April 2007
April 3, 2007
CURA invites public to panel on small cities women and children
KAMLOOPS-The public is invited to participate in a panel discussion on
issues facing women and children in small cities that were noted in two
research studies as well as the soon-to-be-released results of a parent
survey on "Growing up in Kamloops."
Part of the TRU-led Community-University Research Alliance project on
quality of life in small cities, the panel, entitled "The Social Life
of the Small City: Perspectives of Women, Youth and Children," has been
organized by TRU social work researcher Chris Walmsley and TRU
political scientist Terry Kading.
It will focus on research reports compiled and presented by TRU social
work students with a Small Cities CURA community partner, including
"Women in the Small City" by students Lorry-Ann Austin and Anna
Johnson, "Pathways of Youth Homelessness in the Small City" by student
Nicole Hagan, as well as the "Growing Up in Kamloops: A Quality of Life
Indicators Survey" conducted by TRU Early Childhood Education
instructor Helen McDonald-Carlson along with students Heather Bounds,
Rosemary Dinsdale, and Bonnie Bylsma.
Survey results, to be presented by Val Janz of the Make Children First
initiative, note what's best about raising children in Kamloops, and
what improvements are needed, and makes some significant
recommendations related to the improvement of quality of life in small
cities.
The survey, which gathered responses from 217 city parents, covered
such topics as community arts, sports and recreation, education,
employment, housing, favourite places, activity support services such
as parks, library, pools, museums and cultural events, health services,
formal support services like food banks, parent's groups and government
agencies, childcare, and neighbourhoods.
The free community discussion, sponsored by TRU, will be presented on
Wednesday, April 11 from noon to 1:30 pm in the Panorama Room, located
in TRU's International Building.
Interested participants are asked to RSVP by April 10 to
petts@tru.ca, as a light lunch will be served. The event will be videotaped for podcasting on the
Small Cities CURA Website.
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For more information, please contact:
Dr. Chris Walmsley at 250-371-5559 or
by email.
Dr. Terry Kading at 250-371-5523 or
by email.
Ms. Valerie Janz, Make Children First, Interior Community Services at 250-554-3134 or
by email.
April 4, 2007
Two top Canadian recruits commit to WolfPack men’s volleyball
KAMLOOPS-Two of the top high school players in the country, both proven
at national championships, have committed to playing with the Thompson
Rivers University WolfPack men’s volleyball team.
Winnipeg student Stefan Savoie and Gordon Perrin of Creston, BC join
Revelstoke spiker Josh Boruck, who committed to the WolfPack in March,
as the CIS team’s 2007/08 rookies.
“These guys are both physically ready to challenge for playing time and
will make our practice environment very competitive,” said WolfPack
head coach Patrick Hennelly. “These two guys will make this team
competitive for the next five years,” he added.
TRU Athletics Director Ken Olynyk agreed: “The addition of Stefan and
Gordon to the men's volleyball program along with the young players
already on the team and should make the men’s volleyball program
contenders for years to come. I look forward to watching Stefan and
Gordon develop in our program and compete for the WolfPack.”
Savoie, who was voted the third-ranked player in Manitoba, stands 6’7”
and will join the WolfPack as a middle blocker. The youth, named to the
provincial and graduating Manitoba High School Athletic Association
(MHSAA) all-star teams, was a starter on both the 2006 Manitoba
Provincial and Youth National teams, and was also named to the all-star
team at the U16 national club championships.
“I like the way Stefan plays the game, very intense and competitive,”
said Hennelly. “He brings an edge to the court and is a great emotional
leader. When I watched Stefan play last year at the club Nationals I
was impressed with his physical and emotional leadership. Stefan will
be a big part of our program as a middle blocker and I think he will
challenge for a spot on the court. Stefan has been on winning teams in
club and high school and started this summer for the Youth National
Team, and these experiences will serve him well.”
Perrin, who stands 6’6” and has a spike touch reaching 11’5.5”, will
join the ‘Pack as an outside hitter. Like Savoie, he was a starter on
the 2006 Youth National team, and was named a first-team all-star at
the BC High School AA Championships, where his team captured the bronze
medal. He was also a member of the U17 Team BC in 2006 and the U16 Team
BC in 2005 and 2004, was named MVP at the 2005 Western Elite
Championships. Gordon was the top attacker for Canada in the summer of
2006 at the North, Central America and Caribbean Volleyball
Confederation (NORCECA) youth championships.
