve as interim dean of the College of Social and Applied Human Sciences, when Prof. Kerry Daly's term ends July 1 . The search for a new dean will begin after the college completes a prioritization and planning process now underway at U of G. • Thanks to cu ltural evolution, male

From left: John Carroll, a process engineer at Canada's Gas Liquids Engineering;

sparrows are changing their tune,

U of G post-doc Yohann Coulier, Prof. Peter Tremaine; post-doc Lucas Applegarth;

partly to attract "the ladies." Integra-

and research associate Hugues Arcis, all in the Department of Chemistry.

tive biology professors Ryan Norris and Amy Newman worked with

I ND I NG COST - EFl'EC I !VI: ways to help in dustries reduce carbon emissions and reduce Canada's greenhouse gas contribution are the goals of a new federa ll y funded project involving chemists at the University of Guelph and in France.

The atural Sciences and Engineering R.esearch Council (NSER C) supports Guelph researchers led by chemistry profe sor Peter Tremaine who are studying no\·el chemicals for capturing and toring carbon dioxide produced by mdu try.

1 Guelph's ERC funding -152,000 O\'er three year - will be matched by the French gm·ernmem for scientists at Blaise Pascal Univer iry in C lermont-Ferrand. Both group will work with industrial partners Ga Liquids Engineering Ltd. and lFP Energies N ouvelles in Canada and France, respectively.

Canadian industries generate about 600 million tonnes of C02 a year, among the highest per-capita emissions in the world, says Tremaine. "Carbon capture and storage is an option for reducing car-

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bon dioxide emissions from power plants and industry, and for helping Ca nada meet targets for lowering greenhouse gas emissions causing global warming.

"Current technology for capturing .. from and sequ estering carbon dim-ide a coal-fired power station ca n consume as mu ch as 30 per ce nt of th e energy produced by the plant," he adds.

The researchers will study chemicals that trap carbon dioxide and then separate into phases und er changing temperature to release the C02 for storage. " More energy-effi cient processes for capturing and separating C02 are esse ntial if this is to be a viable tec hnology for controlling greenhouse gases," says Tremaine. His research group is one of only a few worldwide with precision equipment for studying hightemperature, high-press ure chemistry for applications in nuclear power and other industries.

"We and others in the Department of Chemistry are doing research supported by industry to address global emission problems and energy problems," he adds. " It's exciting."

U.S. scientists to analyze the songs of male Savannah sparrows recorded over three decades and found distinct changes in those songs.

• The Canadian Centre for DNA Barcoding based in U of G's Biodiversity Institute of Ontario conducted a market study for the international oceans advocacy group Oceana. The DNA analysis showed mislabelling of 33 per cent of fish sold in grocery stores, restaurants and sushi bars in the United States.

• U of G president Alastair Summerlee ; Kevin Hall , vice-president (research and external partnerships); Rich Moccia, associate vice-president (strategic partnerships); and Profs. Cate Dewey, population medicine, and Alice Hovorka, geography, led workshops in Tanzania this winter to improve social, economic and environmental sustainability in East Africa. Their discussions attracted academics, government leaders, industry, non-governmental organizations, grads and others from Canada, East Africa and beyond.

Sununer 2013 7

The Better Scholarships a Gift From the Heart

FROM A SON'S LOVE, A GIFT TO FUTURE VETERINARIANS

U

of G veterinary students

are the beneficiaries of a

generous bequest from the late George A. Whitehead of Victoria, B.C. His gift will support summer stipends for DVM students to conduct research in rural community veterinary medicine.

Whitehead's father graduated from the Ontario Veterinary College (OVC) more than 100 years ago; the gift honours his father's memory.

Whitehead's own career included many years working as a detective in the Portland, Ore., police department before retiring to Victoria. He was also a U.S. army veteran.

The

summer

research

stipends benefit ongoing OVC research projects , but, more importantly, they give students experiential learning opportunities and motivate them to consider alternative career options in veterinary medicine.

8

T H E P ORTICO

E

NGL!SH LI TERATURE, H olstein bulls and criminal law may seem dispara te interests, but they are all important pursuits for Edward M arwick.

A lawyer fo r almost 40 years, he spent most of his early caree r prac tising criminal law in Hamilton, O nt. M orwick also tu rned his hand to property development, creating the M eadowbrook M an ors and M arshall Estates subdivisio ns in Ancaster. Eve ntu all y, he sta rted a mortgage investment and venture capital firm, to w hich he now devo tes m ost of his time.

H e lives on a farm near Jerseyville, but it's the Holstein breed he favo urs. H e and earlier generations of his family have made signifi cant contributions to H olstein breeding in Canada.

M arwick enrolled at th e University of Guelph in 1968, intending to become a j ournalist. H e excelled in English literature and writing but changed his career plans when O sgoode :;: H all Law School offered him early admission. ~ He still writes, however, and has supported I ~sc h o l a r s hips fo r gradu ate and undergradu ate ~s tud ents in U of G's College of Arts fo r sevfn era! years. H is recent $1 -million pledge will @increase the nu mber of students w ho benefit ii: each year fro m three to mo re than 20. M o r-

wick's total giving to Guelph scholarships now tops $1.4 million .

T he m otiva tion for his generosity is fourfold . "The U niversity of G uelph is the place where I fo und myself and came to realize what l wanted to do with my life," he says. "T he professors and staff made me feel appreciated an d enco uraged me to exercise my talents . I owe them a debt of gratitude."

H e also wanted to boost th e reputation of G uelph's creative w riting program : "That's a subj ect very dear to my heart." M orwick says sc holarships are a way to build th e University's stature by attracting superior students w ho will go on to become literary greats.

And along the way, he's enj oying the satisfac ti o n of being able to help deserving stu dents: " I have no children of my own , and I think of the sc holarship recipien ts as my extended family."

When M orwick's career moved away from criminal law, he found more time to pursue his oth er interests. H e penne d: Th e Chosen Breed, a book that chronicles the history of Holsteins in Canada and was sold in 69 co untries. He also wrote The Holstein History, about the breed's development in the U nited States.

Planet Project U of G Library Preserves Local Brewing History

"HEALTH FOR LIFE RESONATES WITH US" ob and Gail Farquharson have supported the University of Guelph for many years .

"Our friendship began with our interest in horticulture and our respect for the Arboretum projects," he says. "The friendship deepened with our dependence on their veterinary services."

The Farquharsons' most recent gift advances

B

John H. Sleeman established Silver Creek Brewery in Guelph in 1851 . Pictured is the brewery delivery wagon ,

ca. 1870s - 1890s.

FEW KEGS ' -W O RTH ofCanadian and local h eritage have come to the University of Guelph for safekeeping.

The University has acquired the Sleeman Collection , chronicling the history of one of th e country's oldest breweries, for its archival and special collections at the McLaughlin Library.

The collection includes photographs, business records, newspapers, correspondence and other materials showing the brewing dynasty's impact on Canada in the past 150 years, from industry advancement to infrastructure to politics. " For many years, we have been accumulating my family's historical artifacts," z said John W Sleeman, company founder 0 Gand chairman and great-great-grandson j of the original brewmaster, John H . Slee-

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8:1:man.

3!j " I have always hop ed that we co uld ~somehow preserve them for th e future 搂 but also make them available for the pubit lie to see and enjoy. I'm delighted to say

that, with the University of Guelph's wonderful archival facilities, this has now been made possible."

"This is an important contribution to our regional history collection ," said Kathryn Harvey, head of arc hival an d special collections.

"The Sleeman family has a long and rich history in this area, play.ing a role not just in the brewing business but in the very fabric of Guelph society.They were involved in early transportation, sports and community growth, and contributed to political and social life."The University路 hopes to have the collection designated as Canadian cultural property.

On April 3, the U ofG library launched a Sleeman Collection website that highlights the company's history from its founder's arrival in Upper Canada through Prohibition to today's brewing operation.The website covers four areas: biographies, breweries, regional history and sports and social clubs.

More information on these and other areas are available for study in the collection itself.

U of G's proposed Health for Life initiative - a plan to build a world-class program of preventive health initiatives that reduce the incidence of chronic diseases. Their $537,000 donation will support research on nutrition and personalized health assessments.

"The work that is proposed for Health for Life resonates with us," says Gail. "As our demographic ages, it seems ever more intuitive to focus on our food to gain maximum performance and quality of life. We need to bring our attention to the proven success of preventative measures."

Bob Farquharson is also generous with his finan cial expertise. As vice-chair and director of AGF Management Ltd. and chair of AGF Management Asia Ltd . and AGF International Advisors Company Ltd., he brings valuable perspective to the University's Board of Trustees and advisory councils for The BetterPlanet Project and the Health for Life initiative. He is also a member and chair emeritus of the Royal Ontario Museum Board of Governors.

Summer 2013 9

Bailey waits in the Mona Campbell Centre for Animal Cancer while small-animal intern Steve Patten and fourth-year student Ann Dion discuss the dog's treatment regimen.

10

TH E PORTI CO

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Treating pets with cancer is our first priority, but studying the disease in animals benefits humans, too. /

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BY ANDREW VOWLES PHOTOS BY DEAN PALMER alk through the space-age entryway of the Mona Campbell Centre for Animal Cancer at the University of Guelph, and you enter a bright brand-new space for treating pets with cancer.

But that's only part of the story.You've also reached the front line for clinical cases that help researchers study and develop treatments for the feared disease, not just in animals but in humans, too.

The 12,000-square-foot facility - the most comprehensive animal cancer treatment and research centre in Canada - opened in fall 2012. Part of the Ontario Veterinary College (OVC), the centre is located in the former pathobiology wing, next door to the college's small-animal clinic. Inside that new College Avenue entrance are clinical experts - some 20 in all, including oncologists, technicians, interns, students and support staff. Housed here are advanced tools for cancer diagnosis, treatment and teacrung, including a linear accelerator for radiation treatment unmatched at any veterinary school in Canada.

The new centre is named for the late Mona Campbell, a longtime animal advocate who donated $9 .5 nUllion to OVC, half of wruch has supported the centre.The other key supporter was the OVC Pet Trust Fund, which launched a $15-rnillion campaign to create tills comprehensive animal cancer centre.

W

riority No. 1 Treatment and care come first here, says clinical studies professor Paul Woods.

Standing in the centre's spacious waiting room, he says every week brings about 100 patients here, including 15 to 20 new cases. Pets with cancer make up about one in three visits to the adjoining companion-animal hospital, part of OVC's Health Sciences Centre.

They're mostly dogs and cats, and many more of the former, says Woods. One in four dogs will die from cancer versus one in eight cats. Common cancers in dogs include lymphoma, bone cancer, mast cell tumours, soft tissue sarcomas, urinary tract cancer and hemangiosarcoma of blood vessels.

Patients come mainly from central Canada but also from northern Ontario, the Maritimes and western New York state.A few are more far-flung. "One dog came from Korea," says Woods, recalling the clients who stayed in Toronto last fall and visited Guelph with their cocker spaniel.

Now and then, the centre sees an unusual creature, he adds. "A lot of ferrets get lymphoma."

Touring the new centre, Woods shows off chemotherapy and surgical oncology wards; examination, treatment and procedure rooms; and family visiting areas.

The space brings together medical, radiation and surgical oncologists as well as a counsellor trained in social work and a clinical nutritionist.

He notes that the nutritionist can help in comparing effects of diets in animals with and without cancer, working with faculty in U of G's Department of Human

Summer 2013 11

Health and Nutritional Sciences.

