Opera is Jessica Hayes’ forte

February 22, 2022 – Thunder Bay, Ont.

Lakehead music student Jessica Hayes spent the last two years mastering Si, mi chiamano Mimi, which earned her first place in the opera category at the Crescendo International Music Competition held at Carnegie Hall on Monday, Feb. 14.

She chose the song for Crescendo in 2019 – and then the pandemic hit, giving her more time to perfect it.

“At first it was just a lovely piece to me, but since I started it at the beginning of second year and now I’m finishing my fourth year, each year my voice grew and I learned more,” she said.

“I grew with that song and character, and that was the most consistent piece in my life. With the context of the song being so sweet and hopeful, I think that also helped me through the pandemic and I believe this piece will forever be special to me.”

Hayes was able to attend the Crescendo finals after coming in second in the semi-final competition in January, which she participated in by submitting a video.

She arrived in New York City two days before the competition, giving her plenty of time to see the sights and prepare for Crescendo.

After visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Russian Tea Room, Hayes prepared for the competition by practicing with piano accompanist Anna Vasilyeva, and with help from her personal hairstylist, her mom Lana, who works as a hairdresser in Thunder Bay.

Backstage before her performance, Hayes spent time in a dressing room once used by one of her favourite composers, Gustav Mahler, a world-renowned conductor who made his Carnegie Hall debut in 1908 conducting the New York Symphony Orchestra.

Then she found herself in the greenroom examining posters on the walls – for Maria Callas and other famous opera singers who performed at Carnegie Hall.

“I was a little star struck,” she said. “These were artists I listened to while learning my pieces. I wasn’t really nervous – I wasn’t thinking about the end result. I was just excited to be there and I was super calm while taking it all in.”

Performances started at 7 pm and Hayes found herself on stage at approximately 7:30, with Vasilyeva on piano, in front of around 200 audience members, including her mom.

“Going out there on to the stage, it was amazing. The audience was great. It was surreal. I had an out-of-body experience,” she said.

When Vasilyeva played the first few notes on the piano, Hayes began to sing while portraying the character of Mimi from Giacomo Puccini’s opera La Bohème.

After her performance, Hayes watched the rest of the competition in the audience with her mom. Then Hayes went backstage to learn she’d come in first.

She ran out to tell her mom the good news, which caused them both to cry tears of joy while standing on the sidewalk outside Carnegie Hall. 

Coming in first means Hayes will spend three weeks touring Italy this summer, taking master classes with renowned musicians and performing at auditoriums and conservatories.

She expressed gratitude to everyone who helped along the way.

“Professor Kim Erickson has been fantastic. She really shaped my voice into an opera voice. The private classes I took in high school with Alana Valente pushed me and encouraged me to take the leap into music as a career,” Hayes said.

“I’m also grateful to my parents Lana and David, and my stepdad Jim, professor Evgeny Chugunov, and my Thunder Bay accompanist Sean Kim.”

Follow this link for a video of Hayes performing Si, mi chiamano Mimi.

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Media: For more information or interviews, please contact Brandon Walker, Media, Communications and Marketing Associate, at (807) 343-8110 ext. 8372 or mediarelations@lakeheadu.ca.

Lakehead University is a fully comprehensive university with approximately 9,700 full-time equivalent students and over 2,000 faculty and staff at two campuses in Orillia and Thunder Bay, Ontario. Lakehead has 10 faculties, including Business Administration, Education, Engineering, Graduate Studies, Health & Behavioural Sciences, Law, Natural Resources Management, the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, Science & Environmental Studies, and Social Sciences & Humanities. Lakehead University’s achievements have been recognized nationally and internationally, including being ranked, once again, among Canada’s Top 10 primarily undergraduate universities in Maclean’s 2021 University Rankings; as well as included in the top half of Times Higher Education's 2022 World Universities Rankings for the third consecutive year, and in the top 100 of 1,115 universities from around the world in THE's 2021 Impact Rankings (which assesses institutions against the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals). Visit www.lakeheadu.ca.

February 17, 2022 – Thunder Bay and Orillia, Ont.

Lakehead University is launching a community-based education series to support those seeking to understand and respond to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action.

Featuring Indigenous Elders and knowledge keepers, the five-week series, Truth and Reconciliation: Community Dialogues, will focus on learning truths related to Indigenous histories and contemporary experiences in Canada, and discussing how reconciliation can be enacted in meaningful ways in our communities.

