2023

Voluntary tip or a rip-off?

The state of tipping amid an increasingly digitized world.

Cashing in on tragedy

As true-crime content becomes more widespread, the focus seems to be less on the victims and more on our personal entertainment.

Every day science

The discipline of science is influenced by the world around us. These small glances into how the ordinary and everyday have inspired major breakthroughs and discoveries offer insight into the way the scientific mind works.

2022

Courage and sacrifice

How propoganda is being used to fuel the war, how family members living far away are coping, how an alumnus experienced the war first hand and how Canada is working to help.

Feeling the squeeze

Canadians are stuggling with rising costs due to a perfect storm of economic influences.

Tech transformation

Calgary's booming tech economy requires a diverse set of talent, and MRU alumni are playing a big part in its development in a multitude of ways.

2021

The issue of happiness

Societal pressure demands a constant search for happiness, but when people can't find it they can feel like failures.

2021 Alumni Achievement Awards

Celebrating the remarkable members of MRU’s alumni family, including an Indigenous leader and social worker, a compassionate community health nurse, an inspirational human-resources professional, an equity-driven entrepreneur and a high-achieving varsity athlete.

To serve and protect ... and just about everything else

A tumultuous 2020 puts focus on the future of law enforcement.

Esports from basements to billion$

The global gaming undistry is now generating billions od dollars in revenue, with esports or gaiming for dollars, becoming a major compontent. Mount Royal is getting in the game and leading Alberta's esports indiustry charge.

Understanding the conspiratorial mind

Dangerous conspiracy theories have been getting a lot of attention as of late. They have the potential to incite violence, harm society and break up families. Understanding where they come from may help us fight against them.

Finding the best in the worst

Coping during a pandemic is rough, but people are managing to rediscover themselves, their abilities and their passions.

2020

Health care with heart

Nurses tend to represent the “care” side of health care, but their jobs are technical, demanding and necessary. The world needs more nurses and Mount Royal is poised to provide them.

The supply chain sequence

Pandemics lead to uncertainty, and uncertainty disrupts supply chains. It’s only when they break that most begin to appreciate their complexities.

Alumni Achievement Awards 2020

The 2020 Alumni Achievement Award recipients include a pioneering nurse, a community-focused police officer, a courageous hotel operator and a rising filmmaker.

How to succeed in the gig economy

Gone are the days when you got one job and stuck with it through to retirement. More and more Canadians are employed in piece work, or "gigs," which allow for flexibility, but also come with a lot of risk.

Coming to a nuclear understanding

Two Mount Royal experts debate the pros and cons of nuclear energy, which just may be one of our best hopes for combating climate change.

‘We're going to have to be brave.’

Alumna Sharilyn Amy’s dream project in Argentina was nearly derailed due to rampant corruption in the construction industry. But Amy and her business partner decided to take the risk and fight back.

Four roads less travelled and paved by education

Even with the most careful planning, it's impossible to live life in a straight line these days. When they reached the end of the path, these four students and alumni used Mount Royal to pave a new direction.

The resilience of an arts degree

Despite what some parents and relatives may think, graduates of Mount Royal’s arts programs have the breadth and depth of skills and knowledge needed to make an impact in a number of different fields. And even fight the robots.

2019

Is that me?

There is more and more talk about impostor syndrome these days, where people feel like a fraud even when they are, in reality, capable and accomplished. Most prevalent at school and at work, impostor syndrome can be debilitating and debassing. Knowing what it is, however, means something can be done about it.

Big moves towards smaller living

The average cost of a detached home in Calgary is $420,000, which is unattainable for many, especially those living on a single income. This has led to a hard push for options that are not only more affordable, but also more sustainable.

Alumni Achievement Awards 2019

This year’s Alumni Achievement Awards feature a PhD student, a pilot, the executive director of a South American non-profit and a former Calgary cop. They have each used their education to deepen the world’s body of knowledge, upend entrenched systems, enrich the lives of others and positively impact their communities.

Indelible impressions

Four stories of alumni who continue to achieve despite others' perceptions being stacked against them.

Bruce was here

Being weird can be wonderful. Bruce McCulloch of The Kids in the Hall fame spent his formative years growing up in southwest Calgary, including attending Mount Royal for a time. This city (and this school) has a major impact on him, and maybe not in the way you would think.

