Daily News

Seminar series for chairs and admin. co-ordinators begins today

A new seminar series developed specifically for University chairs and directors and administrative co-ordinators begins today. About 40 people, many of them new to their positions, are expected to attend the first seminar, which will provide an orientation to academic administration. The goal of this seminar series is to increase even further the quality of administration across academic departments and programs, says University provost and vice-president academic Harvey Weingarten. These seminars will provide a forum for effective, easy and efficient bilateral communication between the academic administrators in the departments and schools and at more senior levels. They will also provide the opportunity for focused training on matters and processes that are important to administration of the academy. The series will help to ensure that departments and schools have the skills and knowledge to operate in an administrative environment that has become increasingly complex and regulated. Department chairs, directors and administrators will also be better equipped to deal with staff and faculty recruitment and management issues, says Weingarten. "These seminars should help address some of the concerns raised by employees in the Reacon survey."

Expect to see more police and by-law officers in West Hamilton this week

Police officers on bicycles and in patrol cars will spend more time in West Hamilton this week. Although the number of complaints about noisy parties has decreased over the past few years, Regional Police and city noise by-law officers are working together with McMaster to try to ensure students understand that the community expects a certain level of behaviour. "Most students are great," says chief noise control officer Frank Westaway. "But there are times that parties get too big and when you throw in alcohol there are plenty of potential problems." One common misunderstanding students often have is that noisy parties or playing a stereo outside is okay if it's in the middle of the day. Westaway says it's a common myth that noise is fine until 11 p.m. It isn't. "The noise bylaw is in effect 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Everyone who lives in the house can be charged if there's too much noise. My message to students is be part of the solution, not part of the problem."

McMaster to have strong presence at universities’ fair

The University's Student Liaison Office is gearing up for what is expected to be one of the largest recruitment fairs ever. Based on the numbers which attended last year, the 2000 Ontario Universities' Fair, which runs from September 22 to 24 at the Toronto Metro Convention Centre, could attract over 40,000 OAC students and their parents. "Our main objective is to provide information and answer questions, with an emphasis on one-to-one personal contact," says Bonnie Crocker, liaison officer. Representatives from over 17 McMaster academic areas and service departments such as housing and student financial aid will be on hand during the three-day event. "We hope to create an interest in McMaster, especially for those students who are still undecided (about their choice of institution)." A total of over 130 McMaster faculty and staff will be helping outat the University's booth. "We really couldn't do this without them," Crocker says.

McMaster’s TA Day 2000 focuses on undergraduate teaching issues

Teaching assistants (TAs) at McMaster University will gear up for a new academic year at TA Day 2000 a series of workshops that help TAs deal with undergraduate teaching issues. The position of teaching assistant can be difficult, especially when TAs are just a couple of years older than their students. Hosted by the Centre for Leadership in Learning, the one-day event begins today at 8:30 a.m. in the Burke Science Building. New and veteran teaching assistants alike will acquire skills that one would typically learn at teacher's college. Workshops will address pre-class jitters, lesson preparation, learning styles, psychology and evaluation, to name a few. Additionally, TAs will learn how to handle the more delicate teaching issues, such as plagiarism and harassment.