Housed inside concrete walls six feet thick is the new linear accelerator for radiation therapy. lt produces what Woods calls "sup er-powerful X-rays" that target a tumour with minimal damage to normal tissue. That means fewer radiation burns and other side effects such as cataracts, and thus better recovery for patients.

You'd find similar equipment for treating human patients in nearby centres, but you'd have to go to Colorado State University or the University of Florida for comparable tools in a veterinary teaching hospital.

Comparative studies

Above: Cancer patient Ramona has the attention of Profs. Paul Woods and Brenda Coomber, co-directors of the Institute for Comparative Cancer Investigation .

Next page, top to bottom: Cancer researchers Geoff Wood, left, and Byram Bridle were attracted to the Ontario Veterinary College partly because of its state-of-the-art cancer treatment centre for animals. Two-time Guelph graduate Kaya Skowronski co-ordinates clinical trials and manages the tumour bank that stores tissue samples for future research. Biomedical sciences professor Alicia Viloria-Petit studies breast cancer in humans, using cell cultures provided by OVC's canine patients.

12

THE PORTICO

Besides serving veterinary patients, the centre enables U of G researchers to cond uct clinical trials and test new ca ncer therapies intended for both humans and animals. For those projects, Woods and the centre's experts become clinical research partners with several fac ulty members, notably in OVC's departments of Pathobiology and Biomedical Sciences. Those scientists are part of U of G's [nstitute for Comparative Cancer [nvestiga ti o n (lCCI) , launched in 2007 .

Led by Woods and biomedical sciences professor Brenda Coomber, lCCI integrates studies by more than 30 investigators from departments across campus, including cancer biologists, veterinarians, chemists, mathematicians, computer scientists, toxicologists and psychologists .

Beyond the campus borders, Guelph cancer researchers also work with larger gro ups in Canada and abroad. OVC is the first Canadian member of the U.S. National Cancer lnstitute's Comparative Oncology Trials Consortium. Under that network of 20 schools, experts co-operate in clinical trials and studies of new therapies for treating cancer in dogs and finding applications in human ca ncer. Those kinds of comparative cancer studies take place in several OVC labs not far from the new animal treatment centre on College Avenue.

In her lab, Coomber is testing a compound normally used for treating fungal infections in dogs for possible use against mast cell tumours. In humans, mast cells are involved in immune responses such as allergies rather than in cancer. In dogs, mast cell tumours account for up to 20 per cent of skin twnours and are the most conunon kind

of skin cancer. They're normally treated with surgery, although clinicians may need to use radiation or chemotherapy to treat tumours that have spread to other parts of the body.

Coomber learned that an anti-fungal drug may interfere with signalling pathways used by mast cancer cells to co ntro l cell growth and spread. The drug might cause fewer side effects and be cheaper than standard treatments, but its benefits are far from clear-cut. Studies even suggest that the drug may end up enhanci ng rather than inhibiting growth of cancer cells. " We need to know th.is before we start trea ting dogs with mast cell tumours with this agent," says Coomber, "and our mast cell cancer cell lines are ideal for these studies."

She maintains those cell lines taken from surgical tumours in her lab as a bank for studying potential therapies involving cell signalling systems.These lines m.ight help in developing treatment for cancer in pets and humans.

"Humans don't generally get mast cell tumours, but what we find might be relevant for human cancers that use the sa me signalling pathways.We know so much about human disease beca use of decades' worth of fundam ental studies ."

Coomber adds that it's ironic how hard it is to grow cancer cells directly from tumours. "You'd think it wou ld be the easiest thing in the world, but it's not."

Diagnostic tools She and other OVC facu lty are also working on a predictive test fo r potential use in canine lymphoma. Lymphoma in dogs is one of the most commo n types of ca nce r in companion an imals ; it resembles nonHodgkin's lymphoma in people.

Canine patients with th.is disease und ergo chemotherapy involving multiple rounds of four drugs. In abo ut 80 per cent of dogs, this trea tment leads to complete remission of the ca ncer, meas ured by shrinkage of lymp h nodes to normal size. But about half of those dogs w ith complete remission will suffer a relapse within six months and will need new treatment.

Second-line therapies exist to treat dogs that fail to achieve remission and those that relapse and develop resistance to existing drugs . Currently, all dogs are treated using the standard approach; second-lin e therapies are used when that approach fails .

Clinicians need a better way to tell sooner w hi ch dogs will have a longer remissio n and which ones will have a short remissio n or n o n e at all, says C o o mb e r. Certain mo lec ul es called biomarkers ca n help in predi ctin g disease outcome o r respo nse to therapy. Cancer res earchers are loo kin g for reliable bio m arkers that ca n be easily 1neasured and help to improve trea tment.

One such biomarker has been developed

by Rna Diagnos ti cs , a co mpany based in Toronto. In a clinical trial with human breast ca nce r pati ents spo nsored by th e Natio nal Cance r Institute of C anada, the co mpany showed that its assay can pinpoint which pati ents will no t respond to their chemotherapy. The Guelph team will te t irs use fo r predicting relapse in dogs with lymphoma receiving the convencional drug protocol at th e Mona Campbell centre.

Coomber ays a rouane d1agnomc test fo r therapy re pon e would help clrnicians decide earlier whether ro u e the tandard drug cocktail for a pamcular animal or switch ro anoth er rrearrnenr.

She's also runnin g a new rumour bank she established at the cancer centre. The bank sto res tumo ur and normal ci ue from urgicaJ pati ents - mostl y dogs - as well a blood and urin e. T he samples are bemg sto red fo r po tential research by scienn t around the world studying animal or human disease. Th ey mi ght want to look at b10markers, altered ge nes or proteins; study signaJJin g pathways; o r design clinical srud ies.

"W e have to tr y to imagin e the research wo rld of the future," says C oomber.

Kaya Skowronski, a form er PhD student ofCoomber's, runs the bank and co-ordinates clinical trials at the cancer centre. No comparabl e fac ili ty exists in anoth er Canadian veterinary school, but in the United States, tumour and normal tissue from dogs is held by the Ca nin e Comparative O ncology and Genomi c Co nsortium in Bethesda, M d.

Treatment regimens Fighting th e spread of cancer in the body is part of the goal of studi es by biomedical sciences pro fessor Alicia Viloria- Petit.

"M ost patients don 't die of the pri mary tumo ur but die aft er the tumo ur mi g rates to and colonizes distant organs," she says.

She studies how tumour cells change to allow metastasis and hopes to develop more

Sull1111er 2013 13

effective treatment for advanced breast cancer. In Canada, one in nine women will develop breast cancer during their lifetime, and one in 29 will die of the disease.

Before corning to Guelph in 2009,Viloria-Petit worked on breast cancer metastasis as a post-doc at Mount Sinai's Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute in Toronto.

There, researchers had learned how a molecule called transforming growth factor beta (TGFb) changes the cell's shape to promote tumour cell migration and metastasis. Last year she was part of a team that discovered that nucrovesicles made and secreted by normal cells near a tumour affect cancer's ability to spread to other body tissues. She says doctors might be able to target proteins in th ese microvesicles to halt cancer spread.

That study was published in the journal Cell in late 2012. " It's an impo rtant example of how the environment of the tum o ur co ntributes to metastasis ."

She's also looking at howTGFb helps cause angioge nesis. That process allows a tumour to spro ut new blood vesse ls to gain nutrien ts and oxygen. Hitting the common signalli ng networks activated by this protein in endothelial and tumour cells might provide a one-two punch, she says.

"We want to target and simultaneously block what happens in tumour cells to prom ote metastasis and w hat happens in endothelial cells to promote angiogenesis."

Many researchers work on one process or the other, but Viloria-Petit aims to understand both. She hopes to figure out how to disrupt the entire signalling network controlled by TG Fb. Besides breast cancer, this molecule is involved in tumour types such as colon and prostate cancer. She works with cell cultures using OVC's stored dog cell lines and collaborates with Toronto colleagues using robotic screening to identify different signalling molecules connected to and modulated byTGFb. Signalling in bone cancer is another focus of her lab.A particular problem in larger dog breeds such as greyhounds, osteosarcoma is highly metastatic and resistant to therapy. For dogs treated with both surgery and chemotherapy, only 30 per cent will survive for two years. In people, current therapies prolong life in only 30 per cent of patients.

Osteosarcoma cells can produce large amounts ofTGFb proteins, and bone cells are

14

THE PORTICO

the biggest source of this protein in the body.

Viloria-Petit is using an osteosarcorna bank containing specimens of tumours from dogs treated at OVC, as well as cell lines derived &om those tun10urs. Along with pa tho biology professor GeoffWood and clinical studies professor Tony Mutsaers, she studies proteins expressed in those cell Ii nes and their connection to metastasis and therapy resistance.

Connecting protein expression with patient survival and metastasis nught help scientists develop drugs to target those proteins, she says. Having access to OVC's anin1al cancer centre helps in drawing those connections. " I hadn't been exposed to veterinary patients before I came to Guelph," says Viloria-Petit, who studied biology and inummology in Venezuela and did her PhD at the University ofToronto. Her grandfa ther died of metastatic lung cancer w hen she was 14.

"That was my first contact with metastatic disease; it intrigued me a lot. I couldn't understand how so mething that started in his lung ended up in his brain."

Models of disease Following veterinary studies at OVC, Geoff Wood studied cancer biology for his PhD and for a D.VSc. split between Guelph and his supervisor's labs at two Toronto hospital . He also worked at the Toronto Centre for Phenogenomics, where researchers use genetically engineered nuce to study a range of diseases . He returned to Guelph in 2007 to study bone cancer.

Wood says dogs provide a more real-life look at ca ncer, particularly hum an forms of the disease. "Certain sponta neous tumours in dogs are very good models of disease .

Until recently, we lacked a good model for human bone cancer."

Working with tumour samples from the animal cancer centre, he uses whole-genome chips containing thousands of dog gene samples to search for cha nges linked to bone cancer. So far, he has pinpointed several possible culprit genes in comparative studies of mouse, dog and human genomes.

Wood is also looking at tissue samples to study metastasis, specifica ll y by studyi ng gene ti c changes between primary tumour cells in bone and "met" cells in the lung.

He's found at least one gene associated with post-chemotherapy survival . That's important for clinicians and pet owners deciding

on treatment options, he says .

Wood's interest in cancer stems from pathology classes taken during hi s DVM studies. He was intrigued by the complicated mix of enviroru11ental, dietary and genetic factors involved in the disease.

Retunung to Guelph made sense for two key reasons , he says. One draw was the planned animal cancer centre, a tangible sign of a growing ca ncer biology community embodied in ICC !. "There's a good connection between the clinic side and research - the barriers here are a lot less than in a human hospital."The other compelling factor was Guelph 's new Pathobiology/ Aiumal Health Building, which opened in late 2010.

Vaccine therapy A similar path took pathobiology professor Byram Bridle from stud ies at Gue lph into research elsewhere and then back to U ofG. A cancer inummologist, he returned in 2012, bringing hopes of developing a ca ncer vaccine that would use the body's inm1une system and viruses to fight the disease.

His idea rests partly on so-called oncolytic viruses, which prefer to invade cancerous cells rather than normal ones. It ni.ade sense to use th ese viruses to get rid of cancer, he thought. But how to surm ount the body's inunune system, normally primed to find and destroy such invade rs' His answer: make th e viruses and immun e system work together.

First, vaccinate a patient with proteins taken from the tumour to prime the immune system . Then inject an oncolytic viru s modified with the gene for that protein. That would trigger the immune system to attack the protein , including the original tumour, while the virus is left intact to invade the cancer cells. Having obtained proni.ising results in ni.ice, Bridle now plans to work with dogs and cats as the next step toward testing this seek- and-destroy approach in people.

