Questions of balancing religious and legal rights are the focus of a panel discussion Friday, entitled “Legislating What Women Can Wear: The Niqab in the Courtroom.”

Three panelists will discuss a current case before the Supreme Court of Canada involving a Muslim sexual assault victim who refused to remove her full face veil during courtroom testimony.

The event, at 11:30 a.m. in Alumni Hall’s McPherson Lounge, is offered as part of the Distinguished Visitor in Women’s Studies program, a collaborative effort by the UWindsor women’s studies department and the Friends of Women’s Studies to bring high-profile women leaders to Windsor to engage in discourse regarding women’s issues.

Panelists Natasha Bakht, an associate professor of law at the University of Ottawa; Anne Forrest, an associate professor and director of the women’s studies program; and Ayan Nur, a social work and women’s studies student, will discuss a victim’s right to religious freedom and gender equality.

Dr. Bakht’s research includes cultural and minority rights, specifically as they pertain to the intersections of religious freedom and women’s equality. She is editor of the essay collection Belonging and Banishment: Being Muslim in Canada.

Dr. Forrest’s research focuses on issues of sexuality, race and social justice, with a focus on collective bargaining, women and work, and women and unions.

Nur will discuss her personal story with regard to the importance of niqabs and other personal coverings.

The event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be provided, though attendees are encouraged to bring their own lunch. For more information on the discussion and upcoming Distinguished Visitor events, visit the event Web site.

-- by Chantelle Myers

The University has declared five storage units for sale by bid as Disposal File 886. Please click here for details.

A new professor in the Odette School of Business is hoping his business acumen can help build on Windsor’s well-earned reputation for generosity and caring by bolstering the area’s non-profit sector through research and increased collaboration.

“There’s a need for a multidisciplinary approach to some of the contributions the non-profit sector is making to this community,” said Chris Fredette, who comes to UWindsor from the Sprott School of Business at Carleton University.

“Windsor has always had a strong reputation for supporting organizations like the United Way,” he said. “But there’s room for improvement, especially during tough times when these agencies are called upon to do so much. They struggle when they’re needed most. Is there room for business theory to help? Of course there is.”

An active researcher in the non-profit sector, Dr. Fredette focuses on Canadian non-profit boards of directors and the role of power, diversity and inclusion in shaping change in organizational governance and governing effectiveness. His primary research investigates how social networks contribute to an organization’s performance, by examining how social capital emerges in dynamic networked environments and how that emergence impacts the evolution of an organization’s capabilities.

Fredette said he draws on organizational theory and strategic management to study how emerging routines and capabilities evolve to serve as sources of innovation and resilience inside organizations. His arrival at Odette marks something of a homecoming for him. In 2003 he earned a BComm here, followed by an MBA in 2004.

“It’s really nice to come back here,” said Fredette, who earned a PhD in organizational studies from York’s Schulich School of Business in 2009. “And you can’t beat the weather here. Ottawa is beautiful, but it gets cold there.”

Prior to arriving at Odette, Fredette received a Seymour Schulich Teaching Excellence Award. This year he’s teaching an introductory business course and said he’s inspired by the enthusiasm of first year students.

“Everyone is so energetic and vibrant,” he said. “It’s nice to build on that and get them off to the right start.”

A self-described “bit of a homebody,” Fredette said he likes to cook, garden and do yard work, but also likes to get to the beach and go out on nature hikes.

“I plan to get to Ojibway and Point Pelee as much as possible,” he said.

The University of Windsor’s contributions to the United Way of Windsor-Essex play a critical role in making the community a better place, according to the organization’s CEO.

“The university is a very important partner for us and we’re very grateful for all their contributions,” said Penny Marrett, who along with president Alan Wildeman, was on campus yesterday for a flag-raising ceremony to kick off this year’s annual campaign.

