Daily News

August 7, 2002

Making the leap from high school to university can be challenging. To help ease the transition, Student Affairs has planned a day of activities for new students and their families. Friday, Aug. 9, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., all first-year students and their families are invited to Welcome Day at the McMaster campus to start orienting themselves with their new home. The day will include tours, information sessions, opportunities to talk with staff from various student services, displays by a number of student clubs, a barbecue lunch, and the option of staying overnight in one of the residences.

August 7, 2002

McMaster chemist Gary Schrobilgen has long been recognized as a world leader in main-group fluorine chemistry. In June he received two awards that attest to his continued leadership in this area. The Canadian Society for Chemistry awarded him the 2002 Alcan Award and the 2002 Award for Pure or Applied Inorganic Chemistry at its annual meeting in June. Significantly, the Vancouver event marked the first time a Canadian researcher has won both awards in the same year. The Alcan Award is presented to a scientist residing in Canada who has made a distinguished contributions in the fields of inorganic chemistry or electrochemistry. The Award for Pure or Applied Inorganic Chemistry is given in recognition of outstanding contributions to industrial or academic inorganic chemistry, within the five calendar years preceding the year of nomination. Schrobilgen conducts fundamental research in inorganic fluorine chemistry and the polyatomic anions of the main-group elements. His research is important in helping us to better understand the structure and chemical bonding in so-called hypervalent molecules and main-group ring, cage and cluster species. He also conducts research in two areas of radiochemistry and on the noble gases krypton and xenon. Many of his compounds are now examples in textbooks.

August 6, 2002

The weather has co-operated and work on construction projects around campus has flourished. Nearly every building has been, will be, or is being renovated in some way. Work such as ventilation system upgrades, wiring, lighting, plumbing, painting, and new doorways or partitions have not been included in this survey. For a complete update, please visit the physical plant Web site and click on the Alerts or the Construction sections.

August 5, 2002

Genetics research has come a long way in Canada. In fact, the progress has been so fast the government has created a new Ontario Advisory Committee on Genetics to guide them on existing and new genetic services. And they've appointed McMaster's Ronald Carter to lead the way. "Genetics used to be a small niche of medicine," says the professor of pathology & molecular medicine at McMaster. "The laboratory technology was both esoteric and poorly developed, and the opportunities for effective cures very limited. "Obviously, things have changed rapidly." There is growing need for a genetics advisory committee, says Carter, the committee's key adviser. "Particularly with the advent of the Human Genome Project and the flood of developments in diagnosis and therapy," he says. "Part of this awareness stems from the anticipated price tag for these developments, but there is also a genuine concern that we need to be good at this and make sure we are doing the right thing." The need also arises from the advent of legal and political issues typified by disputes over gene patents, the ethics of predictive testing and the moral dilemmas posed by medically assisted reproduction and stem cell technologies, he says. "There is recognition that expert advice is needed to ensure that we can critically appraise the costs, benefits, risks, ethics, access, providers and administration of genetic services in Ontario," he says. "The committee will ensure there is a mandate covering all aspects of the provision of genetic services including evaluating outcomes, surveying new technologies and providing advice to the province." Carter is an expert in the field of medical genetics. The current president of the Canadian College of Medical Geneticists, became a fellow of the College in 1991, and was also a founding fellow of the American College of Medical Genetics in 1993. He has also been involved in a variety of research programs including gene therapy and diagnostic laboratory genetics research. Carter was appointed to Chedoke-McMaster Hospital (now Hamilton Health Sciences) in 1990, and directed the Regional Cytogenetics Laboratory in Hamilton from 1991 to 1999. He is currently head of Cancer Genetics for the Regional Genetics Service of South Central Ontario/Hamilton Regional Laboratory Medicine Program, and a consultant in pathology for the Hamilton Regional Cancer Centre, Cancer Care Ontario. [End of Story]

