"Grease" Showing and Open House in Orillia

( Orillia - February 14, 2007) Lakehead University is letting Barrie and Orillia Grade 11 and 12 students know that they're "the ones that we want" with an exclusive, one-night-only screening of the movie "Grease."

There are a limited number of tickets left for local students to watch this movie at the Barrie Galaxy Cinema on Thursday, February 15, at 7 p.m. (doors open at 6:30). Students should call for tickets.

Moviegoers are invited to dress up as their favourite character and sing along to the movie. There are great prizes to be won!

Then on Saturday, February 17, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., everyone is invited out to the Orillia Campus for an Open House. This is a chance for people to get a look at the classrooms, talk to current students, meet the professors, have questions answer, and win some prizes.

The following information sessions will be available: All About Lakehead; The World of Online Learning; Student Services Success; Exploring the HBASc; Beyond the Classroom; Exploring the Sciences; and Becoming a Teacher. The schedule can be found online.

The Orillia Campus is located at Heritage Place, 1 Colborne St. W. For more information on the Open House, call (705) 329-4298.

Dr. Aris Carastathis to Compose New Music for Viola and Guitar

(December 20, 2007 - Thunder Bay, ON) Dr. Aristocles (Aris) Carastathis, a Professor of Music and former Chair of Lakehead University's Department of Music, has been named one of four Canadian recipients of the Norman Burgess Memorial Fund. As such, Carastathis will compose a work commissioned by the Canadian Music Centre (CMC).

Between now and August of 2008, he will work to create a new piece for viola and guitar, with alternate piano accompaniment. Carastathis describes the work-yet to be named-as a multi-movement piece which includes written and free sections. "Commissions are awarded to composers to create pieces of music for specific instruments, durations, and purposes," says Carastathis. "The specific purpose of this piece, as determined by the CMC, is to encourage young musicians to embrace New Music, also known as contemporary concert music, with flexibility and creativity."

Throughout the development of this work, Carastathis will collaborate with Catherine Jillings who will act as Consulting Educator on the project. Jillings is the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra's principal violist. She also teaches viola at Lakehead University. In October of 2008, young musicians will receive the opportunity to appreciate the completed piece at its Toronto premiere-where all four of the 2007 Norman Burgess Memorial Fund recipients will showcase their work.

Approximately seven minutes in length, Dr. Carastathis' piece will be composed in three continuous movements. Each movement will explore particular techniques on the featured instrument(s), while maintaining an overall consistent design to ensure it does not become a mere exercise piece. Dividing the work into shorter sections during practice may better suit young students with shorter endurance spans. "Eventually, these short-term goals will promote students' desire to learn and play through the piece in its entirety," Carastathis says. The work will include improvised sections which provide students a certain amount of freedom-not only to interpret the music, but also to create it. As a music educator and promoter of New Music, Carastathis has learned that engaging young musicians in music at a personal level and in a positive fashion ultimately means effective learning and favourable results.

The commission is valued at $2,500, with additional funding for the Consulting Educator. Carastathis notes that "Although it isn't much by comparison to some of the funding received by those in the sciences, it is a substantial amount for an arts award." Artists contend that this award is revered and hard to secure. Carastathis is a proud and grateful recipient.

Dr. Carastathis is a classically trained guitarist who teaches music composition at Lakehead University. He has produced more than 70 works across a variety of genres, including symphonic, chamber, and electronic music. His works have been performed at venues in Canada, England, Germany, Greece, Kazakhstan, Poland, Serbia, as well as at Carnegie Hall in New York City. His compositions have been broadcast in Canada on CBC Radio and in the United States on PBS Television. His work has also been recorded and released on a number of CDs. Carastathis has received many past commissions from organizations such as CMC, Music Canada 2000 Festival Inc., Algoma Fall Festival, Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra, Lakehead University Centre for Northern Studies, Louisiana Sinfonietta, Acadia Trio, Louisiana State University New Music Ensemble, Louisiana Composers' Guild, and Baton Rouge Symphony Chamber Orchestra.

