UWindsor will confer degrees on nearly 1,000 graduating students during two sessions of the University’s 98th Convocation ceremonies Saturday, October 13, at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. in the St. Denis Centre, College and California Avenues.

Donald Walker, president of Magna International, will receive an honorary Doctor of Laws degree and will address Convocation at the 10 .a.m. session and Jenny V. Coco, president of Coco Paving Inc., will receive an honorary Doctor of Laws degree and will address Convocation at the 3 p.m. session.

Donald Walker.

As CEO and member of the board of directors for Magna International, a $29 billion global automotive supplier that designs, develops and manufactures components and systems for the world’s leading automakers, Walker oversees all aspects of the company’s global operations.

Walker graduated from the University of Waterloo with a bachelor’s of science in mechanical engineering and spent seven years at General Motors in various engineering and manufacturing positions. He is a founding member of the Yves Landry Advisory Foundation, which promotes the value of technical education and is past chair of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers Association and remains active in industry activities.

In July 2002, Walker became co-chair of the newly formed Canadian Automotive Partnership Council with the federal and provincial governments, in order to identify both short- and long-term priorities to help ensure the future health of Canada’s automotive industry.

Coco (MBA 1985), is CEO of Coco Paving Inc., a division of the Coco Group of Companies. She oversees the daily management of its Canadian and US operations and is largely responsible for the negotiation of acquisitions and company expansions. She is a liaison for private-public partnerships for the development of highway infrastructure in Ontario as well as the expansion of residential and commercial divisions of the company.

Coco has been a member of the University of Windsor’s Board of Governors, the Federal Business Development Bank of Canada and was a member of the Integrated Financial Planning Committee for the Diocese of London. She has served on the executive committee of the board of directors for the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, was a coordinator for the Institute of Canadian Bankers, was co-chair of the Essex Region Conservation Authority’s It’s Our Nature campaign and is an alumna of Pi Beta Phi Sorority.

The Fall Convocation schedule begins at 10 a.m., Saturday, October 13, at 10 a.m., when degrees will be conferred on the graduating classes in the Faculty of Engineering; Faculty of Nursing; Faculty of Science; and Inter-Faculty Programs.

At the 3 p.m. session, degrees will be conferred on the graduating classes in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences; Faculty of Education; Faculty of Human Kinetics; the Odette School of Business, and the Faculty of Law.

Because there are so many different types of cancer there will never be a single cure for them, but researchers have made significant advances in fighting the disease on an individual basis, according to Lisa Porter.

“If you think about it, 60 years ago we didn’t even know what cancer was,” said Dr. Porter, an associate professor in Biological Sciences who devotes much of her lab time to studying the mechanisms that cause cancer cells to divide and grow.

Porter will appear today on a CJAM 99.1 FM talk show to discuss her research, but also to acknowledge that October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. She said battling breast cancer is difficult because there are so many different types and it affects every person individually.

“Even within breast cancer, there are at least 10 or more different diseases,” she said. “So from cancer type to cancer type and even within a specific type of cancers, cancer is a very different beast and we really need to treat it like different diseases.”

“Cancer is your own body cells growing out of control,” she added, “and because everybody has different DNA the mechanisms that are driving cancer are different from person to person, and so there really isn’t one single, silver bullet answer. But there are some very good cures, and some very good diagnostic tools because of the research that’s been done along the way.”

Porter and her team of students devote much of their time studying Spy1, a protein that was discovered in 2002 and plays a critical role in cell division and growth. She described that protein as a “repairman” that makes sure everything in a cell is operating properly before it splits up the DNA when it divides, putting a stop on the process if it’s not occurring properly. It operates the same way in cancer cells however, encouraging them to grow and divide.

“And now we know which types of cancer it’s implicated in,” she said. “We know what kind of jobs it’s doing to encourage certain cells to grow faster.”

Porter said she’s part of a team that has recently launched a clinical trial in an attempt to locate and enlist the help of breast cancer patients with high levels of Spy1 and low levels of certain hormonal receptors. Their hope is to find patients who may be responsive to certain drugs targeted at that protein.

Porter will appear on Research Matters on CJAM 99.1 FM, a weekly talk show that highlights the work of University of Windsor researchers and airs every Thursday at 4:30 p.m.

Students and faculty from the School of Computer Science will be among those celebrating National Science and Technology Week at a Robotics Open House at the Windsor Public Library’s central branch on Thursday, October 11.

“We will be displaying a number of robots, including the new Turtlebot, football-playing Lego NXTs and a robot that can solve Rubik’s cube,” says professor Ziad Kobti, director of the School of Computer Science.

The event, organized by the WEtech Alliance, runs 1 to 4 p.m. and will feature displays by Canada South Science City, the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, and St. Clair College, as well as an appearance by Liberal MP Marc Garneau —whose 1984 trip aboard the space shuttle Challenger made him the first Canadian in space.