The United Way hopes to raise $5.1 million this year, slightly more than the $5 million it raised last year. The university has consistently contributed about $100,000 a year to that total over the last few years, said John McGinlay, a UWindsor health and safety assistant and member of the campus campaign organizing committee.

“We always try to beat whatever we raised the previous year,” he said. “The more we raise, the better it is for the community.”

UWindsor president Alan Wildeman said contributing to the United Way – which financially supported 64 Windsor-Essex organizations last year – is an excellent way for those on campus to connect with those in need.

“We’re very much a part of the community,” he said. “The people who work and study here care very deeply about their community, and taking part in the United Way campaign is a great way to stay engaged with the community they care about.”

There were a lot of people caught off guard when Dalton McGuinty announced earlier this week that he was resigning as Ontario’s premier, but Cheryl Collier wasn’t one of them.

Cheryl Collier.

An assistant professor in the university’s political science department, Dr. Collier – who is relied upon regularly by local and national media outlets for her expert opinion on Canadian politics – said she had been suggesting to her students for a while that it was time for McGuinty to step down.

“I think if he wanted to do the right thing for the party, the right move was to resign,” said Collier, who will appear on a weekly talk show on CJAM 99.1 FM today to discuss the resignation. “It was just a timing thing, and obviously he decided the surprise move was the right way to go.”

McGuinty, who represents an Ottawa-area riding, had enjoyed a majority at Queen’s Park for the last nine years, Collier said. His inability to regain a majority in Septembder byelections after being reduced to a minority government in the last general election may have proven too difficult for him to stomach.

“You go from a majority where you can basically set the agenda and to do what you want to be very forceful in politics to a minority, which is just no fun in Canadian politics,” she said. “Day in and day out he wasn’t able to do the things he needed to get the deficit under control, and deficit-fighting is never fun either, especially if it’s not your go-to thing to do, which I would argue it’s not for McGuinty.”

Collier also said she believes former Windsor West MPP Sandra Pupatello has a better shot at the premier’s office thatn Windsor-St. Clair MPP and finance minister Dwight Duncan, should she choose to throw her hat in the ring.

“She didn’t run in the last election, so she’s not getting tagged with some of the gridlock that’s associated with the Liberal government, and some of the nastier legislation and some of the missteps,” she said. “I think it would be easier for her to distance herself from the current government.”

Collier will appear today on Research Matters, a talk show that focuses on the work of University of Windsor researchers and airs every Thursday at 4:30 p.m.

A series of images by photographer Dan Reaume documents the current state of progress towards the completion of the Centre for Engineering Innovation.

View more photos in a Facebook album.

A view of the Centre for Engineering Innovation from the southeast; visible in the upper-left corner is the site of the parking structure and Innovation Centre facility.

English professor emeritus Eugene McNamara will read from his 16^th volume of poetry at a publication launch reception Friday.

Eugene McNamara's newest book is his 16th collection of poetry.

The book, Dreaming of Lost America, promises readers a nostalgic but unsentimental trip through a world where innocence reigned but the dark-edged shadows were never far away.

In addition to his poetry, McNamara has published five collections of short fiction, a novella and the 2008 novel The Orphan’s Waltz. His accolades include the University of Windsor Alumni Award for Distinguished Contributions to University Teaching and the City of Windsor Mayor’s Award for Literary Excellence.

Friday’s book launch is free and opens to the public at 7 p.m. at Biblioasis, 1520 Wyandotte Street East. Learn more on the Facebook event site.

The campus community is invited to Gina Reichert and Mitch Cope of Detroit’s Power House Productions for a seminar entitled “In the Neighbourhood” at 10 a.m. Friday, October 19, in room 130, Assumption University.

The principals of the Design 99 studio will lead a discussion on the role and responsibility of artists and designers in the community.

The event is part of the Distinguished Speakers Series of the Humanities Research Group, which will sponsor a reception to follow.

Watch a video documenting the artists’ 2011 work, Clearing a Path to the Future: Garbage Totem No. 1: