Congratulations to Dr. Rebecca Schiff, Chair and Associate Professor in the Department of Health Sciences, whose article, Managed alcohol programs in the context of Housing First, has been selected as a Highly Commended Paper in the 2020 Emerald Literati Awards.

In her congratulatory email, Dr. Schiff learned that the editorial team said it is one of the most exceptional pieces of work they saw throughout 2019.

Dr. Schiff will receive a certificate as well as be listed as a winner on the journal home page.

You can read her award-winning article here for free for the next six months.

Congratulations to Lakehead alum Greg Chomut, (BABEd I/S History) a teacher at Dennis Franklin Cromarty High School who recently received an award from the Prime Minister.

Greg has built bridges between his students and the wider community through innovative classroom and extracurricular activities. He regularly invites at-risk youths to live with his family as they finish their education. All of the students who have lived with him have graduated.

He also co-founded the Wake the Giant Music Festival, where students perform alongside Indigenous and non-Indigenous acts, such as Wolf Saga and Metric, in what is one of Thunder Bay's largest festivals, designed to boost inclusivity and cross-cultural understanding.

Greg has reached out to around 300 local businesses and organizations to display decals noting they are inclusive spaces for Indigenous youth. A student said one of these decals made him more comfortable entering a counsellor's office. Greg also organizes field trips to local businesses for hands-on activities, such as making gelato.

He developed a program to help students navigate the city. Older students work with new students during an "Amazing Race"-style orientation, as they learn how to travel to useful local organizations and services on city transit.

For more information about Greg and his work, click here.

To members of our Lakehead University Community,

Each year, during Veteran's Week, Canadians honour, remember, and give thanks for the brave men and women who served, and continue to serve, our country during times of war, conflict, and peace. We do this on November 8 for Indigenous Veterans Day, and on November 11 for Remembrance Day.

Since 1900, over 2.3 million Canadians have served in the Canadian Armed Forces, including over 12,000 Indigenous people from across Canada, and over 118,000 have made the ultimate sacrifice to make possible the freedom and livelihood we enjoy today.

This year marks the 75^th anniversary of the end of the Second World War - a conflict in which over 1.1 million Canadians served, and approximately 45,000 were killed and another 55,000 wounded. This includes thousands from both Northwestern Ontario and Simcoe County.

Each year on the eleventh hour, of the eleventh day, of the eleventh month, Canadians join countries around the world as we commit to sharing a moment to honour, and reflect on the courage and devotion of the brave men and women who served Canada. We wear the symbol of Remembrance, the Poppy, as a reminder and recognition of their supreme sacrifice.

I invite you all to observe two minutes of silence at 11 am on November 11.

We will also be lowering the flags at both of our campuses to half-mast on Indigenous Veterans Day (Sunday, Nov. 8) and Remembrance Day (Wednesday, Nov. 11).

While this year public ceremonies in both Thunder Bay and Orillia will not be happening due to the pandemic, I encourage you to find your own way to reflect and remember, or to watch one of the virtual services.

In Thunder Bay, a pre-recorded video will be posted on the 38 Canadian Brigade Group Facebook page on the morning of November 11, and a Facebook Live service will be broadcast on the Royal Canadian Legion Branch no. 5 Facebook page.

In Orillia, the Royal Canadian Legion has partnered with Rogers Cable to pre-record a Remembrance Day ceremony at Veterans' Park, outside Legion headquarters in Orillia, which will be re-broadcast on Remembrance Day.

The Royal Canadian Legion will also be offering a Facebook Live presentation of the National Remembrance Day Ceremony.

To learn more about Indigenous Veterans Day and the First Nations, Métis and Inuit people who have a long and proud tradition of military service in Canada, please visit the Indigenous Peoples page on the Veterans Affairs Canada website.

Lest we forget,

Dr. Moira McPherson
President and Vice-Chancellor
Lakehead University

See the following letter from Madison Sameshima, who was a Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) participant at Lakehead. This past summer she was hired as an intern at Riipen.  They have now hired her full-time at their head office.

During my undergrad in 2017, I was grateful to have taken part in the RBC Work Integrated Learning (WIL) pilot program at Lakehead University where I was able to work at Sleeping Giant Brewery directly with company co-owner, Matt Pearson.

