September Awards and Accolades
30 September 2020
Congratulations to the Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation alumni, faculty, staff, alumni and students on your achievements for September 2020!
Faculty Recognition
Congratulations to the newest Faculty Awards recipients!
- Faculty Award for Sessional Teaching: Liane Jean
- Faculty Award for Early Career Undergraduate Teaching: Shintaro Kono
- Faculty Award for Undergraduate Teaching: Darren DeLorey
- Faculty Award for Graduate Teaching: Kerry Courneya
- Faculty Award for Early Career Research: Danielle Peers
- Faculty Award for Research: John Spence
- Academic Professional Officer and Faculty Services Officer Recognition Award: Joan Matthews White
- Support Staff Recognition Award: Jennifer Steveson
- Clare Drake University of Alberta Coach of the Year Award: Terry Danyluk
Lindsay Eales
Lindsay Eales joins the Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation as the Faculty’s newest assistant professor.
Spurred by a passion for researching social justice and dance with disabled and non-disabled dancer, Lindsay Eales was drawn to the Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation’s world-leading adaptive physical activity area, specifically in social and disability-centered approaches to inclusive and adaptive sport, recreation, and leisure.
After completing both a Master of Arts degree and PhD, Lindsay returns to the University of Alberta and KSR as an assistant professor in adapted physical activity studies. Learn more about Lindsay’s academic journey, and what she will bring to KSR in the capacity of teacher and researcher.
John Spence
SSHRC Partnership Engage Grants - Partnership Engage Grants COVID-19 Special Initiative: COVID-19: The use of active and public transport during a pandemic.
In partnership with the Canadian Parks and Recreation Association (CPRA) and researchers from the University of Alberta (Spence), University of British Columbia (Faulkner), and the CFLRI (Cameron). As stewards of the Framework for Recreation in Canada 2015, CPRA has a vested interest in advocating for supportive environments to facilitate active transport (i.e., physically moving oneself from place to place by walking, cycling, or other active means) among Canadians. The Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) outbreak, and the associated restrictions, present some unique challenges for how people can and will choose to move around their communities. However, it is not entirely clear what impact the COVID-19 outbreak and the related restrictions have had on the transportation choices of Canadians. Furthermore, no information is currently available on the motivational determinants of active and public transport during this period.
The goal of this partnership is to help CPRA establish a knowledge base on the transport choices, and correlates, of Canadians during the threat of repeated pandemics.
Jay Scherer
Each year since 1989, the Alberta Book Publishing Awards have celebrated the incredible work of Alberta book publishers — enriching and sustaining the cultural and social landscape of our province, year in and year out.
The awards program honours excellence and innovation throughout Alberta’s book publishing industry. Recognizing the exceptional work of Alberta publishers will spread to readers across the province and draw attention to the range and quality of the books published in Alberta.
POWER PLAY: PROFESSIONAL HOCKEY AND THE POLITICS OF URBAN DEVELOPMENT takes the award for Trade Non-Fiction!
The Trade Non-Fiction Book of the Year Award is awarded to a book of non-fiction published primarily for the trade or bookstore market
JOHN RAE, ARCTIC EXPLORER: THE UNFINISHED AUTOBIOGRAPHY is named Scholarly and Academic Book of the Year!
The Scholarly and Academic Book of the Year Award is awarded to a book published primarily for the post-secondary, post-graduate or other academic or scholarly market.
Student Recognition
Rylan Kafara
2020 Izaak Walton Killam Memorial Scholarship. This is the most prestigious graduate award administered by the University of Alberta. Every effort is made to honor the criteria set out in the will of Dorothy Killam. It was Mrs. Killam's desire that those awarded scholarships and fellowships be likely to contribute to the advancement of learning or to win distinction in their profession. Killam scholars should not be one-sided and their intellect should be complemented by a sound character.
Chenxi Cai
Congratulations to Chenxi Cai who was hired as an Assistant Professor in the School of Public Health at Xiamen University in China. This is a top 20 University in China (there are >1200 Universities in China...)!
Athletics Recognition
Rob Krepps
Selected to coach the Canadian Junior Men's Team at the 2021 World Junior Curling Championship, which is scheduled for February 18 to 28 in Beijing, China. Golden Bears Athletics will be well represented with three Golden Bears having also been selected to play on this team.
Alumni Recognition
Alumni Honour Award
Recognizes the significant achievements and contributions over a number of years by University of Alberta alumni to their profession and/or their community.
