Can compassion build champions?
It’s no surprise that sport glorifies toughness. We’ve all heard the phrases “Suck it up. No pain, no gain." What if the real competitive edge isn’t about pushing harder, but being kinder with ourselves when things get tough? After nearly two decades of working with athletes, Dr. Leah Ferguson (BA'07, MSc'09, PhD'14) has learned that self-compassion — not harsh criticism — is what helps athletes thrive. In a culture that tells us “don’t be soft,” athletes often become their own harshest critics. Yet, self-compassion isn’t soft; it’s strategic. It helps athletes bounce back from failure, focus under pressure and strive for excellence without sacrificing well-being. Dr. Ferguson’s talk draws from her lived experience as a young dancer, expertise as a leading scholar in self-compassion in sport research, and applied work with athletes to reimagine a sport system where compassion and competition coexist.
Can a drug house be a home?
When most doors are closed to them, where can someone find home? Society often rejects and stigmatizes people who use drugs, leaving them feeling unwelcome everywhere, but drug houses can provide a sense of belonging and safety when all other doors are closed. Drawing on stories of lived expertise, community engagement and research Maryellen Gibson’s (BA'16, MPH'18, GTPC'24, GCSUW'24) talk explores the concept of “home” and challenges assumptions about people who use drugs. Through this talk, she highlights how systemic stigma perpetuate suffering and urges us to rethink narratives, recognize the humanity of people who use drugs and build a society where everyone can feel at home.
The joy of not fitting in
For those who have lived at the edges of belonging, joy is not just emotional, it is also profoundly political. Queer joy is a transformative force for individuals and communities. It is a site of resistance, belonging and self-creation. Drawing on their personal reflection and research, Andrew Hartman (BA'14, MEd'19, GTPC'24) will explore how queer people move through shame to find liberation in authenticity, not in spite of difference, but because of it. What happens when we consider queer joy as a collective and embodied practice that defies systems of oppression and reimagines what it means to live freely? Through insight, reflection and storytelling, Andrew's talk challenges us to see healing not as an endpoint but as a continual process of becoming that thrives in community, authenticity and care.
Reconciliation in policing: Education as a foundation for sustainable change
Imagine a Canada where the Police-Indigenous relationship is not defined by history but reimagined through a commitment toward collective healing. A Canada where a badge is not a symbol of authority and oversight, but a pledge to walk gently on this land and with its people. Drawing from her twenty-year career as a police officer and her work in educational leadership, Shaina Lynden’s (BSKI'05) talk dives into the call for national standards in Indigenous cultural competency education for police recruits. When policing is rooted in the learning of truth, history, and the humanity of those served, it reminds us that change happens in moments. Moments where one compassionate decision changes a life, one trauma-informed conversation shifts a perspective and one relationship built on trust can reshape a community. With shared truth as our compass, and understanding as our path, reconciliation becomes something we build — one mindful officer, one brave interaction, one renewed relationship at a time.
Swimming on borrowed time
Lakes give us so much — safe drinking water that is fundamental to our survival, and the simple joy of being on the water. But every lake tells a story—and increasingly, that story is one of decline. Nutrients from cities and from farms, combined with climate change, are fertilizing our lakes, turning many lakes from clear, to green. The consequences affect us downstream: unsafe swimming, health risks, and rising costs for drinking water.
This threat isn’t new. We’ve understood the science behind it for decades. As a water quality scientist and a swimmer, Dr. Baulch knows people value water, and are invested in solutions. So how do we come together to fix our water quality problems? This talk will explore local insights, technological solutions and the power of remembering just how important water is to us. By looking for pragmatic solutions on land, we can address these growing problems in lakes, safeguarding the joy of swimming and our fundamental need for safe water.
Reprogramming our immunity: The code that could save us
Can we escape illness by reprogramming our immune system?
