Daily News

Posted on Oct. 24: Strong academic niche, research profile contributes to successful bond issue

McMaster University has successfully completed its first-ever capital financing bond issue. The $120-million bond issue is part of a capital financing strategy approved by the Board of Governors to provide financing for the $262-million in approved expansion projects such as new lecture halls, labs and research space. The successful private debt placement follows on the heels of the University acquiring its first credit rating - an AA rating - that matches the Province of Ontario's credit rating. The capital financing strategy supports the University's planning process for future growth and ensures stability in the financial planning process. The 50-year bonds have an interest rate of 6.15 per cent. "The success of this private debt placement speaks to the confidence that the business sector has in McMaster University," said Karen Belaire, vice-president administration. "Securing financing at a fixed rate for 50 years provides us with stability for future planning. Many individuals participated in this project and worked very hard to ensure the successful completion of the bond issue and I would like to thank everyone for their efforts."

Posted on Oct. 24: Centre for Spatial Analysis opens its doors

A new research centre officially opens its doors in the Burke Science Building this week. The Centre for Spatial Analysis, located in Room 345, will celebrate its official launch with a reception for invited guests beginning at 4 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 24. The new centre is dedicated to the study of human activities over space, the effect those activities have on the physical environment and in turn, the impact of the environment on population health. It will combine mathematical and statistical techniques, as well as new technology for the analysis of complex interrelationships and for the development of decision support tools that can be useful in planning. Examples are the long-term effects of new transportation infrastructure and/or urban sprawl on the quality of urban life. Pavlos Kanaroglou, professor of geography and holder of McMaster's Canada Research Chair in Spatial Analysis, will head the centre. "This centre will support teaching and research in spatial analysis, which is an emerging scientific field," says Kanaroglou. His own research interests include the application of spatial analysis methods to the evaluation of urban air pollution from mobile sources and the impact of environmental pollution on human health. The new facility encompasses the Geographical Information Systems (GIS) laboratory and will be dedicated to providing undergraduate, graduate, certificate and diploma programs relating to spatial analysis. Along with Kanaroglou, three other faculty members in the School of Geography & Geology are aligning their teaching and research interests with the new facility (Bruce Newbold, Antonio Paez and Darren Scott). Funding for the facility was provided from the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), the Ontario Innovation Trust (OIT) and McMaster University.

Posted on Oct. 22: CanChild to ease challenges faced by families with children with disabilities

Helping understand and ease the challenges faced by families of children with disabilities is the goal of a new study at CanChild Centre for Childhood Disability Research at McMaster. Led by Gillian King, CanChild investigator, and with $85,644 from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), researchers at CanChild will gather information from interviews with up to 24 families of children with Down syndrome or autism from across Ontario in the next three years. The study, "Understanding the Values, Priorities, and World Views of Families Raising Children with Chronic Developmental Conditions", is aimed at discovering how parenting a child with a disability affects families' values, priorities, and views. "As time goes on, there is an adaptation and accommodation process. What it means to a family to have a child with a disability may change," says King, a social scientist with CanChild, located in the School of Rehabilitation Science at McMaster. She is also assistant clinical professor in the School of Rehabilitation Science at McMaster and research director at Thames Valley Children's Centre in London, Ontario. "Over time, what family members consider to be important may shift," says King.

Posted on Oct. 22: CIS restructuring explores new possibilities

McMaster's Computing & Information Services (CIS) has restructured most of its organization into two new areas infrastructure and information management. "The new structure will help us focus our energies and resources more closely on administrative computing and infrastructure services and support," says Pat O'Day, director of CIS. CIS has experienced both a change in mandate and a reporting line change to the assistant vice-president administration over the past year, explains O'Day. "We anticipate the new organization will benefit our clients by simplifying our structure and better positioning our resources to meet their changing needs and service expectations. Within CIS, the new structure is expected to generate more synergy between groups and enable us to explore new possibilities in both services and technology." The infrastructure component will include the software group, network group, database analysts and security. Information services will consist of the systems analysts, programming group and the LAN (Local Area Network) support group.