Retirees starting to fill the seats

Almost ready

UMRA President Ed Unrau stating that he attended the 2016 Three-Minute Thesis final completion event in February.  He further explained that in the space of about 45 minutes 12 Graduate Students made presentations that were informative as they were impressive.  Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) is a research communication competition developed by The University of Queensland in 2008.  3MT® challenges students to consolidate their ideas and research discoveries so they can be presented concisely to a non-specialist audience.  Four of the Graduate Students have accepted the invitation to speak at today’s President’s Reception.  UMRA President Ed Unrau will also be presenting each presenter with a gift card rather than the traditional UMRA mug.

Anjali Bhagirath,  Oral Biology (PhD)  placed second in the 3MT final competition in February.  Educated as a dentist, Anjail Bhagirath has a passion for understanding disease processes, particularly those of chronic diseases. She would like to use her training and skills towards advancing medical knowledge and eventually contribute to improving the quality of lives of individuals suffering with long-term disease and compromised immune systems

Karlee Dyck - Human Nutritional Sciences (Master’s) speaking on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder: Are pregnant women getting enough nutrients to reduce the risk?  Karlee placed first in the 3MT final competition in February.  After finishing her dietetic internship and working as a Clinical Dietitian in Thompson, Karlee came to realize her passion for Maternal and Child health, as well as Aboriginal health. This led her to a Master’s Degree in Community/Clinical Nutrition looking at the nutrient intake during pregnancy of women. She has volunteered with the Mothering Project at Mount Carmel Clinic for the last two years, supporting pregnant women and mothers with substance use issues

Bob Christmas, as a 26-year veteran of the Winnipeg Police Service and having seen firsthand the results of how predators groom and exploit young girls into prostitution, Bob’s Doctoral Research focuses on Social Justice and protection of vulnerable victims. His research will make practical recommendations for improving intervention with the goal of reducing and/or eradicating sexual exploitation and human trafficking in Canada

Paul White - Biomedical Engineering (Master’s) spoke on Immersive virtual reality as a cognitive treatment tool for Alzheimer’s disease.  Paul was the People's Choice.  While completing his Computer Engineering Degree, Paul discovered the joy of Research. He has received NSERC Undergraduate Student Research awards in Biomedical Instrumentation Image Processing/Sensor Fusion and Automotive Instrumentation. His thesis work uses virtual reality to study the relationship between Alzheimer’s disease and spatial navigation

Attentive Audience

President Barnard spoke about the many changes at the University since he has become President in 2008.  A few of the topics included  enrolment targets, leadership changes, strategic planning, gifts for students, and the happenings at the Southland  lands

Choosing from the lovely display

Chatting in the lineup

Delicious desserts

Jay & Carol Goldstein speaking with Karlee Dyck

A time to catch up

Retirees speaking with Paul White

President Barnard conversing with Lois Brockman

Photography:  Stella Rebling

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President's Reception for Retirees
October 15, 2016

Guest Speaker, Dr. Gordon Goldsborough maintains an interactive, searchable mapping of Manitoba historic sites. More than 2,000 historic sites have been included. On your Smart Phone go to: (www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/sites). There you can click on the map's different colored icons and up pop exact latitudinal and longitudinal locations of various historic sites, and a link to a write-up and photo.

Valerie Williams & Lynn Bohonos waiting for the Retirees

Retirees locating their name tag

Audience seated for the Presentation

Members enjoying conversation

      UMRA President Ed Unrau introducing guest speaker Dr Gordon Goldsborough

Dr Goldsborough is an associate professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, Dr. Goldsborough also served as the Director of the now-closed Delta Marsh Field Station. He is a water quality specialist concerned with the impacts of humans on lakes and wetlands; his research and teaching interests include biodiversity, ecology and environment.   He is regularly interviewed Sunday mornings on CBC radio describing hidden and forgotten locations in Manitoba.  Dr. Goldsborough is a Past-President of the Manitoba Historical Society as well as the society’s Webmaster, and an Editor of the Manitoba History journal.

Dr Gordon Goldsborough informed the members that places which are abandoned inform us about the changing priorities of society at large. For the past six years, he has been mapping historic sites for the Manitoba Historical Society. They reveal trends in agriculture, energy production, telecommunications, construction techniques, supply chain mechanisms, education, health care, and rural depopulation. He discussed a few of these places in this presentation.”

 UMRA President Ed Unrau presenting the UMRA mug to Dr Goldsborough

Mark O’Riley speaking on the United Way donations & introducing speaker  Mel Chartrand of Eyaa-Keen Healing Centre

Mel Chartrand,  sharing insight with the members on his organization Eyaa-Keen Healing Centre, a not-for-profit charitable organization  which is funded by the United Way.  Mel & his wife Shirley are co-founders of Eyaa-Keen Healing Centre and they have created a series of victim-orientated Indigenous Mental Health Services.

Lois Brockman, Interim-chair of the University of Manitoba Retirees Endowment Fund explaining the UMRA bursary and scholarship fund

Further discussion on the presentation

And now on to the food table

Retirees in line for the lovely lunch

Delicious desserts & fruit plate

Enjoying lunch with a dash of good conversation

Veggie tray & sandwiches

Visiting over lunch

Conversing with old friends

Photography:  Bob Talbot

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