A noted musician, educator, consultant, and administrator in Canada and the United States, Dr. Norman Burgess had a passion for fostering innovation, creativity, and excellence in musicians, and displayed unlimited energy, optimism, perseverance, intelligence, patience, and compassion. He longed to see a larger and richer collection of high-quality Canadian music become available for young players, and the Norman Burgess Memorial Fund has been designed to fulfill this wish.

For additional information about the CMC and the Norman Burgess Memorial Fund, please visit www.musiccentre.ca.

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Media: Dr. Carastathis may be contacted directly for media interview at 807-768-8085. Please contact Communications Officer Heather Scott at 807-343-8177 or commun@lakeheadu.ca for additional information about this media release.

About Lakehead
Lakehead is a comprehensive university with a reputation for innovative programs and cutting-edge research. With a main campus located in Thunder Bay, Ontario and a campus in Orillia, Ontario, Lakehead has over 7,700 students and 2,250 faculty and staff, and is home to the west campus of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine. In 2006, Research Infosource Inc. named Lakehead University Canada's Research University of the Year in the undergraduate category. For more information on Lakehead University, visit www.lakeheadu.ca.

Lakehead University Appoints New AOR

(December 6, 2007 - Thunder Bay, ON) Lakehead University is pleased to announce it has hired the services of Toronto-based agencies Fantail Communications and BIG to handle its next generation of marketing communications requirements for an initial term of three years. Fantail/Big joined forces to respond to the RFP and won the account based on a collaborative strategy of providing targeted expertise in public and media relations, publications, awareness building, and branding.

"As the new AOR, Fantail and BIG will work closely with Lakehead University to help achieve its short- and long-term marketing goals, including strengthening marketing integration efforts among marketing-driven departments such as Communications, Admissions and Recruitment, Advancement, and Continuing Education and Distributed Learning," explains Lakehead University Director of Communications Eleanor Abaya. "Of the 15 agencies competing for the Lakehead University account, Fantail/BIG best demonstrated knowledge of the university sector and the particular challenges and opportunities facing Lakehead University. They were the clear winner."

Jim Warrington, President of Fantail Communications says, "Fantail and BIG separately have had opportunity to work with Lakehead in the past, and we were particularly attracted to Lakehead because it has stood out from other institutions of higher learning in its willingness to innovate and experiment. In 2003 when the university first started its awareness-building campaigns, Lakehead was the first to use cinema and bus shelter advertising in the GTA. And, of course, the university hit a publicity streak with their edgy YaleShmale postering campaign, which was also a great case study in effective viral marketing. This willingness to push boundaries in a normally staid sector is what makes Lakehead attractive to us."

Lakehead University President Dr. Fred Gilbert adds, "Lakehead University is special in the way we are prepared to experiment by travelling the less well-worn path. Our students tend to be individualists who create their own opportunities. It requires a special type of marketing services agency to help us convey Lakehead's particular strengths within the cacophony of university sector advertising. The combination of Fantail and BIG should help us maintain our hard-won advantage in the competitive university marketplace."

Fantail Communications has worked on major groundbreaking PR campaigns, including the HSBC Bank Canada Fans Face Off hockey sponsorship activation program, Xstrata Nickel, Rogers, and Shoppers Drug Mart LifeFest, while BIG does work for the Ramada chain, Bruce Telecom, and the Royal Winter Fair.

Fantail/BIG began working with Lakehead in an official capacity as of December 1, 2007.

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Media: Dr. Gilbert, Eleanor Abaya, and Jim Warrington are available for media interview. Please contact Heather Scott, Communications Officer, at 343-8177 or commun@lakeheadu.ca to arrange interview times or if you have any questions about this announcement.

