Daily News

January 22, 2001

The McMaster Museum of Art begins the new year with “Sanctified/Soul Art,” an exhibition of paintings, sculpture, photographs and altarpieces by Vancouver-based, Hamilton-born artist Jan . . .

January 21, 2001

The move by the McMaster Centre for Dance to offer dance classes that focus on popular culture is proving to be a very successful one, given the attendance at several recent performances. Shows presented by a variety of McMaster dancers, at Robinson Memorial Theatre and at Hamilton Place, were staged in front of full houses, a sign that dance is alive and well in Hamilton. Over 275 people attended the end-of-term Amalgam dance production shown in Robinson Memorial Theatre on Dec. 2 and 3. They enjoyed a diverse program featuring the McMaster Dancers, the McMaster Hip Hop Dance Company, the Jedi Ninja Crew & Affiliates (break dancing) and the Inner City Ballet. And last week the dance club's Centre Stage show, featuring belly to ballet and beginners and experts, resulted in two sold-out shows at Hamilton Place. "There are about a dozen 12-year-olds from the Westdale area taking hip hop, and we had one 11-year-old taking break classes."

January 19, 2001

Oceans cover 80 per cent of the Earth's surface, but we know surprisingly little about how oceans influence world weather patterns. McMaster geologist Mike Risk expects to fathom some answers through a new research project that will study deep-sea corals. "The corals are like the Rosetta stones of the sea," says Risk. "They are an untapped record of weather patterns that stretch back hundreds of years. Revealing the climatic records will bring new accuracy to the science of weather forecasting and will also create a new bank of information about how the oceans process carbon dioxide, which is a key factor in global warming." "The reason the present climate models don't work as well as they should is that most of the observations are on land, and most of the action, the driving force of climate change, is in the ocean. We need to know more about what happens in the deep sea, and the corals provide a clear record of what has happened over the centuries. Comparing the coral data to recorded weather patterns will provide new insight into past weather patterns and future climate modelling."

January 19, 2001

University provost and vice-president academic Harvey Weingarten presents his 2001 State of the Academy address " Whither McMaster? Managing Our Growth for 2003 -- The Double Cohort Year" today (Jan. 24) from 12:30 p.m. to 1:20 p.m.in HSC-1A1. McMaster is planning to receive a double cohort of students who will graduate from Ontario high schools in the year 2003. This double cohort is part of a larger demographic increase in the number of 18-24 year-old students seeking admission to university. The provost will talk about why the way we do things at McMaster must change, the direction of these changes, and the capacity of McMaster to change sufficiently, to meet the challenges of the double cohort. Success stories that should make one optimistic about McMaster's future will be provided. All members of the University and Hamilton communities are welcome. In previous talks, the provost has discussed the academic duties of the professoriate and issues relating to institutional renewal. His 1999 talk on the professoriate is located at www.mcmaster.ca/newsevents/state99.htm and his 2000 talk on institutional renewal was distributed to faculty and staff in the summer. (END OF STORY)

January 18, 2001

[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/MarvinRyder.jpg” caption=”Marvin Ryder”]Marvin Ryder, assistant vice-president, information services & technology, will chair the new board of directors for the Hamilton Health Sciences Corporation . . .

January 17, 2001

The Centre for Leadership in Learning invites applications for grants in support of projects designed to improve the quality of students' learning at McMaster. Eligibility: McMaster instructors, teaching assistants, students, or departments may apply, singly or in groups. Criteria: 1. The key criterion for these grants is that the project should improve the quality of students' learning. The project should deal with an identified learning problem and the application should describe the evidence that led the applicant to decide that this was the problem. 2. Projects involving applied educational research are acceptable. This is defined as research whose purpose is to determine how students in a particular class or course can learn more or more effectively. It does not extend to theoretical studies. 3. The CLL does not fund projects that involve normal instructional tasks such as updating course content, preparing bibliographies, etc. 4. The grant fund is intended to provide seed money and not to support ongoing expenses. Preference will be given to projects that receive tangible support from the department or faculty and, as far as possible, are assured of continuing support. Application Procedure: Applications for grants up to $1,000 may be submitted at any time. The completed application form should be submitted to the Centre for Leadership in Learning, GSB-217. A response will be provided within two weeks. The deadline for the next round of applications for grants of over $1,000 is Feb. 28, 2001.

