1 10 1 https://digitalcollections.lakeheadu.ca/files/original/024fe762baa9c39813280bfb5cca054f.pdf 78ac214375ca78098819c5cd7383c79b PDF Text Text December 2000 A Newsletter for Faculty and Staff Swing music by The Roy Coran Big Band attracted a crowd of people, both young and old. The noon-hour concert was given as part of a new course on the history of jazz offered by the Department of Music. Susan A. Soldan Appointed Vice-President (Administration and Finance) Lakehead's newly-appointed vice-president (administration and finance) is a graduate of Lakehead who has been working for the Thunder Bay Catholic District School Board for the past 1O years. As superintendent of business & corporate services, Susan A. Soldan is responsible for administrative services (including budgeting, human resources, computer services, and legal matters) for a school system with an annual operating budget of $56 million. One of her greatest accomplishments was the construction of the new $10 million St. Martin School in Westfort -- a building which now houses the School Board's offices and where she met face-to-face with David Johnson, then minister of education, to discuss funding issues. One of her first tasks at Lakehead University, upon taking up her duties on December 4, will be the 2001/02 budget: "A budget is just a way of talking about your priorities," she says. "It's translating your vision -- where you are going -- into a numerical language." Lakehead U N I VE R S I TY continued on page 3 �Lakehead 2 UNIVERSITY From the President's Desk The Maclean's 10th annual ranking of Universities has placed Lakehead at the bottom of the "Primarily Undergraduate" category. What should be our reaction when we all know that Lakehead provides a quality education to its students? Disbelief, chagrin, frustration, anger and disappointment are all acceptable under the circumstances. Consider the following: by Or. Frederick F. Gilbert President Within its category, Lakehead improved in nine areas, stayed the same in seven, and slipped in only four. It placed second in the percentage of operating budget devoted to scholarships and bursaries; third in the percentage of library budget devoted to library acquisitions; third in the number of full-time faculty winning national awards; and fifth in the proportion of students who graduate. The two indicators in which Lakehead University ranked poorly this year were "Reputation" and "Classes." -- Lakehead ranks third overall in the country in the "Value-Added" indicator (which takes into account entering averages, national awards won by students, and graduation rate); -· Lakehead ranks fifth in its category in "Graduation Rate" and 20th overall in Canada; -- Two years after graduation, 95.8% of our 1997 graduates are employed. If this does not speak to the quality of student experiences at Lakehead, what does? Outcome indicators such as "Value Added," "Graduation Rate" and "Employment Rate" clearly illustrate that Lakehead University is, at worst, somewhere in the middle of its peers. In fact, if you were to simply calculate Lakehead's standing independent of the arbitrary weightings assigned by the Maclean's editors, you would find that Lakehead ranks midway in the "Primarily Undergraduate" category not 21st! In the case of "Reputation," it is important to note that Maclean's canvassed the opinion of 7,087 individuals across the country and received a total response rate of just 13.1 % with by far the largest percentage of responses coming from other universities. In spite of this, Maclean's chooses to accord this category a weighting of 15% in the overall tally! In the case of "Classes," it must be noted that the overall average class size at Lakehead is 35 and that 61% of the classes are in the 1- 25 size. What the Maclean's indicators don't speak to is the fact that Lakehead graduates perform exceedingly well in graduate and professional schools, in cooperative placements, and in the work force. Our alums are fiercely loyal to the Uniyersity and proud of the education they have received at Lakehead. continued on page 3 "'There is no reason to bow our heads or question our worth or direction. They simply have it wrong. We must not let the perception created by Maclean 1s become reality." -- Dr. Frederick F. Gilbert AGORA - December 2000 �_ Lakehead 3 UNIV ER SITY Our students, in areas like business administration and engineering, consistently outperform students from much larger Canadian and American universities in academic competitions such as the Intercollegiate Business Competition and the Steel Bridge Building Competition. When you consider all of these things, it is hard to imagine that any measurement of success, quality or value would rank Lakehead at the bottom of the list. The