Fintech is the future of finance

Professionals have to be well-versed in both money management and new technologies.

Keeping teachers at the head of the class

Mount Royal’s collaborative model for its Bachelor of Education — Elementary is being copied around the country.

The real alternative

Being a student at Mount Royal in the ’70s was pretty special, according to alumnus and staff member Brad Simm, with the then-college providing a much-needed space to learn, grow and, yes, rock ’n’ roll.

Closing the circle

A Mount Royal alumnus has created a business that could help solve food insecurity issues around the globe.

Navigation a new mosaic + A worldly education

What does it take for a young person to pick up and leave their home country for a post-secondary experience in Calgary? + The many benefits of internationalizing education extend to students from both here and abroad.

2018

Journalism: Decelerated

Alumnus Jeremy Klaszus is crowdfunding his journalism outlet, The Sprawl as a return to in-depth, investigative storytelling and a reaction against the prevalent "churnalism" of today.

The chemistry between us

Mount Royal has launched, its 32nd major, a Bachelor of Science — Chemistry, which faculty members say promised to create and graduate some of the best scholars in the field.

Building businesses with a conscience: alumni marketplace

Four alumni entrepreneurs have come up with cool ways to help diversify the economy while also incorporating sustainability and a commitment to community into their small-business plans.

Coming together at the end

A palliative care program for people who are experiencing homelessness is helping them die with dignity.

Rolling out legal cannabis

Universities across Canada are trying to find their way through the haze created by the legalization of cannabis, with Mount Royal starting from a harm-reduction standpoint.

Alumni Achievement Awards 2018

Mount Royal’s alumni count has topped 100,000, four of which are the recipients of a 2018 Alumni Achievement Award. Being recognized are a social entrepreneur, executive coach, interior designer and sports researcher, each of whom has used their education to do great things for themselves and others.

Carrying the stories

Paul Brandt, country singer, alumnus and Mount Royal's storyteller-in-residence, opens up about humanitarian causes, raising kids, his upcoming album and the legacy he hopes to leave.

Academic freedom versus freedom of expression

Universities are where societal values come to fruition. When supporting principles compete, things get interesting.

Cybersecurity warriors: frontline of defense

Cybercriminals are hitting large institutions hard, relying on base human emotions and frailties for their illicit gains.

Healthy aging top of mind

Experts are tackling getting older through education and local initiatives

Joy, empathy and understanding

Social inclusion and the arts contribute to aging well

Reforming a dementia diagnosis

Reading between the lines

For the betterment of all

There is a term heard often throughout Mount Royal University that definitely sounds like something worth being involved in. But it’s hard to define. What, exactly, is a changemaker? And how will they make a difference in the world?

Alumni gone grad

Meet six alumni who have taken their degrees from Mount Royal into graduate programs in Calgary, across Canada and around the world.

2017

Drilling for innovation

The bottom line value-add when it comes to universities is their ability to help diversify economies, create engaged global citizens and improve the quality of lives.

Under pressure

Students are reporting alarming rates of feelings of stress, anxiety, sleep difficulties and suicidal thoughts. Hope lies in young people's self-awareness, the tools available and their willingness to use them.

Cultivating the Cougars

Recruiting for a Cougars team takes years of legwork and commitment, plus tons of travel time.

Alumni Achievement Awards 2017

Meet four MRU graduates who are making a difference in their communities, industries and beyond

Modus Operandi

The how and the why of Mount Royal

Social media virus

Stop the spread! Does social media bring out the worst in people?

Passion, dedication and strength to care

Celebrating 50 years of nursing at Mount Royal

2016

The path to Indigenization

Reconciling with the past while charting a course for the future. This story is just beginning.

Bringing poetry to the people

It's true, people hate poetry. But why?