“Gordon Perrin is one of the most physically dominant high school
players I have ever seen. He had the biggest spike touch at the youth
national team try-out camp 11 feet 5.5 inches and at 6 foot 6 inches he
may still be growing,” said Hennelly. “His father, Dave Perrin, author
of the “Country Vet” series (
www.davespress.com),
is 6 feet 10 inches. I watched Gordon win the hardest hitter contest at
the high school provincial championships as a grade 11 athlete; he hit
a ball that bounced around 35 feet to win the competition: very
impressive. When Gordon becomes acclimatized to school and volleyball
at the university level he will be force at the net and compete for
playing time in his first year.”
Both youths were major factors in Canada’s fourth-place finish at the
2006 NORCECA Youth Men’s Continental Championship held in the Dominican
Republic last August, which features the top youth men’s teams from
North America, Central America and the Caribbean.
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For more information, please contact:
Patrick Hennelly, head coach, at 250-377-6118 or 250-572-6619 or
by email.
Stefan Savoie at 204-232-1560
Gord Perrin at 250-428-8764 or
by email.
April 12, 2007
Student athletes garner awards at TRU athletics banquet
KAMLOOPS-The Thompson Rivers University WolfPack has now completed its
second year in the Canada West conference of Canadian Interuniversity
Sport (CIS), and, as predicted, our CIS performance was better than
last year’s, and will keep improving as the years go by.
Next year, with more experience, all teams hope to turn some of this
season’s narrow losses into decisive wins, thanks to some extremely
talented players, some of whom won recognition on both the campus and
conference levels.
Top scorer on the men’s team was 1st-year outside hitter from
Beausoleil, France, Robin Schoebel, who finished in the top ten in
three Canada West conference play categories. He was also 2007 Canada
West Rookie of the Year, was named to the CIS all-rookie team, and was
TRU’s 2007 Male Athlete of the Year. Troy Jaggard of Calgary received
the coaches’ vote for Player of the Year, while Tim Flannigan of Prince
George, 2006 TRU men’s volleyball MVP and top scholar athlete, received
the players’ vote for Player of the Year. Rookie Patrick Johnston of
Whitby, Ontario, was named TRU Sports Task Force Male Athlete of the
Year.
Robyn Devlin of Revelstoke, who led the women’s volleyball team into
its inaugural CIS season last year, helped it to provincial gold and
the fair play award in its last year of play in the CCAA, and helped to
keep the team in the running for a playoff spot until the final weekend
of conference play, finished in the top ten in three Canada West
conference play categories. She was named 2007 TRU Female Athlete of
the Year. Also receiving TRU awards were Lauren Stockstad of Surrey,
who received the team award, and Laura Battison of Langley, voted
women’s volleyball Rookie of the Year.
Canada West men’s basketball stats at the end of the regular season
showed Kamar Burke, who double-doubled in eight of the 21 conference
games he played in this season, ranked in the top ten in five
categories, while teammate Charlie Spurr finished the regular season in
the top ten in four categories. Kamar was named 2007 TRU Rookie of the
Year, while Charlie was TRU men's basketball MVP. Voted most
inspirational player was Brian Smith of Maple Ridge, who helped the
team to national gold in its final year of CCAA play, and has been a
mainstay of the program since.
Kelley O’Grady of Campbell River was named TRU women’s basketball’s
Most Dedicated Player after finishing the Canada West regular season in
the top ten in two categories, while rookie forward Danika Maartman of
Kamloops was named the team’s Most Improved Player. 2007 TRU Sports
Task Force Athlete of the Year is Kristi Spelay of Sorrento, a women's
basketball team forward, while Alix Stupich of Ladysmith was named 2007
TRU Scholar Athlete of the Year.
“These are only the award winners who play on CIS teams. TRU salutes
all of its scholar athletes who have dedicated so much extracurricular
time to the WolfPack while managing to keep up their academic
performance,” said TRU athletics director Ken Olynyk.
