Fall 2011 Record Online

The Fall 2011 issue of the Record is not online! Alums featured in this issue:

• Deborah Colvin ('77)
• Richard Smit ('97)
• Amy Rowat ('98, '99)
• Kevin MacDonald ('75)
• and a tribute to Wallace McCain ('52)

Happy reading: http://alumni.mta.ca/therecord/

Chicken Grenades wins big!

In January of this year, John Grass ('84) was watching the Food Network, like he usually does, when he saw a commercial for a show called Recipe to Riches. They were calling for viewers who thought they had a $250,000 recipe, and Grass immediately thought of the chicken dish he invented, which he now calls chicken grenades.

John played football at Mount Allison - on the team that went to the Vanier Cup in 1984. He and his wife, Lynn, a nurse, run a home for the elderly. His daughter, Sarah, is in her fourth year at the University of New Brunswick studying nursing and his son Ben ('15) is in his first year at Mount A studying science.

He is by no means a professional chef. He is just a regular guy who loves to cook, has a knack for it and likes to try new things in the kitchen. On a whim he filled out the online application and forgot about it.

He forgot about the contest for all of an hour when the phone rang. It was representatives from the Food Network asking him to bring his recipe to the audition in Halifax in February. The judges liked what they saw and tasted, and handed Grass a golden ticket and a contract of secrecy, he said. There were seven categories which three contestants were selected for: puddings and pies, cakes, savoury pies, sweet and savoury snacks, frozen treats, entrées and Grass' category, appetizers.

All the contestants were flown to Toronto to tape the show, and winners in each category were selected. That just so happened to include John and his chicken grenades, which won him $25,000 and the chance for his item to be sold in stores, through President's Choice.

Again, he was sworn to secrecy. He didn't even tell his wife he'd won, he said. The show was taped in March, and aired Wednesday on the Food Network. So he kept it a secret for over eight months.

After all seven category winners are selected, Canadians can vote online at www.recipetoriches.ca for the best recipe among them all. The grand prize winner will take home $250,000. Voting will begin on Dec. 7 and end on Dec. 9.

His chicken grenades are made with bacon, wrapped around a piece of seasoned chicken breast filled with shredded pizza mozzarella and Monterrey jack cheeses and jalapeño peppers, glazed with apple pepper jelly and dusted with barbecue dry rub spice. They are available at Atlantic SuperStore, Atlantic SuperValue, and SaveEasy.

Read full story: N.B. man's grenade recipe earned riches (Telegraph-Journal)

Cartoonist featured at the A.V. Club

A casual webcomics hobbyist who earned such a devoted following that she wound up moving from her native Canada to New York to go into cartooning full time, Kate Beaton ('05) covers a broad range of topics in her strips, from Canadian historical figures and stereotypes to the adventures of a fat, oblivious Shetland pony that’s somehow gained a reputation as a warrior and an assassin.

She started showing the Internet her work in 2007, following no particular schedule, just posting sketches and cartoons on her website as the mood took her. But the unpredictability of her topics and her quirky, casual method of addressing them quickly earned her a hugely positive reputation, and her surprise success led her to find a name for her strip, create an online store to promote it, and produce print anthologies, starting with 2010’s Never Learn Anything From History.

Drawn And Quarterly recently released a follow-up titled after the strip: Hark! A Vagrant. To mark the book’s release, The A.V. Club called her at her Brooklyn studio to discuss why she doesn’t address contemporary politics, why writing is about rewriting, and why she regrets offhandedly becoming a poster child for feminist cartooning.

Read the A.V. Club interview

Original recipes from the kitchen and lab of Amy Rowat

See Amy Rowat’s (’98, ’99) feature story about her cutting-edge research, and culinary efforts, at UCLA in the Fall 2011 Record (available in November).


Homemade Ricotta Cheese

Ingredients:
• 8 cups whole milk
• 2 cups reduced-fat (2%) buttermilk
• Salt (to taste)

Place cheesecloth in a colander, leaving excess over the sides; place this in a large bowl. Place milk and buttermilk in a large, heavy bottomed pot. Attach thermometer (deep-fry or candy) to side of pot. Place pot over medium-high heat. Heat the mixture, resisting the temptation to stir. Be sure not to boil but instead gently heat. Around 175F you will see curds begin to form, these will separate from the whey. Continue to heat without stirring until 190F; turn off heat and let the mixture sit for 5-10 min. With a large, slotted spoon, gently transfer the curds to the cheesecloth-lined colander. Let cool, then place in fridge. Can be served anywhere from 15-30 min to the next day or two after. If serving immediately, press the cheese gently in the cloth to remove excess liquid. Add salt to taste.

