Celebrating faculty growth, innovation and partnerships

In this year’s issue of Rehab Impact, we celebrate as always the incredible dedication of members of the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine in education, scholarship and research, and service. We are growing as a Faculty, in many ways — and I’m so proud to share highlights that show the broad range of our activities. I also want to acknowledge the significant role of our relationships with partners outside our Faculty — both at the University of Alberta and across this province — in contributing to this growth.

This year we were very excited to share that we will be returning to the Augustana Campus in Camrose, Alberta. Thanks to provincial government funding, starting in the fall of 2024 speech-language pathology, occupational therapy and physical therapy will all offer master’s degrees at this satellite campus. Students will have increased access to training and clinical education in rural settings as a result of this expansion. These programs, alongside the two master’s degree programs (OT and PT) celebrating 10+ years at our Calgary campus, are an important step in the Faculty’s contribution to rehabilitation education and care for all Albertans. 

We are fortunate to have welcomed new tenure-track faculty and academic teaching staff members this past year, and we’ll introduce them to you here. These new members join our already world-class community of researchers and educators, people who create and translate knowledge in laboratories, field settings, and classrooms. They are the foundation for excellence in our Faculty, and together with students, the Faculty has a dynamic and vibrant learning community. 

At the heart of it all, we continue our ongoing commitment to reconciliation, investing in relationships with Indigenous community partners to support the education of more Indigenous rehabilitation professionals. Initiatives in this area include partnering with Treaty 8 First Nations to provide high school courses that respect Indigenous knowledge in the area of rehabilitation medicine, as well as a pilot project for fieldwork placements and clinical electives in TallCree and Beaver First Nation during the summer of 2023. We plan to build on both initiatives thanks to the careful feedback of everyone who has participated thus far and the wonderful partnership with the Treaty 8 First Nations Office of Education. 

I hope you enjoy this year’s edition of Rehab Impact. Please let me know what you think! I’m always happy to hear your feedback and suggestions at thopper@ualberta.ca.