In addition to this experience, the WIL program also included valuable workshops such as personal branding and team building. The skills and knowledge I acquired were a springboard leading to my subsequent work placements: an HR co-op placement at Tigercat Industries in 2018, an HR placement in Lakehead’s HR Department in 2018-19, and an HR internship at Riipen in the summer of 2020.

My experiential learning opportunities really shaped where I am today. I’ve now come full circle and am working in my first full-time position post-graduation at Riipen Networks in Vancouver as a People and Culture Coordinator. Riipen is an innovative education technology company on a mission to eliminate graduate underemployment by reducing the skills gap for those about to enter or re-enter the workforce.

My RBC WIL experience provided opportunities to learn the skills, acquire the experience, and build the network I needed post-graduation to help me clearly define my career path.

I was thoroughly inspired by the program supported by RBC Future Launch with its goal of better preparing youth for the workforce, and I’m excited to be able to contribute to these same goals through my work at Riipen.

Visit this Riipen news release for more information.

Madison Sameshima, right, with her mom, Lakehead professor Pauline Sameshima from the Faculty of Education.

Lakehead University launched its first Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Action Plan today, resulting from a year-long process of planning, research and consultation led by the President’s EDI taskforce.

Composed of senior administrators, academics and student leaders, this taskforce ensured that the process for developing the plan would be a coordinated mechanism for driving equity, diversity, and inclusion at Lakehead University over five years.

The plan is a living document, meaning that although its vision, mission and goals will not change, the activities will be assessed year by year to ensure that the University achieves its goals.

Lakehead University’s EDI goals include recruiting and retaining a diverse student body and workforce; supporting and accommodating our people through EDI services; innovating and leading on EDI knowledge creation and education; communicating our EDI work and our EDI values; and encouraging EDI within the university governance system.

The plan’s mission is to institutionalize equitable and inclusive principles and practices to realize a University where diversity thrives. Its vision is to create a university that is plural and diverse in its content, structures and people.

“This action plan reflects Lakehead’s commitment to a university community where the human rights of all students, faculty, and staff are respected and realized,” said Dylan Mazur, Lakehead’s Director, Human Rights and Equity.

Dr. Moira McPherson, Lakehead’s President and Vice-Chancellor, thanked the taskforce members for their work and dedication developing this plan, which they accomplished through essential consultation and contributions from members of the entire University community.

“This action plan represents a commitment to building and fostering a university where we can live, learn, and work in an environment that is equitable and inclusive for all,” Dr. McPherson said.

To review the action plan, click here.

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Media: For more information or interviews, please contact Brandon Walker, Media, Communications and Marketing Associate, at mediarelations@lakeheadu.ca.

Lakehead University is a fully comprehensive university with approximately 9,700 full-time equivalent students and over 2,000 faculty and staff at two campuses in Orillia and Thunder Bay, Ontario. Lakehead has 10 faculties, including Business Administration, Education, Engineering, Graduate Studies, Health & Behavioural Sciences, Law, Natural Resources Management, the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, Science & Environmental Studies, and Social Sciences & Humanities. In 2019, Maclean’s 2020 University Rankings, once again, included Lakehead University among Canada’s Top 10 primarily undergraduate universities, while Research Infosource named Lakehead 'Research University of the Year' in its category for the fifth consecutive year. Visit www.lakeheadu.ca.

City of Orillia Mayor Steve Clarke, former Orillia mayor Ron Stevens, and Dr. Dean Jobin-Bevans are pictured with Dr. Kim Fedderson (second from left) at the tree planted in his honour on the Orillia campus.

October 29, 2020 – Orillia, Ont.

Lakehead University has celebrated the tremendous legacies of Orillia campus pioneers, Dr. Fred Gilbert and Dr. Kim Fedderson, with the planting of two trees to honour their legacy in leadership.

Gilbert held the post of President and Vice-Chancellor of Lakehead University from 1998 to 2010, during which time Gilbert led the establishment of the Lakehead Orillia campus.

Fedderson distinguished himself as the founding Dean and Vice-Provost of the Lakehead Orillia campus in 2007, and then in 2015, he was appointed the first Principal of the campus.

“Great leaders know how to build strong teams. Great leaders also know how to stay the course, especially when confronted by extreme adversity,” said Orillia campus principal, Dr. Dean Jobin-Bevans.

