April 12, 2013

Yesterday afternoon I, along with the other 25 presidents of Alberta’s post-secondary institutions, met with the Deputy Premier and Minister of Enterprise and Advanced Education, and other officials from the Ministry, to discuss the future of Campus Alberta and the letters of expectation issued to us shortly after the provincial budget. While we have not yet arrived at a position of absolute clarity, I am pleased that the presidents and the Minister have agreed to embark on a collaborative approach to work through these issues.

April 11, 2013

At the Community Update held on March 27, 2013, I committed to developing a values-based process to guide the University through the operating budget adjustments that we as a community must participate in. In his presentation, our Provost, Dr. Andrew Hakin, outlined the process through which those values will be determined and endorsed, and the timeline under which we would conduct this process.

The University of Lethbridge honoured faculty and postdoctoral fellows across campus who received academic research awards of distinction, secured research funding or published their research findings in the last year at Thursday's Celebrating Research Reception in Markin Hall.

The U of L also recognized those who had books published within the last calendar year.

Below is a list of the awards presented.

Research Awards: External

Alberta Science and Technology Leadership Foundation (ASTech) Award: Excellence in Science and Technology Public Awareness
Kristy Burke  |  Conference & Event Services

The University of Lethbridge will serve as the host site for SCI-FUSION 2013, the Lethbridge Regional Science Fair & Science Olympics, this weekend.

Presented by the Southern Alberta Technology Council (SATC), the event will take place on the track level of the 1st Choice Savings Centre for Sport and Wellness beginning Friday afternoon and wrapping up Saturday evening.

Students in Grades four to 12 will present science projects with the chance of being selected to receive cash prizes and awards.

The Faculty of Fine Arts will be under the stewardship of a new Dean after the University of Lethbridge appointed Dr. Ed Jurkowski to the role, succeeding Dr. Desmond Rochfort.

“It is always exciting to announce the appointment of a new Dean, and it is especially gratifying to be able to promote someone from within the University of Lethbridge community,” says Dr. Andrew Hakin, provost and vice-president (academic). “Dr. Jurkowski has been with the U of L for 17 years now and brings with him a wealth of knowledge, experience and a unique understanding of the challenges and opportunities that face the Faculty of Fine Arts.”

The University of Lethbridge is excited to announce the appointment of Dr. Craig Cooper as the new Dean of the Faculty of Arts & Science.

“It is with great pleasure that we are able to announce Dr. Cooper as our new Dean of the Faculty of Arts & Science today,” says Dr. Andrew Hakin, provost and vice-president (academic). “We had a number of outstanding applicants for this role but Craig quickly emerged as the ideal candidate to succeed Dr. Chris Nicol. The appointment committee was very enthusiastic in its support of Craig and I’m confident that his innovative ideas and enthusiasm for the Faculty will play a key role in helping shape the direction of our University over the next five years.”

A chance meeting at a local science fair, a lab tour and some discussions over coffee have led to an innovative research partnership between a University of Lethbridge physics research team that looks into the far reaches of space, and a cancer research team from the same University that is chasing down rogue cancer cells deep inside in the human body.

Dr. Roy Golsteyn (Biological Sciences) and Dr. David Naylor (Physics and Astronomy) knew each other in passing – their labs are one floor and a staircase away and their offices are only a few hundred feet apart in University Hall.

Their completely different academic worlds would not generally collide, but now that they have, they are finding a lot of possibilities in their collaborative work.

While it is well documented that the health of expectant mothers can have a corresponding effect on their children, a new University of Lethbridge (U of L) study has found that prenatal stresses fathers face can have a detrimental impact on their offspring.

The study, conducted at the Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience at the U of L and recently published in the journal Neuroscience, found that male rats stressed prior to conception produce developmentally delayed offspring. 

Dr. Robbin Gibb says the finding could have major implications for public health approaches in human populations.

There is no denying that for many high school students, there is a fear factor associated with mathematics. The University of Lethbridge’s Department of Mathematics and Computer Science is looking to ease those fears, and in the end, maybe inspire more students to pursue, rather than retreat, from studies in math.

“We need to bridge that gap from fear to fun,” says longtime professor Dr. Hadi Kharaghani. “This is a very big issue, to try and show students that there is a fun side to math, and if we can do that it can lead to better understanding.”

The University of Lethbridge Pronghorns Athletic Department announced that Mike Hansen (BA '96, BEd '99, MA '09) has been named the new head coach of the Pronghorn men’s basketball program Friday, becoming the 10th head coach in the program's history.

Hansen replaces Dave Adams, who resigned Feb. 25 after his fourth season with the program to pursue an international teaching opportunity.

“We are excited to welcome Mike back to the program," says Executive Director of Sport and Recreation, Sandy Slavin. “His track record at the college level speaks for itself and his connection to the basketball community in southern Alberta is equally important.”