Destination downtown - University of Calgary

QUARTERLY
Road warrior
Second-generation asphalt expert helping
build stronger, greener roads
Destination downtown
U of C: Coming soon to a streetscape near you
Teaching by example
Award winning professor shares her passion
for education
Inside:
Fuelling our Energy Future
A special supplement on leading innovation in energy,
environment and economy

FOCUS ON
COMMUNITY
EDITORIAL
Beth Frank
Director of Communications
210-8559, bfrank@ucalgary.ca
Mark Reid
Associate Director of Communications
220-2920, mrei@ucalgary.ca
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Mark Reid, Greg Harris, Dennis Urquhart, Lynne Dulaney-
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Carpenter.
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220-3500, lattawar@ucalgary.ca
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PLANS FOR A UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY campus in
downtown Calgary. Research that will help the city
build roads that last. Helping communities find out if
their water is safe to drink. Two decades of dynamic
jazz dance for all to enjoy.
These are just a few of the stories in this, our second
edition of OnCampus Quarterly, one of a number
of the U of C’s efforts to keep the Calgary community
informed about what’s happening at your university.
OnCampus Quarterly is a compilation of the best
stories published throughout the winter in the U of
C’s weekly newspaper. The stories come from every
faculty on campus but share one thing in common –
their focus on how the U of C gives back to the community
that sustains it.
Whether it’s a professor who shares his fascination
with bats at schools across the city, social workers
who are trying to prevent suicide, or alumni who
encourage high-school kids to excel at the art of
debate, people from the U of C are active in the community,
making a difference.
And, in a special supplement inserted into this edition,
we look at how the U of C is leading innovation
in energy and environment research and education.
For Calgary in particular, finding new ways to
unlock Alberta’s energy resources in sustainable ways
is essential for our economy, our environment and,
indeed, our way of life.
In Fuelling our Energy Future, we highlight how
the U of C, through the new Institute for Sustainable
Energy, Environment and Economy (ISEEE), is working
with the University of Alberta, the University of
Lethbridge, private industry, and the provincial and
federal governments to increase and focus high-level
research into meeting Canada’s energy challenges.
I invite you to read about what’s new at your university.
And let us know what you think by sending
comments to uofcnews@ucalgary.ca.
Beth Frank, Director of Communications
CANADA'S WEST:
WILD OR MILD?
CONTENTS
Canada’s wild west 2
Destination downtown 3
Chamber partner 3
Small towns, big dreams 4
A fine balance 5
Pensions will weather grey wave 5
Centre has people talking 6
Uncle Eli makes history on Jeopardy 6
Helping the homeless 6
Raising the bar 7
Flap about bats 7
Making a difference 7
Decidedly dynamic 8
Water, water everywhere 10
Plug may be pulled on Canadian TV 10
Road warrior 11
For the sake of argument 12
Great minds think alike 13
Off the couch 14
Floating dinosaur 14
Suicide solutions 15
Teaching by example 16
Image isn’t everything 16
On the Cover:
U of C engineering professor and NSERC
Chair Ludo Zanzotto is creating greener
longer-lasting roads through his innovations
with asphalt
Photo by Keith Morison
New book disputes myth
of northern civility
Historian Warren Elofson says the Canadian
West was as rough as the U.S.
Photo illustration by Ken Bendiktsen
by Greg Harris
THE USUAL SCHOLARLY PICTURE of the early
Canadian West depicts ranchers and ranch hands as
gentlemenly – sometimes even genteel – frontiersmen
who rode the range of a relatively peaceful land
patrolled by Mounties.
Their lawless counterparts south of the border, on
the other hand, were a bunch of fighting, whoring,
gambling, cattle rustling, lynching hellraisers. The
Americans had the wild west, we had the mild west.
But hold your horses.
According to a new book by a U of C historian, it
would seem that the Canadian cowboy was just as
rough around the edges as his cousin from Montana or
North Dakota.
“Stop calling us the mild west,” says Warren
Elofson, a former central Alberta cattle rancher and
Oxford-trained historian. “We had a social environment
that was every bit as raucous and disorderly as
it was across the line. In fact, in many ways the border
was irrelevant.”
Elofson’s new book, “Frontier Cattle Ranching in
the Land and Times of Charlie Russell,” (due out in
June) follows up on his 2001 work, “Cowboys,
Gentlemen and Cattle Thieves.”
In the new book, Elofson compares the culture of
the day on both sides of the border - including southern
Alberta and Saskatchewan - and finds more similarities
than differences.
“We had a huge amount of rustling activity, criminal
activity, rangeland crime, assault, murder, and
rape,” Elofson says. “We tend to look at ourselves as a
bunch of country gentlemen from the old world, who
went to European balls and, instead of fox hunts, had
coyote hunts. And we did do some of that. But if you
compare the popular culture and agriculture, we were
very much like the ranchers across the line.”
Elofson says the presence of the Mounties did
greatly reduce the number of citizen-led lynchings in
Canada, but points out that the law-enforcement influence
of the NWMP has probably been overstated.
Most of a Mountie’s time was spent providing infrastructure,
such as delivering the mail or putting out
fires, and looking after his own survival.
Researched in archives at the Glenbow Museum
and a number of different centres in Montana,
“Frontier Cattle Ranching” focuses on the popular
culture of the day and looks at such things as the
development of cowboy poetry and the evolution of
song lyrics as they made their way up from Mexico
and the southern U.S.
2
OnCampus / University of Calgary

