The quilt that is the Health Sciences Council works because of its diversity. “The way I make quilts, I use lots and lots and lots of fabric types,” Jane says. “And that’s what we have in the council. All of these different component parts, that’s what makes a quilt work, and that’s what makes our council work. I am so proud of the strength of each of our disciplines - each faculty does remarkable work in its own right. But when you can find ways to blend those faculties, to find intersections between them, that’s when you have the opportunity to address some of the very big, very complex issues our system faces today.”

And with that complexity, comes a level of uncertainty. “Through quilting, I’ve learned to have a high degree of comfort with ambiguity,” she says. “I’ve learned you need to trust the process, and to be open to change as a project evolves.”

MASTER QUILTERat work

Jane Drummond

Jane Drummond

Vice-Provost of the Health Sciences

Council

A master quilter brings together disparate elements into a cohesive whole. It is challenging, and at times, frustrating work. But it is about finding and creating intersections, relationships, contrasts and complements that make the work deeply satisfying. And the end result is both functional and beautiful.

Jane Drummond, vice-provost of the Health Sciences Council, is a master quilter - as a hobby, yes. But she uses this skill to stitch together this council of disparate equals, to join them together in the pursuit of a common goal: collaborative research and scholarship, leading to patient-centred care.

“There are a number of ways my work with the Health Sciences Council is like quilting,” she laughs. “For one thing, it takes a long time to make a really nice quilt. The Health Sciences Council has been around for nearly twenty years, and it’s taken time to build trust between the faculties so that collaborative work can happen.”

4 - INTERACTIONS: Health Sciences Council Annual Report 2011-2012

It’s this openness to change that has guided Jane through the eight-year-long design and construction process in the building of the Edmonton Clinic Health Academy. “It has been a long project, but well worth the effort,” she says. “Right from the beginning, we wanted to create a space that is a tool that helps the health science faculties work together. It really isn’t about the building, it’s about what we do in it, but in order to facilitate the vision of collaborative work, we needed the space to be able to work together. And that’s what we have in this building.

“But just like doing a quilt,” Jane says, “we needed to add elements, and then take away or move the ones that didn’t work. I think my experience as a quilter gave me the ability to look at it objectively, to forgive myself for the parts that didn’t work, and to quickly move on to the next idea.”

ECHA is the capstone project of Jane’s work with the HSC, but now that the building is finished, there is a whole new era of work to be done. “Even though the building is wonderful, I don’t want the emphasis for our work to be on the ‘bricks and mortar.’ Now it is time to focus on how we can use this space to work together. Moving forward, we have set three goals. We want to continue to build this culture of collaboration between the faculties, we want to be leaders in research, and we want to come up with innovative solutions to the complex problems our health system faces.”

The HSC is undoubtedly in a strong position to accomplish these goals. With the commitment and trust of the health science deans, solid relationships with community partners, and the flexible, inspiring space to work it, it looks like Jane’s HSC vision has founded a special harmony.

While Jane can take pride in seeing the building open and occupied, in a way the work has just begun. The HSC will continue to evolve and grow, finding new ways to arrange the pieces, new collisions that erupt in those critical ‘aha’ moments, new combinations that deliver truly inspired advances in human health and wellness.

And that’s a thing of beauty.

INTERACTIONS: Health Sciences Council Annual Report 2011-2012 - 5

6 - INTERACTIONS: Health Sciences Council Annual Report 2011-2012

INTERACTIONS: Health Sciences Council Annual Report 2011-2012 - 7

Kathy Kovacs-Burns Director, Interdisciplinary Health Research Academy, Health Sciences Council

“Jane’s process for building ECHA has been thoroughly commendable. Through it, she has lived the vision of the HSC in a profound way - her process has been collaborative, she has built consensus and brought together so many people and ideas, and the final result is the envy of any other institution.”

Martin Ferguson-Pell Dean of Rehabilitation Medicine, and Chair of the Health Sciences Council

“It all started out with a vision for the University of Alberta to be the leading institution for collaboration in the health sciences. Jane ran with this vision, and while there were many people involved in the process of building ECHA, and they all deserve to be recognized, Jane stands out because she stuck to her guns, stuck to the vision, through all of the challenges inherent in a project of this magnitude. Jane maintained such enthusiasm for this project, and that kept us excited about it. And now that we’re in the building, Jane’s vision has very much come to life. She pulled us all together, and now we’re ready for this new future of working together. It is an exciting time indeed.”

Trish Whelan Associate Director of Administration, Health Sciences Council

“Jane is a pretty incredible person. I’ve worked with her for the last eight years, and through this project, she has really proved her strength and the strength of her vision. It has been a big job to take the lead on a project like this, and she has proven her leadership every day. She has been an inspiration, and I’ve learned so much working alongside her. This building is a testament to her work and her vision.”

Richard Fedorak Professor of Medicine (Gastroenterology) and Associate Vice-President (Research)

“The Edmonton Clinic Health Academy is Jane Drummond’s building. Jane had the vision, the fortitude, and the ability to bring together the health science faculties and make them see the advantage of working together in the same space. This building will be here for a hundred years, and hopefully Jane’s vision will last as long, and that it will become the gold standard for how the health sciences are taught, and how the problems we face in our health system are solved - by bringing the best of each discipline together in research and scholarship.”