About LakeheadUniversity
Lakehead is a comprehensive university with a reputation for innovative programs and cutting-edge research. With a main campus located in Thunder Bay, Ontario and a campus in Orillia, Ontario, Lakehead has over 7,700 students and 2,250 faculty and staff, and is home to the west campus of the NorthernOntarioSchool of Medicine. In 2006, Research Infosource Inc. named Lakehead UniversityCanada's ResearchUniversity of the Year in the undergraduate category. For more information on LakeheadUniversity, visit www.lakeheadu.ca

Collaboration between Lakehead University Faculty and Aboriginal Community Partners Leads to Substantial SSHRC Funding

Research Initiatives to Benefit Aboriginal Language and Learning


(December 5, 2007 --Thunder Bay, ON) In partnership with two Aboriginal organizations, four members of Lakehead University's Faculty of Education are pleased to announce a collective total of $436,000 in Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) funding for partner-based research which aims to benefit Aboriginal communities.

Principal investigator Dr. Ethel Gardner, partners from the Grand Council of Treaty #3, and co-investigator Dr. John O'Meara have collaborated on a research plan to receive $225,000 in SSHRC funding which will develop a comprehensive, collaborative, and strategic plan for the retention and revitalization of the Anishinaabe language-more commonly known as Ojibwe. Likewise, with $211,000 in SSHRC funding, a research team comprising principal investigator Dr. Seth Agbo; co-investigators Drs. Lisa Korteweg, John O'Meara, and Ethel Gardner; community partner Keewaytinook Okimakanak (Northern Chiefs), and Director Brian Walmark and members of Keewaytinook Okimakanak Research Institute (KORI), will explore community perspectives pertaining to the Keewaytinook Internet High School (KiHS). As a culturally relevant educational platform, KiHS holds the potential to accommodate educational needs of Aboriginal youth in Ontario's far north. Both funding amounts will be allotted over a three-year period.
Lakehead University Faculty and Aboriginal Community Partners Collaborate for SSHRC Funding
Gardner, Professor and Chair of the Department of Aboriginal Education, worked with team members to develop a project which addresses remedies to the growing decline of the Ojibwe language. Though it is one of three Aboriginal languages in Canada deemed to have the best rate of survival, it is seemingly losing ground among First Nations communities. English is becoming the language used most often by Band offices, schools, First Nations organizations, and community leaders at gatherings and assemblies.

Through extensive research, all partners involved in the project aim to develop a plan, over a fifteen-year period, to retain and cultivate a fluent, understood, and respected language in all communities and among all community members. "Together," says Gardner, "Lakehead University researchers, Aboriginal graduate students, education and language technicians, and Treaty #3 participants will gather a variety of data on the state of this language in all 28 Treaty #3 communities." Researchers will implement a pilot project for language revitalization in each of the three Treaty #3 Tribal Councils.

"As our language keepers become older, we are quickly losing our Anishinaabe wordsmiths and our links to the 'old' language," says Ogichidaa (Grand Chief) Arnold Gardner. "Our long-term goal in working with Lakehead University is to develop tactics to ensure we have fluent speakers of every age and within every community, and to give our traditional language the exposure, understanding, and respect it so deserves."

Agbo and Lakehead faculty members have worked closely with the KO Northern Chief's Council and its research wing, KORI. Together, these group members will investigate community perspectives, opinions, and attitudes about KiHS, a virtual secondary school established in 1999 to serve Aboriginal students in grades nine and ten.

The KiHS was created so parents in remote and isolated First Nations communities would not have to choose between ensuring their children receive quality education and sending them far from home to attend high school at such a critical time in their adolescence. Each class is taught in a physical classroom location by an accredited teacher, responsible for classroom management and student tutoring and mentoring. KiHS is the first digital high school in Canada to be established and operated by First Nations, and is now based in 15 remote First Nations communities across northwestern Ontario.

"Lakehead University has a long-standing relationship with KORI," emphasizes Agbo. "We are aware of the difficult circumstances that arise when separating children from their families and community members for schooling purposes, and solutions are in the works. Over the last three years, we have collaborated with the KO Northern Chief's Council and KORI to determine the most appropriate way to implement and evaluate these solutions. Researchers at KORI are sharing their expertise to help us achieve these enhancements in the most direct and effective ways possible."

