As Chancellor, I observe that the Senate of the University of Calgary is doing many things right. Several of our current projects (e.g. Lecture of a Lifetime, Senate Service Award) are successful and well aligned with our mission. However, the time is right for Senate to develop a new strategic plan; to re-align and improve […]
The University of Calgary has many boards, committees and councils. The highest level board is the Board of Governors. This Board is responsible for the stewardship of the university on behalf of the people of the Province of Alberta. It has ultimate oversight of major issues of the university.This year the Board has had to […]
The Calgary Youth Science Fair, the largest science fair in Canada, is being held this week at the Olympic Oval. This is the fourth straight year that the University of Calgary has hosted it – a great partnership. The Fair is open to students in grades five through 12 as a means to promote their […]
I got together this evening with fellow classmates from my 1976 class of mechanical engineering from the University of Calgary. Even though we graduated 39 years ago, our friendship has endured and many of us continue to stay in touch on a regular basis. We got together over dinner (btw if you like Thai food, […]
This evening I presided over the 2015 ‘Lecture of a Lifetime’ at the University of Calgary. Dr. Keith Dobson, an internationally recognized researcher in clinical psychology, was our man of the hour. This annual campus event was originally inspired by Dr. Randy Pausch’s ‘Last Lecture’ at Carnegie Mellon University in 2007. Soon after Professor Pausch […]
I was working with the film club students of Robert Thirsk High School (RTHS) this evening to shoot their second HUNCH video. HUNCH is a NASA program that provides opportunities for high school students to produce educational videos. RTHS has strong videography capabilities and a dedicated media instructor in Mr. Mike Scullion. RTHS is also the only non-American school to […]
When I began my term as chancellor last July, the price of a barrel of crude oil was $110. There was an air of optimism on campus as the University of Calgary continued pursuit of its ambitious Eyes High strategy. Today the price of crude is $57 a barrel. This significant drop in price has had […]
Along with several of my Senate colleagues and other art aficionados, I attended the opening reception of PUSH 2015 this evening in the Contemporary Calgary (C2) gallery at City Hall. PUSH is an exhibition of artwork from senior Bachelor of Fine Arts students at the University of Calgary. 36 emerging artists showcase their art to […]
I toured the University of Calgary’s Taylor Family Digital Library (TFDL) today. The library opened in 2011 and is one of the most state-of-the-art research and learning libraries in Canada. University librarian Tom Hickerson toured me around the library’s six floors as a proud father might do. Tom had every right to feel this pride […]
I had a meeting last week with Mr. Allan Stordy, president and CEO of Arete Human Resources, a national company based in Calgary. I like Allan’s choice of a name for his HR firm; Arete is Greek for excellence. I met Allan a few years ago when I was an executive with the Canadian Institutes of […]