For a complete list of award winners view the pdf 
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For more information, please contact Ken Olynyk at 250-828-5273 or 250-320-4263.
April 12, 2007
TRU student earns Alberta scholarship
KAMLOOPS-TRU Tourism student Stacey Peterson of Smithers is one of the
26 BC aboriginal students who received an Alberta scholarship, worth
$2,005.
“Stacey is one of the most enthusiastic, positive students have had the
pleasure to know in over 20 years of teaching,” said TRU Tourism
Management Department Diploma Coordinator Ted Wykes.
“She is one of those rare individuals who has a genuine thirst for
knowledge and has such an incredible attitude that I am in awe
sometimes. I have no doubt that in the future TRU will turn to her as
an example of a graduate who has made an outstanding contribution to
her chosen profession and to her community.”
The young mom, who also won a $1000 Nova gold scholarship last November, and plans to ladder into TRU’s
Bachelor of Tourism Management program when she completes her diploma, gave kudos and thanks in return.
“I’ve been really fortunate,” she said of the award and her program.
“It’s been a great year and I have really good teachers. I couldn’t
have done it without them.”
The awards, earmarked for Aboriginal students attending British
Columbia's public post-secondary institutions, were created by the
Alberta government in celebration of its centennial year. Starting this
year, Alberta will provide 25 annual scholarship awards to every
province and territory in Canada, with each province and territory
determining its own application process and deadline. This month, the
first awards went to students chosen by the British Columbia First
Nations coordinators committee made up of eight members from public
post-secondary institutions and a representative from the ministry.
To ensure that students at each of B.C.'s 26 public institutions have
equal opportunity to access the awards, the Ministry of Advanced
Education added one more scholarship.
"The recipients of these awards are great role models in their
communities and inspire others to pursue their vision of the successful
future that education provides," said BC’s Advanced Education Minister
Murray Coell.
Between semesters, Peterson is an active volunteer in her community,
sitting on five committees and volunteering as an event planner for the
Hockeyville program.
To qualify for the scholarship, students must be First Nations, Métis,
or Inuit enrolled in full-time studies at a public post-secondary
institution.
Students wishing to be considered for next year’s awards should contact
the First Nations coordinator at their institution in December for
application details.
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For more information, please contact:
Ted Wykes at 250-828-5366 or
by email.
Stacey Peterson at 250-682-8889
April 17, 2007
TRU gets green light for much-needed master degree in environmental science
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KAMLOOPS-With the final hurdle in the approval process for Thompson
Rivers University’s Master of Science in Environmental Science degree
now crossed, ten students to be selected over the summer are expected
to begin the thesis-based program this September.
The new graduate degree was developed with a three-fold intent: to be
unique, flexible and relevant; to fill local, regional, provincial,
national and international needs for environmental professionals; and
to produce graduates who are innovative and have multi-disciplinary
skills and broad knowledge.
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The result will be the next generation of scientists and policy-makers
who understand the complexities of environmental systems from a wide
range of contexts, can provide effective, feasible, and creative
solutions critical in maintaining a strong, sustainable resource-based
economy, and will be able to respond to a regional need to address
specific environmental concerns such as post-fire logging management
practices, restoration of grasslands and wetlands, the integrity of
southern interior BC environments, and environmental tourism.
One of the drivers behind the new program, TRU Canada Research Chair in
Grassland Ecology Dr. Lauchlan Fraser, said, “TRU is ideally suited to
study environmental issues because of its proximity to a wide variety
of diverse regional ecosystems, the excellent laboratory facilities on
campus and because TRU has been able to bring faculty together from
across disciplines to ensure that our graduates are able to consider
environmental issues within a political, social, economic and
multi-disciplinary scientific perspective.”
“This program provides a much-needed resource for the BC Interior and
the world by developing the next generation of scientists with the
combination of critical and creative thinking skills and in-depth
intellectual and technical understanding to develop solutions to the
complex issues faced by societies, businesses and industry,” said TRU
Associate Vice-President of Research and Graduate Studies, Dr. Nancy
Van Wagoner, who went on to say that “Through this initiative we are
helping to meet the need for highly skilled professionals that will
enhance the resource sector of the Interior, other industries,
government agencies, and major research and industrial clusters of BC’s
southern Interior.
