College Dean's Message

Happy March, all! 

It was great to have temperatures above five degrees this past week. I finally got to run outside with only one layer of clothes. I hope that everyone enjoyed the nice weather as well. 

I’d like to start this newsletter off with a picture of some members of our college at the kickoff to U of A’s  Pride Week earlier this month. I was proud to participate in the pride march and enjoyed seeing a large turnout from our university and the wider community. Thank you to those who joined the event or helped us make posters leading up to it.

In this newsletter, I’d like to also speak to a couple of initiatives in our college.

Over the past year, I have been working on an initiative that builds on work started by our previous chancellor, Peggy Garrity, and continues under our current chancellor, Nizar Somji. We have referred to this initiative in different ways — community engagement, social innovation, and, more specifically, the Urban Academy project with the City of Edmonton. While all three terms highlight the U of A’s role in addressing Edmonton’s grand social challenges through research, teaching, and student involvement, I want to specifically touch on Urban Academy in this newsletter.

Urban Academy is a partnership between our university and the City of Edmonton (previously known as Grand Challenges) designed to create a gateway for the city to access university expertise while also opening up research and experiential learning opportunities for the U of A. On the university side, a small team — including myself, Leo Wong (Alberta School of Business), Anastasia Lim (External Relations) and Darren Fast (Office of the VPRI) — is actively working to identify expertise for many city initiatives.

One such event happened in January, when Dwayne Donald (Education) generously shared his time, knowledge, and stories at the City of Edmonton’s lunch & learn on Climate Resilience and Kinship Relationality. As part of the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities, over 150 people participated in this event virtually

Currently, this initiative serves as a way to support the city’s requests for expertise on emerging topics. Our hope is that it evolves into a two-way exchange, connecting researchers and instructors who are looking to engage with the City of Edmonton. I’ll continue to share updates on this partnership (the Urban Academy) and on the broader social innovation work happening within CSSH in future newsletters.

Another thing I’d like to bring to your attention is the Certificate in Interdisciplinary Leadership Studies offered through the Peter Lougheed Leadership College. First, a big thank you to Leo Wong for his work in revamping the certificate and to Richard Field for his stewardship through the many changes that have shaped its current form.

What excites me most about the redesign is that more than 50% of students in the program come from outside the Alberta School of Business, with many from beyond CSSH, making this a truly interdisciplinary certificate! I’m also delighted to share that nearly 50 students will graduate with the leadership certificate at this June’s convocation, and we anticipate that number growing to over 100 in the coming years.

In closing, I want to remind our academic community that applications are now open for the Henry Marshall Tory Teaching Chairs. These are awarded to outstanding individuals who enhance the U of A's reputation, provide leadership in teaching and research, and positively impact both the university and community, with an emphasis on interdisciplinarity. The deadline to apply is April 4.

Wishing everyone a productive end to the month. I hope it’s filled with good momentum and a few well-earned breaks.

Best regards,

Marvin

Office of Access, Community and Belonging

Office of Research

Research Administration Pop-Ups

Do you have questions?  We have answers!  Members of the Research Partner Network will be live and in-person to answer your research administration questions.  These could include questions about different research policies, working in the Researcher Home Page, eligibility of expenses, applying for funding, etc.  Don't have a question, then come by to say hello.  Registration is not required. 

Tuesday, April  1, 2025     10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.         Pembina 2-06
Tuesday, April 15, 2025    11:00 a.m. –  1:00 p.m.          Chemistry W4-44

Not able to attend?  Let us know where you would like us to pop-up next by emailing rsoinfo@ualberta.ca.

Research Administration Education Series

Finding funds to carry out research is already difficult, but managing those funds in accordance with ALL the rules is its own challenge. One of the ways the Research Partner Network is striving to support researchers and administrators is by providing education and training.  Our Research Administration Education Series continues with the following webinars:

Series 2, Session 1: Navigating Researcher Home Page (RHP) & eTRAC
            Monday, April 28, 2025             10:30 am - 12:00 p.m.   Register 

Series 2, Session 2: Tri-Agency Guide to Financial Administration (TAGFA)
            Wednesday, April 30, 2025        10:00 am - 11:30 p.m.   Register

Follow REKH on Social Media

The Rainbow Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub (REKH), a project based in the Faculty of Education (through Fyrefly) and ASB (through eHUB) with researchers based in the Faculty of Arts, is now on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn. Please consider following these channels to stay up-to-date on their news and research.

Office of Education

Learn More About Teaching Squares

Looking to connect with other instructors from our college to exchange ideas, refine teaching skills and explore pedagogical approaches? Consider joining Teaching Squares, an initiative aimed at enhancing teaching development, strengthening collegiality and building interdisciplinary connections through structured peer engagement.

For those interested in learning more, reach out to us using this form.

Performance Corner

As the Winter term draws to a close, the following are just some of the events happening in the Fine Arts Division this April!

Department of Art & Design: The 2025 Bachelor of Design graduation exhibition, Interlude runs in the FAB gallery until April 5, followed closely by the 2025 Bachelor of Fine Arts grad show, Strange Currents, from April 15-26. You can find out more about FAB Gallery shows HERE.

Department of Drama: From April 4-12, Studio Theatre's 75 Anniversary Season wraps up with The Laramie Project by Moisés Kaufman. Come see the BFA Acting Class of 2025 in the final production of their degree. Learn more about the show HERE. Also running from April 4-12, be sure to check out the 2025 Portfolio Show in the Bleviss Laboratory Theatre (FAB 1-63), featuring work from our BFA and MFA Theatre Design students. Find out more at uab.ca/onstage.

Department of Music: From Enchantment to Elegy on April 6 brings the University Symphony Orchestra, U of A Concert Choir, Madrigal Singers, professor and acclaimed tenor John Tessier, and performers from the Department of Music Voice Area to the Winspear Centre for an afternoon concert you won't want to miss! Find the concert details HERE.

College News