Now is time to register for exciting new post-grad certificate program. Often we hear from RRU alumni that they really miss being a part of something greater than themselves once their degree is complete. We’ve responded by introducing a post-graduate certificate program which brings a rigorous blend of self-directed learning and structured curriculum enhanced by coaching (both peer and individual). The Foundations for Innovation and Transformation program involves a five-day on-campus residency with a cohort of diverse and passionate people committed to continuing to stretch themselves and deepen their capacity for innovation Could this be you? Try a ‘taste test’ in Ottawa on Nov. 11, Vancouver on Nov. 18 and Victoria on Nov. 19. Contact Continuing Studies at 250-391-2600, ext. 4801 for more information.

Professor Gilbert Wilkes from RRU’s School of Communication and Culture has succeeded former Alberta premier Ralph Klein as the holder of the Ralph Klein Chair in Media Studies at Mount Royal University in Calgary, Alberta. His half-time residency at Mount Royal begins in January and will run through April, enabling Wilkes to run a media laboratory at the university aimed at helping to better understand computer and human interaction.

First week of Employment Skills Access program is "intense and challenging". Thirteen people not eligible for EI successfully completed their first intensive week in the Employment Skills Access program, Oct. 5 - 9. Skillfully facilitated by Doug Kerr , learners met on campus daily from 9:00 am – 5:00 p.m. to focus on career transition and job search orientation. Curriculum included content areas such as learning style inventories; focusing on core accomplishments and transferrable skills and core job search tools. What did we hear from participants? “It has been an intense, challenging and often difficult week. Doug is a terrific instructor and has guided us very well. I am so glad to be here - already I feel different and can feel shifts happening for me. Thank you so much for this opportunity!” Continuing Studies is now actively seeking 13 new participants for the January intake session.

RRU will host Beyond the Hype: Turning Crisis into Opportunity on Friday, November 13. It’s a Canadian Public Relations Society conference and professional development opportunity with many renowned speakers, challenging case studies, in-depth workshops and networking opportunities. Learn more and register at www.beyondthehype.ca. 


RRU is making available an exciting new online tool that promises to make completing assignments on time easier, more effective and maybe even more fun! The Assignment Calculator brings together online resources from RRU and other universities to give students a step-by-step approach to completing projects. Input start and finish dates; then the assignment calculator breaks the process into 10 defined steps. Try it out at http://library.royalroads.ca/assignment-calculator Theresa Bell in the Writing Centre at rruwritingcentre@royalroads.ca can answer any questions you may have.

The new RRU wall calendar is full of fun facts. This peacock in the Italian garden, for example, is a descendant of Al, the “almost albino” famous white peacock who died in 2003 when he ran into a wall after being chased by an off-leash dog. Peacocks were first donated to Royal Roads Military College in the 1960s by a family from the Okanagan region of B.C. No one seems to know why but they remain a colourful attraction for visitors. The 2010 RRU wall calendar features this and other fun facts (along with important dates to remember). It's available now for $9.95 in the Hatley Gift store - a great birthday, Christmas or Thanksgiving present for friends and family. Also available by mail order. Call 1-866-241-0674 or email info@hatleypark.ca

Alumni, students, staff, faculty and associate faculty can donate, through the United Way, to a new bursary created in response to an increased need for emergency funding for RRU students due to unforeseen and exceptional circumstances. Developed by the Campus Legacy Campaign Committee, the Howard Dorrance Staff Legacy Bursary will be awarded annually to a maximum of $2,000. John Howard Dorrance (pictured) was a school principal, a great believer in the power of education and an avid participant in providing funding to students in need. He also had a strong connection to RRU as he was an officer cadet and spent his summers here for training. In her husband’s memory, RRU supporter Gloria Dorrance has committed to matching 100 per cent of all donations we make to the fund through Dec. 31, 2010 – to a maximum of $15,000. She believes, as did her husband, in the importance of providing funding to students in need. Contact either Gwen.Campden@royalroads.ca or Julie.Barlow@royalroads.ca for details!

