Dr. Leslie Main Johnson recently launched a new anthropology course, Anthropology 335 ? Ecological Anthropology, and was kind enough to answer some questions about it for The Voice Magazine. For starters, what is your role with Athabasca University, and the course? I’m a professor of sociocultural anthropology and teach undergraduate and graduate courses. I’ve been… Read more »
Dr. Jay Smith is a long-term AU faculty member, and the course author of Political Science 480 (also available at the graduate level as POLI 580). He recently took time to answer some questions about the course for The Voice Magazine. First of all, what is your role with Athabasca University, and the course? I… Read more »
AU’s Women’s and Gender Studies 425 ? Feminist Family Therapy, was co-authored by Dr. Deborah Foster and Dr. Karen Nielsen, and the two continue to tutor the course to this day. The introduction of feminism to counselling and family therapy was pioneered in Canada by Judy Myers Avis, and in the 1980’s, both Foster and… Read more »
I remember when the hiring freeze first started. The funding model wasn’t sufficient for AU to support all of its students. Positions started to be left vacant. And then came the massive provincial budget cuts. Layoffs, buyouts, and the elimination of vacant positions. Less staff at the university to assist students. Remaining staff beginning to… Read more »
Post-secondary education is a responsibility that the federal government has delegated to the provinces. Colleges and universities are created and regulated through provincial legislation and ministries. And yet, the federal government still has a role to play, particularly with regard to the nationwide Canada Student Loans program. The four major national political parties in Canada… Read more »
Are you interested in human rights? Want to learn about systemic issues related to gender equality? WGST 422 (Violence Against Women: A Global Perspective) might just be the course for you. According to the syllabus, the course “examines the subject of violence against women from a human rights perspective” and “looks at the impact that… Read more »
Dr. Peter MacKinnon is the interim president of Athabasca University. With a new NDP government and the recent report about AU’s financial vulnerability, you can imagine he’s a fairly busy guy. Fortunately for The Voice Magazine, Bethany Tynes managed to get a few minutes with him to conduct this interview. Dr. MacKinnon, you have an… Read more »
Have you read articles in The Voice lately that made you wonder what the blazes is going on at AUSU these days? I have. When I went up to AU’s Convocation ceremonies this year, I had the chance to meet AUSU President, Shawna Wasylyshyn, in person, and was so fascinated by what she had to… Read more »
I remember when the hiring freeze first started. The funding model wasn’t sufficient for AU to support all of its students. Positions started to be left vacant. And then came the massive provincial budget cuts. Layoffs, buyouts, and the elimination of vacant positions. Less staff at the university to assist students. Remaining staff beginning to… Read more »
It takes about an hour and a half to make the drive from Edmonton (the nearest major city and airport) up to Athabasca. The scenery isn’t much to look at?mostly two-lane highway with grassy shoulders reaching out to mixed wood forests. But as you pass through the town of Athabasca, you begin to see AU… Read more »