“Our responsibility lies in dismantling the biases and beliefs in and around us,” said Dr. Cynthia Wesley-Esquimaux, Lakehead’s Chair on Truth and Reconciliation and one of the speakers in the series.

“The truth is buried beneath inaccessible advantages and lurks in the darkness of denial where it will not allow change. Shining a light on truth allows us all to move forward together, heal injustice, and ensure an inclusive and equitable future.”

Developed through a partnership between Wesley-Esquimaux and Lakehead’s Office of Community Engagement and Lifelong Learning, the series is geared toward youth and adults who are ready to engage with truth and participate in reconciliation.

“People want to be allies, but there is still uncertainty about how to start, sustain, and further work through these processes,” explained Dr. Linda Rodenburg, Director of Community Engagement and Lifelong Learning. “We hope that this series helps them answer the question ‘what can I do?’.”

Supported in part by funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, this free series will be held over five weeks from March 1 to 29 on Tuesdays via Zoom. Register at  www.lakeheadu.ca/cell.

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 Media: Jaclyn Bucik, Media, Communications & Marketing Associate, at 705-330-4010 ext. 2014 or mediarelations@lakeheadu.ca.

Lakehead University is a fully comprehensive university with approximately 9,700 full-time equivalent students and over 2,000 faculty and staff at two campuses in Orillia and Thunder Bay, Ontario. Lakehead has 10 faculties, including Business Administration, Education, Engineering, Graduate Studies, Health & Behavioural Sciences, Law, Natural Resources Management, the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, Science & Environmental Studies, and Social Sciences & Humanities. Lakehead University’s achievements have been recognized nationally and internationally, including being ranked, once again, among Canada’s Top 10 primarily undergraduate universities in Maclean’s 2021 University Rankings; as well as included in the top half of Times Higher Education's 2022 World Universities Rankings for the third consecutive year, and in the top 100 of 1,115 universities from around the world in THE's 2021 Impact Rankings (which assesses institutions against the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals). Visit www.lakeheadu.ca.

February 14, 2022 – Orillia, Ont. 

A Lakehead University professor has discovered that individuals will go to extraordinary lengths to help or harm others.

Dr. DB Krupp, an Assistant Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies, suggests that this may help us understand the evolution of multicellular organisms and the complex social behaviours and weaponry of many species.

For example, amoebae are single-celled organisms that typically lead solitary lives but, in a few species, individuals will come together when they are starved and form a multicellular organism composed of a stalk and fruiting body.

The majority of the individual cells will make up the stalk and die, whereas the few that remain will make up the fruiting body, reproducing by sending out spores.

Likewise, ants, termites, and some wasps and bees also make great sacrifices, giving up their ability to reproduce entirely to find food for the colony, defend the nest from intruders, or even blow themselves up to spray predators with sticky, dangerous compounds that stop those predators in their tracks.

“It turns out individuals do this to help their genetic relatives, because they bear copies of the same genes,” said Dr. Krupp.

“The amoebae in the stalk give up their lives to help their relatives in the fruiting body, and insect workers give up their lives to help their relatives in the colony, such as the queen. In turn, the survivors reproduce, allowing the genes causing self-sacrifice to spread through the population.”

The existence of self-sacrifice in nature has captivated scientists for the better part of a century, who have found that organisms will pay costs to altruistically help their relatives or to spitefully harm non-relatives.

It was widely assumed that the costs that individuals pay must be smaller than those they altruistically give to or spitefully impose on their recipients. But, in a recent theoretical breakthrough published in Scientific Reports, Dr. Krupp and his collaborator, Dr. Wes Maciejewski from San José State University, argue that organisms can evolve to pay costs beyond these limits.

“We asked the question: is it possible for individuals to hurt themselves more than they help or harm recipients? The literature doesn’t really explore this problem.

“Implicitly it’s assumed that it can’t happen, but we show that it can—under certain circumstances,” Dr. Krupp said.

“One of the keys is that individuals must be neighbours with their relatives. This helps, because the cost of self-sacrifice translates into a benefit to one’s neighbours. So, by paying a cost, the individual is giving up food or other resources that its relatives can enjoy down the line.”

With this in place, the theory shows that extraordinary altruism evolves when the individual helps a relative who then travels farther away, to compete with non-relatives somewhere else.

