A retrospective look at the University of Windsor in 2007
By Natasha Marar
News Editor
January 9, 2008
 Welcome back University of Windsor! It's that time of year when you realize that Santa is gone, that you have gained 15 pounds because mama's stuffing is too good to let go to waste, and that it is a new year, which means resolution time.
But how can one make new resolutions without properly reflecting on the past year? Many exciting events have occurred at the University throughout 2007, and I am sure you have forgotten some of them. Here is a brief look back at what you may have missed.
Committee formed for presidential search
The University of Windsor Senate nominated faculty and student representatives to the Presidential Search Committee last January to begin the process of searching for University President Ross Paul’s successor when he retires this July.
Paul was appointed as the fifth president of the University in 1998.
In addition to the 11-member committee, the University has elicited the expertise of worldwide executive search company Ray & Berndtson.
The submission process of suitable candidates has ended and Paul’s replacement should be announced shortly.
Anti-Islamic guest lectures cause community stir
Campbell Baptist Church held a lecture series in January that featured Zachariah Anani, a former Islamic terrorist who converted to Christianity.
The controversial lecture, which criticized Islamic literature as violent in nature, caught the attention of the University and surrounding community.
The first presentation titled “The Frightening Facts About Islam” took place on January 11, but subsequent lectures on the topic were cancelled so that the church’s pastor could defend himself against allegations that the lecture series were a form of hate-speech.
During the lectures, Muslim students attempted to discredit Anani and protect their religion by claiming that is it peaceful.
In response to Anani’s cancelled lectures, former Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) terrorist, Kamal Saleem, was recruited for two sessions on February 1 and 2.
Some in the community, however, also criticized the legitimacy of his message.
Assumption University celebrates the big 150
Assumption University enjoyed its 150th anniversary on February 11, 2007. A reception for academic, civic and religious leaders was the first of several events held during the year to mark the occasion.
Assumption College, which offered a high school and arts program, accepted its first students on February 10, 1857.
The college became co-ed in 1934, and became and official university in 1953. Though the University of Windsor merged with Assumption in December 1962, the College still grants degrees in Theology.
Grad House sacrificed for medical school
Formally titled the Harry Gignac House, the Grad House was built in 1929 and its destruction on March 28 of last year was deemed necessary to make way for the construction for the Windsor site of the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry.
On February 14, a group of students, including several UWSA members attempted to present the Grad House as a historical site in a proposal to the Windsor Heritage Committee.
Acting dean and law professor Brian Mazer presented preservation ideas at the meeting including the donation of the building materials from the Grad House to Habitat for Humanity.
Neil Musson, Manager of Space Management for the Physical Plant and & Physical Plant Operations addressed the idea of moving the house to a different location but explained that it was not economical.
On March 26, an open house was held for members of the Gignac family before the demolition. The Graduate Student Society closed the doors to the Sunset Café Bar in April and relocated it to the old Public Affairs House at 484 Sunset Avenue. This will remain the temporary location of the Sunset Café Bar for no more than two years.
Lack of transparency prompts concerns at CJAM
Concerns directed to the UWSA about improper hiring procedures at CJAM radio station were initiated in March. CJAM volunteers claimed that a lack of transparency in the board’s hiring practices has led to mistrust. One of the major complaints stemmed from existing personal relationships among candidates and the hiring committee.
Interim station manager at the time, Chris Cecile, indicated that there was no hiring policy and guidelines used for hiring. UWSA general manager, Dale Coffin, confirmed that conflicts over personal relationships between candidates and those in charge of hiring is a problem that also faces the UWSA.
Posting minutes online and publicizing board meetings was encouraged to foster communication between CJAM board of directors, volunteers, and the public.
Dramatic Arts Studio Theatre gets a boost
On May 3, family of the deceased University of Windsor benefactors Joan and Clifford Hatch decided to commit $400,000 over the next four years to the Jackman Dramatic Arts Building.
The building’s Studio Theatre was renamed in their honour, and was the final naming opportunity for the Dramatic Arts building.
The money was given towards capital costs of the building and for upgrades to the Studio Theatre.
 Medical school construction begins
The University broke ground on the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry’s Windsor campus last summer in preparation for the first group of students that will be welcomed in fall 2008.
The decision to open a satellite medical school was the result of many collaborations, including those between the University of Windsor, the University of Western Ontario, and the Southwestern Ontario Medical Education Network (SWOMEN), which provides students from the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry with training and experience.
In his 2007 State of the University Address, University president Ross Paul announced that an additional $25 million in funding for facility renovations would need to be raised between the University and area hospitals.
The building itself is LEED certified, which means it is designed to promote design and construction practices that increase profitability while reducing the negative environmental impacts of buildings and improving occupant health and well-being.