Macleans's annual ranking of universities is biased in that it really only measures a few factors that can be correlated directly with quality of education. I would say this whether we ranked first or fast. The retort might be "then why participate?" A very good question, and it would seem that the best approach would be to simply withdraw from the process. However, as with anything that needs improvement, it is better to work to achieve the objective than be outside and thus have little influence on change. Ann Dowsett Johnston, Maclean's contributing editor and architect of the process, needs to be convinced that the weightings are very subjective and are not defensible on an empirical or theoretical basis. It is the Maclean's world-view of what is important and what is not, and it does not correspond with the values that Lakehead holds. Lakehead University has a different mission than most of the other universities in its current Maclean's category. In fact, it is a University that shares little in common with Acadia, Mount Allison, St. Francis Xavier and Trent, the top four institutions in the "Primarily Undergraduate" category. These universities (and many others in the category) are all small, liberal arts schools with few professional programs. Many are in Quebec and the Maritimes and have been around for 100 years or more and, thus, are well established in their role and have alumni stretching over several generations. Lakehead University is in transition to the "Comprehensive" category. Susan Soldan continued from page 1 Lakehead is the only Canadian university between Sudbury and Winnipeg and serves as the primary access for a university education for most of Northwestern Ontario. This geographic position and regional role require broad programming including graduate degrees to meet the needs of both students and faculty. With an increasing interaction in the economy of the region as a result of research and development and strategic partnerships with industry, business and governments, Lakehead University is a critical component of the socioeconomic "engine" of the area. Susan Soldan was born and raised in Thunder Bay and has deep roots in the Ukrainian community. She graduated with an honours bachelor of commerce degree in 1981 and received her Chartered Accountant designation in 1984. So we are last in a questionable analysis of the worth of any university. The reason students, faculty, and administration alike all react so strongly to this is that we all know the fallacy of that ranking. No matter what Maclean's prints, we are good and we're getting better. There is no reason to bow our heads or question our worth or direction. They simply have it wrong. We must not let the perception created by Maclean's become reality. We will continue to reach out, explain ourselves, show our strengths, have pride in who we are. We will continue to celebrate our students, faculty and alumni and their successes plus show the world that we are the best Maclean's 21st place university it will ever see. LUCC Family Holiday Party Sunday, December 10, 2000 1-4 p.m.Main Cafeteria This year's party features a sing-a-long with Rodney Brown, Santa's visit, games, and crafts. For information contact Patti Merriman at ext. 8207. AGORA - December 2000 Before joining the Thunder Bay Catholic District School Board in 1990, Soldan spent a year working for the City of Thunder Bay as manager of budgets & planning. Prior to that, she spent three years as manager of the Northern Ontario Internal Audit Section with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. Although Soldan has chosen a career in accounting and finance, she has always enjoyed music and dance and is a keen supporter of the arts. She is currently president of the Thunder Bay Community Auditorium Board and, up until a few years ago (when her work load became too heavy), she was a member of the Lakehead Choral Group. Soldan says that in many ways her job at Lakehead University will be similar to the kind of work she is doing with the School Board, although, "It is a different type of organization with different challenges -- one that is not as heavily regulated by legislation. "Most of the issues at Lakehead seem to be enrolment driven," she says. "The way to get more money is to increase enrolment. The plant needs a lot of sprucing up and that's another way of attracting enrolment. "We need to provide the kinds of services the students require and provide the services that staff require. As opposed to focusing on cost-cutting, I would hope to increase revenues by making Lakehead a more attractive place for students." -- Frances Harding �Lakehead 4 UNIVERSITY Northern Rural Medical School In a series of articles published in the Thunder Bay Post, Dr. Fred Gilbert