Edmonton- University of Alberta

[240glt]

Well now that we have our own forum I guess we can start all sorts of crazy threads!

U of A is Albertas' premier higher learning centre and is undergoing some unprecedent development & investment right now, Even at a time when other facilities in the province are scaling back. Post articles and discuss:

U of A gets $100M chunk of stimulus funds

EDMONTON — The federal and provincial governments are investing more than $100 million in the University of Alberta this year to help the school install new classrooms, laboratory spaces and air-quality upgrades.

The money is part of $2-billion economic stimulus program Ottawa announced earlier this year to jump-start construction and maintenance projects at Canada’s colleges and universities.

In the first round of the program, the federal and provincial governments are together investing $348 million for 28 projects at Alberta campuses.

The $100 million earmarked for the U of A will go toward upgrades at the chemistry and biological sciences buildings, and to equip the Health Research Innovation Facility along 87th Avenue.

Parts of the innovation facility have sat empty since the building was constructed, so the money will go to “fit-up” 10,000 square metres with labs and teaching space, U of A president Indira Samarasekera said Monday during a ceremony to announce the funding.

“This means 200 faculty and hundreds of students will have the space they need to conduct research and learning,” she said.

The new labs will help medical research primarily in the areas of diabetes, women’s and children’s health, organ transplantation and infectious diseases, she said.

Gary Goodyear, the federal minister of state for science and technology, said the infrastructure program is both a long-term investment in academia as well as a short-term economic stimulus for the construction industry.

The money being spent in Alberta is expected to create around 2,500 jobs, said Doug Horner, Alberta's minister of advanced education and technology.

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/...258/story.html

[naidoo]

Good thread, thanks.

One of the comments on that article is ridiculous...trillion $ institution!?

I am very interested to find out what's going to happen at Chem and Bio Sci - both buildings are in need of renovation. Moreover, again Fac of Arts didn't seem to get much capital investment...

[Coldrsx]

^fac of arts? what is that? keep in mind i am a BA but honestly the funding towards the fac of arts buildings is shameful.

[MrOilers]

Just to state the obvious... Arts gets underfunded pretty much because Research & Development (in all scientific, medical, and engineering fields) generates more interest from private industry and funders. This wealth generates more wealth.

The returns on investment just aren't as apparent with the arts.

[Coldrsx]

Originally Posted by MrOilers

Just to state the obvious... Arts gets underfunded pretty much because Research & Development (in all scientific, medical, and engineering fields) generates more interest from private industry and funders. This wealth generates more wealth.

The returns on investment just aren't as apparent with the arts.

IMO the ROI is worse without more arts funding...


Coldrsx, BA 01'

[CMD UW]

Originally Posted by MrOilers

Just to state the obvious... Arts gets underfunded pretty much because Research & Development (in all scientific, medical, and engineering fields) generates more interest from private industry and funders. This wealth generates more wealth.

The returns on investment just aren't as apparent with the arts.

That's the reality of it.

The big money from both private donations and research grants from the Feds / Province goes to the Engineering, Law, Business and Medicine faculties. This is the universities primary focus. The emerging / colleges-evolving-into universities such as MacEwan, NAIT are being positioned to cover the rest.

[Coldrsx]

"The big money from both private donations and research grants from the Feds / Province goes to the Engineering, Law, Business and Medicine faculties. This is the universities primary focus. The emerging / colleges-evolving-into universities such as MacEwan, NAIT are being positioned to cover the rest"

Which is understandable from certain angles and absolutely abhorrent from others. While there are other colleges etc. filling the 'gap', the University of Alberta and all universities are there for enlightenment and learning which simply cannot be accomplished without a strong focus on arts, literature, and other liberal arts.



"The University of Alberta’s vision since its inception 100 years ago has been to be one of the world’s great universities for the public good, an institution for the “uplifting of the whole people” in the words of our first president, Henry Marshall Tory. Today that vision endures and is built upon a foundation of institutional values, vision, mission, and cornerstones. In Dare to Discover President Indira Samarasekera outlines our blueprint for greatness as we enter our second century. "

IMO this cannot be achieved without strong support of the arts in all forms.

[lubicon]

Good idea for a thread.

Proud alumnus here (BSC. 1989). I probably wouldn't recognize the place anymore with all the changes that have occurred.

Question for all you grads out there. Not just U of A but any university, college etc. Do you donate to your alma mater - on a regular basis, once in awhile, at all?? I have made a habit of donating to my graduating department every year. Even if it is not a huge amount it would add up in a hurry if all us grads did the same.

