Friday, September 28, is the deadline for nominations for a new award to foster workplace health and safety on the UWindsor campus. The Excellence in Health and Safety Award will recognize individuals or groups demonstrating leadership in this area.

“The Central Safety Committee wants to encourage these exemplary activities right across the University,” says Leigh Harold, the associate director, health and safety, in Human Resources. “Our hope is that the awards will provide some profile for issues around workplace safety.”

She says the award complements other human resources activities, including the Employee Recognition Awards Program launched this summer.

The committee will make an award each quarter based on demonstrated evidence and specific examples of:

• dedication to health and safety in the workplace;
• fostering a culture of health and safety in a department or at a university-wide level;
• contributions made to improve health and safety in the workplace (i.e. actions taken to prevent injuries or illnesses, prevention of unsafe conditions or practices, etc.).

Find more information, including eligibility details and nomination forms, on the health and safety Web site.

The next time Adriana Baggio starts getting stressed and cranky about the amount of studying she has to do, she’ll try to remember her friends in Nicaragua.

Along with about a dozen other students, Baggio travelled to a tiny village in the Central American nation this summer through an innovative exchange program called Students Offering Support.

Their mission was to help build a new classroom for high school students, and while the days were long and the work was gruelling, she met a large number of children who opened her eyes to the reality that there are many underprivileged students around the world who crave the opportunity to go to school, rather than resenting it like so many North American kids do.

“We take our education for granted here,” says Baggio, a second-year kinesiology student and president of the Windsor chapter of SOS. “It gives you an entirely different perspective on education. I will never complain about school again.”

Through SOS, students in need of academic assistance pay $10-20 an hour for tutoring services known as “Exam-Aid” sessions, which are conducted by fellow student volunteers and held before mid-terms and finals when they need help the most. The proceeds are used to pay for sustainable education projects in developing countries in Latin America. Other SOS volunteers pay their own way to travel to those countries to perform the actual labour for those community improvement projects. The organization’s motto is “Raising Marks. Raising Money. Raising Roofs.”

Ronnie Haidar travelled to Peru through the program last summer and joined the group in Nicaragua for his second tour of duty. This time they went to San Jeronimo, a tiny village of about 300 people northeast from the capital city of Managua. Like Baggio, he was amazed by how content the villagers seemed despite their obvious lack of modern conveniences.

“They have so little, but they seem so much happier,” he said.

Most of their work over the two weeks they spent there involved clearing away trees and brush to make way for the classroom. After that was done, they built a foundation and managed to get at least one wall constructed. A lot of the work was done by hand with machetes, shovels, crowbars and pick axes.

“It really makes you realize just how much we have here,” said Sean Power, a second year biology student. “You walk around campus and see all the construction that’s going on here and see how much modern equipment they have to work with. They don’t have any of that there.”

Though the job wasn’t finished when they left, the students knew that another SOS chapter from another university would soon follow in their footsteps to complete the project. The more difficult part was leaving behind the young students they had bonded with.

“It was a sad departure because we felt so connected to them,” said Haidar.

The Windsor chapter of SOS currently has about 40 volunteers, but Baggio says they’re looking for more. If you’d like to get involved, send an e-mail to recruiting.sos@gmail.com.

Davor Srsen was in the middle of the arduous task of finishing his masters’ degree the last time the University’s Centre for Career Education held an event to showcase for students some of the region’s most promising employment sectors.

“I was rushing to finish, but I got an e-mail about the career fair and I decided to check it out,” said the recent graduate of electrical engineering.

Figuring it might be a good chance to do some networking, he put on a suit, made copies of his resume and went to the Working in Windsor-Essex Career Fair. It turned out to be one of the best moves he’s ever made.

A vision specialist who studied how sensors, lasers, cameras and other optical systems can be used in manufacturing systems, he met some people from Radix Controls Inc., a local solutions company that designs custom systems for heavily automated manufacturers looking to improve the efficiency of their processes. After meeting with the reps from the company – one of only two in the area that does the kind of work he was interested in – he got in a line to have his resume critiqued, only to find that the person reviewing it was also from Radix. That person asked if she could call him later for an interview.

With that kind of luck Srsen figured he was meant to work there. Not long after, he landed a job at the company, located in a south-end industrial park, and he’s been there ever since, doing rewarding work in his field that he says is both challenging and intellectually stimulating.

“I’m doing everything that I enjoyed doing in school,” he said. “Everybody from the bosses down to the guys I work with are very nice, and everybody gets along real well. It probably would have taken a lot longer to find this company on my own.”

Within his first week on the job, Srsen solved a problem for an important client and his employers are very happy with his performance, said Shelley Fellows, vice-president of operations at Radix. Fellows also chairs the board of Workforce Windsor-Essex, an organization that advocates for regional workforce development, while trying to retain and recruit a wide range of skilled workers to meet the area’s economic and social development needs. The organization also works closely with the university on planning the career fair.

“We love to support the program and the work with the university,” said Fellows. “We’ve made a number of hires as a result of the university’s co-op program.”

And while Srsen’s story is a good one, finding a job isn’t the only intended outcome of the career fair, according to Kerry-Ann Gray, acting director of the Centre for Career Education. The point is for students to have the opportunity to explore potential career paths with local organizations that are best suited to their degree, and to hear about promising sectors and occupations.

