News release

For immediate release
Oct. 14, 2009

Mount Royal University announces new Ralph Klein Chair in
Media Studies

Ralph Klein will hand over the endowed chair during a ceremony next week

(CALGARY — Oct. 14, 2009) Mount Royal University’s Faculty of Communication Studies will formally announce the second occupant of the Ralph Klein Chair in Media Studies during a ceremony on Oct. 19, 2009 at 3:30 p.m.

Former Alberta Premier Ralph Klein will officially hand over the endowed chair that bears his name to Dr. Gilbert Vanburen Wilkes IV. Dr. Wilkes is a professor in the School of Communication and Culture at Royal Roads University.

“I am honoured to be allowed to contribute to the growth and development of the Faculty of Communication Studies and its excellent programs in Journalism, Public Relations, Information Design and Broadcasting Program,” says Wilkes. “It is my privilege to help develop a usability laboratory, a research and development resource for students, faculty and others who develop technical products or services in the community.”

Dr. Wilkes specializes in Rhetoric, specifically online text-based discourse, and has a love for technical communication. He will reside at Mount Royal University the first two weeks of Jan. through April of 2010.

"As a graduate student in communications at Royal Roads University, I was extremely fortunate to have experienced Dr. Wilkes as a mentor and professor. I am so glad that now all of our students in the Faculty of Communication Studies at Mount Royal University will enjoy the same privilege," says Dean, Faculty of Communication Studies, Marc Chikinda.

The Ralph Klein Chair in Media Studies, in the Faculty of Communication Studies, was established in 2007 when friends and supporters of the former Premier donated nearly 2.5 million dollars to endow the Chair. Ralph Klein was named the first holder of the Chair, also in 2007.

“Endowed chairs are a great addition to the academic life of Mount Royal University and they enable us to draw on different expertise. Students have benefited from Ralph Klein's vast experience and now they will learn from a scholar of the stature of Dr. Wilkes,” says Provost and Vice President, Academic, Robin Fisher.

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For more information, contact:
Fred Cheney, Media Relations Officer                         Marc Chikinda, Dean
Office of External Relations                                            Faculty of Communication Studies
Office: 403.440.5195                                                       Office: 403.440.6117
Cell: 403.542.7904
mediarelations@mtroyal.ca