July 31, 2002

McMaster is the first university in Canada to become a member of the Worker Rights Consortium, a non-profit organization which assists universities and colleges in ensuring that the factories that produce clothing and other goods bearing university names respect the basic rights of workers. More than 100 academic bodies, including Carnegie Mellon, Georgetown, Cornell and Duke universities, are affiliated with the WRC. McMaster joined the WRC in June, making it the first University in Canada to do so. Created by college and university administrations, students and labor rights experts, the WRC's purpose is to assist in the enforcement of manufacturing codes of conduct adopted by colleges and universities. The membership illustrates McMaster's commitment to ensuring an end to worker oppression and exploitation. It also reinforces the University's belief in, and commitment to, a new policy approved in June by McMaster's senior administration. A Code of Labour Practices for University Suppliers and Licensees is aimed at ensuring McMaster apparel (T-shirts for example, sold in the Bookstore or used for summer camps) and non-apparel licensed products (such as coffee mugs) are manufactured and sold by companies with ethical labour standards and practices (most of which are based on widely accepted conventions of the United Nation's International Labour Organization.) The code is a statement of minimum standards with respect to labour practices and was developed by a McMaster ad hoc committee comprised of members of the faculty, staff and student associations, various university departments and other interested groups. The code states that "McMaster is committed to conducting its business affairs in a socially responsible and ethical manner consistent with its educational, research and service missions, and to protecting and preserving the global environment." In developing the labour practice code, the McMaster committee consulted with the Maquila Solidarity Network (MSN), the Toronto-based secretariat of Canada's anti-sweatshop campaigning coalition. "McMaster has become the first university in Canada to affiliate with the Worker Rights Consortium. In the Canadian context, what McMaster is doing is trailblazing. It's only a first step, but an important one," says Ian Thomson of MSN.

July 29, 2002

A four-member ad hoc committee has been established to review McMaster's Information Technology (IT) plan. The organizational structure that governs IT has been altered significantly in the last couple of years, says a letter from the Office of the Provost and Vice-President Academic to McMaster faculty, staff and students. "Perhaps the most visible change is that there are now separate groups responsible for supporting teaching, research and administrative computing activities." To ensure IT needs are met, the committee will review the organizational structure that governs IT at McMaster and its current administrative arrangements. It will review unresolved issues and broader questions as to where responsibility lies for developing a campus-wide IT plan. Committee members are Peter Sutherland, dean of science, Alan Harrison, dean of social sciences, Lilian Scime assistant vice-president administration and Michael Marrin, academic services assistant dean. The committee will consult with interested individuals and organizations and report to Ken Norrie, provost and vice-president academic, Karen Belaire, vice-president administration and Mamdouh Shoukri, vice-president research & international affairs by Nov. 30. The report, which will go to the University Planning Committee for discussion and possible revisions, will form the basis of a revised IT policy for McMaster.

July 29, 2002

Q: What university observes McMaster University in celebrating its past? A: The University of Toronto Q and A, a regular online feature which commemorates the University of Toronto's 175th anniversary, highlights McMaster in an excerpt from The University of Toronto: A History. The question: Q: What theological college bucked the federation trend with the University of Toronto in 1888? A: Toronto Baptist College chose independence and would later become the foundation of the new McMaster University. A portion of the excerpt... "The Toronto Baptist College, rejected federation in favour of becoming an independent arts and theological college. Its building on Bloor Street on land purchased from the University (now the Royal Conservatory of Music) had been made possible in 1881 by the generosity of the Toronto businessman William McMaster, who provided $100,000 for what became known as McMaster Hall, and an annual contribution of $14,500 a year. Although the college participated in the federation discussions, it had serious concerns about the form of federation. Later in 1887, legislation was introduced to unite the Baptist theological college with a Baptist arts college in Woodstock. The supporters of an independent Baptist university knew they could count on further support from William McMaster, and three weeks after the bill was introduced, he drew up a new will leaving virtually his entire estate to the new Baptist institution, McMaster University. He died suddenly the following spring, and the princely sum of close to $1 million came to the institution. A movement by some prominent Baptists to thwart independence and join the University of Toronto was decisively defeated by the Baptist Convention of 1888, which passed a motion that McMaster University "be organized and developed as a permanently independent school of learning, with the Lordship of Christ as the controlling principle." In 1912, the university purchased a large block of land on Avenue Road north of Eglinton, but owing to the war it did not proceed with its plans to relocate there. The question of federation would continue to be raised from time to time, and in 1930 it was finally laid to rest when McMaster University physically moved to Hamilton, Ontario." Click here to read more. Photo caption: Postcard of McMaster University on Bloor Street, date unknown. (photo: U of T)