detailed the vision behind the proposed Northern Rural Medical School (NORMS). This article summarizes the main points about the proposal and addresses some of the questions that may be on the minds of Lakehead University faculty and staff. The original articles are published on the Lakehead University Web site: http://www.lakeheadu.ca/-eventswww/norms.htm McKendry Report The Ontario Government appointed Robert McKendry, MD, to study Ontario's shortage of family doctors and specialists in the province. Dr. McKendry recommended that the Ontario Government establish a new medical school in the North that would specialize in training medical students for practice in the under-serviced regions. What is the current status of the proposed Northern Rural Medical School? The expert panel examining the recommendations of the McKendry Report for the Government of Ontario is expected to make a decision by the end of November. If positive, a decision could be linked to the release of the Ontario budget in the new year. Partnership between Lakehead and Laurentian Lakehead University immediately formed a partnership with Laurentian University in Sudbury to develop a proposal to establish the Northern Rural Medical School (NORMS). Since then, both institutions have worked cooperatively with physicians groups, business leaders, Aboriginal organizations and the community-at-large to develop a proposal that would reflect the needs of the North and satisfy the concerns of the expert panel examining the recommendations of the McKendry Report for the Ontario Government. Basic Training Integrated with Clinical Training NORMS will provide medical students with a high quality medical education. The 55 medical students admitted each year will be divided into small groups of 6 to 8 members that will focus on a series of 8 to 1O week modules taken over their 4 years of study. During each module, the group will work cooperatively to solve a series of clinical problems under the leadership of a local physician with a special knowledge of the particular field. Using laptop computers and the Internet, NORMS medical groups will be able to run tutorials anywhere there is telephone access. Training in "Real" Practical Settings The pre-clerkship training (Years 1 and 2) would see students learning and living in communities such as Fort Frances, Dryden, Kenora, Sioux Lookout, Marathon, and Nipigon as well as having clinical experience in rural, remote and Aboriginal communities. The clerkship years (Years 3 and 4) would see rotations in the major specialties and would continue the model of exposure to both large and small population centres of the region. What is the likelihood of this proposal receiving the necessary funding? There are strong indications both in the medical community and in provincial and federal government circles that the creation of a Northern Rural Medical School is "an idea whose time has come." The momentum is growing. Experts agree this is the best long-term solution to addressing the chronic shortage of doctors and medical specialists willing to practice in the North. Similar ventures have proven successful in Scandinavia, Australia and elsewhere. If the expert panel recommends that a Northern Rural Medical School be created at Lakehead and Laurentian, what will happen next? Work has already begun to be ready for a positive decision. A committee made up of representatives of the three primary First Nations Organizations across the north, along with Lakehead University and Laurentian University, has been struck to begin to work out how First Nations and Aboriginal peoples will be involved in the governance of the Medical School. As soon as the Northern Rural Medical School has been endorsed by the expert panel, efforts will be heightened to convince the Ontario and Canadian Governments to either approve or to provide funding for the school. At the same time, work will continue to put in place the elements of the governance structure, not only to involve the First Nations, but to ensure that the existing governance structures of the two universities are adhered to. It is possible that the first students could be enrolled as early as fall, 2002. Therefore, academic decisions would be made following the hiring of a dean. ... continued on page 5 AGORA - December 2000 �_ Lakehead 5 U N I VfRSlTY Northern Rural Medical School continued from page 4 How will we benefit from having a Northern Rural Medical School based on our campus? - Opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students to study medicine locally; - Increased research opportunities in the health sciences; - Increased national and international stature and profile for Lakehead University as an institution at the forefront of medical education in the 