In the Community

A recap of 2023 at U of A: Crossword edition

Test your U of A acumen and recap some of the major events and initiatives from 2023 with this end-of-the-year crossword.

December 14, 2023

Play the CROSSWORD

Test your knowledge with the crossword below. You can also open it on your browser or download a print copy.

Be careful not to scroll too far down: the answers are listed below.

Answer Key

Read the answers below or download the answer key.

1 across — GPS

Formerly called the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research (FGSR), the new name, Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (GPS), was approved by the General Faculties Council on Oct. 16, 2023. GPS supports and promotes excellence in graduate education for over 8,400 graduate students in more than 500 graduate programs in 300 research areas.

4 across — People

The U of A Strategic Plan, Shape, identified people as the cornerstone of the university’s ambitions for the next decade. This led to alignment with Shape; Forward with Purpose; Braiding Past, Present & Future; and the current work guiding the university’s revamped strategic plan for EDI. The People Strategy will also link with and reflect other related work, such as the Healthy University Strategic Plan and the Culture of Care.

6 across — Red River Cart

A Red River Cart has stood in front of Pembina Hall since June 2016. The cart signifies the important relationship between the Métis Nation of Alberta, Rupertsland Institute and the Faculty of Native Studies. When the life cycle of the first cart ended, a new cart was purchased through a generous donation from the Rupertsland Institute.

Check it out in person in front of Pembina Hall on North Campus.

9 across — Three

Three newly named Canada Excellence Research Chairs will be joining the U of A in 2024:

Kalyan Das – CERC in Antiviral Drug Design (Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, College of Health Sciences)
Rebecca Hull-Meichle – CERC in the Islet Microenvironment (Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, College of Health Sciences)
Shinichi Nakagawa – CERC in Open Science and Synthesis in Ecology and Evolution (Faculty of Science, College of Natural & Applied Sciences)

10 across — Shape

Shape, the University of Alberta’s strategic plan, was launched on Sept. 19, 2023. Shape outlines a bold vision for the University of Alberta's future.

13 across — Forward

Forward with Purpose is U of A’s first pan-institutional strategic plan for research and innovation. This plan for 2023-2028 identifies four goals and six areas of research. These areas of global excellence and growth, alongside strategic goals for research and innovation, will help further position the U of A as a global leader that is addressing critical challenges within society.

15 across — CHEW

Fyrefly, with help from collaborators like the United Way, is working to support members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community who are experiencing houselessness through the Community, Health, Empowerment and Wellness (CHEW) Project.

16 across — ALES

The Faculty of Agricultural, Life & Environmental Sciences (or ALES for short), which is part of the College of Natural and Applied Sciences, is now home to the first U of A UNESCO World Chair. In addition, ALES researcher Michael Gänzle was named one of the world’s most cited researchers.

17 across — UCommons

The University Commons (UCommons) building will be one of the most accessible spaces on North Campus with sight lines that travel all the way through the space, at-grade or accessible entrances on all sides, all-gender washrooms and spaces on every floor for all members of the community, including students, faculty, staff and visitors. In 2023, the community learned more about the project in a video preview In this video preview, learn more on how UCommons was shaped by students and will have a dedicated student-centric space with all the core, supportive, student services available in one place.

Watch the most recent video on University Commons

18 across — Vikings

In March 2023, the Augustana Vikings women’s curling team travelled to Sudbury, Ont., for nationals. In the gold medal game against the Niagara Knights, the Vikings stole one point in the tenth end to claim their first Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) national championship in a 5-4 win.

19 across — Whiskeyjack

In September 2023, the U of A announced the transition of First Peoples’ House into a newer and larger space. At the project kickoff, a group of U of A employees were led in a pipe ceremony by Elder Francis Whiskeyjack and cultural helper Elder Elsey Gauthier.

1 down — Generative AI

With the growth of generative AI like ChatGPT, Lex.page DALL-E2, Google BARD, Microsoft Bing and similar applications, U of A created the Provost’s Taskforce on AI and the Learning Environment to provide recommendations on how best to deal with the opportunities and challenges of generative artificial intelligence in the learning environment. This task force will also contribute to society’s broader conversations about the role of artificial intelligence in society’s learning environment and beyond.

2 down — Sperber

The Geoffrey and Robyn Sperber Health Sciences Library (or Sperber for short) officially opened to the U of A community on Sept. 30, 2023. The reimagined space includes quiet and group study areas, virtual reality and media labs, an Indigenous learning space, Indigenous Healing Collection and an exhibit from the Dentistry Museum Collection.

Tour the new Sperber library through photos

3 down — RPnet

The research partner network (or RPnet for short) is designed to provide the research community with the expertise to craft innovative, fundable research proposals as efficiently as possible and to help manage the administration of funds. In 2023, the network refreshed the RPNet webpage to identify detailed examples of support as well as the different areas of specialization and faculty/department assignments.

5 down — Moreau

Mary Moreau fut nommée en novembre à la Cour suprême du Canada; il s'agit de la première fois qu'une majorité de femmes siégera au plus haut tribunal de système judiciaire canadien.

Mary Moreau was appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada in November, marking the first time that a majority of women will sit on Canada's highest court.

7 down — CSSH

The College of Social Sciences and Humanities (CSSH) houses the Black-led Research Network Initiative. The initiative recently hosted its first Visioning Workshop to create a unified vision and lay the foundation for structural capacity for Black-led research at the U of A.

8 down — Whitehead

In September, Jerry Whitehead attended First Peoples' House's Truth and Reconciliation Week events at the U of A Bookstore, painting with community members in honour of Orange Shirt Day. That same week, the U of A launched its Truth and Reconciliation Commission Report to the Community.

11 down — Practice

In honour of Shape, the U of A commissioned a spoken word poem from School of Business grad Nisha Patel. Nisha performed the poem during the launch of Shape on Sept. 19, 2023.

Read in the practice of radicality.

12 down — Seventh

In 2023, U of A ranked second in Canada and seventh in the world by Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings for the university’s ongoing efforts to tackle the United Nations Sustainable Development goals.

14 down — Duo

To safeguard sensitive information and data within the University of Alberta, the university implemented Duo Mobile MFA authenticator app. Duo Mobile MFA is safe and secure and adds a second layer of security when logging in to a U of A system or app.

15 down — CHS

In 2023, the Faculty of Nursing, which is part of the College of Health Sciences (CHS), placed first in both the program-reputation and research-reputation subcategories by Maclean’s and ranked as Canada’s best program in the QS World University Rankings by Subject.