A comprehensive evolution

In the 1990s, the academic discussions in Alberta largely focused on the province’s two research-intensive institutions – the universities of Alberta and Calgary. That began to change once Dr. Dennis Fitzpatrick became the University of Lethbridge’s first associate vice-president of research in 1999. Ten years later, the University of Lethbridge is recognized on provincial, national and international stages for its research excellence.

“Now when I go to meetings, people talk about Alberta’s three research universities,” says Fitzpatrick, who became vice-president (research) in 2004. “This was a very important milestone for us, and reaching it took a lot of hard work by many people.”

It took, quite literally, an institutional transformation. Over the last decade, the University of Lethbridge has evolved from a small and very successful primarily undergraduate university to a research-intensive, comprehensive university with a focus on both undergraduate and graduate studies.

“The University of Lethbridge of today would not be a reality without Dr. Fitzpatrick’s extraordinary efforts and vision,” says U of L President Dr. Bill Cade. “He is the institutional face for research in the community, and he has worked tirelessly recruiting researchers, building infrastructure, developing programs and bringing in funding. He has played a vital role in the history of the University of Lethbridge, and the impacts of his work will continue to be seen well into the future.”

In June 2009, Fitzpatrick will conclude his second term as vice-president (research). As a result of his “think-big, shoot-high and don’t-be-afraid-to-ask” philosophy, research funding at the University of Lethbridge has soared a phenomenal 610 per cent over the last 10 years, and the University has celebrated many significant achievements.

Last fall, the U of L became the inaugural recipient of the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research Polaris Award, which brought Dr. Bruce McNaughton, one of the world’s foremost experts in neurophysiology, and $20 million in research funding to the U of L’s Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience (CCBN). The Polaris Award recognizes the excellence of the U of L’s neuroscience programs. It is also the culmination of many years of work for Fitzpatrick, who was key in the first Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI) grants that built the CCBN in 2001 and resulted in its expansion in 2006.

Also in 2008, the U of L proudly opened the Alberta Water and Environmental Science Building, a state-of-the-art facility where a team of world-renowned scientists are addressing the most pressing issues facing water and the environment – another pinnacle point for Fitzpatrick, who was central to the Water Institute for Semi-Arid Ecosystems initiative, the Alberta Ingenuity Centre for Water Research and the fundraising to enable the water science building.

“In each of these initiatives, Dennis demonstrated patience, persistence and a firm belief in our faculty and students,” says Dr. Stewart Rood, a U of L Board of Governors Research Chair and 2008 recipient of the Killam Research Fellowship. “His extensive representation at the regional, provincial and national levels has enabled our

maturation into a nationally-recognized centre for water research.”

Water is one drop in a very deep pool of leading research programs at the U of L. The University’s capacity to conduct research in the social sciences, health sciences and humanities has exploded over the last 10 years, and multidisciplinary teams who are working on large-scale network projects are springing up across campus.

Fitzpatrick was instrumental in the development of the University’s Community of Research Excellence Development Opportunities (CREDO) initiative, a new grant program for researchers in the social sciences, humanities, fine arts, education and management, as well as the Board of Governors University Scholars’ Chairs.

“The University of Lethbridge is such that you have to find ways to make everyone as successful as possible,” Fitzpatrick says. “A comprehensive university is like a chair. It can’t sit on one leg. You have to have a vibrant and thriving research culture in all areas.”

An accomplished biological scientist, Fitzpatrick came to the U of L from the University of Manitoba where he was the head of the Department of Foods and Nutrition. “I was looking to do something different – something that would amplify my own natural tendency to build programs,” he says.

Maintaining that research is a people business, Fitzpatrick began by building the Research Services office. “I brought in a

number of very, very capable individuals who could help researchers realize their dreams and enable the University to develop significant programming along with the infrastructure to support it,” he says. “University research is driven by the people who provide these services.”

He then went on to fill the U of L’s allocation of Canada Research Chairs (CRC), which was eight at the time but has since increased to nine.

“If you look at where we have put the CRCs, they have really been transformative,” he says.