21st century; - Increased likelihood of attracting medical specialists to practice in the region; - Better health care for ourselves and our families; - Possible economic development in the health sciences sector. What can we do to ensure that this vision becomes a reality!! Write to the following elected representatives and send copies of your letter to your local MPs, MPPs Premier Mike Harris Office of the Premier Alumna presented with OMA Community Service Award Legislative Building Queen's Park Barb Linkewich (HBScN'91) has received a Community Service Award from the Ontario Medical Association this year. Toronto, Ontario M?A 1A1 Elizabeth Witmer Minister of Health and Long-Term Care (Ontario) Hepburn Block, 1oth Floor 80 Grosvenor St. Toronto, Ontario M?A 2C4 Allan Rock, MP Minister of Health (Canada) 16th Floor Brooke Claxton Building Tunney's Pasture Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0K9 Congratulations to Coach Lee Anderson and the Thunderwolves women's volleyball team for winning their opening three games at home! Photo: Brent Campbell ' . ;, ~ •-:! . . --- - The Thunderwolves Home and Away Schedule is on our Web site: www.lakeheadu.ca/-eventswww/oncamp.html AGORA - December 2000 The awards are given annually to nonphysicians in recognition of significant contributions to the health and public welfare of the people of the local community. Linkewich is a Registered Nurse who has devoted much of her energy to promoting breast feeding. In recent years, she has been a leader in the field of palliative care and works closely with NECAH on palliative care education. In 1993, when the Long-Term Care Division of the Ontario Ministry of Health established the regional palliative care initiatives, Linkewich took up the new challenge of implementing the concept of a regional pain and symptom management team (PSMT). Her community-based philosophy, teambuilding approach, collaboration skills, and unbounded energy and enthusiasm have resulted in Thunder Bay's PSMT being a model throughout the province. �Lakehead 6 UNIVERSIT Y Gloria Baratta (BAIBEd'86) and Liz Dougall (BA '65) share a joke with Joe Baratta (BA '70/BEd'75/MEd'B0) Bill Boyce (BA'72) and Alice Saborin look through back issues of the Lakehead yearbook Back to the '60s Millennium Reunion More than 150 graduates, some from as far away as British Columbia and Pennsylvania, came back to campus November 3-4 to share memories of their early years. The weekend included a wine and cheese reception on Friday night, the Fall Convocation and Installation of the Chancellor, campus tours, volleyball and basketball games, and a "Back to the '60s" social and dance in the Outpost hosted by the Alumni Association. The Reunion was organized by a committee of volunteers including Shirley Boneca, Doug Burn, Gayle Carlson, Keith Fawcett, Moe Ktytor, Dave Parsons, George Paddington, Pentti Paularinne, Roy Piovesana, Mark Piovesana and Moe Siemieniuk. (l-r) Class of '66 graduates Edgar Waller, Don Cliff, John Bueton and Gary Hammet completed the Engineering Technology program at Lakehead before moving on to careers in industry. Everyone except for John Bueton (who worked for Avenor) found employment with General Motors in Oshawa AGORA -- December 2000 Geraldine White (BSc'66, HBSc'69, MSc'71) dances with Don Ayre, the former secretary to Lakehead University who retired in 1985 A toast to "Noah and the Aardvarks, "the infamous singing group: (l-r) Ferg Penner, Dave Vibert, Lorne Everett and Cliff Huber. Absent: Bob Hensrud of Kenora, Bonnie Brydges of Nova Scotia and Joe St. Amand (now deceased), former registrar of Confederation College �Lakehead 7 UN I V E R SI TY Fall Convocation and Installation of the Chancellor "I am proud to be associated with such a vibrant, multi-dimensional university." --Jane Urquhart "It's a great honour and a great privilege to receive a doctor of letters, honoris causa, from Lakehead University -- a university that is situated within striking distance of the place of my own origins -- Little Longlac near Geraldton. Chair of the Board of Governors Paul Gordon congratulates Dr. Lorne Everett upon being installed as Lakehead's chancellor on Saturday, November 4, 2000. In his Installation address, Everett said how proud he is to be chancellor and then listed some of the ways he hopes to increase the visibility of Lakehead University through his work with organizations such as UNESCO, the World Federation of Scientists, and the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences. Everett is an expert in groundwater monitoring and chief scientist and senior vice-president of The IT Group in Santa Barbara, California. In November, he received the Medal of Excellence from the U.S. Navy because of his participation as a charter