Biology students explored the flowing waters of Rock Glen Conservation Area over the September 22 and 23 weekend as a field trip for professor Lynda Corkum’s course in Stream Ecology.

To ensure a full experience for all participants, half the class of 32 went each day, comparing the area’s two rivers: using survey equipment to calculate slopes, measuring discharge, and collecting chlorophyll samples to estimate algal abundance. The students also compared the aquatic insects that live under rocks in riffles and pools in each river.

“The techniques they learned are an essential part of protocols used by resource managers to assess habitat quality, hydrology and the overall health of running water systems,” said Dr. Corkum.

Students will spend the semester analyzing and processing the data and samples they collected.

Rock Glen is located near Arkona, Ontario, about a 30-minute drive inland from Grand Bend on the Lake Huron shore. Most of the Ausable River drainage area is flat, producing meandering, slow-flowing channels. At Rock Glen, the rivers flow over the ancient escarpment, providing unique habitats for aquatic life typical of more rugged parts of the country. The smaller Hobbs-Mackenzie Creek, with overhanging vegetation, flows into the large, open Ausable River at the conservation area.

Corkum’s fellow professor Jan Ciborowski and graduate teaching assistant Jeff Buckley assisted with the trip, the 25th in an annual series for the two faculty members.

Dillon Hall is a beautiful building, says Megan Corchis: “I think it has great character.”

A fourth-year student in the visual arts and the built environment (VABE) program, Corchis is heading a group of volunteer guides who will lead tours through the building during Doors Open Windsor, which invites the public to view buildings of architectural and historical significance, September 29 and 30.

“Doors Open is about letting people know what’s out there,” says Corchis. “It’s a fun environment to learn about history that relates to Windsor.”

She has prepared speaking notes for the guides, ranging from background on Dillon Hall’s Gothic Revival style of architecture to some of the institutional history.

“We also want to note the recent renovations to our classrooms, upgraded to modern technology,” Corchis says.

The three-storey brick and limestone building, designed by renowned architect Albert Lothian and built in 1927, housed classes for Assumption College until its absorption by the University of Windsor in 1963.

The Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research, North America’s leading centre for freshwater aquatic research, will also host Doors Open tours. Find a full list of sites at www.doorsopenwindsor.com.

The first 500 fans to pass through the gates for Saturday’s Lancer football game against York University will receive a free souvenir foam finger to cheer on UWindsor athletes.

This week’s match-up will be played September 29 on Alumni Field under the lights. The 2-2 Lancers will take on the 1-3 Lions at 7 p.m.; the gates will open at 6 p.m.

Contest puts stadium’s best seats up for grabs

The Athletics Department is offering DailyNews readers a chance to win gold seat tickets to watch the Lancer football team take on the York Lions on Alumni Field, Saturday, September 29, at 7 p.m.

Two lucky winners will each receive a pair of tickets in the premium gold section of University of Windsor stadium, along with two limited edition Lancer foam fingers. Just match the scores of each of the team’s first four games this season. The winners will be randomly selected from all correct responses received by 4 p.m. on Thursday, September 27.

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.

Deb Dayus is proud of her work as a volunteer canvasser for the Annual Giving Program.

“The campaign most certainly has a clear and positive impact on the work we do, in the lives of our students, and the University of Windsor community as  whole,” the nursing professor told colleagues gathered Wednesday on the lawn outside Memorial Hall.

A lunch reception launched the 2012 campaign, which invites support from University employees for student scholarships, campus improvements, teaching and research programs.

“As a donor myself, I have seen the benefits of this campaign,” Dayus said. “We see the payback each and every day as we watch our students.”

Team leaders and canvassers also heard from UWindsor President Alan Wildeman, campaign chair Bruce Tucker, student Osmun Raza and vice-president university advancement Jonathan Braniff.

“I would like to express our gratitude and pride in knowing there is an entire campus community dedicated to UWindsor students,” said Raza. “Thank you for enriching the student experience within and outside the classroom, plus for going the extra mile with your donations.”

Almost one-third of UWindsor faculty and staff give to the University’s fundraising efforts, a rate Dr. Wildeman called “amazing.”

“The successes we have been able to enjoy are the result of your engagement with your colleagues,” he told the canvassers.

Development officer Mona Dosen said last year’s campaign, which saw a garden bed outside the Leddy Library filled with plants symbolizing donors, has been very well-received.

“I wanted to build on this positive momentum with a second phase to the Plant a Seed campaign,” she said, announcing this year’s theme is Plant a Seed: Here We Grow Again.

