Daily News

September 22, 2003

Keeping track of an agenda for McMaster President Peter George and other senior officers may seem like a lot of work. But with 16 years experience in academic sectors, Jill Axisa has the leadership and administrative skills necessary for the newly revamped position of executive assistant to the President. She joined the President's Office last week, replacing Donna Findlay, who was assistant to the President since 1986. Findlay retired from McMaster this summer. "Jill brings a wide range of experience to the position, including significant work in both university and professional association settings," says George. "Her impressive interpersonal and communications skills will be important to McMaster's ongoing operations. We are extremely pleased to have her join us." In the revised position, Axisa will work closely with the President and senior officers of the University on a broad range of presidential tasks, both internally and externally. She will manage the strategic, operational, planning and administrative issues arising from the President's Office.

September 22, 2003

The McMaster Marauder baseball team took complete control of second place in the OUA baseball standings with a doubleheader sweep of the Toronto Varsity Blues . . .

September 22, 2003

The third-ranked McMaster Marauders defeated the Queen's Golden Gaels Saturday on an 88-yard kickoff return by Jesse Lumsden with just eight seconds left in regulation. . . .

September 19, 2003

[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/varsity.jpg” caption=”Varsity runners”]McMaster academic leaders and administrators joined in a friendly five-kilometer run Thursday in support of McMaster's varsity cross country team. Head . . .

September 18, 2003

The often overwhelming demands of university life can wreak havoc on a student's academic performance, but staff at the Centre for Student Development (CSD) help keep shaky emotional well-being intact. Now, with the recent move to the McMaster University Student Centre (MUSC) and the hiring of a new director, CSD is better equipped to help students seeking counseling and other services. Desmond Pouyat, CSD's new director, says due to the higher student population  and greater willingness to seek help  there will be increased demand for the variety of services CSD offers. This provides an opportunity to work closely with campus and community resources that support students and are wellness-focused. Currently CSD offers leadership training as well as personal and academic counseling, and services for students with disabilities. ESL programming is also offered. The move from Hamilton Hall to the basement of MUSC puts them in a better position to work more closely with neighbouring campus services such as Student Health Services.

September 17, 2003

Most students go to the library to read research published by other people, but a group of McMaster's medical students were recently in the health sciences library to launch their own journal. Students and members of the Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS) celebrated the inaugural publication of The McMaster University Medical Journal, a student-run, peer-reviewed publication. The journal is in keeping with the medical program's drive to cultivate and nurture innovative minds, says Orli Goldberg, the editor-in-chief and a third-year medical student. "We want to both to celebrate the unique elements of McMaster's program and to create a forum to share creative ideas and insightful discussions." The publication will have an emphasis on evidence-based medicine, a key tenet of the medical program, as well as a focus on problem-based learning, health policy, medical ethics and how social issues impact personal health.

September 17, 2003

[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/westmay.jpg” caption=”Judith West-Mays”]Judith West-Mays, associate professor for the Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, was recently awarded two major grants from the National . . .

September 17, 2003

McMaster University's annual Career Fair, organized in partnership with all of the on-campus career centres, will be held Thursday, Sept. 18 in the Burridge Gymnasium, Ivor Wynne Centre from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. New this year are mini panel sessions detailing employers' best and worst examples of dressing for an interview, creating resumes, and how people have managed to get their foot in the door. This is an excellent opportunity for students to understand the dos and don'ts from an employer's perspective. The sessions, conducted by prospective employers such as Hydro One, Enbridge, and Bank of Montreal run at 11 a.m., noon and 1 p.m. in the mezzanine of Ivor Wynne Centre. This fair is McMaster's largest career event, featuring 61 employers this year. Employers from Hamilton and the greater Toronto area will be at the fair, looking to hire recent graduates for full-time and part-time positions, as well as internships and co-op placements. It is an opportunity for students to meet with employers, share information and develop relationships. Students are encouraged to dress appropriately for the event and to bring resumes as well as have questions prepared for the employers.

September 16, 2003

A temporary entrance off Cootes Drive will open next week for construction traffic entering campus. The entrance is located on the west side of campus . . .

