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4 Gampus News

September 12 2012 - Over the Edge

Smith Receives Teaching Honour

HANNA PETERSEN
NEWS EDITOR
International Studies Professor
Heather Smith was recently

honoured for teaching excellence
by the Canadian Political Science
Association (CPSA). Smith is only
the second Canadian academic
to receive the CPSA prize for
teaching excellence, which was first
presented in 2010 and only given
every two years.

The prize was awarded at the CPSA’s
2012 conference in Edmonton. It is
given in recognition of outstanding
contributions by political scientists
to teaching and student learning.
The CPSA noted Smith’s utilization of
alternative methods of teaching in
order to facilitate learning. “Heather
Smith demonstrates a profound
familiarity with research on
pedagogy (the science of education)
and a real effort to integrate this
into not only her teaching practices,
but also her teaching development
activities,” stated the CPSA.

“Just because we're academics
doesn't mean all we do is research.
At UNBC, we also have an equally
strong commitment to teaching;
it’s the other side of the same coin,”
says Dr. Smith, a founding member
and acting director of UNBC’s centre
for Teaching and Learning. “In fact,
a high percentage of our faculty
members are working with their
students on their own research

Wak -

projects both as a form of research
and scholarship and a method
of teaching, which is why UNBC
students have such a high success
rate and often move onto graduate
studies,” continued Smith.

Dr. Smith also cites UNBC’s
commitment to innovative teaching
and student engagement as playing
a large role in the success of her
students. Her teaching methods
range from traditional essays and
test-writing to holding student
art galleries in her classrooms and
designing courses that provide
students with a wide variety or ways
to express themselves. Dr. Smith
also co-authored the first-ever book
on Canadian foreign policy that
included a component on methods
of teaching.

More recently. Dr. Smith was the
lead author in an article published
in a prestigious peer-reviewed
journal on international studies. Six
recent UNBC graduates - her former
students - were listed as co-authors.

UNBC Welcomes Inaugural Writer-in-Residence

HANNA PETERSEN

NEWS EDITOR

In addition to welcoming both new
and returning students to its campus
and community this fall, UNBC
welcomes author Maggie de Vines as
Writer-in-Residence. What exactly
is a Writer-in-Residence, though? It
is a position sponsored by both the
Canadian Council for the Arts and
UNBC. “The purpose of a Writer-in-
Residence is to encourage exchange
between writer and community and to
enable authors to work ona dedicated
writing project while being supported
by funding,” said Karen Beeler, chair of
UNBC’s English department.

Maggie de Vines will dedicate four
months to teaching workshops,
hosting consultations, and holding
readings and talks on campus with
writing students and community
groups. She will also be visiting three
regional campuses in Fort St. John,
Terrace, and Quesnel.Ms. de Vines is
known for her research and writing
on trauma, most notably her memoir
Missing Sarah about the death of her
sister, one of the women whose DNA
was found on Robert Pickton’s farm.
“lm honoured and excited to be
UNBCs first + Writer-in-Residence.
Because my sister is one of Vancouver's

| Over the edge.indd 4

missing women, | have visited Prince
George and the north central region
frequently in connection with the
Highway of Tears and | have grown
to love this part of British Columbia,’
said de Vines. “I am thrilled that | will
be spending more time in this region,
learning more about local history
and culture, building friendships and
working with local writers.”

The Writer-in-Residence must be
published professionally before they
can be considered for the position and
their residency must be “of mutual
benefit to the writer and the cultural
life of the host’s community.” De Vines
was born in Ontario and grew up in
Vancouver, B.C. She has her BA, BEd
and MA from the University of British
Columbia. She has written eight
books as well as multiple essays in
anthologies and magazines.

“We hope that this residency marks
the start of a new legacy at UNBC
which will see many more Writers-
in-Residence over the coming years,”
remarked Beeler.

PHOTO SOURCE UNBC.CA

Provincial Eco-contest Winner Arrives In Style

HANNA PETERSEN
NEWS EDITOR

The provincial Beat the Heat Contest
was held on August 11th where
UNBC student Geoff de Ruiter won
the top prize of $10,000 dollars for his
submission. The contest, organized by
Fortis BC and the Northwest Wildlife
Preservation Society, challenged BC
students to come up with a plan to
optimize natural gas use for a greener
BC. De Ruiter’s submission was titled
“Shifting our Natural Gas to Use a
Centralized Model” and discusses
the centralization of natural gas use
via technology coupling and heat
recovery.