Gift idea: Five-dollar donation for cookbook supports RRU’s United Way Campaign. Buy four, get one free! Following on the unqualified success of our dessert cookbook for the 2008 United Way Campaign (over 120 copies sold), AdMark is once again offering a collection of superb, appetite-approved recipes for your enjoyment. This year’s selection, tentatively entitled “Cooking is a Crockpot”, includes classics such as Hungarian Goulash, Seafood Chowder and Butter Chicken as well as a Swahili surprise, selected sides and desserts. Order your copy now by calling Valery Saunders at 250-291-2600, ext 4454. 

While we may not have cracked open a bottle of bubbly to toast its welcome, there was big excitement on campus in early October as a tower crane was assembled on the LIC building site. The giant mast with a 15,000 pound counterweight, was erected with the assistance of a smaller crane, on the inside corner of where the new Learning and Innovation Centre will eventually stand. The crane will be used to move building supplies into place for the duration of the building construction.

Special thanks go to the Gettin’ Higher Choir including directors Denis Donnelly and Shivon Robinsong, along with RRU’s Greg Sam, our friends at the UVic community-based research department (especially Budd Hall and Charlotte Charlie), Wendy Gedney, Alison Brophy, Angela Pollack and new Habitat staff Carmen, Lyn Thornton from VIDEA, RRU Production, Media Tech, Continuing Studies and everyone at the university who contributed to the Fun/d-Raiser for the Indigenous House of Culture and Spirituality at Mpambo Multiversity in Uganda, September 26. It was an outstanding event and hugely successful.

The Centre for Non-Timber Resources (CNTR) hosted the 4th annual Shop the Wild Festival on Oct. 3 and 4. Over 2,500 people made their way through the Mews Conference Centre shopping, tasting and learning all about British Columbia’s ‘goods from the woods’. The festival hosted 35 exhibitors who showcased a wide variety of wild products including wild mushrooms, wild berry jams and jellies, honey, wild-crafted natural body care products, eco-furniture, wild jewelry and native plants.

RRU employees Charlene Kerr, Kirsty Armstrong and Jeannie Drew (left to right) give blood because it makes them feel good. "When some of our RRU staff members were involved in serious accidents last year, I felt that my donation was a way I could support others who are in the same situation," says Kirsty. To make blood-giving that much easier, Canadian Blood Services offered another mini-blood donation clinic for RRU staff, students and members of the public on Oct. 29. These mini-clinics are new, thanks to Canadian Blood Services bringing four-bed mobile units to Victoria. It means RRU staff and learners – in addition to West Shore residents – can enjoy the convenience of making blood donations without going to the Saanich Road clinic. Remember, RRU is a member of the Partners for Life program. You can register online at www.blood.ca/partnersforlife. Just click Partners for Life; click Member and then click Sign Me Up To Donate With My Team. Fill out the form using Partner ID# ROYA002686, and then click submit. Friends and family members may also register as an RRU partner. "These clinics meet our goal to be a good community citizen by supporting the always-urgent need for blood donations," says Stephanie Slater, director of community relations, who worked with Canadian Blood Services to organize the clinics.

Many people at RRU are still missing Debra Barr who worked as the university’s cultural property manager until her passing last October 13, 2008. To remember this very special person and all she did for so many, friends and colleagues gathered to sip a fine cup of Hatley Castle tea on October 16. It was significant and poignant because Debra was the one who worked with staff at Murchie’s to find the original recipe for this tea which dates back to the Dunsmuir era. She was also instrumental in bringing it back to Royal Roads. To donate to the Debra Barr Memorial Fund, which has already covered the cost of of a memorial bench, please contact Caterina.Geuer at 250.391.2600 ext. #4443, or email caterina.geuer@royalroads.ca The long-term goal of the fund is to raise enough money for an archival room – named after Debra – that will become part of the Robert Bateman Centre. She was not only a passionate proponent of this project but one of those responsible in the early days for bringing the vision to the university’s attention.