“Employers are not here to recruit but rather to meet with students to discuss what they are looking for in employees in terms of education and experience,” Gray says. “Students can treat this as a learning opportunity and a chance to hear about career paths they may never have considered.”

The next career fair – which this year is being called Career Expo – will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. on October 4 in Ambassador Auditorium. Srsen strongly suggested students should attend and had some advice for those who are going.

“Take advantage of the opportunities there such as resume critiquing,” he said. “It’s good to get inside their heads and understand what they’re thinking and what they’re looking for. And do some research on the companies that will be there. They like it if you’ve done some homework in advance.”

Students interested in attending should register for the event at myCareer, which can be accessed through the myUWindsor student portal.

Participating in the University’s Annual Giving Program gives her a special feeling of accomplishment, says volunteer canvasser Karen Pillon.

“It’s fun to give knowing that we will benefit as employees,” she says. “The money we give isn’t going away; it will be spent where we spend most of our time.”

Building on the success of last year’s “Plant a Seed” campaign, this year’s theme is “Here We Grow Again.” A reception for volunteers Wednesday will help to launch the 2012 effort.

Pillon expects the participation rate to continue to climb. Many of her colleagues in the Leddy Library have chosen to support a scholarship fund commemorating Karen Needham, a 25-year library employee who died in February 2010.

“It is wonderful to be able to give in honour of someone we all knew,” Pillon says. “We all come together, making a difference for our students and the campus.”

Individual donors appreciate that they are able to specify where their contributions will go, says development officer Mona Dosen. Last year’s campaign raised over $278,000 from faculty, staff and retirees in support of student scholarships and faculty and departmental priority projects across the campus.

“Their money goes directly to the projects they want to help,” she says. “We know it’s important to our faculty and staff to see that every gift supports the area they want.”

Again this year, Facility Services will designate a campus beautification project to acknowledge the contributions of employee donors. This time, it will be the plantings in the curved garden beds in the new Student Centre Courtyard, between Dillon and Memorial halls.

“People really appreciated the fountain and gardens we created in front of the Leddy Library last year,” says Dosen. “It’s something tangible that donors can see and point to as a symbol of their generosity.”

Dosen reminds volunteer canvassers who have received an invitation to Wednesday’s reception but have not yet RSVPed to e-mail her at mona@uwindsor.ca.

University Players is offering DailyNews readers a chance to win two tickets to see the comedy Jake’s Women. The play’s run continues through Sunday at Essex Hall Theatre. Wednesday through Saturday performances are at 8 p.m.; Sunday matinees are at 2 p.m. For more information or tickets, call 519-253-3000, ext. 2808, or visit www.universityplayers.com.

To enter the contest, just send your answers to the following three trivia questions. The winner will be randomly selected from all correct responses received by 4 p.m. Monday, September 24.

1. The 1992 Broadway run of Jake’s Women earned a Tony nomination for which lead actor?
   a) Alan Alda
   b) Alec Baldwin
   c) Peter Coyote
   d) Judd Hirsch
    
2. In the 1996 television adaptation of Jake’s Women, which actor played the role of Maggie?
   a) Anne Archer
   b) Lolita Davidovich
   c) Julie Kavner
   d) Mira Sorvino
    
3. Many Neil Simon plays were subsequently adapted for film. Which of his works were written for film before being adapted for Broadway?
   a) Barefoot in the Park
   b) Biloxi Blues
   c) The Goodbye Girl
   d) Lost in Yonkers

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.

The contributions of community partners make possible the work of the United Way, according to its CEO Penny Marrett.

“Last year, because of your support, United Way’s funded strategies helped 196,000 people in Windsor-Essex,” she told volunteers at its 2012 campaign kick-off, September 14.

Retired members of the UWindsor faculty and staff will kick off the campus campaign for United Way with its annual fundraising barbecue, Tuesday, September 25. A donation of just $4 will earn supporters a hotdog or veggie dog, chips and a drink.

The event takes place in front of the CAW Student Centre from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., or until supplies run out.

A special this week at the CAW Student Centre’s Marketplace food court will launch some submarines—patrons who purchase any 12-inch signature sandwich at the Subway outlet will receive a free fountain drink or Nestle brand water.

The promotion continues through September 30.

A couple of University of Windsor political scientists will be among the headliners at a debate Thursday, entitled “Beyond Borders: Challenges and Opportunities of the Canada/US Relationship.”

Professor Steven Brooks will moderate as Bill Anderson, Ontario Research Chair in Cross-Border Transportation Studies, takes on David Dyment of Carleton University.

The event is coupled with a dinner for the Windsor-Essex branch of the Canadian International Council and starts at 6 p.m. September 27 at the Caboto Club, 2175 Parent Avenue at Tecumseh Road.

Dr. Anderson directs the Cross-Border Transportation Centre, which conducts research on the movement of goods and people across the Canada-US border and the economies of the border regions. Dr. Dyment is the author of Doing the Continental: A New Canadian-American Relationship and a researcher with Carleton’s Centre on North American Politics and Society.

Admission includes dinner and costs $25 for members of the council and $35 for non-members. Find more information, including an online registration form, on the council’s Web site.