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August 5, 2002

Posted on Aug. 2: McMaster researcher leads genetics team

Genetics research has come a long way in Canada. In fact, the progress has been so fast the government has created a new Ontario Advisory Committee on Genetics to guide them on existing and new genetic services. And they've appointed McMaster's Ronald Carter to lead the way. "Genetics used to be a small niche of medicine," says the professor of pathology & molecular medicine at McMaster. "The laboratory technology was both esoteric and poorly developed, and the opportunities for effective cures very limited. "Obviously, things have changed rapidly." There is growing need for a genetics advisory committee, says Carter, the committee's key adviser. "Particularly with the advent of the Human Genome Project and the flood of developments in diagnosis and therapy," he says. "Part of this awareness stems from the anticipated price tag for these developments, but there is also a genuine concern that we need to be good at this and make sure we are doing the right thing." The need also arises from the advent of legal and political issues typified by disputes over gene patents, the ethics of predictive testing and the moral dilemmas posed by medically assisted reproduction and stem cell technologies, he says. "There is recognition that expert advice is needed to ensure that we can critically appraise the costs, benefits, risks, ethics, access, providers and administration of genetic services in Ontario," he says. "The committee will ensure there is a mandate covering all aspects of the provision of genetic services including evaluating outcomes, surveying new technologies and providing advice to the province." Carter is an expert in the field of medical genetics. The current president of the Canadian College of Medical Geneticists, became a fellow of the College in 1991, and was also a founding fellow of the American College of Medical Genetics in 1993. He has also been involved in a variety of research programs including gene therapy and diagnostic laboratory genetics research. Carter was appointed to Chedoke-McMaster Hospital (now Hamilton Health Sciences) in 1990, and directed the Regional Cytogenetics Laboratory in Hamilton from 1991 to 1999. He is currently head of Cancer Genetics for the Regional Genetics Service of South Central Ontario/Hamilton Regional Laboratory Medicine Program, and a consultant in pathology for the Hamilton Regional Cancer Centre, Cancer Care Ontario. [End of Story]

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July 31, 2002

Posted on July 31: McMaster is first Canadian University to affiliate with Worker Rights Consortium

McMaster is the first university in Canada to become a member of the Worker Rights Consortium, a non-profit organization which assists universities and colleges in ensuring that the factories that produce clothing and other goods bearing university names respect the basic rights of workers. More than 100 academic bodies, including Carnegie Mellon, Georgetown, Cornell and Duke universities, are affiliated with the WRC. McMaster joined the WRC in June, making it the first University in Canada to do so. Created by college and university administrations, students and labor rights experts, the WRC's purpose is to assist in the enforcement of manufacturing codes of conduct adopted by colleges and universities. The membership illustrates McMaster's commitment to ensuring an end to worker oppression and exploitation. It also reinforces the University's belief in, and commitment to, a new policy approved in June by McMaster's senior administration. A Code of Labour Practices for University Suppliers and Licensees is aimed at ensuring McMaster apparel (T-shirts for example, sold in the Bookstore or used for summer camps) and non-apparel licensed products (such as coffee mugs) are manufactured and sold by companies with ethical labour standards and practices (most of which are based on widely accepted conventions of the United Nation's International Labour Organization.) The code is a statement of minimum standards with respect to labour practices and was developed by a McMaster ad hoc committee comprised of members of the faculty, staff and student associations, various university departments and other interested groups. The code states that "McMaster is committed to conducting its business affairs in a socially responsible and ethical manner consistent with its educational, research and service missions, and to protecting and preserving the global environment." In developing the labour practice code, the McMaster committee consulted with the Maquila Solidarity Network (MSN), the Toronto-based secretariat of Canada's anti-sweatshop campaigning coalition. "McMaster has become the first university in Canada to affiliate with the Worker Rights Consortium. In the Canadian context, what McMaster is doing is trailblazing. It's only a first step, but an important one," says Ian Thomson of MSN.