September 16, 2003

Faculty members who made important impacts on students; researchers who made outstanding discoveries in the lab; and staff who ensured the University ran smoothly each made McMaster what it is today  a research-intensive school known worldwide for its culture of innovation. "Your expertise, skill, enthusiasm and commitment have helped shape McMaster into the outstanding institution it is today," said President Peter George, at a reception for McMaster employees who retired between September 2002 and August 2003. "This is a proud legacy and it is one that each and every one of you has helped to create." Approximately 95 staff and faculty who retired from McMaster were honoured for their years of service. The annual reception was held in the Council Chambers in Gilmour Hall Monday. Pictured from left, George talks with technical staff retiree Bob Bignell, who worked in the School of Geography and Geology for 33 years before retiring last April. Also pictured are Peter Sutherland, dean of science and Jacques Barbier, associate chair of chemistry. (end of story)

September 16, 2003

The MACgreen Potluck, taking place Wednesday, Sept. 17, at 6:30 p.m. in Faculty Hollow, will mark the beginning of a promising year for campus sustainability . . .

September 15, 2003

CSI Crime Scene Investigation might be one of the hottest shows on television, but it certainly doesn't rate very highly with John Waye , professor of pathology and molecular medicine . Recognized as an expert in DNA profiling, Waye has served as a consultant or expert witness in hundreds of cases across Canada, including high profile murder cases such as Guy Paul Morin and Allan Legere. Waye will be the first speaker in the new season of the Science in the City lecture series, public lectures sponsored jointly by McMaster and the Hamilton Spectator . "There's not much that's real about shows like CSI. The answers just don't come that quickly or that easily," says Waye, noting that DNA testing in Canada usually takes at least 10 weeks. If the case is high profile, involving a murderer and/or sex offender, than public safety is at risk and the case is given priority.

September 15, 2003

[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/Cycling_sept9_opt.jpg” caption=”Cyclist”] McMaster has launched a new Web site to provide students, staff, faculty, and visitors who require access to McMaster during the . . .

September 15, 2003

In front of Commonwealth Games vice-chairman and Malaysian prince Tunku Imran, the McMaster Marauders defeated the University of Toronto Varsity Blues 80-0 Saturday. Performing in . . .

September 12, 2003

An innovative marketing campaign for McMaster's campus libraries is using varsity athletes to help make fellow students more aware of the resources available at their library of choice. Anne Plessl, development officer, Mills Memorial Library, co-ordinated a team of library staff and representatives from the Department of Athletics and Recreation to launch a poster campaign that incorporates varsity athletes and library images to promote the library's collections and services. "We're using this campaign to promote the library to students in a fun, less traditional way," says Plessl. "We want to get their attention and generally raise awareness of the library and its resources." Click here for a slide show presentation of the poster series.

September 12, 2003

If you haven't noticed the double cohort in hallways, coffee line-ups or parking lots, you'll see it in preliminary undergraduate and graduate enrolment numbers, reported . . .

September 12, 2003

TSX Group of Companies is the latest national sponsor of the Directors College at McMaster University. A cornerstone of Canada's financial system, TSX Group operations . . .

September 11, 2003

Can wealth determine a woman's chance of surviving breast cancer? Can gender stereotypes affect the diagnosis of heart disease? Scholar, author and activist Nancy Krieger . . .

September 11, 2003

If you happen to find yourself being jostled in the buffet line at Hamilton's Mandarin restaurant tonight don't take offence. It's just the McMaster Marauders' . . .

September 10, 2003

Three vision scientists from McMaster University's Visual Development Lab have discovered that the right hemisphere of a baby's brain must receive visual input during the first few weeks of life to allow the brain to develop normal face processing skills. Their findings are detailed in the article, "Expert face processing requires visual input to the right hemisphere during infancy", published this week in the online edition of the journal Nature Neuroscience. Adults can recognize hundreds of faces at a glance. One reason we are so good is that we recognize small differences between people in how their features are spaced (e.g., how far apart their eyes are). This allows us to recognize someone's face from a novel point of view (e.g., to recognize someone sitting across the aisle at a movie theater with whom we previously had only face-to-face interactions). This skill continues to develop through adolescence and seems to depend on the right hemisphere. "The two halves of the brain are not created equal as only the right hemisphere appears able to develop expertise in processing faces," said psychology professor Daphne Maurer. "We know from this study that early visual input to the right hemisphere is required for this skill to develop correctly."