“I’m deeply honoured by the planting of this commemorative tree, especially since my scientific background is ecology,” Gilbert said. “The tree will also recognize the contributions of the University’s board and executive, and many others in the community who were instrumental in establishing Lakehead Orillia.”

“It wasn’t that long ago that we planted the first tree on campus in honour and acknowledgment of this community’s dream of building a university in the County of Simcoe,” said Fedderson. “It’s unprecedented for a community to come together to build a university for its children and its future.”

“Thanks to Dr. Fred Gilbert and Dr. Kim Fedderson, Lakehead Orillia has been welcoming and supporting thousands of students from all over the County of Simcoe and beyond since 2006,” said President and Vice-Chancellor Dr. Moira McPherson. “The positive impact of our Orillia campus and its many students and alumni on this region is significant." 

“We are so pleased to honour each of these two leaders with the planting of a tree on this beautiful campus,” added McPherson. “We look forward to nurturing these trees as they grow and flourish alongside Lakehead Orillia.”

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Media:  For further information or to arrange an interview, contact Jaclyn Bucik, Media, Communications & Marketing Associate, at 705-330-4010 ext. 2014 or  jbucik@lakeheadu.ca.

Lakehead University is a fully comprehensive university with approximately 9,700 full-time equivalent students and over 2,000 faculty and staff at two campuses in Orillia and Thunder Bay, Ontario. Lakehead has 10 faculties, including Business Administration, Education, Engineering, Graduate Studies, Health & Behavioural Sciences, Law, Natural Resources Management, the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, Science & Environmental Studies, and Social Sciences & Humanities. In 2020, Maclean’s 2021 University Rankings, once again, included Lakehead University among Canada’s Top 10 primarily undergraduate universities, while Research Infosource named Lakehead 'Research University of the Year' in its category for the fifth consecutive year. Visit www.lakeheadu.ca.

October 28, 2020 – Thunder Bay and Orillia, Ont.

Lakehead University has joined Trent University, the University of Northern British Columbia, Yukon University, the Arctic State Agrotechnological University in Russia, and Nord University in Norway as a founding partner of the Læra Institute for Circumpolar Education (Læra Institute), a new institute within the international University of the Arctic (UArctic). 

The word læra means learn or study in Icelandic, and the Læra Institute is dedicated to promoting best-practice teaching and learning about the Circumpolar North.

Funded by UiT: The Arctic University of Norway and the Norwegian Ministry for Education and Research, over the next two years it will develop curriculum specifications, exemplar courses and pedagogical resources to support circumpolar studies, whether in-person or online.

The Læra Institute will also hold regular workshops for faculty, as well as educational symposia for students. Special attention will be paid to the varied perspectives on “circumpolarity” that exist across the Circumpolar North, particularly Indigenous perspectives. 

“As part of our Academic Plan, Lakehead University has committed to continue to develop regional nodes for professional program delivery with a focus on increasing access to education in northern communities through remote program delivery,” said Dr. Michel S. Beaulieu, Lakehead’s Associate Vice-Provost Academic (Special Projects).

“Our involvement with the Læra Institute advances that commitment,” he added.

Established in 2001, UArctic is a cooperative network of universities, colleges, research institutes, and other organizations concerned with education and research in and about the North. Lakehead University is a founding member and the only Canadian life member.

FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

Dr. Michel S. Beaulieu, Associate Vice-President Academic

avp.academic@lakeheadu.ca

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Media: For more information or interviews, please contact Brandon Walker, Media, Communications and Marketing Associate, at (807) 343-8177 or mediarelations@lakeheadu.ca.

Lakehead University is a fully comprehensive university with approximately 9,700 full-time equivalent students and over 2,000 faculty and staff at two campuses in Orillia and Thunder Bay, Ontario. Lakehead has 10 faculties, including Business Administration, Education, Engineering, Graduate Studies, Health & Behavioural Sciences, Law, Natural Resources Management, the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, Science & Environmental Studies, and Social Sciences & Humanities. In 2020, Maclean’s 2021 University Rankings once again included Lakehead University among Canada’s Top 10 primarily undergraduate universities, while Research Infosource named Lakehead 'Research University of the Year' in its category for the fifth consecutive year in 2019. Visit www.lakeheadu.ca.

 

Maclean’s has once again included Lakehead University among Canada’s top 10 primarily undergraduate universities in the magazine’s 2021 University Rankings.