Some of the buildings environmental features include a living wall of plants, which are part of the bio-filter for the mechanical system, a bio-swale designed into the parking lot to collect rainwater, and a green roof to help insulate the building.
Professor and Special Advisor to the Provost, Brian Mazer, indicated that the medical school will help increase the number of physicians and specialists that will settle in the area, provide resources in terms of students and interns to assist local doctors, and enhance collaborative research between the University of Windsor and the University of Western Ontario.
Professor petitions CRTC for improved media system
Communications Studies professor Paul Boin helped initiate Canadians for Democratic Media (CDM), a new national network aimed at creating a diverse Canadian media system through policy reform.
This network of activists, journalists, citizens, and media scholars was the result of collaboration during the media conference “20 Years of Propaganda” held last May at the University of Windsor.
CDM launched a campaign called “Stop the Big Media Takeover” in which the CRTC accepted submissions from individuals regarding the need for stricter ownership regulations.
Student pub receives a new look and name
In June the UWSA Board of Directors decided to loan the Thirsty Scholar $56,400 to help with expenses over the summer months. The choice came with announcements of renaming the Thirsty Scholar The Basement, improving customer service by increasing staff members, menu changes, and different marketing tactics for the fall semester.
In September the Thirsty Scholar reopened under its new name and a revamped image that included décor inspired by the television show “That 70’s Show,” a new web site, a grill for the kitchen, and increased and diversified programming throughout the week.
Concerns surrounding the decision to hang a decorative street sign that read “No dogs allowed” were brought forth by several students who believed the sign had racist and sexist undertones.
University receives $40 million for CEI
The Ontario government awarded the University of Windsor with $40 million in capital funding for the Centre for Engineering Innovation (CEI) that will be completed in 2009.
The CEI will enable the University to increase engineering enrollment from 1,400 to 2,000 students, and allow for greater partnership between academia and industry.
The location of the state-of-the-art, environment-friendly building remains undetermined, though pushes to move the facility downtown have proved unsuccessful.
$10 million for improvements to campus residences
Extensive renovations to Macdonald, Laurier, Cartier and Clark Residences began last summer when $10 million was allocated for upgrades and improvements to such things as flooring, lighting, elevators, bathrooms, laundry machine upgrades, ventilation, heating and cooling systems, and painting.
Some of the renovations are already completed, while others will take several years. Funding for roughly half of the upgrades came from a 2006 University of Windsor bond issue, with the remainder coming from a refinancing of residence mortgages.
The upgrades are part of the Ianni Faculty of Law Building renewal program, where the University was able to borrow against future energy savings created by infrastructure improvements.
The major infrastructure upgrades, such as heating and cooling, lighting and plumbing, will produce energy savings that can be used to finance borrowing as much as $5 million to complete the planned renovations.
Strike by University unions avoided
The University welcomed the fall semester with caution as three staff unions, CUPE 1001, 1393, and CAW 2458 indicated plans to strike and potentially cripple numerous services and operations.
The union members, consisting of maintenance workers, grounds keepers, custodial and housekeeping staff, recruitment staff, lab coordinators, residence managers, IT Services, secretaries and administrative staff, were concerned about job security and benefits.
The Sept. 6 planned strike was averted by negotiations and new three-year agreements.
Some features of the new agreements included a nine per cent wage increase over the next three years, better job security for student workers, and the creation of a women's advocate for female members.
Sakai system replaces ViCKi
The Learning Management System at the University of Windsor, known as ViCKi, underwent changes in 2007 before introducing the new Sakai system.
The decision to move to the Sakai system was made by administration in the summer of 2006.
The open source Sakai software, which allows instructors to create course web sites, was deemed more cost efficient by the University. Students can also enjoy features such as real time chat and a built-in WIKI.
Sakai, which is used by over 150 other major universities, colleges, and institutions around the world, will completely replace ViCKi by 2009.
The Windsor Sakai system, named Collaboration and Learning Environment Windsor (CLEW), was introduced in the fall.
Last week the CLEW implementation team upgraded the system and completed its Fall 2007 Survey of faculty and support staff responses.
IT Services ushers in myUWindsor
The myUWindsor web portal was launched on Sept. 10 as part of the University of Windsor’s re-branding campaign. The online tool allows students to easily access services such as Webmail, CLEW, and SIS.
The University undertook the project last year after it received $1 million in funding and equipment from CampusEAI Consortium, a non-profit technological service group based in Cleveland, Ohio,
The chief advantages of the new system is that students have to log in only once upon entering, and they are able to personalize their own portal.
Student approval increased three fold over the first two weeks of myUWindsor's operation. The student portal’s full completion date is set for the beginning of the winter 2008 semester.