For both the immune system and viruses, a hallmark is their specificity, he says. "We can both kill tumour cells wi th high specificity and leave th e normal cells alone."With this approach, doctors would not have to pinpoint the precise location of the tumour target and could treat patients witho ut the toxic side effects of other forms of therapy, he says.

This work effectively turns Bridle's graduate studies on end. For his PhD wit h

pathobiology professor Bonnie Mallard, he looked at ways not to ramp up the immune system but to dampen it. He studied xenotransplantation , where the challenge is to effectively fool the body into accepting a foreign tissue graft . His interest stemmed from his mother's experience with lupus, a systemic autoimmune disease.

With cancer, he says, "it's completely the opposite.You want to get an autoimmune response to kill the cancerous 'self' but not the normal 'self."'While completing his doctorate at Guelph, his grandfather di ed of metastatic melanoma . That experi ence helped direct his interests: "Through your job, you can do something abo ut problems with a real negative impact on life."

Guelph offers him acces ro companion animals for veterinary clinical trials. A. an artifi cial m odel, engineered mice take a resea rcher only so far. he ay ·. Dogs hare our home . em·ironmenc. water. e\·en food - all prm·iding a more real-life model for human di ease. ·· rts a real advantage for us to work with companion animals as an imerm edi ate,'' says Bridle, who ca me ro U of G fro m a pos tdoc at M cMaster Uni ve rsity. H e's also part o f th e Ontario R egional Bio-Therapeuti cs program run by the Ontario Institute fo r Ca ncer Research in Toronto.

Cancer biotherapies such as oncol yti c viruses are a promising field , although still a fairly small piece of the treatment picture and one that will probably complement rather than replace conventional treatments, at least for now. Canada is one of the world leaders in oncolytic viri:ises, he says, noting that many Canadians are among the organizers and speakers at an international meeting on the topic taking place this year in Quebec City.

Bridle is also involved with a study of the viru s that causes Newcastle disease in poultry as a cancer therapy; that work involves the Juravinski Hospital and Cancer Centre in Hamilton, Ont. Being at Guelph allows him to work with poultry experts in the Animal Health Laboratory on campus and in both OVC and the Ontario Agricultural College.

And, of course, he's now looking at opportunities with the hands-on experts at U of G's brand-new cancer centre just a short walk from his office. 'Tm a basic researcher.

What I get excited about is the opportunity to work with clinician scientists ." •

U of G researchers study many aspects of cancer rots. Brenda Coomber, biomedical

•

Prostate cancer progression

sciences, and Paul Woods, clini-

•

Growth factors in lung cancer

cal studies, launched U of G's Insti-

•

P

Client expectations in cancer treatment

tute tor Comparative Cancer Investigation (ICCI) in 2007 . The group integrates the

•

Mammary cancer metastasis

work of more than 30 cancer researchers,

•

Dog and mouse cancer models

not just in the Ontario Veterinary College

•

lmmunotherapy

(OVC) but from across campus.

•

Quality of life in animal cancer

ICCI aims to improve pet health, pro-

patients

mote interdisciplinary cancer research, and

A number of researchers outside the

train new cancer specialists and scientists.

veterinary college have also discussed

Beyond disease in companion animals, it

their studies during ICCI gatherings.

also promotes comparative studies

Guelph cancer researchers include

between animals and humans.

experts in mathematics and statistics,

Since 2008, ICCI has run a summer cancer research symposium on campus.

plant science, molecular biology, psychology, philosophy, human health and

The event showcases U of G investigations

nutrition, family studies, food science

into numerous aspects of the disease from

and computer science. Among their

basic science to clinical therapies to social,

research interests are the following:

emotional, philosophical and ethical facets

•

of cancer.

•

The annual event has attracted faculty members and students from all four

Cell signalling pathways and proteins Gut pathogens and colorectal cancer

•

OVC departments: biomedical sciences,

Plant nutrients, medicines and colon cancer

clinical studies, pathobiology and popu-

•

Niacin supplements

lation medicine. OVC researchers have

•

Omega-3 fatty acids and breast

looked at various topics in animal cancer, including the following: •

Molecular genetics of bone cancer

•

Palliative treatment for bone cancer

cancer • •

Proteins and signalling networks in

Leukemia in horses

•

Tumour growth and cell death

Factors affecting referral to specialty

•

in dogs • •

Economic evaluation of cervical cancer prevention breast cancer

oncology services

Biomarkers of cancer progression and metastasis

•

Colorectal cancer proteins

•

Health services for men with cancer

•

Mast cell tumour therapy

•

Food group combinations and

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Cannabinoids for vomiting and

anti-cancer properties

•

Hyperglycemia and ovarian cancer

•

Viral factors in lung cancer

•

Quality of care for oncology patients

•

Feline cancer and limb paralysis

•

Chemotherapy drug pumps

•

Viral causes of tumours in sheep

•

Computer analysis of protein in cell

•

Radiation, surgery and

nausea

cycle regulation

chemotherapy for dogs

•

Psychosocial aspects of cancer

•

Anti-angiogenic cancer treatment

•

Cell adherence and migration

•

Tumour regression

•

Nutrients as anti-tumour agents

•

Guelph cancer registry for

•

DNA modification in cancer treatment

companion animals

•

Reflections on loss and death

http://www.ovc.uoguelph.ca/icci/

Discussions about global warming were just starting when a federal deputy minister called Barry Smit in 1978 for help in analyzing the impacts of rising temperatures on Canadian agriculture. By then, Smit had been a geography professor at the University of Guelph for only two years. He has been at it ever since, and has had a front-row view of the evolution of the climate change debate.

Smit was anlong the first researchers to investigate the "human face" of climate

BY LORI BONA HUNT PHOTO BY DEAN PALMER

change, or the effect of rising temperatures on people, communities and culture.

"I can recall the earliest Canadian think tanks: there were climatologists, oceanographers, meteorologists - and me. I was the lone person in those meetings looking at the social and economic aspects."

Today, in Canada and abroad, his name connotes research on climate change impacts and human adaptation.

Smit's work has taken him to 68 countries and dozens of towns and villages in

some of the most remote and underdeveloped regions of the world. He's written books and numerous research articles, taught hundreds of students, attended prestigious international conferences and gatherings, and advised organizations, governments and world leaders.

He's been a member of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (JPPC) since its establishment 25 years ago. The first IPPC report, published in 1990, sparked international

negotiations that led to the adoption of the 1992 UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and, later, the Kyoto Protocol. Smit was a lead author of the panel's 2007 report, the same year that he and the IPPC team shared the Nobel Peace Prize with environmental activist and former U.S. vice-president Al Gore.

Smit has held the Canada Research Chair in Global Environmental Change for a decade, a position that recognizes him as a world leader in his field. He has brought grants and contracts worth more than $15 million to the University, and received the Order of Ontario, the province's highest honour.

After nearly four decades at U of G, Smit is packing up his Hutt Building office for retirement this fall. But he has no plans to disengage from research or debate about the world's rising temperatures and Canada's role in dealing with climate change.

He says Canada has gone from being an international leader on climate change to watching nations in Scandinavia and elsewhere pass it by as they invest in new ways to meet their Kyoto targets and diversify their economies. "We seem to be going backward on th e climate change file," he says. "They are leading edge, and we are back in the donkey era, sticking to our old visions of energy and resources, and not benefitting from more efficient and sustainable technologies and practices.

"It's frustrating to see such limited progress in Canada, let alone among nations of the world. Instead of providing incentives for people to emit less greenhouse gas because it causes harm to everyone, we seem to be in a race, one country against another, to emit as much as we can because we believe it's good for economic growth.

Short-term economic interests seem to be trumping everything."

Smit acknowledges that the cost of mitigating climate change would be significant. He points to a respected economic analysis that estimates slowing or stopping climate change would cost about two per cent of global gross domestic product (GDP) annually. "That's huge, it's trillions of dollars."

However, the same analysis found that, if nothing is done, problems caused by climate change would cost upwards of20 per cent of global GDP each year.

"So from a simple cost-benefit point of view - not even considering how people's lives or the state of the environment are being affected - it clearly makes sense to do something," he says, "but we cannot seem to agree, even on principle, about what to do, even though the costs and risks are serious."

The problem lies in convincing governments, organizations and ordinary people to view climate change in both the short- and the long-term, and to connect the issue to other global challenges.

"We need to understand our social and political systems and how they relate to decision-making and environmental policy in order to identify ways to operate on this Earth and do a better job than we are currently," he says. "This means that we need to know as much fi:om social science, political science and economics as we do about biology, chemistry and the physical sciences. We need to utilize all of the disciplines instead of pooh-poohing disciplines that are different from our own."

Doing things in new ways can be difficult - a lesson Smit learned firsthand.

In the late 1970s, he created a numerical model to predict effects of climate change on agriculture. That's when the federal government called and asked him to plug in possible climate scenarios and then discuss the results in meetings with interested groups across Canada.

"The model was based on what people sitting around an office thought might be important, based on our science, not what people on the ground thought was important. It did not connect with reality." One day in New Brunswick, "we were talking to a room of about 100 farmers, telling them: 'Here is the future with climate change, and here is what you should do when that happens.' After 20 1ninutes, half the room had left and the other half had fallen asleep. We were so out of touch. It was an important lesson for me."

That's when Smit changed his approach. "I began to look at how people experience changes. Now, we do not assume what matters to people; we find that out and use it to guide our research and outreach."

He focuses on the "front lines" of global warming: the world's most vulnerable communities whose livelihoods and lives are threatened by rapid and traumatic changes. Such places are bearing the brunt of a problem they did not cause, Smit says, and are sentinels of a sort for the rest of the planet. "We have to acknowledge but not condone climate change and figure out how the Earth's inhabitants are adapting. Som.e adaptive strategies are effective; others are doomed with ongoing changes in climate."

Backed by research grants from agencies such as the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Co uncil of Canada, Smit has travelled the globe, ofi:en with graduate students in tow. Sometimes those students stay and live with the people they are studying. Many of those students are now his research collaborators. His approach reqmres dedication and patience : "You have to get people to accept and trust you, so you must follow the rules of their culture. l t's the only way to open the door for the communication that is necessary for our research."

Geography provided a good training ground, allowing Smit to work across boundaries and mix the natural, social and physical sciences. Growing up in New Zealand, he was only the second person in his high school to attend university. "I didn't have a clue what I wanted to study. 1 was a babe lost in the woods, but I've always loved the outdoors. I also loved to draw. Once I found out that in geography, you could present material by drawing maps and diagrams - well, it seemed a good enough reason."

After studies at the University of Auckland, he applied to graduate schools in the United Kingdom, United States and Canada . He received several offers but chose McMaster University after receiving a personal reply from a professor there. "It became a model for me;' he says, adding that he replies personaJJy to students who apply to work with him.

To give his own students real-world context, Smit illustrates his courses with case studies, photos, data and stories from his international fieldwork. "The students reaJJy welcome the personal experiences, especiaJJy my graduate colleagues. They are also attracted to the topic of climate change and know a lot about the issue, and that gives me hope.

"In Canada, we have a generation for whom climate change is real. They 've

grown up with the evidence; it's part of the school curriculum, so to them, arguing that it is not real is as stupid as saying the world is flat. The nature of the debate is changing for this generation."

He says history provides both a lesson and foresight. "If I went back in time, say, 30 years ago, and walked into a board meeting, half of the people would be s1noking.And ifl told them, ' Hey, in the future no one will be allowed to smoke in meetings; they would have said, 'Are you nuts? What are you talking about?"'