July 29, 2002

While everyone is entitled to human rights, not everyone is educated about them. But the view that human rights at McMaster are important is clear. Especially to Jane Mulkewich. "University is a place of higher learning and there are people here from all over the world, so we should be accessible to people from all over the world," she says. "If it doesn't happen on a university campus, then where is it going to happen?" McMaster's new human rights educator wants to create an environment free from harassment and discrimination. But she can't do it alone. "Everyone needs to take responsibility to make this an equitable environment," she says. "I want to be a catalyst for change." Since starting her new position in June, Mulkewich has found others feel the same. "Everyone that I have talked to so far, all say that there is a huge need for human rights education," she says. These views were presented to her during recent focus groups with faculty organized by her office. This is important since it is faculty and staff who set the climate, she says. "We want to find out from them what things we need to do on camps to make it a more safe and equitable place." In the part-time position - 22 hours a week - Mulkewich is responsible for the development and implementation of training workshops and educational programs dealing with human rights, anti-discrimination and sexual harassment. "There are a lot of people who don't know about human rights," she says. "Racism and discrimination continues because they are unaware and they do not know about what kind of impact their actions have. People will often know when their rights have been violated but they often don't know what to do about it. They need to know what resources are available."

July 26, 2002

Canadian Olympic gold-medal swimmer Mark Tewksbury, Norwegian speedskating legend Johann Koss and president of the World Anti-Doping Agency Dick Pound will inspire more than 40 current and future Olympic leaders this week at McMaster. Athletes, coaches, olympic medalists, students, academics, administrators, officials and health professionals will learn the values of the Olympic Movement during the 17th Olympic Academy of Canada (OAC) workshops from July 27 to Aug. 2. "The goal of the program is that this group of aspiring and current leaders will be quite connected to promoting the Olympic movement when they return to their community," says Charlotte MacNaughton, manager of communications for the Canadian Olympic Committee and co-organizer of the event. "We want the delegates to be actively involved in the Olympic movement when they return home." The workshops also provide an opportunity for networking. "People who participate in the workshops stay connected for a long time," she says. Delegates from across Canada, ranging in age from 20 to 55, will attend the leadership development program designed for Canadians with a strong interest in the Olympic movement. They will discuss Olympic values and strategies for promoting these values across Canada, current issues facing sport and the Olympic movement. Olympic values, says MacNaughton, are fun, fairness, respect, excellence, leadership, peace and human development. "If more people lived by these values, the world would be a much better place."

July 25, 2002

Always at the forefront of undergraduate education, McMaster University is leading the pack again, this time, during the summer instead of the fall or winter. The Brockhouse Institute for Materials Research (BIMR) is holding summer school for a group of exceptional undergraduate students. These 57 students, including nine from outside of McMaster, are taking part in some of the strongest research projects on campus, says John Preston, director of the BIMR. "The primary issue is training," he says. "We want students to see that they are working on problems for which the professors and the graduate students don't know the answers." From his experiences with a former theme school, Preston learned the value of combining experience with a summer position, and helping students to see their summer job as part of their academic studies. That is just the case for Rudi Phillion, studying aerospace engineering at Carleton University. "I'm hoping to use what I learn here in another job," he says. "What I'm learning complements it (my program of study) very well. I didn't want to come here and relearn material. I wanted to learn something new." This year is the pilot year for this innovative program. At the beginning of the work term, students were matched with faculty members who were studying areas students were interested in. They then spend the summer working with those professors, and graduate students, on a variety of research projects. "These are not artificial undergraduate projects," says Preston. "The students get paid, and are working on these projects, and have a supervisor who cares about the project." As well as giving students access to world-class laboratories, facilities and equipment, organizers of the summer school have provided many opportunities for students to develop their careers and to discover more about the many fields of materials research. Supplementary activities include lectures by faculty or students on current research, information sessions by representatives from various industries, tours to research or industrial sites and small student-group workshops for training in specialized techniques.

July 24, 2002

McMaster's Juliet Daniel is one of the brightest young researchers in Canada. A $150,000 grant will help her shine even brighter. The assistant professor of biology is one of 34 researchers from greater Toronto universities included in round six of the Premier's Research Excellence Award (PREA), announced minister of enterprise, opportunity and innovation Jim Flaherty. The funding -- $100,000 from the Ontario government and $50,000 from the university -- will allow Daniel to continue her investigation into new regulators of cell adhesion and tumour progression. Her findings will increase scientists' understanding of tumour metastasis and significantly contribute to the development of improved therapies for cancer patients. "We're trying to understand what causes a tumor cell to break away from the primary tumor and spread to other organs," Daniel says. "We understand how a tumor arises, but we don't understand how it progresses to that really malignant and devastating state when it spreads to other organs." Daniel's lab is looking at the major epithelial cell adhesion complex, the "E-cadherin-catenin complexs", which is defective in human tumors. "We're studying a protein that I discovered when I was a post-doc, a transcription factor named Kaiso', after the Caribbean calypso music," she says. "The focus of our lab is to elucidate the relevance of the interaction between Kaiso and one of the adhesion catenins, p120ctn," she says. "We're trying to understand Kaiso's mechanism of action and identify the genes that it regulates, to see if any of those genes are directly linked to cancer." Daniel, who joined McMaster in November 1999, will use the funding to pay for personnel, students and technicians.