Let’s think for a moment about our immune system as a biological computer, it can perceive, assess, plan and deliver tailored responses. It can even evaluate and store the outcome. If our immune system learns from its history of injury and illness, could we teach it new behaviours, or reprogram it if it went astray? Using the latest advances in natural language processing, generative AI and quantum supercomputing we have been working to answer that very question. This talk will explore the world of digital immune doppelgangers and how we can use them to learn more about certain illnesses and possibly escape their grip by combining known medicines in new ways. Pandemics, cancer, autoimmune diseases…could we outsmart them all by hacking the immune system’s code? One day soon your physician may be prescribing you the latest update to your own immune operating system.
Barbara Gibson (BA’71) is a 2025 recipient of the USask Alumni Lifetime Achievement Award. As a highly regarded career diplomat, Gibson served Canada in influential positions around the globe for more than three decades. Through her expertise on the world stage, Gibson advanced the crucial role that diplomacy plays in the pursuit of Canada’s national interests and in building global consensus for a rules-based international order.
Carolyn Tastad (BComm’83) is a 2025 recipient of the USask Alumni Lifetime Achievement Award. As an inspiring executive at the global corporation Procter & Gamble (P&G), Tastad made an international impact through her passionate advocacy of gender and intersectional equity within the workplace and the world. Tastad is known as a transformative leader inside and outside of P&G, delivering breakthrough business results and changing organizational capabilities and culture.
Scott Thon (BE’85) is a 2025 recipient of the USask Alumni Lifetime Achievement Award. As a distinguished executive in the global energy industry, Thon leads a diverse group of businesses in the United States, Canada, and Great Britain and has driven major energy infrastructure projects in Canada and around the world. In addition to his impact as president and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Energy, Thon is a leader in his community through his remarkable philanthropic and volunteer efforts.
Brad Berg (BComm’91, LLB’92) and Brian Rolfes (LLB’91) are the 2025 recipients of the USask Alumni Outstanding Impact Award. The professional achievements and personal commitment of Berg and Rolfes have significantly advanced 2SLGBTQQIA+ rights and inclusivity in Canada and around the world. Their work includes the campaign for equal marriage in Canada and deep contributions to charities and educational organizations.
Joshua Letendre (MPAcc’20) is a 2025 recipient of the USask Alumni One to Watch award. Letendre is a proud Métis accounting professional, university instructor, and non-profit leader who uplifts Indigenous voices and strengthens the social, cultural, and economic well-being of his community. Through his grassroots leadership, cultural pride, and commitment to economic reconciliation, he is sparking transformative change in Alberta and beyond.
Dr. Keely Shaw (BSKI’16, MSc’20, PhD’24) is a 2025 recipient of the USask Alumni One to Watch award. Shaw is a scientist and elite Para athlete who has demonstrated excellence in her academic and athletic pursuits. She has inspired others through her journey as an award-winning Paralympian and six-time World Championship medalist, and through her interdisciplinary research that has the potential to significantly impact human health.
As a high school student growing up in Saskatoon, Jay Shah (BE’22) dreamed of starting and operating his own consumer tech company. Today, the USask graduate has realized that dream. After completing his Bachelor of Engineering degree at USask in 2022, Shah became the founder and CEO of TrackPoint.ai. His new company creates artificial intelligence (AI) simulations for education and corporate training that can be customized for university classrooms and company boardrooms based on users’ unique needs.
The lessons that Bob Deutscher (BComm’10) learned as a student at USask’s Edwards School of Business have proven to be valuable to him as an entrepreneur with a growing company. Deutscher is the owner and operator of Bob Deutscher Media Inc., a Saskatoon-based food photography business. After earning his Bachelor of Commerce degree at USask in 2010, he became a self-employed photographer with a focus on providing commercial food photography services for large companies. Along with his wife, Shannon, Deutscher recently built a new 2,100-square-foot studio and is now in the early stages of rebranding his company to reflect the changes that have been made to it over the years.
