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posted on Feb. 25: Government relations, research funding opportunities focus for two advisers

McMaster University announces the appointment of two senior advisers who will focus on opportunities in the areas of government relations and research. Peter Sadlier-Brown has been appointed government relations adviser in the Office of the President. Prior to his appointment at the University, Sadlier-Brown held a number of senior executive positions in the Ontario government. He was an assistant deputy minister in the Ministries of Finance, Labour, Intergovernmental Affairs and most recently, Economic Development and Trade. Before joining the provincial government, Sadlier-Brown worked for the C. D. Howe Research Institute, a labour union, and on Parliament Hill. Nick Markettos, on a year's secondment from the Ministry of Energy, Science & Technology, has joined the University as a special adviser to Mamdouh Shoukri, vice-president research & international affairs. "Peter and Nick bring a considerable amount of knowledge and expertise to the University," said Acting President Peter Sutherland. "They will be instrumental in helping McMaster foster new relationships with government, map out a blueprint to enhance our current relationships and build on existing partnerships in our research enterprise. I'm delighted they are on board."

posted on Feb. 22: High energy Fame musical opens tonight

McMaster Musical Theatre cast members are dreaming of becoming stars. Tonight they launch this year's production, Fame, a musical about a group of students in the School of the Performing Arts in the early 1980s in New York City who want to become famous. The musical tells the story of their developing relationships with each other, their teachers, their talent, and themselves. "It's a high energy show full of singing and dancing," said producer Terri Galan. The cast is comprised of 23 students and one staff member and the production team includes director Josephone Ho, musical director Rob Hancock, choreographer Jennifer Paul, pit director Jordynn McIntosh, technical director Mark Pereira, costumes headed by Toni Jack, properties lead by Kaif Pardhan, lighting operator Alexa Smith and sound operator Lyanne Quirt. The show opens tonight, Friday, Feb. 22 and continues Saturday, Feb. 23, Wednesday, Feb. 27 and Thursday, Feb. 28. All evening performances begin at 8 p.m. There is a matinee performance at 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 2. The evening performances for Friday, March 1 and Saturday, March 2 are sold out. Tickets are available by calling the Fame box office at ext. 26988. McMaster Musical Theatre (MMT) is a non-profit organization created in accordance with the McMaster Students Union. Members of the MMT executive are those who have been involved in the previous years' shows and who hail from all Faculties and all levels. MMT relies on revenue from previous years as well as sponsorship from members of the community. (End of story)

posted on Feb. 22: Canadian Olympic fever burns on campus

Staff in the student accounts/cashiers office in Gilmour Hall are showcasing their patriotism and Olympic spirit today (Feb. 22). The office is festooned with large . . .

posted on Feb. 21: Trudeau foundation receives $125M for humanities, human sciences research fellowships

Ottawa is giving $125 million to the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation to support advanced research in the humanities and human sciences. The endowment will be used to support up to 100 doctoral fellowships, 20 mid-career achievement awards and 15 mentor relationships in the humanities in any given year. The work undertaken by fellowship and mid-career award winners will cover themes reflective of the late prime minister's personal interests, including human rights and social justice, responsible citizenship, Canada and the world and humans in their natural environment. Winners will work in disciplines such as Canadian studies, history, international relations, journalism, law, peace and conflict studies, philosophy, political economy, political science, sociology and urban and community studies. "Pierre Elliott Trudeau had a vision of a mature and confident Canada, united by shared rights, mutual responsibility and a common citizenship," said Industry Minister Allan Rock, who made the endowment announcement yesterday in Ottawa. "This fund will help promote excellence and encourage promising students, leading scholars and researchers to study issues of interest to all Canadians. These talented individuals will explore and study the values, rights and beliefs that inform Canada's sense of identity, our public policy and our place in the world."

posted on Feb. 21: Canada’s Privacy Commissioner delivers speech to communication studies students

Students in Communication Studies 1B03, History of Communication, had ringside seats recently to Privacy Commissioner George Radwanski's speech entitled Watching You: Privacy Rights and Video Surveillance. Radwanski believes that the Hamilton police department's proposal to install six video surveillance cameras in the downtown area represents "the thin edge of the wedge that will irrevocably change our whole notion of our rights and freedoms." Lecturer Laurence Mussio said the subject of the commissioner's speech strikes at the very heart of the mission of the communication studies program. "The issues raised point in dramatic fashion to the need to generate a sophisticated understanding of how communication technology shapes our societies. How technology, public safety, and our constitutional rights to privacy all interact are matters of the most urgent kind." The privacy commissioner outlined four specific criteria that he believed should be met when considering any measure that might limit or infringe privacy. "First, it has to be demonstrably necessary to address a specific problem. Second, it must be demonstrably likely to be effective in addressing that problem. Third, it must be proportional to the security benefit to be derived. In other words, you don't use a sledgehammer to kill a fly. And, finally it must be demonstrable that no less privacy invasive measure would suffice to achieve the same result." Radwanski's 35 minute presentation argued that these tests must be applied to any proposal to install surveillance cameras in Hamilton and cited the experience of various U.S. and European cities that found video surveillance systems made no difference in their crime rates. "London has roughly 150,000 video surveillance cameras. Last year, it had more cameras than ever before. And guess what? Last year, street crime in London increased by 40 per cent." Radwanski concluded his speech by challenging the students to, "Be an example of strength, not timidity. Base your decisions on facts, not on scaremongering. Build a genuinely safe free society, not a falsely safe police state." Mussio was pleased that his students had the opportunity to hear firshand the views of the privacy commissioner and noted that, "the commissioner's address offered my students an excellent opportunity to engage their rapidly developing historical understanding of communications with a serious contemporary public policy issue. In an era of accelerating innovation in communications, I am convinced that these skills are more critical than ever to the vitality of civil society."

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posted on Feb. 25: Government relations, research funding opportunities focus for two advisers

posted on Feb. 22: High energy Fame musical opens tonight

posted on Feb. 22: Canadian Olympic fever burns on campus

posted on Feb. 21: Trudeau foundation receives $125M for humanities, human sciences research fellowships

posted on Feb. 21: Canada’s Privacy Commissioner delivers speech to communication studies students

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