The University of Windsor Alumni Association will induct four former Lancer greats into its Sports Hall of Fame during a November 11 reception in the CAW Student Centre’s Ambassador Auditorium.

This year’s inductees include:

Beth (Stroud) MacIntosh (BA 2000, BComm 2002) competed for the women’s volleyball team, but it was her track and field accomplishments that won her accolades. A member of the 1999 Canadian Interuniversity Sport championship team, she was the Ontario University Sport champion in high jump and pentathlon and was named an all-Canadian. She twice received the Banner Shield as Lancer Female Athlete of the Year, in 1999 and 2001—the latter year the CIS named her its Female Track Athlete of the Year.

Don Hollerhead (BPE 1975, BEd 1976) played as a defensive back on the 1975 Yates Cup-winning Lancer football team during a career that included four selections as an OUAA first-team all-star. Hollerhead received the 1975 DeMarco Award as top male student-athlete. His career punt return yardage stood as a provincial record for 36 years.

Georgia Risnita (BA 1998) was named OUA West women’s basketball rookie of the year and to the national all-rookie team in 1995 and followed that with a four-year run as a divisional all-star. Her athletic highlights include leading the CIAU in rebounding twice, and the OUAA three times; she was named the Lancer MVP three straight years.

Dan Devin (BA 1976, BEd 1977) played Lancer men’s basketball for five years, participating in the CIAU champion tournament. He was named Windsor’s MVP in 1976, led the team in scoring in the 1976/77 season, and capped his career with an OUAA all-star berth in 1977.

The ceremonies and reception will begin at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, November 11, and all are welcome. Besides the inductees listed above, the event will see the conferring of Sport Achievement Awards on Lou Pocock (1964), Dave Prpich (1967, 1968), and posthumously on Bob Weepers (1962) and will honour the achievements of the provincial champion teams in men’s basketball from 1971, 1972 and 1973 and men’s fencing in 1973 and 1974.

RSVP to www.uwindsor.ca/alumni or 519-971-3618.

During an event yesterday to announce new seed funding for UWindsor cancer researchers, biochemistry professor Michael Boffa quipped that he usually has good ideas “coming out of his ears.”

“The problem is getting these ideas off the ground and finding the funding to make them happen,” he said.

Yesterday’s announcement was music to Dr. Boffa’s ears. He received a $72,000 grant to study how a protein called TAF1, which inhibits blood clot breakdown, might also inhibit cancer cell growth.  

“Without this support I never would have been able to make this project happen,” he said gratefully.

Boffa was one of four campus scientists who received a total of $294,000 from Seeds4Hope, a project of the  Windsor and Essex County Cancer Centre Foundation that provides funding for new, innovative and local cancer research projects.

The others were:

• Lisa Porter, who received $77,000 to study the role of Spy1, a cell cycle regulator, in the self-renewal of hematopoietic stem cells

• Dora Cavallo-Medved, who received $73,000 to study a protein called Caveolin-1 and how it mediates proteolysis and invasion in the tumour microenvironment of prostate cancer

• Elizabeth Fidalgo Da Silva, who received $77,000 to study the role of tuberin in the development and progression of pediatric brain tumours

The grants, which were announced at a formal event at the Windsor Regional Cancer Centre, brings the total amount the organization has provided to local researchers since its inception four years ago to $1 million. During her acceptance remarks, Dr. Porter spoke of the critical link between research and advancements in cancer treatment.

“We know that 60 per cent of people diagnosed with cancer will survive, and that’s thanks to research,” she said. “That’s cause for celebration, but there’s still so much hard work to do.”

Michael Dufresne, a former UWindsor faculty member who is the current research grants administrator for Seeds4Hope, praised the researchers for their passion, but also noted that much of the attention focused on cancer statistics is often very bleak.

“I want to tell you that perspective is wrong,” he said. “We’re making incredible advances because of cancer research.”

UWindsor president Aldan Wildeman said it “quickened his heart” to hear the researchers speak about their work, noting that one of the university’s main roles is to instill courage, love, and hope in its students and in its researchers.