“Employers in industry, government, and other non-academic
environmental professions increasingly ask that universities provide
graduate-level students with an expanded base of knowledge and skills,
and the ability to apply these to new and emerging challenges. The
ability to think creatively and to work with researchers and
professionals outside of one’s own sub-discipline are traits that will
serve our graduates well as they face the realities of future basic and
applied environmental sciences and management,” she added.
Employer needs were also the focus of comments by TRU Provost and
Vice-President Academic Dr. Mark Evered, who said, “100 per cent of
local companies and government organizations surveyed were interested
in TRU offering a Master of Science in Environmental Science degree
program, with 83 per cent agreeing or strongly agreeing that they would
consider employing graduates of a master degree in environmental
studies.”
Those currently employed in the environmental and resource sectors will
also benefit, emphasized TRU President and Vice-Chancellor Dr. Roger
Barnsley. “At the local level one of the program's missions will be to
provide educational opportunities to employees of local business and
government, including large industries, and environmental consulting
firms,” he said. “With the increasing predominance of
environmentally-related products and services, such industries will be
well served by having a local supply of broadly trained environmental
scientists and professionals capable of capitalizing on this emerging
interdisciplinary market.”
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For more information, please contact Dr. Lauchlan Fraser at 250-377-6135 or 250-374-1116
Backgrounder attached.
April 20, 2007
Canadian music icon to accept TRU honorary degree
KAMLOOPS-An icon of the Canadian music scene since the 1950s will
receive an honorary doctor of letters degree from Thompson Rivers
University next month.
Ian Tyson, whose accomplishments over the past half century include a
platinum record, a long-running television show, numerous industry
awards and the Order of Canada, will accept his degree at the
university's Convocation ceremony to be held at its Kamloops campus at
2 pm June 7th.
"Ian Tyson is an icon in Canadian music and Thompson Rivers University
will be very proud to have him as an alumnus," said TRU President and
Vice-Chancellor Roger Barnsley.
Ian Tyson was born in Victoria, BC September 25, 1933, and was actively
involved in rodeo as a teen and young adult. He learned to play the
guitar while he was recovering from rodeo-related injuries, and in the
late 1950s, began performing as a folk singer.
He made his debut at the Heidelberg Café in Vancouver in 1956 and
played with a rock 'n' roll band, the Sensational Stripes. After
graduating from the Vancouver School of Art in 1958, Tyson moved to
Toronto, where he worked as a commercial artist and met his future
wife, singer/songwriter Sylvia Fricker.
The two musicians began performing together with their band Great
Speckled Bird in 1959, releasing their self-titled debut album in 1962,
and following it up with Four Strong Winds in 1963. The title track of
that album, written by Tyson, became a folk standard and was chosen in
2005 as the greatest Canadian song of all time by the audience of the
CBC Radio One series 50 Tracks: The Canadian Version.
After marrying in 1964, Ian and Sylvia successfully recorded together
through the mid-'70s, one of the first Canadian groups to break into
the American popular music market. The duo also hosted the television
show, Nashville North, which became the Ian Tyson Show after the couple
separated.
After moving back to Alberta to breed cutting horses, Ian Tyson
continued to record music. He released his second solo album in 1979,
served as host in the mid-1980s for CTV Edmonton's 'Sun Country,' and
released a third album in 1983. Other albums followed in 1984, 1986,
1990, 1994, 1999 and 2001. He released collections in 1996 and 2002.
He has played at concerts all over North America, and has received six
Big Country awards, and won a Juno award in 1987. He was twice named
Male Vocalist of the Year by the Canadian Country Music Association,
which also awarded him single and album of the year, and in 1992 his
song, Someday Soon, earned the Country Music Award from the American
Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, and in 2000 he won the
Alberta Recording Industries Association's best male recording artist
and best-selling album awards.
He was inducted into the CCMA Hall of Honour and the Canadian Country
Music Hall of Fame in 1989, to the Juno Hall of Fame in 1992, the
Canadian Broadcast Hall of Fame in 2000, and the Prairie Music Hall of
Fame the following year. He was named to the Order of Canada in 1994.
