In 2018, Mount Royal University had an eventful year.
Lesley Brown, Provost and Vice-President, Academic, who joined the MRU community on July 1, 2017 had her first full year at the university in 2018. Brown has been accredited with accomplishing many things in her short time here so far and was recently recognized by the Calgary Herald as a 'Compelling Calgarian'.
News editor of The Reflector, Nathan Woolridge, decided to sit down with Brown to reflect on the work that has been done at MRU last year and how the university is moving forward in the new year.
The Reflector: Could you talk about some of the greatest achievements of last year that really stood out to you? Specifically, the stuff that you've worked on at the school?
Lesley Brown: Well last year was my first full year at the institution. I started in July 2017, so last year, a full year of 2018. If I look back, I think the best part of last year and then probably the best part of every year going forward will be getting to tell the story that's Mount Royal University. Getting to share that and getting to be an ambassador for Mount Royal. And I do that every day. When I meet with students. I do that when I meet with government … I would say that one of the biggest highlights I think was our our commitment and our confirmation or celebration of equality.
We raised the pride flag in June. That was the first time that the institution raised the pride flag. And that was in celebration of Pride Month in June.
Then we also had the permanent sidewalk installation in August. That was a lot of fun. That was a real high energy moment. I think it was pivotal for the university because it was a symbol of permanence. It is the only permanent pride sidewalk in the city. Then, the students came back and they were able to be welcomed by that.
I think one of the great memories I have that one day I was walking over to get a coffee at Barrow, as I do a lot. There was a couple of young men who were standing on that sidewalk just having a kiss. And it was like, 'wow' … it was a great, a really proud moment for me to think, 'I get to work here and I get to be the provost here' so that was awesome.
TR: And Mount Royal is beginning to become recognized by these and other things, right?
LB: Yes. And there were some other great things that we did. If I look back on the year and this will be a something we're doing also this year … last year we welcomed 16 new, full-time tenure track faculty members. These faculty members came in as complements to our existing and cohort of excellence in our faculty.
Then, as we look forward to the upcoming year, we'll be doing the same. We'll be hiring 22 new full-time hires, 21 new assistant professors and one full-time lab instructor. I'm hopeful that we'll be able to also welcome some new contract people into permanent positions.
TR: Near the end of 2018, you spoke at an Academic Town Hall. Besides the faculty hires, what else was discussed?
LB: I spoke about a couple of things. One in particular talked about was academic programs. One of the great parts of the story of Mount Royal is that we are a university that used to be a college. As we transition to a university we have an opportunity to create academic degrees. Our journey of becoming and confirming ourselves as a university, where students come for four years to obtain a degree is that we have the opportunity to introduce new degrees. So, I talked about the journey of creating a new academic degree and how that process is initiated and introduced. Hopefully it reflects the ideas and contributions of faculty members here at Mount Royal.
TR: Is there anything you would like to add about moving forward in 2019?
LB: One of the things that I often say is that I have the best job. I have the best job because I get an opportunity to interact with students. I get to interact with students who are going to be graduating from this institution and helping to bring impact to make the world a better place. I also have a great job because I work with a fantastic and a wicked leadership team who are helping to transform our undergraduate education. But, mostly I have a fantastic job because I work with an exceptional cohort of faculty who are delivering high quality academic programs that are the flagship of this institution and the high quality teaching and innovative teaching practices that we deliver.
During the interview Brown also discussed "growing Mount Royal's contributions to research." She says it is important to create "new knowledge and new understanding to benefit society." Brown also discussed that the university will be moving forward with a new president, as David Docherty will be leaving on May 1, 2019 to start his new appointment as president of Brandon University.
Editor's Note: A previous version of this story misquoted Brown saying that 60 new full-time tenure track faculty members started at Mount Royal University last year. The correct number is 16. We regret the error.


