ACSRC celebrates Roger Epp’s contributions to rural Alberta
Dr. Roger Epp served as the founding dean of University of Alberta Augustana Campus and played an important role in establishing the faculties and facilities that stand at the campus today.
By Adan Shaikh
Dr. Roger Epp has spent decades exploring the stories, challenges and importance of rural communities across the western Prairies. His retirement was celebrated on October 21, with an evening of reflection and appreciation, as the Alberta Centre for Sustainable Rural Communities (ACSRC) invited students, colleagues, family, friends and community members to recognize his lasting contributions to rural research and the Augustana Campus.
Epp, a professor emeritus of political science at the University of Alberta, served as founding dean of the University’s Augustana Campus in Camrose, from 2004 to 2011.
Dr. Clark Banack, director of ACSRC, welcomed guests, recognizing Epp’s impact on Augustana and the academic study of rural politics.
“We are here tonight to both honour the long and distinguished career of Dr. Roger Epp, but also to listen and to think with him. Roger is, of course, someone who made an incredible impact on Augustana, but also on the academic studies of rural politics and places in the western prairies,” said Banack. “Unlike most academics, Roger knows stuff,” he joked.
Banack reflected on his own time as an Augustana student, recalling how Epp introduced a course focused on local and rural issues. At the time, Banack was more interested in what he considered the “important questions” of national issues and international conflict.
That perspective changed while he was attending graduate school in Vancouver. For the first time, he became aware of his own rural identity.
When he returned home for Christmas, he received Epp’s co-edited book, Writing Off the Rural West: Globalization, Governments, and the Transformation of Rural Communities.
“It was a collection of hugely intelligent and insightful chapters about where I had come from,” Banack said.
The book changed the direction of his academic interests, inspiring him to explore rural communities in his own work, which he continues to do today.
Epp’s former PhD student Laticia Chapman-Rainway, a postdoctoral scholar with ACSRC, introduced him before his keynote address. Chapman-Rainway recalled reaching out to Epp while living with her family on their farm in eastern British Columbia. Her interest in rural communities eventually brought her to Alberta, where Epp became her supervisor.
“I quickly realized that Roger believed, as I do, that rural places are important in a multitude of ways that don’t get thought about or talked about as they should be,” she said.
She also reflected on the experience of being mentored by Epp, including long winter walks spent discussing readings.
Both Banack and Chapman-Rainway credited Epp’s work with inspiring their own research into rural communities.
During his keynote, Epp described himself as an accidental rural researcher.
“That is not why I went to grad school, that was not my training at all,” he said.
Epp reflected on his early teaching years, his relationships with the Maskwacis communities and the connections he made with people from all walks of rural life. He recalled attending farm auctions, rodeos and wakes, while also discovering books that helped him ask different questions about the communities around him.
His research took him across the Prairies, where he spent years listening to rural residents and learning about their experiences and culture.
When ACSRC was established, Epp was responsible for ensuring the word “rural” was included in the centre’s name, noting that it has since disappeared from many major universities across the continent.
“It is wonderful to see what Clark is building here – a Centre that is relevant to academic peers across the country and beyond and also matters to the people in this region,” he said.
Although his role as founding dean in 2004 brought a shift in responsibilities, Epp continued to write about rural communities.
“In the past two decades, I have continued to write about the rural, although with the handicap of a big city postal code,” he said.
Epp also spoke about the challenges facing rural communities, including the closure of emergency rooms, young people leaving home to pursue higher education and the lack of reliable internet access. He said these are signs of resources being diverted away from rural areas.
He emphasized the importance of continued advocacy, noting that when people stop speaking up for rural communities, resources begin to disappear.
Epp also highlighted the importance of reconciliation in the future of rural western Canada.
“There will be no rural west in the next generation without reconciliation,” he said.
The evening celebrated Epp’s contributions to his students, Augustana Campus and rural communities across western Canada, while encouraging those in attendance to continue asking questions about the places they call home.
By Adan Shaikh
Dr. Roger Epp has spent decades exploring the stories, challenges and importance of rural communities across the western Prairies. His retirement was celebrated on October 21, with an evening of reflection and appreciation, as the Alberta Centre for Sustainable Rural Communities (ACSRC) invited students, colleagues, family, friends and community members to recognize his lasting contributions to rural research and the Augustana Campus.
Epp, a professor emeritus of political science at the University of Alberta, served as founding dean of the University’s Augustana Campus in Camrose, from 2004 to 2011.
Dr. Clark Banack, director of ACSRC, welcomed guests, recognizing Epp’s impact on Augustana and the academic study of rural politics.
“We are here tonight to both honour the long and distinguished career of Dr. Roger Epp, but also to listen and to think with him. Roger is, of course, someone who made an incredible impact on Augustana, but also on the academic studies of rural politics and places in the western prairies,” said Banack. “Unlike most academics, Roger knows stuff,” he joked.
Banack reflected on his own time as an Augustana student, recalling how Epp introduced a course focused on local and rural issues. At the time, Banack was more interested in what he considered the “important questions” of national issues and international conflict.
That perspective changed while he was attending graduate school in Vancouver. For the first time, he became aware of his own rural identity.
When he returned home for Christmas, he received Epp’s co-edited book, Writing Off the Rural West: Globalization, Governments, and the Transformation of Rural Communities.
“It was a collection of hugely intelligent and insightful chapters about where I had come from,” Banack said.
The book changed the direction of his academic interests, inspiring him to explore rural communities in his own work, which he continues to do today.
Epp’s former PhD student Laticia Chapman-Rainway, a postdoctoral scholar with ACSRC, introduced him before his keynote address. Chapman-Rainway recalled reaching out to Epp while living with her family on their farm in eastern British Columbia. Her interest in rural communities eventually brought her to Alberta, where Epp became her supervisor.
“I quickly realized that Roger believed, as I do, that rural places are important in a multitude of ways that don’t get thought about or talked about as they should be,” she said.
She also reflected on the experience of being mentored by Epp, including long winter walks spent discussing readings.
Both Banack and Chapman-Rainway credited Epp’s work with inspiring their own research into rural communities.
During his keynote, Epp described himself as an accidental rural researcher.
“That is not why I went to grad school, that was not my training at all,” he said.
Epp reflected on his early teaching years, his relationships with the Maskwacis communities and the connections he made with people from all walks of rural life. He recalled attending farm auctions, rodeos and wakes, while also discovering books that helped him ask different questions about the communities around him.
His research took him across the Prairies, where he spent years listening to rural residents and learning about their experiences and culture.
When ACSRC was established, Epp was responsible for ensuring the word “rural” was included in the centre’s name, noting that it has since disappeared from many major universities across the continent.
“It is wonderful to see what Clark is building here – a Centre that is relevant to academic peers across the country and beyond and also matters to the people in this region,” he said.
Although his role as founding dean in 2004 brought a shift in responsibilities, Epp continued to write about rural communities.
“In the past two decades, I have continued to write about the rural, although with the handicap of a big city postal code,” he said.
Epp also spoke about the challenges facing rural communities, including the closure of emergency rooms, young people leaving home to pursue higher education and the lack of reliable internet access. He said these are signs of resources being diverted away from rural areas.
He emphasized the importance of continued advocacy, noting that when people stop speaking up for rural communities, resources begin to disappear.
Epp also highlighted the importance of reconciliation in the future of rural western Canada.
“There will be no rural west in the next generation without reconciliation,” he said.
The evening celebrated Epp’s contributions to his students, Augustana Campus and rural communities across western Canada, while encouraging those in attendance to continue asking questions about the places they call home.