This will be the third honorary degree he has received.
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For more information, please contact Dr. Roger Barnsley at 250-828-5001 or
by email.
April 23, 2007
TRU Alumni invited to social network
KAMLOOPS-Okay, it's not exactly a hot dating site, but the TRU Alumni
Association's "new and improved" online community social networking
tool could lead to some great interactions, according to Nancy Plett,
the association's executive director.
"The Online Community Network, a social networking tool for alumni,
students, faculty and staff of TRU, includes blogs, photo albums, and
plenty of opportunities for TRU community members to interact with one
another," she said.
"This new social networking interface allows graduates to build
detailed personal profiles and to share information with friends and
groups," explained Plett. "TRU alumni, students, staff and faculty have
an online protected space to create personal profiles, upload pictures,
publish blogs and connect with friends and groups from TRU."
The benefits are legion, said Plett. "By connecting to the TRU Online
Community people can plan events together, share pictures, stories,
career and travel advice, search job postings, form study groups,
exchange business cards and post items on the Buy and Sell bulletin
board."
There's one more benefit for those who log on with a profile by May 11th.
"To promote the program, a contest is currently running until May 11
with a chance to win weekly prizes. Graduates from Cariboo College,
University College of the Cariboo and Thompson Rivers University are
invited to join the Online Community by visiting www.trualumni.ca. If
they add a picture and a profile, graduates will automatically be
entered to win a great selection of prizes from TRU merchandise to
iPods, said Plett.
Those wishing more information about the association and its programs and events can call 250-828-5498.
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For more information, please contact Nancy Plett at 250-828-5267.
April 24, 2007
TRU-WL symposium explores gender issues
KAMLOOPS-Organizers of a two-day symposium on gender issues to be held
at TRU’s Williams Lake campus next month are looking for submissions.
Conference organizers welcome presentations on innovations that support
women and men with a range of gender issues. The “Around the Blend:
Exploring Gender Diversity in Health & Human Services” symposium is
intended to be cross-cultural, multidisciplinary and related to best
practices in the helping professions, with the goal of helping
participants to move beyond generalized concepts of gender and sexual
orientation, and to recognize and celebrate these dimensions of
diversity.
The symposium is for professionals, teachers, counsellors, TRU faculty
and staff working in the helping professions, students in Social Work,
Nursing, Education and Social Sciences as well as anyone from the
general public interested in gender diversity issues, explained
symposium co-organizer Jay Goddard.
Potential presenters are asked to provide information that fits one of
the diversity of themes on the diversity of gender issues, including
cross-cultural concepts of gender and sexuality; women’s or men’s
addiction issues; a gendered focus on other social issues; violence in
relationships; homophobia; general information on gender and/or
orientation issues; non-traditional occupational roles (i.e. male
caregivers, women in trades); gender socialization in youth; First
Nations communities and gender issues; the use of the arts in exploring
gender-related social issues and problems; gender issues and
leadership; women’s and men’s health and wellness, and; gender issues
in smaller communities.
The conference organizers encourage broadly appealing presentations
that are interactive and experiential, willing to explore controversial
issues, use expressive mediums (music, visual art, theatre etc), and
are gay, bisexual, lesbian, and trans-gendered-friendly and supportive.
Students, faculty members and community agencies who don't want to
present a paper but still want to be involved are invited to present
papers, program innovations or information on community supports and
services in a poster session format on TRU-WL’s Student Street Thursday
afternoon.
Also part of the event will be an optional evening dinner theatre
presentation, "Looking for Normal" by Jane Anderson, performed by the
William Lake Studio Theatre Society.
The symposium will run May 17 and 18 at TRU’s Williams Lake campus, located at 1250 Western Avenue.
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For more information, please contact:
Jay Goddard at 250-392-8164 or by
email.
Elizabeth Rennie at 250-392-8031 or
email.
Beth Bedard at 250- 392-8166 or
email.
April 23, 2007
TRU awarded $418,132 in forestry research grants
KAMLOOPS-The BC Forest Science Program has awarded six researchers at
Thompson Rivers University a total of $418,132 in grants related to
nine forest and range issues and management research projects in the BC
Interior.