 University reveals new branding project
On September 10, the University of Windsor launched a branding campaign featuring a new portal, logo, and tag line aimed to promote the institution as innovative and forward thinking.
The million-dollar campaign includes the research, logo development, media placement, agency fees, and presentations on campus, among other things, for the first year of the campaign.
The new campaign, the first of its kind in the 44-year history of the University, supersedes ‘To Greater Heights’, the strategic plan and fund-raising campaign that has been in place since 1998.
One of the key changes is that the University web site will undergo an overhaul in the next 12 to 18 months. In addition to the portal update, a redesigned logo now features a blue and green combination of the letters ‘u’ and ‘w’ and the new tag line ‘thinking forward.’ The previous University logo, which was designed over 20 years ago, was in need of updating.
Research for the campaign was a lengthy and intensive process that began in the fall of 2006. Students from high schools and universities throughout Ontario were interviewed about their views on the University of Windsor. One on one interviews on campus with staff, students, and faculty were also conducted.
Through re-branding, the University also hopes to attract not only potential students but also to recruit new faculty members.
Administrative troubles surround Shinerama
Shinerama’s annual Shineday event went off as planned and elicited the participation of 450 students who raised $7,000 that day.
Last minute changes to the administration of this year’s Shinerama campaign including the resignation of its director, Kira Phillips, shortly before Shineday, were questioned.
Phillips claims that she was unable to fulfill her Shinerama duties close to Shineday because of conflicts with prior commitments.
When VPA for the UWSA, Marla Cronin, decided not to hire a temporary replacement, Phillips claimed she was forced to resign.
Cronin denounced these claims, but had drafted the resignation letter for Phillips.
Phillips was also upset at the lack of recognition she received for her contribution to the campaign.
Justine Bruyere, the director hired to replace Phillips, also resigned from the position shortly after Shineday despite the fact that Shinerama activities continued until the end of October.
Sexual assaults plague Ontario universities
University students were on guard last semester after a series of sexual assaults occurred at Carleton, Laurentian, and York Universities.
A woman was sexually assaulted while she worked in a lab at Carleton University. Several women were also sexually assaulted on their way to campus. While, two men attacked two female students while they slept in their unlocked residence rooms at York University.
U of W Campus Community Police tried to increase safety awareness among students through the promotion of information, and various programs and services through an online crime alert. At Windsor, sexual assault reports were filed three times in 2005, twice in 2006, and once in the third quarter of 2007. A final report for 2007 has yet to be released.
UWSA addresses safety in the student pub
In response to arguments over the implementation of a dress code at The Basement in 2006, the UWSA created a safety committee last year to address student concerns and suggest ways to make The Basement safer.
In a report to UWSA council, former UNIWIN Public Safety Committee members indicated that students feel safe at The Basement despite council’s 2006 approval of a mandatory dress code as a safety measure.
Ryan Soloman, Brydon Eady, and Whitney Manfo, members of the now dissolved committee, presented the survey results to UWSA council in October.
The survey, which posed four open-ended questions to 110 respondents, was released to students in both a paper format and through a mass e-mail. Technical and administrative delays, along with a low number of respondents impacted the survey’s scientific validity.
Despite these obstacles, the UNIWIN Public Safety Committee believed that the survey has generated some important findings.
The key discoveries were that none of the concerns brought up by The Basement manager, Jason Codling, to justify the dress code were really addressed by the students, and that students either had no problems with safety in The Basement or they had problems relating to management oversight and staff training.
The motions presented at the meeting, which advocated against systematic racism in the University, mandated for “improving race relations and racism on campus, women’s safety on campus, campus security, [and] operations and oversight of this committee.”
Current hopes for creating a permanent committee within the UWSA to investigate and address these problems has yet to be decided.
Windsor researchers secure $1 million from NSERC
Three University of Windsor researchers were awarded Natural Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) grants totalling $1 million in the fields of science and engineering.
The funding was distributed to professors Daniel Heath for adaptive genetic and physiological response to aquatic contaminant stress, Hoda ElMaraghy for the improvement in manufacturing technologies for global competitiveness, and Sherah VanLaehoven for ecosystem response to perturbation at multiple spatial scales.
Together these grants will help provide explanations of environmental and manufacturing impacts in Canada.
Voter turnout addressed during provincial election and referendum
Oct. 10 saw Ontarians turning to polls for a provincial election and referendum.
The referendum to move from a first-past-the-post electoral system to a mixed member proportional system was defeated.
The Liberals were able to secure a majority government, while Elections Ontario worked hard to raise lowered voting levels among young adults and increase election awareness through the creation of a student liaison officer position.
Elections Ontario promoted the election on campus through flyers, posters, and a booth during Club Days.
All residences received posters about advanced polling, flyers were distributed to first-year student mailboxes, and a series of workshops were held in the residences.
