Thousands of donors showed their commitment to the University of Windsor last year, contributing more than $4.4 million toward student success, says Jody Maskery, director of advancement services.

“These funds play a large role in helping us to improve the campus as a destination for students from around the world,” she says. “The support of our donors is key to providing the best education for our students and giving our alumni an even greater sense of pride in their alma mater.”

The department’s annual report, entitled Advancing our university, celebrates recent developments on campus and the contributions that make them possible – from scholarship endowments to legacy gifts to in-kind donations of equipment and materials.

“The new report format aims at being as transparent as possible,” says Maskery. “It communicates to our friends and supporters the impact of their investment in our students.”

In addition to messages from UWindsor president Alan Wildeman and vice-president university advancement Jonathan Braniff, the publication highlights student successes, community engagement, and the role of alumni. Read it online.

A free public reception Thursday, March 15, will celebrate the opening of Origins, an exhibition showcasing the projects of students completing their first year in the Visual Arts and the Built Environment (VABE) program, at 5 p.m. in the LeBel Building’s SoVA Projects Gallery.

Participating students include:

• Annie Armstrong;
• Annie Feiler;
• Cassandra Fullager;
• Fahad Malik;
• Finn MacLeod;
• Ian Richard;
• Wes Strain; and
• Vincent Tran.

The exhibition will remain on display in the gallery through March 16.

When Lancer women’s basketball players triumphed on home court a year ago, they not only captured the first Bronze Baby trophy in school history, they also put an end to 19 years of Western domination of their sport.

If they are to repeat as Canadian Interuniversity Sport champions this weekend, the Lancers will have to do so in Canada West territory, with no fewer than four Western teams leading one of the deepest fields in recent memory.

This year’s tournament opens Saturday at the Jack Simpson Gym on the campus of the University of Calgary. The eight-team competition concludes on Monday with the gold medal final at 9 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.

Joining the fourth-seeded Windsor Lancers are the Regina Cougars, University of British Columbia Thunderbirds, Ottawa Gee-Gees, Acadia Axewomen, Saskatchewan Huskies, McGill Martlets and Calgary Dinos.

The Lancers open their title defence Saturday, playing Acadia at 7 p.m. Eastern.

A year ago, as the new regional qualifying tournaments were introduced, Saskatchewan found itself the only Canada West team in Windsor trying to extend the conference’s supremacy. The Huskies came close, reaching the national final for the first time in program history, but in the end settled for silver following a 63-49 loss to the host Lancers.

The Lancers are still a formidable team led by forward Jessica Clemençon, last season’s CIS player of the year, and guard Miah-Marie Langlois, most valuable player of the 2011 national title tournament.

“We are thrilled to make our fourth straight national tournament appearance,” says head coach Chantal Vallée. “It is a privilege every year to get a chance to compete amongst the best for the Bronze Baby. I am proud of my team and we can’t wait to start our first game. We have been waiting for this all year and we are ready.”

Read the full tournament preview, “No. 1 Cougars, Canada West hope to reclaim Bronze Baby,” on the CIS Web site.

The Leddy Library is marking the bicentennial of the War of 1812 with a display in its lobby of materials on the conflict.

The cases opposite the Williams Coffee Pub contain books and other materials on this region’s role in the war, including a section on the Shawnee leader Tecumseh.

Read more, including on overview of the key military events, on the library’s Web site.

The War of 1812 was a turning point in Canadian, American and First Nations histories, says Marshall Bastable, yet, like the recent war in Afghanistan, deciding how to remember and commemorate it is a problem.

“Much attention is given to which side won, but there are other important questions too,” says Dr. Bastable, a sessional instructor in the history department. “How did the various people at the time see the war? Was it a popular war? Was it a civil war? Was it glorious or a war full of terrible suffering and atrocities?”

He suggests five books that will help readers make those judgments and that show how fascinating and important the War of 1812 remains.