“I am very pleased that the BC Forest Science Program has recognized
the importance of these research projects to forest and ecosystem
health in British Columbia, and I am particularly pleased that research
scientists at Thompson Rivers University are able to contribute
positive knowledge that will help in the sustainability of forestry and
agriculture, two very important economic engines in the Southern
Interior,” said Dr. Nancy Van Wagoner, TRU Associate Vice-President,
Research and Graduate Studies.
For two projects related to grasslands ecology, “Managing the
interacting effects of grazing and global climate change in BC interior
rangelands” and “Effects of livestock grazing in southern interior
wetlands: interactions with amphibians, benthic macroinvertebrates,
vegetation, and breeding waterfowl,” TRU Canada Research Chair Lauchlan
Fraser received a total of $124,524.
Alan Vyse, the first person designated at TRU as a Research Associate
after his retirement from the BC Ministry of Forests about three years
ago, received a total of $198,396 for three projects: the ongoing
“Sicamous Creek Silviculture Systems Project,” as well as two new
projects, “Tree species growth rates and susceptibility to insects and
diseases in the southern ICH under current and possible future climatic
conditions” and “Sustainable management of the ponderosa pine parkland
ecosystems in the Thompson River watershed after the mountain pine
beetle epidemic.”
Lyn Baldwin, an assistant professor in TRU’s biological sciences
program, received $44,928 for her research project, “Structure and
functional values of riparian buffer strips for sustaining floristic
diversity in interior forested landscapes,” while geographer Darryl
Carlyle-Moses received $27,428 for his continuing work on “Measurement
and Modelling of Mountain Pine Beetle Impacts on the Annual Forest
Water Balance,” Karl Larsen, an associate professor in TRU’s natural
resource science program, received $8,856 for his continuing research
on “Indicators of biodiversity within aspen stands of the Interior
Douglas-fir zone,” and Brian Heise, associate professor in TRU’s
natural resource science program, received $14,000 for his “Extension
of the effects of logging on export of organic matter from headwater
streams.”
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For more information, please contact:
TRU: Dr. Nancy Van Wagoner at 250-371-5586 or 250-828-5410 or
email.
BC Forest Science Program: 604-484-3487
April 25, 2007
Radium recruit to be tallest on team
KAMLOOPS-At 6’11’, middle blocker Taylor Verboom will be a force to be
reckoned with at the net. The Radium, BC, student, who has been his
school’s volleyball MVP each year since grade eight, has committed to
the TRU WolfPack for the 2007/08 season.
“I first noticed Taylor Verboom last year at Club provincials in Prince
George and I was amazed at how well he moved laterally,” said WolfPack
men’s volleyball head coach Patrick Hennelly. “He is 6’11” with a slim
build and he has very quick movement across the net. When Taylor stands
at the net with his arms straight he is one foot over the net without
jumping. I felt then that Taylor would have a place in the CIS. You
can’t teach height and at 6’11” Taylor will be the tallest player on
the WolfPack men’s volleyball team.”
Taylor has played for the East Kootenay Volleyball Club from age 14,
and helped his Team BC U-16 team to a 4th-place finish at the Western
Provincials and his Team BC U-17 team to 5th place at the
Canadian Provincials. He was also one of 36 boys in Canada invited to
attend the National Men's Youth training camp in Winnipeg.
“I have been pleased with Taylor’s improvement this year and I feel in
a couple of years he will be a force at the net for the WolfPack,” said
Hennelly. “With some more experience and some meat on his bones he can
develop into a great middle blocker in our league. I will be working
closely with our strength coach Greg Kozoris to develop a program for
Taylor to improve his power and strength because he already has the
incredible size and movement skills. Taylor brings a positive attitude
and great work ethic and will immediately fit in with this year’s
recruiting class and the current team.”
The towering youth, who attends David Thompson Secondary in Invermere, BC, will be studying first-year Arts this fall.
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For more information, please contact:
Patrick Hennelly at 250-377-6118 or 250-572-6619 or
email.
Taylor Verboom at 250-342-1075 or
email.