July 4, 2004 - 5:00pm
Malaspina University-College graduates are competing successfully on the national stage by winning prestigious research grants.
Nicole Klan, who graduated in April with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English, received $17,500 from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).
Computing science graduate Nicholas Boers is one of 108 students in B.C. to receive $17,300 from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). As an NSERC scholar, he also received $12,000 from iCore, Informatics Circle of Research Excellence.
“It’s gratifying to see our students compete for and win national awards,” said Malaspina president Rich Johnston. “Their success is due to their hard work but also to the dedication and calibre of our teaching faculty, many of whom are setting the example by applying for and winning their own research grants. This focus on research is a clear indication that Malaspina is meeting all the attributes of a full scale university.”
Dr. David Thomas, vice-president of instruction & research, said over the past five years Malaspina has built an infrastructure to support faculty research, including a research office, staff to support the process of grant applications, financial and accounting systems, ethics and other policies and internal funding sources.
“Malaspina’s commitment to research is obviously paying off and benefiting our students,” said Dr. Thomas. “When our students are successful, it reflects well on the entire institution.”
Klan will use her research grant to pursue a Master’s degree at the University of Victoria. Her research will focus on a comparative analysis of the representation of mother-daughter relationships in Canadian and American ethnic minority fiction. Eventually, Klan hopes to obtain a PhD and teach at a university-college.
“Receiving the research grant is such a gift,” said Klan. “I’m excited and a little bit overwhelmed. It takes the pressure off. I won’t have to worry about working while attending university full-time.”
Klan completed her high school education in Powell River. She attended bible college in Abottsford for two years, followed by a year at the University-College of the Fraser Valley. She transferred to Malaspina for her third year of studies.
Klan attributes part of her success to the encouragement, inspiration and support received from Malaspina faculty while completing her undergraduate degree. “Overall, Malaspina is a great post-secondary institution,” she said. “There is general enthusiasm among the faculty, who are all dedicated to teaching.”
Boers graduated from Nanaimo’s Dover Bay Secondary School in 2000. He plans to pursue a Master’s degree at the University of Alberta, and then obtain a PhD. Boers said earning an undergraduate degree at Malaspina was an excellent start to his post-secondary education.“I really enjoyed the small classes and individual attention from faculty at Malaspina,” he said. “Attending my home-town university-college also allowed me to live at home and save money.”
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