January 17, 2001

The McMaster Courier is moving to a monthly publication schedule effective Jan. 15. The decision to change to a monthly format from its current bi-weekly . . .

January 16, 2001

Since 1998, a small group of McMaster faculty members from across numerous disciplines have been meeting on a regular basis to discuss topics and issues . . .

January 16, 2001

[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/Kit_Michelle_Kathy.jpg”]It's a fact of life in the entertainment industry – no schmooze, you lose. So, humanities students jumped at the chance to do . . .

January 16, 2001

The Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA) is calling on the provincial government to provide more funding to ease a pressing faculty shortage at Ontario universities. "Ontario needs 15,000 more professors in order to meet student demand for higher education," said Henry Jacek, OCUFA president and a professor of political science at McMaster. "And we need to hire now or face a worsening faculty shortage crisis." OCUFA released a research paper this week, titled "Less Isn't More: Ontario's Faculty Shortage Crisis", that highlights the faculty shortage problem. The group is also hosting a one-day conference Jan. 26 that will examine the crisis. "The government has known for years that the number of faculty at Ontario universities is far below what is needed to deal with the growing demand for higher education. We are now faced with a faculty shortage crisis. And while the government uses the rhetoric of investing in students', it has not provided the funding needed to hire faculty who are critical to student learning and to maintaining a world-class system of excellence in education in the province," said Jacek.

January 15, 2001

Malfunctioning heating systems, lights and clocks are the main complaints coming in on the new classroom hotline. Since the winter term began Jan. 3, 27 . . .

January 15, 2001

Third-year student Jennifer Anderson is the new undergraduate representative to the University Planning Committee. Anderson received 145 votes in an electronic election conducted last week . . .

January 12, 2001

McMaster is the only Canadian university involved in a consortium of eight North American academic institutions that will collaborate on a new metals research centre. The Centre for Metals in the Environment will conduct applied research focusing on the fate and effects of metals in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. According to the International Lead Zinc Research Organization (ILZRO), which made the announcement in December, research conducted by the centre's scientists and engineers is expected to lead to the creation of reliable predictive models that will assist in the conduct of hazard and risk assessment. Each of the institutions was selected for its expertise in certain areas. The three participating McMaster faculty are professors Gordon McDonald and Chris Wood, and associate professor Pat Chow-Fraser,all in the Department of Biology. They bring to the centre over 20 years' of knowledge and expertise in the fields of the physiology of aquatic organisms, and the mechanisms of metal uptake and toxicity.

January 12, 2001

The University's e-mail system is shut down today (Jan. 12) while staff in Computing & Information Services work to repair damage done yesterday by the Emanuel.exe virus. CIS hopes to have the system up and running again by this afternoon. (END)

January 12, 2001

Computing & Information Services expects to have McMaster's e-mail system up and running by around 3 p.m. today. Pat O'Day, director of CIS, reports that it should be "business as usual" for most e-mail users. Ninety-nine mailboxes were affected by the virus. CIS has reset those mailboxes, using back-up tape, to Wednesday evening. Anyone with questions or concerns about their e-mail, should contact Pat O'Day at ext. 23870 or Brian Beckberger at ext. 24159. (END)

