A specialized bronze foundry in the LeBel Building has prompted the return of a UWindsor grad to the School of Visual Arts. Sarah Maloney (MFA 1994) is serving as artist-in-residence for the next two weeks or so.

The Halifax-based sculptor, who teaches at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, will speak about her practice in a free public lecture at noon today—Thursday, October 4—in the LeBel Building’s room 115.

She says her current project will involve casting in bronze a series of water lilies and lily pads, using a specialized lost-wax process.

“The foundry here is ideal for it; the faculty and the technicians are excellent in what they are able to do,” says Maloney. “I arrived with all these wax forms that I made in Halifax.”

Students will be able to watch her demonstrate the technique.

“They can just come in to see what I am doing,” she says. “It’s great for the students to see how an artist works through a project.”

This visit marks Maloney’s first return to Windsor since her graduation. Her work is held in collection by the Beaverbrook Art Gallery, the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, the Canada Council Art Bank, among others. Learn more on her Web site.

At this year’s Thanksgiving weekend game, the Lancer football team will take on the Queen’s Gaels, Saturday, October 6, at 7 p.m. on Alumni Field. This final regular-season home game comes after a hard-earned 26-22 victory over the York Lions on September 29.

A win for the Lancers would be their fourth on the season and set them up for further victories against the McMaster Marauders and Waterloo Warriors.

The game will also celebrate Windsor Minor Football Day; all youth who arrive in their football jerseys will receive free admission to the game. A halftime scrimmage will feature two local minor teams, U of W Lancers and Accent Roofing & Siding, as the highlight of the evening.

UWindsor faculty and staff will be given a treat as part of the corresponding Faculty-Staff Day; any faculty or staff who show their employee card will receive “Buy One, Get One Free” admission on general admission seating.

There will be plenty of prizes and giveaways for fans. Tickets are available at the gate, which opens at 6 p.m. Admission is free for students with valid UWindsor ID.

— article by Chantelle Myers

A document submitted to the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities this week begins the process of developing a strategic mandate agreement between the province and the University of Windsor.

The ministry had asked the University of Windsor, along with all universities and colleges in Ontario, to:

• describe the institution and its role in the Ontario system;
• describe what it is doing in the interests of students, in meeting the needs of the creative economy, and in increasing productivity and innovation;
• project the impact of its plans on enrolment;
• demonstrate how those plans relate to its institutional vision.

UWindsor president Alan Wildeman said the strategic plan, Thinking Forward… Taking Action, commits the University to the principles of putting students first, meeting the needs of the creative economy, and focusing on productivity, innovation and sustainability.

In the submission, Dr. Wildeman identifies three priorities that align with the government’s stated aims: transforming the large classroom experience, strengthening community engagement and postsecondary collaboration, and building on the University’s strengths in international engagement, research and graduate programs.

Read the entire submission on his Web page dedicated to public accountability.

Wildeman said in a memo to the campus community yesterday that he anticipates further dialogue with the ministry on the content of a strategic mandate agreement.

The argumentative theory of reasoning challenges the traditional view that the function of reasoning is to help us get better beliefs and improve our decision-making, says philosophy professor Christopher Tindale.

“Instead, the theory presents reasoning as a purely social phenomenon that has developed in order to help us convince others and monitor the ways other people try to convince us,” he says. “One interesting consequence is that apparent flawed reasoning is itself a useful adaptation that aids in persuasion.”

One of the developers of the theory, cognitive social scientist Hugo Mercier of the University of Neuchâtel, will be on hand for a symposium on the subject at 2:30 p.m. Friday, October 5, in Assumption University’s Freed-Orman Centre.

Dr. Mercier will deliver a talk entitled “The Evolution of Argumentation” and will hear responses from a panel of experts:

• philosopher Ian Hacking, University of Toronto;
• cognitive psychologist Lori Buchanan, University of Windsor;
• communications scholar Mark Aakhus, Rutgers University; and
• computational legal theorist Burkhard Schafer, University of Edinburgh.

The event, sponsored by the Centre for Research in Reasoning, Argumentation and Rhetoric, is free and open to the public.

Campus flags will be lowered Friday, October 5, in memory of staff member Bernie Mulligan, who died October 1. A carpenter in the maintenance department of Facility Services, Mulligan commenced working for the University in 1999.

Funeral services are scheduled for Friday, read his obituary for details.