September 15, Meeting Notes.JPG)
Chair:Ingrid Neitsch; Music: Jerome Martin; Grace: Danny Chau;
attendance 32 including guests: Leslie Cleary, Peter Smith, Randy Boissonault and speaker Ralph Young.
Club Business/Announcements:
Induction of new members: President Ingrid was more than proud to have as her first inductees Victor Rudkowski and Kirsten Poon.
Brad Arsenault nominated:
Victor Rudkowski who grew in northeast Alberta and graduated from the University of Alberta in 1962 as a civil engineer and in 1963 received his professional teaching certificate. He went on to Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario to complete his first year of their MBA program. Vic is a past member of the Sherwood Park Kinsmen club. He has been a councilor for Junior Achievement and a long time supporter of the Cystic Fybrosis foundation and is a past president of the Northern Alberta and NWT chapter. Vic is a proud support and committee member of the University hospital brain centre campaign as well a member of the society at Toronto General & Western Hospital which promotes research into transplants and associated problems. Victor is a past member of the contractors negotiation trade committees and is still an active member of the Alberta Professional Engineering Association. He is semi-retired and definitely looking forward to being an active member of our Rotary club. Welcome Victor!
Ann Orsini and Jennifer Lawley nominated: Kirsten Poon
Vic and Kirsten were welcomed to the club by all the members with a handshake and good wishes.
Habitat for Humanity Project: Our build date is Saturday, November 1. We have promised that we will have at least 20 volunteers available on that days for the build. All equipment is supplied by Habitat for Humanity. Ingrid has sign up sheets available. Please sign up if you are able.
Spencer Mueller reminded everyone of two upcoming club social events, the club Potluck supper at the Gowers' residence on September 20 and the Wine tasting and food pairings night at Wine and Beyond on October 25 - please check the event calendar for more details.
Casino: Bill Buckham notified the club that our Casino will be held on Jan 7-8, 2015. If you are available to work on those two days or any part of those days, Please contact Bill ASAP.
Club Board Meeting: Will be held this Wednesday, Sept 17 beginning at 5:00 pm.
Lest We Forget Concert: will be held on Saturday, November 8 at the Winspear Centre for tickets, please contact Jim Spalding.
Finemaster: Joe Lisotte fined all on their lack of knowledge of the bailey bridge in Griesbach..
50/50: Burt and Wayne did not match cards; so the pot of cash was carried over.
Presentation/Speaker: Jerome introduced Ralph Young who was elected the 20th Chancellor of the University of Alberta in 2012. He was also the former CEO of Melcor Developments in Edmonton. He has been involved with many arts and cultural organizations in Edmonton, including the Winspear Centre, the Citadel Theatre, the Edmonton Eskimos and the Minerva foundation. he is also a Rotarian who has hosted 9 separate students from different countires
Ralph's topic was titled "Why University is Important to All of Us" and he recognized many people from our club, city and even our new Premier as graduates of the University of Alberta.
Edmonton, Rotary and the University have a lot in common. The city of Edmonton was created in 1904, The University of Alberta in 1908, and the Rotary club of Edmonton in 1916. So they all have deep roots and have been instrumental in the success of our great community. Henry Marshall Tory who was the first President of the University was a Rotarian.He provided many other examples of the great links between the University and Rotary.
Ralph showed some interesting photos of the humble beginnings of the University when it was built in Strathcona. He then explained what the vision and goals of today's University are. The vision is to "inspire the human spirit through outstanding achievements in learning, discovery and citizenship in a creative community , building one of the world's great universities in the public good" and one of the University's goals is to "Distinguish the University as one of the best places in the world to acquire the intellectual skills and mindset to succeed in an increasingly internationalized job market and to act as responsible citizens of the global community". This is now true, with the Uof A being ranked in the top 100 research intensive universities in the world, but the goal will truly never be reached as there will always need improvement.
Ralph explained the University of Alberta's governance, explaining the Senate, the Board of Governors, and the General Faculties council.
Ralph explained how important it is to be connected to the city of Edmonton, both Physically and spiritually.
There are almost 40,000 graduate and under graduate students attending the U of A with about 18% of that being international students. The University has five separate campuses. It has 18 different faculties with Education and Arts being the largest. The U of A has a budget of about 1.8 billion dollars with almost a billion dollars in endowments.
He then explained that the U of A alumni are responsible for creating over 70,000 organization in Alberta. Approximately 1 in 5 people in Alberta work for a company that was created by a U of A alumni. These companies create almost 350 billion dollars annually. So this is an enormous impact on the province.
He listed many illustrious alumni of the University and many of the honorary degree holders as well.
Ralph was thanked by Joe Lisotte (a U of A graduate).
The meeting was adjourned.