The U of L’s tremendous success in research, Fitzpatrick says, ultimately comes down to spirit. “Small universities are at an incredible disadvantage in getting research funding. They have heavier teaching loads and less infrastructure, yet they have a commitment to participate in research regionally, nationally and globally, and they find ways do to it,” he says. “And that’s the spirit at the U of L.”

As Fitzpatrick wraps up his last few months at the helm, the University of Lethbridge can take great pride in how far it has come over the last 10 years and set its sights even higher for the years ahead knowing that Fitzpatrick has already laid a firm foundation for the future. Programs like the Alberta Epigenetics Initiative and the Prentice Institute for Global Population and Economy will be pivotal in taking research at the U of L to the next level.

“It’s been an incredible privilege to take part in the transformation of the University of Lethbridge,” Fitzpatrick says. “It’s been an opportunity of a lifetime.”

| research furthers innovation and teaching at the University of Lethbridge

spring 09 vol 2 issue 1 | ulethbridge.ca

Over the last decade, the University of Lethbridge has evolved from a

small and very successful primarily undergraduate university to a research-

intensive, comprehensive university with a focus on both undergraduate

and graduate studies.

Dr. Dennis Fitzpatrick thinks big, shoots high and leads the U of L through an institutional transformation

Dr. Dennis FitzpatrickVice-President (Research)

Editor: Alesha Farfus-ShukaliakAssociate Editor: Jane Allan Photography: Glenda Moulton, Bernie WirzbaWriters: Caitlin Crawshaw, Alesha Farfus-Shukaliak Design: Sarah Novak Design Printing: University of Lethbridge Printing ServicesCorrespondence should be addressed to:Research Services, University of Lethbridge4401 University DriveLethbridge, AB T1K 3M4Phone: (403) 317-2869E-mail: jane.allan@uleth.cawww.ulethbridge.ca | www.uleth.ca/unews

Welcome to the spring 2009 issue of FIAT: Furthering Innovation and Teaching

Ten short years ago, I joined the University of Lethbridge community. I was recruited to launch the Office of Research Services, support the development of campus research and represent the U of L’s interests in Edmonton. At that time, the University was primarily an undergraduate institution with little money and grand ambitions. We had to think strategically.

Through our combined efforts, many of our ambitions were realized. Graduate programs were developed, research centres were established and research infrastructure and new buildings followed. Building on a foundation of excellence in liberal arts education, the U of L continued to evolve and today is a leading comprehensive academic and research university.

Excellence in graduate education is central to our growth. The relationship between a graduate student and his or her supervisor provides an opportunity for mentorship and knowledge sharing in an environment in which the student can succeed academically. In this issue of FIAT, we profile some of these collaborative relationships.

I believe the University’s intellectual foun-dation is rock solid and its future is bright. We have made amazing strides throughout the last decade and will no doubt continue to do so. I wish all those championing the advancement of the U of L continued success in furthering in-novation and teaching.

Dr. Jo-Anne FiskeDean of Graduate Studies

This year, the U of L celebrates 25 years of delivering graduate education. We are, at the same moment, embarking on a new direction: development as a comprehensive university with expansion of graduate studies a top priority. Through the integration of graduate studies and faculty scholarship and research, our students are offered rich opportunities to develop the highest levels of skills and scholarship. Graduate students enrich all aspects of university life: they are creative, innovative and above all, eager to forge new directions in their academic endeavours. This issue of FIAT marks this moment as we focus on the accomplishments of our students and faculty. We are proud of the many and varied contributions graduate students make to the University and the community through their studies.

Because of shrinking support from the government, cash-strapped Canadian non-profit agencies are doing what their U.S. counterparts have done for decades: accepting resources from companies eager to appear socially responsible.

“In the 1980s, neo-conservatism became more prominent in the U.S. government, and that’s what we’re experiencing now in Canada, which means less money from the government,” says Gail McKenzie, a U of L Master of Science (Management) student. “On the flip side, businesses are choosing to be more socially responsible, because the public’s demanding that of them.”