"Our research partnerships are based on community needs, mutual respect, and capacity building," says Brian Walmark, Director of KORI. "We work with people and organizations with similar missions-to foster learning and educational success." Members of KORI have collaborated on past projects with Lakehead University's School of Nursing and the Northern Ontario School of Medicine.

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Media: Drs. Gardner, Agbo, O'Meara, and Korteweg, as well as Ogichidaa (Grand Chief) Arnold Gardner and Brian Walmark are available for media interview. Please contact Heather Scott to arrange interview times for LakeheadUniversity faculty or for contact information for partners' spokespeople. If you have any questions regarding this media release, please contact Heather Scott, Communications Officer, at 807-343-8177, commun@lakeheadu.ca; or Eleanor Abaya, Director of Communications, 807-343-8372, eabaya@lakeheadu.ca.

About Lakehead
Lakehead is a comprehensive university with a reputation for innovative programs and cutting-edge research. With a main campus located in Thunder Bay, Ontario and a campus in Orillia, Ontario, Lakehead has over 7,700 students and 2,250 faculty and staff, and is home to the west campus of the NorthernOntarioSchool of Medicine. In 2006, Research Infosource Inc. named Lakehead UniversityCanada's ResearchUniversity of the Year in the undergraduate category. For more information on LakeheadUniversity, visit www.lakeheadu.ca

Lakehead University Professor Collaborates with U.S. Military on Anti-Terrorism Research

(December 4, 2007 - Thunder Bay, ON) In the New Year, Dr. Laure Paquette, a Lakehead University Political Science professor, will be working with an American military university to develop tools for understanding underdog strategies.

Paquette will conduct research with the Joint Special Operations University, a post-secondary military institution responsible for educating special operations forces from all branches of the U.S. military. "I'm going to focus on mistakes that underdogs like terrorists and other criminals make in their strategic thinking processes, and how to use those mistakes to save the lives of as many people as possible, whether they are civilian or military," says Paquette.

Paquette will travel for approximately nine weeks, interviewing military personnel, making at least one presentation, and writing a paper for wide distribution. All of this will take place during the winter 2008 term.

"Dr. Paquette's expertise is a great match for our current research priorities," says U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Michael C. McMahon, director of the JSOU Department of Strategic Studies. "We are happy to support a researcher of her international stature and reputation, and we look forward to making her findings widely available."

Dr. Paquette has lectured at military academies and staff colleges in Canada, China, South Korea, and Japan. Her defence-related research has been funded by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, as well as the Canadian, Japanese, and Taiwanese governments. She has published Bioterrorism and Health Services Administration, provided advice to the U.S. Air Force on its counterinsurgency doctrine, and is presently developing a guide to counterinsurgency training.

U.S. Special Operations Command established JSOU at Hurlburt Field, Fla. in 2000. JSOU is a focal point for meeting special operations forces unique educational needs and enhancing the understanding of special operations' utility to national security decision makers.
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Media: Dr. Paquette and Lt. Col. Michael C. McMahon are available for media interview. Please contact Heather Scott at 343-8177 to arrange interview times with Dr. Paquette. Additionally, Lt. Col. Michael C. McMahon may be reached directly at 850-496-8612 (cell) or via Robert Schultz, Administrative Assistant, at 850-884-2765. For additional information about this media release, please contact: Heather Scott, Communications Officer, 343-8177, commun@lakeheadu.ca; or Eleanor Abaya, Director of Communications, 343-8372, eabaya@lakeheadu.ca.

About Lakehead

Lakehead is a comprehensive university with a reputation for innovative programs and cutting-edge research. With a main campus located in Thunder Bay, Ontario and a campus in Orillia, Ontario, Lakehead has over 7,700 students and 2,250 faculty and staff, and is home to the west campus of the NorthernOntarioSchool of Medicine. In 2006, Research Infosource Inc. named Lakehead UniversityCanada's ResearchUniversity of the Year in the undergraduate category. For more information on LakeheadUniversity, visit www.lakeheadu.ca

About the JointSpecialOperationsUniversity (JSOU)
JSOU is a subordinate organization of the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), MacDill Air Force Base, Florida. The JSOU mission is to educate SOF executive, senior, and interme­diate leaders and selected other national and international security decision makers, both military and civilian, through teaching, out­reach, and research in the science and art of joint special operations. JSOU provides education to the men and women of SOF and to those who enable the SOF mission in a joint environment.

