Daily News

Posted on Feb. 11: Love in a cold climate is hot at McMaster

Love in a cold climate heats up at McMaster this week. Author and historian Cheryl MacDonald will present stories from her recent book, Great Canadian Love Stories, (Altitude Publishing Ltd., 2003) as part of the Albert Lager Event Series at McMaster University. MacDonald, who did much of her research for the book at McMaster, is working part-time on a master's degree in history at the University. MacDonald's research delves into the lives and loves of notables such as Brantford's Alexander Graham (Aleck) Bell and Binbrook's George Johnson, two teachers who fell in love with their students. One vignette examines the romance of Sir John A. Macdonald with his personal secretary's sister. "He was a widower and considered one of the country's most eligible bachelors, not that you might think that looking at his portrait on a 10 dollar bill," said MacDonald. "He had a nice personality and a great sense of humour."

Posted on Feb. 11: Endowed chair anchors world-renowned child psychiatrist

McMaster University, Hamilton Health Sciences and Chedoke Health Corporation today announced the appointment of Peter Szatmari, MD, as the first holder of a new chair in child psychiatry. Szatmari, 52, is a professor, vice-chair of research, and head of the division of Child Psychiatry at McMaster University. He is a member of the Offord Centre for Child Studies, and he is a world-renowned expert in the study of autism and pervasive developmental disorders. The new chair, the Chedoke Health Chair in Child Psychiatry at McMaster University, will support Szatmari in his current research. He is leading an international collaboration investigating the genetics of autism, and is conducting a longitudinal study of anxiety and mood disorders in adolescents with Asperger Syndrome and autism. This chair will anchor one of our leading researchers in psychiatric disorders of children, said John Kelton, MD, dean and vice-president of the Faculty of Health Sciences at McMaster. "The importance of childhood psychiatric illness and its impact on society are considerable and Dr. Szatmari will continue his important research." He said the Chedoke Health Corporation's generous endowment comes at a time when the Canadian medical community has identified that the prevalence of child psychiatric disorders that are associated with significant impairment is around 15 per cent of all children.

Posted on Feb. 12: Conferences explore cities’ futures and globalization

Two conferences exploring the multi-layered character of the contemporary city begin this week at McMaster. The first, "What is the future of Your City?" is a two-part conference initiated by the Art Gallery of Hamilton (AGH), with the first session, "Future Cities and Globalization" scheduled for Feb. 12 to 13. That event will be followed by the Canadian Association of Cultural Studies (CACS) second annual conference, "Culturepoles: City Spaces, Urban Politics & Metropolitan Theory," from Feb. 13 to 15. Imre Szeman, director of the Institute on Globalization and the Human Condition, is working with organizers of both conferences, located at the Downtown Centre. "I believe the conference themes will complement each other," says Szeman. He expects close to 200 attendees at the CACS conference, which boasts 100 presenters over two days and will have representation from every discipline in humanities and social sciences at every Canadian University.