Between degrees, McKenzie worked for several non-profits, including an adult literacy centre in Manitoba, and witnessed

this emerging trend first hand. So when she started her master’s at the University of Lethbridge, she opted to study how these partnerships work for non-profits, filling a noticeable gap in the literature.

McKenzie, who defended in December 2008, interviewed a number of U.S. non-profits about their legitimacy concerns. Most felt pressure to prove themselves to the public and to the businesses supporting them, but not to their clients or to their workers.

“Taking actions to become more legitimate to businesses and the public could change the way clients and volunteers see them,” says McKenzie, who plans to ultimately complete a PhD. At the moment, she’s teaching a U of L management course

and writing grants for the Centre for Socially Responsible Marketing.

McKenzie says she was fortunate to be supervised jointly by Drs. John Usher and Mary Runté. “John’s an expert in theory and Mary’s an expert in the sector and the (research) methodology. It wouldn’t have worked without them both,” says McKenzie. “I think my project is richer because I was able to get such different perspectives, which really enriched how I saw things.”

Runté first taught McKenzie as an undergraduate and was struck by her curiosity and encouraged her to pursue graduate studies.

“I always look for the student who has his or her hand up and is asking, ‘What are the implications of that?’” says Runté.

In her thirst for spiritual knowledge, Lauren Boni has spent time at a remote Buddhist temple near Tokyo, worked for a non-governmental organization in Nepal and recently, is studying at the University of Lethbridge.

Boni majored in Buddhism and East Asian Religious Studies as an undergraduate at the University of Toronto and spent several summers travelling overseas to get a sense of the religious experiences she was studying. “I was very curious about different ways of life, different ways of being in the world,” she explains.

These experiences solidified a fascination with spirituality’s healing benefits. “I realized that, although people had less in the way of material goods, they had a lot of intrinsic joy

and well-being.” This is also confirmed by holistic health research, which links concrete factors like lower blood pressure with spiritual practices.

Now, Boni is at the University of Lethbridge, working towards a Master of Science (Health Sciences) under the supervision of Dr. Gary Nixon, director and coordinator of the U of L’s Addictions Counselling Program. Boni’s research will employ transpersonal psychology – which asserts that psychological health is improved by connecting with a greater spiritual whole – to look at the spiritual journeys of Canadians practising Sufism, a 1,400-year-old mystical tradition of Islam.

She explains that “all religions have a mystical orientation, which focuses on the

internal experience of the practitioner, more so than a specific system of beliefs.”

In the course of her qualitative research, Boni will interview Sufi practitioners in Toronto to capture their experience of “non-dual self-realization” – the process of integrating their consciousness with a higher consciousness.

Although in the early stages of her thesis research, Boni says Nixon has become a mentor. “He’s exposed me to so many new ideas in such a short period of time.”

Nixon says supervising students isn’t unlike counselling: it’s about facilitating the growth process. “A thesis project is like a journey; a person goes through a number of phases. So, I see it as a journey of self-discovery, as well.”

Bridging personal and scholarly discovery

Shedding light on the partnerships between non-profits and corporations

Lauren Boni (centre) in Nepal. Photo submitted.

(l-r) Dr. John Usher, Gail McKenzie, Dr. Mary Runté

Growth of grad studies and research

If you’ve gone through airport security lately, you’ve probably grumbled once or twice about the long security lines and ‘random’ pat-downs.

While you may blame this inconvenience on precedents set by our neighbours to the south, the policy creation is far more complicated, explains U of L Master of Arts (Political Science) student Christina Marcotte.

For her thesis, Marcotte analyzed the creation of two post-9/11 policies: the Container Security Initiative (CSI) and the NEXUS Trusted Traveler Program, using the Policy Streams model developed by American political scientist, J. Kingdon.

“I wanted to take a look at where the ideas for these programs came from and what the impetus was for adopting them,” says Marcotte, who was supervised by political science professor Dr. Geoffrey Hale.

Marcotte first became interested in security policy as a student intern at the European Institute of Public Administration, in the

Netherlands. She worked for a researcher who asked her to gather details about North American foreign policy to compare with EU policy.

