Daily News

March 8, 2006

"Thought-provoking." "Excellent setting." "Can't remember when I enjoyed a conference more." These comments are only a snapshot of the feedback from the recent Inspiring from Within McMaster employee conference. Presented by the 2006 Inspiring from Within conference organizing committee, in partnership with the Working at McMaster steering committee, this year's conference focused on "Connections - it starts with you". This year's theme developed from the concept that whether work, finance, family or health-related, all aspects of our lives are interdependent.

March 8, 2006

The first Math@Mac day was deemed a success by organizers from the Department of Mathematics & Statistics. On Tuesday, March 7, approximately 130 local high school students accompanied by 15 teachers from a total of 16 schools, visited McMaster for this event. The day, aimed at inspiring students interested in pursuing math at the post secondary level, included a presentation by David Earn on the Mathematics of SARS and Emerging Diseases and another by Bartosz Protas on Fluid Mecahnics and Flight. Undergraduate volunteers from math, physics and Miroslav Lovric's Teaching Mathematics (2U03) course facilitated an interactive problem-solving session for the high school students. Lovric concluded the day's activities with a discussion prompted by students' questions on careers in math, revisions to the grade 12 curriculum, and preparation for first year courses at university. Lovric's message to the students was two-fold. "Take as much math as you can in high school to prepare for university and remember that you are responsible for your own learning."

March 7, 2006

Ron Foxcroft, campaign chair for the Athletics & Recreation Centre and Stadium, made magic last fall when he matched $100,000 in donations to sponsor stadium seats in the new Ronald V. Joyce Stadium. Ron is at it again - this time, he's jump-starting things in the Athletics & Recreation Centre. Ron will match, dollar for dollar, the first 100 gifts of $1,000 to sponsor a varsity locker in the Athletics & Recreation Centre. Those who take up the challenge will receive permanent recognition on a donor wall in the Athletics & Recreation Centre and a charitable tax receipt for $1,000.

March 7, 2006

McMaster's Centre for Peace Studies presents Hans von Sponeck, former United Nations Assistant Secretary General and UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq. von Sponeck will be delivering this year's Bertrand Russell Peace Lectures.

March 7, 2006

Just a couple of weeks ago, I boarded a bus with 25 other McMaster students and headed down to sunny, sunny South Carolina for reading week. The next seven days promised to be filled with fun, friends and lots of physical labour. Typically, reading week is reserved for sleeping, meeting old friends or vacationing in the sun. But for us, the week was devoted to building affordable housing for Sea Island Habitat for Humanity in Charleston, South Carolina.

March 7, 2006

Following are highlights from McMaster's University Senate meeting on February 8 and Board of Governors meeting on February 16. Mamdouh Shoukri was re-appointed for a second five-year term as Vice-President, Research and International Affairs. The Board of Governors has approved the governance structure for the development of the McMaster Innovation Park (MIP. The board agreed to operate MIP as a non-share-capital, not-for-profit corporation, with its own Board of Directors, but with distinctive ties to the University.

March 6, 2006

A memorial service to celebrate the life of Barbara Ferrier, professor of biochemistry and the second director of arts & science, will take place on Monday, March 6 at 12:30 p.m. in the Divinity College Chapel.

March 6, 2006

You are likely aware that there is a possibility of a strike by full-time faculty of Ontario colleges, including Mohawk College, represented by the Ontario Public Service Employees' Union (OPSEU), as early as Tuesday, March 7, 2006. In this event, there may be picketing activity on McMaster's campus, particularly at the Institute for Applied Health Sciences (IAHS) a facility that is jointly operated by Mohawk College and McMaster University. As this may affect McMaster students, staff and faculty, this message is to inform you of McMaster's plans in this regard.

March 6, 2006

McMaster associate professor Robert Hamilton and Sheridan instructor Dan Zen organized the fourth annual Interactive Interactive IV (four), which took place at the Hamilton Artists Inc. gallery on Friday February 24. Interactive Interactive is a juried exhibition of student works from the Sheridan Interactive Multimedia department and the McMaster Communication Studies and Multimedia department. All types of work were eligible from experimental art to functional websites with the focus being more on creativity and interactivity.

March 3, 2006

In 2004 there were 143 structure fires per week in Ontario, 106 of those occurring in homes. On average 11 civilians and 2 firefighters were injured per week. Effective March 1, 2006, the Ontario Fire Marshall has amended the Ontario Fire Code making smoke detectors mandatory on every floor of a residential home. These changes have been made to further protect the life safety of occupants in residential housing.

March 3, 2006

Carla Geurts-Cole has won a silver medal in the Women's 200-Meter Obstacle Swim at the Rescue 2006 World Life Saving Championship in Austraila. The obstacle swim took place in a 50-metre olympic-sized pool with a requirement of diving 6 feet below the water at both the 10 and 40 metre marks. This was repeated four times to cover the 200 metre distance. Geurts-Cole's time of of 2 min 11.67 seconds set a new Canadian record and was faster than the previous world record.

