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posted on June 26: McMaster seeks $38.4 million from CFI in latest competition

Fourteen faculty members met the May 30 deadline and applied for $38.4 million in Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) Innovation Fund funding for major research . . .

posted on June 26: Baseball diamonds spruced up, new treadmill gallery for fitness centre

McMaster's baseball diamonds will be "frost-free" this year and faculty and staff who work out at the Pulse will exercise in a new treadmill gallery thanks to funding provided through the McMaster University Futures Fund (MUFF). The funding, allocated earlier this year, is being used to support a number of improvements in facilities used by employees for recreational purposes: $55,000 to purchase new treadmills and new lockers for the Ivor Wynne Centre. The new treadmills will go into the refurbished fitness gallery over the squash courts located in the south side of the athletic centre, said Therese Quigley, director of athletics & recreation. Pulse members will be able to use the new aerobic treadmill gallery and specific hours will be reserved for faculty and staff. The new lockers will replace baskets used in the fitness centre's change rooms, Quigley said. $38,000 is set aside to buy fitness equipment and to renovate a fitness area in Henderson Hospital. Fitness instructor and lab technologist Janice Rischke said she'd like to purchase a treadmill, a stepper, a cross-trainer and a stationary bike for employees' use once they have renovated a room in the hospital for the equipment. $8,000 towards the maintenance of the campus softball fields. The volunteer-run Graduate Students' Association softball league has purchased a specially designed drag to keep the diamonds in good shape, said softball commissioner Andy Duncan. In the past, the three campus infields were conditioned daily by a home-made device made out of two-by-fours and an old frost fence pulled behind a golf cart. The new drag will keep the infield from hardening up, said Duncan. There are 30 teams in the softball league, made up of faculty members, staff and graduate students. MUFF funding comes from the interest earned by the University on money that could not go into the University's pension plan because of restrictions enforced by Revenue Canada. (End of story)

posted on June 26: $5 million gift one of the largest in McMaster’s history

McMaster University and AIC Group of Funds, Canada's largest privately held mutual fund company, today announced a $5 million gift to create the AIC Institute for Strategic Business Studies in the Michael G. DeGroote School of Business at McMaster. It is one of the largest gifts in McMaster's history. "This exciting partnership with AIC is an enormous opportunity that will allow the University to pursue a new direction in business studies," said President Peter George. "AIC and its chairman and chief investment officer, Michael Lee-Chin, have demonstrated in the most generous way their confidence in McMaster's ability to deliver the educational programs and research needed in the field of investment management. Their foresight and leadership are inspiring." The AIC gift will support the creation of a chair in Investment and Portfolio Management. Two professorships will also be created and a $500,000 fund will provide scholarships to business students. AIC will also help to finance the building of a new wing on the business school, a state-of-the-art facility that will house the Institute for Strategic Business Studies. "Warren Buffet, who many of you will recognize as the world's most successful investor, recently emphasized the importance of developing sound business valuation skills among today's business students," said Michael Lee-Chin. "At AIC, the foundation of our investment philosophy has long rested on our ability to value and buy excellent businesses, businesses we understand fully. By buying and holding these businesses, AIC investors have prospered as we have preserved and grown their capital and minimized taxes payable. On behalf of AIC, I am proud to lend support to McMaster University and the establishment of the AIC Institute for Strategic Business Studies which will enrich the skills of business school graduates for many years to come." Vishwanath Baba, dean of the Michael G. DeGroote Business School, said: "We believe strongly in bringing real-world experiences into the classroom. Our new alliance with AIC will enhance this bridge. Guest lecturers from AIC will give students insights into the world of finance and an understanding of the discipline needed to succeed. These opportunities to learn from an industry leader will give McMaster graduates a distinct advantage." AIC Group of Funds commenced operations in 1985 and has grown to become one of Canada's largest mutual fund companies, servicing almost one million investors. Assets under management total more than $14 billion. Lee-Chin graduated from McMaster's Faculty of Engineering in 1974.

posted on June 25: Edward Minich new chair of Board of Governors

Hamilton-born Edward A. Minich is the new chair of McMaster's Board of Governors, the University's highest governing body. He begins his term as chair July 1. Minich is president, chief executive officer and director of the board for Otis Canada and has a long association with the University. He has served on the McMaster Alumni Association's Board of Directors and as vice-chair of the Board of Governors. Last year he was inducted into the McMaster Alumni Gallery. "I owe a lot of my success to McMaster," said Minich. He received his Honours B.Sc. in Psychology from McMaster in 1972 and his MBA from McMaster in 1974. He met his wife Sian when they were both students at McMaster. His two sons are McMaster graduates. "I give enthusiastic support to McMaster being a student-centred research institution," said Minich. "It will make McMaster unique." "The board is the engine that can help get McMaster where we need to go. Our role is to help move things along," he said. "To go forward in this competitive world, everybody has to promote the University to attract the best students, faculty and research dollars." "Education is our infrastructure for the future," said Minich. "In this high-tech, fast-paced world, talented people will attract others." (End of story)

posted on June 21: Number of McMaster graduates employed after six months increases

More than 94 per cent (94.8) of McMaster graduates with undergraduate degrees were employed six months after leaving the University, a survey shows. The provincial average is 94.6 per cent. The rate is up from last year's result which showed that 93.9 per cent of graduates were employed six months after graduation. "McMaster's strong results demonstrate that we continue to graduate high-quality students who have the knowledge, skills and experience employers need," said University President Peter George. The Ontario University Graduate Survey also showed that 97 per cent of McMaster graduates are employed within two years of obtaining an undergraduate degree, a slight increase from last year's figure of 96.4 per cent. The provincial average in this category this year is 97.2 per cent. See the Graduation, Employment and OSAP Loan Default Rates, McMaster University, April 2001 table for full program results. The University received about $1 million in provincial funding last year because the employment rates matched or exceeded the provincial average, a target established by the Ontario government. The survey, sponsored by the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities and the Council of Ontario Universities, studied the employment experiences of 1998 graduates of undergraduate programs in Ontario. The Ontario Universities' Application Centre collected the information using a mail-out survey targeting graduates of bachelor and first professional degree programs. The survey also noted the default rate for Ontario Student Assistance Plan loan holders -- McMaster graduates posted a default rate of 5.8 per cent. (The Daily News provided a detailed story on the default rate earlier this year: See McMaster's OSAP default rate decreases for fourth straight year.) The results of a fourth performance indicator, graduation rate data, will be calculated and published later this year. (End of story)

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posted on June 26: McMaster seeks $38.4 million from CFI in latest competition

posted on June 26: Baseball diamonds spruced up, new treadmill gallery for fitness centre

posted on June 26: $5 million gift one of the largest in McMaster’s history

posted on June 25: Edward Minich new chair of Board of Governors

posted on June 21: Number of McMaster graduates employed after six months increases

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