A 2007 report by Statistics Canada, Canadians and Their Non-Voting Political Activity, indicated that despite low voting behaviour among youth, one third of adults aged 19-64 years engage in at least one non-political activity, and that a postsecondary education is the most important influence on political participation.
More than half of individuals with post-secondary education participate versus 18 per cent of individuals with no more than a high school education.
UWSA food bank reaches out to students in relative poverty
The UWSA started a partnership with Iona College to expand their food bank services on campus.
Iona College and Canterbury College have been running a food bank since 2004 and offer a hot meal for $2.
The UWSA food bank operates by having students in need enter the food bank located in the CAW Student Centre, present their student I.D. card, and pick up food supplies.
Students can also send requests and pick up food anonymously from a designated locker.
The UWSA food bank continues to grow and has serviced dozens of students since it stared last summer.
UWSA by-election goes paperless
Voter turnout among students doubled when UWSA by-elections went online for the first time in the fall. The UWSA was happy with the response, claiming that the new method saved both time and money.
Technical difficulties with the online vote were minimal and only eight students reported having troubles voting. Chief returning officer for the elections, Justin Teeuwen, hoped the money saved from online voting can go towards marketing future elections.
Online voting also allows the UWSA to track demographics of the voters, such as the number of science students voting for a representative.
A decision has not been made as to whether online voting will be used in the UWSA general election this spring.
Adrienne Clarkson talks immigration at the University
The Humanities Research Group welcomed former Governor General, Adrienne Clarkson, in October when she lectured about her non-profit organization, Institute for Canadian Citizenship (ICC), and Canada’s unique role as an immigrant nation.
Clarkson's first visit to the University of Windsor was met with a packed room of over 300 avid listeners.
Clarkson spoke about Canada’s unique status as a nation that is committed to multiculturalism and immigration, and how that affects our identities as citizens.
The timing of Clarkson's lecture seemed fitting for Windsor, which had recently experienced the influx of several hundred Mexican and Haitian refugees to the area.
Clarkson also provided information about her work in developing the ICC, which aims to increase the dialogue between immigrants and established citizens.
U of W holds onto 10th place in the Maclean's rankings for a second year
The University of Windsor improved its grades in seven categories, but finished in 10th place once again, in this year’s edition of the Maclean’s university rankings.
The annual national survey of university performance marked its 17th issue with a reformed set of indicators and research methodology.
Maclean’s has decided to rely solely on publicly available information for the report, rather than obtaining data from universities directly. This eliminated the need for university cooperation or support, and has resulted in less controversy for this year’s rankings.
By introducing new indicators and changing the weighting of existing indicators Maclean’s has changed the focus of the survey.
The reputation composite saw the greatest weight increase from 16 per cent to 22 per cent—a category in which Windsor came in last place among 10 other comprehensive universities.
University of Windsor president Ross Paul asserted that the reputation composite is unfair and misleading, and that its weight in the survey should be reduced.
A closer look at the Maclean's rankings revealed questions of legitimacy and objectiveness. The response rate for the reputation survey, for instance, has fallen by almost half, to seven per cent, over the past five years.
University administration promoted the use of other student surveys such as the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) and Common University Data Ontario (CUDO).
Despite its reputation ranking, the University did score well in several categories, including student support, library acquisitions, library holdings per student, and grants given to faculty.
Student network comes under crossfire
Throughout 2007, the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS), of which the UWSA is a member, was plagued by separation demands from three of their member unions.
Operating on the principle of organizing members in a “democratic, cooperative basis to advance the interests of students and the community,” the CFS currently encompasses over 500,000 students at more than 80 colleges and universities.
Separation requests typically came from British Columbian schools, including Greater Vancouver’s Simon Fraser University (SFU), which will hold a referendum on the issue in March 2008.
UWSA's Zach Cranny vowed that Windsor is comfortable with the CFS agenda because “there are definite benefits” to being a CFS member society.
Windsor students pay CFS federal and provincial memberships of $7.65 and $6.37, respectively.
Administration targets academic integrity
The University's Academic Integrity Office (AIO) launched its annual poster campaign last November in response to increasing academic offenses.
Despite the increased awareness provided by the promotions, Academic Integrity Officer Danielle Istl claimed that scholarly infidelity remains a concern.
There were 114 academic investigations at Windsor last year, which resulted in 85 per cent of accused students proven guilty or confessing. There was also a recent climb in cheating on take-home exams.
In 2006, 53 per cent of Canadian undergraduates surveyed admitted to forging written assignments, including using the work of others, and using uncited Internet sources.
Implicated students must undergo a lengthy litigation process that begins with filing paper work, before seeking legal council, and an appearing before a judicial panel.
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