“This title fits nicely with the many expansion projects transforming our campus,” she said.

Flower beds in the Student Centre Courtyard have been designated for a new design by Facility Services to honour this year’s donors.

UWindsor students and staff were educated on wellness issues and treated to giveaways at the Health Fair in the CAW Student Centre Commons on Wednesday.

“Students need to know about our programs so that they can easily access the help they need right here on campus,” says Sophie Kargl, who staffed a booth for Campus Recreation.

Kargl promoted physical activity and fitness classes at the Forge Fitness Centre, encouraging students to spin the Info Wheel, which had questions testing their knowledge of health issues affecting young people.

The displays by health providers on campus and in the community invited attendees to enjoy a rejuvenating mini-massage, take the eChug Challenge to check alcohol consumption, and register to become bone marrow or organ donors, among others.

The fair was sponsored by Student Health Services, Campus Recreation, the University of Windsor Students’ Alliance and the Organization of Part-time University Students. Find more information at uwindsor.ca/health.

— article and photo by Chantelle Myers

The Distinguished Visitor in Women’s Studies program this year will honour a diverse group—activists whose struggles helped to enshrine gender equality in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

“Their vision and determination have made it possible for us to live in a country that values fairness and justice for women,” says Anne Forrest, director of the women’s studies program.

Representative members of the Women Behind The Charter will conduct a series of presentations on campus and in the city from October 15 to 26. The central event is a community reception on Tuesday, October 16, featuring keynote addresses by Susan Bazilli and Sukanya Pillay.

Bazilli is director of the International Women’s Rights Project, and the executive producer of Constitute!, a film documenting the work of the 1981 Ad Hoc Committee of Women and the Constitution, which resulted in the inclusion of gender equality in The Charter.

Pillay is director of the national security program of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association. A former member of the Windsor Law faculty, she is also a UWindsor alumna (BA communication studies 1987, LLB 1990). Her human rights documentaries have appeared on television and in film festivals.

The October 16 reception begins at 5:30 p.m. at the Caboto Club, 2175 Parent Avenue at Tecumseh Road. Tickets are $30, $15 for University of Windsor students, available online at www.uwindsor.ca/wsvisitor or by phone at 519-253-3000, ext. 3727.

Find a full list of events featuring the 2012 Distinguished Visitors in Women’s Studies at www.uwindsor.ca/womensstudies/dvws-events.

The annual Take Back the Night rally and march, scheduled for Saturday, September 29 from 7 to 9 p.m. at Dieppe Park, is promoting a new initiative this year as it welcomes participation by men.

The formerly female-only event, which seeks to bring awareness and an end to all forms of sexual violence, is inviting men to participate in the pre-march rally at 7 p.m. and line the pathway of the 8 p.m. march to serve as silent witnesses.

The campus Womyn’s Centre is a sponsor of the event. Centre coordinator Tracy Huynh says that promoting a male presence encourages a spirit of solidarity in its efforts to educate, empower and enhance society without recreating the ideology that women should be escorted by men when walking in the streets at night.

For more information, call Jennifer Cline at 519-971-7595.

The Kentucky coffee tree (Gymnocladus dioica) derives its common name from reports that early European settlers used its seedpods as a coffee substitute. The species survives in Canada only in southwestern Ontario, where it is considered threatened.

That population grew by one Wednesday, as the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences and the Jull EES Club helped to plant a specimen in front of Memorial Hall in celebration of National Tree Day.

The story of the coffee tree’s name was one of several told during the event, as attendees shared memories of their favourite trees. Anyone wishing to contribute a memory may e-mail earth@uwindsor.ca. Read more on the earth and environmental sciences Web site.

A series of workshops offered through the office of Employee Engagement and Development in the Human Resources Department promise skills development for UWindsor staff and faculty.

The office has released a calendar of 24 professional development workshops through the 2012/13 academic year in four broad categories: work essentials, organizational processes, service excellence, and wellness.

October offers these free workshops, each of which runs 9 a.m. to noon in the Oak Room, Vanier Hall:

• Productive meetings and committees, October 4
  This session will introduce participants to components of effective committees, and will explore the role and responsibilities of the meeting co-ordinator and the committee chair.
• What is your personality type? October 17
  This session will help individuals to identify their personality type and will introduce strategies for recognizing personality types of others and working more effectively with them.
• Taking minutes—a UWindsor template, October 25
  This session will provide an overview of the 10 key principles for minute taking and will outline how to successfully write concise summaries and take good notes.

Find more information, including full descriptions and registration details for each workshop, on the Human Resources Web site.