Profs. Jim Mountain and Scott Bucking Receive 2024 CU Achievement Awards
April 2, 2024
Jim Mountain receives Contract Instructor Teaching Award
Citation: James’ ongoing interests in teaching students can best be described as experiential learning in research and engagement practices. His focus is on identifying positive initiatives for energizing, empowering, activating downtowns, neighbourhoods, rural and Indigenous communities who are facing economic, social, cultural, and environmental challenges. He connects students with real-life conservation and adaptive repurposing initiatives for places that may involve healing from histories of racial exclusion, trauma, and colonialism. Students learn first-hand that the concept of reconciliation as defined and managed by Indigenous communities can be fostered through taking positive action.
Since 2019, he, along with students and other faculty, has worked with the Muskowekwan First Nation. Here is the story of ASAU’s involvement.
Letter of support from Muskowekwan First Nation: He has provided ongoing assistance to Muskowekwan First Nation, Saskatchewan and our important heritage project to repurpose the last standing former residential school in Saskatchewan from its history of trauma to a place of learning and healing. He directed a creative group of third year architecture students in developing nine concept designs for our site, and he helped conduct a complete laser scanning and digital documentation of this substantial heritage structure. He was very involved advocating for our site to be designated by Parks Canada and the Historic Sites and Monuments Board as a National Historic Site one of four in all of Canada. He is currently providing advisory assistance for our Parks Canada Pilot Project that is preparing the technical architectural, engineering and conservation plans and designs to undertake the actual physical rehabilitation of this site.