DESTINATION
DOWNTOWN
Campus project a blueprint
for urban renewal
by Mark Reid
WHEN IT COMES TO “return to community,” the
University of Calgary is walking the talk.
The U of C is embarking on a new vision for both
the university and the city – one that reaches out to
connect with the citizens of Calgary and jumpstarts
the urban renewal of the downtown core.
President Harvey Weingarten recently outlined a
vision for a downtown campus of the University of
Calgary – one that “meets the needs of the community
in the community.”
“One of the most exciting projects we have on the
drawing board – and I mean literally on the drawing
board – is the creation of a downtown campus,”
Weingarten told members of the Calgary Chamber of
Commerce. “The Urban Centre Initiative is an opportunity
for the U of C to have a real and direct impact.”
In the U of C’s Academic Plan, it’s called “return to
community.”
This notion of giving back is much more than a
simple mission statement, however. Rather, it’s a concerted
and ongoing effort to make Calgary’s university
more relevant and connected with Calgarians.
Under the plan, a downtown campus will become
the front door to the university, complete with a welcome
mat for all citizens.
There will be space for faculties and departments
with connections to the business and cultural fabric of
the city, including Fine Arts, Environmental Design,
the Haskayne School of Business, Continuing
Education and the Faculty of Social Work.
Championing the project is the Faculty of
Environmental Design (EVDS).
Brian R. Sinclair, professor and dean of EVDS and a
native Calgarian, says achieving a greater presence in
the downtown was a key goal when he took over the
reins of the faculty last fall.
Sinclair says the downtown campus will be much
more than simply a satellite of the
university.
“There’s a wonderful array of
opportunities for us to make a
difference in the downtown,”
Sinclair says. “For too long, we
have been too quiet about the
issues facing our community.
There is a tremendous amount of
know-how and brain power in
the faculties of this institution.
With this project, we have an
opportunity to stake a claim in
improving this community – to
roll up our sleeves, form partnerships,
and contribute in an
active way.”
Under the university’s vision,
space will be provided for the
development and promotion of the fine arts, as well as
for leaders in the oilpatch and engineering, through
the auspices of the U of C’s new Institute for
Sustainable Energy, Environment and Economy
(ISEEE). Non-profit, foundation and private partners
will also find a home.
And while, as Weingarten says, we are still far from
“putting spade to ground,” the U of C has already
taken concrete steps to make the dream of a downtown
campus a reality.
The first step was leasing space in an historic
building on 11th Ave. S.E. for an intrepid troupe of
Environmental Design students who are, as a class
project, crafting blueprints for the proposed downtown
campus. The students are upbeat and brimming
with ideas – just as professor Marc Boutin had hoped.
“Through this project, the students can see that
what they are learning has a real impact,” Boutin says.
“The project also says the University of Calgary is
EVDS student Ryan Schmidt, left. Downtown space for Urban Centre
ready to invest in Calgary.”
As part of their project, the students are designing
three separate versions of a downtown campus. The
building must accommodate a host of interests,
including art and theatre spaces, studio and classroom
EVDS professor Marc Boutin says his students are
getting hands-on experience.
Photos by Laura Leyshon
areas, and rooms for various government, private and
non-profit organizations.
It also has to be a welcoming space, free of intimidation,
that encourages citizens to step through the
door and engage with their university.
The U of C wants the downtown campus to become
a nexus for key partners in the city.
For the Calgary Health Region, it could mean space
for education and walk-in health services. For the
Stampede, it could mean space for historic
and entertainment programs,
including the Young Canadians. For the
City, it would provide much needed
arts space and be a shot in the arm for
efforts to revitalize the city core.
For students, being located in the
community will give them opportunities
for hands-on experience – in other
words, to learn by doing.
Consider it the next natural step in
the evolution of the institution.
In the coming weeks, the university
will work with its potential partners to
create a detailed plan to take to the
province.
In the end, Weingarten says the university
has an onus to take a leadership
role in shaping the future of Calgary.
“We have the expertise, the talent and the
resources, and with that we also have the responsibility
to be leaders – to use our place in the community
responsibly to address economic and social problems.”
HASKAYNE, CHAMBER FORGE PARTNERSHIP
The Haskayne School of Business has joined forces
with the Calgary Chamber of Commerce as part of the
Chamber’s new TransCanada Educational Centre.
The centre features a display and promotional
materials from Haskayne and the University of
Calgary as well as Mount Royal College and Bow
Valley College.
“This opportunity is about connection; about marrying
education and business experience,” says
Chamber president & CEO Murray Sigler.
A co-op student will help business people find
information relevant to them about the three schools.
The first student to fill the role is Larissa Warne, a
third-year Bachelor of Commerce student at Haskayne.
The TransCanada Educational Centre is located in
the Chamber’s new ground-floor Business Centre at
517 Centre Street and is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
weekdays. Also offered are a networking cyber café, a
resource centre, meeting rooms and various displays
from the Chamber and sponsoring organizations.
March, 2004 3

Top: Jared Sproule
Bottom: right Melissa Ostroski
Bottom: left Kristine Deisman
Photos by Maja Swannie
SMALL TOWNS;
BIG DREAMS
Haskayne bursaries help rural students adjust to city life
by Lynne Dulaney-MacNicol
GRANUM, PROVOST, RUMSEY, MANYBERRIES …
the list of small towns across western Canada is almost
as endless as the fields of rippling grain.
Currently, thousands of students from these and
similar tiny dots on the map attend the University of
Calgary where, faced with a busy academic and social
environment and close to 30,000 other students, they
struggle to fit into big-city life.
Everything from navigating traffic jams, to finding
classrooms, to buying pricey textbooks can be a
challenge for these small-town students.
For a few lucky rural scholars, however, the financial
burden of their first year of university has been
lifted – thanks to the generous backing of bursary
donors Dick and Lois Haskayne.
The Haskaynes annually award $4,000 bursaries to
10 students from rural areas, based on academic merit
and financial need.
The couple hopes the awards will make students’
lives more financially stable and give them opportunities
to prove their talents.
And prove them they do.
As local singer/songwriter Paul Brandt once wrote,
“The best things around that I have ever seen/Came
from small towns and big dreams.”
Bursary winner and first-year student Kristine
Deisman, taking a double major in applied and pure
mathematics, dreams of becoming a high-school math
teacher when she finishes university.
“I want to show kids that math can be exciting,”
she says, citing her own high-school math teacher
Scott Carlson and guidance counsellor Karen Harris as
important influences. Since few members of her family
have post-secondary education, Deisman’s parents and
grandfather are extremely proud of her achievement.
Deisman grew up in the small town of Strathmore,
40 km east of Calgary. While she enjoys the many
activities the city has to offer, she says after university
she wants to move back to a smaller setting to teach.
“You get to know people better in a small town,
and there’s no rush hour!” she says with a smile.
Another bursary winner, second-year geography
student Jared Sproule, can empathize with this
sentiment. He graduated with a class of nine people
from the tiny farming community of Hussar, 100 km
east of Calgary.
“My first week in the city, I only knew one other
person here and I was really nervous,” he admits.
“I was a bit worried about the big classes, and I hoped
I’d do well here. But living in residence, I met a lot of
great people – and now I’m having a lot of fun.”
A third bursary winner, Melissa Ostroski, says she
rarely came to the city when growing up. She’s very
thankful for the help provided by the Haskaynes
through the Lee Haskayne memorial bursaries. “They
helped me see my life outside of my sheltered little
town and gave me the chance to go to university.”
Calgary businessman Dick Haskayne and his wife
Lois present the awards in memory of Dick’s first wife,
Lee, who died in 1993. Haskayne, who grew up in the
little town of Gleichen, southeast of Calgary, says he
appreciates the difficult transition faced by rural students
when they move to the city to attend university.
“Lois and I believe it’s a real benefit to come from a
small town and it becomes even more of a benefit later
in life,” says Dick Haskayne. “The strong family backgrounds
these kids have, combined with their education
at U of C, will serve to enhance their future.”
Lois Haskayne, a retired teacher, advises students:
“When you find your niche in life, then what you’re
doing won’t feel like work anymore and you’ll find
real joy in your career.”
Originally from the hamlet of Rosebud, Lois
Haskayne well remembers how she felt when she
moved from a small town to the big city.
“I know what it’s like – it’s terrorizing! I didn’t
have a clue about city life when I came here. But on
the whole, kids from small towns manage very well.”
RECIPIENTS OF THE LEE HASKAYNE
MEMORIAL BURSARY
2003
Christina Gagne, Assiniboia, SK
Jacqueline Chan, Carstairs, AB
Dawson Christie, Three Hills, AB
Kristine Deisman, Strathmore, AB
Carla Gerbrandt, Nanton, AB
James Hand, Granum, AB
Joshua Lowe, Provost, AB
Stacey Lutz, Porcupine Plain, SK
Melissa Ostroski, Okotoks, AB
Lindsay Wright, Lac La Hache, BC
2002
Melissa Cole, Okotoks, AB
Jack Cruikshank, Olds, AB
Geoffrey Eustergerling, Canmore, AB
Nathan Green, Pincher Creek, AB
Raynell Hodge, Rumsey, AB
Ryan Mahaffy, Nanton, AB
Thet Soe, Stettler, AB
Jared Sproule, Hussar, AB
Sylvia Ulrich, Manyberries, AB
Cody Wagner, Eatonia, SK
4
OnCampus / University of Calgary