Conversely, the theory also shows that extraordinary spite evolves when the individual harms a non-relative who stays put. As a result, the spiteful cost to the non-relative again translates into a benefit to the self-sacrificing individual’s relatives, because it leaves more resources for its related neighbours.

Dr. Krupp sums up the result with a simple rule: “Extraordinary self-sacrifice evolves when the individual’s neighbours are relatives and the recipient’s neighbours are not.”

You can read Dr. Krupp’s article here.

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Media: For more information or interviews, please contact Brandon Walker, Media, Communications and Marketing Associate, at (807) 343-8110 ext. 8372 or mediarelations@lakeheadu.ca.

Lakehead University is a fully comprehensive university with approximately 9,700 full-time equivalent students and over 2,000 faculty and staff at two campuses in Orillia and Thunder Bay, Ontario. Lakehead has 10 faculties, including Business Administration, Education, Engineering, Graduate Studies, Health & Behavioural Sciences, Law, Natural Resources Management, the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, Science & Environmental Studies, and Social Sciences & Humanities. Lakehead University’s achievements have been recognized nationally and internationally, including being ranked, once again, among Canada’s Top 10 primarily undergraduate universities in Maclean’s 2021 University Rankings; as well as included in the top half of Times Higher Education's 2022 World Universities Rankings for the third consecutive year, and in the top 100 of 1,115 universities from around the world in THE's 2021 Impact Rankings (which assesses institutions against the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals). Visit www.lakeheadu.ca.

This funding will allow Lakehead Thunder Bay to upgrade aging instructional technology in
approximately 35 rooms, within the Advanced Technology Academic Centre (pictured), the
Ryan building, and the CJ Sanders Fieldhouse – and add Wi-Fi to the Centennial building.

This funding will allow Lakehead to update audiovisual and conferencing equipment across
roughly 15 instructional spaces in Orillia.

February 9, 2022 – Orillia and Thunder Bay, Ont.

Ontario’s Ministry of Colleges and Universities is providing $1 million to Lakehead University for upgrades to its Wi-Fi, audiovisual and technology equipment in Orillia and Thunder Bay, resulting in a $2 million benefit to students in Engineering and the Sciences.

Lakehead and the University’s Student Tech Fee Committee contributed $500,000 each, and Crestron, an audiovisual automation and controls manufacturer, added a $60,000 rebate for further enhancements.

This funding will allow Lakehead Thunder Bay to upgrade aging instructional technology in approximately 35 rooms, within the Advanced Technology Academic Centre (ATAC), the Ryan building, and the CJ Sanders Fieldhouse – and add Wi-Fi to the Centennial building.

These upgrades will benefit students in the faculties of Health Sciences, Engineering, Science and Environmental Studies,  Business, and Social Sciences and the Humanities.  

At Lakehead Orillia, the University will update audiovisual and conferencing equipment across roughly 15 instructional spaces – including 11 classrooms in Simcoe Hall and four in Heritage Place, benefiting students in all of Lakehead Orillia’s programs.

“The Lakehead University Student Union appreciates the Ministry of Colleges and Universities supporting our students with this funding,” said Lahama Naeem, LUSU President.

“Technology and Wi-Fi are essential tools for student learning and advancement in today's day and age. We are certain that these upgrades will have a lasting impact on students and their experience at Lakehead University,” she added.

Lakehead began this project in September 2021, with an estimated completion date of later this year.

“Thank you, Minister Jill Dunlop, for selecting Lakehead University as a recipient of this important funding,” said Dr. Moira McPherson, Lakehead’s President and Vice-Chancellor.

“The Ministry of Colleges and Universities’ investment significantly increases the enhancements to be made to Lakehead’s collaborative, immersive course delivery technology that will improve access to remote learning tools and opportunities for students at our campuses in Orillia and Thunder Bay.” 

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 Media: For more information or interviews, please contact Brandon Walker, Media, Communications and Marketing Associate, at (807) 343-8110 ext. 8372 or mediarelations@lakeheadu.ca.