As with tobacco, says Smit, so with climate change. "The truth is so powerfully compelling, and eveiy day it's accepted by more people who will start to demand more and more changes. Soon it will be very difficult for political leaders to not take meaningful action."

That change is one reason why Smit is retiring. "There are so many people studying cli1nate change now, it's beyond my abihty to even comprehend all that is going on . Some people are doing things sinUlar to our work, and others are doing stuff I never even imagined trying." He plans to spend more time reading, volunteering, getting fit, cooking and entertaining, and working on his golf game. But he will continue to study, collaborate and consult in climate change and sustainable development. â&#x20AC;˘

Barry Smit says the wo rld 's most vulnerab le communities bear the brunt of global warming. His visits include, clockwise from left: Kenya, Arctic Bay, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Chile, Vanuatu and Vietnam.

-.

BY SUSAN BUBAK PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARTIN SCHWALBE

"PJ's is a restaurant, but it's also a laboratory. Every class is asked to rethink how we produce our product."

"Straws suck," reads a T-shirt worn by Prof. Bruce McAdams, School of H ospitality and Tourism Management. "Not everyone gets it," he aclm.its of the pun, but they would if they had a meal at PJ's Restaurant, where straws have been banned to red uce waste.

It's just one of many steps the student-run restaurant has taken to reduce its carbon footprint in an industry often criticized for its unsustainable practices.Think shark fin soup, which you also wo n't find on PJ's menu.

ln fact, some of the seafood at Pj's is so local, it's raised on campus .Just take a walk over to the Aquaculture Centre, where extensio n programs designed to aid fish farmers also produce Arctic char destined for PJ's plates.

The restaurant's green initiatives are part of the University of Guelph Sustainable Restaurant Project (UGSRP), which began in May 2011 . " lt started with the objective of incorporating more about sustainability

in the curriculum," says Prof. Mike von Massow, School of H osp itality and Tourism Management. "When we started, the focus in the sustain able res taurant project was on environmental sustainability, and it was a big part of getting srnde nrs aware of issues in sustain ability in food service."

Earlier this year, Pj's received level 2 certification from Leaders in Environmentally Accountable Foodservice (LEAF) for its commitment to sustainability. Even before

Summer 2013 19

In 2012, PJ's was named among Canada's 24 "greenest" restaurants by Leaders in Environmentally Accountable Food S Portion control: Food

Save twice: Buy

No trucking: U of G

Reduce: A 300-seat,

Reuse: Using bottled

waste at PJ's is 11.5 per

energy-efficient

students helped preserve

full-service restaurant

milk eliminates non-

cent overall; making fries

equipment and wash

500 pounds of tomatoes

uses about one million

biodegradable plastic

an option dropped it to

your own linens.

last fall and cut trans-

litres of water per year;

packaging.

eight per cent.

the restau rant received th e cer tifi ca ti o n, LEAF named it one of the top 24 sustainable restaurants in Canada.

Sustainability is a bu zzword that m ea ns different things to different people. UGSRP

portation-heavy garnish-

more than half of it is

es like lemons and limes.

fiushed down the toilet.

takes a three-pronged approach to sustainability, looking at it from environmental , economic and social perspectives.

Von Massow and McAdams aren't afraid to get their hands dirty in the name of sustainability. " We did th e glamorous j ob of scraping plates and weighing fo o d waste," says von Massow. As part of their food waste

back. " I believe that custo m ers are tell ing you something when th ey're not eating it," adds von Massow.

Sandwiches served with fri es produ ced th e most waste at th e res taurant, usually in the form of bread, fri es or both. One solution was to make the fries o ptional, which cut th e orders for fries in half and dropp ed food was te overall to eight per ce nt.

Although selling fewer fries m ea ns fewer fries end up in the ga rbage, th e restaurant also makes less mon ey, so prices ne ed to be adjusted elsewhere on the m enu . Sustain-

study at PJ's, they weighed each plate of food before it was served and after it cam e bac k to the kitchen. "That is food we pay for, food that can never be repurposed," he adds. Food waste is not only bad for th e environm ent - resources get thrown out along with th e food - it's bad for a restaurant's bottom line.

ability also m ea ns eco nomic sustainability.

Portion size isn't necessarily to blame for foo d waste, he adds, beca use th e largest and most calo rifi c m eal on PJ's menu - th e fi sh and chips - produ ces o nl y abo ut five per cent waste. Students lea rn w hat custom ers like and don't like and adjust th e m enu

PJ's food is prepared from scratch by stud ents in the res taurant operations co urse taught by chef Simon Day. H ere, stud ents take turn s working as manager, servers and

accordingly. Even chan ging the garnish from kale to a carrot sti ck, which most custom ers would prefer to ea t, ca n reduce waste.Von Massow says, "We look at what we're offering and how we ca n chan ge it to continu e to give people a positive dining experience and redu ce th e waste."

Not only did PJ's elim.inate straws, it also stopped serving lemon and lime wedges with beverages because that spritz of citrus com es from fruit that was transported sev-

kitchen staff. " They're working in an environment that's a sustainably conscious environment," says M cAdams. That's why the students have a vested interes t in knowing what part of th e m eal th ey se rve is not being ea ten almost 11.5 per cent of th e food co m es

20

TH E PORTICO

eral tho usa nd kilom etres. All of the beer and wine served at th e resta urant is local, and the organic mi lk co m es from a local fa rm in reusa ble g.lass bottles .

Wh en preparing menu items, students are required to do a life cycl e anal ysis to determin e how the food was produced, packaged and transpo rted. Kitchen scraps an d plate waste are composted on-site. Used cooking oil is coll ected and sold to a co mpany that uses it to make biofuel. PJ's also purchased a washer and dryer so that linens and un.iforms can be laundered on-site. Eve n so me of the restaurant's furniture came from a local hotel that was undergo ing renova tions.

All of th ese steps are teachin g stud ents abo ut sustainability. "We've ac hi eved some remarkable thin gs in terms of the learni ng that students get," says von Massow. " It's making a difference.You talk to them and they say, 'This has never occurred to m e before.'"

Students also get course credit for doing independent study proj ects on issues facing th e food service industry. Von Massow says those issues often stem from aski ng resta urant ow ners o ne simple q ues ti on : "What keeps yo u awake at night?"

One student project is looking at the perception of th e food se rvice industry as an employer. "We realize tl1at in our industry, we are often losing people at a young age because

rvice, an environmental and sustainability certification program for the Canadian food service industry.

Recycle: Much of the

No straws, no bottles:

Happy staff: Tipping is

Offer options: PJ's

Compost: Plant waste

paper, plastic, metal and

An estimated 2.4 m

optional at PJ 's, but tips

offers a low-sodium pas-

is composted on-site at

ion

glass that comes through

tonnes of plastic are

received are pooled for a

ta dish that contains only

PJ 's, reducing the volume

a restaurant's back door

used wor1dwide to bottle

student party.

380 milligrams of sodium.

of waste headed for

can go out again o

wa

e

er each year.

landfill and cutting the

recycling btn.

of 1s ue uch as wages and work environments and e:'l.-pecrations," says McAdams, who teac hes a fourth-yea r course on hospital ity operations plann ing. T he co urse includes a case study of an environmental issue fac ing th e res taurant industry. T his summ er, a resea rch ass istant will pro du ce a disc ussio n paper on takeo ut packaging.

U GSRP 's resea rch on sustainabili ty not only enhances stude nt learning but also benefi ts restaurant owners by addressing concerns such as how to save money, red uce waste and keep empl oyees happy. "O ne of th e thin gs that we think is important is contributing to th e discussion in the industry," says von Massow. T hat means making U GSRP 's resea rch accessible th ro ugh industry events and trade j ournals instead of only publishin g it in academi c j o urn als, w hich he admits restaurant owners don't have time to read .

On the social side of smtainability, von Massow and McAdam s hosted a fo rum on tipping practi ces in April. "Tips have been studi ed extensively at the consumer-se rver interface," says von M assow. "Wh at has had considerably less attention is: Wh at does that dy nami c m ea n for th e w hole restau ra nt?

Wh at does it mean fo r the manager of the restaurant? Wh at does it m ean for the relationship between those working i11 the front of the house, w ho are gettin g tips, and th e

cost of garbage pickup.

back of the ho use, who aren 't?"

U GSRP 's foc us on social sustain ability also includes the heal th of restaurant patrons , whi ch ca n be affected by the foo ds they ea t.

As waistlin es grow alo ng with porti on sizes, more din ers are askin g fo r healthier menu options. C hef D ay inco rporated nutriti onal-a nalysis software into th e curri culum fo r th e restaurant operations co urse so students co uld display the nutriti onal co ntent of each item o n their m enu : calori es, good and bad fats, protein and sodium levels.

PJ's menu often in cludes a low -sodium mea l, a decisio n the res taurant m ade lo ng before sodium levels were making headlines. " ! expect it's go ing to make a difference on peo pl e's choices," says vo n Massow. "Once people change th eir choices, it changes what we offer th em." A low-sodium pasta dish at PJ's has only 380 milligrams of sodium, compared to so me fas t-food m eals that co ntain m ore th an a day's worth of sodium: 1,500 milli grams fo r adults.

Teaching students how to prepare healthy m eals also boosts th eir j o b prospec ts aft er grad uati on. " It doesn't just allow these stude nts to effect change o nce they're o ut wo rki ng," says von M.assow, " it also allows them to have a competitive advan tage in the marketplace."

As pa rt of its fo cus on health , PJ's serves

as mu ch local foo d as possible when it's in seaso n. Eve n during the winter months, yo u 'll find local fo o d o n the m enu in the fo rm of preserved tomatoes, beets, garlic and pi ckl es g row n o n ca mpus at the Gu elph Ce ntre fo r Urban Organi c Farming. Preserving food for the winter months is a centuri es-old prac ti ce, and it's just as rel evant to day as "locavores" dem and fo o ds that require minimal transportation.

"The obj ective was to come up with a program that co mmunicated th at yo u ca n extend th e growing season," says von Massow, who alon g with Andri a Baxter and M adison Hurst, bo th fourth-year stud en ts in hotel and foo d administration, preserved 500 po unds of to mato es from th e E lmi ra P rodu ce Au ctio n last fall .The tomatoes are cheaper to preserve than purchasing canned tomato es, and th ey con tain abo u t 80 per cent less sodiu m.

T he stu dents intended to sell the prese rved tom atoes on camp us, but D ay purchased all of the jars, which are now prominently displayed in PJ's kitchen and served in the restaurant.

"We actually had someone ask, 'Why are you teaching students tliis 200-year-old technology?"' says von M assow. "Because there's value in it.We don 't always need to do what's new; we need to do what's right." â&#x20AC;˘

Summer 2013 21

S THE PLACE TO_B_E_

HEN C AR OLI NE L AURIN LUKAS took up her new CBC position in Washington, D.C. , in 2008, D emocratic candidates Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama were still fighting it out for th e party nomination.

"Three weeks aft er I started, l was sent to Kentu cky to cove r th e primary there," says Lukas. " l co uld see Clinton was losing support, and soon after, Obama won th e nomination. T hen on elec tion night, I was sent to Grant Park, w here Obama held his victory party. That was the single most amazing experi ence of my life.The feeling in the crowd, the electricity in the air - and when he was declared the next president, it was like a wall of sound going throu gh the crowd. People were celebrating in th e streets. It's a mo ment I will never fo rget."