USask graduate Dr. Monique Simair (BSc’04, PhD’09) is an entrepreneur, scientist, innovator, and industry leader in the environmental consulting sector who is known for developing water treatment strategies for mining projects in Canada and around the world. Following Integrated Sustainability’s acquisition of her second company, Maven Water and Environment, Simair stepped into the role of Vice President of Science and Innovation, bringing her expertise in commercializing new environmental technologies into the organization’s next phase of growth. Simair has long had an interest in science; she studied microbiology and immunology at USask’s College of Arts and Science before earning her PhD in applied microbiology at USask’s College of Medicine. In 2020, she was honoured as one of the College of Arts and Science’s Alumni of Influence Award recipients.
Xiao Han (MFA'16), who is originally from Wuhan, China, moved to Saskatchewan in 2013 to pursue a Master of Fine Arts degree at USask. Since then, the multidisciplinary artist and curator has made her home in Saskatoon and has lent her talents and expertise to local organizations and projects, including serving as the chair of the board of directors at PAVED Arts, a non-profit, artist-run centre for production, presentation, research, and dissemination of contemporary media arts. This year, Han will also serve as the festival curator for Nuit Blanche Saskatoon, a free all-ages nighttime arts festival scheduled for Sept. 20, 2025.
Chancellor Emerita Dr. Vera Pezer (BA’62, MA’64, PhD’77) has written a new book, Saskatchewan Superwomen. The book features a sample of the accomplished women in the province—both past and present—who have been leaders in a wide variety of fields, often overcoming obstacles on their paths to success. Dr. Pezer is herself a “superwoman” of Saskatchewan, having made significant contributions to the University of Saskatchewan, to athletics, and to the wider community.
Dr. Azy Behnam is a veterinarian who graduated from USask’s Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM) in 2023. In 2020, Behnam was part of a student group that founded WCVM DIVERSE (Diversity and Inclusivity in the Veterinary Environment: Respect, Solidarity and Empowerment), a club that provides a safe space for racialized and 2SLGBTQIA+ students and allies. Since graduating, she has established a veterinary scholarship that pays tribute to her parents’ selflessness in immigrating with their family to Canada. The Giti Golmohammadi Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Award, named after Behnam’s mother, supports a student whose path to veterinary medicine has involved the challenges of immigration.
University of Saskatchewan graduate Marco Donadeo (BComm’18) believes that if it weren’t for his time at USask, he would not be where he is today. He graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce degree in 2018, with his fondest memories stemming from his time with the Dembroski Student Managed Portfolio Trust. In 2017 and 2018, Donadeo was awarded an Investment Excellence Prize during his time with the portfolio. Through the expertise he received at USask and from outside the university, he became a general partner of Weave Ventures, where he invests in Western Canadian start-ups. He also serves as a member of USask’s Alumni Advisory Board.
USask graduate Tasnim Jaisee (BA’24, CQGS’24) earned a double honours degree in political studies and women’s and gender studies (high honours) and a certificate in queer theory, gender diversity and sexualities studies in 2024. Jaisee made history in 2021 when she became the first woman of colour to hold the role of president of the University of Saskatchewan Students' Union (USSU). She is now employed as the equity, diversity, inclusion project specialist at USask's Office of the Provost and Vice-President Academic.
USask graduate Heather Morrison studied drama in the College of Arts and Science, earning her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 2008. Since then, she has worked as a freelance theatre artist, as the co-founder of Sum Theatre, as a broadcaster and a sideline reporter, and as a fitness coach. Morrison is also an entrepreneur. As the founder and president of Deliver Your Best Public Speaking Coaching, her goal is to help people conquer their fears around public speaking.
Dallas Pelly, a member of the Cote First Nation on Treaty Four Territory, grew up in Saskatoon and first came to USask as a student in the Indian Teacher Education Program (ITEP) in the College of Education. A proud USask alumnus, he earned his Bachelor of Education degree in 2018 and has been making positive change as an Indigenous educator, community builder, and social innovator. On Jan. 6, 2025, he became the director of the Gordon Oakes Red Bear Student Centre.