A FINE
BALANCE
Course flexibility allows
for both career and learning
by Angie Hart
CHARMAINE MARTIN wanted to go back to university
but was worried it would be difficult to fit classes
into her busy schedule. A support and training specialist
with Canadian Pacific Railway in Calgary,
Martin already had a degree in science, but wanted
another credential that was specific to her career path.
So, she enrolled in one course, “just to see what it
would be like.”
Two years later, despite a full-time job that
requires odd hours and extensive travel, Martin graduated
with her Faculty of Continuing Education
Certificate in Adult Learning (CAL), specializing in
workplace learning. Now, not even a year later, she’s
considering enrolling in a second U of C certificate
program. Continuing Education offers more than 30
certificate programs, and one diploma program. By
convocation 2003, almost 7,000 certificates had been
awarded since the first in 1963.
“Everything just fell together,” says Martin. “It
was way beyond coincidence. So much about CAL was
appropriate for my job. And then, when travel and
time constraints became an issue for me, I was able to
take online courses.”
Just as Martin was enrolling in her first course —
Facilitating Adult Learning — she was promoted to a
new position in her department’s Learning and
Development unit. She believes her enrolment in CAL
helped her get that job, and as it turned out, her
course work was a perfect match for the new position.
“The instructors were excellent and they helped
me get through the tough times,” Martin says. “My
classmates were great too. In fact, I’ve made some
great friends that I still see regularly.”
E-learning played an important role in the completion
of Martin’s CAL certificate. For her, an ideal
semester included one live course and one online
course. Last year, a total of 225 courses were offered
online.
Martin has some great online memories, including
working from a motorhome on a distant jobsite, from
motel rooms in out-of-the-way locations, and from a
downtown Toronto hotel in the midst of a heat wave
and garbage strike. “I remember that one very well
because I was absolutely stuck on a final paper at the
time, but when I sent a note to the instructor, Gordon
Graham, he immediately telephoned and helped me
work through it.”
Martin finished her program in June 2003, and
since then has moved into a new position as a
FastTrax Support and Training Specialist. She looks
back at those two years as very intense, but well
worth the effort. Martin’s advice about pursuing continuing
learning programs: “As Nike says, Just do it!”
FOR YEARS, Canadians have feared the public pension
reservoir will dry up as soon as they’re old
enough to draw from it.
But now a University of Calgary sociologist who
studies pension systems worldwide says Canadians are
in pretty good shape for retirement, especially compared
to Americans and most Europeans.
“People think the baby boom generation is a demographic
time bomb that’s going to obliterate the pension
system for those who come after, but that’s an
unlikely scenario,” says Daniel Béland. “Nevertheless,
those fears continue to persist and they cause people a
great deal of unnecessary anxiety.”
Furthermore, if people mistakenly believe the public
pension system can’t be sustained, or that their
children will be stuck with a punishing bill, then support
for the Canada Pension Plan could actually erode
Charmaine Martin: “Just do it!”
PENSIONS WILL WEATHER
GREY WAVE
by Greg Harris
and the misplaced fears will become a self-fulfilling
prophecy, he says.
Canada’s public pension system is actually more
flexible than the American system, more efficient at
fighting poverty, and it costs proportionately less to
operate, Béland says. And unlike many European
nations, Canada’s steady immigration and economic
development fuel a level of growth adequate for the
system to sustain itself.
“That’s not to say that we shouldn’t make improvements,
or that there aren’t important questions to
address, but the fact is, 30 years from now it is most
likely that public pension benefits will still be available
to Canadians who need them,” Béland says.
March, 2004 5

LANGUAGE CENTRE
HAS PEOPLE TALKING
Learning Minister Lyle Oberg, left, listens as Professor John Archibald
explains the concept of the U of C’s new Language Learning Centre.
Photo by Ken Bendiktsen
UNCLE ELI MAKES
HISTORY ON JEOPARDY
by Mark Reid
FOR YOUR “DAILY DOUBLE,” here is the question:
This University of Calgary professor recently achieved
pop-culture immortality by being featured on one of
the most popular American game shows.
And the answer?
Who is U of C Religious Studies professor
Eliezer Segal?
Segal, author of the beloved children’s story “Uncle
Eli’s special-for-kids, most fun ever, under-the-table
Passover Haggadah” was both thrilled and surprised
recently to find out his Dr. Seuss-esque prose had
become the answer to a question on the popular TV
game show Jeopardy.
“This is my confirmation that I’ve gotten into
American popular culture – I made it on Jeopardy,”
Segal says with a laugh. “My only disappointment is
that nobody on the show knew the answer.”
Passover is the eight-day observance commemorating
the freedom and exodus of the ancient Israelite
slaves from Egypt. A time of family gatherings and
lavish meals called Seders, the story of Passover is
retold through the reading of the Haggadah.
Segal wrote the first few chapters of “Uncle Eli’s
special-for-kids, most fun ever, under-the-table
Passover Haggadah” for his son more than 25
years ago.
“One Passover, we were overdosing on Dr. Seuss at
my home, when I began wondering what the Passover
Haggadah would look like if Dr. Seuss had written it,”
he says. The popularity of the work soared in the mid-
1990s once Segal put it on his website. Soon, he signed
a book deal and was selling copies of Uncle Eli to avid
readers – both young and old – around the world.
The work’s whimsical style and nonsensical rhymes
rejuvenates the Passover Haggadah for children of all
ages, while still retaining its core messages.
For instance, Jewish tradition requires that all
bread or leavened substances (in Hebrew: Hametz)
must be destroyed or removed before the holiday. In
Uncle Eli’s Haggadah, the destruction of the Hametz is
presented as follows:
Eliezer Segal
Photo by Ken Bendiktsen
We have to get rid/of the Hametz today –
We have to destroy it./We can’t let it stay.
We’ll punch it and crunch it/and bury it deep,
or leave it to rot/on Mount Zeepleep-the-Steep.
Some may see Segal’s piece as merely a work for
children. However, he says publishing pieces such as
Uncle Eli, which are more accessible to the general
public, fits perfectly in the university’s Academic Plan
priority of “return to community.”
Segal says academics sometimes forget the importance
– and indeed, necessity – of illustrating the relevance
of their research and publications to the taxpayers
that ultimately help fund universities across Canada.
Learning a second language
goes high-tech
by Greg Harris
LEADING EDGE, avanguardia, or vorderster Front: no
matter how you say it, the University of Calgary’s new
Language Research Centre is poised to propel Alberta
into the upper echelon for language learning, research
and instruction.
The $1.1-million facility, featuring state-of-the-art
computers, testing equipment and learning environments,
officially opened at the University of Calgary at
the end of January with a visit from Alberta Learning
Minister Lyle Oberg.
“Learning a second language will give Alberta students
the competitive edge needed to succeed in our
21st century knowledge-based society,” said Oberg. “By
focusing on new technologies and innovative teaching
practices, this unique facility will help the University of
Calgary and the province lead the way in language
learning and teaching, and benefit students for years to
come.”
Even though English is widely held as the language
of business, its position globally is far from dominant.
Chinese (Mandarin) is the language most commonly spoken
as a mother tongue, with 885 million speakers, and
Spanish, the native language of 332 million people,
could edge out English soon as the second most popular
language in the world. More than half of Internet users
do not use English as their primary language.
“Enhancing second language education is now more
important than ever,” says Pierre-Yves Mocquais, dean
of the U of C’s Faculty of Humanities. “Not only does it
help to create a more articulate, literate, and internationally
effective society, it also builds bridges to greater
multicultural understanding and creates opportunities
for economic prosperity.”
The LRC is a collaborative project of the Faculties of
Humanities, Social Sciences and Education and is jointly
funded by the Canada Foundation for Innovation, the
province and the University of Calgary. Enrollment in U
of C language courses this year is close to 4,000 students,
all of whom have access to LRC facilities.
For more information, see www.ucalgary.ca/lrc.
HELPING THE
HOMELESS
by Erin Carpenter
AS A LONG-TIME PUBLIC HEALTH NURSE in
Calgary’s inner city, Carol Sykes knows first-hand
about medical problems facing people who have
nowhere to live.
“Lots of work needs to be done with the homeless
folks out there,” she says.
Sykes’ 20 years of experience in the inner city
brought her to the attention of the University of
Calgary, where she’s in her third year as a sessional
instructor in the Faculty of Nursing. She teaches
Community Health Practice to third-year students.
This year, with the help of the “8th and 8th”
health clinic, she led a project on preventing the
spread of Hepatitis C among Calgary’s homeless.
“We had done a huge assessment realizing that
Hepatitis C was a big problem,” Sykes says. “There are
250,000 Canadians that have the disease and they say
that within the homeless population there’s a very
high incidence of it.”
The main reason is the use of injected drugs
through shared needles.
Sykes and her students put together kits for clients
at the Calgary Drop-In Centre, the Mustard Seed
Street Ministry, and the Salvation Army Centre of
Hope. The kits contain razors, toothbrushes, Band-
Aids, dental floss, nail clippers and sometimes condoms,
which can all spread Hepatitis C if contaminated
with blood.
The kits do not contain needles. Instead, the nursing
students share information about how Hepatitis C
is transmitted, including through tattooing and body
piercing, and they talk about community resources
that provide clean needles.
The students put together 100 kits with the help of
$500 from Roche Pharmaceuticals, which is developing
medication for Hepatitis C.
Sykes hopes to keep the program going by training
staff at inner-city agencies, and people who have
Hepatitis C, to give the talks.
“It gives me a lot of satisfaction knowing that these
baby steps that we’re taking along the way are making
a difference in the quality of life for these people.”
6 OnCampus / University of Calgary