David Legg, ’00 PhD
There is a joy of effort in sport, and for more than 20 years, David Legg has ensured that everyone is able to enjoy this fundamental right. In 1995, as a PhD student at the U of A’s Steadward Centre, Legg decided to channel his career and leadership skills into creating sport opportunities for people living with a disability. He volunteers regularly, whether it’s creating adapted programs for children or presiding over the Canadian Paralympic Committee board of directors. A professor at Mount Royal University, Legg motivates students to think about how they can include a person with a disability in their facility or program. Thanks to Legg’s genuine desire to make things better, the joy of sport is increasingly available to all Canadians.
Alumni Service Award
Recognizes the significant achievements and contributions over a number of years by University of Alberta alumni to their profession and/or their community.
H.A. “Art” Quinney, ’74 PhD
Wellness and active living may be buzzwords these days, but to Art Quinney, they’re just common sense. During almost five decades at the U of A, Quinney went from the classroom to the dean’s chair to the top levels of university administration while leading initiatives that have made Alberta a physical activity and fitness leader. The campus physical fitness testing centre he established in 1982 grew into today’s provincial certification unit, and the 1989 Centre for Well-Being evolved into the Alberta Centre for Active Living. Both are examples of his leadership in promoting health, wellness and active living in Alberta, Canada and around the world. Meanwhile, Quinney’s problem-solving skills helped the university through difficult financial times, while his abilities to listen and laugh were prized by students.
Sports Wall of Fame
Heidi Susanne Coleman, ’05 BA, ’09 BEd
Heidi Susanne Coleman (Kulak) isn’t the first sister to put up with brotherly headlocks, but she might be the only one who could pin her brothers to a mat. A star wrestler for the Pandas from 2000 to 2005, Coleman grew up in a family of wrestlers from Whitecourt, Alta., and took up the sport as well. Her strength and competitive spirit made her a five-time Canada West medallist — including three gold — and led her to numerous podium appearances during interuniversity, national and international competitions. The four-time MVP spent three years as an assistant coach for the Pandas while she earned her education degree. Coleman then returned to Whitecourt to work as a teacher and, coming full circle, to coach alongside one of her own high school wrestling coaches.
Shandra Doran, ’97 BSc(Spec), ’05 PhD
In emergency departments and on volleyball courts, you never know what is coming next. This is perfect for Shandra Doran, a self-described adrenaline junkie who helped the Pandas volleyball team win four back-to-back national championships from 1995 to 1998. After making the team in 1993, the outside hitter quickly became a player to count on when pressure was high. In addition to the Pandas, she played for the Canadian national team as well as professionally in Tokyo before injuries put her future on a new path. Today, Doran is an emergency doctor at the University of Alberta Hospital, a trauma team leader, STARS physician and is involved with Edmonton Emergency Zone leadership. She is still a regular face on campus, giving medical advice to today’s Pandas and involved in clinical teaching with tomorrow’s physicians.
Daniel G. Syrotuik, ’75 MSc, ’84 PhD
Daniel Syrotuik came to Alberta in 1973 as an Edmonton Eskimos draft pick, but his legacy is as a game builder. As an assistant coach for the Golden Bears football team, he helped lead them to three Canada West championships, two Vanier Cup appearances and one national title. His coaching career started in 1976 as a grad student and continued off and on until his 2012 retirement as a professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation. It also overlapped a remarkable, four-decade volunteer career that saw him tackle sport development with Football Alberta and Football Canada, including the creation of football’s first National Coaching Certification Program. Whether in the field, class or boardroom, Syrotuik’s energy and expertise have boosted football in Alberta and across Canada.
Pandas Hockey, ’01-’07
For 123 games, the Pandas hockey team couldn’t be beaten. The unmatched streak began in October 2001, garnered them three national championships and came to a heartbreaking end during the title match in March 2005. The team made good on its vow to regain the national championship the following year — then, for good measure, won it again in March 2007. The Pandas are the only women’s hockey team in history to win three consecutive national championships; the 2001-07 dynasty's five titles in six years is more than any other team has racked up to date. Its members are described as a who’s who of women’s hockey in Alberta, with a Panda named MVP in every year. Off-ice, they were equally high achieving, with many Pandas selected as Academic All-Canadians each year. Today, they are lawyers, business women, professors, coaches, Olympic gold medallists and more. Many, including coach Howie Draper, are still involved in the game, inspiring the next generation of women’s hockey.