member of the Navy National Hydrocarbon Test Site, Science Advisory Board, and the Navy National Environmental Technology Testing Site, Science Advisory Board. Bachelor of arts graduate Josephine Sheshamush celebrates with her husband George and their daughter Tiffany (far right) along with Anna Robinson and daughter Cory. Sheshamush is from Great Whale River, Quebec, and is planning to study law In her address to the graduating class, author Jane Urquhart described her memories of the bush planes coming and going on the lake in front of the log house where she lived, the headframe of the mine where her father worked and the clear, bright winter days. All of this, she said, was surprisingly easy for her to retrieve when she wrote her last novel The Underpainter, much of which is set on the Sibley Peninsula. Though I lived in this part of Ontario for only the first five or six years of my life, the landscape and atmosphere of the North have had an enormous effect on my inner life and have remained in my memory in an astonishing vivid way." (l-r) Tammy McKinnon, Alison Nielsen-Jones and Joan Hardy AGORA - December 2000 �Lakehead 8 UNIVERSI T Y Campus Notes Third in Canada in Accountability Disclosure Study Best in Canada The Investment Funds Institute of Canada (IFIC) has determined that a paper written by a Lakehead University business administration student is the best overall in Canada. Alan Rambaldini, a fourth-year student majoring in finance, wrote a paper entitled, What are the Pros and Cons of Performance Based Management Fees and How Should They be Structured for a WinWin Environment? during the winter term of 2000. Professor Ken Hartviksen encouraged Rambaldini to enter the paper into the IFIC's 5th Annual Student Essay Awards Program. It was judged to be the Central Region winner and Grand Prize Winner. Rambaldini received a cash prize of $2,000 and copies of his paper were distributed to over 800 IFIC members attending the national conference in Toronto. What did Alan do with his winnings? Invested them, of course! Professors Honoured with Riddell Award Dr. Pamela Wakewich (Sociology/Women's Studies) and Dr. Helen Smith (History) and have been awarded the Riddell Award by The Ontario Historical Society for the best article published in 1999 on Ontario's history. The professors received the award for the article Beauty and the Helldivers: Representing Women's Work and Identities in a Warp/ant Newspaper published in Labour/Le Travail, 44 (Fall 1999). According to the Society, "The authors of this article significantly further our understanding of women's history in Ontario by providing a thorough analysis of how women's identity was constructed in a specialized newspaper at a very specific moment in time. In the process the authors display a sound understanding of local conditions and draw very useful parallels between women's increased importance in the wartime economy and in a local wartime manufacturing plant in particular ... " Results of a study conducted by three professors at Wilfrid Laurier University to examine "the availability, accessibility, and understandability" of university records and financial statements in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand show that Lakehead ranks third in Canada. This year, Queen's ranked first in Canada with a score of 54.3 followed by the University of Manitoba at 38.1 and Lakehead University and Lethbridge University tied for third place at 36.6. According to Director of Institutional Analysis/Government Relations Kerrie-Lee Clarke, much of Lakehead's information is on the Web site including the Annual Report, the Institutional Statistics Book, the Strategic Plan, and the University's accounting policies. Going the Distance Heavyweight wrestler Justin BeauParlant, a third-year student in arts, earned a silver medal in freestyle wrestling at the World University Games held in Tokyo in November. He says the highlight of the tournament came when he "pinned" the current world champion from Iran during his third match. BeauParlant, his coach Francis Clayton, and the rest of the team say they are looking forward to March 3-4 when Lakehead University will host the CIAU Wrestling Championships. " If we don't come away with the banner this year," says BeauParlant, "it will be a disappointing season." CIAU currently ranks the Lakehead men's wrestling team as the best in Canada. lakehead receives kudos for its Information Technology Lakehead earned high praise for the Information Technology component of its Shad Valley program this year says Program Director and Business Administration Professor Ken Hartviksen. At the Shad Valley wind-up banquet held in September in Toronto, Minister of Energy, Science and Technology Jim Wilson, praised Lakehead publicly