Geology Professor's Teachings are Rock-Solid: Lakehead University Names 2007 Distinguished Instructor

(November 21, 2007 - Thunder Bay, ON) LakeheadUniversity's Senate Committee on Teaching and Learning has named Dr. Philip Fralick as the 2007 Distinguished Instructor. Dr. Fralick is Chair of Lakehead University's Geology Department and Director of Water Resource Science.

In addition to his multitude of existing field-related successes, this award highlights Fralick's ability to share his extensive knowledge with his students, who will ultimately carry his teachings forward in their respective endeavours.


Dr. Fralick examines sedimentary rocks to understand how the Earth looked in prehistoric times. "The combination of our University facilities and the local environment certainly helps me get the message across to my students," Fralick says modestly. "The fact that this Institution is situated between Lake Superior and such a vast expanse of Boreal Forest makes it very easy to find interesting rock formations, analyze their compositions, and conceptualize what Earth looked like at various times in the distant past."

This Sedimentologist and Halifax native completed his HBSc and MSc at DalhousieUniversity. He later obtained his PhD from the University of Toronto. He was recently chosen as one of 50 scientists from around the world to attend a NASA-sponsored meeting to develop techniques that could be employed to detect life on Mars. His research has taken him to Japan and the USA, and he hopes to visit Australia and South Africa in the near future to further supplement his research. "One of the perks of this field is that I can mix business with pleasure; so many travel opportunities arise because the Earth is the subject of my research."

Fralick is currently conducting research on primordial slime as he searches for answers to the dynamic evolution of Earth and life.

Members of the University and Thunder Bay communities enjoyed Fralick's lecture entitled Utilizing Lakehead's Natural Advantages in Field-Based Teaching at Lakehead University on Wednesday, November 21.

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Media: Dr. Fralick is available for media interview on Thursday, November 22. Please contact Heather Scott to arrange an interview time. For additional information about this media release, please contact: Heather Scott, Communications Officer, 807-343-8177, commun@lakeheadu.ca; or Eleanor Abaya, Director of Communications, 807-373-8372, eabaya@lakeheadu.ca


About Lakehead
Lakehead is a comprehensive university with a reputation for innovative programs and cutting-edge research. With a main campus located in Thunder Bay, Ontario and a campus in Orillia, Ontario, Lakehead has over 7,700 students and 2,250 faculty and staff, and is home to the west campus of the NorthernOntarioSchool of Medicine. In 2006, Research Infosource Inc. named Lakehead UniversityCanada's ResearchUniversity of the Year in the undergraduate category. For more information on LakeheadUniversity, visit www.lakeheadu.ca

History is Porthole to Professor's Success: Lakehead University Names 2006 Distinguished Researcher

(November 21, 2007 - Thunder Bay, ON) Lakehead University's Senate Research Committee has named History professor Dr. Ron Harpelle as the 2006 Distinguished Researcher.

This award, alongside Harpelle's extensive list of achievements will certainly benefit the Social Sciences and Humanities. His wide range of interests includes international development, Central America's late nineteenth century immigrant, and cookbooks published in Saskatchewan. He has produced films, developed websites, and written a substantial number of articles and books.

"History has given me access to explore any and all of my interests," Harpelle comments. "That's the beauty of this field - you can study anything you want because everything has a history." He notes that Lakehead University researchers and faculty generate a multitude of incredible research contributions and efforts each year. "The fact that I have been given this honour makes me feel more pride and gratitude than words can express."

