Daily News

February 9, 2001

[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/globalf.jpg” caption=”Daniel Woolf, Patrick O’Hara, Peter George”]Communication Studies at McMaster University has received a ringing endorsement of support today with the announcement of . . .

February 9, 2001

Mac IQ has arrived! And while it may sound like an intelligence test for getting into the University, we assure you it's not! It's a new tool that will help prospective students find out more about McMaster, and even open doors for them before they step foot on campus. The acronym stands for McMaster Interactive Questions, a new Web site for prospective students created by the Student Liaison Office and launched this week. The site, located at www.mcmasterIQ.com, is the first of its nature to be launched by a university in Canada. It's designed to provide Canadian high school students with some quick answers to common and frequently asked questions, such as: What are the admission requirements for (enter program name)? What programs are available in social sciences? What kinds of sports does the university have? How much does it cost to live in residence? Can I take a tour of the University? "We haven't created another FAQ page with this," says Trish Sullivan, liaison officer, Office of the Registrar. "People will be able to type in their own questions, in their own words, on a number of topics and receive personal, real-time and virtually instant answers."

February 9, 2001

Five more McMaster researchers have been honoured with the Premier's Research Excellence Award, bringing McMaster's total to 27 PREA recipients. The award, which provides each . . .

February 9, 2001

The McMaster Students Union is continuing its tradition of rewarding some of the most outstanding members of the McMaster community for their various contributions. Nominations . . .

February 8, 2001

The Advisory Committee for Online Learning today presented Brian Tobin, Minister of Industry, and Glenn Hagel, Chair of the Postsecondary Expectations Consortium of the Council . . .

February 8, 2001

[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/minnitismall.gif” caption=”Sam Minniti”]The new McMaster Students Union president for the 2001-2002 term is Sam Minniti. The third-year life sciences student won the presidential . . .

February 7, 2001

Second term classes are well under way, as McMaster students prepare for the usual assortment of midterms and papers that make February one of the . . .

February 7, 2001

[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/Haiti3.jpg” caption=”Peter George, Mario Alvarez, Ragine Plancher, Sist”]Henry Muggah is making a difference. A huge difference that, ultimately, will change the lives of . . .

February 7, 2001

In a two-page letter sent to the Daily News late yesterday(Tuesday, Feb. 6), McMaster University Staff Association president Barry Diacon refutes a number of statements reported in an article posted on the Daily News on Feb. 5. Diacon writes that the article, Staff association's negotiating committee walks away from bargaining table, contains a number of "misstatements in the quotations attributed to Mark Haley." Most significantly, Diacon writes that "at no time did we ever say that we were calling a strike vote. We were always acting in accordance with the law. The recent change to the Labour Relations Act (OLRA), Bill 139, requires a separate vote to accept or reject the Employer's offer...We never said we were calling for a strike vote at this time because that would be against the OLRA. Therefore, it is absolutely clear that we have never changed our position on the nature of what the vote is about on February 12." Diacon also states that filing for a "No Board" report was necessary to move talks along. The letter refers, point by point, to other statements made in the Feb. 5 article about the following: 7 MUSA broke off negotiations 7 The University felt it was making some progress 7 The union is unwilling to define its priorities MUSA has posted the full text of the letter on its Web site. To view, click here. (END OF STORY)

February 7, 2001

The University is filing a complaint of bargaining in bad faith against the McMaster University Staff Association (MUSA). The union failed to provide a monetary . . .

February 6, 2001

It's called Human Biological Sciences - basically a course on human physiology. It is an example, says McMaster provost Harvey Weingarten, of people working together to be innovative and succeeding. Weingarten explained the history behind the health sciences course during a question-and-answer session Friday (Feb. 2) in response to his State of the Academy address two weeks ago. The experiment with Human Biological Sciences(HS1B07) started when faculty began planning courses for the new Bachelor of Health Sciences Program and the Bachelor of Arts in Health Studies. During planning sessions they determined there were nine introductory courses focussed on human physiology being offered around campus. Spearheaded by JoAnne Fox-Threlkeld, a professor in the School of Nursing and biomedical sciences, the faculty pooled their expertise and launched a pilot project to develop teaching materials for one course that could be used as a template for the future. Faculty plan and monitor the course as a team. It took $90,000 and six months of intensive planning sessions to mold the course into the form it is now given, Weingarten said. "It was the most comprehensive curriculum design work I've ever been involved in," he said. The course material was mounted on LearnLink in advance of class. Concerns that students wouldn't have computers to access the material ended promptly when an instructor discovered only one of 120 students didn't have access to a personal computer. The course is two lectures per week with the third lecture now devoted to a clinical specialist giving a talk each week. There are "very positive" reviews from students and faculty, Weingarten said. "The students are eating it up. They love it," he said.

February 5, 2001

Students who wish to pursue a career in nursing will have a new option starting this fall. McMaster University, Mohawk College and Conestoga College are launching a unique, joint nursing degree program that will fully integrate college and university students through all four years of study.The four-year program will be offered at all three institutions and graduates will earn a McMaster University B.Sc. in Nursing. Total enrolment for the program will be more than 2,000 students by 2005.