for its initiative. "This year we set up a lab in the Residence that was available 24 hours a day," says Hartviksen. "We also had enormous support from other departments across campus especially Kinesiology, Anthropology and Chemistry." Dr. Chistine Gottardo and others in the Department of Chemistry worked with the Shad Valley students to develop a prototype to detect the presence of date rape drugs in drinks. This particular student project placed fifth overall in Canada in the national Shad Valley competition under the category "Prototype." (More about Shad Valley on page 11 ). AGORA - December 2000 �Lakehead 9 UNIVfRSITY Kim Tobin brings a wealth of experience in university advancement to her position as director of development. Prior to taking up her duties on September 1, she was a senior development officer at the University of Toronto where she was successful in raising over $500,000 for student aid, capital projects and equipment. She has also held the position of cultural affairs coordinator at the University of Toronto at Scarborough and was volunteer coordinator for Harbourfront Centre and the Toronto Film Festival. Tobin was born and raised in Thunder Bay and holds an honours bachelor of arts degree in arts management and art history from the University ofToronto. In addition to addressing some of the policy issues at Lakehead, Tobin has been spending time getting to know the faculty, staff and volunteers. She invites you to drop by her office, AC123, or to telephone her at 343-8747. Kim Tobin Appointed Director of Development -- Frances Harding Staff Appointments Kim Tobin is clear about what she wants to accomplish at Lakehead. She sees her role as creating a solid framework for development including well-established policies to guide fundraising activities. "There has been a lot of fund-raising activity at Lakehead," she says, referring to the recent OSOTF and Share Our Northern Vision fund-raising campaigns. "We need to formalize some of those relationships and policies so that we can really enhance our development program." Employment notices were issued by Human Resources announcing the following appointments: Kathryn Hauck -- Security Communications Officer Helen Wassegijig - Coordinator, Native Language Instructors' Program, Faculty of Education Lakehead University Spirit Fridays Tobin has a number of priorities listed on the white board in her Avila Centre office. One is to establish a policy for setting institutional fund-raising priorities. Another is to determine how the Office of Development at Lakehead University should be funded. Fund-raising for the Advanced Technology and Academic Centre is important and Tobin has been working with Dr. John Whitfield, vice-president (research and development), the Advancement Committee of the Board of Governors, and the Lakehead University Foundation to reach a target of $13.4 million. Supporting all of this activity is the donor database which is the backbone of development activities. Lakehead's current donor database, she says, is "antiquated" and so one of her priorities will be to oversee the implementation of the new Datatel/Benefactor system. There are, as well, many other institutional policies that relate to fund-raising which Kim Tobin hopes to review, revise and implement in conjunction with other groups within the Lakehead University community. Fourth-year Outdoor Recreation, Parks & Tourism student Eric Church gives the "thumbs up" to the idea of holding Sprit Fridays. Staff, faculty and students are invited to show their school spirit every Friday by wearing Lakehead University colours: blue and gold. AGORA - December 2000 �Lakehead 10 U NI V E R SI TY Health, Happiness and Aging A Profile of Gerontologist Dr. Michael Stones by Stacey L. Hare The idea that "you're only as old as you feel" rings true for Dr. Michael Stones, a gerontologist and professor of psychology at Lakehead who is fascinated by the relationship between aging, health and happiness. Aside from his teaching duties at Lakehead and his work as director of the Northern Educational Centre on Aging and Health (NECAH), Stones is engaged in several research projects including the f-1ealthy Aging Program, a health informatics project known as RAI-HIP, and research on elder abuse issues. Healthy Aging Program The Healthy Aging Program is grounded on the belief that prevention is key to good health and well-being throughout the course of life. As co-director of the program, Stones has embraced the involvement of numerous individuals and community partners in Central and Eastern Canada. Local affiliates include several Lakehead faculty members from various disciplines, Lakehead Psychiatric Hospital, Thunder Bay District Health Unit, District Health Council, Lakehead Social