Thousands of prospective students and members of their families will visit the UWindsor campus for its Spring Open House on Saturday, March 5.

A check-in counter in the CAW Student Centre will help direct guests to an information fair, more than 50 program presentations, and tours of campus, residence, athletics, the Entrepreneurship Practice and Innovation Centre, and academic facilities.

Sessions will also provide information on fees and financial aid, the Outstanding Scholars program, application processes for medical and law schools, and career opportunities for graduates.

Organizer Zora Savic of the student recruitment office reminds faculty, staff and students to extend an invitation to visitors.

“This is the day we are able to showcase the wonderful opportunities waiting here,” she says. “If you know someone considering a university education—a son or daughter, neighbour or friend—please be sure to tell them about open house.”

Activities will run 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Find more information, including the full program of events, on the open house website.

Participating in sport has been good for their children, say Walter and Iuna Benzinger.

“To keep kids out of trouble, you have to keep them busy,” Walter Benzinger says.

The proud parents—both UWindsor alumni—were on hand Friday as their daughter Sophia Benzinger represented Académie Ste. Cécile International School at a reception honouring recipients of the Human Kinetics Book Award.

An honour student, she captained the school’s basketball and volleyball teams, and volunteered for the Downtown Mission and Habitat for Humanity. Those accomplishments numbered her among the 26 local high school students whose academic performance, athletic activities and community contributions earned them the award.

Her father credits Sophia’s time management skills: “She does have fun, but she doesn’t waste time. It’s all about efficiency.”

She is the second straight member of her family selected to represent the academy; her brother Michael received the award last year.

Julian Macioce of Massey Secondary says he was honoured to learn he was to receive the award.

“Just accepting it and being here today made me think about what I’ve been doing,” he says.

Macioce will be seeing more of the UWindsor campus—he plans to begin studies in nursing this fall.

Here is the full list of 2016 HK Book Award winners:

• Sophia Benzinger, Académie Ste. Cécile International School
• Sadie Chantler, Assumption College School
• Chloe Gray, Belle River District High School
• Liam LeClair, F.J. Brennan High School
• Chelsea Salter, Cardinal Carter Catholic Secondary School
• Alex Nicoletti, Catholic Central High School
• Braydon Houle, École Secondaire E.J. Lajeunesse
• Nicole Preston, École Secondaire Catholique L'Essor
• Samar El-Houssami, École Secondaire Michel-Gratton
• Adam Amicarelli, Essex District High School
• Macaul Reiner, General Amherst High School
• Nik Motruk, Harrow District High School
• Kate Boycott, W.F. Herman Secondary School
• Isabella Baggio, Holy Names High School
• Brianna Brown, Kennedy Collegiate Institute
• John Prout, Kingsville District High School
• Agatha Driedger, Leamington District Secondary School
• Caleb Neposian, Maranatha Christian Academy
• Alexis Provost, Riverside Secondary School
• Olivia Sanders, Sandwich Secondary School
• Amy Maitre and Ashley Maitre, St. Anne’s Catholic High School
• Alexis Cheswick, St. Thomas of Villanova Secondary School
• Eisha Aujla, Tecumseh Vista Academy
• Julian Macioce, Vincent Massey Secondary School
• Leslee Ward, Walkerville Collegiate Institute

Each honoree received a sports- or health-related book to keep, and their school libraries will receive in their names a copy of two books by UWindsor grad Richard Peddie (BComm 1970, LLD 2001): his memoir Dream Job and the mentorship primer 21 Leadership Lessons.

The Lancer men’s track and field team captured bragging rights at the Ontario University Athletics championship meet Saturday, winning its 23rd provincial title in 26 years.

The host squad racked up 174 points, 31 more than second-place Guelph, over two days of competition in the Dennis Fairall Fieldhouse. Guelph took the women’s team title; Windsor’s women finished fifth overall.

Lancer medallists included:

• Gold for Paul Janikowski in the men’s 3000m and two men’s relay teams—the 4 x 200m team of Jaiden Brown, Chris Kramer, Shavon Harding and Ildemaro Ponnambalam; and the 4 x 800m team of Taylor McArthur, Joe Kagumba, Nick MacMackin and Corey Bellemore.
• Gold for Eli Pawliw and silver for Brett Boersma in men’s shot put, and silver for Sarah Mitton in the women’s event.
• Silver for pole vaulter Rachael Wolfs and silver and bronze, respectively, on the men’s side for Chris Waugh and Milos Savic.
• Three additional silver medals for Bellemore: in the 600m and 1000m races, as well as anchoring 4 x 400m team with Kramer, Brown and Matt McLaughlin. Alex Ullman won the bronze in the 600 m.
• Silver and bronze for McArthur and Janikowski in the 1500m.
• Silver for long jumper Caitlin McClurkin, high jumper Branden Wilhelm, and Virginia McLachlan in the women’s 60m ambulatory.
• Bronze for the women’s 4 x 400m relay team of Mariah Wilson, Tichina Jones, Stephanie Shaw and Emily Omahen; Omahen also won bronze in long jump. Angelo Bortolin took home the bronze medal in the men’s long jump as did Stefanie Smith in the women’s 3000m.

Read more at goLancers.ca. The athletes will next see action in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport national tournament, March 10 to 12 at York University.

Business professor Vincent Georgie, program director of the Odette MBA, took two students with him to Los Angeles this past weekend to get a taste of the Academy Awards. The 88th annual gala was televised live Sunday, February 28.

The Oscars are “the Olympics for the entertainment world,” Dr. Georgie says, making a unique experience for MBA students Jesse Tepperman and Kyra Michaeloff.