The Central library is located at 850 Ouellette Avenue.

Watch a video of robots playing football, programmed by UWindsor computer science students:

Recent economics grads Jessica Courtney (BSc 2009) and Tim Scholz (BSc 2008) will discuss their careers in a seminar entitled “What Economists Do” on Friday, October 12.

The event is the fourth in an annual series to provide an opportunity for students to meet working economists, discuss their personal career development and the challenges and rewards of life as a professional economist.

Courtney completed an MA in economics at Simon Fraser University in 2012. After a stint working for BC Hydro, she is currently employed as an economic consultant with MNP Consulting Services in Vancouver and has completed studies in a wide range of industries, including tourism, health care, energy, utilities, transportation, insurance and immigration.

Courtney manages a suite of forecasting models for Tourism Vancouver, including the On-the-Books program, which generates monthly room demand forecasts and the Visitor Volume Model that forecasts the number of visitors to Metro Vancouver. Recently, she completed a review of the modeling and forecasting approach used by the Insurance Corporation of BC in its application for rate increases on behalf of a registered intervener.

Scholz completed an MA in economics at the University of Guelph in 2009. He is currently an economist with the International Policy Analysis Division, Department of Finance Canada in Ottawa, where he is responsible for conducting in-depth analysis of developments in the European debt crisis and the global economy.

He writes a daily “Europe Roundup” which summarizes financial, economic and political developments relating to the European debt crisis. This report circulates among colleagues at finance and externally at the Bank of Canada and the Privy Council Office. Scholz previously conducted research relating to public capital investment, infrastructure financing and Canada’s air transportation sector. He constructed and maintained a risk model used to forecast federal stimulus spending scenarios.

Their seminar is open to the public and will begin at 10:30 a.m. Friday in room G125, Chrysler Hall North.

The Campus Community Garden, in collaboration with the Windsor and Essex County Community Garden Collective, will hold a harvest tour on Saturday, October 13, to celebrate the success of the community gardens initiative in the area.

The event, themed How Does Your Garden Grow, will have city and county residents take bus tours to commemorate the first anniversary and achievements of the community garden group. The campus garden will also hold a tour on the premises to introduce its ‘Ecolot,’ the newly-created extension of the garden.

“Community gardens are an environmentally responsible way of building a sense of community,” says Adam Wright, a volunteer and former campus garden attendant. “As a part of the collective, we encourage people to grow their own food and supply food for those in need.”

The Windsor-Essex County Community Garden Collective is a group of 10 established and emerging community gardens. Michelle Leger, the United Way’s community development coordinator in Food Systems, says the group has been instrumental in leveraging support and growing healthy food for the community.

“The group shares knowledge, encourages fellowship and provides a green space for our communities,” she says. “We want to promote the greater impact community gardens are making in providing fresh produce for families, food banks and programs that need the assistance.”

Participants will get to enjoy a garden-grown lunch on either one of two tours. The city pick-up is at 9:30 a.m. outisde the United Way office, 300 Giles Boulevard East. County participants will meet at 10:30 a.m. at the Youth and Family Resource Network, 23 Mill Street West in Kingsville. Bus tours cost $5 for adults and are free for youth aged 16 and under. Attendees are encouraged to bring their own reusable water bottle for fill-ups.

Alternatively, attendees can take a tour of the campus garden at 380 California Avenue from 1 to 4 p.m. The Essex County Ramblers, a local bluegrass band, will entertain guests at the afternoon tea.

The event is supported by the United Way/Centraide Windsor-Essex County, Youth and Family Resource Network, Food Matters Windsor-Essex County and the Ontario Trillium Foundation. For more information, contact Michele Leger at 519-258-3033, ext. 1148, or foodmatterswindsoressex@gmail.com.

— by Chantelle Myers

With a career that spans projects for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, the PGA Tour, NASCAR, the National Hockey League and the International Association for Venue Managers, Matthew Walker has demonstrated expertise in the areas of consumer behavior, market research, social responsibility, environmental systems, and brand management.

He will share that expertise in a free public lecture, “Research and Consulting in the Sport Industry: Bridging the Practice-Theory Divide,” at noon Friday, October 12, in room 145, Human Kinetics Building.

Dr. Walker is an assistant professor in the School of Human Performance and Recreation at the University of Southern Mississippi and president of the Walker Research Group, a research and consultancy firm specializing in aspects of the sport industry. He also serves on the editorial boards of Sport Marketing Quarterly and the Journal of Contemporary Athletics. Read more about his work.

The Faculty of Human Kinetics is sponsoring Friday’s lecture as part of its Distinguished Speaker Series.

The Campus Community Police Service is reminding resident students to be aware of “tailgaters” following them through secured doors, after the arrest of a man who entered a campus building uninvited.

In an advisory issued earlier this week, the service also called on residents to keep their doors locked—especially while they’re sleeping. Read the full advisory on the Campus Police Web site.