She foll owed up that Janu ary by intervi ewin g people in th e N ati onal M all on th e day of Obama's inauguration. "There was such a sense of history. People stood th ere waiting fo r hours and ho urs and hours just to see th e first Africa n- American president being sworn in."

Lukas wo rked for CBC in Washin gton fo r a to tal of fo ur yea rs befo re leaving to take o n a new position as media relati o ns manage r at the Washington M etrop olitan Area Transit Authori ty. " My Life too k a bit of a turn ,'' she says. ''I'd expected to stay with CBC and eventually move back to Canada, but I met someo ne and got marri ed. l knew this j ob at D. C. M etro wo uldn't be boring; transit is a real co rnersto ne of life in th e city."

Born in Mo ntreal, Lukas moved to Brampton, Ont., w hen she was 11 and chose th e University of G uelph in part beca use it was "far eno ugh away to live on ca1npus and close eno ugh to visit my mom." She studi ed criminal justice and publi c policy, thinkin g it would be a good backgro und fo r going into law.

H er ca ree r plans changed w hen she took a course on women,justi ce and public policy with political science professo r Judith McKenzie. "She talked about how po licies affec t wo me n and rea ll y go t me fired up," remembers Lukas." ! decided that, if ! got into j o urnalism , I could report o n injusti ce and the other topics I was passionate about."

It was her bac kground in political science, th ough, that helped Lukas find her firs t job. She was studying journalism at Humber College w hen CBC decided to host a panel of students to discuss the current election. "They were looking fo r j o urnalism students but wanted that background, so I was able to get the job. Our show was ea rly on Sunday mo rnings. I don 't know how big the audience was, but it got my foo t in the door," she says.

W

22 T HE P ORTI CO

Soon she was hired as an assistant producer. "That basically means finding guests to come in and talk about th e issues of the day. It's very time-sensitive; yo u have to think fas t and work effi ciently. Fo rtun ately, l apparently do my best work in a pressure cooker. Sometimes it would be so qui et, th en news would break and yo u'd be running around with yo ur hair o n fire."

When a C BC j o b in Ottawa opened up, Lukas appli ed and was hired. H er childhood years in M ontreal had made her flu ent in Frenc h, a big help in ge tti ng that position. " [ was co ni.p letely imme rsed in all things political," she says ." ! remember going to press co nfe rences with Stockwell D ay and aski ng him questio ns w hile he tri ed to ignore me. I also covered the Supreme Court, watching the cases and letting my producer know w hat th e signifi ca nt aspec ts were and whether a particular case mi ght matter to people in H alifax or Alberta, even if it wasn't of natio nal importance."

Just as that co ntrac t ca me to an end, Lukas applied fo r the position in Washingto n. " If there was one place [ wa nted to go, it was Was hington. I' m a politi cal ju nkie and l am fasc inated by U.S. politics."

T hat hasn't changed, even th ough she's left th e CBC. Commenting on th e 2012 presidential electi o n, Lukas says : "Barack O bama's re-electi on was viewed by many as an endorsement by th e Ameri ca n people for his policies, and it's given him the political ca pital to push his age nda fo rwa rd wi tho ut having to compromise. A t a tim e w hen there is gridlock in Co ngress, that's a good positi on to be in."

Lukas is also still committed to social justice. Within three weeks of starting her new j ob with D. C. M etro, she becam e awa re that sexual harass ment of wo m en using public transit was a sign ifica nt pro blem . " I lea pt o n this," she says."! was named a co-chair of the task fo rce, and we've developed a w ho le campaign with a website, pos ters, reco rd ed ann o un cements and m o re ways for people to report these incidents.The feedback has been very positive, and I'm very proud of it. N obody should feel threa tened o r unsafe on our properti es."

Lukas expects to apply fo r U.S. citizenship in a few years but will maintain her Ca nadian citizenship as wel.I .

She co m es bac k to Ontari o frequ ently to visit family and th e U of G campus. "The U nive rsity of G uelph taught me to think criti cally and to prioritize," she says. " It real.ly shaped w ho I became and set the stage fo r my life. D eciding to enroll th ere was a great step fo r me."

BY TERESA PITMAN

I

el

I

Caroline Laurin Lukas traded reporting for media relations at D.C. Metro. She says: "I knew this job wouldn 't be boring."

Summer 2013 23

-----1-___,___._.~lS

MEET IN UNLIKELY PLACES, PAINT TABLEAU OF LIFE

In a life-drawing class in Hamilton, Ont., Guelph biology grad Doug Price strikes a pose for both amateur and professional artists.

S

H E CAME FOR a three-year degree, finish ed it in two years." l was really in a hurry," says Aleda (Scott) O'Connor, BA '72. For Doug Price, the route to a biology degree was long and rambling - even stumbling, what with being on probation three times along th e way - and found its end only in 1998, two full decades after he started .

Now, hare and tortoise have landed on opposite sides of the drawing easel in a co uple of art studios in H amilton, Ont. Two Guelph grads: one still working quickly with her charcoal and watercolours, the other rendering himself inm1obile as a model for life-drawing sessions.

O'Connor says she'd always been in a hurry. Growing up in Toronto in the 1950s and '60s, " I was always

24

THE PORTI CO

the oldest in my class, and it was important to get out and be living."

She heard about U of G during childhood weekends at her fanlliy's farmhouse north of the city. "The farm families there all knew Guelph;' she says. It wasn't agriculture that attracted her but th e chance at early admission.

Art school was a natural choice fo r O 'Connor, w ho started painting as a youngster, encouraged by her father, a doctor and neurophysiologist. Both he and her mother, a zoo logist, were amateur artists. But art sc hool at Guelph was not quite w hat she expected. H ere, she enco untered new ideas and approaches to art in a program run by co nceptualist Eric Cameron .

"That was completely beyond my experi ence to that

EXPERIENCES

BY ANDREW VOWLES â&#x20AC;˘ PHOTOS BY WARD SHIPMAN

Drawing landscapes is her passion, but fine art grad Aleda O'Connor says sketching the human body helps her to really "see" shapes.

married a U of G classmate and traded campus stories with her brother,Jamie Scott, who graduated in 1979 \'.rith

point. It was a bit of a shock. I was used to more traditional painting."

Her instructors included Gene Chu, Wal ter Bachinski,John Filion and Helen Dow.Ask about Zavi tz Hall, and she smiles. "Creaking floors, plaster. The base ment was the print studio. We used acid baths for copper etching." Painting classes were upstairs. "The atti c was nonun's land ."

a degree in geography.

The O'Connors moved to Prince Edward County, where Aleda worked as a writer and photographer for local newspapers for seven years. Both of her children were born there. Eamonn now runs a Toronto film production company; Kate is an art director for a Los Ange-

Two years later, O'Connor was out in the world, but she wasn't sure what to do. " I realized I was probably not going to make a living as a working artist, but I wanted an art-related field .There was no question it was rn.y favourite thing to do."

She spent a few months at a business college in Guelph,

les advertising agency.

The family lived 18 months in Ireland before moving to Toronto, where the marriage eventually ended. Aleda joined the communications department at the Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association in 1981 and retired as communications director in 2010.

Summer 2013 25

he's a bit like a barista at a cafe . " It's weird having people watch you make coffee."

That weirdness - and even the hint of unspoken taboo - might have been part of what attracted him in th e fi rsr place. Now he worries less about standing o r lying around nud e and more about prov iding a compelling tabl ea u for the artists.

Throughout her career, she continued drawing and painting after-hours. Originally working with oil paints, she discovered oil pastels about 20 years ago. " I wanted a line I couldn 't get with a brush. I reac hed into a box and pulled out a pastel stick. Suddenly it was happening."

And it was happening out-of-doors.

"Landscape is my muse, the thing that speaks to me most directly. It's about light and the interaction betwee n light and surfa ce and atn10sphere."

O 'Connor has a111assed numerous pieces drawn around so uthern Ontario - th e Hw11ber River, Georgian Bay - and in N ew Brunswi ck and N ewfo undland . She's also painted in Ireland, Greece, Sicily, France and M exico.While travelling, she uses mostly pen and ink, working so metimes from photos, sometimes en plein air.

In 2012, she moved to HanUlton witl1 her partner, Barry C oombs, an artist and art teac her. She's shown her work in area galleries and gotten acquainted with local artists, including members oflife-drawing circles.

Those sessions are more for practice than anything, she says. Flipping through an oversized newsprint pad containing ges ture drawings and quick studi es, she says they're an exercise in seeing and capturing shapes. " I throw a lot of th em out. I don't draw those on good paper. I don 't think of th em as things to show." (www./aledaoconnor.word press.com/) Well after O'Connor had barnstormed through U of G's art program , Doug Price showed up at Zavitz H all one day around 1994. Not to draw but to model.

He had return ed to G uelph for unfinished bu siness . The eldest so n of a fami ly do ctor in Hamilton , Price first arrived at Guelph in 1978 to study biology. High school had been hit-and-miss for him , and so was his first run at university.

"After my first semester, my highest mark was a 50," he says . Over the next five years, he obtained only 20 credits.

Following whims, Price took on various jobs around campus. H e was a cook in the Massey Hall coffee shop and worked as an elections poll clerk. In the University Centre, he help ed set up and take down sound and stage equipment for concerts and other events. "I set up for Margaret Atwood once."

Those extracurricular activities distract-

26

TH E PORTICO

Locked into a pose for up to half an hour, he looks corn.posed. Inside, he's often wondering: " ls this an interesting pose? Am I doing it right?" Call it a kind of self-inflicted test, a way of challenging himself. " I like it because of th e anxiety. It's like riding my bike: I've go t to go up that hill.

Everybody has that stuff in them: they don't beli eve they co uld do things. M aybe it 's more extreme in me."

H e fini shed hi s studies in 1998, two decades after he began. " I finally reali zed it was a good idea to go to class," he says. Finishing the program "was important because I had troubl e in sc hool - to prove that l co uld do thin gs ."

N ow he models abo m 30 hours a wee k during the academi c year. H e works not just in Hamilton for informal artist gro ups but also for formal classes at places such as the Dundas Valley Schoo l of Art, Ryerson Uni-

ed him from his studi es . Tes tin g later on showed that he had attention deficit di so rder, alth ough not until he had nea rly co mpleted his degree. H e lived downtown with several other students in rath er sketchy surroundings. One visitor's comment: " So this is what a hippi e house loo ks like."

Price packed up his 20 credits in 1983 and left ca mpu s. H e coo ked , did factory work, trave ll ed . H e planted trees with a Guelph company, first locally, th en up north near the Ontario-Quebec border. H e still spends part of the year planting, mostly in conserva tion areas in so uthern Ontario.

After returning to U of G in 1993 , he learned that art classes needed models for life drawing. It was a bit unsettling at first to strip and pose nude, he says.Then he realized the artists staring at him weren't staring at him.

They were seeing shapes and lines and angles.

M entioning his job still draws the odd nonplussed reaction . " Other peopl e think you're not supposed to be naked, despite the fact that we're born that way." H e figures

versity, and Sheridan and George Brown colleges. H e modelled at Guelph until moving back to Hamilton to help his elderly parents.

H e kee ps himself in model shap e throu gh yoga and cycling. For the past three years, he has taken his bike each summer to Colombi a and Ecuador, w here he rides for up to 12 hours a day. H e's been visitin g South Ameri ca for about 10 years .

From his home on ilie H amilton Mountain , he rides that well-travelled bike to lower-city studios for peri odic modelling gigs.

In bo th places, he usuall y poses fo r a dozen or more artists at a time.

