First-year domestic enrolment at the University of Windsor is up by almost 7 percent this fall despite the fact that applications showed no growth over 2010 numbers. Assistant provost Dave Bussière says there are a number of reasons for this positive news—increased and targeted advertising, an aggressive phone campaign by faculty and students, and almost 1,000 campus tours.

Preliminary figures show UWindsor well above the Ontario average growth in enrolment. New students entering directly from Ontario high schools are up more than 5 percent, compared to a provincial mean of 1.9 percent. All other first-year Canadian students are up 7 percent, compared to 4.8 percent province-wide. This translates to about 200 new first-year domestic students.

“We are seeing strong growth in engineering this year,” notes Dr. Bussière. “The impact of the Centre for Engineering and Innovation building is starting to be felt.”

Engineering’s 20 percent growth is double the Ontario average; arts and social sciences are up 10 percent, led by communications, political science and social work programs, with growth more than 40 percent above last year. Inter-Faculty programs have seen an increase in first-year enrolment of about 30 percent over 2010.

These numbers do not surprise liaison officer Katia Benoit. She points to the university’s aggressive advertising campaign and a recruiting office emphasis on “closing the sale”—convincing applicants to make UWindsor their final choice.

“We’re doing well,” she notes. “Our campus tours are really successful. We are getting out the message about the great things that are happening here.”

Bussière is more cautious.

“We need to understand the drivers of this enrolment growth—who accepted our offer of admission, where they came from, where else they had applied.”

Even with this growth, Bussière notes that the University’s enrolment remains below its provincial funding corridor—the target enrolment that sparks new student funding.

“We’re about halfway there. The effort this fall has to be on expanding our applicant base,” he says. “The involvement of our students and faculty members is the key to attracting those students who are the best fit for our programs.”

As previously reported in DailyNews, conciliation talks between the University and the Windsor University Faculty Association continue in expectation that a successful collective agreement will be reached.

Conciliation sessions are scheduled for September 12, 14, 19, 22 and 23.

Current UWindsor students are invited to answer the question “Are You Proud to be a UWindsor Lancer?” in a new Facebook video contest running to September 29. If your video has the most “Likes,” you'll be able to show off your award-winning video on a new Apple iPad2.

Everyone on campus is a UWindsor Lancer. You'll find them on the field, the court, the ice and also in the classroom, studying in the library, conducting research or volunteering in our community.

Take this opportunity to shine and tell the world why you are proud to be a UWindsor Lancer in a one- to three-minute video.

If your video receives the most “Likes” on the UWindsor Facebook page, you win! Please review contest rules and video descriptions.

Last year’s winning entry, by sisters Marina and Ana Savic, highlighted the theme that despite the fact that they are very distinct people, the university was the right choice for both of them. Watch their video on the below.

Wherever there is a need to manage and have relationship with people, there will always be a place for the humanities, says Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Fiat S.p.A. and Chrysler Group LLC.

Recipient of a UWindsor BComm in 1979 and an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree in 2005, he spoke with Humanities Research Group director Antonio Rossini for an interview in the group’s newsletter, Athena. Marchionne’s first degree was a BA in philosophy, and he said his humanistic education opened his mind.

“I think that it played a fundamental role in my education, not so much in learning facts but in learning how to look towards the future, in equipping my mind to accommodate the new and unfamiliar,” he said. “This is critical because we live in a world that challenges us to question conventional answers and embrace the principle of change.”

Read the entire interview in the current issue of Athena.

Two information sessions on campus over the next week are aimed at helping graduate students and fourth-year undergraduates applying for external graduate scholarships—Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, Ontario Graduate Scholarships.

Part 1: Thursday, September 15, 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.

This session will be an overview of the various granting agencies, important deadlines, differences in rankings and criteria among agencies, tips on approaching professors for references and testimonials from successful students.

Part 2:  Monday, September 19, 5 to 7 p.m.

This session will build on Part 1 and will cover how to prepare a “good” application.  Hands-on activities will include diagnosing and dealing with your strengths and weaknesses.

Both sessions will be held in Vanier Hall’s Oak Room.

Tumors are like new organs, says Mina J. Bissell, and are made of multiple cell types and components. Before they can grow, they must compete with the microenvironment to overcome anti-tumorigenic pressures.

Dr. Bissell will review how normal tissue homeostasis and architecture inhibit progression of cancer in a free public lecture entitled “Why don’t we get more cancer?” Tuesday, September 13, at 7 p.m. in room 200, Toldo Health Education Centre.

Distinguished scientist in the life sciences division of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, she is a fellow of the National Academy of Sciences and the Royal Society of Chemistry. She has received the American Cancer Society’s Medal of Honor and the Breast Cancer Research Foundation’s Jill Rose Award for distinguished biomedical research.

