Posted on Dec. 23: Board of Governors meeting highlights
Highlights from the Dec. 12 Board of Governors meeting
A Centre for Environmental Genomics and Biotechnology will be established at McMaster.
Environmental genomics — a new, multidisciplinary field — uses the techniques of genetics, molecular biology and chemistry to examine the impacts of environmental pollutants (and nutrients) on the genomes of organisms.
The new centre will involve faculty from McMaster and other institutions, such as the University of Waterloo and the National Water Research Institute in Burlington.
A report from the Faculty of Science to the Board of Governors requests that one research laboratory in the Life Sciences Building be made available for genomics equipment and staff.
“The proposed centre fits centrally into the existing students, plans and aspirations of the university,” says the report. “It will be well positioned to advance the research of many groups and to bring advanced genomics research to the Faculty of Science.”
McMaster has found itself on a number of rankings this year. The question is, “How should the University respond to these rankings?” asked McMaster President Peter George.
“It's clear that parents and students pay attention to rankings,” he said in his report to the Board of Governors. “What is not clear is how a student's choice is effected by these rankings.”
“The fact is, surveys are here to stay,” he says.
In Maclean's 2002 rankings, McMaster placed 10th overall. In the Globe and Mail's report card, McMaster placed fifth out of 29 universities. The University also moved into third place from seventh on the Top 50 Research Universities report that was published by Research Infosource Inc. McMaster placed second in an annual survey by Wilfrid Laurier University researchers designed to measure the public accountability of Canadian universities. McMaster's Michael G. DeGroote School of Business earned a spot on the Financial Times top 100 list of MBA programs in the world.
The Board also approved a number of new chairs.
The Faculty of Health Sciences created the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario Chair in Cardiovascular Nursing. A number of gifts have been directed to the Faculty of Health Sciences to provide an endowment in support of this chair.
A gift to the St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton through the St. Joseph's Healthcare Foundation will provide an endowment fund in support of the David Braley and Nancy Gordon Chair in Urology.
The Walter G. Booth Chair in Engineering Entrepreneurship and Innovation was named in the Faculty of Engineering. The chair, named after the chair and CEO of the Timberland Group, a manufacturing company in Woodstock, will have a managerial focus that emphasizes the creation of new business through innovative, opportunity-oriented management.
The Board approved a health science's student request to establish a medical journal with the title, “The McMaster University Medical Journal”.
The journal will be a biannual publication to communicate the latest advances in both clinical and non-clinical health care topics. It will serve as a forum of expression of current breakthroughs in medical research.
