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What's Been This page was last reviewed on February 6, 2012   

Arts in Academics Recognition

2007 David Huron, BIS 1978, now at Ohio State

2008 Ian McKillop, BIS 1987, now at UW including at Applied Health Sciences

2009 Larry Lamb, BIS 1989, now retired

2010 Shirley Tillotson, BIS 1978, now at Dalhousie University

As of August 2011, the Dean of Arts Office is reviewing its alumni recognition program and anticpates changes in the coming academic year.

 

October 20, 2011

from Micaela Fitzsimmons, BIS 2007

I just received an email that a small textile piece which is currently in a travelling show on the west coast, has been selected to be in the permanent collection of the University of Michigan’s Quilt Museum.

http://saqacentralcanada.blogspot.com/2011/10/saqa-central-canada-members-work-to-go.html

The piece is one of the small textile/silk screen works that was part of my IS graduating exhibition! I’m very pleased, of course, and so grateful to the IS program and people.

http://www.museum.msu.edu/glqc/

The piece will be in the collection of the Great Lakes Quilt Center at the Michigan State University Museum

Cheers,

Micaela

 

September 2011

from Erin Moores, BIS 2009

"I've been working with Canada World Youth for the past couple years - when I finished IS in 2009 I got accepted to law school at McGill but I just couldn't see myself racking up $30,000 in student loans! Law school scholarships are not the greatest...

So I'm applying to go back next year...hopefully they will accept me again and if so I will likely go. But I'm also going to look into some master's programs so we will see what happens. Either way I'm planning to be back in school in Sept 2012, or perhaps January 2013 if I end up doing a master's instead of law (that would be ideal because I could do another contract with Canada World Youth).

"With work, I've been supervising development projects involving Canadian partnerships with local organizations and local youth. Last year I worked in eastern Quebec and Mali (fun but tough living condiitons!) and then this year I got a great contract with BC - South Africa! Since July we've been in the South African phase - living in a black township outside of Cape Town called Khayelitsha. On Sept 30 we return to BC for 3 months of the Canadian phase. Can't complain about South Africa - it is definitely an eye-opener, mind-blowing country as well as having everything a tourist could ever want! "

 

July 2011

The Independent Studies program is proud to share the news that Sue Patrick Breit, BIS 2011 graduand, has been awarded a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship (CGS) – Master’s, 2011-2012.

The acknowledgement of her work has meant the world to her, and is, she insists, a testament to the value of the unique undergraduate program in which she was enrolled. She explains: “In Independent Studies I’ve been able to pursue, in depth, research about which I am passionate. The structure of the program has allowed me to successfully juggle academia, motherhood, and music. Through IS, I discovered potential I did not know I had. I’m really going to miss everyone there.” But move on she must.

Sue has decided to approach her SSHRC funded research in a way that adequately reflects its focus on our experience of that which is intelligible yet indeterminate. She says: “I agree with Martha Craven Nussbaum who points out that ‘an abstract theoretical style makes, like any other style, a statement about what is important and what is not, about what faculties of the reader are important for knowing and what are not.’”

“My intention is to blend theory with forms of expression that demonstrate the elliptical nature of language (e.g. poetry) and that show how communication is not merely contingent on clear and precise terms. (e.g. music) - a sort of hermeneutics of the unsayable.”

Sue has been accepted into York University’s MA program in Interdisciplinary Studies where there is tremendous enthusiasm and support for such an approach. Her advanced research skills and extraordinary organizational abilities will, with loving support from family and friends, ensure her continued success. Look for her CD out soon and for a book in the coming years!

May 2011:

Michaela Fitzsimmons, BIS 2007, tells us she has had a quilt accepted into the Grand National Quilt Exhibition “Balancing Act” at Joseph Schneider Haus, Kitchener, Ontario. The opening is Sunday, May 15, 2011 from 1:00 to 5:00. The show is up until September 2011.

Additionally, Micaela reports that she spent six weeks in Israel at the Baha'i World Centre in the fall 2010 to work on some of its conservation projects. The experience was amazing both personally and professionally, and Micaela hopes to return in 2012 for a slightly longer work visit.

 

March 2011:

Excerpt from the uWaterloo Spring 2011 Issue

Connecting with the Wilderness


Mary Theberge, BIS 1993, can no longer conduct research on Yellowstone’s wolves in summer because of the “wolf groupies” who flood the park hoping to make contact with its lupine residents. And she’s OK with that.
“People have become isolated from nature; now they’re re-discovering the wilderness,” Mary says.

Mary and her husband, John, former professor in Waterloo’s Faculty of Environment, are two of North America’s foremost wolf ecologists. In addition, Theberge speaks regularly on conservation issues and is an accomplished illustrator.


The Theberges are passionate champions of wildlife. They are equally passionate about helping people understand nature and their place in it.


The couple’s most recent book, The Ptarmigan’s Dilemma, is a celebration of the intricate workings of the natural world. It describes their many experiences conducting wildlife research in engrossing places.
“There is a thirst for knowledge that can be appeased, to some extent, by our book. The more we understand any facet of nature, the more deeply we feel wonder and excitement,” Mary says.


The Theberges’ contributions to conservation are impressive. Their long-standing research in Algonquin Park, for instance, led to unprecedented legislation that protects wolves in a buffer zone around the park. They were also instrumental in the development of Kluane National Park in the Yukon and a proposed park in B.C.’s Okanagan Valley where, Mary notes, more endangered species exist than anywhere else in Canada.


But it’s when Mary talks about watching people, especially children, make that personal connection to the natural world that her voice lights up. Growing up in Tanzania, Mary says she “had nature on my doorstep. Most children today, even those in rural areas, don’t get to experience that.” A former Girl Guide leader, she recounts the girls’ excitement in encountering garter snakes. And she talks of bringing her daughters on research trips as babies; both are now biologists.

“Children are like sponges, they want to experience everything. They must be exposed to nature at an early age,” Mary says.


Through her research, speaking engagements, and art, the Theberges hope to inspire more people to seek the personal experiences with nature that Yellowstone’s wolf groupies are looking for.


“It’s that emotional connection with wildlife and the natural environment that will save the biosphere.”

 

Original Text: Beth Bohnert

 

Fall 2009

Congratulations to Carol Deutschlander on the publication of her book.

 Management Concepts proudly announces the publication of Surveying Fundamentals for Business Analysts, by Carol Deutschlander, CBAP.

Surveying Fundamentals for Business Analysts is an intro guide to the art of surveying. This books shows analysts how to efficiently and effectively elicit requirements. From effective question writing, to survey scoping and data analysis, Deutschlander lays out how to conduct and present surveys. This is written as a step-by-step, how-to guide, so that inexperienced readers can use it to conduct their surveys and old hands can reference specific sections.

       

 

Carol Deutschlander, Certified Business Analyst Professional (CBAP), is a business analysis manager with Home Hardware Stores, Ltd., Canada. She is an active supporter of the International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA) and has served on various committees, including the IIBA’s International Board of Directors.

 

Days gone by ...

Once upon a time, in a space that seems far, far away not only in mindset time but also from where we are located now, the IS facilities in PAS (the Psychology, Anthropology, Sociology building) provided the scope consistent with our unique program and community.

Peter Jansen, BIS 2005, and former IS SOC prez, snapped a number of digital mementoes of the space he and so many ISers over the decades occupied while developing their IS research. Peter has provided photos for us to be reminded of what was then and what is still needed.

 

Editor's Note:

And if you have photos to share, do send them along to us to post to the site! Thanks.    ~ Susan G

 

 

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