Joan Halmo

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Distinguished Alumni Award for Professional Achievement

Greg Kratzig had a bold goal in mind when he decided to leave behind a successful career in retail management and return to school. His goal was to study psychology and, as it turned out, he earned his honours bachelor’s degree, master’s and PhD – all at the University of Regina. “When I began my studies, I had an interest in child psychology,” Kratzig notes, “but by the end of my undergrad degree, my focus had shifted to adults and how we make decisions. I also knew that the clinical route was not for me; my interest was in applied research and experimentation.” In his master’s work, Kratzig explored whether aging affects our decision-making processes. While he was working on his doctoral degree, “the stars aligned” as he puts it: the RCMP were looking to hire a researcher to enhance cadet training and policing practices. His experience and research interests ticked all of the boxes in the job description and he became the first in-house researcher hired by the force. In his position as a training, innovation and research analyst, Kratzig designed and developed a comprehensive research program and a sophisticated simulation lab at the RCMP Training Academy that attracts interest from academic researchers and police agencies nationally and internationally. Over the past seven years, he has initiated and led research projects in areas such as firearms training, emergency vehicle driver training, use-of-force decision-making, forensic interviewing, anti-terrorism programs, and officer health and well-being.

“ This is the biggest award I’ve ever received. It was not ever within my thoughts, ”

As the mental health champion for Depot Division, he is part of a research team in a large-scale project investigating post-traumatic stress disorder that will periodically test a select group of police officers over a 10-year period. The firearms training simulator he developed has been adopted by the U.S. Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (which handles 70,000 trainees annually) and by the police force in Singapore. His paper on the topic, in collaboration with other researchers, is his most cited. “There is a huge gap in the area of policing-related science,” he says. “Much of the work done here has never been done before.” For all of his research projects in the lab, Kratzig draws from a broad network of colleagues, although he particularly seeks out students, faculty and staff from the University of Regina. His research into decision-making, for example, involves faculty from the Department of Psychology and from the Faculty of Kinesiology and Health Studies. He is in the early stages of developing a virtual reality area within the simulation lab, in collaboration with faculty and staff from the Faculty of Media, Art, and Performance. When he is asked for his thoughts about being selected for the achievement award, Kratzig admits he didn’t know what to say when he received the phone call. He relates it to a psychological concept he and his fellow grad students felt – the Imposter Syndrome – where they weren’t sure they were smart enough to be there. “ This is the biggest award I’ve ever received. It was not ever within my thoughts, ” he says. “There are a lot of great people out there doing outstanding work. To have my work recognized by my peers in this way is overwhelming.” [post_title] => Dr. Greg Kratzig [post_excerpt] => Greg Kratzig had a bold goal in mind when he decided to leave behind a successful career in retail management and return to school. His goal was to study psychology and, as it turned out, he earned his honours bachelor’s degree, master’s and PhD – all at the University of Regina. [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => greg-kratzig [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2018-05-15 11:53:39 [post_modified_gmt] => 2018-05-15 17:53:39 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => http://vm-uor-degrees/?p=406 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 412 [post_author] => 1 [post_date] => 2018-02-06 16:50:17 [post_date_gmt] => 2018-02-06 22:50:17 [post_content] =>

Dr. Robert & Norma Ferguson Award for Outstanding Service

Dr. Margaret Dagenais was surprised to learn she would receive the Dr. Robert and Norman Ferguson Crowning Achievement Award from the University of Regina Alumni Association (URAA) as recognition for what she describes as “… an 11-year experiential learning opportunity.” Dagenais was referring to the 11 years she devoted to the board of the Alumni Association, but the award recognizes much more than that: it acknowledges her years of service to the University of Regina, as well as to the URAA.

Dagenais, who is currently a program development consultant at Saskatchewan Polytechnic based in Regina, recalls that her involvement with the Alumni Association came about after she had served on the SIAST (as Sask Polytechnic was then known) Board of Directors.

“I was looking for a rewarding experience and opportunities to use some of the skills I’d developed on the SIAST Board, so I applied to the PhD program (in Educational Psychology) at the University of Regina and responded to the call for URAA board members, hoping I would be accepted to one or the other,” she explains. (She was accepted into both, and received her doctorate in 2011.)

Her contributions to the University include reviewing research proposals as a member of the Research Ethics Board of Directors, developing and facilitating a workshop in curriculum redevelopment for international scholars, and serving two terms on the University Senate.

During her time on the Alumni Association board from 2005 to 2016, she helped develop a more sustainable investment strategy to support funding for scholarships, helped move the association away from reliance on hands-on fundraisers toward revenue-generating affinity partnerships, revitalized the faculty recognition program and secured a more profitable arrangement with the supplier of degree frames.

Making the Association’s Faculty Awards for Excellence program more accessible was particularly important to Dagenais. The Association also raised its profile on campus by branching out into new areas, and sponsoring lectures, conferences and on-campus events like Welcome Week, Slam Dunk and Winter Carnival.

Gwen Keith, CEO of the Holy Family School Division, was chair of the URAA Board when Dagenais revamped the awards program. “She was brilliant in giving attention to every detail that would lean out and fairly execute the awards process,” Keith observes. “She also was always willing to volunteer to create contacts and educate the board on the features of potential partnerships. I hold her in high regard for the personal teamwork she offered to me through some challenging and complex work on behalf of the URAA.”

Dagenais continues to support the mission of the University and the Alumni Association by attending and assisting at events. She is particularly proud that, in 2016, the URAA moved to include graduates of the University’s Campus for All program as alumni. The program sees students with intellectual challenges taking University courses and earning a certificate in Inclusive Post-Secondary Education in the process.

She values the University of Regina because it offers “… a post-secondary learning opportunity right here in southern Saskatchewan. It attracts a diverse group of intellectuals and thinkers to Regina who contribute to the greater community, attracts students from all over the world, and is also a major supporter of the arts and cultural industries.”

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