Lakehead University is a fully comprehensive university with approximately 9,700 full-time equivalent students and over 2,000 faculty and staff at two campuses in Orillia and Thunder Bay, Ontario. Lakehead has 10 faculties, including Business Administration, Education, Engineering, Graduate Studies, Health & Behavioural Sciences, Law, Natural Resources Management, the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, Science & Environmental Studies, and Social Sciences & Humanities. Lakehead University’s achievements have been recognized nationally and internationally, including being ranked, once again, among Canada’s Top 10 primarily undergraduate universities in Maclean’s 2021 University Rankings; as well as included in the top half of Times Higher Education's 2022 World Universities Rankings for the third consecutive year, and in the top 100 of 1,115 universities from around the world in THE's 2021 Impact Rankings (which assesses institutions against the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals). Visit www.lakeheadu.ca.

To members of the Lakehead University Community,

As most of you have learned by now, Lakehead’s President, Dr. Moira McPherson, informed the University’s Board of Governors at its meeting, last Friday, that she is declining the opportunity to seek another term at the end of her current mandate in June 2023.

On behalf of the members of our Board, I wanted to express how very proud we are of the work Dr. McPherson has accomplished as our President, and that the Board remains confident in her ongoing commitment and dedication to Lakehead University for the remainder of her term. 

We recognize that there are still many months remaining in President McPherson’s current term, and much to be achieved. During this time, the Board fully supports Dr. McPherson and knows we can all continue to rely on her outstanding leadership until a successor is in place.  We also anticipate that Dr. McPherson will play a significant role in transitioning to the next President.

The Board of Governors will announce the formal process for the search for Lakehead University’s next President and Vice-Chancellor in the coming months.

With thanks,

Angie Maltese
Chair, Board of Governors
Lakehead University

This message follows Dale Barnes’ (Assistant to the President) decision to begin the next chapter of her life and take her retirement. Her decision is effective immediately.

Last summer, our annual Employee Service Recognition Event celebrated Dale Barnes’ exceptional 50 years working at Lakehead University.

In May 1971, Dale started her storied history at Lakehead as ‘Clerk 1’ in our Accounting Department.  Since then, she’s progressed to various offices and departments before eventually making her way to the Office of the President 12 years ago.

During all of her years and roles, Dale’s caring spirit and service-oriented demeanour have been valued by everyone who has had the pleasure of working with her.

Dale, thank you for your impactful 50 years at Lakehead. Our University community has only been better because you have been part of it!

Congratulations on a well-earned and much-deserved retirement. May you enjoy the next chapter of your life the way you want.

Our deepest admiration and thanks on behalf of generations of very grateful University community members!

Discover the exceptional and unconventional learning opportunities – in person or virtually – this March.

Explore everything about Lakehead this March as we feature our seven exceptional Faculties over five unconventional days and 2 beautiful campuses. Visitors will get an opportunity to expand their learning and take part in in-classroom learning opportunities they will experience as a first-year student.

Hear from staff and supports covering residence, financial supports and bursaries, student activities and more. Join an in-person tour. Chat with current students. And . . . an opportunity to accept your offer on the spot. Can’t join us in person? We have five full days of virtual events for you to participate in and get ready for Lakehead University.

Running Monday, March 14 to Friday, March 18, each day will feature a specific Faculty Showcase and have both an in-person and virtual option. Register now by visiting www.lakeheadu.ca/marchbreak.

To Our Lakehead University Community,

After many months of deep thought and consideration, today I informed our Board of Governors of my decision to decline the opportunity to stand for a further term as President and Vice-Chancellor of Lakehead University following the completion of my current term at the end of June 2023.

Throughout my 35-year tenure at Lakehead, it has been an absolute privilege to serve you all in various academic and administrative roles, with my most recent 12 years in senior leadership positions. Following my time as President and Vice-Chancellor, I look forward to how I will continue to serve as a member of our amazing University community.

While there is still so much to be accomplished, Lakehead stands strong and proud as a vibrant Ontario and Canadian University — one that is, according to Times Higher Education’s Impact Rankings, included among the world’s top 100 universities as a result of our success in addressing the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

As President, I am particularly proud of the ongoing progress to advance Indigenous strategic and academic priorities as we have forged new relationships with leaders, organizations, Institutes, and our Ogimaawin Indigenous Education Council (OIEC). Continuing to authentically action those priorities and commitments, together, remains atop my most important undertakings.

