OVER THE EDGE NEWSPAPER. SEPTEMBER 13, 2006 FEATURE . 7 Meet The New Bosses UNBC Prez. Dr. Don Cozzetto, a Man of Many Goals TYLER CLARKE STAFF WRITER On Thursday, September 7th I had the chance to sit down with Dr. Don Cozzetto, the man that has been work- ing as UNBC'’s President since July 1st. Over the course of the interview he shared many of his goals for UNBC _with me, along with why he has an underlying passion for the North, stem- ming back to his early years in its educa- tion system. Dr. Cozzetto was born in Southern BC, only to venture North to Notre Dame University in Nelson BC as a young adult to complete his first de- greene “I had the support that I needed, and professors that cared,’ Cozzetto said, in justifying his choice of a smaller univer- sity as opposed to the larger, more in- timidating ones in Southern BC. His love of the North helped in this deci- sion, after having fallen in love with it during a summer job at Environment Canada in Yellowknife, taking advice from his friend Rick who had strongly suggested that he come up there. After graduating, Cozzetto obtained another job in the North which enabled him to travel to all the communities in Canada North of 60. The Nelson Notre Dame Univer- sity closed in 1984, several years after Cozzetto graduated. As such, the idea of anew university in Prince George was of much interest to him, having enjoyed his experience at Notre Dame as much as he did. What interested him most in the proposed project was/is his belief that those North of the Lower Main- land deserve education opportunities, as well, saying “Even though Vancouver, Victoria, and that area is the bulk of the population, you have to provide op- portunities to the other citizens in the province, as well.’ Because of this belief, he followed UNBC's growth since its inception, despite living in the United States during that time period. When the opportunity to head this university arose a while ago, he jumped at the op- portunity, drawn by his respect for the university, and the North. “There's no lack of things to do” -Dr. Don Cozzetto Having finally officially obtained the position of President last July, Cozzetto sees the future of UNBC a hopeful one. One of his main goals is spreading educational opportunities throughout the North, with facilities in Quesnel, Terrace, and a recent commitment for Fort St. John to have a regional facil- ity. “I think our regional opportunities are where were at in the future, so we should continue to work there.’ In addition to this, they are currently preparing a concept called “Northlink,’ which Cozzetto says will “utilize multi- media technology to reach into rural and remote communities, both for in- structional and research prospects,” in addition to instructing K-12 students. Their goal is to have it ready a year from now. With the new Sport Centre being built, another goal of Cozzetto's is for UNEC to produce competitive teams, which will require and investment in varsity athletes. He hopes, in the fu- ture, to be “able to recruit the very best student athletes, both from an athletic performance aspect, and an academic aspect. That means Canada, and maybe beyond is our marketplace.” Research is another one of Cozzettos goals, as he hopes that research will con- tinue to grow and prosper at UNBC; especially applied research, which takes the research students and professors ate conducting on campus, and making connections with business and indus- try, which will ultimately fund further research. “Theres no lack of things to do,’ Cozzetto adds. On how he's enjoyed his job thus far, Cozzetto says “It's been great! It’s been a little bit overwhelming at times meet- I interview UNBC’s President, as of last July 1st, Dr. Don Cozzetto ing so many new people, and dealing with so many issues, but people have been very gracious to both my- self and my wife, Pat... It’s what I expected; what Brit- ish Columbia is all about. Good people, and folks who are willing to.work, and move the university forward.” JENNIFER HAWKE Tree planting, BBQs, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer: A Conversation With NUGGS President Jillian Merrick ANDREW KUJRATA EDITOR-IN-CHIEF How was your summer? It was alright... 1 went tree planting for the third year in a row, I stopped in the NUGSS office every once in a while. When did you start work on the NUGSS duties? I did a little bit of work in April, stopped by once in a while over the sum- mer, and starting August 28 as soon as I got back I've been here every day. You've had Frosh Week every day so far. Has it gone off pretty smoothly? It did... our movie night went really well, Clubs day went really well, Shin- erama's coming up, and that's a really big day. The Backyard BBQ's coming up. You've got Wide Mouth Mason, it’s at the Uni- versity, and it’s free. You're going back to basics. It's very exciting. We always kind of wanted to have it back up here [at UNBC]. We had a little bit of resistance from the University, they were worried about damages, but I guess with [the work of last year’s staff] we got it back up here. Hopefully it goes really well- - it's going to be a trial run... and Wide Mouth Mason is sweet, too. They're big in Japan... Probably, most people are... What do you have planned for NUGSS for the year? Lots of things. We're going to be big on communication this year, and pump- ing everything, and really putting one hundred percent effort into everything, because there's so many projects people work on separately that sometimes its hard to get the whole NUGSS board on them. Everybody has their own thing, and so some projects need a little bit more effort. We have an awesome group this year, so were really going to work on_ getting everybody on board for all the projects, really helping out, a lot more events, Anything you want to plug? Well, the Backyard BBQ (Friday, September 15), The Battle of the Bands went really well last year, Our formal was a really big hit, so welll probably continue with that. A lot more sup- port of the clubs, too, with their events, because it really helps when they have NUGSS support, because some of them are really well put together, huge events. And outside of events... the building (the Northern Undergraduate Student Centre]. Last week, we chose design schemes, colours, walls, the feel of the building. Pretty soon they're going to give us some drafts, and we'll choose which one we want. And when is the building supposed to be done? Right now I think its two months after the Sports Centre, so November 2007, I think. About a year. You've got a pretty new Board this year. How is that working out? That usually happens. Last year, there was just one person who carried over, and that was [the president]. This year we have myself, we have Jai (Parmar, VP Student Affairs], we have Tan- ner [Alden, VP Social], we have Satvir (Sangha, VP Finance]. How much longer are you at UNBC? This is it. This is my last year... I re- gret it, because this [being in NUGSS] is really fun, I wish I had done it sooner, but it will be a good way to end my year. Any words of advice to new students? Get involved. I spent three years at the university here just doing courses, and I liked it, but only when I got involved did I realize how much more was out there, and how much more can be part of your university experience. Wheat do you want to be remembered for as president? Not screwing up, I dont really have any plans to do anything so outrageous and exceptional that everyone remem- bers me, I just hope everyone appreci- ates the work and doesn't have anything bad to say about me. What's your stance on Pluto no longer being a planet? Pluto wasn'ta planet. I mean, it was all over the place, it changed orbits, there's bigger “planets’-- I'm using quotation marks here-- than Pluto out there, so, you know, I'll miss him, but I don't think he was a valuable member of the team. Following any new TV shows for the fall season? You know what, I’m really into Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I'm a huge dark. It is gone, but by roommate bought the en- tire series, all seven seasons. So I walked by while she was watching and called her a huge dork and thought it was really lame, and then I sat down and I got really addicted. So that's fun, But I'm almost done, and it's going to be a really sad day after watching seven seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. What's next for you after UNBC? . Wherever the wind takes me. I've got a few plans-- I might end up back here. But Prince George has been really good to me, so I'll likely stay for a while.