* Can be used in Amy’s recipe for pizza with ricotta, prosciutto, grilled peaches, and rucola as seen in the Fall 2011 Record


Slow Roasted Urfa-Chili Pork

Pork butt is meat from the pig’s shoulder, which is where multiple muscles are attached to each other. There is also plenty of intermingling fat and connective tissue, which connects muscle to bone. Slow roasting the pork butt at a low temperature for a long period of time helps to melt the proteins of the connective tissue, and results in tender and juicy meat. This delectable dish can be enjoyed with the accompanying garlicky green sauce, grilled peaches, crispy-fried kale, and roasted baby potatoes. Roasted sweet potato wedges are great too. I also love this recipe since it is super easy to make, and economical too! You can begin to roast the meat in the evening and continue the slow roasting throughout the night, so the dish prepares itself while you sleep. The pork is very popular among dinner party guests, and leftovers make excellent sandwiches.

Ingredients
• 3-lb pork butt
• 2 tbsp urfa chili
• 2 tbsp salt
• Freshly ground pepper to taste
• ½ cup olive oil

Before roasting, remove the meat from the fridge and let sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. In a small bowl, whisk together oil, pepper, salt, and chili; rub all over meat to season. Place on wire rack in a roasting pan. Roast at 400F for 20 min. Reduce heat to 180F, and continue roasting overnight or for 8-9 hrs. After a couple of hours (if you start cooking in the evening, then before going to bed) turn meat so the fatty juices distribute more evenly throughout the meat. Before serving, remove the meat from the oven, cover it with a tent of tin foil, and let it rest for 20-30 min.


Garlicky-Green Sauce

Serve this tasty sauce with roasted pork, or any other meat, vegetable, starch.

Ingredients:
• One head of garlic cloves, peeled
• One generous handful of green herbs, I prefer cilantro with a bit of basil (parsley and sage also work well)
• A tiny splash of vinegar (a mild rice vinegar is nice, you can also substitute white vinegar or lemon juice)
• 3/4 cup olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Blend together the garlic and oil in an automatic blender or food processor until smooth. Add the green herbs and vinegar and pulse until combined. Salt and pepper to taste.


The Perfect Panna Cotta

Panna cotta is an elegant yet simple dessert. It is also an excellent example of how networks of proteins are important for texture in the food we eat. This recipe uses gelatin, a molecule derived from collagen, which is a major structural component of biological materials, such as skin, bones, and connective tissue. Gelatin gives structure to many popular desserts, including this Panna cotta. To perfect the texture so it is not too stiff but still holds its shape, I tested different ratios of gelatin per liquid volume; this ratio came out best.
Serves 6.

Ingredients:
• 2 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup milk
• 2.5 tsp gelatin
• 1 vanilla bean
• 1/3 cup sugar
• Fresh fruit and/or zabaglione (recipe below) to serve

Place 2 tbsp water in a small bowl; sprinkle gelatin on top and let sit for ~ 5 min until gelatin is hydrated. Heat milk, sugar and seeds of vanilla bean in a small pot over medium high heat until steamy; then remove from heat. When the gelatin is fully hydrated, scoop the gelatinous mass into the pot and stir until dissolved. Let cool and then strain into a larger bowl; mix in heavy cream. Lightly grease 6 small ramekins or cups with vegetable oil. Pour the creamy mix into cups into until evenly distributed. Cover each with saran wrap or foil and place in fridge until set, at least 4-5 hrs or overnight. To serve, gently let loose from cup by tracing a knife around the edge of the panna cotta. Invert and place gently on small plates. Top with fruit, zabaglione, etc


Benedictine Zabaglione

This velvety sauce is lovely served aside the Perfect Panna Cotta, a simple cake, or just on a bowl of fresh fruit.