A native of St. Pierre-Jolys, Manitoba, Harpelle completed his undergraduate and Masters degrees at the University of Manitoba, and later obtained his PhD in History from the University of Toronto in 1992. A Latin-Americanist, his 20-year working masterpiece is a large collection of archival documents dealing with the West Indian Diaspora to Central America between 1850 and 1950. Harpelle is also deeply interested in development economics; in fact, he was the first historian to be funded by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), an Ottawa-based Crown Corporation which assisted with production costs for his film entitled Banana Split - a piece which focused on issues pertaining to the banana trade. Harpelle, along with his filmmaking wife Kelly Saxberg and a team of other interested parties have undertaken several film projects within this genre, one of which includes the award-winning piece Dorothea Mitchell: A Reel Pioneer. Harpelle emphasizes the teamwork involved in his filmmaking activities and acknowledges the endless achievements that can come to fruition when people of similar interests work cooperatively.

Teamwork maintains a position at the forefront of Harpelle's current agenda. He and former colleague Bruce Muirhead will write an intellectual history of the IDRC. Through discussions with researchers about what their work entails and the associated role the IDRC has played, Harpelle believes it will be easy to determine the results. "The IDRC has a knack for funding very promising young people in many countries around the world, and it has propelled a lot of brilliant works and ideas forward throughout the years," Harpelle adds. "Even thirty-years after these funding recipients have moved on and have immersed themselves in success, they remember who gave them funding early in their careers."

Members of the University and Thunder Bay communities enjoyed Harpelle's lecture entitled Nomadic Wanderings across the Academic Plain at Lakehead University on Wednesday, November 21.

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Media: Dr. Harpelle is available for media interview and can be reached at 807-343-8691. For additional information about this media release, please contact: Heather Scott, Communications Officer, 807-343-8177, commun@lakeheadu.ca; or Eleanor Abaya, Director of Communications, 807-373-8372, eabaya@lakeheadu.ca

About Lakehead
Lakehead is a comprehensive university with a reputation for innovative programs and cutting-edge research. With a main campus located in Thunder Bay, Ontario and a campus in Orillia, Ontario, Lakehead has over 7,700 students and 2,250 faculty and staff, and is home to the west campus of the NorthernOntarioSchool of Medicine. In 2006, Research Infosource Inc. named Lakehead UniversityCanada's ResearchUniversity of the Year in the undergraduate category. For more information on LakeheadUniversity, visit www.lakeheadu.ca

The Thin Green Line: Documentary Resonates with Lakehead University Teachings and Values

(November 21, 2007 - Thunder Bay, ON) Lakehead University will offer a screening of The Thin Green Line, an international documentary depicting Park Rangers and their crusade to protect nature and wildlife at all costs. The film will be shown on Thursday, November 22 in Lakehead University's Upper Lecture Theatre.

In alignment with Lakehead University's Do Something awareness campaign, various groups within the University unite to raise awareness about the importance of protecting parks and wildlife. The School of Outdoor Recreation, Parks, and Tourism (ORPT) alongside the Outdoor Recreation Students' Society (ORSS) and the Lakehead University Student Union (LUSU) bring community members this compelling documentary about the daily encounters of Park Rangers who strive to save the planet and protect the natural world from corruption, ignorance, politics, greed, and environmental exploitation - every day - regardless of consequence.

As ORPT Professor Mark Robson emphasizes, "Members of the University and broader community are extremely fortunate to be nestled between the world's largest freshwater lake and the beautiful boreal forest. These settings offer endless educational and recreational opportunities. Protecting these areas is integral; that realization becomes powerfully evident after watching this film and seeing the dire circumstances that can overcome nature when people lose sight of its tremendous value." Robson draws a parallel with the film director's goal and Lakehead University's ORPT curriculum as both strive to provide information about the importance of protecting natural areas and the biodiversity that thrives within them.

Doors to the University's Upper Lecture Theature (UC 2001) open at 6:30 p.m. and the film begins at 7:00 p.m. Admission will be granted by donation to support the families of rangers killed in action. Those who donate will be entered into a door prize draw. All community members are welcome to attend. Please visit www.thingreenline.info for additional information about the documentary.