“The entire global film industry congregates on LA, so it is the most impactful time to see the industry in all its glory,” says Georgie, who also serves as executive director of the Windsor International Film Festival. “Being able to expose Kyra and Jesse to the inner workings of the Oscars and all its ancillary events allows them to deeply understand the business side of the industry.”

He says the film industry poses high barriers to entry.

“It is very private, insular and complicated,” Georgie says. “This (weekend) is an incomparable advantage Kyra and Jesse will have as they begin their own professional pursuits.”

Tepperman agrees, and plans to use the trip as a springboard for a career in the film business.

“Being able to network with top industry players is quite simply the beginning foundation to a successful career in film,” he says. “I am hoping to establish relationships with key Hollywood players, so that upon graduation, I can set myself up for a solid career in the film industry.”

This marks the third time Georgie has brought students to the Oscars ceremony with him, which he cites as a reflection of the type of program Windsor offers.

“The Odette MBA is a boutique program that is interested in providing experiential, unique and impactful learning opportunities to our students,” he says.

Changes to the Ontario Student Assistance Program announced Thursday as part of the provincial budget will improve access to higher education, say government officials and groups representing universities, faculty and students.

Finance minister Charles Sousa pledged to combine the Ontario Tuition Grant, Ontario Student Opportunity Grant, Ontario Access Grants and other grants into the single Ontario Student Grant, which he said “will make average college or university tuition free for students with financial need from families with incomes of $50,000 or less, and will make tuition more affordable for middle-class families.”

The Council of Ontario Universities said the changes will mean easier access to aid, saying they will “improve access to higher education and make the real costs of tuition better understood by students and their families.”

The council’s president, David Lindsay, said the new system will encourage greater participation in post-secondary education.

“The tuition sticker price is not the real measure of the cost of university tuition,” he said. “Ontario has one of the most generous student aid programs in Canada, and when you consider the net costs of tuition—which is the actual price students pay once financial aid is factored in—most students will pay much less.”

Read the full COU statement, “Financial aid just got easier for students who need it, and Ontario’s universities are in full support.”

The umbrella group representing faculty and academic librarians also welcomed the announcement, saying it will make higher education more accessible to low-income students.

“The new Ontario Student Grant is an important step in helping students from low-income backgrounds access the many individual, social, and economic benefits of a university education,” said Judy Bates, president of the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations.

She said it is encouraging to see the government invest in students, adding “universities need adequate public resources to provide quality education for every student who walks through the door.”

The confederation’s response, “Professors welcome investments in student access, caution that Ontario still needs to invest in universities” is available on its website.

In a news release, the Ontario branch of the Canadian Federation of Students applauded the announcement.

“For years, students have been sounding the alarm over rising tuition fees and student debt loads that block far too many Ontarians from accessing college and university education,” said chair Rajean Hoilett, “The new Ontario Student Grant is a reflection of our advocacy and an affirmation that government has taken student concerns and suggestions seriously.”

The Canadian Federation of Students–Ontario represents more than 350,000 college and university students across the province, including all three UWindsor student governments. Read the full release, “Students achieve historic victory in Ontario budget with introduction of new needs-based grant program.”

Seatbelts aren’t just for vehicles anymore. A seminar Wednesday, March 2, will discuss the role of nurses as “the seatbelt of healthcare.”

Annette Scott, a clinical nurse specialist in pediatric intensive care from the University of Michigan’s Mott Children’s Hospital, will present at 11:30 a.m. in room 203, Toldo Health Education Centre.

The one-hour Patient Safety Learning Series event, part of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement open school, offers certificates of attendance and door prizes. Registration is free online.

Registration for the fourth annual Three Minute Thesis competition will close Friday, March 4. The contest challenges UWindsor graduate students to offer a presentation on their thesis or dissertation topic to a non-specialist audience in just three minutes.

Top finishers will win cash prizes and the champion will represent the University of Windsor in the provincial finals April 4 at Wilfrid Laurier University, with a chance to advance to national competition.

Contestant spots are limited and will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. The Faculty of Graduate Studies invites current doctoral and master’s students preparing their dissertations, theses, or major research papers to register today at www.uwindsor.ca/graduate/three-minute-thesis.

With four years between every February 29, the Campus Bookstore is ready for an Olympian celebration of Leap Day, says marketing coordinator Martin Deck.

The store will offer all its customers a scratch-and-save sale Monday offering discounts on any purchase excluding textbooks, computers, gift cards, special orders and already-sale-priced items. At the checkout, save from 10 to 25 percent—with a special deal for leap babies.

“If February 29 is your birthday, just show some proof and we’ll give you 29 percent off,” Deck says.

Western noir novel discounted

The Winter Family, by Ontario-born and -raised lawyer Clifford Jackman, is the book of the week at the Campus Bookstore.

His first novel, the “Western noir” is a bleak story of a violent gang travelling west, one step ahead of civilization. Regularly priced at $21, it will sell for $18.69 until March 6.

In preparation for Thursday’s Celebration of Nations cultural festival, the Marketplace food court in the CAW Student Centre will spice up its lunches this week with foods from around the world.

The Chef to You station will serve these special lunch menus:

• Tuesday features flavours of the subcontinent, with Indian specialties butter paneer, curry beef, butter chicken or samosas.
• Wednesday offers a tour of the Caribbean, with a selection of island-style jerk chicken, rice and beans and fried plantains, and Jamaican patties—either beef or vegetarian.
• Thursday promises Chinese foods, with pepper steak, chicken chow mein, a vegetarian stir-fry, egg rolls and spring rolls.

Each day will also offer a $5 dish of pasta with assorted sauces.

Celebration of Nations will feature cultural displays and performances in the CAW Student Centre Commons, March 3 from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.