Like ovens, bike locks, lawn mowers and earphones, Earth now comes with instructions on how to use it.
Earth: A User’s Guide (EER:1000 in the course calendar) is a new course offered this upcoming fall term by the Clayton H. Riddell Faculty of Environment, Earth and Resources.
“This course is designed to be of interest to anyone from any background,” said Mary Benbow, the Associate Dean of the Faculty and the course’s instructor. “It gives the information needed to be a good Earth citizen.”
The course is being developed with Norman Halden, Dean of the Faculty, who will teach in the Winter Term, 2010.
A good Earth citizen, Benbow said, knows how to navigate the shades of grey when it comes to resource management; they do not take an extremist point of view.
“It’s not a doom and gloom course,” she said. “This course is really looking at the brutal reality that we use resources and to come to some kind of middle ground about how we can do that judiciously. But then also recognize that we have to, in our everyday lives, know where those resources are coming from.”
For example, most readers have a mobile phone in their pocket or near by. A phone contains small amounts of tantalum and niobium, which come from two minerals jointly called “coltan” for simplicity’s sake. Coltan extracts are used to make everything from computers, to jet engines and car air-bags. Its drawback is its origin: it’s mined mostly in the Congo where lax regulation allows harm to befall many people, much forest, and several animals like gorillas. Knowing these facts forces us to ask how much do we want that phone?
An alternative source of coltan may reside locally in a wilderness park but it’s an industrially used mineral, it does not come with a “country or origin” label. Still, as Benbow suggests, what dolphin-friendly tuna did to the fish market, gorilla-friendly cell phones can, perhaps, do to this one.
“I’m imagining having Fine Arts and music students take this course who don’t want to take an environment course but just want that little something, and there is nothing wrong with that. I think often our students become bogged down by their expertise and don’t recognize that there is room to just get a little flavour of different things.”
The course will begin by examining energy and fuels, then how humans live and eat, how biological production relates to globalization, water, and finally, a unit on “bad days on planet Earth” wherein the unpredictability and often catastrophic nature of the Earth – and how we respond to that – is covered.
The course, which was made possible from a University of Manitoba grant from the Strategic Program Development Fund, runs Tuesday and Thursdays from 10 a.m. till 11:15 a.m. in the fall term.
“Supposing you had just arrived in a solar system and there was this ‘blue green planet’. How would you go about finding and utilizing resources? With what we think we know about our Earth, what might we do differently and what might we be required to do exactly the same to survive?,” Benbow asks, and will ask again in the school year (perhaps on an exam).
In October 2008, the Apotex Centre, the $32-million, 95,000 square foot new home for the Faculty of Pharmacy, opened its doors. The state-of-the-art building also houses the department of immunology. Click below for a tour!
The College of Family Physicians of Canada’s (CFPC) announced the 2009 Family Physicians of the Year on October 27th. The Reg L. Perkin Awards recognize ten outstanding family physicians – one from each province - for providing exceptional care to their patients, making meaningful contributions to the health and well-being of their communities, and for dedicating themselves as researchers or educators of future generations of family doctors. Award recipients are nominated by their peers, patients, colleagues, and community leaders.
Dr. Darcy Johnson, a University of Manitoba alumnus, is one of the ten Family Physicians of the Year. He graduated from the University of Manitoba Faculty of Medicine in 1981 and was awarded Certification in Family Medicine in 1983, becoming a Fellow of the CFPC in 2004. In addition to practice in North East Winnipeg, he has provided medical care at Stony Mountain Penitentiary since 1990.
He is highly regarded for his leadership in continuing professional development as well as supporting system change for family doctors. Within the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, he has served as a Medical Leader, participating in Primary Care Renewal which includes the North East Primary Care Project, Physician Integrated Network Initiative and Primary Care Advisory Committee.
“The award recipients are skilled clinicians who are passionate about their profession and the doctor-patient relationship,” said Dr. Sarah Kredentser, President of the CFPC. “Many share their passion, knowledge and skill through teaching and mentoring medical students, working tirelessly to encourage the next generation of family doctors. They are to be commended for their dedication to providing quality health care in the communities they serve.”
“As diverse as they are, the Family Physicians of the Year all share a commitment to reaching out and making family doctors more accessible,” said Dr. Calvin Gutkin, Executive Director and CEO for the CFPC. “They reach out to patients at home and to underserved populations in rural and remote areas. They provide care to immigrants in inner city neighbourhoods, to veterans and the elderly in hospitals and nursing homes, and to penitentiary inmates. They are also active in research, teaching and public health.”