Ingredients
• 2 egg yolks
• 1/3 cup sugar
• ½ cup Benedictine (or other liqueur, such as Limoncello)

Place yolks & sugar in heat-proof bowl above gently simmering pot of water. Whisk constantly while gradually pouring in liquor little by little. Continue to whisk until sauce thickens. Add a pinch of salt to balance flavours. Remove from heat and cool. Delightful plated alongside panna cotta and fresh fruits. Try experimenting with other liqueurs and pairing with different fruits: some nice combinations are Benedictine and cherries, limoncello, and blueberries.

Stay-at-home mom and internationally renowned soprano

Sally Dibblee ('88) leads a dual life. On one hand, she's a wife and mother of two sons who loves to cook and spend time with her family. And on the other, she's a gifted soprano who graces the stages of opera companies around North America, delighting audiences with her vocal abilities.

She loves the life she's making with her husband Chris Lynn ('87), and their sons, Robbie and Patrick, in Fredericton.

Sally began vocal lessons at age 14. She decided to go to Mount Allison to pursue a music degree. It is here she met her husband who was studying commerce. They have been happily married since 1991.

In 1995 Dibblee became self-employed. She got a talent agent and started to do contract work with opera companies throughout Canada and the United States. At first these were small roles but she used these jobs as learning experiences. Then the Vancouver Opera Company hired her in the title role of the opera, Susannah.

When she works, it means she travels to various cities throughout Canada and the United States, where she lives for a month in hotel apartment suites and reunites with others she knows very well who are also part of the operatic community.

Now her sons are 15 and 12 and they're very active with school and other extracurricular activities. Both of her boys share her interest in music and theatre.

Some people might have a difficult time being away from home for a month at a time but for this wife and mother, and her family, it works. When she's away, she stays connected through video chats. When she has free time with her family, it's often spent going for walks and enjoying time at their cottage.

Read full story: Following her hear (The Daily Gleaner)

Tying the knot on campus

Uli Schermaul and Kathrin Christine Hoehn, both exchange students from Germany to Mount Allison in 2001, “tied the knot” here on campus on August 12, 2011.

Susan LeBlanc, Deputy Clerk of the Court of Queen’s Bench of New Brunswick, officiated at the ceremony.

Uli was involved in printmaking, painting, and drawing during his studies at Mount Allison, while Kathrin studied both English and French.

Dan Steeves, who became friends with Uli while he was here studying at the Fine Arts Department in 2001, has remained in contact through the years, and he noted that the couple have wanted to return to campus for a number of years.

He was pleasantly surprised when he recently received an e-mail from Uli saying that he and Kathrin were not only planning to make a visit but that they were also going to be married while they were here on campus. He was also pleased to be asked to be part of the ceremony as a witness for the groom.

Donna Sharpe, who currently works as an ESL Instructor at Mount Allison, teaching MASSIE students from Kwansei Gakuin University in Japan, also took part in the ceremony as a witness for the bride. Donna owned the Sanderling Bed and Breakfast in Sackville when Kathrin first came to Mount Allison and she was the first person that Kathrin met when she came to Canada. Donna became a good friend of both Kathrin and her family, and she often invited both Uli and Kathrin to her home for tea and conversations during their year in Sackville.

Other members of the “Mount Allison Family” who were present at the ceremony included Dr. Rainer Hempel, retired professor of German, who was the head Mount Allison’s exchange program in 2001; Dr. Maritza Fariña, current Spanish instructor who taught both Uli and Kathrin when they attended Mount Allison; Mona Estabrooks, Assistant Director Alumni Relations; and Sue Seaborn, University Advancement Communications Officer.

We wish Uli and Kathrin many happy years of married life. It was wonderful to have them back on campus and to share their special day here at Mount Allison.

A first graphic novel

Temple Bates ('96) consciously leaves room for interpretation - what are Hermodditites? Little children? Creatures? Creepy old men? Are they futuristic or medieval? Are you looking at them, or are they looking at you?

Her first graphic novel, Hermoddities, portrays contemporary comic art and traditional paint on canvas. The result is remarkable.

The Toronto-based, and Mount Allison educated, artist, who also plays in electro synth goth-pop band Pony Da Look, showcases work from the past decade in Hermoddities, including: CatPeeps, sometimes they're people, sometimes they're cats; Bird With A Ball Foot; and graphic collaborations with Winnipeg's Drue Langlois (formerly of the Royal Art Lodge) on Capistrano and Sweet Peel.

In Capistrano lead character Tristen poignantly asks, "Can't you see that your self-centered lifestyle - with your machines and comforts - has killed your heart?"

