February 17 The Community Music School presents, Encore — Henry Waacks 80th Birthday Celebration sth Annual Community Music School Fundraiser. 2:30pm, Performing Arts Theatre For tickets and information call 604-527-5469 February 21 ‘The Arts at One presents Student Showcase, ipm, Performing Arts Theatre February 28 The Arts at One presents, Zhe Fringe Group — At the Edge of Musical Worlds. Percussionists Jonathan Bernard, Martin Fisk, Brian Nesselroad and Daniel Tones, 1pm, Performing Arts Theatre March 4 Literature Alive presents, Novelist Todd Babiak, 6:30pm, Room 1808, NWC March 12 and 13 Career Exploration Fair, March 12, NWC concourse, 1oam-3pm March 13, DLC atrium, 1oam-3pm Info: 604-777-6171 Join Henry Waack and friends as they celebrate his 80" birthday with Encore, February 17 in the Performing Arts Theatre. Say Encore and wish Henry Waack a happy birthday Every organization needs its elder statesmen. As far as the Music department at Douglas College is concerned, that illustrious role is filled by Henry Waack — pianist, conductor, and teacher. “Henry turns 80 this February and celebrations are focused on Encore, a one-afternoon-only performance,” says David Gordon Duke, Dean of Language, Literature and Performing Arts. “The line-up is incredible — guests include pianist (and “la Reina del tango”) Linda-Lee Thomas, The Fungis, baritone Gordon Roberts and the Mount Calvary Lutheran Church Choir. Encore is already 65 percent sold out!” Waack began his career in Alberta before heading west to become one of the founding members of Douglas College. “Even though he officially retired 15 years ago, he has never really left the College or music,” says Duke. “A Douglas College graduation would not be complete without Henry at the keyboard.” Waack has served on countless boards and worked on hundreds of productions. He is a recipient of a lifetime achievement award from the Coquitlam-Maple Ridge Branch of the Registered Music Teachers Association, as well as the Excellence in the Arts award from the Tri-Cities Arts Council. He has taught or played for a who's who of musical luminaries, over a dozen of whom will be playing at the gala, which is a joint fund-raiser for the Douglas College Henry Waack Scholarship Fund and the Community Music School. Encore takes place in the Douglas College Performing Arts Theatre on Sunday, February 17 at 2:30pm. Tickets (“if you can get them; Henry’s last concert was sold out!” says Duke) can be ordered by calling Waack at 604-939-2098 or the Community Music School at 604-527-5469. Gale elected to national teaching and learning board Richard Gale, Douglas College’s Visiting Scholar for 2007-2008, has been elected as the BC representative to the Board of Directors for the Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (STLHE). Gale's appointment began January 1, 2008 and will last for three years. “STLHE is the gold standard for Canadian commitment to teaching and learning,” says Gale, “so in serving on the board I will hopefully be able to influence policy and practice.” Gale will be working on the society’s efforts in the scholarship of teaching and learning — helping to draft documents, participating in national dialogues around evidence-based classroom research, and possibly continuing his work with the funding councils. “T also intend to speak up for the role of the college in national teaching and learning conversations, pointing out in a much larger forum that some of the best and most influential teaching and learning in the nation occur in the colleges,” he says. “When it comes to colleges changing the way higher education is done and the way students become empowered through that education, Douglas College is a clear leader for BC and for Canada. I look forward to bringing the Douglas experience to a much wider audience.” For more information on the STLHE please see www. memaster.ca/stlhe/welcome. html Psychiatric Nursing project responds to Aboriginal needs ‘The face of Aboriginal mental health care education in BC is about to change, thanks to a $150,000 grant awarded to the Psychiatric Nursing department at Douglas College by the First Nations Chiefs’ Health Careers Committee. The funding is part of the Aboriginal Health Human Resource Initiative to support the development of cultural competencies within post secondary curricula. ‘This project allows the Psychiatric Nursing department to begin the process of revising program curricula and admission procedures in order to attract and retain students from Aboriginal backgrounds. “The mental health issues facing the Aboriginal population are staggering, and there is little culturally- relevant education available to prepare professionals to assist this population,” says Anna Helewka, Psychiatric Nursing instructor and proposal coordinator. “A number of years ago our faculty provided distance and on-site educational programs for nurses working in mental health in the Terrace and Dawson Creek areas. We talked to nurses who were trying to deal with alcohol and drug abuse, physical and sexual abuse, childrearing and parenting problems, as well as depression, anxiety and suicide - all in one community. ‘These are hugely complex issues.” For Helewka, the work in northern BC signalled that it was time for a closer look at psychiatric nursing education. While the College’s Psychiatric Nursing program has always provided education to students from diverse backgrounds, there are very few Aboriginal students currently enrolled. “A great deal of the nursing education literature indicates that nursing programs in general are still not attracting students from Aboriginal backgrounds, and when these students do enter the programs they are not always successful,” she says. “It is clear from the literature and from our experience that one route to improving the mental health of aboriginal populations is to increase access to psychiatric nursing education for the aboriginal population of the province.” With the support of Lori ‘Townsend, Psychiatric Nursing Program Coordinator, Mike ‘Tarko Health Sciences Dean, Silvia Wilson, Health Sciences Associate Dean and Jan Lindsay, VP Education, Helewka put forward her proposal. ‘The first step of the project is a review and revision of the Psychiatric Nursing curricula so that aboriginal models are incorporated into the philosophy, content and delivery of the program. “Our initial goal is to have a trial cohort of Aboriginal students by 2009 or 2010, in addition to our current intake,” she says. “We'd take them through the entire diploma or degree program and have them teach us. Having Aboriginal students in our program informs our curriculum and expands our own knowledge related to Aboriginal paradigms in health education.” For more information on this project, please contact Anna Helewka at 604-777- 6435.