Planning Council, Thunder Bay Council on Positive Aging, and the Thunder Bay 55+ Centre. As well, NECAH is the recipient of a generous contribution from Manulife Financial - $250,000 over five years - in support of the Healthy Aging Program. The program will provide our aging population with tools for health assessment, intervention, and follow-up. Because accessibility remains a vital component of this program, one of particular significance for rural communities, it will use a Webbased system of delivery. With online assessment materials currently in development, the Healthy Aging Program began in earnest inThunder Bay this fall. Resident Assessment Instrument Health Informatics Project Stones is also directing the Thunder Bay stream of the Resident Assessment Instrument Health Informatics Project (RAI-HIP), along with coordinator Leah Clyburn, a PhD student. The Health Transition Fund of Health Canada has allocated roughly $1.7 million for the project, to be shared by two university lead organizations, one of which is Lakehead. A main feature of RAI-HIP is the collection of data for the purpose of assessing and improving the delivery of health care in our community. If implemented, this project would provide a more effective use of a patient's health-related information. In turn, the patient would receive improved quality of care in a consistent manner even as they move from one type of health care facility to another. Elder Abuse Dr. Michael Stones is actively exploring elder abuse issues. He is specifically interested in the sources of difference in abuse thresholds between younger people, community elderly, and institutionalized elderly. According to Stones, younger people tend to have lower abuse thresholds than do the elderly, especially those within institutions. He intends to raise awareness of elder abuse _so as to shrink abuse thresholds in the elderly and improve their quality of life. By transforming his research into an educational tool, he plans to create empowerment packages using positive language, rather than the negative "language of abuse." It is his hope that restructuring the presentation of serious information in this way will help to circumvent any feelings of cynicism or disbelief, and keep the information approachable for those who need it. Stacey L. Hare is one of several students participating in SPARK -- Lakehead, a student writing program sponsored by The Chronicle-Journal They call themselves the "RAI-HIPsters" (l-r): Leah Clyburn, Joanna Aegard, Dr. Michael Stones, Mary-Louise Crompton, Lee Stones and Karen Kipper AGORA - December 2000 �Lakehead 11 UNIVERSITY A Life-Changing Experience Lakehead's Shad Valley program is one of the best in Canada By Emily Sangster, Shad Participant Shad Valley, now in its second year at Lakehead, is a summer program for youth aged 16 to 19 which focuses on exploring science, technology and entrepreneurship. The 50 participating students began a detailed application process in November 1999, and were ultimately selected to participate because of their high academic achievement, initiative, creativity, and leadership qualities. With the help of Professor Ken Hartviksen, the students and 10 staff experienced a dynamic, exciting program including lectures, workshops and field trips. Through program participation, students had the opportunity to meet and share ideas with like-minded youth from across Canada and Scotland. Activities included a tour of the Bombardier plant; an overnight camping trip at Sleeping Giant Provincial Park; workshops on kinesiology and DNA; a cardboard boat-building competition; and lectures on topics such as earthquake engineering, protein detection, and the mathematics of music. A major group project was the Royal Bank Shad Cup entrepreneurship contest, which involved Shad students from all 1O participating campuses in Canada and Scotland. Students worked in groups to brainstorm, design, construct, and market a product in keeping with this year's theme: crime prevention. Ideas included a chemical indicator for the date rape drug, a Global Positioning System for lost children, and a steel door frame to prevent home invasion. Each group of students was required to prepare a full business plan and promotional video, on which they were judged at the end of the program. The winning team from Lakehead proceeded to the national Shad finals held in Toronto in September where they placed fifth overall in the category called "Prototype." The program wound up on July 27 with an Open Day in the Agora showcasing the many projects and activities the Shad students completed during their time in Thunder Bay. This event was followed with a banquet and variety show presented by the students to further showcase their talent and to thank those