This is the 37th year the College has honoured family physicians with this award. It is named in honour of Dr. Reg L. Perkin, CFPC Executive Director from 1985 to 1996. They are given as part of the annual Family Doctor Week in Canada celebration that this year runs from October 26-31, 2009.
The award presentations will be made during a ceremony at the CFPC’s annual Family Medicine Forum in Calgary on Saturday, October 31. The awards are supported by Merck Frosst Canada Inc., Health Canada and the CFPC’s Research and Education Foundation.
The College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) is the voice of family medicine in Canada. Representing 22,000 members across the country, it is the professional organization responsible for establishing standards for the training, certification and lifelong education of family physicians and for advocating on behalf of the specialty of family medicine, family physicians and their patients. The CFPC accredits postgraduate family medicine training in Canada’s 17 medical schools.
Manitoba beer-brewing enthusiasts have Sandra Gowan of Gordon, MB, to thank for growing some of the first ever local hops. Retired school teacher Lori Regnier, sells organic vegetables to locals and upscale restaurants from her farm in St Francois Xavier, Blue Lagoon Florascape - a model for community-supported agriculture. And they’re both graduates of Extended Education’s Prairie Horticulture Certificate Program. See their stories here:
University of Manitoba nursing professor Roberta Woodgate is sharing her latest research findings in an innovative way – YouTube videos.
The videos were created as part of Woodgate’s study on health promotion with teens, Youth speaking for themselves about health within their own life-situations: An ethnographic study of youth’s perspectives of health and their own health interests. The videos are part of the knowledge translation (KT) activities for the study, which is funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.
The video Summer Daze demonstrates the social, mental and spiritual benefits of physical activity and how it determines overall health. The second video, What if?, is about the availability of healthy options in the community and the ongoing problem of easy access to junk food.
The two videos provide a general snapshot of her findings. Overall, the study offered insight into how youth understand different determinants of health, and their impact on their own health and the health of others. This study also revealed youth are well aware of health messages that emphasize healthy eating and physical activity.
In her future research work with children and youth, Woodgate plans to continue to involve them in KT activities, as their involvement will help ensure research findings are translated in a meaningful way.
Her clinical research interests include expertise in all areas of child and youth health including pediatric chronic and life-threatening illness, childhood disability, and health promotion. The overall objective of her research programs is to better understand and improve the quality of health care involving children and their families.
Woodgate is a leading Canadian researcher who holds several national grants and a long list of peer- reviewed publications. Her work has earned major awards. In 2008, Prime Minister Stephen Harper named Woodgate a Canadian “Nurse to Know.”
From left, Sgt Cameron Bois, MWO Ian Smith and Dr. Cheryl McLean, Director, Distance and Online Education
Imagine you want to earn a degree but you’ve just been posted to Afghanistan.
For members of Canada’s Armed Forces, balancing work, family and study takes on an added dimension- when even applying to the university and registering for courses on time seems impossible. The irregular hours, constant training and travel, common in the military, can test the resolve of even the most motivated adult learner.
For Sgt. Cameron Bois of Winnipeg, the Military Support Office (MSO) at the University of Manitoba was indispensable in helping him complete a degree. The goal of the MSO is to assist Canadian Forces personnel (regular and reserve), retired members, civilian employees of the Department of National Defence, and their families, in pursuing degree study, largely through Distance and Online Education. “I chose the University of Manitoba because of the support they offered to members of the armed forces. MSO staff walked me through the process and I was able to register in time over the phone from Afghanistan. They were one of my best supporters, especially if exams needed to be deferred or assignments handed in late.”
Many of the skills Bois learned in the military, like time management, helped him in his studies. Members of the military also contribute to their classes because of their varied experiences. In an archaeology course, he added an interesting perspective to the class discussion since he had travelled to many of the sites studied.
Like many armed forces members, Bois was looking to his future as well as the present when he chose to do his degree. He agrees that a more educated force benefits the military directly, especially in filling leadership roles.
Bois says once members of the military realize the MSO is there to help them, many decide to pursue their degree. Master Warrant Officer Ian Smith, another member of the military in Ottawa, recently completed his Bachelor of Arts degree by distance while employed full time in the Canadian Forces. He echoed Bois’s praise of the MSO staff, “They made what at times seemed like a daunting task a lot easier. Whenever any of my colleagues asks about post-secondary education I always suggest the University of Manitoba and the support I received has a lot to do with that.”
