OTTAWA – As part of its 50th Anniversary Celebration, Canadian Interuniversity Sport presents the CIS 50th Anniversary Success Stories series. Each week throughout the 2011-12 season, CIS will profile two alumni from CIS member institutions who have made outstanding contributions in areas such as sports, business, politics or in the community.
This week CIS is profiling the University of New Brunswick’s Joyce Slipp and Shawn Graham.
Slipp, a Legendary Figure in Canadian Basketball
A two-sport athlete during her playing days, Slipp excelled on the court and later as a coach and administrator.
Joyce Slipp, a former standout athlete at the University of New Brunswickand basketball Olympian also had a stellar coaching career at her alma mater.
Joyce, a native of Moncton, New Brunswick, was with the UNB Athletics Program in one capacity or another since she began her undergraduate degree in 1969 until her retirement in 2006. She is a former student-athlete in the sports of field hockey and basketball and she is a two-time UNB graduate with a Bachelor of Physical Education (1972) and a Bachelor of Arts degree (1974). Joyce was awarded the Colin B. Mackay Shield in 1974 as UNB’s Female Athlete of the Year.
From 1969 to 1976 Joyce was a member of the Canadian National Women’s Basketball Team and competed in many different countries around the world. In 1976 she was named captain of the Canadian National Olympic Basketball Team for the Montreal Olympics.
From 1977-1990 (with a brief hiatus in 1980-81) she was a lecturer in the Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation and head coach of either field hockey or basketball and for several years coached both sports. In 1990 she took a break from UNB to become a Sport Consultant with theProvince ofNew Brunswick but after five years (1995) returned to her love of coaching and once again took up the reigns as head basketball coach for the Varsity Reds women’s program. It was on her return to UNB that she also took on the role as Assistant Athletic Director.
Over the years Joyce has been inducted into the Moncton Sports Wall of Fame, the Fredericton Sports Wall of Fame, the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame, the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame, and the Canadian Basketball Hall of Fame.
As a coach at UNB she led her basketball teams to three Atlantic Championships and her field hockey teams to eight Atlantic Championships. She was recognized by her field hockey peers as CIS Coach of the Year in 1986 and 1989 and in 1992 the field hockey rookie of the year award was named in her honour as the Joyce Slipp Rookie of the Year Award.
UNB hosted the 2006 CIS Women’s Basketball Championships in March and Joyce retired later that summer. “I’ve enjoyed it all – all the games, all the practices, all the athletes, everything about it. It was fun!”
Since retirement Joyce continues to volunteer in the community and has been involved in such events as the World Junior Track and Field championships held in Moncton in 2010.
Joyce and husband Dick continue to live in theFredericton area. They have two children Tyler and Shanda. Tyler (BScCS) is the head coach of women’s basketball at theUniversity ofWaterloo and Shanda (BSc MD CCFP) is currently employed by the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Calgary.
(Source: Michel Belanger, CIS Communications Manager)
Representing the Reds on the Course and in the Legislature
Shawn Graham traded in his UNB Varsity Red colours for Liberal red, eventually becoming Premier of New Brunswick
Running cross country and working as a student trainer at the University of New Brunswick helped prepare Shawn Graham, former Premier of theProvinceofNew Brunswick, for health and wellness passion.
Shawn, born in Rexton, New Brunswick, graduated from the Faculty of Kinesiology at UNB in 1991 with a Bachelor of Physical Education Degree and in May 2009, was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws from his alma mater. He also completed an education degree at St. Thomas University in Fredericton.
While attending UNB Shawn was a member of the 1990 Atlantic University Sport cross country championship team, and was the student trainer with cross country (1990), men’s volleyball (1989-1990), men’s soccer (1989) and wrestling team (1990-1991). He is also an alumnus of Harrison House and Neil House.
Following his graduation from UNB Shawn spent much of his career, before entering elected politics, working for the province’s civil service. He was raised in a political family, with his father Alan R. Graham being the longest serving member of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick. When his father resigned from the legislature in 1998, Shawn was elected to replace him in a by-election as a member of the Liberal Party.
He was elected leader of the New Brunswick Liberal Party in 2002 and became Premier after his party captured a majority of seats in the 2006 election. After being elected, Graham initiated a number of sometimes controversial changes to provincial policy especially in the areas of health care, education, and energy. His party was defeated in the New Brunswick provincial election held September 27, 2010, and Graham resigned as Liberal leader on November 9, 2010 but continues to serve as the Member of Parliament for Kent County.
When Shawn was first elected to office, he took on the added responsibility of Minister of Wellness, Culture and Sport. As a former varsity athlete Shawn demonstrated his passion and concern about wellness by taking on this additional portfolio. When he was the leader of the opposition, before becoming Premier of New Brunswick, Shawn was already voicing his concern about the health and wellness of citizens of the province. Once elected, he continued to champion wellness.
Shawn continues his commitment to personal health and wellness and while he was a runner at UNB his favourite activity is downhill skiing.
His favourite quote is one that could make the world a much more pleasant place if we were all to take note: “If you want to make a difference in your life, make a difference in someone else’s.”