Moonshooters

Shaping orbits out of innovation, these entrepreneurs aren't afraid to take giant leaps

State of disaster

Alberta is now the national capital of natural disasters, and Mount Royal knows how to respond

Aces high

Facing risk at 700 km/h with members of Canada's Snowbirds

Behind the lens

Communication grads use camera skills to deliver the stuff people really want to see

Alumni Achievement Awards 2016

Chosen from a field of more than 90,000 graduates, the 2016 winners represent the outstanding character and community spirit Mount Royal encourages all students to uphold

Semblance of faith

A campus community defies dinner-party etiquette and dares to talk religion

Rapid momentum

Four years into their new conference status, the Cougars are beginning to take a major bite out of the competition

Real life superheroes

Above and beyond the call of duty

Coming out of the shadows

Incidents of violence on campus are being reported, and that’s a good thing … Mount Royal professor calls for transparent and stricter survivor-focused protocols when it comes to campus violence in Canada.

Call the midwife!

Mount Royal's midwifery grads fill a much-needed gap across the province

Organized chaos

A glimpse into the minds at Mount Royal University

The Source: Ben Atkinson, PhD

A social connection

Has social media stopped students from connecting on a higher-level, or helped facilitate more meaningful relationships?

On the road

Eat, play, study — student travellers globetrot to a higher level of education

As Albertan as beer, horseshoes and rock 'n' roll

The University's quirky and kindred donors stand out amongst the pool

Quest for knowledge

Gamification evens the playing field in classrooms

2015

Breaking inactivity

Put down that book, give up the gaming and turn off the tube. Let's get moving in the right direction and become physically literate

Where in the world?!

MRU celebrate over two decades of globe-trotting

Game changer

From stick handling to bison wrangling, this student entrepreneur has a new meaty venture

2015 Alumni Achievement Awards

They're making their impressive mark on the world — these winners embody the sense of citizenship and intellectual excellence for which the University stands

Teaching business with a double bottom line

In the new world of social enterprise, MRU is distinctly positioned to contribute to the value-minded economy

Changing skies

75 years after the Royal Canadian Air Force opened a trio of runaways at MRU, the University remembers our Garrison roots

MEG Energy Summer Science Camp

Aboriginal youth at MRU's MEG Energy Summer Science Camp pursue science studies through determination and community support

PhD Pundits

They're loud, proud and opinionated. And that's why we love them. MRU's Policy Studies and Communications professors pursue a life less ordinary

Organized chaos

A glimpse into the minds at Mount Royal University

The Source: David Legg, PhD

Torch motorcycles

Business professor and “Motress” Patti Derbyshire gets revved up about craft-built bikes and founds a STEM-based startup

A different path

Elephants inspire unconventional route to General Management and Human Resources academic career for an MRU assistant professor with an undergrad background in STEM

For the people by the people

Mount Royal's Library celebrates unique voices in publishing and community journalism through an eclectic Zine collection

We can do it!

Where's it STEM from? There's a lack of women enrolling in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) post-secondary programs across Canada. Mount Royal takes aim at this nationwide conundrum.

Park life

New partnership with St. Andrews University to study sustainability in a national parks context

Saving lives through computer science

A Mount Royal professor is developing a new application to help diagnose and fight back against tropical diseases

Cretaceous seas comes to life

Calgary's largest extinct marine reptile exhibit unveiled at Mount Royal University

Promoting the post-secondary puck

From Bemidji Beaver to Mount Royal Cougar, men's head hockey coach Bert Gilling is rallying alumni and taking the men's hockey team to new heights

When the classroom and community service collide

While experiential learning has become a buzzword in academic circles, it's a methodology deeply ingrained in our DNA. Mount Royal is among the leaders of community service learning in Canada.

From Casa Guatemala to Calgary and back

Nonprofit studies alumna battles against child poverty

Giving their support

There's a lot more to community stewardship than meets the eye. At Mount Royal, we are fortunate to have supporters who back us in many ways. We introduce you to a couple of exceptional examples.

Organized chaos

A glimpse into the minds at Mount Royal University

The Source: Mike Clark

2014

Get ready to have a ball at the Bella

The Taylor Centre for the Performing Arts and the Bella Concert Hall to open in August [2015]!

Launching Canoes for Peru

A friendship between a Peruvian family and a Mount Royal Ecotourism professor sparks a movement that will have Canadian canoes paddling down river in the Amazon by 2015.

Reaching new heights

Inspiring faculty member nominated for National Geographic Adventurer of the Year 2013