She challenges viewers to see what's between the lines, what distorts and blurs boundaries? Part hermetic oddities, part hermaphrodites, all gorgeous.

Read full story: A yearbook for circus strays (Telegraph-Journal)
See her work: http://www.templebates.com/

The RECORD online

The 2011 Summer Issue of the Record is now online: http://alumni.mta.ca/therecord/

New art gallery - Lunenburg

For Lynn Misner ('07), art is something that just came naturally. She never realized when she was younger that years down the road it would become an integral part of not only her life, but her livelihood.

After graduating from high school, the talented painter wasn't really sure what to do next, so she enrolled in the fine arts program at Mount Allison. That decision turned out to be a personal and professional turning point for her.

"We had a great first year and the rest of the years were just brilliant. You could do pretty much whatever you wanted, so that really helped," she says. "I don't like boundaries."

While attending Mount Allison, she worked part time during the summer months at Lunenburg's Houston North Gallery, and later went on to earn a diploma in gallery and museum management at the University of Western Ontario.

Earlier this year, she thought it was an opportune time to consider opening her own studio and gallery, and after partnering with Steve Welsh, who was looking to open up a new art supply business in the area, the two began searching for what they hoped might make a suitable location for both venues when a property located at 129 Lincoln Street in Lunenburg came on the market.

Once the deal on the property was completed, each embarked on the establishment of their own separate, yet related, activities, Lynn with the new Power House Art Gallery and Studio and Mr. Welsh with Lunenburg Art Supply Store.

Lynn says that along with being her own personal space, the gallery will be open for other artists to use for a display-work area in a manner which, with the art supply store in the same building, creates "kind of a hybrid model of a co-operative."

Both entities are currently up and running and will celebrate their beginnings with soft openings July 9 during the Lunenburg StreetFest.

See full story: New gallery, art supply store join forces in Lunenburg
(South Shore Now)

New work by Canadian artist

Please join well-known Canadian artist Dawn MacNutt ('57) in celebration of her new body of work, entitled 'Friendship'. Dawn brings her uniquely woven sculptures made of woven willow and copper wire to the Argyle Fine Art Gallery, with an emphasis on partnership and friendship.

Attend the opening reception on Friday, July 8th - 5 to 9 pm at the Argyle Fine Art located at 1559 Barrington Street in Halifax.

The show continues until July 22, 2011.

More information: http://www.dawnmacnutt.com/

Alumna Wins Advancement of Animal Law Scholarship

The Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) has awarded Camille Labchuk ('05) one of seven international Advancement of Animal Law Scholarships for her outstanding work in the growing field of animal law.

Camille is entering her third year at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law, where she is co-president of the school’s Student Animal Legal Defense Fund chapter. Camille graduated from Mount Allison with an Honors degree in psychology, and after working for years for a federal political party and an animal protection organization, pursuing animal law seemed like the natural next step in helping her to most effectively advocate on behalf of animals.

As a public relations specialist with the Humane Society International/Canada, she documented the commercial seal kill on Canada’s East Coast for three years, lobbied parliamentarians in Canada and the European Union, and worked on a variety of campaigns including horse slaughter, factory farming, and trophy hunting. She has been a board member of the National Capital Vegetarian Association in Ottawa, fosters kitten from the local animal shelter, and frequently attends animal protection protests and demonstrations.

Camille has attended several animal law conferences in North America and has helped with research for the first animal law text book to be published in Canada. She was awarded a fellowship grant for the summer of 2011 to work with Lawyers for Animal Welfare, Canada’s only animal law organization. She plans to continue to work to grow the field of animal law in Canada, help develop a national network of animal lawyers, and use the legal system to advance the interests of animals.

Director not afraid to take risks

Theatre people go where the work is, but Valmai Goggin (’06) took that idea to an extreme. She went all the way to Iqualuit following graduation from Mount Allison.

“A person finds themselves with a student loan and a boyfriend with student loans,” she says, “and we thought, ‘Well, we could stay here (in Atlantic Canada) and make no money for 10 years and starve as artists,’ so we moved up there.”

She spent her Iqualuit days working at a pedestrian job that enabled her to pay down her loans, but those long, northern nights were her own, filled directing community theatre, including what may have been the northernmost production ever of Shakespeare’s Macbeth.