Bois was so grateful for the support he received from the MSO that he recently nominated them for a special citation. In spring of 2009 at a ceremony at McGregor Amory, the Canadian Forces Liaison Council presented a Citation to Distance and Online Education’s Military Support Office (MSO) in recognition of academic advisory services provided to members of the Canadian Forces Reserves. Cheryl McLean, Director of Distance and Online Education accepted it on behalf of MSO.
In 2009, the Military Support office marks its 35th year serving Canadian Forces personnel studying part-time around the world.
The Instructor Service Recognition annually recognizes instructors in Continuing Education for their outstanding service to students and their contribution to program design, development and delivery over eight years or longer. For 2009, the following instructors were presented with a framed parchment at the Extended Education Graduation on June 11, 2009: Teresita Chiarella, Cyril Labman, Merv Pritchard, Darryl Rudge and Pat Travers. Not in attendance but also acknowledged were: Linda Burnside, Vic DeWitt, Rosalyn Howard, Nick Iafolla, Terry Imhoff, Ken Kowalski and Timothy Sampson.
From left, Cyril Labman, Darryl Rudge, Pat Travers, Teresita Chiarella and Merv Pritchard were among the 12 instructors recognized in 2009 for outstanding service to Continuing Education students.
From left, Irene Kamchen, Robyn Green and Deborah Hatton, three of Extended Education's academic and scholarship recipients for 2009.
Extended Education presented a number of awards before and during its graduation ceremony on June 11:
CMA Manitoba Award of Excellence (Certified Management Accountants)
Being selected as the recipient of the CMA Award in the Certificate in Financial and Accounting Management gave Robyn Green “a sense of accomplishment for many years of effort”. A budget assistant for the U of M Libraries, Robyn applies the knowledge she gained to help manage the Libraries’ budget. The program also sharpened her time management skills since she had to manage her course work along with job and family (her daughter was her biggest cheerleader!). Robyn learned from her classmates and the instructors, who brought many years of industry experience to the classroom. She has been accepted into the CGA Program advanced level because of this program. “It was a challenging program but very worthwhile- I’d definitely recommend it.”
IPMA Award for Academic Achievement (International Personnel Management Association)
Receiving the IPMA Award in the Human Resource Management Program (HRM) confirmed for Christine Hildebrand that she hadn’t lost her academic edge. Employed at the U of M since 2001, Christine is currently Student Services Coordinator for Admissions and Financial Aid in the Faculty of Law. Previously, while the Homestay Coordinator for the English Language Centre, she applied what she learned in her work finding Canadian homes for international students. “The HRM Program was very valuable as a broad overview of Human Resources. The instructors were dynamic, engaging and experts in different areas of HR. I appreciated the flexible study options.” An advocate of lifelong learning, Christine takes a holistic approach to learning. “I often apply what I’ve learned without even realizing it at the time”.
ASQ Manitoba Section Award for Academic Achievement (American Society of Quality)
Is there a better way we can be doing things? is a familiar mantra for Don Proskin, Quality Advanced Planning Manager at Palliser Furniture. Don has a BSc degree but realized “when my work became more quality-focused, I needed to freshen up my skills in that area”. Receiving the ASQ award was a pleasant surprise. “Everything I learned in the Quality Management Program was relevant to my work at Palliser and I could apply it immediately.” Taking the program by distance allowed Don to fit his learning into a life already full with work and family responsibilities. “The program helped me be more effective. Now I understand how an organization’s culture and leadership influences the implementation of a quality program.”
IPAC Public Sector Management Award (Institute of Public Administration in Canada)
Employed in the Urban Development Branch of Intergovernmental Affairs, Irene Kamchen manages the Social Economy and Community Development Program of the tripartite Winnipeg Partnership Agreement. She was honoured to be recognized with the IPAC Award, presented to her at a luncheon in May. When Irene began her career with the Province ten years ago, she brought years of rich managerial experience but found managing in the public sector required a new set of skills and knowledge. The Certificate in Public Sector Management gave her the opportunity to explore managerial and public policy issues within the context of government. “It was a very positive experience. Learning in a cohort allowed us to speak frankly about the challenges we face as public servants.” As a bonus, the “incredibly knowledgeable instructors and prominent guest speakers” made her feel like she was on the “cutting-edge of public management”.
