September 14, 2009
On Saturday morning, a male student, believed to be 20 years old, jumped to his death from a 15th-floor window at the Thompson Residence at the University of Ottawa. One witness says a firefighter was the first to come to the young man's aid and performed CPR, but was unable to revive him. uOttawa sent out an e-mail to students about the incident Saturday evening, and reminded them they could call for counselling. The university was offering counselling by Sunday.
Ottawa Citizen The federal and Quebec governments announced yesterday over $100 million in funding from the Knowledge Infrastructure Program for 4 projects at McGill University. The funding includes $28.7 million for upgrades to the integrated life sciences facilities in the McIntyre Medical Building, $27.6 million for the renovation of chemistry facilities in the Otto Maas Chemistry Building and in the Pulp and Paper Research Institute, $24.7 million for upgrades at the Macdonald Engineering Building, and $19.7 million for the creation of a new centre for brain imaging at the Douglas Mental Health University Institute.
McGill News ReleaseMartin Mundel, an immigration counsellor and program manager at the Canadian Embassy in Seoul, South Korea, has blown the whistle on an alleged scheme in which the majority of prospective Korean students bound for private language schools in Canada do not actually attend school, and instead use the work permits they receive as part of the deal to secure jobs. Despite the abuse, Mundel says his office still supports Ottawa's efforts to promote Canada as a destination for Korean students, who pump over $1 billion into the Canadian economy every year. According to government figures, South Korean students accounted for the largest number of foreigners studying in Canada in 2008.
CanWest News ServiceAn Ontario Superior Court judge has granted court orders sought by York University requiring Google, Bell, and Rogers to disclose the identities of the anonymous authors of an e-mail alleging that York president Mamdouh Shoukri "perpetrated an outrageous fraud" when announcing a new dean. An e-mail in the name of a group called York Faculty Concerned About the Future of York University was sent from a Gmail account to members of the university community challenging the president's statements about the dean's scholarly output. The e-mail called for Shoukri's resignation and a new search for a dean. York now has the identities of 5 or 6 people who allegedly had access to the e-mail account. The judge says the information can only be used for the purpose of commencing litigation.
National PostOn Saturday, the University of Winnipeg launched its western Furby-Langside campus with 2 facilities -- the
McFeetors Hall: Great-West Life Student Residence and the University of Winnipeg Students' Association childcare centre. McFeetors Hall is a mix of townhouse- and dormitory-style units, and the daycare centre, which will accommodate up to 112 children, is open to uWinnipeg students, staff, and the general community. The Science Complex and Richard College for the Environment is also under construction at the campus, with completion slated for 2011.
uWinnipeg News ReleaseThe BC government announced last Friday $5.2 million to help 1,000 unemployed residents of the province acquire the skills needed to return to the workforce or to further their education. The province is providing $1.5 million to the British Columbia Institute of Technology, Nicola Valley Institute of Technology, Royal Roads University, Simon Fraser University, and the University of Northern British Columbia to offer 17 intakes across 10 programs to provide unemployed workers with general or job-specific skills. The remaining $3.7 million will fund a labour market consortium made up of 15 colleges and universities to fund training for at least 615 students across BC.
BC News ReleaseLast Friday, Wilfrid Laurier University announced it has received a $2.5-million gift from an anonymous donor for the school's arts faculty to create a research chair in environmental geography. The donation, the largest ever to WLU from an alumnus, will establish the Dr. John McMurry Research Chair in Environmental Geography, named in honour of now-retired Dr. John McMurry, one of WLU's most celebrated geography professors and former chair of the department.
WLU News ReleaseSimon Fraser University reports that as of September 4, it has enrolled 24,114 undergraduate students -- the largest undergraduate class in the institution's history. Overall enrolment has jumped to 28,275, a 7% increase over last year's record enrolment. SFU's Surrey campus also welcomed its largest first-year class since opening in 2002. The university is welcoming more international students than ever before, with a 33% increase in foreign students over last year. SFU's new
Faculty of Environment nearly doubled its target of 52 registered students, with 98 enrolled by September 4.
SFU News ReleaseFirst-day numbers indicate that enrolment at the University of Manitoba for this academic year is up 4.3% from this time last fall. Undergraduate enrolment grew by 4.2% overall, with the largest increase in the agricultural diploma program (40.7%), extended education (17.9%), music (13.9%), engineering (9.9%), and kinesiology and recreation management (9.5%). Graduate enrolment jumped by 5.5%, while international enrolment rose slightly by 0.8%.
uManitoba News ReleaseIn an effort to increase their pull in the legislature, the student unions at the Universities of Saskatchewan and Regina, and the Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology have come together to form the Saskatchewan Students' Coalition. The coalition will be kept strictly undergraduate for the time being, and may be open to graduate student associations in the future. Each member of the coalition has one vote in the organization, providing an incentive for smaller student groups to join. The coalition's current priority is getting the First Nations University of Canada and Gabriel Dumont Institute to join.
Saskatoon Star-Phoenix
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