Daily News

posted on Oct. 18: Award-winning scientist appointed inaugural chairholder in diabetes research

Canadians suffering from diabetes have new hope with the announcement today that Hertzel Gerstein, a professor of medicine, will be the first chairholder of the Population Health Institute Chair in Diabetes Research, sponsored by Aventis Pharma Inc. "The research will focus on two areas - preventing diabetes and developing new management strategies for health care providers and people already affected by diabetes," said Gerstein. Aventis Pharma Inc. committed $1 million in funding to establish the new chair. Last year Aventis was a funder, with other partners, of the DREAM (Diabetes Reduction Approaches with ramipril and rosiglitazone Medications) study, an international clinical trial testing ways to prevent type 2 diabetes. Jean-Francois Leprince, Aventis Pharma Inc. president, said the latest sponsorship "reaffirms our commitment to the diabetes field and complements the extensive research and development efforts underway within our own global organization to find innovative therapies to combat and treat an illness which will soon take on epidemic proportions." John Kelton, dean and vice-president of the Faculty of Health Sciences said the company's generous gift "will allow Dr. Gerstein to continue to look for ways to prevent the consequences of diabetes, and indeed diabetes itself - a disease that affects one in 14 Canadian adults over the age of 20."

posted on Oct. 18: Tribal philosophies, environmental health focus of two public lectures tonight

Spiritual tribal philosophies, the ramifications of Sept. 11 and environmental health in the 21st century will be topics of discussion at two public lectures on campus tonight. The indigenous studies program and the Centre for Peace Studies present Leon Secatero, chair of the Indigenous Elders of the Americas, who will explore spiritual tribal philosophies and prophecies in his talk My Ancestors Speak. Secatero will be followed by Ovide Mercredi, former national chief and current political adviser of the Assembly of First Nations, who will speak about the past in his talk, Listen to My Ancestors, and will explore how the themes of the past can guide us after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The free public lecture takes place tonight (Oct. 18) in Health Sciences Centre, room 1A1 from 7 to 9:30 p.m. The presentations by Secatero and Mercredi are part of the 2001 Indigenous Studies Lecture Series. For more information, contact Cassandra Lo in Indigenous Studies at ext. 27226. As well, the McMaster Institute for Environment and Health (MIEH) presents its fourth annual public lecture entitled Environmental Health in the 21st Century: Challenges to Decision Making with guest speaker Trevor Hancock. Hancock has been described as one of the top 10 health futurists in the world. He is a public health physician and health promotion consultant working primarily for local, provincial and national governments, as well as the World Health Organization. Hancock's lecture will explore three key environmental challenges: ecotoxicity (the wide-spread contamination of ecosystems); the physical, mental and social health of our built environments (from indoor air quality to urban sprawl) and global environmental change. The free public lecture will run from 7:30 to 9 p.m. tonight (Oct. 18) in Health Sciences Centre, room 1A6. (End of story)

posted on Oct. 16: University mail service disrupted

The following message was distributed to the McMaster community today from Ron Angus, director of Risk Management Services: Dear members of the McMaster community: Mail services on campus have been temporarily interrupted today after a member of the mail services staff was concerned about a package received by the University. Security Services were immediately called. The normal procedure for a suspicious package is for security to inform Hamilton police who are now on campus investigating. There is no evidence that the package is dangerous but the current heightened sense of security across the country means that every precaution needs to be taken. The mailroom in the Michael G. DeGroote building has been closed. However, access to other areas near the mailroom is not restricted. Mailroom staff are assisting police with the investigation. Although the majority of mail at McMaster passes through either the Faculty of Health Sciences or the MGD mailroom, other mail is sometimes directly delivered to offices and is dealt with by other employees. Here are a few tips to help identify suspicious mail: No return address Return address and postmark are not from the same area Grease stains or discolouration Strange odors Hand written or poorly typed addresses A common sense approach is best but if you have any concerns about mail you receive please call security at ext. 24281. (End of story)

posted on Oct. 17: University mail services update

The following update is from Ron Angus, director of Risk Management Services: Mail services in the Michael G. DeGroote School of Business reopened for business this afternoon. The office was shut down earlier today after staff reported a suspicious package. McMaster security and Hamilton police were called. The package has now been removed from campus and will be disposed of by police. It is important that people know that they should call security if they are concerned about any mail they receive at work. The University has a system in place to handle this type of situation and I believe today's experience shows that system works well. McMaster is committed to taking every precaution to ensure safety. In this case: The package was suspicious only because of the way it was addressed. There were no signs of powder or any contamination. The package was not opened and the mailroom area was temporarily closed. The University's crisis management team was called to assess the situation. It worked with authorities to ensure that accurate and factual information was provided to the campus community. Mailroom staff worked with police in their investigation. No one was hurt and staff returned to work this afternoon. My message to you earlier today included tips on identifying suspicious mail. If you have any concerns about mail you receive please call Security Services at ext. 24281. (End of story)

posted on Oct. 17: Music, art, multimedia on stage for School of the Arts open house

About 275 high school students and their teachers have accepted an invitation to view McMaster's School of the Arts in action -- making music, creating multimedia, acting and sculpting to name a few activities. The students, from 110 schools in southern Ontario, are on campus today to take part in the second annual open house presented by the School of the Arts. "The response has been overwhelming, it's been amazing," said Terri Galan, who has been co-ordinating logistics for the event on behalf of Susan Fast, the school's acting assistant director and open house organizer. Students will attend an introductory session at Robinson Memorial Theatre at 9:30 a.m. and will then go to the subject area they are interested in to attend lectures, performances or workshops. The four areas are art and art history, music, drama and multimedia. Depending on the stream they choose, students can attend a jazz improvisation class, a sculpting class or a multimedia tutorial in the new multimedia wing. Students will also be given an introduction to the new communication studies program.