The Dr. Ron Kristjanson Memorial Scholarship
Deborah Hatton and Stephanie Ross were this year’s recipients of the Dr. Ronald Kristjanson Memorial Scholarship. The scholarship was established in 1992 to commemorate the life and work of Dr. Ronald Kristjanson, adult educator and professor in Extended Education. Awarded to students in their final year of study, the scholarship is based on grade point average and community service.
Deborah Hatton wants people to realize that there is no statute of limitations on learning and education. Mother of eight and grandmother of two, three of her four children still at home are autistic. The scholarship helped her complete her last Practicum course in the Certificate in Applied Behaviour Analysis Program (ABA), which she took concurrently with her honours year of a psychology degree at the U of M. The ABA Program “gave me a great advantage now that I’m doing my research work in my thesis.” For Deborah “It’s important to know people with developmental disabilities - it’s not just about the theory.” Deborah’s not done with learning yet- her future plans include a Masters degree and a PhD in ABA.
After 12 years as a floral designer, Stephanie Ross wanted a career change. Her experience as an inner city volunteer led her to choose the U of M’s Applied Counselling Program (ACC) as the route to her new career goals. Today Stephanie is the Women’s Program Coordinator for Kali-Shiva AIDS Services, which provides client-centred non-medical services specific to HIV positive women. “It was an honour to receive the scholarship”, says Stephanie. The ACC Program “honed my counseling skills. I became more efficient and professional when working with clients.” From her classmates she gained an invaluable network of contacts for professional advice and client referrals. “The instructors are always so enthusiastic and encouraging.” Stephanie has even integrated her old career with the new- she is studying to become a registered horticultural therapist.
Canadian Institute of Management
For the 2008-2009 academic year, 86 students in the Canadian Institute of Management Certificate Program in Management and Administration (CIM), were awarded the CIM designation at a convocation exercise and dinner/dance reception on Saturday, June 13. Extended Education offers the program in cooperation with the Canadian Institute of Management, Winnipeg Branch.
The CIM Winnipeg Branch’s Outstanding Academic Performance Award (Gold, Silver or Bronze) was presented to the top three graduates:
Time is precious when work and family responsibilities compete for study time. No one knows that better than the graduates of Extended Education who celebrated their hard work, determination and achievement at their graduation ceremony on June11. Lori Wallace, Dean of Extended Education, acknowledged the challenge for an adult learner to pursue education, “Much coffee has been consumed, much computer equipment cursed and the slow food movement lost you a few years ago”. Many of this year’s 352 graduates from over 20 programs attended the ceremony which follows the University’s regular convocation where degree students studying through Extended Education marked their graduation.
Guest speaker, Judith Hayes, Director of Employee Services and Organizational Development for Manitoba Lotteries Corporation, knows first-hand how education can help achieve a dream. Her own educational journey was enriched by individuals who inspired her to continue learning and obtain a Masters degree and PhD. She urged graduates to “recognize those people who have contributed to your success”.
The Graduation ceremony was also an opportunity to honour families for their contribution to the success of “their” graduate. As graduands were presented with their certificates, family members, young and old, urged on by Dean Wallace not to “hold back”, applauded enthusiastically or shouted out their support.
After the certificates were presented to the graduates, Ms Karen Holden, Vice-President of the Alumni Association, welcomed them as University of Manitoba alumni.
Dean Wallace reminded those in attendance that this major achievement of the graduates is the culmination of the cooperative efforts and support of not only their families, instructors and classmates, but also employers, community organizations, professional associations and faculties on campus.
On September 21, 2009 School of Art Instructor Elizabeth Roy, formerly of Vancouver, received a Public Art Award from the City of North Vancouver for her sculpture, “Launch.” This is the first year that these public art awards have been made by the city’s Public Art Program. They are intended to honour individuals and organizations that have demonstrated a commitment to public art and played a pivotal role in making public art a reality for the City of North Vancouver.
Installed in 2007, Ms Roy’s sculpture “Launch” is situated in residential complex that borders a waterfront site in North Vancouver. It faces disintegrating buildings that once housed shipworks factories. During World War II, its primarily male workforce was dismantled as conscription required men to serve in the armed forces. Their jobs were filled by women who more than capable of taking on the work required to repair and build seagoing vessels. In both its proximity to domestic and work spheres and its intent, “Launch” refers to those women and their multiple roles in both spheres.
Elizabeth Roy, who has one Winnipeg winter under her belt, is currently the Acting Chair of the Foundations area at the School of Art. She teaches basic design, drawing and printmaking.
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