Lakehead tied for first overall among Ontario universities in its category, and ranked eighth out of 19 primarily undergraduate universities from across Canada.

“I’m very pleased at how we ranked this year,” said Lakehead University President and Vice-Chancellor Dr. Moira McPherson. “These rankings recognize our ongoing and renowned commitment to providing a transformative university experience, grounded in exceptional scholarship and unique student potential.”

While over 90 per cent of Lakehead’s domestic undergraduate student population faces at least one barrier to postsecondary education, Lakehead University has the highest graduation rate among all universities in Maclean’s primarily undergraduate category.

“At Lakehead University we are committed to supporting student success by helping them realize their potential and achieve their career goals,” Dr. McPherson explained.

This year, Maclean’s University Rankings place Lakehead first in Ontario in student awards (tied), faculty awards, and total library expenses; second in student/faculty ratio, social sciences and humanities grants, total research dollars, scholarships and bursaries, and library acquisitions; and third in medical/science grants, operating budget, and in reputation.

Lakehead is the only university in Maclean's primarily undergraduate category to be included in Canada's top 20 universities for Computer Science.

Dr. McPherson added that Maclean’s annual rankings are just one way potential students can learn more about the Lakehead University experience.

Potential students can also learn more about the Lakehead University experience at the virtual open house on Wednesday, Dec. 9. Registration details are coming soon.

You can read the full Maclean’s rankings here.

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Media: For more information or interviews, please contact Brandon Walker, Media, Communications and Marketing Associate, at mediarelations@lakeheadu.ca.

Lakehead University is a fully comprehensive university with approximately 9,700 full-time equivalent students and over 2,000 faculty and staff at two campuses in Orillia and Thunder Bay, Ontario. Lakehead has 10 faculties, including Business Administration, Education, Engineering, Graduate Studies, Health & Behavioural Sciences, Law, Natural Resources Management, the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, Science & Environmental Studies, and Social Sciences & Humanities. In 2020, Maclean’s 2021 University Rankings once again included Lakehead University among Canada’s Top 10 primarily undergraduate universities, while Research Infosource named Lakehead 'Research University of the Year' in its category for the fifth consecutive year in 2019. Visit www.lakeheadu.ca.

Congratulations to Dr. Scott Hamilton (Dept. of Anthropology), honoured with the J.V. Wright Lifetime Achievement Award from the Ontario Archaeological Society at a virtual ceremony on Friday, Nov. 6.

Dr. Hamilton has worked as an archaeologist in Northern Ontario since the early 1980s.

In 1988, Dr. Hamilton was hired by Lakehead University. He is now a full professor and Chair of the Department of Anthropology, contributing to the addition of two new Master’s degree programs and also supervising many graduate students thereafter.

“Receiving recognition with an award named in honour of Dr. J.V. Wright is just about as good as it gets for an archaeologist studying Canadian Indigenous history,” Dr. Hamilton said.

“I want to thank the Ontario Archaeological Society for the honour, and also my nominators, friends and colleagues for their best wishes.”

Dr. Todd Randall, Dean of Science and Environmental Studies, said Dr. Hamilton was modest when accepting the award in front of approximately 100 people watching online.

“Dr. Hamilton has been recognized for his sustained contributions to our understanding of important Indigenous sites across Northwestern Ontario and Manitoba for over four decades,” Dr. Randall said.

“This recognition from his peers is a testament to his dedication both to scientific and cultural understanding of these areas and to mentoring the next generations of archaeologists across the region and across Canada.

“I can think of no better person to recognize at Lakehead University for his dedicated work in this area. True to his nature, Dr. Hamilton was exceedingly modest in receiving his award and acknowledged the many folks who partnered in the various projects and made it all possible, especially his wife Bev,” Dr. Randall added.

In his nomination remarks, Bill Ross (former Regional Archaeologist with the Ontario government) commented that Dr. Hamilton has also often assisted students by co-supervising in other departments (University of Manitoba, Brandon University, University of Saskatchewan, Memorial University, etc.).

He also noted that Dr. Hamilton has published with several students and most have gone on to work in cultural resource management (CRM), museum, or academic archaeological positions.

In the early 1970s, Dr. Hamilton began his career in Manitoba, and he has continued to collaborate with other archaeologists in western Canada. He first worked in Ontario in the early 1980s for then Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport, often with funding from the Ontario Ministry of Northern Development and Mines.