February 5, 2001

The race for the presidency of the McMaster Students Union continues this week with polls opening tomorrow (Feb. 6). Most polling stations will be open from 9:20 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 6, and 9:20 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 7. Six candidates are vying for the top elected spot: Neville Boney, Lisa Cunha, Steve Ewoniak, Sam Minnitti, Derrick Morgan and Chris Potter. A final debate among the candidates will be held today (Monday, Feb. 5) from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the Hamilton Hall Blue Lounge. Voting stations will be located in the following areas: * Commons Lobby * Michael G. De Groote building Lobby * John Hodgins Engineering building Lobby * Chester New Hall(by Starbucks) * Health Sciences Centre (second floor by the Library entrance) * Ivor Wynne Centre (by Burridge Gym) * Gilmour Hall (across from the Bookstore) Extended hours polling stations will be open from 9:20 a.m. to 7p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 6, and 9:20 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 7 at the Burke Science Building, Mills Library and Thode Library. (END OF STORY)

February 5, 2001

The negotiating committee for the McMaster University Staff Association broke off negotiations with the University's negotiating team last Friday and has asked the Ministry of Labour's conciliation officer for a "No Board" report. This action is a legal step that means the conciliation officer advises the Minister of Labour that he has not been able to effect a collective agreement between the parties. The minister may then issue a report, commonly known as a "No Board" report. "The University's negotiating team is disappointed that MUSA has taken this step," said Mark Haley, assistant vice-president human resources and a member of the University's negotiating team. "We felt we were making some progress and had anticipated being able to offer a series of dates to continue negotiations through March. The union's lack of willingness to meet and lack of willingness to define its priorities is of great concern to us. Frankly, we don't understand why the MUSA team never responded to the initial monetary offer that was put on the table in December."

February 2, 2001

Provost Harvey Weingarten will meet the McMaster community today (Friday, Feb. 2) to discuss and answer questions about issues raised in his State of the Academy address presented on Jan. 24. "I have been approached by more than a handful of people who attended the State of the Academy talk expressing disappointment that there was no opportunity to ask questions, or to discuss some of the issues raised during the presentation," said Weingarten. "This is very encouraging as it suggests that the presentation was sufficiently informative or entertaining to retain people's interest and attention." The question-and-answer session pertaining to the State of the Academy address will be in HSC-1A1 from 2:45 p.m. to 4 p.m. today. Weingarten will have his slides from the presentation available. "I look forward to seeing you there," said Weingarten, provost and vice-president academic. A story summarizing Weingarten's presentation from Wednesday, Jan. 24 is posted on the Daily News. The headline is "Campus must embrace change to manage growth, meet challenges". (End of story)

February 2, 2001

Pediatrics professor Ronald Barr and his colleagues in the hematology- oncology service at the Children's Hospital at Hamilton Health Sciences Corporation(HHSC) have written a book . . .

January 31, 2001

The federal government promised yesterday to "at least" double current research and development dollars by 2010 in a move to make Canada one of the top five countries in research performance. Ottawa will strengthen research capacity at universities and will give the Canadian Institutes of Health Research more money, Gov. Gen Adrienne Clarkson said, reading the throne speech on behalf of Prime Minister Jean Chretien. The throne speech is a blueprint for the direction the federal government will take during the next session of Parliament. Clarkson said: "In making new investments, the government will: continue to pursue excellence in Canadian research by strengthening the research capacity of Canadian universities and government laboratories and institutions; accelerate Canada's ability to commercialize research discoveries, turning them into new products and services; and pursue a global strategy for Canadian science and technology, supporting more collaborative international research at the frontiers of knowledge." Gerhard Gerber, vice-president research and international affairs, said: "Yesterday's throne speech is great news for McMaster. As this federal plan is implemented, and assuming we maintain our competitive position in research, we expect our funding to double to more than $60-million a year from the three funding councils alone -- the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and the Canadian Institutes for Health Research." The federal government said the new money will "include strategically targeted research that is co-ordinated with partners." Areas that should benefit include health, water quality, the environment, natural resources management, and oceans research. (End of story)

January 31, 2001

The race is on! The election race for president of the McMaster Students Union officially started at 9 a.m. on Monday. Six candidates are vying . . .

January 30, 2001

You're a science major. You don't want to be a doctor and you're not sure you want to spend your days under a fume hood. Where do you go for information on jobs, employers and possibilities that are specific to science? The new Science Career Services office. In operation since May, the career services office is a joint project of the McMaster Science Society and science dean Peter Sutherland's office. Students voted in an October 1999 referendum to pay a $25 ancillary fee to set up the office and the dean's office kicks in a matching amount. The service is meant to augment, not replace, the help provided by the Career Planning and Employment Centre. "It was a conscious effort to make sure it's specific to sciences and not overlapping with CPEC," said Steve Ewoniak, science society president. "It's more targeted to jobs they would be looking for. We're not running career planning groups." Science Career co-ordinator Annette Poechman often starts a meeting with a student by asking them to describe an ideal day in the world of work. "I ask them 'What does your perfect day look like? Are you in a small city? A big city? Do you like to be with people or prefer to work on your own?'" she says. Photo: Annette Poechman and Steve Ewoniak

January 29, 2001

McMaster's new Centre for the Study of Disadvantage has joined with three other universities to set up the Canadian Child and Youth Development Research Network. The centre, along with centres at the University of British Columbia, University of Montreal and the University of New Brunswick, will receive $2 million over a five-year period from Human Resources Development Canada, minister Jane Stewart announced recently in Vancouver. Each centre will focus on one specific area of child development under the direction of a senior scholar working with two full-time child and youth development scholars. A main thrust of the research is determining how children can be better prepared for learning by overcoming the challenges and obstacles they face from a young age. The McMaster centre, led by Dan Offord, director of the Centre for Studies of Children at Risk, will focus on the study of child outcomes and how they are affected by the factors of disadvantage such as socioeconomic, individual, family and the neighbourhood setting.