Hale says Marcotte is an unusually thoughtful student with a penchant for time management. “Not only did she stay ahead of her deadlines – which few students do – she also made time to serve as vice-president internal for the Graduate Students’ Association.”

From his office across the hall, Hale was often pleased to see a steady stream of students visiting her office. “That is a wonderful sign of leadership,” he says.

Now that she has completed her thesis, Marcotte is gearing up for a job as a junior commerce officer with Industry Canada – a position where Hale knows she will find success.

“Christina has the capacity to bridge worlds. That’s a skill set she strengthened very well while she was here.”

Although Google has become a verb for most of us, the search engine has its limitations: ask it for the impacts of the current global financial crisis in different parts of the world for example, and you can expect to sift through thousands of results for the answer.

Under the guidance of his supervisor, Dr. Yllias Chali, Sadid Hasan, a U of L Master of Science (Computer Science) student, is assisting in the development of a more intelligent way of searching the Internet – or any large collection of documents. Complex question answering, as it’s called, creates summaries of large volumes of information as answers to complex questions, rather than simply offering a listing of sources.

“We are researching a kind of search where we can ask questions and the answer will be available right away to the user,” explains Hasan, who came to the U of L from

Bangladesh to work with Chali. His master’s research project involves developing and testing software that applies complex question answering techniques to a collection of newspaper articles. “I’m using machine learning techniques to generate summarization models.”

Chali has been working in this area for nearly a decade. Hasan, like all of Chali’s graduate students, was assigned a specific project related to his research program and carefully guided through the process. “I try to give the students as much direction as possible to allow them to gain research skills quickly.”

Hasan is one year into his program but has already published a couple of papers and earned one of four $15,000 School of Graduate Studies Fellowships.

His success is the product of talent, but also tenacity, says Chali. “Sadid has great research potential; he’s very hard-working.”

When it comes to choosing graduate students, education professor Dr. Thelma Gunn looks for smart, enthusiastic people willing to take the lead on their learning experiences.

Gunn’s expectations are high, but she understands work and family demands on students. Sometimes life happens, and that’s why flexibility in both the program and the supervisor is essential.

“In education, many people taking master’s degrees are teachers. They need to work and they want to work – that’s what they do: they’re teachers,” Gunn says.

A number of students in the program hold down jobs throughout the province and Canada. For example, Gunn’s student, Krysta Wosnack, is completing the second year of her master’s degree while working in St. Albert. Wosnack is the epitome of an independent learner, and one of four graduate students in the Faculty to earn the Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

Co-supervised by Gunn and Calgary-based resiliency expert Dr. Wayne Hammond, the Master of Education in Counselling student will spend the next year interviewing adolescents in foster care and residential treatment programs. Her thesis will explore better ways of fostering resiliency in these at-risk young people. Wosnack will ask the kids, as well as their caregivers, what they need to be happy. “I think a lot of the time we only look at care workers and we don’t get the youth perspective,” says Wosnack.

The U of L’s Master of Education program is offered both online and in an on-site stream, but even on-site students are allowed to complete their thesis year elsewhere. Fortunately, technology – like e-mail and video-conferencing – makes this possible.

“We have to be more flexible, but flexibility is inherent in all the technologies we currently use,” Gunn says.

Advancing from policy researcher to policy maker

Flexibility key to student, program success

Answering complex questions

(l-r) Sadid Hasan and Dr. Yllias Chali

(l-r) Christina Marcotte and Dr. Geoffrey Hale

Dr. Thelma Gunn

Visit Kelly Andres’ website and you’ll find a photo of a pair of feet, wearing yellow shoes and black tights, sticking out from a backyard tent; in another, a black beetle lingers on an outstretched hand; in yet another, a pair of lamps appear to be wearing gauzy gowns in a living room.

Andres is an artist with a penchant for transforming mundane, everyday objects into something whimsical or even absurd, as these images from her website illustrate. An interdisciplinary artist, her creations often employ digital technology and elements of performance art. The result is an unusual spectacle that engages many audiences – even those who don’t ‘speak art.’

