A Learning Expedition
 Roe Duku After fleeing from Sudan as a child, Roe Duku left home three times before finding her way to the University of Guelph: first to live with her older brother in Kenya so she could go to school, then to live in a refugee camp for a year to be eligible to apply for the World University Service of Canada (WUSC) student refugee program, and finally to Canada, where she wanted to make her family and the Sudanese people proud of her efforts.
In February, Duku graduated from U of G with a degree in applied human nutrition, and she’s now working in Vancouver ― starting a life she only dreamed about five years ago.
The Guelph chapter of WUSC has been sponsoring student refugees for more than 20 years; a similar program at the Alfred campus was started in 2000. In addition, U of G president Alastair Summerlee is currently serving as WUSC chair.
Filling the food bank
Guelph students set new national records by raising more than $84,500 in food and donations last fall for local charities through Meal Exchange, a student-run national organization.
About 1,200 students collected more than 30,000 pounds of food Halloween night, worth more than $60,000 for the Guelph Food Bank.
U of G students also donated $24,500 from their meal plans through “Skip a Meal.” It was the highest amount donated by any Canadian university or college. The students’ “Skip a Meal” donations were used to support 17 organizations throughout the city that help abused women, homeless teens and food banks.
What does civic engagement look like?
 Cheryl Rose In addition to her position as executive director of the Canadian Association for Community Service-Learning — which is based at U of G — Cheryl Rose is completing a master’s degree in capacity development and extension through the School of Environmental Design and Rural Development.
She began her thesis project, titled “Civic Visions,” by asking Guelph students to take photographs that illustrate how the University contributes to life beyond campus borders.
“Guelph students said they saw more images representing civic engagement than they expected and chose things they wouldn’t normally have thought of as representing that,” says Rose, like a police officer’s shoulder patch, the cannon, a bicycle, a newspaper box, native dancers and a sculpture made from garbage pulled from the Speed River. “Based on the pictures they’re taking, students seem to recognize that we’re on a continuum and we have a legacy from the past, and that makes us think about what legacy we’re leaving for the future.”
Guelph speaks, students listen
A group of Guelph graduate students in the School of English and Theatre Studies have combed the city in search of stories that affirm Guelph’s diversity and uniqueness. Inspired by course readings and classroom discussions, the students launched the project “Guelph Speaks! Re-storying the City” in an effort to create a collection of narratives published as a multimedia community anthology.
Promoting the environment
 Chris Charles Environmental biology student Chris Charles spent last summer in Botswana as a volunteer and environmental educator at Mokolodi Nature Reserve. He lived in a small rural village and completed a vegetation assessment to determine the carrying capacity of the nature reserve. Besides learning to cook Mopane worms, Pap, Kudu, impala and pumpkin, Charles also volunteered at a local orphanage for kids with mental and physical handicaps.
He says the summer met all his expectations, giving him the chance to apply academic knowledge and theory to a practical work environment, learning about the developing world, and being able to provide worthwhile help to those less fortunate.
Lecture showcases contemporary art
 John Kissick John Kissick, director of the School of Fine Art and Music, says the inaugural Shenkman Lecture in contemporary art was a coup for Canada by hosting British artist Michael Craig-Martin for his first Canadian lecture. The annual lecture series was endowed by Canadian art collector Dasha Shenkman, who has lived in the United Kingdom for 40 years.
Caring and collaboration are deeply rooted in U of G’s heritage, culture and community. Our citizen leaders are helping to improve the lives and livelihood of others.
U of G to host dialogue on global citizenship
The second annual President’s Dialogue will be held this summer. The dialogue is part of a series of ongoing events sponsored by U of G to engage the campus community and the public in stimulating discussions on emerging issues. This year, the discussion will concern Canada’s role as a global citizen.
Hospitality and tourism industry funds scholarship
In a display of caring and recognition for both past and future Guelph graduates, members of the hospitality and tourism industry have established an annual scholarship to honour U of G graduate William Allen, a former deputy minister of tourism and recreation. The gift was matched by the provincial government’s Ontario Trust for Student Support program to create a $60,000 endowment.
Painting by Louise Solomon Students lounge with aboriginal culture
The University marked Aboriginal Awareness Week in Octob er with a range of educational and cultural events, including the opening of a South Residence lounge newly transformed into a space that celebrates aboriginal culture and features student artists.
In praise of immigrant workers
When Labour Day arrived last fall, geography professor Harald Bauder suggested Canadians should use the day to reflect on the vital role immigrants play in the nation’s labour force. “Immigration is a structural necessity to our economy,” he says. “Immigration regulates Canada’s labour markets from the bottom up because immigrants tend to fill the lower ranks of the labour market and remain there.” In his 2006 book, Labour Movement: How Migration Regulates Labour Markets, Bauder notes that a mixture of legal, social and cultural mechanisms keep immigrants in their subordinated positions. “The reality is that immigration policy is really labour market policy. Throughout Canada’s history, immigration policy served economic objectives. And today, the nation depends on the disciplined labour that immigrants provide.”
Water panel taps Guelph expert
Prof. Al Lauzon of Guelph’s School of Environmental Design and Rural Development is heading a panel of experts to advise the provincial government on protecting sources of drinking water and meeting needs of rural communities. The appointment compliments Ontario’s Clean Water Act. The 11-member panel is charged with making recommendations on how to use new provincial funding, worth $7 million in its first year, to help farmers and rural businesses reduce threats to local drinking-water sources.
Employees offer a helping hand abroad
 Wayne Johnston There was no shortage of employees willing to volunteer their services when the University announced it would participate in Leave for Change, an international program where people spend their vacations working in the developing world. Michael Levy of the Office of Research will travel to Shawake, Botaswana, to work on a website design assignment. Wayne Johnston of the U of G Library and Sean Yo of Computing and Communications Services are headed for Nepal, where they’ll work with the Nepal Fair Trade Group. Frebis Hoffmeyer of the College of Management and Economics will also go to Nepal to help the Federation of Community Forest Users with a database to organize their records.
Guelph is the first university in English-speaking Canada to participate in Leave for Change, which is run through Uniterra, an international initiative created by the World University Service of Canada and Centre d’etude et de cooperation internationale.
Wearing the colours of caring
The U of G Student Support Network held a concert in February to support a city-wide goal of raising $1 million to build an AIDS clinic in Lesotho, Africa. In fact, the whole campus is supporting the clinic project, which was initiated by Guelph physician Anne-Marie Zajdlik.
Red and white beaded bracelets are all over campus, purchased from a South African women’s co-operative, with the proceeds going to the Lesotho clinic. So far, the University community has raised more than $50,000 for the project.
Cultivating farmers
 Sally Humphries Prof. Sally Humphries, Sociology and Anthropology, works with Honduran agronomists in a non-governmental organization called Fundación para la Investigación Participativa con Agricultores de Honduras (FIPAH), which is dedicated to supporting participatory agricultural research with Honduran hillside farmers.
With funding from the Canadian International Development Agency, she helped start a youth program in 2001 that involves students in experiential field projects such as growing organic vegetables and fruit trees, testing natural insecticides and composting methods, managing local garbage, and the reforestation of micro-watersheds.
It has trained more than 240 young people aged 12 to 19, preparing budding farmers, researchers and rural extensionists for productive agricultural careers,” says Humphries.
|