July 23, 2002

McMaster has received $9.1 million from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) to fund the operational costs of 26 research projects. Immune responses in HIV infection and AIDS, monitoring high blood pressure among older adults, and understanding the value, priorities and world views of families who raise children with chronic developmental conditions, are among 26 projects funded through CIHR's new and renewal grants program. "This CIHR funding will provide support, as well as training opportunities, in a wide spectrum of innovative, state-of-the-art medical, biomedical, and health-related research projects at McMaster and our affiliated teaching hospitals," says John Capone, associate dean of research in the Faculty of Health Sciences. "CIHR support will allow our research scientists to remain competitive and at the leading edge at the national and international levels, and potentially lead to the discovery and generation of new knowledge and products that will benefit the health and well-being of all Canadians." McMaster had one of its better showings in CIHR's latest round of funding, says Marie Townsend, research programs administrator on the Committee on Scientific Development. In total, 42.6 per cent of the projects McMaster applied for under its new and renewal grants were funded by CIHR, compared to the national average of 31 per cent, she says.

July 23, 2002

The first in-depth study of Canadian attitudes towards adoption shows that Canadians are strongly in favour of the unconditional release of confidential identifying information to adult adoptees about their birth parents. A majority also support some form of open adoption that allows for contact between birth parents and adoptive parents after adoption takes place. The study, conducted by McMaster University researcher Charlene Miall and Karen March of Carleton University, found that three-quarters of Canadians surveyed felt that birth parents and adoptive parents should not be able to prevent adult adoptees learning their original identities. At present, most adoption reunion registries allow birth parents to veto requests for information by adult adoptees. However, only 45 per cent of Canadians approved of birth parents learning the identities of their adopted adult children without their permission. "Adoption as an institution is in the process of change and this survey provides a unique snapshot of what Canadians think about these changes," said Miall, an associate professor of sociology. "Canadians are very supportive of adoption as a family form while recognizing that confidentiality requirements may place a unique burden on adults seeking to learn about their genetic and medical histories." Other findings from the survey: an overwhelming majority of Canadians approve of international adoptions Canadians are in favour of birth reunions with 46 per cent strongly approving and 45 per cent somewhat approving Canadians also think that confidential adoption, where there is no contact between birth parents and adoptive parents, should continue to be available if both parties want it Canadians are almost evenly split on whether lesbian and gay couples should be able to adopt children. The Institute for Social Research at York University collected the data from a Canada-wide telephone survey between May and July 2000. In addition, 82 comprehensive interviews were conducted to examine what factors were at work when respondents gave the answers they did. That analysis is now complete and the results of both the survey and interviews are in the publication stage. The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada funded this research. For complete information on the survey and the data, see http://socserv2.mcmaster.ca/sociology/Miall-News.pdf and http://www.carleton.ca/socanth/Faculty/KarenMarch.htm.

July 19, 2002

Matching students with residences has been a little more complicated this year as the demand for campus accommodation is higher than normal. Like many other Ontario universities, McMaster is experiencing higher enrolment, particularly in the Level 1 class. Applications for admission are up across the province as some students are fast-tracking to university ahead of the double cohort class of 2003. McMaster and other universities are working with the provincial government to make as many additional spaces available as possible. In turn, the percentage of first-year students who are eligible for McMaster residence space in September 2002 is higher than normal. Phil Wood, associate vice-president student affairs, said McMaster is committed to accommodating all first-year students who were guaranteed a residence space because they had an academic average of 75 per cent or higher and met the application and payment deadlines. "McMaster has been a popular choice for students again this year," said Wood. "We are committed to helping everyone make a successful transition to university life. As part of meeting our commitment, we have decided to increase our bed space capacity by introducing 'bunk and loft' rooms that will accommodate three students." Wood said that a number of other residence rooms will also be converted to accommodate more students. "We are working with the Inter Residence Council and our Residence Life student staff to make sure that every student's residence experience will be positive," said Wood. Students will begin receiving their campus residence space assignments via letter today (July 19). All students who are assigned to a 'bunk and loft' room will receive a phone call from Housing & Conference Services personnel beginning next week so they can have any queries answered. Wood said students are being notified of their residence space assignment earlier than normal because demand has been great.

