Undergraduate Teaching Excellence
Assistant professor Willow White recognized with U of A award
Each year, a small number of faculty members within their first five years at the University of Alberta receive the Provost’s Award for Early Achievement of Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching. This award recognizes teaching excellence and, in 2023, one of two awards went to Willow White, a feminist literary historian, assistant professor of English and Indigenous Studies and a proud citizen of the Métis Nation of Alberta.
Academics Into Action
Augustana students help create climate resilience solutions in Camrose
During the Winter 2024 Term, 48 third-year Augustana Campus undergraduates teamed up with the City of Camrose to research and develop strategies in response to a Climate Risk and Vulnerability Assessment (CRVA) recently conducted by the municipality. The students’ work will help guide next steps for the municipality as it proactively prepares for the effects of extreme weather on its public services and infrastructure.
Clark Banack
Assistant Professor, Rural Studies
Originally from Camrose, Clark started his journey with Augustana 25 years ago as a student on campus. Now he is thrilled to be an assistant professor in addition to his role as the director of the Alberta Centre for Sustainable Rural Communities (ACSRC). As a political scientist and the author of several books, Clark’s research focuses on Western Canadian politics and religion in rural settings.
“Rural people continue to be incredibly community oriented. They’re warm-hearted and creative in terms of helping their community thrive.”
Gianluca Vernillo
Assistant Professor, Physical Education
Gianluca comes to the U of A from the University of Milan. A long-distance runner himself, his research focuses on neuromuscular fatigue, high-level sport performance and endurance. He has notably worked with elite Kenyan marathon runners and the Italian snowboarding team, preparing them for the Olympics. Gianluca also teaches on the therapeutic potential of exercise in diverse populations, such as those with disabilities and chronic health conditions.
“I wish everyone understood that, if we’re able to move, we can exercise and exercise is medicine.”
Rob Colgate
Postdoctoral Fellow, Poetry in the Psychiatric Ward project
Rob recently graduated with a MFA in poetry and critical disability studies from the New Writers Project at the University of Texas. Originally from Evanston, Illinois, he is a Filipino-American poet and author. During Rob’s term as a postdoctoral fellow, his work at Augustana will focus on helping to pilot a new creative program that brings poetry workshops to current inpatients of psychiatric wards.
“More than solving a problem, we are focused on living disabled in a meaningful way, building community and helping folks author their own narratives.”
Shelisa Klassen
Postdoctoral Fellow, Chester Ronning Centre
Shelisa recently graduated with her doctoral degree from the University of Manitoba. As a historian, her research examines the role of newspapers and religion in establishing and maintaining settler colonialism, through the example of 1870s Manitoba. During her term as postdoctoral fellow, she will help to organize a conference about religion and settler colonialism in the Canadian prairie.
“I want to tell the truth about settler history and, through telling the truth, expose how Canada’s reputation as a peacefully created nation is often incorrect.”
RESEARCH IMPACT
From Germany to Camrose
It took a decade for Roger Admiral to commission music he recently performed in Germany and at Augustana
In October 2023, Roger Admiral – accomplished pianist and music lecturer at Augustana – performed Klavierkonzert by acclaimed composer Steven Takasugi at the Donaueschinger Musiktage in Germany. About a month later, Roger performed the piano solo again. This time, in Camrose.
Other research highlights:
Fine Arts & Humanities
- Reading Romeo Dallaire and his activism through the lens of Canadian philosophy
- Understanding how the challenges posed by young adult fiction can change rape culture
- Rethinking the women’s education in the Middle Ages
Science
- Using AI to improve health care support and identify bugs in data software
- Uncovering two weevil species — one new and one thought extinct
- Protecting the least flycatcher by determining its most helpful habitat
Social Science
- Untangling the benefits and limits of Indigenous cultural programming in Canadian prisons
- Finding the balance between wetland stewardship and agricultural needs
- Inspecting the legal history of bigamy in Australia
VIKINGS UPDATE
Best in the Nation
Women’s volleyball student-athlete Shae Boyes is first Viking to be named CCAA Player of the Year.
For the first time in Vikings Athletics history, a University of Alberta - Augustana student-athlete was named the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Player of the Year. Shae Boyes picked up the honour for women’s volleyball in March 2024 after already being honoured as the Alberta Colleges Athletics Conference’s (ACAC) 2024 Women’s Volleyball Player of the Year - North.
This accomplishment is truly a testament to the support and dedication of those around me, this award is as much theirs as it is mine. My family, my coaches and mentors, and my teammates, past and present — I am truly, and endlessly grateful for each and every person who was a part of my athletic journey.
Shae Boyes, CCAA Player of the Year for women's volleyball
In the 2023/24 season:
of 11 eligible Vikings teams attended ACAC championships
Home games hosted
ACAC medals won (1 silver, 4 bronze)
community impact
Responding to Community Needs
Four new programs are coming to campus in Fall 2024 to address needs in education and health care
Rural-based areas like Camrose and the surrounding communities have unique needs. In particular, there has recently been a demonstrated need to increase the number of education and health care professionals in these communities – and Augustana is responding.
Starting in Fall 2024, four new programs are coming to Augustana Campus. The first is a new bachelor of education program in elementary education. Students in this program will spend their first two years of study at Augustana Campus and their final two years at North Campus in Edmonton. Practicum placements for students in this program will prioritize rural schools in an effort to increase the likelihood of them pursuing a career as educators in rural communities and help address difficulties in recruiting teachers to available positions.
The remaining three programs are master’s programs that will be offered at Augustana by the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine made possible by $7.4 million in funding from the Government of Alberta. By offering new programs in occupational therapy, physical therapy and speech-language pathology, people from central Alberta seeking careers in health care will have more opportunities to pursue professional programs closer to home. Practicum placements within these programs will also prioritize rural health care settings to promote post-graduate return to rural and remote communities within the province.
These programs will welcome approximately 60 new students to Augustana each year
Other campus highlights:
Augustana hosts first Round Dance since 2018
Annual showcase event connects community with student research
Alumni professionals connect with students at career mixer
giving impact
$2 Million to Support Students
Augustana Campus receives largest gift in its history in honour and in memory of former dean of women Cora Martinson
Almost 90 years after Cora Martinson taught at Camrose Lutheran College, which would eventually become the Augustana Campus of the University of Alberta, her legacy has inspired the largest donor gift in Augustana’s history.
Other Giving Highlights:
the number of donor-funded awards that supported Augustana students (with seven new awards established this year)
amount given to support experiential learning trips in the 2023/24 academic year
amount raised in Fiscal Year 2024