CURRENTSmenno simons college • season 2011

ReflectionsAlumni EventResearchFunding

CURRENTSmenno simons college • Fall 2011

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Contents

1 Dean’s message

2 making Waves

4 graduation

5 Alumni Reception

6 currently speaking

8 Reflections:Alumni

Any semester back at Menno Simons College is a good one. The atmosphere, academe, professors, and people that fill the building are of the sort that rarely leaves one without a

sense of progressive optimism. The feeling rests not only with the future of the College and our chosen fields of development and peace studies but with ourselves as students who have goals and ambitions that often stretch far beyond the classrooms and offices of 520 Portage.

As the first elected MSC Students Association we have given our-selves the mandate of promoting a sense of community at the Col-lege, on The University of Winnipeg campus and throughout the downtown area. The fall semester has seen us succeed and stumble in some surprising ways as we’ve begun to get on our feet as an estab-lished and vibrant student group.

The year kicked off with an intensive weekend of skills and leader-ship training at CMU that gave us a boost of confidence and under-standing of our role on campus as we sat down with several engaging people including the MSC leadership team. This quickly led into a well-attended social mixer at a local pub, weekly meetings, a $500 donation to a local hospital in Pakistan and the promotion of and attendance at events such as the Accountable Development Works conference in October.

By the time this magazine is distributed, our largest event of the fall semester will have been an MSCSA-coordinated fundraiser. In November, several local bands will have played to raise money in sup-port of the Gordon Bell Greenspace Development Project. Many MSC students either volunteer or have completed practicum placements at Gordon Bell High School and we planned this event not only for rais-ing needed funds for an important project but also for strengthening a significant connection with the downtown community.

As we move into the winter semester we look forward to continu-ing to build on the first baby steps we’ve made in 2011 and estab-lishing a students association that will continue to grow and have a positive impact on the College after we leave. We can be found on Facebook or contacted at mscsacontact@gmail.com.

Best for the holidays,James JanzenMSCSA Facilitator

2011/2012 MSCSA L-R: James Janzen - Facilitator, Liz Bend - Events Coordinator, Campbell Maclean - Administrative Coordinator, Cait MacHutchon -Initiatives Coordinator, Carla Kowal - Academic & Administrative Liasion

Message from the MSCA

MSC Currents is a publication of Menno Simons College, published twice a year.

Editor: Monica Derksen

Communications & Marketing Director: Nadine Kampen

Designer: Craig Terlson

Contributors: Richard McCutcheon,James Janzen, Robyn Laurie, Paul Redekop, Brendan Reimer, Barbara Read

Please direct submissions or queries to: Menno Simons College 520 Portage Ave Winnipeg, MB R3C 0G2 Ph. 204.953.3855 www.mscollege.ca

MSC is a College of Canadian Mennonite University; Affiliated with The University of Winnipeg.

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This fall we have been celebrating with our colleague, Dr. Kirit Patel, who received a $3.5 million research grant from the International Development Research Council (see page

2). His project highlights how social scientists and crop scientists can work together to address large-scale issues of poverty.

As I have been thinking about this project, I am reminded that our academic life is too frequently perceived though the lens of competition. However, in order for Dr. Patel’s project to succeed, he has had to find ways for scholars from diverse disciplines to collaborate. As well, the project requires that three universities in Winnipeg join forces to support the development of this crucial work. Indeed, as we look at it more closely, collaboration is crucial to Kirit’s success.

This is also true of the work we do in the classroom. Although there is a competitive framework, evident in grades and a struc-ture which privileges the authority of the instructor, experience indicates that best teaching practices hinge on notions of collabo-ration, relationship, and student-focused problem-solving educa-tion leading to compassionate knowledge, to use master teacher Parker Palmer’s phrase.

As I consider the role of Menno Simons College as an institu-tion, I again see the crucial role that collaboration plays as a means to meeting several needs in downtown Winnipeg. Through our institutional and individual collaborations, we are working to transform conflict, create spaces for justice, address poverty, and develop social change agents who will carry on with these essen-tial tasks.

