As an avid gardener, Jenni Hotte understands something about working with nature to encourage growth and productivity within an ecological system.

The doctoral student of social work applies that principle to her teaching, an approach that earned her the Wilbert McKeachie International Poster Prize for top poster at the Windsor-Oakland Teaching and Learning Conference, May 18 and 19 on the Oakland University campus.

“I adopted the integrative approach of permaculture as my teaching philosophy,” says Hotte, who employs permaculture principles with her husband in their home garden. “It’s all about promoting inter-connected relationships.”

She says that much like teaching, permaculture reveals opportunities for complex systems to support change and promote growth.

“The dynamics in the classroom matter—what you bring, what the students bring, the pedagogy of the program, even the season,” she says. “The learning environment is continuously changing, no matter what. You have to be open to learning from these experiences in order to promote growth.”

Hotte says she developed her teaching philosophy while working toward her University Teaching Certificate through the Centre for Teaching and Learning.

“As teachers, we have to recognize the systems at play and highlight the opportunities that are unique to the current learning environment,” she says. “It’s transformational for the students, but also for you.”

The University of Windsor and Oakland University Teaching and Learning Conference brings together academics and graduate students to share discipline-based teaching and learning research. Its poster session competition aims to promote the importance and value of posters for the communication of teaching practice and research, and honours Wilbert McKeachie, professor emeritus of psychology at the University of Michigan and author of a standard textbook on teaching at the post-secondary level.

Although Frank A. DeMarco, a man of many hats, officially left his last UWindsor role 30 years ago, he continues to propel the University of Windsor forward.

The former UWindsor professor, researcher, coach, first dean of engineering, inaugural vice president and now, professor emeritus, was honoured on May 28 at the University of Windsor by former colleagues and students, friends, staff and members of his family, who donated $100,000 to the University’s engineering and science faculties in honour of his illustrious career.

“This is a man who day after day and year after year in a wide variety of circumstances provided effective leadership for this university,” said Carl St. Pierre, a former UWindsor student and colleague of Dr. DeMarco’s, after a lab in the Ed Lumley Centre for Engineering Innovation (CEI) was named in honour of DeMarco. “This is a man who deserves to have a research laboratory named in his honour as a permanent reminder that he was truly a founder of this great institution.”

DeMarco’s four-decade career with the University of Windsor started in 1946 when the Basilian fathers of Assumption College hired him to develop the science and engineering departments. From there, he became the college’s director of athletics, head football coach, coach of the freshmen and varsity basketball teams and first head of the chemistry department.

He went on to chair Essex College’s staff committee of department heads and when Essex College incorporated in 1954, DeMarco became acting head of the engineering department. Under his leadership, the chemical, civil, electrical and mechanical engineering programs were accredited by the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board. In 1959, when the faculty of applied science was created, he became the first dean of applied science, which he held until becoming the first vice president of the University of Windsor in 1964.

“Essex College, under Dr. DeMarco’s leadership, provided the impetus for this modern university with increased emphasis on professional programs, graduate studies and research,” Dr. St. Pierre added. “When coupled with the proud traditions of Assumption’s century of liberal arts education, a well-balanced, new and forward looking institution resulted, but rich in old and enduring traditions.”

More than 150 attendees, including family from as far as British Columbia and Ottawa, watched as UWindsor president Alan Wildeman unveiled a dedication plaque that will hang in CEI.

“This gift will be used to support students and to support the kind of education experience that we want them to have,” Dr. Wildeman said. “Thank you to the DeMarco family for this extraordinary generosity.”

The DeMarco family has supported the University of Windsor with philanthropic gifts through the years, including the establishment of the DeMarco Environmental Engineering Scholarship, Mary DeMarco Visual Arts Scholarship, DeMarco Award for Scholar-Athlete, Environment and Energy in Action Fund and a naming in the Medical Education Building in honor of the late Dr. Frank G. DeMarco.

“I’m certainly grateful to attend a convocation such as this and I want to share that honour, especially with the family and my wife, Mary, who is number one,” DeMarco said at the ceremony after receiving a standing ovation. “She is the personification of creativity that lies in all the talent and work of all of our children.”