RAISING
THE BAR
New plan will help propel law school to next level
Interview by Mark Reid
Bill Rice and U of C Law Dean Patricia Hughes discuss
the school’s new direction.
Photo by Ken Bendiktsen
THE UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY’S Faculty of Law has gained significant renown
for its expertise in the areas of energy and the environment. As well, its relatively
small size has enabled faculty and students to form a true community on campus.
Now the law school is about to embark on an ambitious restructuring, one in which
it will need the support of the legal community in Alberta.
Law School Dean Patricia Hughes and Bill Rice, National Managing Partner of the
law firm Bennett Jones, met recently to discuss the law school’s new direction.
The faculty’s new strategic plan sets an ambitious agenda of change for the
next five years. Why are the proposed changes necessary – and why now?
Patricia Hughes: Law has changed. It’s become much more complex. We need to
change to meet that complexity, in order to better prepare our students. We are trying
to fine tune the law school, in order to meet the needs of a more sophisticated
legal community.
How important is the success and reputation of the law school to the legal and
business community?
Bill Rice: It has a huge impact. Ultimately, our business is lawyers. We need the
very best lawyers we can find – and our first source for those lawyers is going to be
the University of Calgary law school. Having a law school that embraces change is
not just important to us – it’s essential.
What’s involved with the restructuring?
Patricia Hughes: A major curriculum review, expansion of the school to 300 students
by 2009, the hiring of new faculty including Chairs, expansion of the LLM
program, the development of a PhD program, enhancement of the library collections,
updated technology and renovations to our building, Murray Fraser Hall, to
provide additional classrooms, offices and other communal spaces.
Why is this important?
Patricia Hughes: We have to be flexible to meet changing conditions in the legal
profession. We need to enhance and revise our curriculum, keeping in mind what
lawyers will need – not just for tomorrow, but for the next decade. It’s going to take
time – but our goal is that we will be, in all respects, recognized as the best law
school in Western Canada, and one of the best in Canada.
How have you involved the community in the restructuring?
Patricia Hughes: We have established a Dean’s Community Council, which has
met and reviewed the plan. We will continue discussions with other communities
including our graduates and members of the Bar as we go forward.
We’re No. 1
The University of Calgary’s Faculty of Law has once again been rated the top law
school in the country by Canadian Lawyer magazine. This is the third time in the
last six years the U of C school has been ranked number one, based on responses
from its recent alumni.
Osgoode Hall Law School at York University placed second and the University of
Toronto placed third.
“This is an important indicator for us and I think it reflects our students’
appreciation of the program we put on,” says Patricia Hughes, dean of the Faculty
of Law. “At the same time, to remain competitive we must constantly improve
what we do.”
Canadian Lawyer magazine cites numerous strengths: “An exceptional learning
environment complements the academic strengths of U of C. Small class sizes
make it possible for learning to occur in a more intimate setting.”
Recent law graduates graded the U of C in seven different categories. Overall,
the U of C was given a B+ and recommended by 100 per cent of respondents.
A FLAP
ABOUT BATS
Biology professor unmasks the myths
by Erin Carpenter
One man’s fear is another man’s passion – at least it would seem when it comes to
Robert Barclay’s obsession with bats.
The University of Calgary professor and associate head of biological sciences has
been studying the creatures for 25 years and sharing his passion for them with the
Calgary community for nearly two decades.
“They’re not something people know much about. They have sort of a mystique
or mystery surrounding them,” Barclay says.
Barclay and his graduate students use that mystique to teach the scientific value
of bats to school children as young as kindergarten-age, all the way up to adults in
seniors’ homes. They also speak to groups such as the Alberta Wilderness
Association, naturalists and at the Calgary Zoo.
“In general, we’re trying
to increase the appreciation
for science or the awareness
of science and are simply
using bats as a vehicle for
that,” Barclay says.
He says bats play a vital
role in the ecosystem, being
the major consumer of nightflying
insects in Alberta.
They’re also crucial in tropical
climates.
“They’re very important
in terms of pollinating the
many plants we’re familiar
with because we buy their
products in stores. Bats are
also important in the tropics
as seed-dispersers, so they
feed on fruit and spread
seeds around.”
Vampire bats have also
proven crucial in medical research, since their saliva produces a substance that prevents
clotting in the blood of their prey. Australian scientists have extracted and
developed that substance to prevent human patients’ blood from clotting during
surgery.
Barclays’ community contact is important not only for the general public,
he says, but for his graduate students as well. The feedback is always enthusiastic.
Of course, bringing a live bat to the talks doesn’t hurt.
MAKING A
DIFFERENCE
Support for students helps them
change the world
by Sade Nasser
Joanne Wilson
Photo by Ken Bendiktsen
PAVING THE WAY for the next generation - that’s how
Crystal Procyshen, BA’01 and winner of several U of C
scholarships, sees the impact donors have when they
give to student awards.
Getting an academic-merit-based scholarship builds
confidence, she says. “Being a scholarship recipient gives students great momentum
to continue their success, as well as fostering a sense of leadership.” In addition to
being a great source of financial assistance,
“the experience of receiving and applying for scholarships, made me become aware
of the standards that donors expect out of young people,” she says.
Procyshen re-thought her university plans after a post-high-school graduation
trip to Mexico. Her experience there opened her eyes to the issues of development
and the plight of the poor in other countries.
When she got back to Canada, Procyshen changed her chosen field of study from
theatre to political science. “I realized that I wanted to delve further into these
issues,” says Procyshen.
She tailored her studies to fit her needs, by developing an Arabic language
program with a professor in religious studies while majoring in political science.
Procyshen has since gone on to finish a master’s program from McGill University
specializing in Middle Eastern studies – a passion of hers. Currently, she is a Rotary
World Peace Scholar – a scholarship given
to 70 individuals worldwide to fund a master’s
degree in peace research. She is the
only Canadian studying at the International
Christian University Peace Institute in
Tokyo. This summer she will intern with
the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees in Cairo, Egypt.
Procyshen is one of the next generation
who is helping to change the world. Partly
because of the help others gave her, she’s
determined to help others with her work.
Procyshen
The University of Calgary Friends
Fund program was launched in the fall
of 2003. Through this annual program,
friends of the university can
contribute financially, as our alumni
currently do via the Alumni Fund, in
support of priority areas like scholarships
and bursaries or other facultybased
initiatives. For further information,
contact the U of C Development
Office at 403-220-8261, email
devoff@ucalgary.ca or visit us at
www.ucalgary.ca/giving, click on
Annual Giving.
March, 2004 7