Valmai is considered a director to watch, whether at Sage Theatre’s Ignite Festival, directing a stunning production of Castle in the Sky, Francesca Albright and Jude Allen’s docu-drama about the 2006 Medicine Hat Murders; collaborating with her colleagues in Theatre Transit, a small local theatre company; or up in Fort McMurray, where she is heading later this year to direct a production of Chicago in early 2012.

Read full story: State of the arts: Director not afraid of risks (Calgary Herald)

Sackville Arts Wall of Fame

On June 18 three Mount Allison alumni were inducted into the Sackville Arts Wall of Fame, which was launched in 2009 after Sackville was awarded a national designation as one of the country's Cultural Capitals of Canada. A ceremony outside of Town Hall saw the three inductees' plaques unveiled and a reception followed to celebrate the contributions of the three individuals.

Pauline Harborne '37 (Arts Builder)
Born in Upper Sackville, and in her mid-90s now, Harborne received a Licentiate of Music from the Mount Allison Ladies College (1937) and has taught violin to thousands of young people for more than half a century.

Glenn Adams '66 (Visual Arts)
A permanent residence of Sackville since 1974, Adams originally worked in the aircraft industry, but in a 1960 art workshop and after a year's study at Mount Allison (1962-63) he was influenced by Alex Colville and Lawren P. Harris in his life's paintings.

K.V. Johansen '90 (Literary Arts)
As a Mount Allison undergraduate, Johansen was mentored and encouraged in her writing by the late Douglas Lochhead, and is currently one of Canada's leading authors of fantasy literature for children.

In the photo, left to right: (seated) Pauline Harborne, K.V. Johansen, and Cynthia Adams (Adam's wife accepted on behalf of her husband who was unable to attend the ceremony). Standing behind are Peter Higham, Karen Bamford, and John Murchie, all of whom presented special tributes about each of the inductees.

Riches of the Wetlands

The season opener at the Léon Léger Art Gallery will be the exhibition "Riches of the Wetlands" by Barbara Safran ('77) on display from June 20 to July 7. The exhibition official launch will be on Friday, June 24, at 7 p.m.

The exhibition is about waterways and marshes, their beauty and importance.

It includes more than 50 water colours mostly of wetlands around the Petitcodiac watershed area and can serve as catalysts for discussion on the environment and ecology.

Barbara's paintings explore the Tantramar region, Memramcook valley and Petitcodiac area with different seasons portrayed. Her works are known for their dramatic skies, vibrant landscapes and Maritime themes, and have appeared in private and public collections in and around the region.

Barbara hopes her exhibition will prompt a better appreciation of the waterways and marshes of New Brunswick.

She earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts with Distinction from Mount Allison and went on to study the old masters at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., and at the Tate Gallery in London.

She has had numerous solo exhibitions and group shows throughout the Atlantic Provinces and was recently awarded the Sheila Hugh Mackay Masters of Fine Arts Scholarship to pursue her studies at the Art Institute of Boston, U.S.

Her exhibition is located at the historic church in Grand Barachois, the backdrop for a new season of art exhibitions and concerts featuring works by well-known artists over the next several weeks. L'Église historique de Barachois is located at 1350 Route 133 in Grand Barachois.

http://www.safranstudios.com/

Illustrator launches second children's book

Illustrator Jennifer Aikman-Smith (’87) has once again collaborated with Paul E. Burns for their second children's book, the 88-page Emily Finds a Dragon.

Owen and the Dinosaur, published in 2008, is followed by Emily Finds a Dragon, which will be launched Saturday, June 18, 2011 at the Riverview Library.

For Jennifer, who knew she wanted to try her hand at drawing for a living since she was 11, illustrating children's books not only allows her to work with the impossible, but it also allows her to prove that her "cartoon" drawings are art, too.

Paul saw writing simply as a 25-year-old hobby until he met Jennifer, who had been freelance drawing since she graduated from Mount Allison, and they began taking the endeavour seriously over the past few years.

Paul and Jennifer have self-published both Emily Finds a Dragon and Owen and the Dinosaur.

After being turned away by a few mainstream publishing companies, they decided to use Jennifer's skills as a graphic designer and her company Dragon Dreams to put the children's books together.