In the 1990s, while on faculty at Lakehead University, he worked with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources to update forestry heritage guidelines for Northern Ontario with the multi-year CARP project; this later contributed to improved guidelines from the Ontario Ministry of Culture. Since then, he has completed many academic and CRM projects all over Northern Ontario.

Most recently, he is the archaeology team co-leader (with Kevin Brownlee, curator of archaeology at the Manitoba Museum) for the Six Seasons of the Asiniskaw Ithiniwak Project, supervising one postdoctoral fellow and several graduate students at Lakehead University. This research is funded by a $2.5 million SSHRC partnership grant centred on Rocky Cree communities and the University of Winnipeg in Manitoba.

Often known as an innovator in archaeological technologies, Dr. Hamilton and his students have also been experimenting in the past few years with unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) as well as 3D modelling, printing and painting of artifact replicas.

Dr. Hamilton has also become a go-to person for Indigenous people to contact about archaeology in Northwestern Ontario. He is often asked to check out an area of development in a community, for heritage advice, or to review other archaeologists’ work in a traditional territory.

In 2013, he was one of the people receiving the Lakehead University Aboriginal Partnership Research Award along with Pikangikum and Lac Seul First Nations, Dr. Jill Taylor-Hollings (University of Alberta, Lakehead University), and Doug Gilmore (Ontario Parks).

Dr. Scott Hamilton

If you haven’t heard of Henry Aldrich, the famous 17th century composer, architect and Oxford dean, you’re likely not alone.

But Lakehead University music professor and Orillia campus principal Dr. Dean Jobin-Bevans wants to convince you to tune in.

“I was immediately drawn to his work as it’s the music I love to hear and perform myself,” says Jobin-Bevans, who came across Aldrich’s archived manuscripts in 2013 during a sabbatical researching in the Christ Church Library, Oxford. “There is also a modern appeal to his music – it’s still accessible and relevant all these centuries later.”

Aldrich’s music, most of which are anthems composed for the cathedral at Christ Church, was written for both unaccompanied choirs or those singing with an organ accompaniment. Typically thought of as an English style of church music, choral anthems have a long history of performance in the Anglican tradition and are almost exclusively sung in English.

Henry Aldrich collected, transcribed and composed as many as 8,000 scores of choral music for cathedral performances during his career at the University of Oxford’s Christ Church college, as a way to inspire his own creative work and religious musical expression. A prolific 17^th century English writer, theologian, philosopher, composer, and architect, he also served as Dean of Christ Church and as the University of Oxford’s Vice-Chancellor.

Intrigued by Aldrich’s unique approach to choral music, Jobin-Bevans set out to transcribe select pieces from the 300-year old collection, editing and creating musical scores for contemporary church choirs, instrumentalists, and music scholars. Working his way through original leather-bound, handwritten manuscripts, Jobin-Bevans spent six years editing and digitizing 20 different scores, updating elements such as time signatures and adding musical bars and vocal clefs.

A CD of the new editions was released in November of 2019 and some of Aldrich’s original manuscripts are also captured on the project website. Jobin-Bevans says that hearing the music performed for the first time by the Cathedral Singers of Christ Church, who also recorded the music for the CD, was hugely rewarding and speaks to the lasting quality of Aldrich’s work.

Viewing history through the late composer’s musical lens is another takeaway of the project, says Jobin-Bevans. “Aldrich grew up, was educated and appointed Dean during the period of the English Restoration, a time of great upheaval, politically and socially. His work reflects that history and tells us a lot about what his creative mind was thinking concerning the role and function of Restoration church music and liturgy.”

Jobin-Bevans also agrees a parallel can be drawn between himself and Aldrich that goes beyond the music.

“He was passionate about connecting architecture, logic, and math through music to both teach and inspire,” reflects Jobin-Bevans. “His work has been an inspiration to me and has kept me engaged in new ways to teach, lead as a principal, and continue building this lasting digital archive of his legacy.”

Dr. Dean Jobin-Bevans’ research is a partnership with the Christ Church Library, Oxford. Samples of the music are available at:https://www.chch.ox.ac.uk/library-and-archives/henry-aldrich-project. The full album, Henry Aldrich: Sacred Choral Music, can be purchased on iTunes or borrowed from the NAXOS Music Library through your local library.