DECID
DYNA
Toronto bassist George Koller and DJD dancer Kathryn Pollack
explore the karmic interplay of cause and effect in Pivoting Echoes.
Photos courtesy of DJD
8 OnCampus / University of Calgary

EDLY
MIC
U of C alumnae’s pastime marks two decades
of success
by Bob Blakey
TWENTY YEARS AGO, it was a temporary, warm-weather
pastime for three University of Calgary women. Now celebrating
its 20th year with an ambitious season, Decidedly
Jazz Danceworks is a staple of Calgary’s cultural scene.
Indeed, DJD has come a long way from 1984, when U of
C professor Vicki Adams Willis and former students
Michèle Moss and Hannah Stilwell started rehearsing in
borrowed quarters.
“I thought it was a little summer project for students,”
Willis recalls with laugh. Once the company took hold,
Stilwell grew more optimistic – if only tentatively. “The
three of us said, ‘Let’s give it 10 years,’ and in my mind
I’m thinking, ‘Hah, we’ll be lucky if we last five.’”
DJD now employs eight to 12 full-time professional
dancers who perform two Calgary shows at the Max Bell
Theatre each year and tour North America and abroad. It
also operates Calgary’s largest dance school with more than
30 teachers and more than 1,000 students.
But in that first summer, DJD had to settle for a more
modest performance venue – the Dancers Studio West
location at the old brewery building in Inglewood.
Despite the modest beginning, Willis says the
then-fledgling troupe “was absolutely blown
away by the (patrons’) reception. We did 10 performances
at the old DSW space and they were
all sold out. We had such a good time doing it.”
The creation of DJD in many ways filled a
niche that was largely overlooked by the dance
world.
In the early 1980s, Willis – who had taught
jazz courses at the U of C since 1978 – took a sabbatical
to travel to the United States and Europe
to research jazz history and contemporary interpretations.
During the trip, however, she found
little evidence of jazz dance.
Soon after her return, she, Stilwell and Moss
hatched their plan and began rehearsals on campus.
Stilwell, like Willis, says DJD turned out to be an
excellent example of the university putting something
back into the community.
“When we started the company, we used the
rehearsal space there,” Stilwell says.
“If we didn’t have that rehearsal space, we would
have been hard-pressed to make anything happen.
Vicki was able to do it as part of her role as a professor
at the university. ”
To this day, the U of C is the only university that
offers a jazz program of dance in Canada and DJD
remains strongly linked to the campus, Stilwell says.
“The connection continues in many ways in that
Michelle and I both teach at the university, and many
of the U of C students also come to Decidedly Jazz and
eventually become company members.”
L to R: DJD dancer and
choreographer Kimberley
Cooper, DJD music director
and pianist/percussionist
Kristian Alexandrov,
DJD dancer Ahmed
Fernandez Hodelin,
Canadian singing diva
Julie Michels, Toronto
bassist George Koller,
and DJD dancer
Kathryn Pollack
March, 2004 9

PLUG MAY BE PULLED
ON CANADIAN TV
by Greg Harris
TELEVISION IS A MAINSTAY in most Canadian
homes, but a top academic warns that Canadian programming
may fade to black in the next decade, unless
legislators respond to changing industry realities.
“Canadian television is at a crossroads unlike anything
it has faced since the early 1950s,” says Bart
Beaty, a professor in the University of Calgary’s
Faculty of Communication and Culture and co-author
of a recent book chapter on the status of Canadian TV.
“Given the way things are going now, it wouldn’t
surprise me if we started to see the bankruptcy of the
networks and the bankruptcy of Canadian programming
within the next decade.”
Several technological and regulatory factors threaten
the long-term viability of Canadian television:
• More and more Canadians are turning to so-called
‘grey market’ satellites for the diversity of programming
choices, and yet regulators and programmers
aren’t responding to the market demand;
• The convergence of television and the Internet
will create even more choices and make the existence
of the networks irrelevant;
• New digital recording devices like Tivo will allow
viewers to edit out the commercials, which are the
lifeblood of network television;
• And existing regulatory policies allow the networks
to easily purchase popular American shows
instead of producing homegrown Canadian content.
“I foresee a time 10 years down the road when
there’s almost no Canadian programming produced,
except maybe news and sports, and people are simply
no longer watching CTV and Global – they’re downloading
ER off the Internet,” Beaty says.
Earlier this year, Beaty travelled to Ottawa to discuss
with legislators the issue of grey market satellites.
Together with U of C colleague Rebecca Sullivan, he
co-authored a chapter on the status of Canadian TV in
a new book called, “How Canadians Communicate” (U
of C press, 2003). The two are planning to contribute a
follow-up article on the subject for the second volume.
Bart Beaty predicts Canadian programs will die.
Photo by Ken Bendiktsen
WATER, WATER
EVERYWHERE
Research program reveals
whether it’s safe to drink
by Barry Potyondi
WATER. IT REPLENISHES US, nourishes us, feeds
our crops.
In a world of limited freshwater resources, clean
water is far more precious than we know. And when
proper safety measures are not observed, as was the
case at Walkerton, Ontario in 2000, the bacterial nasties
in drinking water may make people very sick.
University of Calgary students are doing their part
to help avert another Walkerton.
Since 1999, Environmental Science students from
the U of C have been conducting field studies that
monitor drinking water quality and make Albertans
aware of their potential exposure to disaster.
About 40 senior students take ENSC 502 (Special
Problems in Environmental Science) annually. This
core course gives them the unusual opportunity to
apply their knowledge and skills to everyday issues in
an ordinary community. The students and their professors
are drawn from the fields of biology, chemistry,
physics, geography, geology and geophysics and
civil engineering. The course is collaborative, handson
and, above all, practical.
“Our applied research projects are designed to be
directly relevant to the needs of a community,” says
Cathy Ryan, a professor in the Department of Geology
and Geophysics.
Studying the Elbow is particularly relevant, as it
supplies water to one-sixth of all Albertans, including
400,000 Calgarians.
IN THE AUTUMN OF 1999, the special problem under
examination in ENSC 502 was the relationship between
septic tanks in the 500-resident hamlet of Bragg Creek
and the downstream quality of the Elbow River.
The study findings, presented to a well-attended
public open house in April 2000, showed that only
60 per cent of the wells at Bragg Creek had safe drinking
water.
Seepage from septic tanks into local groundwater
meant that four out of 10 residents were potentially
using contaminated water for drinking and cooking.
Gordon McIlwain was one of those who attended
the open house.
McIlwain subsequently served on the Citizens’
Advisory Committee on water issues to the MD of
Rockyview and as chair of the 30-year old Elkana
Residents’ Water Co-operative.
“Like most people, I had assumed our drinking
water was safe,” McIlwain says. “Wrong. I had also
assumed that septic systems were a perfectly safe way
to dispose of human waste. Wrong again. The work of
Cathy Ryan’s students made people aware of the risks
that septic services pose to human health. Having
them in town was like having an army of consultants
at our disposal. That’s a significant contribution in
itself. But Cathy’s quiet, academic presentation of
unassailable, science-based data also made it impossible
for our community to ignore the problem.”
Environmental science students are doing their
best to ensure Alberta’s water is clean.
As a result of the ENSC 502 project, all levels of government
became involved in the search for a solution.
Ultimately, engineers recommended construction of a
water treatment plant, although the cost was prohibitive.
A PROJECT like this has the potential to change more
than the community. Without exception, it also
changes the perceptions of the students who take part.
Katherine Sheriff, who just graduated with a BSc
in Environmental Science, participated in the
microbiological assessment.
“Some things cannot be learned from textbooks
and simulated exercises,” she says. “ENSC 502 provided
me with an important link between the academic
aspect of my education and the kinds of issues I’ll
encounter in the workforce.”
Christopher Arko, a senior ENSC student who took
part in the GIS (geographic information systems) component
that linked study findings to specific locations
with sophisticated mapping techniques, believes studies
like this help remove the perception that academics
are aloof from their communities.
10
OnCampus / University of Calgary