After tomorrow's launch, Emily Finds a Dragon will be available at Gifts Galore in Moncton and Cover to Cover in Riverview. Jennifer says the book should hit Atlantic Canadian Chapters stores by mid-July.

Read full story: Metro duo to launch children's book
(Moncton Times & Transcript)

In Memory of Donald Crandall

Donald Rayworth Crandall ('51) was born on Oct. 19, 1926, in Moncton, N.B.

Donald served in the navy during the Second World War, and then attended Mount Allison. In 1949, he took a job with Air Canada, working in market research and training. The position suited his outgoing personality and love of travel, since it sent him across Canada and to the Caribbean.

In 1950, he married Frances (Dayton) Crandall ('50), a kindred spirit: like Donald, she’d grown up in Moncton, served in the navy, and attended Mount Allison. After their children Louise and Hugh were born, the family settled in Montreal. Donald and Frances were “absolutely devoted” to each other, says daughter Louise.

When Frances was in her fifties, she started developing symptoms of Alzheimer’s. At 57, Donald retired from his job at Air Canada and they moved back to Moncton.

The couple continued to travel; on one Caribbean trip, Donald and Frances—then in their sixties—discovered Montserrat, an island near Antigua with black sand beaches, and built a house there.

Donald began devoting time to his growing interest in military history. He’d travel around the island, hunting for buried military cannons. He rebuilt a powder house above the capital of Plymouth, and set up a military park with cannons he’d dug up.

He wrote a book on the island’s military history, working from home to be close to his wife, who was increasingly housebound.

He nursed his wife through the tragedy of Alzheimer’s, but ‘he never complained that it was hard, and never asked for help’. As Frances’s condition deteriorated, they moved permanently back to Canada where she died at age 76.

Following Frances’s death, friends introduced Donald to Eleanor Jonah, whose husband had died of a heart attack several years before. They became companions. He rented a condo on the inner harbour and they split the year between Victoria and Burlington, Ont., where they had previously settled.

In 2005, on Christmas Eve, Eleanor and Donald were going to get groceries when another car crashed into them. Donald was hospitalized, and nearly died. While his body slowly recovered, his brain—which had been injured in the crash—never did. The couple moved to Burlington full-time.

In February 2010, the family put Donald into a retirement home in Oshawa where he passed away on April 20, due to complications from dementia. Donald was 84.

Read the full story: Donald Rayworth Crandall
(Maclean's Magazine)

Switching from microbiology to audiology

It was while doing a science degree at Mount Allison that Dr. Brian Alexander ('83), Au.D., an audiology doctor in the hub city for the past 20 years, decided to make the switch from microbiology to audiology.

As a student he was employed as a hospital worker and it was while so engaged that he met and talked to audiologists. Simply put, what they were doing sounded more interesting because it provided the opportunity to work with people in a helping profession, as well as staying involved with science and physics.

So he traded in life behind a microscope for a different kind of challenge in the health sciences field, and he's never had any regrets.

Audiologists typically work in hospital settings, private practice, public schools, ENT clinics and the like, and must stay abreast of any changes in audiology technology as well as their understanding of hearing loss and balance disorders.

Read the full article: Audiologists stays tuned in to hearing
(New Brunswick Business Journal)

Support Mount Allison Athletics

You’re invited to the third annual Mount A Homecoming Golf Classic in support of Mount Allison University Athletics. It is open to all Mount Allison Alumni and Friends!

• Friday, September 16, 2011
• Amherst Golf & Country Club
• 1 pm shotgun start
• Texas scramble format
• Dinner and prize presentation to follow
• EARLY BIRD PRICING (until July 22): $150/person or $550/team

Register now!

Brunton Auditorium Seat Restoration Project

Mount Allison is poised to breathe new life into Brunton Auditorium by replacing the aging seats and enhancing the audience experience.

You can help support the performances of students by considering a gift towards the Brunton Auditorium Seat Restoration Project.

Find out more: www.mta.ca/brunton

Art Grad Designs Canada Day Beer Artwork

Mount Allison graduate Deborah Colvin ('77) has designed art for a limited edition Canada Day beer brewed by Edinburgh-based brewery Innis & Gunn.

Deborah lives just north of Toronto, but she honed her craft at Mount Allison. Now, the artist will have her work on the packing of a limited edition run of "Canada Day 2011" beer.

Since 2009, the craft brewery has made a yearly brew in honour of Canada. This year, for the first time, the bottles will be sold in cartons featuring original Canadian artwork.