University of Saskatchewan graduate Rob Lovelace (CLPSE'19, MEduc'22) has had a full experience at USask as a student-athlete and alumnus. Lovelace played basketball for the Huskies, and earned a Certificate of Leadership in Post-Secondary Education along with a Master of Education. His journey at USask continues in his current role as IT college coordinator in the College of Education.
University of Saskatchewan graduate Kelsey Ford (BFA’19) earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts (honours) degree in studio art in 2019. She is a practicing artist, the past chair of the Nuit Blanche Saskatoon festival, and an events specialist at USask.
University of Saskatchewan graduate Theodocia Quagraine (BA&Sc’16) earned a Bachelor of Arts and Science degree in interactive systems design. After working as a user interface developer for several years, she joined USask’s Digital Strategy team as a UX content co-ordinator in November 2022.
University of Saskatchewan graduate Kathryn Sawatzky (BA’24), who earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in international studies, currently works as the study abroad coordinator in USask’s College of Arts and Science. In 2024, she was honoured to be chosen as one of 15 ambassadors for the Global Skills Opportunity (GSO) program.
Murad Al-Katib (BComm’94) is a 2024 recipient of the USask Alumni Lifetime Achievement Award. Widely known as the “Lentil King of Saskatchewan,” Al-Katib is an exceptional entrepreneur who has revolutionized the province’s agricultural industry by connecting local producers to international markets.
Dr. Jim Dosman (BA'59, MD'63, MA'69) is a 2024 recipient of the USask Alumni Lifetime Achievement Award. Dr. Dosman is celebrated in Canada as the “Father of Agricultural Medicine" for his global efforts to address agricultural-related health conditions.
Judy Pelly (BEd'85) is a 2024 recipient of the USask Alumni Lifetime Achievement Award. Pelly is a lifelong advocate and educator who provides cultural guidance on Truth and Reconciliation and helped establish National Ribbon Skirt Day.
Andrew Chau (BComm'09) is a 2024 recipient of the USask Alumni Outstanding Impact Award. Chau is a visionary tech entrepreneur and co-founder of SkipTheDishes and Neo Financial, two of the Prairies’ most successful tech startups.
Neal Kewistep (MPA’11) is a 2024 recipient of the USask Alumni Outstanding Impact Award. Neal Kewistep is a passionate policy leader who is highly recognized for his work in Indigenous governance and economic development in Saskatchewan.
Dr. Arinjay Banerjee (PhD’18) is a 2024 recipient of the USask Alumni 'One to Watch' Award. Dr. Banerjee is a rising star in virology who contributed to Canada's COVID-19 response and is a champion for the One Health approach.
University of Saskatchewan graduate and honorary degree recipient Dr. Frederick Mulder (BA’64, LLD’17, PhD), who is originally from the small community of Eston, Sask., is known as one of the world’s foremost dealers in the prints of Pablo Picasso and other Modern masters, and his clients have included many of the world’s major museums. Dr. Mulder has donated three more Picasso prints to USask, enhancing the collection of six Picasso linocuts that he gave to his alma mater back in 2012. In this video, Dr. Mulder speaks to USask President Peter Stoicheff about his generous gift and his connections to USask.
USask graduates Barb Stefanyshyn-Cote (BSA’87, MSc’94) and John Cote (BSA’86) are the entrepreneurs behind Black Fox Farm and Distillery, located on Valley Road about five kilometres outside Saskatoon. Their unique method of producing whisky and gin is attracting international acclaim, and their premium spirits can be found around the world, including in China, Denmark, Germany, the U.K., and the United Arab Emirates.
An exhibition at Remai Modern is offering visitors an inside look at a working print studio by showcasing the knowledge and skills of University of Saskatchewan graduate Jillian Ross (BFA’02), a Saskatoon-based printmaker and longtime collaborator of renowned South African artist William Kentridge.
