Daily News

Posted on May 21: Commuters challenged to get fit, help the environment

Want an excuse to get fit, help the environment, and have fun? The Commuter Challenge is the answer. McMaster University is once again joining the City of Hamilton's efforts in the Commuter Challenge, an Environment Week event that encourages Canadians from St. John's to Victoria to try more active, sustainable forms of transportation. It all takes place May 30 to June 5, 2004. On Wednesday, May 26, ACT will host an Active Transportation Fair from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the McMaster University Student Centre (MUSC) marketplace. The fair will feature informative speakers, a "Foot First Fashion Show", vendors and other activities.

Posted on May 20: New registrar revved up to recruit the best

It's 5:30 a.m. and Lou Ariano leaves his Bloor Street home in downtown Toronto. At about 6:15 a.m. he arrives on McMaster's campus and heads for the Pulse, where he works out for an hour before getting changed into his "registrar's" suit. By 8 a.m. he's ready to help recruit the best and brightest students to McMaster. It's a routine he's grown accustomed to since starting his job as university registrar Feb. 1. He came to McMaster from York University where he worked as registrar for the past three years. Promoting McMaster is an easy job for him. It helps that he's so impressed by the University. "McMaster has always had a very high profile and a great reputation in Ontario and among Canadian universities. I've been involved with universities in Canada since 1981 and I've always known about McMaster," he says. In fact, it was McMaster's reputation that drew him here.

Posted on May 19: McMaster concludes SSHRC consultation process

McMaster's consultation process is completed and the University has submitted its report to the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) on the transformation of the granting council to a knowledge council. The report recommends a variety of new programs and structures and emphasizes McMaster's values and goals. "Not surprisingly, our researchers and graduate students were very involved in this process and provided substantial ideas and suggestions on both the SSHRC proposals and how McMaster can prepare for this transformation. We are very pleased with the participation, and the result is a document which we believe will place McMaster among the leaders when it comes to the development and implementation of the new SSHRC programs and structures," says Mamdouh Shoukri, vice-president of research and international affairs. "Dr. Rockwell has done an excellent job of leading these consultations and in developing recommendations that will benefit our research and graduate student communities. This report reflects the voices of our humanists, social scientists and business scholars and it will be important to the institution as we go forward with Refining Directions, our revised strategic vision."