Daily News

Posted on Aug. 15: University weekend closure

In keeping with the State of Emergency issued by Premier Ernie Eves, and in the interest of individual safety and security, please be advised that McMaster University will remain closed due to the power outage for the weekend of Aug. 16 and 17, 2003. There is an ongoing possibility of local blackouts or brownouts in the Hamilton area. McMaster wishes to assist all efforts to restore power as quickly as possible to all areas of Hamilton and Ontario. The Horizon's Conference scheduled for this weekend is cancelled. Participants will be informed regarding the rescheduling of the event. All buildings at the University will remain locked over the weekend. Employees/individuals who access offices or labs are asked to ensure that all doors remain locked and to minimize the use of lights, computers, water or any other resources. At present the University will aim to reopen for business on Monday, Aug. 18. The University's crisis management team will continue to monitor the situation over the weekend. Ongoing updates will be provided on the Daily News Web site and local area media. (end of story)

Posted on Aug. 14: Core competencies leadership development begins

Communicating, developing people, leading, embracing change, optimizing service relationships, and employing university acumen are six core competencies President Peter George has asked all McMaster managers and leaders to learn to understand in order to focus the culture of managing at the University. The first training sessions exploring the knowledge, skills, and behaviours comprising the McMaster core competencies were held recently. These sessions covered the 'Communicating' and 'Developing People' competencies, and were delivered at the Centre for Continuing Education (CCE). Additional training involving the initial 30-plus participants is scheduled for Oct. 16-17 and 30-31, and will cover the core competency 'Optimizing Service Relationships'.

Posted on Aug. 13: Building better engineers

Building a better engineer is the theme of McMaster's Faculty of Engineering and the UROP students' summer accomplishments are proof that it works. McMaster will honour their achievements at the inaugural Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) Symposium on Friday, Aug. 15 in the McMaster University Information Technology Building from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. UROP is the only program of its kind in Canada and, with a price tag of a quarter million dollars, offers first- and second-year students the opportunity to compete for paid summer employment in the research field. UROP provides exposure to research environments generally only experienced by upper level and graduate students. "It's a really good program," said Kevin Solomon, a second-year student who is participating in UROP for the second time. "It's relevant to my future career goals. I can apply it to school and I get an actual taste of the future."

Posted on Aug. 12: Solving the mysteries of blood transfusion allergies

Improving patient care by solving a decades-old blood transfusion allergy mystery was one career highlight for Prof. Nancy Heddle. That work, along with her other research projects in blood transfusions and blood products, led to another career high early this year when the professor in the Department of Medicine and director of the Transfusion Research Program at McMaster received the 2002 Premier's Award of Excellence. Heddle was one of six recipients of this year's award presented by Ontario Premier Ernie Eves at a Toronto reception. The annual awards recognize career success and community contributions of college graduates. Her award was in the Health Sciences category. "It was absolutely wonderful," says Heddle, a 1969 graduate of the Medical Laboratory Technology Program at Mohawk College. She received a medal and certificate as well as a $5,000 bursary to be presented to the college. "I was excited, and honoured that I had been chosen."