Ludo Zanotto leans on a pile of asphalt cores
in his U of C laboratory.
Photo by Keith Morison
ROAD
WARRIOR
Second-generation expert
building stronger, greener asphalt
by Mark Reid
CALL IT LUDO ZANZOTTO’S DRIVING AMBITION –
to pave the way for eco-friendly, pothole-free highways,
where the rubber literally hits the road.
Zanzotto, a University of Calgary engineering professor
and NSERC Research Chair in Bituminous
Materials, is steering society toward longer-lasting and
more environmentally friendly asphalts, made in part
from recycled plastics and rubber tires.
“I don’t consider myself a ‘green’ guy, but I do
believe we can do environmentally conscious engineering
that increases the quality of roads, expands
their lifetime, and takes material headed for landfills
and puts it into use again,” Zanzotto says.
“Rubber from waste tires can make a stronger
binder in asphalt, leading to longer lasting highways.
If we can create roads that are more environmentally
friendly, but aren’t more expensive . . . then
why not?”
We motorists rarely give thought to the roads we
use – until they begin to crumble.
But when potholes appear, look out. Calgary’s
roads department says it will cost $27 million to fix
the potholes and cracks on city streets.
For Zanzotto, interest in all-things-asphalt runs in
the family.
Originally from the former Czechoslovakia,
Zanzotto’s father was famed for being that country’s
leading expert on pavement.
Following his father’s footsteps, Zanzotto has made
it his life’s goal to create new breeds of super asphalts
that can better bear the incredible range of temperatures
we experience in Canada.
With the generous help of Husky Energy Inc. and
NSERC (Canada’s engineering and science researchgranting
council) Zanzotto has led the U of C’s Husky
Energy Laboratory in the search for the next generation
of eco-friendly super blacktops.
According to industry statistics, more than 100
million tonnes of asphalt are produced each year.
Of that amount, between 80 and 90 per cent is made
into roads.
The asphalt we drive on is created from residue
byproducts of heavy crude oil production.
The cost of road construction and repair in Canada
is astronomical, with more than $10 billion per year
being spent collectively by the country’s three levels
of government.
“It’s definitely not cheap to drive,” Zanzotto says,
“but the highest costs aren’t the gas we use, or the
cars we drive – it’s the roads you drive on. And taxpayers
are the ones who end up paying for the roads.”
That’s why the potential savings involved in
stretching out the lifespan of asphalt are immense.
There are many benefits to be derived from adding
rubber to roads. For instance, the rubber increases the
flexibility of the asphalt, making it more resistant to
warping and cracking during extreme heat and cold.
As well, the addition of large quantities of rubber
means less petroleum byproducts go into the pavement
– thereby helping to conserve our finite oilbased
energy resources.
“If you can even extend the lifecycle of roads
by 10 per cent, you are immediately talking about
saving hundreds of millions of dollars right away,”
Zanzotto says.
According to the Tire Recycling Management
Association of Alberta (TRMAA), more than three million
tires are tossed away each year in Wild Rose
country. Since 1993, however, more than 23 million
tires have been recycled through the TRMAA.
Studies have shown asphalts made with rubber
tire crumb additives last longer and require less repair
work. The roads also provide better traction and cost
less to maintain (in Alberta, the province spends more
than $179 million per year on highway maintenance).
This year Zanzotto’s team will work with industry
and the TRMAA to produce test patches of rubberadded
asphalt in select locations in Alberta, in an
effort to further simplify processes and improve
longevity and performance of roads.
In some ways, we have unfair expectations
of asphalt.
We demand that it remain smooth as silk in temperatures
that can spike on the road surface at a sizzling
60 degrees Celsius in the summer and plunge as
low as minus 40 degrees in winter.
And with millions of cars, trucks, and transport
vehicles hitting the road every day, we refuse to
accept any rutting.
Unfortunately, Zanzotto says we will likely never
see a day in which potholes disappear entirely.
“I hate the same potholes motorists do,” Zanzotto
says. “However, we live in prairie Canada, so we will
always have cracks. My job is to contribute to the
improvement of asphalt . . . while leaving my surroundings
at least as clean as I inherited it, and
preferably improve upon it.”
March, 2004 11

FOR THE
SAKE OF
ARGUMENT
Henry Wise Wood’s Ashton Brown.
Below, Natan Albahari
Photos by Keith Morison
U of C Alumni encourage teens
to match wits and words
by Keith Morison
For some people, having nearly 150 arguments
in one day would spell trouble.
But for the University of Calgary
Speech and Debate Society, it’s a sign of
success.
A total of 97 high-school debating
teams descended on the campus in
January for the society’s High School
Debating Tournament.
Teams from across the city mixed
words through three qualifying rounds
to see who would go head-to-head in the
final debate of the day.
The event, sponsored by the U of C
Alumni Association, was what is known
as an impromptu debate, where the topics
are given to the teams just before they
defend their positions.
“In an impromptu debate you really
have to think on your feet,” said Dr. E.P
Scarlett debate team member Krystal Coyle.
“You have 15 minutes to think of a 20-minute
speech,” said Bishop Carroll student Misha Smilovic.
“It’s pretty challenging.”
For judge and former debater Lex van der Raadt, a
U of C archeology student, the war of words is about
building confidence and having fun.
“As an impromptu (debate), it is hard for a lot of
debaters to get up and speak about something they
have no idea about,” he said. “But it’s all about having
fun. They really enjoy something they don’t have to
prepare for weeks ahead.”
One of the goals of the event is to encourage highschool
students to pursue their passion for debate and
provide a forum for city-wide competition.
At the end of the day, everyone finds their own
reasons for participating – from simply
building self-confidence and improving
their public-speaking skills, to fulfilling
a more primal competitive need.
“Sports are all fine and good, but this
really is just man-to-man intellectual
combat” said Wyll McCleary, a member
of the second-place overall and firstplace
beginner debate team, from
William Aberhart High School.
“I dig the adrenaline rush,” added
Teal Phelps Bondaroff, a member of the
overall winning team, which was also
from Aberhart. “It helps you look at
everything more critically. You look at
the world with a different perspective.”
It should be no surprise that
Bondaroff, the top debater, sees a longterm
future in mixing words and wit.
“I’m planning on going into politics
… so this is good experience.”
12 OnCampus / University of Calgary

