Working as the campus coordinator of Leave the Pack Behind is a rewarding job, says Samantha Leahy.

“You can see the difference you make,” says the fourth-year student of behaviour, cognition and neuroscience, who has been heading up a team of volunteers to run the smoking cessation program. “I just enjoy doing it.”

Leahy’s team has begun registering entrants for the wouldurather contest, which discourages tobacco use and is open to student smokers and non-smokers alike. Volunteers will staff a booth in the CAW Student Centre each day this week between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. and next week in the residence halls, the Toldo Health Education Centre and the Odette Building.

Contestants who meet the challenge through March 11 are eligible for a draw to win certificates toward their 2013/14 tuition in several categories:

• Quit for Good: $500 for quitting smoking entirely
• Keep the Count: $200 for cutting cigarette consumption in half
• Party Without the Pack: $200 for remaining smoke-free while consuming alcohol
• Don’t Start and Win: $100 for non-smokers who stay tobacco-free

The University of Windsor Students’ Alliance has also donated an iPad mini tablet computer as a prize open to all contestants. Registration continues through Sunday, January 27.

“We want to provide as much support as possible to quit smoking,” Leahy says.

The campaign has been distributing info packs that include literature on the health effects of smoking, tips on strategies to quit, a pen, gum, and fridge magnets bearing motivational slogans.

Student Health Services has received funding from the Ministry of Health to provide free nicotine replacement therapy to its student clientele; both nicotine gum and patches are available.

Find more information, including details of the Leave the Pack Behind contest, on the campaign website. Registration continues through Sunday, January 27.

UWindsor president Alan Wildeman will discuss the future of universities in Canada—with a particular focus on the University of Windsor—in a public address Tuesday, February 5.

Students, faculty, staff and the broader community are invited to the one-hour event, which will begin at 11:30 a.m. in the BMO Collaborative Learning Forum, room 1100, Centre for Engineering Innovation.

Attendees will have an opportunity to experience the newest building on campus, as well as hear Dr. Wildeman’s address, entitled “The future is never what it used to be.”

Percussionist Meghan Chamberlain, a third-year music major, took top honours—and the $500- prize—at the Ron W. Ianni Memorial Scholarship Competition on Sunday, January 13.

Chamberlain studies with Julian Jeun, and has previously studied with Nicholas Papador and Tim Francom. She aspires to become a professional performer and teacher.

For Sunday’s recital, she took to the marimba to perform David Maslanka’s composition Variations on Lost Love, Part II.

The scholarship was established by Mina Grossman-Ianni and the School of Music in 2005 to honour the late president of the University of Windsor. It is open only to full-time students enrolled in a music degree; the recipients of the highest grades in the December performance juries are invited to compete.

Besides Chamberlain, the competitors included pianist Anastasia Calfas, bass-baritone Adam Iannetta, clarinetist Richard Matchett, trumpeter Katherine Raiger, jazz guitarist Tyler Sasso, classical guitarist Reece Smith and violinist Victoria Turner.

Want to share your culture? Music, dance, art, food, fashions—all this and more will be on display during the Celebration of Nations, Thursday, February 14, in the CAW Student Centre Commons.

Organizers have issued a call for groups to participate in the festival, which offers the opportunity to explore the diversity of the campus community. With a theme of “The World at Your Doorstep,” the event promises prizes for best display based on hospitality, creativity, and interactivity.

The deadline to register is February 7. Find more information and an online registration form on the event website.

Graduates of a new master’s program will have the skills to pursue actuarial careers in the insurance, finance and healthcare industries, Senate heard as it approved the program at its January 11 meeting.

The Department of Mathematics and Statistics hopes to attract 15 students to launch the program in September. Faculty has identified a strong demand for actuaries, especially in international markets.

The course of study will focus on material in the professional exams set by the Society of Actuaries, including probability, theory of interest, finance, economics, regression and time series, risk and loss functions. Prospective students are advised that offers of admission to a new program may be made only after the University’s own quality assurance processes have been completed and the Ontario Universities Council on Quality Assurance has approved the program.

Read the full program proposal on the Senate website.