Daily News

posted on Aug. 16: Board members sought for new electronic newsletter

Is there a colleague you admire and want the McMaster community to meet? Has someone in your department achieved a milestone that should be shared? Do you pen short stories or shoot photos you'd like to show off? You now have the opportunity to meet these creative needs by submitting items to a new electronic newsletter launched by and for McMaster employees. The publication date for the first issue is targeted for January 2002. Project organizers are looking for volunteers to join the publication's inaugural editorial board and are asking employees to submit potential titles for the new newsletter. The deadline to volunteer and/or submit a title for the newsletter is Sept. 21. The goal of the electronic newsletter is to bring the McMaster community closer together. It was recommended by the staff involvement work group established as part of the Reacon staff survey follow-up project. The newsletter's audience includes all McMaster employees (i.e., Faculty, Hourly, Staff, TMG, etc.). Earlier this year, the employee newsletter task team was formed to investigate the possibility of establishing such a vehicle. The team tabled its findings last month before the leadership committee and received its endorsement to move ahead with the newsletter's development. "The new publication is intended to provide a bridge for employees at all McMaster locations, opportunities for employees to learn more about one another and a forum for constructive discussion," says Kathy Ouellette, who chaired the task team.

posted on Aug. 15: New student residence construction begins

The west side of campus is the scene of bulldozers, dirt piles, orange vests and hardhats as preparation for the new student residence construction begins. Fencing continues to go up around the site for the new building and will eventually contain the building's entire footprint. Digging is underway to produce engineered fill for the area and a trench carrying electrical, fibre optic and telecommunication lines beneath Scholar's Road should be completed by the end of the week. The cable relocation will be completed by the end of the month. Mary Keyes, associate vice-president student affairs, is pleased that construction has begun. "The Inter-Residence Council (IRC) student leaders on the user's committee have given thoughtful advice and we believe their ideas have contributed significantly to development of the latest design in shared campus living. This will provide future students with yet another choice for their residence experience." The six-storey building that will house about 280 occupants will feature self-contained suites, with each suite containing four bedrooms, two bathrooms, kitchen and living room space. The residence will also include a 720-sq. metres (8,000-sq. feet) dining hall to service students from neighbouring residences as well as provide a unique dining location for the campus community. The site incorporates much of what was a parking lot at the back of Matthews Hall and stretches south across Scholar's Road. The building's dining wing will be built perpendicular to the residence and take in Scholar's Road, extending as far as, but not abutting, the Clarke Centre smoke stack. Some trees have been removed to construct a new fire route and to accommodate the new residence. On-site supervisor John Piron, of O. P. McCarthy & Associates Inc., said he, grounds co-ordinator Len Van Hoffen and the landscape architect are attempting to preserve a large catalpa speciosa situated between Matthews Hall and Bates Residence. Landscaping plans being developed for the area surrounding the new residence include a walkway, seating circle and a variety of plant materials including trees. Piron noted that people coming on campus from the west side will have to build in more time as the construction site makes access more difficult. (End of story)

posted on Aug. 14: Marauders travel to World University Games

When the 2001 World University games begin later this month, McMaster University and the Marauder athletic program will be well represented. A contingent of three McMaster athletes and one coach will be attending the games of the 21st Universaide taking place from Aug. 22 to Sept. 1 in Beijing, China. Representing McMaster at the games from the women's tennis program will be the OUA Champion doubles team of Heather MacGillivary and Michelle Greenwood. Joining them will be Marauder head coach Doug Ho. The Beijing games will mark the first time that Canada will send a tennis delegation to the Universaide. Games participants were selected from the teams (McMaster and Alberta) that competed at the National University Championship that took place at the University of Alberta in March. The University Games Tennis competition will take place from Aug. 22 to Aug. 31. MacGillvary and Greenwood will compete in the doubles competition. Greenwood could potentially compete in the singles competition as well. Coach Ho, the second coach on the team, will focus his efforts on the women's team and assist in administering the Canadian tennis team while at the games. Joining the representatives from the women's tennis program at the Games will be McMaster wrestler Pam Wilson. Wilson, the 2001 CIAU and OUA 77 kg gold medallist, will compete in the Judo event. Wilson, who won gold in only her first year of competitive wrestling, has competed in judo for 14 years and is a member of the national D team. The judo competition is scheduled for Aug. 23 to 27, and Wilson will compete in the 70 kg weight class on Aug. 24. The representatives from McMaster along with the remainder of the Canadian team will get a sneak preview of how Beijing will host the 2008 Summer Olympics when the Chinese capital stages the world's second-largest multi-sports competition. Opening ceremonies for the 2001 Games are scheduled for Aug. 22 at the 80,000-seat Workers Stadium in Beijing. The stadium has been identified as one of the main competition sites for the 2008 Olympics. Closing ceremonies are set for Sept. 1. The event will attract more than 5,000 of the world's top student-athletes, representing more than 140 countries. The CIAU, the national governing body of university sport in Canada, is responsible for the organization of Team Canada's entry, which is comprised of 260 participants, including some 175 of our nation's best student-athletes plus coaches, managers, officials, medical, administrative and media staff. Historically, the World University Games have generated almost one-third of the medallists at subsequent Olympic games.

posted on Aug. 10: $1M for chair of Early Child Development

Dan Offord, director of the Canadian Centre for Studies of Children at Risk (CCSCR), would like to see every child in the province enter school ready to learn. Offord and his colleagues came closer to this dream yesterday when the Minister Responsible for Children, John Baird, presented a cheque for $1 million to establish a chair in Early Child Development. McMaster University will match the provincial government's gift. The money comes from the Early Years Challenge Fund, established as a result of the recommendations of the "Early Years Study", co-authored by Dr. Fraser Mustard, a former dean of medicine and vice-president of health sciences at McMaster. Baird noted that McMaster's proposal was "one of the most innovative" and commended the centre for being a "superstar" in the area of early child development. The centre has developed an Early Development Instrument that measures the abilities of Kindergarten students in five general areas: physical health and well-being, social knowledge and competence, emotional health and maturity, language and thinking development, and general knowledge and communication skills. The information will then be used to determine where schools and communities have been successful and where improvements are needed. Magdalena Janus, a research associate at the CCSCR worked with Offord to develop the instrument for the "School Readiness to Learn Project". She describes the instrument as a survey with more than 100 questions that would be done by junior and senior kindergarten teachers, 5 or 6 months into the school year. The chair of Early Child Development will lead the CCSCR in training schools and communities on how to use the Early Development Instrument. (End of story)

posted on August 9: Welcome Day @ Mac embraces new students, families

Dozens of first-year students and their families will be on campus Friday, Aug. 10 to enjoy the activities provided at the annual Welcome Day @ Mac. The day is designed to acquaint new students and their families with the faces and facilities provided by the University. It's an opportunity to be welcomed to the McMaster community and helps students begin to feel at home in their soon-to-be new home. Various activities will be ongoing throughout the day including seminars about financing the upcoming year, living off-campus, using the University computers, libraries and a session titled "Flea's Eye View: How to Succeed at Mac." As well, students and their families can take tours of the campus, the Ivor Wynne Centre and residences. In addition to the tours and information sessions, there will be two tents set up on the lawns of the inner campus with students and University employees on hand to answer questions about the many student services and clubs. Lunch is available for $2 at the tent in front of the Burke Science building. Students and families that would like to spend a night on campus can arrange for overnight accommodation by contacting Housing & Conference Services at 905-525-9140 ext. 27222. (End of story)