Photo courtesy of the Faculty of Medicine
GREAT MINDS
THINK ALIKE
Faculty of Medicine’s
“bench-to-bedside” approach
breaks down barriers
by Mark Reid
WHEN DR. NORM WONG needs a ‘second opinion,’
he doesn’t have to look far for help.
Thanks to the multidisciplinary approach of the
University of Calgary’s Faculty of Medicine, the
expertise Wong needs to help research, review and
assess medical problems is located all around him.
“When you have department-based research, the
departments become islands in isolation,” says Wong,
a researcher and professor of biochemistry and molecular
biology within the Faculty of Medicine. “By putting
your best clinical people right beside your best
researchers – all of whom have the same interests and
expertise – you break down barriers. It’s what makes
working here so exciting.”
The U of C’s Faculty of Medicine is a crucible of
creativity, where dedicated teams of researchers work
hand-in-hand with clinicians and other experts to further
the breadth and scope of medical knowledge.
The outcome of the research done here is of crucial
importance to the people of Alberta – and beyond –
because today’s breakthroughs in the lab can become
the cures of tomorrow.
The key to the faculty’s success is its bench-to-bedside
philosophy.
“If you’re going to stimulate innovative thinking and
research programs, you want to be around people who
are thinking about the same issues as yourself,” explains
Dr. D. Grant Gall, dean of the Faculty of Medicine.
“It’s the old story – if you sit down and have coffee
Sam Weiss Norman Wong Michael Hill
with someone with the same medical interests, or meet
them in the hall, you get chatting about your research
and it leads to other things.”
The faculty is divided into 16 key research groups,
each focussed on a specific type or family of medical
conditions or diseases.
For instance, Wong – an expert in gene therapy –
is a member of the Diabetes and Endocrinology
research group. However, he’s also a member of the
Cancer Biology and Cardiovascular groups, and as
such, is able to tap into the wealth of multidisciplinary
medical experience offered by his fellow faculty
members.
The cross-pollination of ideas here has led to some
exciting breakthroughs.
Earlier this year, Dr. Samuel Weiss, Chair of the
Genes and Development Research Group at the U of
C’s Faculty of Medicine, and his research team discovered
that a naturally occurring hormone, prolactin,
stimulates growth of new brain cells. Future research will
reveal whether the hormone could help repair the brains
of stroke victims.
Last year, the Faculty of Medicine brought in $110 million
in research revenue (approximately 65 per cent of the
U of C’s total research revenue). The Alberta Heritage
Foundation for Medical Research and the Canadian
Institutes of Health Research are the two major contributors
of research funding.
Also adding to the mix is the strong partnership
enjoyed between the Faculty of Medicine and the Calgary
Health Region.
“The faculty and the health region are inextricably
linked,” says Dr. Michael Hill, director of the CHR’s Stroke
Unit and an assistant professor in the departments of clinical
neurosciences, medicine and community health sciences
in the Faculty of Medicine.
“The end result is excellence in clinical care and
in research.”
March, 2004 13

OFF THE
COUCH
by Sheila Rougeu
IF YOU ARE LIKE MOST PARENTS, you tell your kids
every day to stopping lying around on the couch. But
are your words enough?
In a culture of high pressure, poor nutrition and
sedentary lifestyles, many parents are rightly concerned
about their children’s health and wellness.
More than a third of Canadian children aged 2 to 11
are overweight and half that number is obese, according
to 1998-99 data published by Statistics Canada.
Experts agree that the growing epidemic of overweight
children must be dealt with before it gallops
out of control and becomes a drain on the healthcare
system.
Fortunately, the U of C has many experts that provide
creative ideas to help combat this growing problem.
“Be a kid again,” recommends Lea Norris, a
Faculty of Kinesiology TrymGym Health Consultant.
“Have a game of baseball in the yard after dinner.
Walk to the store instead of riding in the car. Don’t
just watch the kids at the playground – climb the
monkey bars yourself, go down the slide or crawl
through the tunnel. By making physical activity an
integral part of daily life in fun ways – you might
even start feeling like a kid again yourself!”
“Enroll your child in an activity that he or she
enjoys,” suggests Jodi Hicks, Coordinator, Children
and Youth Programs. “Joining a school team or signing
up for an organized sport through your community
tends to instill commitment to others and assists
with long-term involvement. Making it social rather
than taking on the task alone helps with sticking to
participation past the first eight weeks. Start an active
neighborhood program – it’s easy and inexpensive to
join with other families or friends for a game of
touch-football or basketball. Sport at its purest is
nothing more than a fun game, however, it has many
lasting consequences including a commitment to a
healthy lifestyle.”
Where physical activity is concerned, every little
bit counts toward your optimal health and wellness.
These may seem like small activities, but the benefits
of doing them are huge.
The U of C’s Faculty of Kinesiology can help
you get started:
Schedule a family evening of skating at the
Olympic Oval;
Go for a swim in the Olympic-sized aquatic
pool;
Schedule a one-day family outdoor adventure
tour of hiking, biking, boating, or skiing
through the Outdoor Centre;
Try your hand at wall climbing;
Take a run in the Fitness and Lifestyle Centre’s
indoor running track;
Have a game of racquetball on one of the
many courts;
Sign the kids up for a Dinos Sport Camp or
Mini U PhD Summer Camp;
Participate in one of the lifestyle programs
such as TrymGym or Be Fit For Life.
For more information go to
www.kin.ucalgary.ca
FLOATING
DINOSAURS
THEY WERE THE BIGGEST ANIMALS ever to walk the earth. And now the giant sauropod
dinosaurs – known as “long-necks” to millions of kids – have another claim to fame. They were
also the largest to ever float.
“The sauropod dinosaurs were the colossal corks of the Mesozoic,” says Donald Henderson, a
postdoctoral researcher at the U of C who teaches biology and conducts research with Faculty of
Science professor Anthony Russell.
Henderson presented his NSERC-funded discovery recently at the annual meeting of the
Society of Vertebrate Paleontology in St. Paul, Minnesota.
While it’s well known that many modern large animals can swim, sauropods have long been
viewed as bulky leviathans in a class of their own. These giants tipped the scales at between 10
and 30 tonnes.
Scientists initially thought they were swamp waders, too huge to have survived on land
without crushing themselves. In the 1950s, the theory changed; some thought a submerged
sauropod would be covered with water to such a depth that the water pressure wouldn’t allow
it to expand its lungs.
Recently, evidence appeared that these heavyweights had bird-like lungs and air sacs.
Modern birds have a series of balloon-like air sacs in their bodies that reduce their weight and
aid respiration.
Research on sauropod vertebrae found the telltale marks of bird-like air sacs. Scientists now
think that sauropods were full of air – at least 15 per cent of their body volume was air sacs.
“Using 3-D computer modeling, I found that when you give sauropods bird-like lung systems
and air sacs they’re actually really light . . . so they float really high in the water,”
Henderson says.
Donald Henderson discovered dinosaurs were like corks.
Photo courtesy of NSERC
14
OnCampus / University of Calgary

