About Us
Western Alumni Magazine is printed in a carbon-neutral facility on Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) certified materials using clean, renewable, emissions-free electricity provided by Bullfrog Power®, reducing traditional power usage and greenhouse gas emissions. Remaining emissions were offset with Carbonzero™ certified credits.
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To request digital delivery, please contact us at 519-661-4176, 1-800-420-7519 or address.update@uwo.ca.
Western Alumni Magazine is published twice a year by Western Communications in partnership with Western Advancement.
Contact us
Email: magazine@uwo.ca
Phone: 519-661-2111 ext. 85467
ISSN 2817-8327 (Print)
ISSN 2817-8335 (Online)
Fonts used
Monument Grotesk & Gravity (ABC Dinamo), Tiempos (Klim), Spot mono (Schick Toikka), Screamer (Florian Karsten), Softcore (Teiko), Animo (Heavyweight), Slussen (Blaze), GT Maru (Grilli).
Masthead Spring/Summer 2026
Publisher
Althea Blackburn-Evans
Editor-in-Chief
Marcia Steyaert
Senior Editors
Paul Fraumeni
Megan Stacey
Design/Art Direction
Raj Grainger
ASSISTANT EDITOR (digital)
Amanda Jackman
Contributors
Immanuel Musau Afrika
Steven Anderson
Natalia Brkic
Eric Collins
Ian Cunningham
Keri Ferguson
Jean Hung
Carrie Jia
Melinda Josie
Darryl Lahteenmaa
Ray Dak Lam
Colleen MacDonald
Clément Morin
Jon Munn
Parsa Nasirian
Frank Neufeld
Nicole Osborne
Penny Pexman
Jeff Renaud
Ryan Robinson
Tommy Theis
Douglas Tulett
Dalbert B. Vilarino
Land Acknowledgement
Western University is located on the traditional lands of the Anishinaabek, Haudenosaunee, Lūnaapéewak and Attawandaron peoples, on lands connected with the London Township and Sombra Treaties of 1796 and the Dish with One Spoon Covenant Wampum.
This land continues to be home to diverse Indigenous Peoples (First Nations, Métis and Inuit) whom we recognize as contemporary stewards of the land and vital contributors of our society. Their distinct rights are an important part of our institutional responsibility to reconciliation, and they are essential partners as we continue our commitment to increasing Indigenous voices and presence across all levels of community life, work, study and research.
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Western has partnered with Kettle and Stony Point First Nation to return culturally and spiritually sacred Nimkii Waawaanag (Thunderbird eggs) to their original community, reflecting the university’s commitment to reconciliation. Also called “kettles” for their resemblance to cooking pots, these 350-million-year-old rock formations are tied to spiritual beings that bring healing rains and feature prominently in Anishinaabe creation stories. On Nov. 4, 2025, multiple kettles were carefully returned to Kettle Point in a collaborative effort with Elders, knowledge keepers and Western faculty and staff.
Photo by Douglas Tulett/Office of Indigenous Initiatives
Back Cover
We have a long history of collaboration, bringing together audiologists, scientists and engineers to innovate and solve problems, united by a shared focus on hearing loss.
Susan Scollie
Director, National Centre for Audiology at Western
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