Deborah earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1977, and says her design was a "deeply personal" re-examination of her background.

Her father William immigrated from Scotland with his parents. She describes her dad as being "firmly Canadian," a hockey coach who taught neighbourhood kids how to skate on a rink in the backyard. Her grandmother missed Scotland fiercely, while her grandfather "had feet in both areas."

The multi-layered design features hockey players, birch bark and hand-drawn maps of Canada against a vivid red background.

The "Canada Day 2011" brew has a limited run of only 3,000 cases, for a total of 72,000 individually packaged bottles. The brewery describes the beer as a creamy Auburn vintage with notes of toffee and oak.

Read full story: Mount A art grad lands unique project (Telegraph-Journal)

Hunton House Golden Celebration

For 51 years, Dr. Sidney Hunton was a distinguished and world-renowned professor of mathematics at Mount Allison University.

Fifty-one years ago, a new university residence was named in honour of Dr. Hunton. We thought it was time to celebrate both the man and the building.

Please join us at a reception to celebrate the legacy of Dr. Sidney Hunton and the golden anniversary of Hunton House.

Wednesday, March 30, 2011
6:30 pm to 8:00 pm
Tweedie Hall, McCain Student Centre

Special guests: President Robert Campbell and University Archivist Rhianna Edwards

Hunton House memorabilia will be on display. Please send any anecdotes, photos, or memorabilia to Ellie Salsbury, lesalsbury@mta.ca.

Dress: business attire

Hunton House shot glasses will be sold.

RSVP before March 28, 2011: klewis@mta.ca

Winter 2011 Record

The artist known as “Sweetheart.” An opera star. A RCAF Snowbird jet pilot. A top executive and one of Canada’s most powerful women.

The Winter 2011 edition of the Record is now online!

Paging Dr. McIntyre

Bill McIntyre (’06) says in many ways Mount Allison chose him. His parents met at Mount A and he grew up knowing he would attend the University after high school. It just made sense. When it came time to apply, he was awarded a Bell Scholarship — one of the University’s most prestigious awards.

During his four years at Mount A he was involved with the Students’ Administrative Council, the Bioscience Student Society, and the varsity football team. He was also awarded a summer undergraduate research grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC). And was recognized with the University’s Gil Latter Award in his final year as the male graduate who made the greatest overall contribution to university life.

And to complete the Mount Allison story for the McIntyres, his graduation fell on the same weekend as his parent’s 30-year reunion at the University.

Following Mount A, he was accepted into the School of Medicine at Queen’s University. And now, five years later, he is officially Dr. McIntyre and is working towards a career in cardiology, which requires six years of study.

After his first three years of residency, he plans to apply to a cardiology residency, potentially at the Ottawa Heart Institute, and then there are three sub-specialties to choose from. His interest is in the area of electrophysiology, which includes pacemakers, and could see him training anywhere in the world.

“Cardio is the goal and pacemakers is the dream, but we’ll have to wait and see what the future holds.”

Read full story: From Mount Allison to Medical School

Summer in Kosovo

Last summer Roger Roy (’65) spent six weeks in the Western Balkan region of Europe where he was a parliamentary development advisor for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Kosovo. He was tasked with writing and designing a project to assist MPs to help address/alleviate the extreme poverty in the area and assist those who urgently need social services. His wife Gerry accompanied him and volunteered teaching English to parliamentary interns and UNDP staff. Roger writes, “We had some wonderful weekend visits to Orthodox churches in Kosovo including the UNESCO World Heritage Site at the Decani Monastery. We also had an amazing visit to Montenegro, Macedonia, and Albania where the scenery and old towns such as Kotor, Ulcinj, and Ohrid were an amazing voyage of discovery.”


Roger is pictured on the left, with his wife Gerry, centre, and Kenar Loshi the Head of the Goverance Programme at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP-Kosovo) on the right. The photo above was taken on the grounds of the Serbian Orthodox Monastery in Peya, Kosovo.

Allisonians named Top 20 under 30

Congratulations to Mount A student Laura Stymiest (‘11), President of Global Medical Brigades Mount Allison, and alumna Sarah Craig (‘07), employment co-ordinator and chair of the FUSION networking group in Saint John, for being named to Here NB’s Top 20 under 30 list. Read their profiles and see the entire list at Here NB (Jan. 20, 2011).