RRU graduate and associate faculty member Michele Vincenti has been awarded a scholarship for his research into the link between mirror neurons and the development of leaders. Currently completing his PhD at Fielding Graduate University, he presented a paper entitled Innovative leadership in higher education: Neuroscience connectivities which helped him earn the prestigious award. “II want to use the connectionist view instead of a simple neural network concept. The neural network idea is that the brain uses its nodes to activate specific section of the brain,” he says. 

Dr. Ann Dale, Canada Research Chair in Sustainable Community Development participated in a Nuclear Waste Management Multi-Party Dialogue in Ottawa in September. It was one of a series of such dialogues designed to seek input on the long-term management of Canada's used nuclear fuel. Dr. Dale led an e-Dialogue on the organization’s draft implementation plan. For her next e-Dialogue, visit Community Research Connections. 

The Faculty of Management is pleased to introduce a new core faculty member, Dr. Geoff Archer, to the RRU community. Geoff comes to Royal Roads from Corvallis, Oregon where he taught at the Oregon State University College of Business. He recently received his PhD in Management from the Darden Graduate School of Business Administration. Geoff’s research interests lie in the areas of entrepreneurship and sustainability. Geoff, his wife Brigitte and their children Annika and Finn (along with their two dogs) are in the process of settling into their new life in Victoria.

Assist RRU in recognizing community leaders by nominating a candidate for the Chancellor’s Community Recognition Award. This award is typically presented during a university convocation ceremony to a resident or an organization in Greater Victoria that has provided distinguished service to the community in a way that reflects the university’s motto living our learning. Most recently, Ted Hughes and Helen Hughes accepted the distinction at fall convocation. Nominations are accepted on an ongoing basis and nominators are invited to attend the award celebration if their candidate is selected. Visit www.royalroads.ca/CCRA.  

RRU also warmly welcomes Dr. Ken Christie to our community as a professor and head of the Human Security and Peacebuilding program. He has worked previously at universities in Dubai, Norway, South Africa, Singapore, the U.S.A. and the U.K. and he has published extensively in the field of human rights, Southeast Asia and transitional justice. Already, Dr. Christie has become a media spokesperson for us - discussing the human security impact of recent natural disasters in the South Pacific, the Philippines, Indonesia and India, with Murray Langdon on Victoria's CFAX radio station in October.
 
Habitat Café chef Justin Shippit has been awarded the title of top pizza chef on the West Shore as part of the Go Local Colwood Tomato Challenge. Best pies are picked by the community who use as a criteria the use local ingredients. Justin re-gained the throne from contender Brad Arnold of Crossroads Bar and Grill and Habitat Café general manager Angela Pollock has been proudly displaying Justin's crown on campus.

Karen Stevenson, MAEEC grad, has been awarded a Scholarship of Teaching and Learning grant from NAIT. An instructor in Computer Systems Technology at NAIT, Karen receives – as a result of the grant -- four months of release time to study the extent to which education for sustainability is present in NAIT’s curriculum and how instructors understand sustainability education. “Education for sustainability attempts to provide a foundation of knowledge that better prepares students to create solutions to economic, technological and/or cultural concerns while recognizing that our earth’s resources on which we depend are fragile and, in some cases, in crisis,” she says.

Dr. Phillip Vannini, associate professor in the School of Communication and Culture, will deliver a blend of recorded and live story-telling along with vivid images on the Quarterdeck, Nov. 25 from 10:15 - 12:15. The first hour will focus on the theme of "alternative media and genres for sharing academic knowledge." The second hour will feature a show! Ferry Tales: A Docudrama is a thematic slideshows of photos together with recorded voices and colorful storytelling.

InRoads is RRU's alumni magazine, published ten times a year and distributed to alumni, staff, faculty and associate faculty. To subscribe, visit our cover page. Stories and story ideas are always welcome so please send them along to Lynda Chambers, editor at inroads@royalroads.ca.