More personally, as I think back over the past 20 years and my involvement with Iraq, a society that has experienced much com-petition-based violence, I have witnessed in the collaboration ap-proach the seeds of hope and compassion. It is this approach that we are trying to put into practice at MSC.

As we pursue excellence in teaching and research, and as we nurture social change agents equipped with compassionate knowledge, Menno Simons College continues to stand as a will-ing partner with other colleagues and institutions to address the needs of an ever-changing world.

Collaboration as a Guiding PrincipleDr. Rick mccutcheon, Dean of menno simons college

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on October 13, 2011 the  Honourable Steven Fletcher, Minister of State (Transport) and Member of Parliament for Charleswood

– St. James–Assiniboia, congratulated recipients on the funding of $6.4-million in awards  from the Ca-nadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC), for proj-ects supported through the  Canadian Interna-tional Food Security Re-search Fund (CIFSRF).

In his remarks, Min-ister Fletcher said: “I am pleased to be here today to recognize two cut-ting-edge agricultural research projects that support two leading Canadian universities – the University of Mani-toba and the Canadian Mennonite University – and their university research partners. These universities will work to find practical solu-tions to help develop-ing countries become more food self-sufficient. I am convinced that positive results will come out of this research and that it will contribute towards breaking the circle of poverty in developing countries.”

Menno Simons College’s Dr. Kirit Patel is one of the principal investigators for the research project “Revalorizing small millets in rain-fed regions of

South Asia”. Patel was awarded $3.5-million, shared among researchers from Canadian Mennonite Uni-versity and other Canadian and international univer-sity and NGO partners. Other principal investigators are: Muniappan Karthikeyan, Development of Hu-mane Action Foundation (India); Ram Bahadur Rana, Local Initiatives for Biodiversity, Research and

Development (Nepal); and Widanelage Sathis Pemruwan de Mel, Ar-thacharya Foundation (Sri Lanka). Dr. Derek Johnson of the Univer-sity of Manitoba and Dr. Shailesh Shukla of The University of Winnipeg are contributing investi-gators on the project. 

“We are extremely proud of the success of Professor Patel and his team in securing this significant level of fund-ing,” says Canadian Mennonite University President Gerald Ger-brandt.  “Professor Patel is passionate about his

work in sustainable food production and internation-al food security. This funding will enable the research team to make significant progress in gaining under-standing and knowledge in their field of research, and will enable them to make a valuable contribution in developing practical applications in the future.”

Historic Funding for MSC Professor

millions for Food security Research

Front row, L-R: Minister Steven Fletcher, Dr. Shailesh Shukla, University of Winnipeg; Dr. Kirit Patel, Menno Simons College; Dr. Derek Johnson, University of Manitoba Back row, L-R: Dr. Rick McCutcheon, Menno Simons College; Dr. Neil Besner, University of Winnipeg; Ruth Taronno, Menno Simons College; Dr. Earl Davey, CMU; Dr. Gerald Gerbrandt, CMU.

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Dr. Kirit Patel

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graduation 2011

winter (February 2011)

Conflict Resolution Studies 3-Year BAJasmine Rusu Teri Seifert Amy Sullivan Savanna Walls

International DevelopmentStudies 3-Year BAMarcie McMillan

International Development Studies 4-Year BARoberta Whiteman

spring 2011Conflict Resolution Studies 3-Year BAChelsea BeckerKaitlin BornMaria CabasDaniel ChurchNancy CumbersDarren DobchukJasmine DyckAllister FernandesAlexandra GoldfeldJames IrwinAmanda JacksonCourtney JessimanLisa JohnsonIrena KofmanPriyanka KumarRobyn LaurieBaillie LaurinAmy Major

Corie McCormickLynnette McLartyAden ShaiyeKristin SheffieldJordan VickarLinda WiebeTania WiebeDelaney Wood4-Year BAJessica BrownKedeen CummingsAlexa DrepkoAllison GroeningZoë GrossMegan HunterNatalia IlyniakAlana KaplanNicole RobidouxDana Seidel

International Development Studies3-Year BAMatthew AntoshRobin BryanAntoinette DyksmanCarlos FroeseTendai MarutaAkela McMullinDerek MicholsonFrances MulhallLauren RistMuna Hassan-SalahStephanie VopniChaley VothEmily Wiebe4-Year BAAngela DunnAracelly MejiaRaena Penner