March 3, 2006

Thinking about quitting? A special "Smoke-Free Day at McMaster" is coming on Monday, March 6 from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. to the McMaster University Student Centre (MUSC) marketplace. Keynote speaker Shaine Peters, a youth-oriented ex-smoker and ex-tobacco advocate will be in MUSC at 12:45 p.m. to share his personal experience overcoming an addiction to tobacco. Peters paints a startling and disturbing picture of youth tobacco use, with emphasis on tobacco industry marketing tactics that target young people. The event is being organized by Leave The Pack Behind (LTPB) and the McMaster University Campus Health Centre. Representatives from local organizations, including Hamilton Public Health, the Canadian Cancer Society, the Heart and Stroke, and the Lung Association will be presenting displays in the University Student Centre alongside campus displays from the Health and Wellness Centre, SHEC and LTPB. Special entertainment includes the music of Mac students, free food, and fun prizes. Organizers would like to ask smokers to refrain from smoking or to smoke off-campus during the event times. Peters speaks to youth about his personal experience overcoming an addiction to tobacco, and paints a startling and disturbing picture of youth tobacco use, with emphasis on tobacco industry marketing tactics that target young people.

March 3, 2006

Stephen Lewis, a Canadian icon who has established a global presence through his humanitarian and political roles, will be delivering a much anticipated lecture this weekend at McMaster University. Appointed in 2001 as the United Nations' Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa, Mr. Lewis has led the worldwide campaign to raise awareness about this devastating pandemic. Named by Macleans magazine as the "Canadian of the Year" in 2003, and recently in 2005 as one of TIME magazine's "100 most influential people in the world", Lewis has no doubt left an impression on the world. Lewis is featured as a keynote speaker of McMaster's Global Citizenship Conference taking place this weekend from March 3 to 5 in MDCL. His lecture, sponsored by the Faculty of Social Science, will be a rare and exciting event, as Lewis has given talks around the globe in many influential roles including the Canadian Ambassador to the UN, and the Deputy Director of UNICEF. A limited number of tickets to his lecture will be available as of Tuesday, Feb. 28.

March 2, 2006

A new affiliation agreement signed yesterday by McMaster University and St. Peter's Health System will result in more research on issues affecting adults with chronic illness and training of health care professionals in the care of these individuals. Each year, many McMaster students come to St. Peter's for practical hands-on training in complex care. The renewed affiliation agreement further enhances this academic association, as well as emphasizes the commitment of both St. Peter's and McMaster University to research in this area.

March 2, 2006

Beginning March 14, McMaster's Department of Religious Studies will be presenting Hooker Distinguished Visiting Professor Gary A. Anderson for a series of public lectures. Anderson is presently professor of Old Testament/Hebrew Bible at Notre Dame University. He has taught at the University of Virginia and Harvard Divinity School, and he has been a senior fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies at Hebrew University. His awards include a Luce Fellowship and grants from the National Endowment of the Humanities.

March 2, 2006

Three McMaster University rowers are currently at a National Team Development camp getting ready for National Team crews for the summer. Alan and Aubrey Oldham (twins that represented Canada at the World Under 23 Championships, 2005) as well as their fellow McMaster oarsman Doug Csima (who represented Ontario at the Canada Summer Games in 2005 as well as posted the fastest Under 23 men's score in Canada at the Canadian Indoor Rowing Championships, 2006 in Toronto) left Feb. 25 for Victoria, B.C. for a National Team training camp.

March 2, 2006

McMaster's campus libraries would like to know how well they are meeting the needs and expectations of their users. From March 6 - 26, the libraries will participate in LibQUAL +", a web-based survey which is part of a North American effort led by the Association of Research Libraries(ARL) to measure satisfaction with library services, collections and facilities, and to identify best practices. In the next few days, an email will be sent to a random selection of undergraduate and graduate students, faculty and staff inviting them to participate in the survey, which takes between 8 and 13 minutes to complete. Responses will be confidential; no identifying links between responses and the individual responding will be retained. The libraries will receive initial results in May, and will share final results with the campus community by fall 2006.

March 1, 2006

As has been widely reported in the media, two women, one of whom is a third-year medical student at McMaster University, has been linked by Mexican authorities to the double slaying of an Ontario couple while on holiday in Mexico. Student Cheryl Everall was quoted in today's Toronto Star as saying that McMaster has been "wonderful" about letting her take a break from exams to cope with the stress of the Mexican situation.

February 28, 2006

McMaster University's first-year and fourth-year undergraduates are currently being polled by a North American-wide survey about their experience at McMaster. The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) asks students to assess their classes, faculty and friends. They are asked about their interaction with faculty, the quality and timeliness of the feedback, and whether expectations are communicated effectively. It asks whether a co-operative attitude exists among students, whether students are engaged in active learning and new ways of learning, and if there is respect for diverse talents. The results of the survey are used by institutions to see how they stack up against their peers in the delivery of student programs and services. The survey takes about 15 minutes complete.

February 28, 2006

New research into a missing link in climatology shows that the Earth was not overcome by a greenhouse period when dinosaurs dominated, but experienced rapid fluctuations in temperature and sea level change that resulted in a balance of the global carbon cycle. The study is being published in the March issue of Geology. "Most people think the mid-Cretaceous period was a super-greenhouse," says Darren Gr