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US-Colombia
Colombia: Two more trade unionists assassinated
ITUC | Thursday, 26 June 2008
Brussels, 24 June 2008 (ITUC online): Less than one week after the latest ITUC protest to President Uribe about the violence and repression against trade unions in Colombia, two more trade unionists have been murdered. The ITUC, together with its Colombian affiliates, CUT CGT and CTC, categorically denounce those latest atrocities. Twenty-eight trade unionists have been murdered in Colombia since the start of the year.
Favier Darío Pelaez Castaño, a member of the guard dog handlers' group at a prison belonging to the Instituto Nacional Penitenciario y Carcelario (INPEC), was assassinated on 13 June in front of his wife and his youngest daughter, in Caicedonia, Valle department. On 19 June, Walter Anibal Recalde Ordoñez, also an INPEC officer, was murdered on his way home, one kilometre from the prison where he worked. Both were members of the prison employees' union Asociación sindical de empleados del Instituto Nacional Penitenciario y Carcelario (ASEINPEC - CGT).
According to reports received, INPEC employees have been subjected to an ongoing terror campaign including attacks on their lives. Back on 12 March, José Gregorio Astros Amaya, a prison officer at Cartago prison in Valle department and one of the leaders of the ASEINPEC union, was assassinated.
In a letter to the President of Colombia, Mr. Álvaro Uribe, the ITUC asked the Colombian authorities to carry out an immediate and thorough investigation to identify the perpetrators of these two murders. "These crimes are a further example of repression against the Colombian trade union movement," stated ITUC General Secretary Guy Ryder. "The full weight of the law must be brought to bear against the criminals and the rights of freedom of association and free collective bargaining must be respected and applied."
The ITUC represents 168 million workers in 155 countries and territories and has 311 national affiliates.
Website: http://www.ituc-csi.org
source: Scoop
Colombia labour | workers' rights

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


I just got a really good tip on what to do if you think you have an infestation in your home, but aren't sure if the perpetrators are bed bugs because you haven't actually seen them.
Set glue traps on the floor, the really sticky kind used for rats. Make sure you place them in a part of the floor where you won't be likely to step in it, like under your bed or under furniture. By morning you should have some insect trapped on it. If you can't identify the trapped bug from the many, many, MANY photos of bed bugs floating around the Web, or if you want a second opinion from a professional, stuff the insect(s) along with the trap (don't try to touch the trap) into a large Ziploc bag and call 311 to find a Department of Health laboratory who can analyze the specimen and confirm whether the insect is a bed bug or not. I understand this is a free service, I'm not completely sure of that.
Someone told me about a new species of bed bug that has wings and buzzes about like a fly. It can only fly short distances, but its power of flight allows it to fly onto humans rather than simply crawling.
This person said he heard about it from someone else, so I'm taking this piece of news with a grain of salt.
Evolution usually occurs within a species as a survival mechanism. I'm thinking (if this is true!)the bed bugs evolved and grew wings in order to have easier access to their prey and to avoid any residual pesticides which may be on the floor or furniture.
Can anyone verify the existence of this mutant species? I really hope this is just some rumor.
Update: I don't feel comfortable sleeping in my room tonight. I've seen about a dozen bed bugs in one hour, plus I can smell their musky scent, something I haven't smelled in a long, long time.
Survey #1: How Do YOU Sleep?
FYI, blood and gut stains have reappeared on my sheets and pillows. And I have been itching a bit. But I digress.
In talking to people who also heave dealt with bed bugs, different people seem to have employed different methods of having a full-night's sleep despite the itching, the paranoia and the biting stings that come with living with bed bugs. Some people drink to lull themselves to relax and sleep, others take sleepiing pills, some do sit-ups in bed with the lights out until theyre too tired to move. A few people have begun smoking pot to put themselves to sleep, even people who quit smoking it years ago.
So here's my survey question: what do you do to relax yourself (or tire yourself out) in order to fall asleep desite the bed bugs which will most likely bite you during the night?
You can find my response in the Comments window. I look forward to reading the answers people leave.


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AmWINS Group, Inc. ("AmWINS"), a global distributor of specialty insurance products and services, announced today the acquisition of Group Benefit Services, Inc. and GBS Payroll Plus, Inc. (collectively, Group Benefit Services, or "GBS"), one of the largest and most respected third party administrators of employee benefits in the Mid-Atlantic region.
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