• Don’t Give Up the Ship! Myths of the War of 1812, by Donald R. Hickey, aims to dispel many myths, misconceptions and misunderstandings about different aspects of the war.
• Field of Glory: The Battle of Crysler’s Farm, 1813, by Donald Graves, is a fast-paced battlefield narrative of a crucial battle in the war in which the British defeated a much larger American force on the move towards Montreal.
• The Civil War of 1812: American Citizens, British Subjects, Irish Rebels and Indian Allies, by Alan Taylor, argues that the United States invaded Canada to save itself from bitter internal partisanship on the one hand, and to defend the young and fragile republic from the perceived ambition of imperial Britain to destroy it on the other hand.
• Plunder, Profit and Paroles: A Social History of the War of 1812 in Upper Canada, by George Sheppard, is a ground-breaking revision of the war that shows how deeply divided Upper Canadians were before the war and how very unpopular the war was among them.
• Tecumseh and the Quest for Indian Leadership, by R. David Edmunds, takes the reader into the world of First Nations and the failed efforts of Tecumseh to forge a confederation of all the tribes to defend their land and culture against the incursions of the land-hungry and expansionist-minded Americans.

More details are available on the Leddy Library Web site.

Cinema Politica will host a screening of Dive! Living Off of America’s Waste at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 15, in room 108, Odette Building. Admission is by donation.

The film follows director Jeremy Seifert and his friends as they dumpster dive behind several grocery stores in the Los Angeles area to demonstrate the massive amount of food wasted each year in America.

After showing that much of the food found in dumpsters is perfectly edible, Seifert confronts the managers of the stores to question why they don't donate more of it to local food banks, especially in light of legislation which protects them from liability for such donations.

The legality and ethics of dumpster diving are discussed when the stores begin locking up their dumpsters. Finally, Seifert considers the waste created by individual consumers when they throw out food that is only partly bad or just past its expiration date.

Watch the film’s trailer here:

The Humanities Research Group’s Distinguished Speakers Series presents Tracy Davis delivering her free public lecture, entitled “How historical is spectatorship? Knowledge, expertise, insight and taste among racialized and gendered audiences in mid-Victorian Britain,” at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 15, in the Freed Orman Centre, Assumption University.

Ethel M. Barber Professor in Performing Arts in the Department of Theatre at Northwestern University, Dr. Davis is a specialist in performance theory, theatre historiography, and research methodology. She is director of the graduate school's Excellence in Doctoral Mentoring initiative and chair of Northwestern University Press's editorial board.

When Irish eyes are smiling, they’ve probably seen the special dishes the Marketplace Homestyle station is laying out in honour of St. Patrick’s Day.

It might be a couple of days early, but the food court in the CAW Student Centre will celebrate on Thursday, March 15, with a menu featuring:

• Irish beef stew with soda bread, $7.99
• Irish chicken and stout, $8.99
• Swiss chard gratin, $6.49
• Reuben stack with sauerkraut and Swiss cheese on marble loaf, $8.99

All entrées served with the patrons’ choice of green risotto or roasted red skin potatoes.

Dragon boat racing started as a therapeutic sport for breast cancer patients, but it has evolved into so much more, says Maureen Hayden-Wing.

A member of A Breast or Knot, a dragon boat team of paddlers who have or had breast cancer, she says the fellowship and activity was a great tonic to her.

“When I got breast cancer, I had never been sick before,” she says. “I found I was much better off getting my mind off it.”

The team participates in competitions and recreational events and raises money for breast cancer causes. It has also donated funds to the labs of UWindsor biology professors Lisa Porter and Andrew Swan, says Hayden-Wing.

A Breast or Knot is currently seeking new members.

“We could use about 10 new paddlers,” Hayden-Wing says. “No experience necessary; we will train. The only restriction is you will have to have had breast cancer.”

To learn more, contact her at 519-944-2535 or e-mail mhayden_wing@hotmail.com.

The University Bookstore did a brisk business for its annual overstock sale, Tuesday in the CAW Sudent Centre Commons.

Students, staff and faculty took advantage of discounted prices to stock up on UWindsor apparel and thousands of books as low as 99 cents.

“We’ve had a great turnout and you can see customers are lined up,” said marketing manager Martin Deck.

Jenna Durette, a teacher candidate in the Faculty of Education, was one satisfied customer.

“I love books,” she said as she piled volumes into her arms. “Plus my dad loves to read and his birthday is coming up.”

Deck said those who missed the opportunity should not despair – the Bookstore will continue to carry a number of trade paperbacks marked down below publisher list prices.