Karl PetersJodi Proctor

HonoursLisa GaudryNaomi HappychukEllen Smirl

Double Major: CRS & IDSHannah Buckley (BA 3-Year) Marleah Graff (BA 4-Year)Alison Ralph (BA 3-Year) Jared Wheeler (BA 4-Year)

Fall 2011Conflict Resolution Studies 3-Year BAJean CarterJeremy JohnsonEvangeline KaongaCandace MitsimaJillian OkrainecKristen Von Gunten Wiebe4-Year BAErin BeachMiranda DornoLaura McDonaldChristina ReinkeLaura Winters

International Development Studies3-Year BASemhar GhedelaAmy KroekerChandravani SathiyamurthiYanqiong Yao4-Year BAJanelle BanvilleAracelly Mejia

by Robyn laurie

in the afternoon of June 9th, 2011, as I sat in Convo-cation Hall listening to inspiring speeches from fellow students, I felt a flood of emotions. I felt proud of finish-

ing all of my classes and finally having a Bachelor of Arts degree majoring in Conflict Resolution Studies. I also felt proud of my classmates, who have become close friends. I was happy that I was able to spend the afternoon with people I felt so close to during the years I spent at Menno Simons College. At the same time, I felt sad that I would no longer see the friendly faces of the staff and faculty of MSC on a daily basis, and I would not see my classmates and friends as much as I used to. Instead of feeling sad that things were changing, I became grateful for the expe-rience I had. I am incredibly happy that I was part of this community, and able to meet such wonderful people. I’ve

learned so much from everyone in the MSC community and this will always stay with me.

A couple of months after graduating, I noticed that MSC was hiring a half-time Student Services Assistant. I knew I would love being a part of the Student Services Team and I thought that this would be a perfect career opportunity for me. I wanted to share my experiences and work with other students. This would also allow me to see the staff, faculty and students on a daily basis again! When I found out that I had been offered the position, I was overcome with happiness. I have always wanted a career where I am working with people, and helping others. Now I am help-ing to ensure that future students have a positive, welcom-ing, community experience, just like I did while I was a student at MSC.

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Alumni Reception

Fair TradeWine & Cheese

On October 20, alumni of Menno Simons College gathered at the Gas Station Theatre for an enjoyable evening of reconnecting and sharing Fair Trade wine and cheese. Those in attendance spanned the 20 years of MSC programming, from the first registered student, David Falk, to the recent graduates of 2011. Joining the alumni were both former and current faculty and staff. Following the reception, guests were invited to stay for the public screening of The Economics of Happiness, put on by Canadian CED Network as a launch to their 9th annual Gathering event. MSC was happy to build on their partnership with CCEDNet and served as the exclusive sponsor for the public portion of the evening. In addition, MSC Dean Richard McCutcheon offered stimulating words of welcome before handing the remainder of the evening over to CCEDNet. Given the constant buzz in the room, it is clear that the evening was highly successful...and it may become an annual event!

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MSC is pleased to welcome three new sessional instructors to the Inter-national Development Studies program. L-R: Ray Vander Zaag – IDS Program Coordinator, Zack Gross, Faisal Islam, Dario Cidro

new instructors enrich iDs Team

Zack gross has been working for the past seven years at the Manitoba Council for International Cooperation (MCIC), both on funding programs for development projects and on education and promotion of fair trade.

Previous to that, he spent 25 years as the Executive Director of The Marquis Project, a small, non-government organi-zations based in Brandon, MB. The Marquis Project runs a fair trade store and has supported projects in East Africa and Central America. Zack also writes a regular column called “Small World” in the Brandon Sun and facilitates on-line courses for the University of British Columbia in the Diploma Program in International Development.

“I’m very pleased to have this opportunity to be a sessional instructor at Menno Simons College. I am learning a great deal from my colleagues, from the readings and from my students. Teaching in Menno Simons College’s International Development Studies program offers the “practitioner” like me a chance to test out our preconceptions and our on-going activities against a backdrop of development theory and research. It also provides a new forum in which to engage to-day’s students in the issues that I have been passionate about throughout my life.”

