90 The Faculty of Extension
In 1912, the University of Alberta was a young institution under the Presidency of Henry Marshall Tory, who charged his protégé, a young AE Ottewell, with the task of “bringing the University to the people.”
One hundred and two years later, the Faculty of Extension continues to create opportunities for lifelong learning in response to the needs of individuals and society by engaging the university and communities in learning, discovery, and citizenship. What once were traveling libraries, “magic lantern” shows, and free public lectures in far-flung rural Alberta is today a multi-faceted, research-driven agent of community engagement, locally, nationally, and internationally.
The Faculty of Extension works collaboratively with other Faculties and educational institutions, community and professional associations, business organizations, and public agencies. It promotes responsive community-university engagement through a wide range of innovative learning opportunities, community-based research, and citizenship activities.
The Faculty now delivers over 300 courses annually to 8,000 students; 25 percent of whom are international students. Programs and courses are offered in the areas of aboriginal health promotion, academic English, adult education, applied sciences, communications and technology, fine arts, information access and protection of privacy, land use planning, local and regional governance, management, modern languages, research and evaluation, residential interiors, teaching and learning in higher education, teaching in English, writing, editing and publishing.
Students benefit from the expertise of more than 300 experts in their fields, whose real-world experience dovetails with the research performed by the 20 members of the professoriate. This research, principally in the areas of communication, social sciences, linguistics, community development, and non-traditional learning, has established Extension as a world leader in the Scholarship of Engagement (an academic domain that ties our historical mission with the vision for the future of the University of Alberta at large).
In the 21st century, the communities the Faculty engages reach far beyond the campus and province to a much larger global “community of communities” that are more diverse in their cultures, perspectives, needs, and issues than those that our predecessors addressed. As the University pursues and advances the process of community-university engagement, we recognize that Extension has unique perspectives, ongoing expertise, and a special role to play in informing and advancing that process.
Extension students, our partners in learning, benefit by earning credentials, completing studies in their preferred schedules and delivery, advancing their careers, and enriching their lives. Beyond this, their commitment to continuing education benefits their communities by synthesizing new ideas and increasing productivity and innovation in a knowledge-based economy.
For full listings of courses or further information contact:
University of Alberta
Faculty of Extension
Enterprise Square, 10230 Jasper Avenue
Edmonton, AB T5J 4P6
Phone: (780) 492-3116/3109
Fax: (780) 492-0627