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July 29, 2002

Posted on July 30: Committee examines IT plan

A four-member ad hoc committee has been established to review McMaster's Information Technology (IT) plan. The organizational structure that governs IT has been altered significantly in the last couple of years, says a letter from the Office of the Provost and Vice-President Academic to McMaster faculty, staff and students. "Perhaps the most visible change is that there are now separate groups responsible for supporting teaching, research and administrative computing activities." To ensure IT needs are met, the committee will review the organizational structure that governs IT at McMaster and its current administrative arrangements. It will review unresolved issues and broader questions as to where responsibility lies for developing a campus-wide IT plan. Committee members are Peter Sutherland, dean of science, Alan Harrison, dean of social sciences, Lilian Scime assistant vice-president administration and Michael Marrin, academic services assistant dean. The committee will consult with interested individuals and organizations and report to Ken Norrie, provost and vice-president academic, Karen Belaire, vice-president administration and Mamdouh Shoukri, vice-president research & international affairs by Nov. 30. The report, which will go to the University Planning Committee for discussion and possible revisions, will form the basis of a revised IT policy for McMaster.

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July 29, 2002

Posted on July 29: U of T questions McMaster

Q: What university observes McMaster University in celebrating its past? A: The University of Toronto Q and A, a regular online feature which commemorates the University of Toronto's 175th anniversary, highlights McMaster in an excerpt from The University of Toronto: A History. The question: Q: What theological college bucked the federation trend with the University of Toronto in 1888? A: Toronto Baptist College chose independence and would later become the foundation of the new McMaster University. A portion of the excerpt... "The Toronto Baptist College, rejected federation in favour of becoming an independent arts and theological college. Its building on Bloor Street on land purchased from the University (now the Royal Conservatory of Music) had been made possible in 1881 by the generosity of the Toronto businessman William McMaster, who provided $100,000 for what became known as McMaster Hall, and an annual contribution of $14,500 a year. Although the college participated in the federation discussions, it had serious concerns about the form of federation. Later in 1887, legislation was introduced to unite the Baptist theological college with a Baptist arts college in Woodstock. The supporters of an independent Baptist university knew they could count on further support from William McMaster, and three weeks after the bill was introduced, he drew up a new will leaving virtually his entire estate to the new Baptist institution, McMaster University. He died suddenly the following spring, and the princely sum of close to $1 million came to the institution. A movement by some prominent Baptists to thwart independence and join the University of Toronto was decisively defeated by the Baptist Convention of 1888, which passed a motion that McMaster University "be organized and developed as a permanently independent school of learning, with the Lordship of Christ as the controlling principle." In 1912, the university purchased a large block of land on Avenue Road north of Eglinton, but owing to the war it did not proceed with its plans to relocate there. The question of federation would continue to be raised from time to time, and in 1930 it was finally laid to rest when McMaster University physically moved to Hamilton, Ontario." Click here to read more. Photo caption: Postcard of McMaster University on Bloor Street, date unknown. (photo: U of T)

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July 29, 2002

Posted on July 29: Human rights educator a catalyst for change

While everyone is entitled to human rights, not everyone is educated about them. But the view that human rights at McMaster are important is clear. Especially to Jane Mulkewich. "University is a place of higher learning and there are people here from all over the world, so we should be accessible to people from all over the world," she says. "If it doesn't happen on a university campus, then where is it going to happen?" McMaster's new human rights educator wants to create an environment free from harassment and discrimination. But she can't do it alone. "Everyone needs to take responsibility to make this an equitable environment," she says. "I want to be a catalyst for change." Since starting her new position in June, Mulkewich has found others feel the same. "Everyone that I have talked to so far, all say that there is a huge need for human rights education," she says. These views were presented to her during recent focus groups with faculty organized by her office. This is important since it is faculty and staff who set the climate, she says. "We want to find out from them what things we need to do on camps to make it a more safe and equitable place." In the part-time position - 22 hours a week - Mulkewich is responsible for the development and implementation of training workshops and educational programs dealing with human rights, anti-discrimination and sexual harassment. "There are a lot of people who don't know about human rights," she says. "Racism and discrimination continues because they are unaware and they do not know about what kind of impact their actions have. People will often know when their rights have been violated but they often don't know what to do about it. They need to know what resources are available."

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