Dario cidro, a native of the Philippines, is one the sessional instructors hired for Fall 2011 and Winter 2012 under the International Development Studies Program. He is currently a PhD Candidate (Rural Studies) at the University of Guelph, Ontario. Before coming to Canada to pursue his doctoral degree, he was a civil servant for the Philippine government for more than 15 years. He worked as Community Organizer, Agricultural Technologist, Science Research Specialist, and Research and Development Coordinator while working for the Philippine government particularly at Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice). His duties and responsibilities at PhilRice included supervising rice re-search on rice breeding, varietal trial, integrated nutrient management, implementing technology demonstration proj-ects, conducting training on rice science and technology for extension workers, and implementing development projects funded by PhilRice and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). His job at PhilRice honed his knowledge and skills in research and development program management, monitoring and evaluation in collaboration with farmers’ groups, local government units, academe and non-government organizations. Besides working with the government, he was also involved with various socio-civic activities, including participation in the activities of the National Youth Commission as alumnus of the National Youth Parliament and volunteering in the citizen’s arm for local and national elections. He finished his master’s degree in Agricultural and Extension Education (AEE) from the Pennsylvania State University (USA) in 2004 as a Fulbright scholar. He is married to Jaime, a new faculty member of the Anthropology Department (University of Winnipeg) and they have two sons, Harrison James and Simon Alexander.

Dr. Faisal islam is an international de-velopment practitioner who is presently on a career break from the Department for Interna-tional Development (DFID) of the UK, where he served as an Environment and Livelihoods Ad-visor. He has extensive experience in planning and implementing sustainable development pro-grams in Asia and Africa. Prior to joining DFID, Islam worked for the World Bank Group as a Sustainability Coordinator and facilitated the promotion of social and environmental compli-ance and corporate social responsibility in South Asia. However, his career began in academics and he has always maintained close ties with academic and research institutions.

Presently, Islam is teaching in the Internation-al Development Studies (IDS) program at Menno Simons College, as well as graduate courses at the Natural Resources Institute (NRI) at the University of Manitoba. In addition, he provides consultancy services to public and private sector agencies.

Islam is particularly fond of the IDS class he teaches. He is very appreciative of the opportunity to share his under-standing of, and real-world experience in, development with a group of highly motivated students, he hopes that some of them will pursue a career in development, which can be both rewarding and fulfilling.

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Farewell to anEsteemed Colleague

It has been a great pleasure and privilege to have had Is-mael Muvingi here as a faculty

member in Conflict Resolution Studies and as a part of the MSC community. He has made a great contribution to the academic life of the College, been a committed teacher, made many good friends, and been a positive influence for us all.

Ismael was born and grew up in Rhodesia. He trained as a law-yer at the University of Rhodesia and went to work for the Catho-lic Commission for Justice and Peace. He went into war zones to investigate and report on the atrocities committed by both the colonial government’s forces and the liberation fighters on the ci-vilians that were caught in the middle of the fighting. As a result of this work, Ismael had to leave the country in 1978. He moved to the United States and enrolled in the Government and Interna-tional Relations program at the University of Notre Dame. He

went on to pursue a doctorate in Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University.

Ismael was working on com-pleting his dissertation when he joined MSC in 2004 and we cele-brated the completion of his PhD in 2008. His dissertation was a comparative study of the Conflict Diamonds Campaign and the Capital Market Sanctions Cam-paign (on Sudan) in the United

States. We celebrated the publica-tion of his book, Oil, Diamonds and Human Rights in the Market-place, shortly after that.

At MSC, Ismael contributed two important new courses, “Non-Violent Social Change” and “Human Rights and Conflict Resolution,” to the curriculum. He also contributed consider-ably to the development of the core CRS courses, all of which he taught regularly during his seven years here.Ismael has now moved on to a new position as Associate Pro-fessor in the Conflict Resolution and African Studies program at the Graduate School of Humani-ties and Social Sciences of Nova Southeastern University - one of the top graduate programs in conflict studies in North Ameri-ca. We miss him already, for his contribution to academic excel-lence and also for his warmth, enthusiasm, and leadership. We wish him well.

