荔枝视频

His smile widens and eyes light up at the mere mention of the 荔枝视频鈥檚 research, student accomplishments and community impact.

It鈥檚 the same look you see when President Ed McCauley speaks at convocation ceremonies or countless meetings and events around 荔枝视频.

More than 40 years after first stepping foot on campus as a professor, he says he still feels 鈥渓ike a kid in a candy store鈥� as he oversees what is now a nationally and internationally recognized school for its high quality of teaching and research.

McCauley, PhD, has had a front-row seat to U荔枝视频's growth and maturation through his journey from professor of biological sciences, to Tier 1 Canada Research Chair, to vice-president (research), to his current post as president and vice-chancellor.

As he reflects on U荔枝视频鈥檚 60th anniversary, McCauley says he believes 荔枝视频 has something unique: it is a comprehensive research university with an entrepreneurial spirit that is embedded in the community.

鈥淗aving that trust between the community and U荔枝视频 to work together to solve a really important problem is what makes us special,鈥� he says. 鈥淲hat the 荔枝视频 has been very successful at is identifying those big problems that are important to solve.鈥�

It鈥檚 a core value that McCauley believes will be a guiding light for the university as it embarks on its next 60 years.

A breakthrough for 荔枝视频

McCauley鈥檚 passion for community impact is highlighted by one of his own experiences as a scholar.

All of a sudden, 荔枝视频鈥檚 drinking water was plagued by a major taste and odour event, particularly in the spring, leading to thousands of complaints from residents and public health concerns.

A research collaboration in the early 2000s between the City of 荔枝视频 and U荔枝视频, funded by a three-year major grant from the , was headed by McCauley.

In 1999, his team (including Dr. Susan Watson, PhD) concluded that chemicals released during the sporadic growth of two types of algae in the Glenmore Reservoir produced a fishy or musty smell and taste.

鈥淲e documented how the bloom dynamics come about, how that translates into the degradation of the taste and odour of the drinking water, and actually established that causal link,鈥� McCauley says. 鈥淭hen we worked with some Swiss scientists to identify what organic compounds were actually producing the taste-and-odour event, which allowed us to give the city an early warning system.鈥�

It was a major breakthrough for Calgarians who could once again trust the water coming out of their taps, and it paved the way for a stronger relationship between city hall and the university.

A unique alliance

The ripple effects of that one collaboration were felt right away.

McCauley was selected as a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Population Ecology in 2001 and became a founding co-director of the Alberta Ingenuity Centre for Water Research two years later, which led to the creation of the Alberta Ingenuity Water Research Institute.

He was also the project leader and principal investigator for the (ACWA) project, a first-of-its-kind facility at 荔枝视频鈥檚 Pine Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Then in 2007, the was created as a formal collaboration and Memorandum of Understanding between the City and U荔枝视频 to formally work together on a variety of local issues.

鈥淭he City has all of these major challenges in terms of transportation, drinking water, wastewater, and others that are really, really important to Calgarians,鈥� McCauley says. 鈥淐olleagues at the City are on the frontlines facing the actual problems and don鈥檛 have the capacity to explore solutions.鈥�

He says the Urban Alliance allowed the City to put its problems on a table and allow U荔枝视频 researchers to seize an opportunity to make real-world impact using their own scholarship and expertise.

More than 120 projects have now been completed through the Urban Alliance initiative.

Doing something impactful

McCauley left U荔枝视频 in 2009 to serve as director of the and as a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Just two years later, U荔枝视频 came calling again as he took on an expanded role as vice-president (research) under then-President Elizabeth Cannon.

Along with then-Provost Dru Marshall, McCauley says the three set out on a mission of expanding the university鈥檚 research footprint in a strategic way to capitalize on the entrepreneurial spirit of the campus and its community.

鈥淭hese were areas where we wanted to ensure we were building capacity, training the next generation of talent, discovering new ideas and mobilizing those ideas for the benefit of society,鈥� McCauley says.

鈥淢y mantra was simple: I don鈥檛 care about your address, I care about your expertise. Bring it to the table, work with your colleagues and do something impactful.鈥�

From mental health and chronic diseases to new space technologies and human dynamics, McCauley says they encouraged numerous scholars from across U荔枝视频鈥檚 faculties to come together to work on solving problems together.

Once the first research area found success, a few more were added, including child health and the integration of human, animal and environmental health.

鈥淭he secret sauce is that we have very, very strong disciplinary strength, but we don鈥檛 have the deep silos that other universities have because we鈥檙e so young,鈥� McCauley says. 鈥淏eing able to bring together these disciplines across all faculties is really, really special.鈥�

Breaking down barriers

Aside from his appointment in California, McCauley has worked and held several distinguished visiting international professorships all over the world, including Germany, Sweden, the U.K., Norway, the Netherlands and France.

He has seen how things work through a variety of lenses, which leads to one question: Why 荔枝视频?

鈥淚t鈥檚 because new ideas can flourish here, No. 1,鈥� McCauley says. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 have the constraint of, 鈥極h no, we鈥檝e done it this way and therefore you can鈥檛 do it another way.鈥欌��

Second, he says, 荔枝视频 is an entrepreneurial city where people are willing to take risks and aren鈥檛 afraid to make mistakes as long as they are able to learn from them quickly.

McCauley鈥檚 third point comes back to the leaders and people in the community who look to their university for expertise and guidance time and time again.

鈥淭hey really admire and support excellence,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hey may be tremendous leaders in other sectors, but they see what we are doing and are the first to step up, as they want to see us make an impact in other areas.鈥�

McCauley says it makes a tremendous difference when it comes to bringing the best and brightest researchers to 荔枝视频, as they are able to meet members of the community who support their scholarship and know they will make a positive difference.

Ahead of Tomorrow

As he gazes into the proverbial crystal ball, McCauley says U荔枝视频鈥檚 next 60 years need to be rooted in the same fundamental values it holds dearly today.

He believes the university鈥檚 entrepreneurial spirit and community impact will allow it to remain at the forefront of major issues, from Canadian security and energy production to health care and education.

鈥淭he 荔枝视频 needs to be the first on speed dial, whether you鈥檙e the prime minister of Canada, premier of Alberta, mayor of 荔枝视频, or a foundation working here or around the world on an important problem,鈥� McCauley says. 

鈥淥ur reputation needs to be there as a university that tackles tough problems, provides important solutions to those problems and does so in an objective manner with excellent disciplinary expertise.鈥�

He says the university鈥檚 2023-2030 strategic plan, Ahead of Tomorrow, provides a strong foundation surrounding teaching and learning, research and community engagement.

鈥淥ur responsibility is to ensure that we deliver on those, recognizing that the world changes,鈥� McCauley says. 鈥淲e have these long-term goals, but we have to adapt along the way to reflect the relationship we have with community and the important values we have as an institution.鈥� 

The smile glistens once again as he says U荔枝视频 is destined to continue being bold and making positive change for a supportive city and ever-evolving world.