As we continue to work together, I am eager to ensure:

• A successful transition through this next phase of the pandemic. It is imperative that we stay sharply focused on providing the best academic and student experience for our learners at both of our campuses, and ensure that we continue to excel in our development of robust, highly-skilled graduates who are positioned to achieve their academic and professional goals.
• Continued advancement of our thriving partnerships. This includes leadership and advocacy related to our innovative partnership with Georgian College, continuing to celebrate and build on multiple successful pathways with Confederation College, and championing the exciting opportunity with the University of Guelph to build a Collaborative Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) program that will help address veterinary capacity in rural and remote communities in the North.
• Continuing to build on Lakehead’s long history of supporting healthcare education in the North. This includes ongoing work with local health service providers and other education partners to develop sound solutions that build on the strengths of Lakehead’s programming and research in health-related fields.

I look forward to continuing to work with our Board of Governors, Senate, OIEC, and faculty and staff to further Lakehead’s strategic priorities during our next 17 months together.

Stay healthy and strong, Lakehead!

Dr. Moira McPherson
President and Vice-Chancellor

February 2, 2022 – Thunder Bay and Orillia, Ont.

Lakehead invites you to celebrate Black History Month throughout the month of February by attending some or all of the University’s online events.

Lakehead University International (LUI) and the Office of Human Rights and Equity (OHRE), in collaboration with many on-campus and off-campus community groups, invite you to attend Black History Month Celebrations.

This year the national theme is “February and Forever: Celebrating Black History Month today and every day.”

Black History Month begins with a dialogue led by the Office of Human Rights and Equity (OHRE) highlighting supports at Lakehead to foster equity, diversity, inclusion, and decolonization, and includes a celebration of Black Excellence at Lakehead, check-ins on where we are at, and a strong wrap-up discussion that looks at and acknowledges the disproportionate impacts of the pandemic on the Black community.

Starting Thursday, Feb. 3 from 1-2 pm, the Office of Human Rights and Equity will lead a Black History Month information session.

On Tuesday, Feb. 8 from 12 - 1 pm, Lakehead Chancellor Dr. Rita Shelton Deverell will provide an opening ceremony speech via Zoom.

Also coming up, Lakehead’s OHRE has planned a talk with Lakehead graduate student and speaker, Khater Muhajir, who will discuss the Impacts of COVID-19 on the Black Community on Thursday, Feb. 10 from 12-1 pm.

Lakehead will host a panel discussion on Friday, Feb. 18 from 12-1 pm called “The BIPOC Movement: Where We’re At a Year Later,” with a group of current Black Lakehead students – facilitated by Lakehead MBA student Omogbolahan Olatunde.

Join the Lakehead University International Student Services Team for a lively game of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Decolonization Pictionary on Tuesday, Feb. 22, 12:30-1:30 pm. Register your team early to participate and win great prizes.

Also, register now for the second annual Black Jeopardy, hosted by OHRE on Thursday, Feb. 24, 2-3 pm. Win prizes for your knowledge on key people, events, and historical moments celebrating Black Excellence at Lakehead University.

Throughout February, visit Lakehead University’s Black History Month Celebration website where key moments in Black History will be revealed and visitors can enter daily to win gift cards or prize packs distributed at the end of the month. 

LUI, OHRE, and their partners hope you will participate in this amazing celebration of Black history at Lakehead University.

Visit Lakehead’s University’s Black History Month Celebration website now to register for upcoming events, which may fill up fast.

More information on the theme is available at Black History Month - Canada.ca and Canada unveils 2022's theme for Black History Month.

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Media: For more information or interviews, please contact Brandon Walker, Media, Communications and Marketing Associate, at (807) 343-8110 ext. 8372 or mediarelations@lakeheadu.ca.

Lakehead University is a fully comprehensive university with approximately 9,700 full-time equivalent students and over 2,000 faculty and staff at two campuses in Orillia and Thunder Bay, Ontario. Lakehead has 10 faculties, including Business Administration, Education, Engineering, Graduate Studies, Health & Behavioural Sciences, Law, Natural Resources Management, the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, Science & Environmental Studies, and Social Sciences & Humanities. Lakehead University’s achievements have been recognized nationally and internationally, including being ranked, once again, among Canada’s Top 10 primarily undergraduate universities in Maclean’s 2021 University Rankings; as well as included in the top half of Times Higher Education's 2022 World Universities Rankings for the third consecutive year, and in the top 100 of 1,115 universities from around the world in THE's 2021 Impact Rankings (which assesses institutions against the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals). Visit www.lakeheadu.ca.