July 19, 2002

McMaster Shad Valley students have their minds set on saving the environment. An indoor-waste and recycling bin, a dryer that helps conserve energy, an environmental education curriculum kit and an electronic device that eliminates harmful or irritating workplace sounds are the brainchilds of 52 "MacShad" students. The students will present their devices and business plans on Monday in the Institute of Applied Health Sciences, Room 143 from 2 to 4:30 pm. Students from across Canada are learning more about the fields of science, engineering, and business in the program, which allows senior high school students to expand their minds at the university level. Three weeks ago, students were divided into four teams and presented with the challenge of brainstorming, designing, constructing, marketing, presenting, and writing a full business plan for a product or service that would solve an environmental problem. "The project has been very challenging, but an extremely rewarding experience too," says 15-year-old Michelle Leung, of Vancouver, British Columbia. "It has enabled us to explore current environmental problems from a new perspective."

July 18, 2002

Faculty, staff and graduate students will now to be able to read their McMaster e-mail anywhere they have access to the internet and a Web browser with the introduction of a new e-mail service. Computing & Information Services (CIS) has introduced UnivMail, a new e-mail service based on software by CommuniGate Pro. The service was introduced to undergraduate students nearly two years ago. Heather Grigg, CIS senior manager, client support, expects UnivMail will replace PINE in the future, the central Unix-based electronic mail system that has been available to the McMaster community since 1992. "UnivMail is being offered on a self-subscription basis, so users can choose when to migrate their e-mail to the new service," she says. It is expected that the McMail/PINE service will be decommissioned when it isn't viable to continue the service for a small number of e-mail accounts, she says.

July 17, 2002

The Career Planning & Employment Centre (CPEC) is showcasing its new facilities today. "We love our new space," says Heather Hines, CPEC events & marketing co-ordinator. "We're right in the hub of it all." CPEC relocated in May to Gilmour Hall Room 110 from Hamilton Hall. "We were growing and we needed more space," she says. "And traffic is going to increase, especially with the double cohort." The open house, which will take place today, July 17, from 9 to 11:30 a.m., will provide an informal opportunity for people to come and see what CPEC offers, ask questions and tour the facility. "We want to invite people to our new space to see where we are and what we have to offer," says Hines. Some of its services include job postings for students, career counseling, and career planning, career tests, special events, workshops on job interview and job search techniques, resume critiques by peer advisers, job shadowing and linking students with graduates and alumni in the field. Most important, the centre is there to answer students' questions. "One of the most common questions is 'what can I do with my degree?'," Hines says. Unfortunately, many students wait too long to start asking questions, she says. "Students should come to us in first year so they can start planning early," says Hines. "They should take advantage of the resources while they're here."

July 16, 2002

Already considered one of the Top 100 business schools in the world by Financial Times, the Michael G. DeGroote School of Business will strengthen its position when it opens its new addition this fall. Constructed on the southwest corner of the Michael G. DeGroote building, the AIC wing adds three floors, 19 new offices, 17,000 square feet, and a plethora of state-of-the-art equipment to the University. The addition includes space for the school, the University, and outside organizations. With demand for classroom space on the rise, the new wing offers high-tech classroom space that can be used by both the School of Business and other departments throughout the University. Other rooms offer a facility for testing new software, research centres, and focus group areas. As well, an expanded academic programs office, along with external relations, and faculty will be located in the new space. Specialized facilities include the AIC Institute for Strategic Business Studies, which is a location for a chaired professor, two industry professors, and support staff, a 25-seat "Decision Centre" with display monitors below desk level, which can be used as a classroom or for focus group research, a PhD area, which offers office spaces for 35 candidates and dedicated computer facilities for PhD activities.

July 16, 2002

A biotechnology incubator for McMaster University could be one step closer to reality with a $5-million boost recommended by the mayor's Community Trustee Panel. The recommendation is part of a spending plan devised by the panel and going to city council for approval. The $15-million biotechnology incubator will assist with the commercialization of biomedical research and capitalize on the know-how and research facilities at the University. It is a key goal of Hamilton's economic development strategy to create an active biotechnology business sector in the city. The city funding is crucial if the University hopes to attract money from the province. "We see tremendous potential for this area in terms of commercialization of research results," said Mamdouh Shoukri, vice-president research & international affairs at McMaster. For the original story in today's Hamilton Spectator, click here.

July 16, 2002

[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/recipe.jpg” caption=”Tasty Plate”]The award-winning meal presented by McMaster University Hospitality Services in the 2003 Canadian College & University Food Services Association (CCUFSA) conference. . . .