Amo ng them is Ward Shipman, a hi gh school art and photography teacher in Hamilton.When The Portico went looking for someone to catch both hare and tortoise to illustrate this feature, Shipman was an obvious choice. (www.bluecanvas. com/ wshipman) It also made sense to assign this story to U of G writer Andrew Vowles, B.Sc. '84, a long-time contributor to Th e Portico. Also a H amilton resident, he's an amateur member of those drawing groups as we ll. Guelph grads drawn together, indeed. â&#x20AC;˘

LOCATED IN THE YlLLAGE BY THE ARBORETUM ON STONE ROAD, EAST Of GORDON STREET

Opening__'<flzis

uummer.

I

The Village of Arbour Trails offers a full range of living and care support options all on one campus.

If your need for assistance changes, you can chose to move to another neighbourhood within the Village or take advantage of additional living choices in your suite.

With our Main Street and Town Square, The Village of Arbour Trails has an internal neighbourhood design that promotes a caring and cohesive community, independence and on,going social engagement.

'.7ÂŁe V,ffa_ye of

A RBOUR TRAIL A SCHLEGEL VILLAGE

www.schlegelvillages.com

s

~I

33 Bayberry Drive, Guelph, Ontario 226.251.3065

I

uof guelph UGAA awards honour educator, economist, hospitality professional HE UNIVERSITY of Guelph Alumni Association honours three outstanding graduates each year through its Awards of Excellence program. The following alumni were honoured March 27.

T

ALUMNA OF HONOUR Barbara Arrowsmith Young is the founder of the Arrowsmith School and Arrowsmith program. A 1974 child studies graduate from U of G, she is a pioneer in the field of neuroscience, and her work has transformed the lives of children and adults living with learning disabilities.

At a young age, Young was diagnosed with a learning disability that caused her to struggle with reading, writing and telling time. She also had a physical disability and was labelled, even by teachers, as "slow" and "difficult."

Through hard work and determination, she finished high school and earned a university degree. After graduation, she worked for two years as head teacher in U of G's lab preschool, where she began to observe learning differences in preschool children.

When she was 25 years old,Young

Spread Your Wings Gryphons: Get ready to explore the world with U of G's new alumni travel program.

Plans are well underway for a series of educational travel programs . Beginning early in 2014 , you can join like-minded travellers and enjoy an educational experience as you visit some of the most

28 THE PORTICO

happened upon a book about neuropsychology; there she saw her learning issues reflected in the story of a soldier with brain damage from a gunshot wound. She sought out more research on neuroplasticity and began an exercise program to change her brain.

Through systematic use of flash cards and mental exercises, she learned to understand text, recognize math logic and improve her co-ordination.

In 1978, she began using her brain exercise program to help children with learning disabilities in an after-school program. Two years later, she founded a private school to deliver programs to children, adolescents and adults. The Arrowsmith program now runs in 40 schools in Canada, the United States and Australia.

Young also earned a master's degree in school psychology from the Ontario

remarkable places in the world.

Travel with U of G to Tanzania; celebrate the Panama Canal 's 1OOth anniversary; cruise the rivers of Holland and Belgium; enjoy Sorrento, Italy; or commemorate the 70th anniversary of D-Day in Normandy, France. For more details, visit www.alumni.uoguelph .ca/travel.

Institute fo r Studies in Education at the University ofToronto. In her international bestseller, The Wo man Who Changed H er Brain , she offers her story as in piration fo r people struggling with learning disorders.

ALUMNI VOLUNTEER AWARD Warren Jestin is Scotiabank 's chief economist and senior vice-president.

Before j oining Scotiabank in 1979, he spent a number of years working in the rese arch department at the Bank of Canada and teaching economics at several Canadian universities.

He graduated from U of G in 1971 with a master's deg ree in economics and received a doctorate from the University ofToronto in 1977.

Jestin is a committed supporter of the University of Guelph. He served on the Board of Governors from 1997 to 2003,

Alumni Reunions, Campaign Gifts Remember U of G very summer, U of G grads gather to celebrate their connection to their alma mater. Alumni Weekend 2013, to be held June 14 and 15, will be a memorable weekend for our anniversary classes. We will host several reunions on campus this year, including our 50th-anniversary class of 1963. We are delighted that Martha Billes, B.H.Sc. '63, is serving as honorary chair of Alumni Weekend. She is director of Canadian Tire Corp. and chair of Jumpstart, the company's national charity that helps finan-

E

J es tin 's extensive knowledge and leading- edge research make him a popular public speaker and media comme nta tor on economic issues.

ALUMNI MEDAL OF ACHIEVEMENT

was a trustee fo r the Heritage Trust, chaired the advisory board of rhe College of Management and Economi and was the college's economist-in-residence.

He has conrribured ro chobnhips. including the Warren Jestin chol.arlhip in Canadian Economic Policy.This annual scholarship recognizes rhe srudent wuh the highest cumulative average m all courses related to economic policy.

Jestin belongs to the C.D. Howe Institute's council on monetary policy and has worked with economic policv committees of the Canadian and Ontario Chambers of Commerce and the Toronto Board ofTrade. H e i a board member of the Markham- touffville Hospital.

As chair ofScotiabank's sponsorship and donations committee, he works closely with Canadian charitable institutions.

icole Chuchmach is an accomplished hospitality and tourism professional and a philanthropic champion for colorectal ca ncer awareness and research.

After graduation from the School of H ospitality and Tourism Management in 2002, she became a sales representative with Gordon Food Services. he put her professional life on hold, however, when her mother was diagnosed with colorectal cancer.

C huchmach started running as a way to cope with her mother's illness and was later inspired by her mother's strength to launch Sophie's Run. The eight-week run from Milton, Ont., to New York City raised almost $200,000 for the Colorectal Cancer Association of Canada.

She shared her inspirational story at the University's welcome for first-year ru dents during Orientation Week in E ;:: 2009 . She is now writing a book based ~ on her journals to help other young ~ adults heal from loss .

1Ji After her mother's death, Chuch- ~ mac h completed an MBA in hospital- ~

iry and tourism management. She 5 teaches in the School of Hospitality, ~ R ec rea tion and Tourism at Humber -0 !'i College, and has taught distance education courses at U of G.

Too cool for school?

Don't be too cool; come back to U of G a nd c heer on the Gryphons at Homecoming 2013. Alumni Stadium will host a rematch of last year 's Yates Cup contenders - the Guelph Gryphons vs. the McMaster Marauders - Sept. 21 at 1 p.m.

6

o (/J

cially disadvantaged kids participate in organized sport and recreation.

She is also the first Mac alumna to serve as honorary chair for U of G's reunion weekend festivities .

I am happy to report that we have raised $150 million of our $200-million goal for The BetterPlanet Project. Almost 16,000 grads have given to the campaign. This recordbreaking generosity is a testament to the commitment of our graduates. Thank you for your support.

We look forward to celebrating with grads and friends during Alumni Weekend 2013. For information on our activities, please visit www.alumni.uoguelph.ca.

JASON MORETON ASSISTANT VICE-PRESIDENT, ALUMNI ADVANCEMENT

Summer 2013 29

Grads flip over College Royal COMING EVENTS June 14 and 15 • Al umni Week-

end. See page 37 for details.

June 17 • HAFA/HTM AA golf

tournament at the Royal Woodbine Golf Course.

August • Countdown to Guelph.

Hometown volunteers are needed to meet with local students headed for U of G in September. Share your campus experience and help these incoming students make a smooth transition to university. *Aug. 5: Guelph at U of G campus *Aug. 6: Hamilton at the Dave

U of G graduates were out in full force at College Royal on March 16, including these grads

Andreychuk Mountain Arena

who spent the morning flipping pancakes in the University Centre. From left: UGAA presi-

*Aug. 8: Pickering at the Pickering

dent Brad Rooney; vice-president, external, Rob Naraj; and director Elizabeth Thomson; as

Recreation Complex

well as Jason Moreton, assistant vice-president, alumni advancement.

*Aug. 13: St. Catharines at the

Holiday Inn Parkway Conference Centre •Aug. 15: London at the Earl Nichols

Recreation Centre *Aug. 18: Mississauga at the Mis-

sissauga Valley Community Centre *Aug. 20: Kitchener/Waterloo at the

Stanley Park Community Centre All Countdown events run 7 to 9 p.m. Contact Ryan Brejak at rbrejak @uoguelph.ca.

Gryphon Football • Home

games in Alumni Stadium, 1 p.m. *Aug. 25 • Gryphons host Laurier. *Sept. 2 • Gryphons host Windsor.

Women's Gryphon Hockey grads gathered Jan. 26 for a reunion of players from the 1960s

*Sept. 21 • Homecoming 2013,

to the 2000s. Fifty former players enjoyed a game of shinny and lunch at Gryphs Sports

Gryphons host McMaster.

Lounge, and watched the current women's team beat the Queen's University Gaels 7-2.

*Oct. 4 • Gryphons host York.

Plans are already underway for next year's reunion.

Full season schedule at www.gryphons.ca.

Nov. 16 • Hockey Day in Gryphon-

U OF G LOOKS AHEAD TO 2014

ville. Contact Sam Kosakowski at

P

skosakow@uoguelph.ca.

For details of these and other events, visit alumni.uoguelph.ca or call 519-824-4120,

Ext. 58706.

30

THE PORTICO

LANS ARE UNDERWAY for the 2014 celebration of Guelph's SOth year as a full university. Celebratory events will highlight the University's history and its achievements since the Ontario Agricultural College, the Ontario Veterinary College and M acdonald Institute j oined forc es in 1964.

R ememb er th ese 2014 dates: Jan. 4,

w hen a major U of G exhibit will open at th e Guelph Civic Muse um; M ay 8, w hen th e Board of Governors and the cam pus community will commemorate the University of Guelph Act of Incorporation; and June 21, w hen Alumni Weekend will host a modern-day conversat ball and open house.

Details to follow in T1ie Portico fall issue.

Find more U of G alumni news and events at www.alumni.uoguelph.ca

c

Making memories

erPla e Pro1ect

â&#x20AC;˘â&#x20AC;˘

T

here is a feeling you get, especially after a long absence, while taking a

stroll around the campus. The memories come streaming back as your feet take you down fami liar paths to almost forgotten places: Winegard Walk, Johnston Green , Branion Plaza, the Keg and the AC. My work with the University of Guelph Alumni Association (UGAA) is full of surprises and, in the past few months, I have experienced a strange, recurring phenomenon: people recognize me. Whether at work, at home or away, I meet grads who have read From left: Maureen Mancuso, Bonnie Maclachlan, Brieanne MacKay and Richard Maclachlan.

U of G donors invest in the future

0

5 0 Ml LL I 0 N rai sed

The annual scholarship honours

toward th e University's Better-

M acLachJan 's determination and lead-

PJanet Proj ect fund raising goal of $200

ership in found ing the University of

F THE $ I

million, 26 per cent has been directed

Guelph in 1964, while maintaining the

to stud ent support. This translates into

identities of the Ontario Agricu ltural

900 new and continuing awards and an

College, the Ontario Veterin ary Col-

imm easurable impact on th e students

lege an d Macdonald Institute. a recent publication or seen my picture.

The]. D. MacLachJan Scholarship

who will benefit from them.

Recipients of some of thos e new

recognizes the student entering the

Each time, as we discuss either the Univer-

awards thanked donors in person at the

University each fa ll with the highest

sity or the work of UGAA, the conversation

annual University-wide awards evening

admission average . Thi s year's award

comes back to the same unstoppable

held in February. In tota l, 70 under-

went to Brieanne MacKay, a student in

theme: they love the University of Guelph.

graduate and graduate awards were rec-

the College of Biological Science.

