 AIC Monthly Report
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AIC Officers Elected
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Photo courtesy BCIA
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Lynn Lashuk, PAg, was elected AIC President for the year 2012-2013 at the Board of Directors meeting held on September 7th. Lynn joined the Board in 2010 and has served as the representative to the AIC Gender Equality Mainstreaming Group. Lynn lives in Winfield, BC, a rural community just north of the Kelowna Airport. She, her partner Russ and their two sons own and operate a commercial apple orchard in the heart of the District of Lake Country. Lynn has served the BC Institute of Agrologists at the Branch and Provincial levels. She has also worked on local government advisory committees, roundtables and with non-profit societies in various governance roles. Her professional career includes work with the BC Agriculture Council, the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, and several BC agriculture industry associations. She holds a BSc in Plant Biology from the University of Calgary. In April 2012 Lynn was presented the Agrologist of the Year award by the British Columbia Institute of Agrologists for her significant contributions to BC agriculture and natural resource science. Read more on pages 11-12 of the BCIA newsletter. Congratulations Lynn!  Lianne Dwyer, PhD, will serve a second term as Vice President. She retired from the Research Branch of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in 2009 after more than 30 years service. This included over 20 years as a crop physiologist and ten years as Director of Research, with national portfolios including agricultural soils, biodiversity and genomics and biotechnology. Lianne is Board representative to the AIC Scientific Journals Committee. She also served as a volunteer agriculture consultant co-coordinating AIC's International Twinning Partnership Program project with Vietnam from 2006-2011. She joined the AIC Board in 2010.  Al Scholz, PAg, who joined the Board in 2011, will serve a second term as Treasurer. He was appointed Executive Director and Registrar of the Saskatchewan Institute of Agrologists in January 2012. He is an experienced management consultant, business owner, community leader, author and speaker and has worked in Canada and internationally. Al wrote AIC's 2007 discussion paper, Re-Defining Agriculture: Sustaining Agriculture in Canada through Innovation and Diversification. Back to top |
Strategic Planning
The AIC Board of Directors will meet in late October in Ottawa to discuss priorities, programs and funding, building on the consultations with members and stakeholders in the past two years, and the feedback to the survey sent earlier this year.
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Foreign Accreditation
 | | Food and Nutrition Sciences Department, KFU |
The Site Review Team which will be evaluating programs in the Food and Nutrition Sciences Department of King Faisal University in Saudi Arabia is preparing for departure October 10th. The team is composed of Dr. Bryan Harvey, Director of the AIC Accreditation Program, Dr. Michael Trevan, Dean of the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of Manitoba, Dr. Robert Tyler, Professor, Department of Applied Microbiology and Food Sciences, University of Saskatchewan and Tom Beach, AIC Accreditation Program Manager. The Site Review will be conducted Oct 12th to 15th and include a study of the curriculum, infrastructure, equipment and support as well as interviews with faculty, staff, university dignitaries, employers, students and graduates. The report and recommendations from the Site Review Team will be presented to the AIC Accreditation Committee for a decision. This is the third International Substantial Equivalency Review the AIC Accreditation Program has undertaken. Back to top |
International Program News
AIC, the Canadian Society for Horticultural Science (CSHS), the Canadian Society of Agronomy (CSA) and the Sustainable Agriculture Development Program (SADP) in Nepal submitted an application in response to a call for concept proposals from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) for their Canadian Partnerships Small Grants for Innovative Research and Knowledge Sharing.
The concept proposal, An Organic Approach to Management of Late Blight (Phyophthora infestans) of Potato and Tomato in Nepal, identifies the need to select local inputs and combine successful practices to effectively reduce incidence of the disease.
IDRC is reviewing concepts and in early November will announce the successful applicants who will be asked to develop full proposals.
AIC, CSHS, CSA and SADP worked successfully on an organic agriculture project from 2009 to 2011 which was funded by the Canadian International Development Agency.
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 AIC Foundation News
The Agricultural Institute of Canada Foundation held its annual general meeting on September 10, 2012. Corrina Dawe of St. John's was elected President, succeeding Eveline Wolterson of Vancouver. Two new Board members were welcomed: Brian Little, former National Manager, Agriculture, for the Royal Bank of Canada, and Blaine Hussey, a market development officer with the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador.
The Foundation has received a significant bequest from the estate of Dr. Karl Ivarson, a soil scientist from Alberta, and in accordance with Dr. Ivarson's wishes, is in the process of establishing the criteria for a new scholarship for students from the province of Alberta to pursue their agricultural studies. This is Dr. Ivarson's second donation to the Foundation, the first being made in 2006 to establish a scholarship for students studying soil science at a Canadian university.
The AICF Board adopted a new mission statement: AICF's mission is to inspire knowledge and understanding of the importance of sustainable agriculture to society. The Foundation's annual report can be read here.
Activities will be launched in 2012 to mark AICF's 25th anniversary. This milestone will highlight the Foundation's programs and the individuals and organizations who make these programs possible through their generous donations. To join in celebrating AICF's anniversary by making a donation, please visit the Foundation's website. Donations are tax creditable.
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