The contest final was held at

the newly completed Centre for
Interactive Research on Sustainability
building at UBC. De Ruiter, however,
had a unique idea of how he would

get to the event. He borrowed UNBC
President George Iwama’s hybrid
vehicle, a Toyota Prius whose plates
bear the name “4 UNBC”.

“He didn’t actually lend it to me; |
traded him for my pickup truck. |
thought traveling in an eco-friendly
car would be an appropriate way for
a representative of Canada’s Green
University to get to an eco-friendly
contest,” explains de Ruiter, a PhD
student researching bioenergy and
biocarbon sequestration in UNBC's
Natural Resources and Environmental
Studies Program. “That’s one of the
great things about studying at UNBC;
it's such a tight-knit community
that a student can ask the president
to swap cars for the weekend. And
he'll actually consider it!” During

the trip, he averaged 3.8 litres per
100 kilometres (62 US MPG; 74 CDN
MPG). All in, the cost of the return
trip was $86.

“I've honestly never been asked to
trade cars with a student before,’
laughs Dr. lwama. “I purchased that
vehicle and personalized its plates asa
symbol of the direction the University
is taking and our leadership in green
research. Although Geoff’s request
was a little ‘outside of the box’, it is
entirely consistent with the message
UNBC wants to put forward as a
leader in sustainability, and evokes
the creative problem-solving abilities
of our students, faculty and staff.
| was happy to do it - and Geoff's
pickup was a fun change.”

PHOTO SOURCE SHELLEY TERMUENDE

UNBC to lead National Urban Aboriginal Knowledge Network in Western Canada

HANNA PETERSEN

NEWS EDITOR

UNBC is partnering with the National
Association of Friendship Centres
(NAFC), government ministries
and regional centres across Canada
to develop the Urban Aboriginal
Knowledge Network (UAKN) and
research the policies and issues
that affect Canada’s city-dwelling
aboriginal population. The Social
Sciences and Humanities Research
Council of Canada (SSHRC) recently
approved $2.5 million in funding over
five years to go towards the project
led nationally by Trent University and
by UNBC in western Canada.

“Although more than half of Canada’s
aboriginals live in urban centres, the
realities of urban aboriginal peoples
remain much less understood by
researchers, government officials,
and many service agencies than those
of on-reserve First Nations people
and Inuit in the north,” says UNBC
professor of First Nations Studies
Ross Hoffman, who along with UNBC
economics professor Paul Bowles
will be coordinating UNBC’s research
activities in the project. “This is the

first time universities, government
ministries and friendship centres
have ever been brought together at
the national level to address issues of
aboriginal policy.”

The Network’s research activities will
focus around three broad themes.
These themes focus on human
development, which will address the
needs and outcomes of individuals
and families; social cohesion, which
will address community well-being,
education and justice; and economic
development, which will address
economic participation, employment,
entrepreneurship, income and civic
engagement.

“Research is most valuable when it’s
used to improve people’s lives. Many
aboriginal people feel like they’ve
been surveyed and researched to
death, but to little effect,” says Barb
Ward-Burkitt, Executive Director of
the Prince George Native Friendship
Centre. UNBC will take a leadership
role within the Network, significant
as Prince George has the second-
highest urban aboriginal population
in BC outside of Vancouver. “I

believe UNBC was approached to be
a leader in this area because it tries
to match its research activities with
the needs of the region, and this is
another example of that,” continued
Ward-Burkitt. A key component of
the Network’s strategy is to provide
opportunities for emerging scholars
(aboriginal scholars in particular)
to engage in research about urban
aboriginal issues. The knowledge
created will be available for use in
courses on aboriginal issues at both
the graduate and undergraduate
levels. The Network's research will
also provide new knowledge to
community-based and government
partners in an effort to improve
policy, programs and services for
urban aboriginal peoples.

09/09/2012 9:26:01 PM |