Fine Arts professor featured on CTV

Photographer, typographer, and Mount Allison Fine Arts department head Thaddeus Holownia was featured on CTV’s Live at 5, the Maritimes' #1 news magazine show on January 24, 2011. Watch his story here.

Colville student drawings at National Gallery of Canada

The student drawings of renowned Canadian artist and Allisonian Alex Colville ('42) from his time at Mount Allison are the focus of a new exhibition at the National Art Gallery in Ottawa.

Entitled Alex Colville: The Formative Years 1938-1942, the exhibit contains 18 drawings in various mediums, many which have not been seen publicly since Colville was a Mount Allison student in the 30s and 40s.

Alex Colville graduated from Mount A with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1942 and returned to teach in the Fine Arts department from 1946-1963, when he took up painting full time. Read more about the exhibition in the Telegraph Journal (Jan 22, 2011).

Interim Vice-President appointed

Professor Berkeley Fleming, Dean of Social Sciences and sociology professor, has been appointed as interim Vice-President, Academic and Research at Mount Allison for a one-year term.

His appointment will begin on July 1, 2011, replacing current Vice-President Stephen McClatchie who has accepted the position of Principal at Huron University College of the University of Western Ontario.

Berkeley Fleming brings a wealth of experience and insight to this role, having worked at Mount Allison for 33 years. He has served as Dean of Social Sciences, department head of sociology, secretary of University Senate, and member of the Board of Regents. He has also held key and consequential positions on numerous collegial committees and many local, provincial, and national organizations. His leadership will help maintain the momentum that has been established in the Provost and Vice-President, Academic and Research’s portfolio under Stephen McClatchie.

A national search for a new Provost and Vice-President, Academic and Research will begin this year. An internal search for a new Dean of Social Sciences will commence shortly. Updates on both search processes will be shared with the University community regularly.

Allisonian's Art on Calgary Bridges

Seven bridges in and around Calgary's core will be splashed with new colours over the next couple weeks as a new series of banners is installed. The series will showcase the work of Canadian artist Dianne Bos ('78) and celebrates the theme of “place”.

The new banners are part of the Down town Banner Program that began in 2008. Banners are now replaced biannually with a new look and story to welcome people to the downtown.

For this series of banner images, Dianne used black and white film and a medium format camera to create overlapping sequential images of the Alberta landscape. These were later converted to vibrant colours using digital techniques.

The many ways ‘place’ can be defined and imagined is a significant theme in Dianne’s art work. The structural format of these works relates strongly to the Technopaegnia (concrete poetry) works of Banff poet Jon Whyte, where clusters of words form images related to Rocky Mountain landscapes.

New banners have already been installed on the Macdonald and Inglewood bridges. The remaining bridges will have banners installed over the next few weeks. These bridges include 14 Street Bridge, Louise Bridge (10 Street), Centre Street Bridge, Langevin Bridge (Edmonton Trail) and the Zoo Bridge.

Dianne Bos was born in Hamilton, Ontario, received her B.F.A. from Mount Allison, and currently divides her time between the foothills of the Rockies and the Pyrénées.

For the full story: New banners installed on the seven gateway bridges to Calgary's downtown (Calgary Beacon)

Young Alumni: Down Under

David Byrne (’04) made his first trip to Mount Allison when he was 11 to watch Mounties Football — making two to three trips to watch his favourite team each Fall after that with his father. In 2000 he chose to attend Mount Allison and graduated with an Honours Commerce degree in economics. After completing his Master’s and PhD in economics at Queen’s, he headed to Australia in September with his wife Marisia to start his “first real job” as an assistant professor at the University of Melbourne.

After defending his PhD thesis in December on the causes and consequences of mergers in the Canadian cable television industry, he is now officially Dr. Byrne. A self-proclaimed data nerd, research may just be his favourite part of the job. He spends his days collecting and analyzing data, trying to uncover interesting patterns or see whether predictions from economic theory are exhibited in the data.

Read full story: David Byrne embarks on new adventure down under

Rhodes Scholar in the Globe and Mail

Mount A student Kelly O’Connor ('11) of Kelowna, BC is one of 11 Canadian students to receive the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship from the University of Oxford this year, the 49th from Mount Allison. This week, she was featured in the Globe and Mail.