Top Ten

Record-breaking "transformational philanthropy" at universities

Saturday's Globe & Mail observes that "it's been a banner year for giving to Canadian universities." Donations to uCalgary hit a record $101 million this year, and UBC $111 million. Top Ten readers know that in the past week alone, Tim Horton's co-founder Ron Joyce donated $10 million to McMaster, Bob Wright donated $11 million to uVictoria, and Sheldon Inwentash and Lynn Factor donated $15 million to uToronto. Some things we haven't yet heard: Ann Dowsett Johnston, formerly editor of the Maclean's university rankings, will be leading a major fundraising effort at McGill beginning this fall. And later today, Blackberry-maker Research in Motion co-founder Jim Balsillie is scheduled to make a new multi-million-dollar announcement to support a social science research facility in Waterloo. Globe & Mail 

Former "Constitutioneer" protests mandatory retirement at uRegina

Howard Leeson is a former deputy minister and a participant in 1982’s constitutional negotiations, and is also one of two professors at uRegina who are turning 65 this month and are being asked to retire by the university.  Both profs have taken legal action against the policy on the grounds of age discrimination.  uRegina will no longer enforce mandatory retirement as of November 2007, but shows no sign of making an early exception for Leeson or any other.  Maclean’s | Canadian Press

CCL launches learning models for First Nations students

The Canadian Council on Learning (CCL) has released 2 new learning models for First Nations and Metis people in Canada, in partnership with members of both communities.  The models are meant to lead to a new framework toward measuring success for this group of students.  “Western ways of thinking about learning do not adequately address how First Nations, Metis and Inuit people in Canada learn and think about learning.” The First Nations and Metis Holistic Lifelong Learning Models will be joined by an Inuit model later in the summer.  CCL News Release

Canadian online learning on the right track

The Canadian Business Journal proposes that e-learning technologies accelerated so quickly that no one ever quite learned how to use them.  It goes on to suggest however, that Canadian PSE use of online learning is headed in the right direction.  Hybrid learning, which combines in-person and online components, has become the standard model at most universities: as of 2003, only 53% of faculty taught exclusively in person.  In 2006, this number dropped to 31%.  uSask has doubled the number of courses that offer online content (to 9,758). York increased its use of WebCT to 1,321 courses (from 684).  In 2005, more than 161,000 students registered for courses offered by the Canadian Virtual University, which has offered completely online degrees since 2001. Canadian Business Journal

uVic first to "come out of the ivory tower"

uVictoria has announced plans for a community-based research office that will build partnerships between academics and community groups, to collaborate on developing “evidence-based” policy recommendations towards community needs. “Great things can be achieved when universities and communities work together.”  According to the press release, the community-based research office is a first-of-kind in Canada.  “It’s going to take a brave university to come out of the ivory tower.  The old ways and the old budgets and old powers will call you back to the way you used to be.”  Victoria News