January 11, 2001

A Learning Innovation Grants Program will be established at McMaster thanks to a $1 million partnership with Imperial Oil. "This is a unique opportunity to change substantially how undergraduate programs at McMaster are delivered," said President Peter George. "The University has led the way in developing inquiry and self-directed education, and the generous support from Imperial will allow McMaster to continue to deliver top quality programs in a way that will best serve our students." In announcing the donation, Imperial's chairman, Robert B. Peterson, said: " We believe that programs like the Learning Innovation Grants and the work of McMaster's Centre for Leadership in Learning will make a difference in undergraduate education and help to better prepare students for the increasingly challenging environment of the 21st century." The Imperial Oil Learning Innovation Grants Program will fund a total of 11 projects through McMaster's Centre for Leadership in Learning. The Centre's director is Dick Day. "The goal is simple. We want to give departments the opportunity to make significant changes in the way they teach undergraduate programs. Projects that receive funding must truly transform the way programs are delivered and must provide students with the chance to learn course content along with the inquiry, research, critical thinking and communication skills that will lead to life-long success. Each project will be evaluated and the most successful approaches can then be adopted by other departments or other universities," says Day. Each grant provides a total of $90,000 in funding over three years. Photo (L. to R.): Dick Day, Robert Peterson, Peter George, Red Wilson. Credit: Ron Scheffler

January 11, 2001

A Balanced Transportation Strategy for the McMaster campus was approved by the Board of Governors on Dec. 15, but the strategy generated some discussion among members prior to the vote. The strategy was developed by members of an ad hoc committee created by the Board to examine ways to encourage faculty, staff and students at McMaster to reduce vehicle traffic to campus in conjunction with consultants hired by the University to conduct a parking needs assessment and develop new campus parking strategies. The Board's Planning & Building Committee recommended the adoption of the strategy comprising the following components: * parking supply expansions limited to at-grade only (no garage); * participate with the Hamilton Street Railway to subsidize faculty and staff transit passes; * assess parking permit rates to make transit more attractive for faculty, staff and students (changes should be implemented before 2003); and * implement additional travel demand management measures.

January 9, 2001

The Board of Governors has approved recommendations for the allocation of more than $1 million from the McMaster University Futures Fund (MUFF) for 2000-01. A total of $1,167,650 will be spent on a variety of initiatives as submitted by members of the McMaster community. The three broad categories that will receive funds are: education and learning, workplace environment enhancement, and total wellness/quality of life. "The committee received over 50 requests this year, totalling in excess of $4 million," notes Karen Belaire, vice-president administration. "The recommendations made best reflect the principles of the MUFF fund." More than $300,000 has been allocated for initiatives that promote wellness, fitness and quality of life, in response to the high number of requests received that focused on these areas.

January 9, 2001

Roofers working on new campus construction sites have added snow shovels and brooms to their tool kits. Almost weekly snowfalls throughout December and this month . . .

January 8, 2001

The Board of Governors is holding its first online election for undergraduates beginning today (Jan. 8). Undergraduate students are eligible to vote at the Board of Governors' election Web site for one student to represent them on the University Planning Committee during an electronic election starting today (Jan. 8) at 9 a.m. The election continues all week with polls closing on Friday, Jan. 12 at 4:30 p.m. Election of one undergraduate student is required for the University Planning Committee, a joint Senate-Board of Governors committee, for a term beginning immediately and continuing until Oct. 31, 2002. The election was called to replace the student representative who resigned from the position at the end of the summer. Two undergraduate students were nominated as candidates to sit on the University Planning Committee: Jennifer Anderson, a third year student in the Combined Honours Comparative Literature and Linguistics Program and Matt Lannan, second year of the Arts and Science and Political Science Program. Risumis for each candidate may be viewed at the Board of Governors' election Web site. The committee is a senior planning committee and the undergraduate representative is automatically a member of the Board's budget committee, which develops the University budget. Board of Governors secretary Bruce Frank is optimistic students will find the online voting method accessible and easy to use. "It should make it easier for all the electorate to take part," said Frank. "It's easy and more accessible for undergraduate students than the previous method of having students line up at a polling station." Students can vote online at http://www.mcmaster.ca/bog/elections at any personal computer with internet access. Student IDs and a Personal Identification Number (the same as the MUGSI system) are required to cast a ballot.