Tuesday’s talk is presented by the Faculty of Science as part of its Doyle Lecture Series.

In a legal context, the study of evidence is often equated with the study of the law of evidence. A free public lecture on campus Tuesday will apply concepts from reasoning theory to the process of proof.

Douglas Walton, Assumption University Chair in Argumentation Studies and a distinguished research fellow at the Centre for Research in Reasoning, Argumentation and Rhetoric , will join Floris Bex, a postdoctoral researcher  at the Argumentation Research Group in the University of Dundee’s School of Computing, for “Evidential Reasoning in the Process of Proof,” Tuesday, September 13, at 4:30 p.m. in the Freed-Orman Centre, Assumption University.

Award-winning journalist, poet, playwright, historian, photographer and editor Marty Gervais holds the position of resident writing professional in the English department.

Today’s quiz gives DailyNews readers a chance to learn a little more about him, as well as the opportunity to win a couple of his most recent books, courtesy of the University Bookstore—the 30th anniversary edition of The Rumrunners, and a copy of his memoir, Afternoons with the Devil.

The winner will be selected at random from all correct responses received by 4 p.m. Monday, September 12. To be eligible, select the most correct answer to each of the following questions:

1. "Marty" is a nickname. What is Gervais' given first name?
   a) Charles
   b) Marcin
   c) Martin
   d) Martial
    
2. First published in 1980, The Rumrunners: A Prohibition Scrapbook is an illustrated history of which Windsor industry?
   a) Automotive manufacture and assembly
   b) Distillation and export of alcoholic beverages
   c) Agricultural production and processing
   d) Salt mining and refining
    
3. Gervais’ memoir, Afternoons with the Devil: Growing up Catholic in a Border Town, recounts stories from his boyhood spent largely in what Windsor neighbourhood?
   a) Remington Park
   b) Riverside
   c) Sandwich
   d) Walkerville
    
4. What is the name of Gervais’ Windsor Star column?
   a) Faces of Windsor
   b) My Town
   c) Postcards from the Edge of Canada
   d) The Local Beat
    
5. In addition to his writing and photography, Gervais founded which Windsor-based literary press?
   a) Biblioasis publishing
   b) Black Moss Press
   c) Black Rose Books
   d) Mosaic Press

Contest is open to all readers of the DailyNews. Send an e-mail with your responses to uofwnews@uwindsor.ca. One entry per contestant, please. Note: the decision of the judge in determining the most correct response is inviolable.

Biology student gets a taste of Windsor

Biology student Katrina Lukianchuk won Friday’s DailyNews contest and the prize of a stadium blanket provided by the Alumni Office.

Her name was drawn from all entries which correctly noted that Hiram Walker Canadian Club Whiskey, Tunnel Bar-B-Q hot sauce, Walker’s Candies peanut toffee sauce and Windsor Salt are all made in Windsor; that Heinz recommends a tap on the “57” logo on the neck to hurry ketchup out of its bottle; and Pelee Island Winery bills itself as Canada’s warmest and southernmost appellation.

Registration begins today—Monday, September 12—for LearnIT workshops held during Fall 2011 session.

A program of Information Technology Services, it offers a wide variety of free workshops for students, faculty and staff in levels ranging from beginner to advanced in Office productivity, Lotus Notes, operating systems, statistical software, and computer security.

All participants will receive a Certificate of Completion and a handout for the session. Lucky winners from our raffles will take home a Quick Resource Guide or a promotional coffee mug.

This Fall 2011 session workshops begin Monday, September 19, and will provide beginning levels in the Microsoft Office 2010 which are held in the training room of the University Computing Centre. To register for a workshop go to www.uwindsor.ca/learnitregister.

The following are the first week's LearnIT workshops:

• Monday, September 19 — Microsoft Word 2010 - Level 1, 2 to 4 p.m.
• Tuesday, September 20 — Microsoft Excel 2010 - Level 1, 9:30 to 11:30 a.m.
• Wednesday, September 21 — Lotus Notes 8.5 - Introduction, 9:30 to 11:30 a.m.; Microsoft PowerPoint 2010 - Level 1, 2 to 4 p.m.

If you have a group of five or more people interested in one of our workshops but the schedule does not work for you, contact the IT Services HelpDesk to schedule a workshop at the time and even at the on-campus location of your choice.

For more information about LearnIT, please visit the program Web site at www.uwindsor.ca/learnit.

The Organization of Part-time University Students invites all part-time undergraduate students, faculty and staff to its annual welcome barbecue on Tuesday, September 20, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.

The event promises free food and beverages prepared and served by Catering Services, on the lawn outside the northwest corner of the CAW Student Centre.

Find more details on the OPUS Web site.