SUICIDE
SOLUTIONS
Health workers hope
U of C-led strategy will tackle
suicide epidemic
by Andrew Duffy and Ian MacLeod
FRUSTRATED BY SUICIDE’S ever-mounting toll,
a dedicated group of mental health professionals –
led by a University of Calgary social work professor –
is building a national prevention strategy for Canada.
The Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention
hopes the blueprint, scheduled for completion this
fall, will spur action on a long-ignored epidemic.
“It’s a challenge in Canada,” says Richard Ramsay,
a professor of social work at the University of
Calgary, and a world-renowned expert in suicide prevention
training.
“A lot of people, I think, want to believe that suicide
is not preventable.”
Suicide claims about 3,700 lives a year and is now
the second leading cause of death among Canada’s
young people, aged 15 to 24.
“Enough is enough,” adds David Masecar, president
of the association, founded by psychiatrists, academics
and social workers to lobby on behalf of the
victims of suicide.
“The fact is, we’re not going to wait around anymore
for the federal government to do something.”
The federal government currently has no national
suicide prevention strategy in development.
Ramsay’s experience, however, is that many suicidal
people are deeply ambivalent about whether to
live or to die. Identifying those people and tapping
into their reasons for carrying on can save lives,
he insists.
Ramsay, who sits on the board of directors of the
Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention, is the cofounder
of a Calgary company, LivingWorks
Education, that has created the most widely used suicide
intervention program in the world, graduating
300,000 people in a dozen countries.
The program equips front-line caregivers —
doctors, policemen, teachers, ministers, counsellors –
with the expertise to identify suicidal people, estimate
their risk of self-harm and stop them from acting on
the impulse.
“It’s something everyone can be taught to do,”
says Ramsay.
The program has been described as CPR for the
suicidal. Its tenets have been adopted by the U.S.
Surgeon General and the World Health Organization.
More than half of all U.S. states now have comprehensive
suicide prevention programs in place and
more are in development. In Canada, however, the
approach to suicide prevention differs from province
to province. British Columbia, Alberta, Quebec and
New Brunswick have specific plans and funding in
place for suicide prevention efforts; the other
provinces do not.
Alberta created a suicide prevention advisory committee
in 1981 with an $800,000 annual budget. That
committee developed a prevention strategy, now known
as the “Alberta model,” that sought to raise suicide
awareness, fund more research, create model prevention
programs, and to train front-line workers in identifying
and dealing with suicidal people.
Alberta now houses one of the world’s most extensive
resource libraries on suicide and is home to a
series of innovative suicide prevention projects,
including Ramsay’s LivingWorks.
Suicide rates in Alberta, once the highest
among Canadian provinces, have fallen from their
peak levels of the late 1980s. Alberta is now second
to Quebec.
“The rates of suicide in Alberta are at least headed
in the right direction,” says Ramsay.
Reprinted with permission from the Ottawa Citizen
March, 2004
15

IMAGE ISN'T
EVERYTHING
Communication and Culture) and E. Lisa Panayotidis
(Faculty of Education) the book will be, essentially, the
first scholarly look at Canadian scholars.
“Although a lot of these stereotypes find their origins
in student journalism of the late 19th and early
20th century, they have become deeply ingrained,”
Panayotidis says. “Professors themselves are guilty of
helping to perpetuate some of them, but quite frankly
these outmoded ideas only serve to hurt the contemporary
professoriate.”
Panayotidis points to a rise in anti-intellectualism –
nationally and internationally – and a general lack of
understanding in the public’s mind about what it is
that professors do.
“We have a very strong role to play in the community,
but it would help if we were understood better
and if some of these historical stereotypes were seen
for what they are – stereotypes based in humor and
caricature and not necessarily anything rooted
in reality.”
Many of the cartoons Panayotidis has studied portray
professors in their academic robes, which some
continued to wear to lectures in the 1930s. In one
drawing, a gang of them pelts a student with question
marks; in another, two professors examine a student
on a weigh scale with the caption, “And found wanting;”
another cartoon shows two professors playing
chess – with students as the pieces.
“Students would argue that if you were a really
good researcher, you were necessarily a bad teacher
because you didn’t spend enough time with your students,”
says Panayotidis. “For my part, teaching and
research are inseparable. It is vital that we bring that
passion and energy into the classroom.”
Stereotypes abound when it comes
to public perception of professors
by Greg Harris
IF ASKED TO DESCRIBE a university professor, most
Canadians would lapse into the usual stereotypes: he,
for only the male of the academic species lives in the
public imagination, is bespectacled, disheveled,
absent-minded and aloof.
When he bothers at all to descend from the rarefied
air of his ivory tower, it’s to dispense arcane wisdom
to students he doesn’t particularly understand or
care much about.
The roots of this popular caricature are one of the
dimensions of academic life explored in a new manuscript
currently under review, called “Historical
Identities: The Professoriate in Canada.” Edited by
University of Calgary professors Paul Stortz (Faculty of
Associate Vice-President (Academic) Robert
Woodrow sports a far different image than
Kathleen Scherf, Dean of Communications
and Culture.
Photo courtesy of the Calgary Herald
TEACHING
BY EXAMPLE
Award-winning professor shares
her passion for education
by Galadriel Watson
DR. BONNIE SHAPIRO spends her days immersed in
education. As a professor in the university’s Faculty of
Education, Shapiro shapes tomorrow’s teachers and
researches the finer points of learning — so it’s little
surprise that many consider her an excellent teacher
herself.
“I try to practice and model what I preach,” she
says.
Her skills have not gone unnoticed. She was one of
four recipients of the university’s 2003/04
Distinguished Faculty Achievement Awards. These
annual awards recognize faculty members who have
demonstrated excellence in teaching and research, and
dedication to the university, their students and their
disciplines. The other recipients were Dr. Tristam
Chivers (chemistry), Dr. Benno Nigg (kinesiology) and
Dr. Tony Russell (biological sciences).
“It’s an incredible honour,” says Shapiro. "There
are many excellent teachers on campus and I am really
pleased to be recognized as one of them. I understand
that students appreciate what I put into teaching.
They seem to value the ways I organize learning experiences
and the ways that I share my research with
them.”
Dr. Robert Stamp, former associate dean (research)
in the Faculty of Education, nominated Shapiro for
the award. He says he did so “because of her extremely
strong record as a researcher and teacher,” her
ongoing relationship with Alberta’s science teachers
and her exceptional work as a mentor to junior faculty
members. “Dr. Shapiro lives and breathes the excellence
demanded by a recipient of a Distinguished
Faculty Achievement Award.”
A large part of this excellence lies in her teaching.
Shapiro does more than lecture.
“I definitely have a point of view and a structure
that I provide,” she says, “but I really try to create an
environment where there is a lot of discussion, where
students have an opportunity to articulate their ideas,
and I try to focus on students’ own projects.”
She puts great emphasis on the power of writing,
because she believes it helps students organize their
thoughts and clarify their ideas.
In addition, Shapiro believes students should be
encouraged to capitalize on their strengths, learn from
each other and look inside themselves to discover
their own potential. Students should “pursue what is
most interesting to them, what gives them joy,” she
says, “because I think the real treasure of learning lies
in the ways we are able to make application to meaningful
experiences in our own lives.”
With her students, Shapiro works to create an
understanding of the underlying structure of a field
of study. “Then students can move into deeper understanding
through study and experiences on their
own.”
Shapiro’s research focuses on science learning and
is funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities
Research Council (SSHRC) and the Alberta Advisory
Committee for Educational Studies. In one of her projects,
she has followed a group of science students from
Grade 5 to their late 20s. The research explores the
content that they have retained, but also how they
continue to value ideas and studying science.
Shapiro has also studied how unspoken messages,
such as the organization of school settings, affect science
learning “perhaps in more profound ways than
text.”
Sherri Melrose studied with Shapiro during her
master's and doctoral programs. She is now an assistant
professor in the Centre for Nursing and Health
Studies at Alberta’s Athabasca University.
“When I went into the Faculty of Education, I
wanted to know, ‘what does an excellent teacher look
like?’” says Melrose. “Bonnie didn’t tell me; I didn’t
read it somewhere. I watched Bonnie and she demonstrated
what an excellent teacher looks like.”
Bonnie Shapiro
Photo by Ken Bendiktsen
16 OnCampus / University of Calgary