Daily News

Xerox Canada contributes $1 million to McMaster

Marking three decades of innovation in Canada, Xerox Canada announced today a $1-million gift to McMaster University toward the building of a new Centre of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, a first of its kind in Ontario. "This endowment is dedicated to two causes at the heart of Xerox: innovation and entrepreneurship - a source of Xerox's continued success in the marketplace," said Doug Lord, chairman, president and CEO, Xerox Canada Ltd. McMaster President Peter George believes "the commitment of Xerox launches the realization of our vision for the Faculty of Engineering and for McMaster University. Xerox has taken the lead in the creation of a truly innovative School. Its teaching and research will remain strong through close links to business and industry."

Employees celebrate opening of Gilmour Hall lounge

More than 70 McMaster employees gathered in Gilmour Hall on August 16 for the grand opening ceremony of the new employee lounge. Complete with food, refreshments and what has become the traditional ribbon cutting ceremony, employees gathered in Gilmour Hall B106 to celebrate the renovation. The opening of the Gilmour Hall employee lounge brings the number of new or renovated lounges to nine since the summer of 2001 and those gathered were told that "more were to come" by Karen Belaire, vice-president administration, during the dedication ceremony. Belaire later remarked that "it is very satisfying to see such results arising from the commitment of employee volunteers like the Lounge Steering Committee who ensure the renovations are done, and the lounge stewards who volunteer to ensure that the space in all of these lounges remains in good shape. I think the improvements made to these spaces are an excellent investment in the quality of work life for all McMaster employees." It appears the budget committee agrees as they have once again approved funding for employee lounge improvements for this fiscal year.

Hundreds attend open house for Michael G. DeGroote Centre for Learning and Discovery

Hundreds of McMaster staff, faculty and students turned out Tuesday afternoon to get a sneak peak of the new Michael G. DeGroote Centre for Learning and Discovery. Guests were treated to peaches with ice cream crepes at the open house as they wandered the 300,000-square-foot facility. For the open house the first, third and fourth floors of the five-level complex were open to the curious. Over the next two months staff and faculty will continue to move into office and lab space located on the third, fourth and fifth levels. Both the six new classrooms and six new lecture theatres located on the first floor will hold classes for students across all departments and faculties beginning in September.

DeGroote business students maintain top performance in North America

McMaster MBA and undergraduate commerce students have once again scored among the highest business schools in North America, in a recent Major Field Test (MFT) conducted by the Educational Testing Service (ETS) the largest educational assessment organization in the world. DeGroote's commerce students scored in the 95th percentile in North America while the MBAs scored in the 75th percentile. Both sets of scores were consistent with an earlier test in December, 2003. "We are very proud of the consistently outstanding performance displayed by our students. Once again, this is clear evidence of the strong teaching culture and quality of curriculum we possess here at DeGroote," said Dean Paul Bates. "We strive to prepare all of our students well for the future and these results show that we are doing a fantastic job."

Evening semester permits help reduce delays onto campus

When classes begin this September, students with semester parking passes will likely make it to class a lot faster than those without. Because of a reconfiguration of Sterling Street, McMaster's Parking and Transit Services encourages students who attend night class to purchase semester passes rather than nightly passes, so that the entry time into campus is reduced. This summer, the City of Hamilton reconfigured Sterling Street to improve pedestrian and cyclist safety and encourage more people to ride a bike or use roller blades to get to campus. With the reconfiguration there is now one incoming lane into campus from Sterling Street.