November 16, 2008
Last Thursday, Betty Freelandt, vice-president of student services and strategic initiatives at Cambrian College, was killed in a car accident in Egypt. Her husband Bernie was seriously injured in the collision and underwent surgery. Cambrian president Sylvia Barnard says the community is in shock about the "huge tragedy" and is mourning the loss of a colleague. Freelandt spearheaded the construction of a student centre and renovation of the library at Cambrian.
Sudbury Star |
Northern LifeLast Thursday, Ottawa professor Hassan Diab was arrested at his home in Gatineau Quebec in connection to a 1980 bombing outside a Paris synagogue in which 4 people were killed. Diab, who teaches sociology at both the University of Ottawa and Carleton University, appeared in court Friday for an extradition hearing. Diab maintains he was not in Paris in 1980, his name is very common, and investigators simply have the wrong man.
Ottawa Citizen |
Globe and Mail |
Toronto Star |
CBC |
CTVThe University of Ottawa's student-run Student Appeal Centre says a disproportionate number of visible minority students are being accused of academic misconduct. In a report released last Thursday, 45% of students who consulted with the centre were visible minorities, as were 71% of those who consulted about academic fraud. The report recommends members of committees who handle accusations receive sensitivity training. uOttawa administration is preparing a full response to the report, and is considering creating an ombudsman's office to handle student appeals.
Ottawa Citizen |
Read the full reportThe Mount Saint Vincent University Faculty Association has a filed a grievance challenging the university's decision to suspend enrolment in 2 programs. Earlier this year, MSVU president Kathryn Laurin sent an email to students, faculty, and staff about enrolment freezes in the
IT program and the family and gerontology program. The association claims the administration's actions violate the MSVU Act. "The senate is responsible for all academic matters, so the administration should not be circumventing the senate."
CAUT BulletinLast Thursday, the University of Lethbridge officially opened the
Alberta Water and Environmental Science Building. The $27-million facility will initially house over 20 researchers and up to 150 supporting technicians, graduate students, and PhD candidates in the university's biological science, geography, and physics and astronomy departments. The building features individual and shared laboratory space, and an aquatic research facility.
uLethbridge Notice BoardOfficials at the University of Winnipeg broke ground last Thursday for the Richardson College for the Environment and Science Complex. The $60-million facility will expand uWinnipeg's campus by 15%. The complex will feature 19 instructional labs. Construction of the building is slated for completion in late 2010.
CTVAcadia University announced last Thursday that it will begin offering a 16-month consecutive Bachelor of Education program in May 2009. Students who will have completed their undergraduate degree by then are eligible to apply, and have the option to choose between an elementary and a secondary school stream. Acadia developed the program after 70% of current students surveyed said they would consider an accelerated program if such an option were available.
Acadia News Release |
Halifax Chronicle-HeraldEarlier this month, Fanshawe College published the debut issue of a new magazine to showcase innovation and applied research projects conducted at the college. The 24-page inaugural issue of
researchfanshawe focuses on funded projects, the trend by funding agencies toward greater support of college research, college activity information, and basic how-tos for budding researchers. The magazine will appear 3 times a year.
Fanshawe News |
researchfanshawe
Layne Clark, a first-year undergraduate student at Simon Fraser University, writes a weekly column called
Campus Life in the Vancouver edition of
24hours. Layne covers the anxieties first-year students often face, such as the fear of failing midterms or walking late into a lecture hall filled with 400 students. In one column, Layne discusses the time management required in university to ensure class assignments get done.
SFU News Release |
Procrastination comes with stressESPN has dissolved a TV ad campaign on its college basketball coverage after a leaked memo from an ad agency described a casting call for actors to portray sometimes crude stereotypes of students at specific institutions or from certain locations. For example, a Tennessee student is described as "a slutty girl who would hang out at the cowgirl hall of fame." ESPN pulled the campaign as soon as the memo leaked, and said the approach was not approved by them and does not "represent ESPN or the respect we have for the college community."
USA Today
rtraction