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Media: Dr. Robson is available for media interview. Please contact Heather Scott at
807-343-8177 to arrange an interview time. For additional information about this media release, please contact: Heather Scott, Communications Officer, 807-343-8177, commun@lakeheadu.ca; or Eleanor Abaya, Director of Communications, 807-373-8372, eabaya@lakeheadu.ca

About Lakehead
Lakehead is a comprehensive university with a reputation for innovative programs and cutting-edge research. With a main campus located in Thunder Bay, Ontario and a campus in Orillia, Ontario, Lakehead has over 7,700 students and 2,250 faculty and staff, and is home to the west campus of the NorthernOntarioSchool of Medicine. In 2006, Research Infosource Inc. named Lakehead UniversityCanada's ResearchUniversity of the Year in the undergraduate category. For more information on LakeheadUniversity, visit www.lakeheadu.ca

High Profile Therapists and Researchers Converge in Thunder Bay to Recognize Strengths in our Children and Adolescents

(November 15, 2007 --Thunder Bay, ON) The Centre of Excellence for Children and Adolescents with Special Needs is hosting a workshop for parents, youth, teachers, policy makers, French-language educators, therapists, and childcare workers. Building from Strength: Evidence and Reality-based Tools and Interventions takes place at the Valhalla Inn from November 22 - 23, and begins at 8:00 a.m. each day. More than 200 participants from the region are expected to participate in the conference, which offers 22 unique learning sessions.

The goal of the event is to better understand how children and youth can incorporate the skills they already possess, and apply them to improve other areas of their lives. Conference Coordinator Jodi Kurzhals explains, "The information that will be made available at this event applies to special needs children and youth, and to those struggling either with school or personal circumstances and situations."

Attendees can look forward to receiving information from an esteemed panel of experts, some of whom include: Kelly Stone, Director of the Division of Childhood and Adolescence at the Centre for Health Promotion for the Public Health Agency of Canada; Robert Thomas, Director of Keewaytinook Okimakanak Health and member of Fort Severn First Nation; Dr. Michael Ungar, Keynote Speaker, Author, and professor at Dalhousie University's School of Social Work; and Dr. Edward Rawana, Centre of Excellence Director and Lakehead University Psychology professor. A complete listing of information on presentation topics, dates, and times can be viewed at www.lcnorth.ca. For cost and registration information, please contact Conference Coordinator Jodi Kurzhals at 343-8196.

The Youth, Parent, and Adult Ally Night takes place from 5:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, November 22. This event includes a youth panel discussion entitled What Youth are Doing to Build our Community, a seminar on self-harm syndrome, a workshop on transitions from high school for students with special needs, and MINDFRAMES, a local youth group's dramatic presentation that raises awareness about the myths and misconceptions surrounding mental illness. Youth and parents will be admitted to this event for $5 per person.

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Media: Jodi Kurzhals is available for a media interview; she can be reached directly at
807-343-8196. If you have any questions regarding this media release, please contact:
Heather Scott, Communications Officer, 807-343-8177 or commun@lakeheadu.ca.
Eleanor Abaya, Director of Communications, 807-343-8372 or eabaya@lakeheadu.ca.


The Centre of Excellence for Children and Adolescents with Special Needs (CECASN) site at LakeheadUniversity is the National Office. CECASN works to ensure that advanced research knowledge gets to those who need it most in order to improve the lives of northern children. Our network includes parents, children and youth, educators, service providers, community groups, researchers, as well as local, provincial and national government policy makers, working to improve access and ensure that children living in remote, northern communities receive the best services Canada has to offer. We have five partner Centres located across the country including: Government of Nunavut, University of NorthernBC, MemorialUniversity, and MountSaint VincentUniversity.