Alumni Weekend is an amazing time to return to campus. If you haven't been back

ognized. More than 300 peopl e attended, including donors, student recipients,

in a wh ile, you'll be overwhelmed and

fami ly members and friends.

delighted with the many improvements to

G to thank donors - individuals, fam-

campus : the field house, the new engineering building and the facelift to the Uni-

ilies, co rporations and organization s -

versity Centre. The updated Alumni Stadi-

The annual event also allows U of

um is primed for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats'

for investin g in th ese students.

2013 season, and the athletics department

Among donors at the event were Bonnie and Richard MacLachlan, chil-

is raising money for a new athletic and recre-

dren of the University's first presid ent,

ation centre. A new campus master plan is

John D. Maclachlan.The MacLachlans

complete and will take our old stomping ground into the future, guaranteeing a place

attended to celebrate the annual pre-

Irene Thompson , d irector of student jl

sentation of the J.D.

acLachlan Schol-

housing, left, presented the Walter and

Q

for many more generations of students to

arship. Although Bonnie has attended

Helena Slabikowski Scholarship to first-

g;

live, learn and love our University.

several ti mes, thi s wa Richard" fir

year student Melody Minhorst. The

~

t

0

-<

trip back to campus in many years. As

award goes to a student whose parents :;;

the former president 's children, they

immigrated to Canada and have never ~

grew up on campus.

participated in post-secondary studies. ~

Come back this June and find out what stories are waiting to be rediscovered!

BRAD ROONEY, ADA '93 AND B.SC.(AGR.) '97 UGAA PRESIDENT

Summer 2013 31

university of guelph SMALL THINGS CAN MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE

Tom Affleck gets a hug from two Nicaraguan children who have been helped by SchoolBOX supply kits and building projects.

OM AFFLECK has told the story hundreds of times now. He was travelling through Nicaragua after leaving his job. "It was a difficult time in

Ont., and started SchoolBOX. "In our first year we raised $8,000 to buy school supplies for children in Nicaragua."

Those gifts empowered more than

voluntee rs; th e community provides additional labo ur and the land; and the

my life," he says. Like many tourists, he'd brought small gifts for the people he met, and when he came across two little girls in a small village, he gave

1,000 children to attend classes.

Nicaragua, he points out, is the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. More than half the chil-

Nicaraguan Ministry of Edu cation pays the teachers' salari es .

Affl ec k 's sc hoolbox.ca website shares some of the stories of the 14,000

them each a notebook and a pencil.

Affleck recalls, "The father of one

dren don't finish Grade 6, and many families live on less than $1 a day.

children who have been helped by the charity. H e now has 12 staff and spends

girl smiled broadly and said, ' Now that you have a notebook and a pencil, you can go to school this year."' That moment was a revelation for Affleck.

As his fundraising efforts became increasingly successful, Affleck saw that there was also a need for school buildings in many communities. "We saw

about fi ve months each year in Nicaragua. He is working to create an indepe nde nt SchoolBOX Nicaragua organization that will be run by

He had studied international development at U of G and worked a few years for a non-profit company in

schools being held in shipping containers in 40 C, or under a tree while the rain came down." Since 2006, SchoolBOX has built 40 classrooms in Nicaragua.

Four classrooms built in one com-

Nicaraguans. "We'll still provide funding, but they'll run the show," he explains. Once that's set up, Affleck will

T

x Guatemala and another in Peru, but

ยง found his job in Nicaragua was no 8 longer a good fit. He was searching for I

&l another way to contribute. ~ f-

~

''I'd been doing big projects," he says, "but I saw the value of a practical,

0

~ hands-on, grassroots approach to help

ยง kids get an education." iE

32

Affleck returned home to Almonte,

THE PORTICO

munity means that 118 children are now attending school. Another school with two classrooms was funded by U of G students who raised more than $10,000.

As well as raising funds , up to 100 Canadian volunteers each year head to Nicaragua to help with school projects.

SchoolBOX provides an engineer to oversee th e construction, materials and

consider initiating a similar program in South America.

And the two little girls? Now teenagers, both are still in school; one is planning to be a doctor and the other a veterinarian - big dreams that started with the g ift of a simple notebook and pencil.

BY TERESA PITMAN

1950 • Bernard "Bernie ' Brennan, DVM '51. ofKempr\-ille, Ont. , was recently a pointed co th e board of clrreccor5 -Rideau Carleton Racewa) H ldmgs Ltd. H e wa prenou. ly a coowner of the :\!CJ t.t .-\nimal Hospital. H e was

owned numerous ho ing Cam Fella. Br nnan ha served on the T nllium Foundation, the Ontario Ra <" Com-

1960 • Ross Fitzpatri ck DVM '66, says it's a m;.'.i rid. While vacationing m Gor.• na. Panama , in February. he met three other Guelph graduates around the villa swimmin_ pool: Doug Rapley, BA ·--:Joanne, 'eilsen, BA '78; and Carl , 'eilsen, B.Sc. '77. "Lots of remm1scing and tale-telling we did," he says, "and promises to meet again!"

1970 • Dermot McCann, BA '70, ofVictoria, B.C., recently published McCann's Shorts , a book of stories in the tradition oflrish storytelling. Born in Northern Ireland, he inunigrated to Canada at age thre e and lived in Guelph from 1955 to 1993 .

Since graduating from U of G, he has made a living as a teacher, carpenter contractor. artist and writer. Since 1995. he has lived on a 41-foot sailboat in Victoria's Inner Harbour. Find out more about McCarm's book at www.dermotmccann.com.

• Steven Oliver, B.Sc. '79, has been working in the pharmaceutical industry since graduation, although he did find time to complete an MBA at McMaster University He lives in Waterdown, Ont., with his wife, Barbara, and is a sales consultant for FreseniusKa bi Ca nada. Thirty-four years after graduation, Oliver says he still misses daily life on campus .

"How lucky for me that my son, Peter, is in second-year environmental sciences. I attended the miracle comeback football ganle whe n the Gryphons defeated Queen's in overtime last fall, and I look forward to coming back this year to take in Hamilton Tiger-Cats games and cheer the Gryphons on again." The Olivers also have a daughter, Laura.

• John Pollock, BA '76, is looking for hockey players who studied geographyI earth sciences at U of G between 1976 and 1980 to help form a team for ovember's Alumni Intramural Hockey Tournament. Their student/ alumni children are also welcome. "It will be a great tim e to meet up with old friends, classmates and roommates," says Polloc k, who invites anyone who wants to play hockey or "just to catch up" to email him at john@designasylum.ca."

• Catherine Saul says she is happily married to fellow child tudies grad Stephen Milligan, both B.A.Sc. '79, and they now have five grandchildren. She is a upe rviso r for the Regional Munici pality ofYork, working \vith fanlliies w ho have children with special needs. In her spare time, she si ngs with her guitarplaying husba nd and their son,

Luke, a drummer, in a local band.

• Davis Swan, BA '73, studied geog raphy at U of G and went on to earn a B.Sc. in geophysics at the University of British Columbia. He worked in the Calgary oil patch for many years before returning to Vancouver in 2007. At the end of2012, he started a new job with the B.C. Institute ofTechnology, leading one of the larger IT teams. He also writes a blog on alternative energy at www.debarel.com/ blogl. Swan and his wife, Barbara, have three children: Elliot, Devon and Lauren. "I would love to hear from other Gue lph alumni in th e lower mainland," he says.

• Peter Taylor, BA '76, is executive direc tor of the Canadian Celiac Association, a board member of th e Canadian Hard of Hearing Association, and principal and writer of his own business, in Aurora, Ont. He also volunteers with Certified Fund Raising Executives International.

toon; Rodman Hall Arts Centre in St. Catharines, Ont., and the Confederation Centre Art Gallery in Charlottetown.

• Robert Henderson, ADA '84, operates Henderson Farms on Ontario's Wolfe Island. Last November, he was named grand chan1pionjam and jelly maker at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto and also received the judges' choice award for his pear and raspberry jam. He made his first jam 25 years ago to use up leftover fruit after a farmers' market and has won many awards since then. H e says his recipe for success is lots of fruit and very little sugar. You can learn more about his products at www.hendersonfarms.on.ca.

• Valerie Jenner, BA '81, completed her international certifi cation as a greenhouse-gas quantifier at the University of Toronto in December.

• Len Kahn, B.Sc.(Agr.) '85 and M.Sc. '90, has launched Kahntact, a Guelph-based mar-

1980 • Terry Graff, BA '81, became director, CEO and chief curator of the Beaverbrook Art Gallery in Fredericton, N.B., Feb. 1. He joined Beaverbrook in 2008 as deputy direc tor. H e curated a large-scale exhibition for the gallery called "Masterworks," which has since opened at the Society of the Four Arts in Palm Beach, Fla. Graff has also distinguished himself as a visual artist, art writer, art educator and gallery director. Before joining Beaverbrook, he was direc tor and CEO of the Mendel Art Gallery in Saska-

LEN KAHN

keting communications firm spec iali zing in agri-food, animal health and life sciences. A marketer since 1985, he is founder and fo rmer president of Kahntact Marketing Inc., a former partner at AdFarm and, most

Summer 2013 33

recently, a partner at M cCormick Global Conmmnications.

• A.K. Kumaraguru, PhD '83 , is vice- chancellor of

University of Southern California and made three research visits to U of G, w here he developed an aqu aculture di et from India 's m arket wastes of vegetable and ani..m.al origin . H e is also a fellow of the Academy of Environmental Biology ofindia .

• D esmond Layne, B.Sc.(Agr.) '86, joined the fa culty ofWash-

AK. KUMARAGURU

Mano nm aniam Sundaranar University in India. H e has 36 yea rs of resea rch, teaching and administrative experi ence and has been a professor at Sundaranar for more than 16 years. Previously, he established a marine and coastal studies department at Madurai Kamaraj University, was a Fulbri ght Fellow at th e

DESMOND LAYNE

ingto n State University in Febru ary. H e was formerly th e state extension horti culture program leader and extensi o n fruit spe-

cialist at Clemson University in South Carolina. Born in Ontario, Layne started working in fruit crops as a tee nager and studied horticulture at U of G. H e began research on the pawpaw during graduate work at Michigan State University and remains an international authority on both th e pawpaw and peaches.

• Steve Po lewski, BLA '89, we nt o n to earn fo ur mo re degrees after leaving U of G. H e has been teaching high school in Windsor, O nt., for 15 years and says he's "loving every minute of it. l neve r th o ught of being a teac her w hen I was at Guelph, but th en I neve r th ought the Bullring would stop having allnighters. Living in Mills Hall and then in Arts H o use were grea t times! I reconm1end Guelph to all my gradu ating students!"

• William Shotyk, B.Sc.(Agr.) '81, is th e 2013 recipient of th e

Philippe Du chaufour M eda l from the European Geosciences Uni on (EGU) for outstanding work related to soil system sciences. He received the medal and gave a lecture at the EGU General Assembly in Austria in early April. A PhD g radu ate of th e University ofWestern Ontario, Shotyk held research positions at Western, the University of Califo rni a and the Unive rsity of Bern e in Sw itzerland before joining the fac ulty of the University of H eidelberg in Ge rma ny in 2000 . In 201 l , he became th e first Bocock C hair in Agriculture and Environment at the University ofAlberta.