He has made a great contribution to the academic

life of the college, been a committed

teacher, made many good friends,

and been a positiveinfluence

for us all.

by Paul Redekop

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“love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let

us be loving, hopeful, and optimis-tic. And we’ll change the world.”

By now these words have been immortalized by the late Jack Lay-ton, a leader who tapped into the great yearning of so many Canadi-ans who want a better world for all people, particularly for those who struggle in our society.

Those who were surprised at the great outpouring of emo-tion sparked by his passing maybe shouldn’t have been, as he was really articulating a positive vision that I think we all share for our own lives, our own families, and the commu-nities we live in. Too often, our po-litical, media, and social discourse is focused on the negative, when in fact that dissatisfaction is inherently driven by the vision for something better. Too often, we get mired in complexities, when at the heart and soul of our vision for ourselves and those around us the dream is some-

thing quite simple and basic – a healthy and happy life for all.

This is not to say that our current contexts are not deserving of criti-cism, or that solutions are simple, but just to say that there is some-thing inspiring and powerful about keeping our eyes set firmly on the vision – with a sense of determi-nation and optimism. And mixing this perspective with an honest, humble, and analytical approach to understanding root causes and sys-temic interconnections gives us the best chance to really create change.

I really valued my time at MSC, deepening my understanding about how disadvantage in this world is created via a wide range of complex and interwoven dynamics that are rooted deeply in our societal sys-tems and relationships. I wasn’t the only one ready to quit trying out of fear that no real change was pos-sible, and that all good intentions would somehow cause more dam-age than good despite all efforts to “Do No Harm.”

However, working for the Cana-dian Community Economic Devel-opment Network for the past eight-years has confirmed my belief in the power of people to create change. There are thousands of initiatives in every community in this country driven by people acting locally to create better, healthier, sustainable, and more inclusive communities. Yes, they are often reacting to some-thing that is inadequate, wrong and harmful in their communities, but at the core they are driven by the vi-sion for something better. They be-lieve that this dream can become re-ality, and are passionately driven by love, hope, and a desire for justice.

Our country lost an articulator of this vision, but the values and vision carry on in the tireless and determined work of thousands of Canadians working together in their communities. This collective action and the important results that it achieves is what inspires me every day.

Believes People can create change by Brendan Reimer

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invited to Present at seminar in malaysiaby Barbara Read

The Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA) organized a seminar, “Nurturing Understand-ing: Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learn-

ing (APEL) Policies and Practices”, for March 10 and 11 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.  In her capacity as The University of Win-nipeg’s Coordinator of  Prior Learning As-sessment and Recogni-tion  (PLAR), Barbara Read (Grad 2003) was invited to conduct the presentation, “Prin-ciples of Best Practices and Benchmark for Practitioners in APEL” and to participate in a workshop on assess-ment and portfolios.  

Also presenting at the seminar was Professor Zita HJ. Mohd Fahmi, MQA and Dr. Anne Murphy, Dublin Institute of Technology, which drew 225 par-ticipants—future APEL practitioners, educators from universities and colleges, representatives from indus-try, government agencies and professional bodies. 

Barbara states that the trip to Malaysia was fasci-

nating and fruitful and, as this was her first experi-ence working abroad, she found it both challenging and rewarding on many accounts.  She learned a lot and was especially delighted and honoured to be a part of this important grassroots APEL initiative.

“Working with the Malay-sian Qualifications Agency staff to make the interna-tional travel arrangements and to customize the con-tent of my presentation in order to meet the seminar participants needs neces-sitated a high level of com-munication skills. Study-ing conflict resolution built on my prior communica-tion skills by contributing

to my theoretical under-standing of communication best practices - how to avoid

potential misinterpretations and greater acceptance of diversity.”

In extending the PLAR Coordinator’s network half-way around the world, one of the Seminar organizers, Norasikin, graciously shares with Barbara, “Keep in touch... you are part of APEL development in Malaysia.”

Presenters Dr. Zita HJ. Mohd Fahmi (front row centre), Dr. Anne Murphy to her right and Barbara Read to her left are shown here, along with members of the seminar committee.