Daily News

Posted on March 3: Shaping McMaster’s future

The future shape of McMaster is the subject of three upcoming open sessions held on campus. As part of Refining Directions, the University's strategic planning process, University President Peter George and Provost Ken Norrie are holding open meetings. The first meetings were held in December to introduce the community to the process. A second set of meetings are planned for this week and next. The first meeting will be held at the Downtown Centre today (Tuesday) from 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. in Room 216. Other meeting dates and times are: March 12: 8:30 to 10 a.m., McMaster University Student Centre, Room 319, and March 13: 2 to 4 p.m. Health Sciences Centre, Room 2J36-ABCD. The focus of this set of meetings will be on themes and recommendations emerging from reports submitted by six Work Groups on key areas of the University: undergraduate education, research and graduate education, external activities, internal community, planning and managing, and branding. The Work Groups have been meeting since last fall. In mid-February they presented their reports to the Refining Directions Steering Committee. The reports are currently being consolidated into a comprehensive planning document. For more information about this process and the Work Groups, visit Refining Directions.

Posted on March 3: Men’s basketball advances to OUA west division final

The Marauder's men's basketball team has advanced to the Ontario University Athletics west division championship game, after defeating the Laurier Golden Hawks 88-64 in Saturday's OUA west semi-final game. The University of Guelph defeated Lakehead University 84-60, in the other semi-final and will travel to Hamilton on Wednesday, March 5 for the west division championship game. The tip off is at 7 p.m. McMaster is expecting a capacity crowd and advises McMaster fans to purchase advanced tickets for this game. Tickets will be available beginning Tuesday at 12 p.m. at the Compass Information Centre in the McMaster University Student Centre and the Copps Coliseum box office with no service fee. Tickets are also available at all Ticketmaster locations, by phone at 905-527-7666 or online at www.ticketmaster.ca. Normal service fees apply. Fans are also advised to arrive early to Wednesday's game to avoid the large volume of McMaster night class traffic.

Posted on Feb. 28: Signage committee helps McMaster find its way

The first time you came to McMaster, whether as a student, employee or to attend an event or meeting, did you have difficulty finding your way around campus? For many, locating the right campus entrance or getting to the right parking lot can be a challenge. For those with visual or physical disabilities, the challenge can be even greater. The McMaster community is invited to help make improvements to campus signage at an open house Monday, March 3 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the McMaster University Student Centre atrium. Hosted by the Signage and Wayfinding Committee, the open house will feature proposed designs and features of new campus signage. Mock-ups and photos will be on display and available for public review and comment and there will be surveys to provide feedback and suggestions. Committee members will also be present to answer questions or discuss the project in further detail. http://ppims.mcmaster.ca/signs.

Posted on Feb. 27: Instructional media centre launched

Faculty and staff have at their disposal a state-of-the-art facility containing a large collection of audio visual and electronic materials with the launch of the Edward & Margaret Lyons Instructional Media Centre. Formerly the Edward & Margaret Lyons Humanities Communications Centre, the facility combines the McMaster University Video Library and the Visual Resources Centre/Slide Library into one area centrally located in Togo Salmon Hall, Rooms 314 and 331. The Lyons officially opened the centre Tuesday with the unveiling of a plaque. Howard Jones, acting dean of humanities, gave the history of the Lyons' involvement while Geoffrey Rockwell, associate professor in the School of the Arts, introduced the key staff members who helped make the centre a success. The media centre's audio visual library consists of approximately 1,400 videotapes, 16mm films, and videodiscs. The collection is primarily used by faculty for classroom screening or individual study. There is a selection of feature films as well as subject specific videos, which cover areas such as anthropology, women's studies, sociology and drama, as well as a large selection from the BBC Shakespeare Series. McMaster is also a member of Interfilm, which provides access to over 34,000 film and video titles from other Ontario universities. The slide and photograph collections, formerly overseen by the School of the Arts, have been incorporated into the centre. The collections can be traced back to the 1930s, when art history courses were first taught at McMaster University. They currently house more than 105,000 slides and 36 running metres of mounted photographs and reproductions. The centre has three video and DVD viewing stations available to preview material. The slide library also has preview facilities. Faculty, staff and students can access the collections during regular business hours. Photo caption: Edward and Margaret Lyons unveil a plaque that bears their names at the opening of the centre Tuesday.