• Mike van 't Slot, B.Sc. '87, has been teac hing high sc hool biology and math for almost 23 years . ln 2009, he j o ined the Toro nto N orth ern Lights barbershop cho rus. "We are fi vetime international silver medal-

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TH E P O RTI CO

lists," he says. "T his past September, we travelled to Beijmg and performed on the Great \\J.ll of China. In Wit." pert rmed in the 1etherLn . d we \ ·e been m , ·J · cr.i el to Germany in r h ~ I to perfo rm at its nal barbershop convention."

• Diana Twiss, BA '8 8 and MA '90, and her husband, David Flurey, MA '90, are celebratin g a Diam ond Jubilee Medal presented to Twiss for her wo rk in adult li teracy. She is director of adult and wo rkplace learning at D ecoda Literacy Solutions in Va nco uve r and a longtime facu lry member at Capilano University. She says the award "is incredib ly humblin g because r have rarely done anythi ng alone. E ve ry progra m develo ped. project comp leted and document published was done as part of a team of dedi cated and highly talented litera-

cy practitio ners - many w ho deserve this recognition as well ."

A member ofU of G's residence staff during her student yea rs, Twiss was the program director ofArts H ouse when the couple's first child, Ursula, was delivered in her Lennox H all apartment, assisted by local midwives.They have since had two other children :Jasper and Georgia Rose.

1990 • Anna-Marie Burrows, B .Sc.(Agr. ) '90 , is m anage r of horticulture and grounds at the Toro nto Zoo and is looking fo rward to this spring's arrival of a panda co uple.

• Jasse Chan, BA ' 98, has m oved back to Ca nada aft er spendi ng six years in E uro pe.

H e's li vin g in O koto ks,Alta., and wo rkin g as a m anage r fo r N exen Inc. in Calgary.

• Laura-May Culver, BA

'96, went on to earn a 1naster's degree in social work from Wilfrid Laurier Unive rsity and became a registered social worker. She rece ntly completed a second nuster's in arts, culture and spiritualiry at Holy N am es Universiry in O akland, Calif. , and w rites that sh e is "deeply corrunitted to a thriving, just and sustainable life on Ea rth . M y planetary healing wo rk extends to fa milies and conununities internationally."

• Sandra Stewart-Fearnside, B.Conun . '98, is manager of the operations reso urce centre at C hoice H o tels Ca nada Inc. in Mi ssissa uga , O nt. She j o in ed C hoice H otels five yea rs ago as a franchise perform ance co nsultant, supp o rting almost 80 hotels, before moving into her m anagem ent role. She li ves in Milto n w ith her daughters, C hloe and Ashleigh.

• Robert Timko, PhD '95, is retired from full-time teaching and administra tion bu t works part-time as a visiting professor in the Ins titute for Catholi c Bi oethi cs at St . Joseph 's University in Philadelphia.

2000

LISA FELDSTEIN

• Lisa Feldstein, BA '07 , recently opened the doors to her own law prac ti ce in Ontario's York R egion. Drawing on her backgro un d as a health lawyer,

The

BetterPlanet Project

Summer 2013 35

she has created a niche firm that provides advice to families interacting with the health-care system in areas such as reproduction, mental health, employment, and long-term care and end-oflife services. She credits her time at U of G for leading her to this business area and would like to reconnect with other alumni through social media, by email to lisa@lisafeldstein .ca or via www.familyhealthlaw.ca.

• Amanda Gameson) Kel-

lough, BA '03, married John Kellough inJuly 2009.They are the parents of Lauren, 3, and baby Jacquelyn and live in Schomberg, Ont. • Lee Mizzi, B.Sc. '09, is operations manager at three record labels based in Burlington, Ont.: True North Records, T he Children 's Group and Divergent Recordings. She also writes a blog called "Festival Traveller."

• Kathryn Peiman, B.Sc. '02 and M.Sc. '05, is completing a

PhD in the Department ofEcology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of California, Los Angeles. The university's daily news recently featured her research on bird behaviour, particularly aggressive interactions between different bird species. She often travels to the Caribbean to observe the thick-billed vireo and the white-eyed vireo.

• Cristina Ribeiro, M.Sc. '09, and her husband, Prin1oz, were married June 2, 2012, in what

CRISTINA RIBEIRO

she describes as her "dream wedding." Monarch butterflies

PASSAGES Elizabeth (Winch) Bailey, BA '77 , May 16, 2012 John Bates, B.Sc.(Agr.) '67, Jan. 18, 2013 Norman Beckham, BSA '53, Nov. 20, 2012 Stanley Bell, DVM '54, date unknown Paul Bishop, BSA '59, Jan . 25, 2013 Joel Bornstein, DVM '79, Dec. 29, 2011 Grant Bowlby, DVM '50, Dec. 9, 2012 Albert Burrow, BSA '50, Oct. 19,2012 Kenneth Carkner, BSA '51, Jan . 13, 2013 Trevor Clacken, DVM '54, date unknown Gordon Chesney, R.Dip. '87 , Sept. 9, 2012 Sarah Collin, MA '96, July 25, 2012 Royden Davis , BSA '50, March 6, 2012 William Davis, B.Sc.(Agr.) '65, Nov. 11, 2012 Gregory de Gannes, DVM '88, February 2013 Paul Dean, BSA '62, May 24, 2012 Wayne Donders, BSA '55, March 13, 2013 Robert Ford, BSA 'SO, Oct. 30, 2012 Bruce Found, BSA '47,Jan. 31, 2013 John Fraser, DVM '76, March 1, 2013 Robert Freeman, BA '74, D ec. 22, 2012 John Honey, ADA '52,Jan. 2, 2012

36

THE PORTICO

William Bossie, K.Dip. '68, Jan. 22, 2013 Ross Irwin, BSA '51, March 17, 2013 Marion (Crawford) Jose, DHE '47, Feb. 24, 2013 Gizaw Kebede, M.Sc. '96, June 2012 Edwin Kozicki , BSA '56, Oct. 13, 2012 Michele (Mason) Larmon, K.Dip. '62, Nov. 28, 2006 Siew (Yap) Maroccia, B.Sc. '89, Sept. 17, 2012 Andy McConvey, BSA '49, Jan.30,2012 Michael McDonald, M.Sc. '11, Jan. 17, 2013 Katherine McPhee, B.A.Sc. '84, Dec. 13, 2012 David Mitchell, BSA '56, Jan. 19, 2013 David Murray, B.Sc.(Agr.) '69, Oct. 27, 2012 Paul Ord, BA '78, Oct. 4, 2012 David Pallett, B.Sc.(Agr.) '67, Jan. 16,2013 Olive (Sutherland) Pirie, DHE '35, Nov. 15, 2012 Donald Pooley, DVM '75, Dec. 23, 2012 Robin Rabideau , DVM '00, Dec. 22, 2012 Simon Radford, BSA '52, Feb. 18,2013 Ralph Rhody , DVM '54, Feb. 25 , 2013 Lorraine (Sewell) Rowan, DHE '56, Jan . 28 , 2013

Walter Rutherford, BSA '53, Feb.20,2013 Meryl Schooley, DVM '58 .

Aug. 21, 2012 Mary Sinclair, B.Sc.(Agr.) '86, Oct. 24, 2011 Sherleen (Williams) Smithson, B.H.Sc. '71, Dec. 16, 2012 Lorna (Bennett) Snelgrove , DHE '59, Feb. 16, 2011 Peter South, DVM '43,Jan. 1, 2013 Gerald Stirk, DVM '43,Jan. 24, 2013 Peter Stovell, DVM '52, Nov. 11, 2012 Michelle (Meredith) Taylor, B.Sc.(Agr.) '82, May 22, 2012 Frederick Tonkin, BA '75, Dec. 31, 2012 Dale Toombs , B.Sc.(Agr.) '68, Jan.25 , 2013 John Turnbull, DVM '41,June 28, 2012 Barbara (Rosser) Weatherall, B.H.Sc. '54, Feb. 12, 2013 Barbara (Inch) Weatherston, B.Sc.(PE.) '73, Sept. 7, 2004 Hon.John Wise, ADA '56,Jan. 9, 2013 Frank Yip, BA '79, Sept. 12, 2010 FACULTY Stanley Collins, Retired, School of Engineering, Dec. 18, 2010 Onkar Dwivedi, Department of Political Science,Jan. 29, 2013 To honour alumni i11ho have passed away, the University of Guelph Alum11.i Association makes an annual donation to the A lumni Legacy Scholarship.

were released to welcome their guests, and the couple strapped on wmgs to symbolize the beginning - a hfen me of adventures together. Th ·rtamed by dancing a rum_-

Prunoz. She invites friends to check wedding clips on YouTube.

• C olin Ri chardson, B.Sc. '09 and M .Sc. I I, began his career as a research assistant \vi th Monsanto, then applied for the Alltech Grad uate Academy through the Recruit Guelph website. He was among 21 applicants chosen from a pool of 1,500 for the yearlong program, which began wi th sessions in Ireland and Kentucky. He then worked in Alltech's crop science division and is now based in the company's Guelph office, where he helps identify business opportunities across Canada . He urges other Guelph graduates to apply to Alltech "and take advantage of a lifechanging opportunity."

1r

2010 • Becky Blake, MFA '11, won the CBC's Canada Writes short-story contest held this spring. Her sto ry "Th e T hree Times Rule" is about how difficult it is for people to connect and conununicate with each other. She won $6,000 fro m the Canada Council for the Arts and a two-week residency at The Banff Centre. Blake lives in Toronto and has worked as a j ournalist, an advice columnist, an actor and a playwright.

• Ahren Brunow, B.Comm. '11 , recently launched an online art print company based in Toronto. He says th e idea for Art From Concentrate was born in Guelph "thanks to the many great artists I met w hile conl.pleting my degree." After graduation, he worked in government and for a private company before starting a business that helps independent artists sell their work. "We're trying to create a culture where art can flourish," he says. To learn more, visit www.artfromconcentrate.com.

• Brittany Dunbar, B.Sc. '12, is living in Shanghai and teaching English to Chinese students of public school age.

• Rita Singh, B.A.Sc. '11, is the busy mother of two daughters aged 16 and 12 and volumeers as an area co-ordinator for M o111.S in Prayer Imemational . In her consumer studies program ar U of G, she specialized in clothing and de ign. he and her husband started D ecolyse Designs in 1996. C ontact them at interiors@decoly edesigns.com.

Greetings fellow grads!

Memories come rushing back - faces and places, hard work and fun. Each of us has special memories of our time spent at Guelph. Alumni Weekend is the perfect opportunity to reconnect with fellow alumni, rekindle friendships and visit the campus that means so much to us all.

Congratulations to all alumni celebrating reunions this year. Alumni Weekend 2013 promises to be an action-packed celebration of our alma mater and the many important connections we made at U of G. I look forward to seeing everyone in June.

Martha Bil/es, B.H.Sc. '63 Honorary Chair, Alumni Weekend 2013

Saturday Morning • • • • • • •

Alumni welcome tent OVC AA breakfast and annual general meeting CBS AA breakfast and annual general meeting Human Anatomy open house CSAHS AA annual general meeting Retirees coffee reception and archive visit Campus tours • Alumni Stadium, field house and high performance centre • Macdonald Hall • Science Complex

Saturday Afternoon • President's Lunch celebrating the Class of 1963 • • • •

Drop into the Brass Taps UGAA annual general meeting Mars rover talk and exhibition Campus tours • Hill 's Primary Healthcare Centre • Ice cream technology • Macdonald Institute • Macdonald Stewart Art Centre and sculpture garden • Johnston Hall • Campus by bus

- Saturday Evening • Milestone dinner • Alumni pub night at the Brass Taps

Summer 2013 37

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