Dr. Colleen Dell (PhD), a sociology professor in USask’s College of Arts and Science and the university’s Centennial Enhancement Chair in One Health and Wellness, said the PAWS Your Stress therapy dogs and handlers have visited with more than 30,000 USask students in the past decade. USask graduate Doreen Stumborg (BA’09, MFA’20) and her dog, Laddie, have been a consistent part of many of the visits since becoming a therapy dog team in 2017. In this video, Doreen and Colleen (with her dog, E-Jay) speak about the PAWS Your Stress program and the difference that therapy dog visits can make.
Educating future health care professionals and neurosurgeons is an important part of USask’s vision for the future—and our livelihood. Dr. Michael Kelly (BSc'95, MD'99, PhD'11) is the Provincial Head of Surgery and a Professor of Neurosurgery in the College of Medicine. Along with a devoted team of colleagues and students, Dr. Kelly explores the complexities of the brain to understand more about strokes, brain trauma, and potential treatments.
Ron (BE'62, DCL’13) and Jane (BEd’62, LLD’22) Graham's commitment to funding scholarship, advancing athletics, transforming education and enhancing spaces for students at USask is truly inspiring and has earned them the distinction of being recognized as the most generous alumni donors in the university’s history.
Everyone deserves a safe and comfortable home. As CEO of the Saskatchewan Landlord Association, Cameron Choquette (BComm’19, MPA’22) works alongside partners, governments and housing providers to ensure Saskatchewan residents have a healthy and resilient housing continuum.
The research evidence is clear that companion animals, or pets, can provide many benefits for human mental and physical health. The concept of the human-animal bond suggests that pets can also benefit from relationships with humans. But given the degree of control humans have over their lives and environment, the needs of pets are not always adequately met. By recognizing their sentience, or emotional and cognitive capacities, and meeting their species-specific needs, we can improve the well-being of our pets. In turn, we can enhance our animal-human relationships and bonds.
Food is essential to our survival, and it all starts with a seed. At the University of Saskatchewan (USask) Crop Development Centre, we create seed varieties that farmers grow into food – food that brings people together. Our work is bold and deliberate as we craft new crop varieties that turn a seed into food security, health, and sustainability for our planet.
We stand at a pivotal moment for 2SLGBTQ+ rights in North America, balancing between heightened tensions and increased belonging and acceptance at all levels. Recent setbacks in the US and Canada underscore the fragility of human rights, but instead of expecting a future that is the same as the present, what does it look like to imagine a world where comprehensive gender-affirming care exists, where gender and sexual diversity are a welcome part of the human experience.
After recently purchasing her first iPhone, Akshara Dash was delighted to see that Apple's built-in health app contained an extensive menstrual cycle tracker. She felt seen, alongside millions of other users. It was inclusive. That's one of the biggest metrics in determining whether a product is successful: Do humans feel seen when they use it? The products we use today are shaped by the people who had a vision for the future. With inclusion and creativity built into the heart of the design process, we can shape the future. Let's design the future together.
Sustainability problems are ‘wicked’ – a complex web of social, environmental, economic, and technological challenges that are constantly changing. Unforeseen challenges plague many promising technologies and programmatic solutions to sustainability problems, falling short on predicted outcomes and deviating from planned trajectories. A paradigm shift is therefore required, by moving the emphasis of solutions from prediction to anticipation and adaptability.
Is music entirely limited to human-developed creations and performances? To answer this question, Spencer Krips (BMuHon'19, BEd'21) is exploring the connection and equality between human-developed and natural music, immersing the audience in the interaction between performer and natural soundscape. Experience calm, contemplative music combining natural music and response from guitar and keyboard.
We caught up with Gord Haddock (BComm'72), a member of the 2022 class of Golden Grads to reminisce about his time on campus at USask and what it means to him 50 years later.
We caught up with the Hon. Lynda Haverstock (BEd'72, PGD'75, MEd'77, PhD'85), to reminisce about her time on campus at USask and what it means to her 50 years later.
Raise a glass with USask alumnus Shawn Moen (LLB'05), co-owner of Saskatchewan’s 9 Mile Legacy brewing company.