“This is one of the only examples on the planet where a battle is waged in the name of love,” he told the researchers. “You’re all part of the big dream, the big hope.”

The University of Windsor remains in the middle of the pack in the rankings of comprehensive universities released yesterday by Maclean’s magazine. In most categories, the University scored near the median across Canada.

UWindsor president Alan Wildeman pointed to above average showings in categories related to the University’s strategic emphasis on the student experience such as student-faculty ratio, student support and library services. However, he also pointed out that Windsor continues to suffer from poor placement in the reputational category, which shifts the overall ranking to 10th out of 15 comprehensive universities.

“Of course we care about opinions, because ultimately they can shape reality,” he said. “Our University continues to experience a disconnect between the progress we are making and the broader perception of that progress.”

He said the campus renewal is all about enhancing learning and research and the student experience, and should contribute to a greater appreciation of the University both in Windsor and across Canada.

“We value feedback on how well we are meeting our mission of enabling people to make a better world, and we continue to strive to interpret that feedback within a meaningful context,” Dr. Wildeman said. “I want to thank our faculty and staff for all they do to make our University one to be proud of.”

Read the Maclean’s 2012 ranking of Canada’s comprehensive universities.

Drama students, faculty and staff gathered Thursday for an impromptu rally in support of BFA acting major Danielle Wade, one of three finalists in a national contest to land the role of Dorothy in an Andrew Lloyd Webber production of The Wizard of Oz to open in Toronto in December.

The group donned her signature colour of light green, cheered on Wade, and even assayed a spirited rendition of “Over the Rainbow”—a song from the movie musical and the name of the CBC television program on which Wade is competing.

The show’s finale will air Sunday, November 4, followed by a period of voting and the announcement of a winner on Monday. Find more information, including a brief biography of Wade and details on how to vote, on the show’s Web site.

Ontario University Athletics named Lancer Matt Walters a first-team all-star after his fourth-place finish at the provincial cross-country meet last weekend paced the Windsor men’s team to a silver medal.

His teammates Jeremy Cooper and Nick Falk qualified for second-team all-start status.

On the women’s side, Jenn Corrick’s 10th-place standing earned her an all-star berth.

Next up for cross-country is the Canadian Interuniversity Sport championship meet, November 10 in London.

Lancer men’s soccer players named to OUA West all-star team

The OUA named two members of the Lancer men’s soccer team to its west division all-star squad— fifth-year midfielder Michael Watson and fourth-year defender Massimo Megna. It was the third straight selection for Watson, Windsor’s team captain.

Read “Watson and Megna named OUA all-stars” at goLancers.ca.

Many times we have heard it said that the holidays are for children. The Adopt-a-Family program of the Windsor-Essex Children's Aid Foundation works to make that ideal a reality, and is looking for sponsors across the university community.

Mary Anne Beaudoin in the office of Public Affairs and Communications coordinates the campus Adopt-a-Family effort. The foundation requests that sponsors focus on food and clothing as well as toys. These items are often financially difficult for the families to obtain. Sponsors may also include a gift for the parent or the home as well.

Sponsors may choose a small, medium or large-sized family or a youth on extended care. Small families consist of a single parent and child; a large family may have two parents and four children. A youth on extended care is an individual over the age of 16 years old, who is living independently, attending school and trying to manage on a very limited budget.

To adopt a family, contact Beaudoin at 519-253-3000, ext. 3240 or e-mail mbeaud@uwindsor.ca. A profile of the family and their wishes will then be sent to you, with a list of things to keep in mind when delivering your gifts.

All gifts are due by Wednesday, December 5, in the parking lot behind Assumption University—a truck will take delivery of donations from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Can even the ugliest object generate aesthetic pleasure or interest?

Students in a class taught by visual arts professors Rod Strickland and Zeke Moores are finding out. A course assignment for the students in Studio Practice and Ideas: Space involves the creation of an “ugly” lamp.

The exhibition of their works is currently on display in the LeBel Building’s SoVA Projects gallery.