who contributed to this year's successful Shad Valley program at Lakehead. In August, many of the students completed a work term associated with topics covered at Shad. These work placements varied from Web design firms to industrial manufacturers and medical clinics, and gave students yet another opportunity to develop their communication and leadership skills. During its 20-year history, Shad Valley has proven itself to be a powerful educational and personal experience. Participating students see Shad as a base to build a network of contacts for future business endeavours, as well as a society of lifelong friends. Many Shads have gone on to create their own businesses or head large corporations. Eleven have become Rhodes Scholars. AGORA - December 2000 �Lakehead 12 UNI VERSI TY WEB WATCHING The WWW offers a number of excellent sites for finding quick information. Here is a sample of sites from the bookmarks of the Reference Librarians at The Chancellor Paterson Library: Lakehead UNIVERSITY The Universal Currency Converter http://www.xe. netlucc/ This currency conversion site allows for converting from and to some 100 currencies. A link to a "Full" Universal Currency Converter provides currency information on over 180 currencies in over 250 geographical locations. December 2000 Vol. 17, No. 9 THUNDER BAY, ONTARIO, CANADA ISSN 0828-5225 The Agora is published by the Office of Communications and distributed monthly September through June. We welcome news and other submissions from our readers. Send them to: Canadian Universities http://www.uwaterloo.ca/canulindex.html Canadian University Home Pages http://www. uwinnipeg. cal-kingsley/cdn-univ.html Editor, Agora Both sites provide direct links to Canadian University web pages. Development Thunder Bay Factbook Lakehead University 955 Oliver Road http://devtbay.city.thunder-bay.on.ca/factbooklfactbook.htm Thunder Bay, ON P78 5E1 An excellent source of local demographic information. Telephone: (807) 343-8193 Fax: (807) 343-8075 Canada 411 E-mail:frances.harding@ lakeheadu.ca http://canada411.sympatico. cal Use Canada411 to find any listed residential or business telephone number across Canada. And last but not least. .. Click on the "Key Reference Links" button from the Library's Web Page. From this link you'll be connected to a number of great sites for answering quick questions and connecting to common sites. -- Gisella Scalese, Orientation/Continuing Education Librarian Call for Nominations - Fellow of the University The Board of Governors invites individuals to submit nominations for the Fellow of Lakehead University. The deadline is January 17, 2001. The award recognizes persons who have contributed to the growth, development, welfare and well-being of Northwestern Ontario and/or of Lakehead University. A candidate should have: 1) contributed substantially to education and/or to the growth and development of Lakehead University; and/or 2) given service to the community of Thunder Bay or Northwestern Ontario through active participation in service clubs, community organizations, business and professional groups or charitable organizations. It is intended that such service should be above and beyond the demand of a career, and should be of the nature where no pecuniary reward is expected. Contact Bev Stefureak, ext. 8614 for a nomination form (e-mail: bev.stefureak@lakeheadu.ca). Events on Campus CD Trojan Devel. & Alumni Affairs www.lakeheadu.ca/-eventswww/ news.html AGORA - December 2000 Canadian Postmaster: Send address changes to Office of Communications Lakehead University 955 Oliver Road Thunder Bay, Ontario Canada P78 5E1 Publications Mail Agreement Number 1497073 Photography: Peter Puna Printing: Lakehead Print Shop Deadline for submissions for the next issue is December 13, 2000. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Lakehead University Alumni Collection Description An account of the resource Material kept by the Lakehead University Alumni Association, or donated by Alumni to the Association. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Agora Magazine Vol.17 No.9 Subject The topic of the resource Universities Description An account of the resource This issue of the Agora contains an annoucement that Susan A. Soldan was appointed Vice-President (admin. & finance), a message from the President, and an article on the Northern Rural Medical School. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Lakehead University Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2000-12 Agora Magazine Alumni Alumni Association Alumni Association of Lakehead University Dr. Frederick F. Gilbert Lakehead Lakehead University Northern Ontario School of Medicine Northern Rural Medical School President Frederick Gilbert President's Message Susan Soldan