“I tend to make work about my everyday. I’m kind of a sponge: whatever’s around me at the time seems to come out in my work,” says Andres. “For a while, I was working as an environmental educator and that started to come out in my work – I started to work with bikes and plants. I find whatever’s happening in our lives is very relevant and usually needs to be talked about or reflected upon.”

Her education has also taken an unusual trajectory. After completing a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art at the U of L, she opted to stay for her master’s degree and work with faculty members Professor Mary Kavanagh and Dr. Joanne Fiske. She also worked with Professor Michael Campbell and other members of the faculty who provided direction and inspiration. At the time, the U of L didn’t have a Master of Fine Arts program, so the University offered Andres a different option: an individualized, multidisciplinary Master of Arts, in which she could blend fine arts with women’s studies.

“In doing so, I explored both the theoretical side of women and gender studies in art, and incorporated a studio practice as well,” she explains. “It was essentially a double degree.”

The program was a great fit for the budding

artist and thinker, says Kavanagh, one of her supervisors.

“It doesn’t take much for Kelly to continue to grow and learn and strive – that’s what makes her a good artist,” Kavanagh explains.

As a graduate student, Andres began to show her work all over the world, first in Vancouver, and then New York, followed by exhibitions in several European countries and Singapore, where she completed an artist’s residency. As Andres didn’t have a cohort of students with whom she could relate during her program, the international travel filled a gap, providing opportunities to connect with other like-minded artists.

“What’s important about residency and exhibition forums is that Kelly was able to connect to a larger world and to bring these experiences back to her studies in a very direct way,” Kavanagh explains.

In fact, Andres’ desire to engage with the world is partly why she’s been so successful, says Kavanagh. “In the visual arts, we try to help students connect through their own work and explorations with current disciplinary theory and practice – we encourage students with the interest, capacity and drive to go into the world and engage beyond the classroom.”

Talented artists like Andres have created a critical mass at the U of L in recent years, prompting the University to create two new graduate programs: a Master of Fine Arts and Master of Music. Starting in September 2009, students wishing to pursue the next level of their education in art, dramatic arts, new media or music can do so at this institution.

James Dobbie, assistant dean, student program services in the Faculty of Fine Arts, explains that the new programs also reflect the evolution of the university. For many years, the U of L has had an undergraduate emphasis, despite attracting a large number of graduate students. But in recent years, the University’s research capacity has grown enormously,

drawing more and more students to its graduate programs.

Although the U of L is smaller than other research institutions in Alberta, graduate students will receive resources they might not receive at larger schools, says Dobbie. “The facilities we have are second to none in terms of what we can offer graduate students.”

Graduate students in art, for instance, will receive individual studio space, a benefit which is rare at large institutions. As well, students in Fine Arts graduate programs will have superior access to funding opportunities, including a scholarship called the Advantage Award.

“For each month of studies, the student is guaranteed to receive $1,000 in income from the university,” Dobbie explains.

One year after completing her master’s degree, Andres is preparing to move to Montreal in the fall where she’ll begin an interdisciplinary PhD at Concordia University. Ultimately, she has set her sights on academia and says her experience working on her graduate research under Kavanagh and other faculty members has prepared her well. She’s grateful to have received the mentorship she did as well as the opportunity to work independently.

“It was always my own work and my own voice, but Mary provided a lot of really great conversations. It was quite peer-to-peer at a certain level…It was great not to have your own ideas squashed down or evaporated, which allowed me to trust her and open up so my work could be more fluid.”

Andres was the recipient of both the Governor General’s Gold Medal for Graduate Studies and the M.A. Medal of Merit. Although early in her career, her works have appeared in exhibitions around the world (including Australia, Ireland, Singapore and Norway) and in Canadian galleries like Studio XX in Montreal and the Banff Centre here in Alberta.

Kelly Andres. Photos submitted.

research furthers innovation and teaching at the University of Lethbridge

Two new degree programs – the MFA and MMUS –

will offer world-class education for artists, performers,

designers and musicians at the University of Lethbridge

Supporting the next generation of artists