About Lakehead

Lakehead is a comprehensive university with a reputation for innovative programs and cutting-edge research. With a main campus located in Thunder Bay, Ontario and a campus in Orillia, Ontario, Lakehead has over 7,700 students and 2,250 faculty and staff, and is home to the west campus of the NorthernOntarioSchool of Medicine. In 2006, Research Infosource Inc. named Lakehead UniversityCanada's ResearchUniversity of the Year in the undergraduate category. For more information on LakeheadUniversity, visit www.lakeheadu.ca

Lakehead University Research Team Receives CFI Funding

(November 15, 2007 - Thunder Bay, ON) The Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) announced today that it has awarded $136,527 to Lakehead University to support the Phase Analysis of Materials using X-ray Diffraction project, led by Dr. Lionel Catalan, Canada Research Chair in Industrial Waste Management and Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering at Lakehead University.

"We can say with conviction that Canada has become a place where world-class researchers want to be," said Dr. Eliot Phillipson, President and CEO of the CFI. "This CFI investment will further develop Lakehead University's global reputation as a place where outstanding research and training is being conducted."

The new X-ray diffraction facilities will be used by Dr. Catalan, in collaboration with Dr. Steve Kinrade (Chemistry) and Dr. Charles Xu (Chemical Engineering) for their research on developmental and environmental challenges arising from the development of Canada's mineral and bio-feedstocks.

Lakehead University President Dr. Fred Gilbert welcomed CFI's investment. "This funding enables our researchers to continue to work with the latest equipment, generate information that has global relevance, and ultimately add to Lakehead University's reputation as a research-intensive institution."

"X-ray diffraction, with its ability to generate information at a molecular and atomic level, is a fundamental tool used to characterize materials created under a variety of controlled conditions in the laboratory as well as in natural environments," Catalan explains. The equipment will also be used by many other researchers at Lakehead University for standard phase identification of experimental products in solid state chemistry, together with crystal structure refinement of diverse inorganic compounds and minerals.

Ken Boshcoff M.P. Thunder Bay-Rainy River comments, "This funding highlights the exceptional research projects that are ongoing at Lakehead University and affirms that local researchers are among the best in the country. The continued development of research opportunities in our community is vital to the growth of the knowledge-based economy."

"This funding will improve Lakehead University's capacity and capability as a research-based university and will contribute to building a knowledge-based economy in Northwestern Ontario," says the Honourable Joe Comuzzi, Member of Parliament for Thunder Bay-Superior North.

The CFI announced today a total of $28 million in new funds to support 149 projects at 35 institutions across Canada. The investment was approved by the CFI's Board of Directors following a rigorous merit review process. A total of $23.3 was awarded under the Leaders Opportunity Fund, a program designed to provide infrastructure to attract researchers to Canadian institutions at a time of intense international competition for knowledge workers, as well as to retain the very best of today and tomorrow's leading researchers for Canada. The remaining $4.6 million was awarded under the Infrastructure Operating Fund, an accompanying program which assists universities with the incremental operating and maintenance costs associated with new infrastructure projects.

A complete list of the projects awarded today, by university, can be found at: www.innovation.ca.

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Media: Please contact Heather Scott or Eleanor Abaya for additional information or to schedule interview times with Drs. Catalan or Gilbert.


Heather Scott
Communications Officer
LakeheadUniversity
807-343-8177

Eleanor Abaya
Director of Communications
LakeheadUniversity
807-343-8372


For additional CFI information, please contact:

Douglas Lauriault
Canada Foundation for Innovation
Tel.:613-996-3193
Cell.: 613-295-2978
douglas.lauriault@innovation.ca

About Lakehead
Lakehead is a comprehensive university with a reputation for innovative programs and cutting-edge research. With a main campus located in Thunder Bay, Ontario and a campus in Orillia, Ontario, Lakehead has over 7,700 students and 2,250 faculty and staff, and is home to the west campus of the NorthernOntarioSchool of Medicine. In 2006, Research Infosource Inc. named Lakehead UniversityCanada's ResearchUniversity of the Year in the undergraduate category. For more information on LakeheadUniversity, visit www.lakeheadu.ca

About CFI
The Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) is an independent corporation created by the Government of Canada to fund research infrastructure. The CFI's mandate is to strengthen the capacity of Canadian universities, colleges, research hospitals, and non-profit research institutions to carry out world-class research and technology development that benefits Canadians.

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