[Coldrsx]

"Question for all you grads out there. Not just U of A but any university, college etc. Do you donate to your alma mater - on a regular basis, once in awhile, at all?? I have made a habit of donating to my graduating department every year. Even if it is not a huge amount it would add up in a hurry if all us grads did the same."

I typically make an annual donation

[deedub35]

Originally Posted by lubicon

Do you donate to your alma mater - on a regular basis, once in awhile, at all??

BEd UofA 1998
I'm going to get ripped for this which is fine. I am proud to be a graduate of the U of A. I have never donated and never will. I paid a lot for my education. I worked hard for my marks. And earned my degree. My alma mater didn't bend over backwards for me. I feel I don't owe them anything.

[MrOilers]

Originally Posted by deedub35

BEd UofA 1998
I'm going to get ripped for this which is fine. I am proud to be a graduate of the U of A. I have never donated and never will. I paid a lot for my education. I worked hard for my marks. And earned my degree. My alma mater didn't bend over backwards for me. I feel I don't owe them anything.

Me too.

BSc 2000
BEd 2002

When I earn my MPH next year, I won't donate to them, either. I'm paying almost $800 per class right now.

[240glt]

^ I too paid my way through school, I worked hard and ate a lot of Mr Noodles to get where I am today. I see no need to contribute to my former post secondary schools.

Having said that, I received a bursary for 500 bucks at the end of my schooling at Selkirk College, Which was sure nice because otherwise I was looking at syphoning gas to get myself down to Vancouver for my first job. I was very grateful to the individual that set up that particular award and it sure made the transition from dead broke to working broke that much easier.

[Coldrsx]

way to be grateful gentlemen... tis better to give than to receive.

[SpikeyT]

Chemistry is in serious need of the renovations and I am glad to see money finally going towards that, this is coming from a graduate and employee of that department.

[deedub35]

Originally Posted by Coldrsx

way to be grateful gentlemen... tis better to give than to receive.

Grateful for them providing me an education? Grateful for them providing me a degree? I put in the time, sweat, and money!

[Xelebes]

The idea of paying back to the university is to:

A) to provide funds to help the university to become more prestigious, which then looks better on your resume when applying for a new job as you can proudly say that you went to that school and got what you learned from there - and the employer will acknowledge it for that paying you a premium. The Harvard-Yale Complex.

B) with larger donations in the millions, to make sure your name is somewhere at that prestigious university.

[Coldrsx]

Originally Posted by Xelebes

The idea of paying back to the university is to:

A) to provide funds to help the university to become more prestigious, which then looks better on your resume when applying for a new job as you can proudly say that you went to that school and got what you learned from there - and the employer will acknowledge it for that paying you a premium. The Harvard-Yale Complex.

B) with larger donations in the millions, to make sure your name is somewhere at that prestigious university.

bingo.....

[Coldrsx]

Originally Posted by deedub35

Grateful for them providing me an education? Grateful for them providing me a degree? I put in the time, sweat, and money!

sure... we all did, hell i worked 3 jobs 2 of the summers, and call me traditional but IMO alumni are an important component to making the University stronger and more recognized.

[deedub35]

Originally Posted by Xelebes

The idea of paying back to the university is to:

A) to provide funds to help the university to become more prestigious, which then looks better on your resume when applying for a new job as you can proudly say that you went to that school and got what you learned from there - and the employer will acknowledge it for that paying you a premium. The Harvard-Yale Complex.

B) with larger donations in the millions, to make sure your name is somewhere at that prestigious university.

In my opinion,

-the U of A doesn't need any help in become more prestigious. It consistently ranks in the top 5 in Canada for all areas (Macleans). It is world renown for medical and nanotech research. Just look around the place with all the activity going on there (NINT, ECN, Mazankowski, HRIF, etc.) The U of A is on track to become one of the best in the world.

-I am proud to be a graduate of the U of A. My classroom has a U of A banner front and center. I have U of A clothing that I wear all the time and a cap that I'll wear on out on the golf course. A person doesn't need to donate in order to show pride.

-in my profession a premium wasn't paid because I graduated from the U of A.

-unless I win a lottery ...

Bottom line, in my opinion, if I have to donate to be grateful and show that I am proud, then I must be ungrateful and ashamed. Word.

[SHOFEAR]

I look forward to the day where i can afford to donate to the U of A (it will be directed towards civil). Part of the reason I've gotten a piece of paper that carries a hell of a lot more value than other universities across the country is because of the generosity of alumni over the past 100 years. I would find it incredibly rewarding to know that I'm allowing (in a very small way) the next century of graduates to have that same advantage.

PS. this is coming from somebody who's cumulative donations over the past 25 years accounts for a case of girl guide cookies.