Several of DeMarco’s 12 children became engineers, including Dan DeMarco, a UWindsor alumnus.

“It was great to celebrate dad’s achievements at the University of Windsor with family and friends,” DeMarco said. “The university has been a central part of the lives of our entire family for many years and this event brought this all together for us.”

The Dr. Frank A. DeMarco Precision Wear Measurement Laboratory is located in the main atrium of CEI and is home to high calibre nano-scale characterization research.

To view photos from the naming ceremony, visit the UWindsor Engineering Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1185842468146182.1073741842.1017566631640434&type=3

Had he not chosen a life on ice, Windsor Law grad Pete DeBoer (LLB 1995) had a career waiting for him in the courtroom.

As coach of the San Jose Sharks, currently playing Pittsburgh for the National Hockey League championship, DeBoer has said he leans on his legal background every day, whether it’s making his case for what he wants a player to do or the way he organizes team meetings.

DeBoer’s background as a barrister is no mere curiosity. Players and other insiders say part of the reason the Sharks needed just one year to transform the franchise—reaching the Stanley Cup finals for the first time—is because the new coach arrived and immediately laid down the law.

Read the full story, “Sharks’ Pete DeBoer brings legal eagle sensibility to hockey coaching,” in the San Jose Mercury News.

Building two electric vehicles from the ground up takes patience and teamwork.

A group of UWindsor mechanical and electrical engineering students learned this first-hand, spending four months in the shop designing and building go-karts to compete in the Electric Vehicle Grand Prix in Indianapolis on May 17 and 18.

“It was incredible to have 19 people on our team working together,” said Marcus Boin, the team’s head of design. “It felt like more than just a team project. We worked really hard, but had fun, too.”

Competitors had to complete 50 laps on a one-third mile track at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, enduring rough racing conditions while travelling up to 50 miles per hour. Winners were determined based on a combination of position at the end of the race, efficiency, design and outreach to the community.

Windsor, the only Canadian team in the competition, saw its first vehicle tie for third in the outreach and design categories and place fourth in energy efficiency and fifth in the actual race, snagging a fourth-place finish overall. The second UWindsor vehicle tied for first in the design category and finished 13th overall.

Read more on the Windsor Engineering website.

Chris Houser will return to his homeland July 1 when he takes up an appointment as dean of the Faculty of Science.

Currently associate dean for undergraduate affairs and faculty development in the College of Geosciences at Texas A&M University, Dr. Houser earned undergraduate and master’s degrees from the University of Guelph and his doctorate from the University of Toronto at Scarborough.

Houser describes himself as a geomorphologist of coastal and aeolian environments, with specific interests in the impact of extreme storms on barrier islands, the role of boundary conditions in swash zone morphodynamics, wave attenuation through submerged vegetation, and geological controls on beach-dune recovery.

Provost Douglas Kneale extended a welcome to Houser and called on colleagues to support him in this new leadership role.

“An accomplished Canadian researcher and administrator with a reputation for effective leadership, Chris brings to the University of Windsor a track record of team-building and strategic execution,” Dr. Kneale said. “His forward-looking vision will allow the Faculty of Science to continue to grow in stature and reputation, and move from strength to strength in its research, teaching, and learning.”

Lancer grad Andy Hahn (BHK 2001, B.Ed 2002), a four-time all-Canadian and five-time provincial all-star during his 1996-2002 career in track and cross-country, is returning to his alma mater to coach both UWindsor teams.

He succeeds long-time coach Dennis Fairall, who stepped down after the 2014-15 season on a long-term medical leave.

“As an alumnus of the program, coach Hahn has a deep appreciation for the history and success of our team,” says athletics director Mike Havey. “He has a strong vision for the future and the passion and energy to pursue the realization of that vision.”

Hahn comes to the University after four years as head coach of St. Clair College cross country, where he built the Saints into a national-calibre program, winning coach of the year honours from the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association in 2013. He also served as an assistant coach with the Lancers from 2005 to 2010, and coached for the Windsor Legion track and field club and at Essex District High School.

Read the full story, “Hahn named Track & Field and Cross Country head coach,” at goLancers.ca.

Incoming students hoping to get a head start on their UWindsor gear and apparel will be able to shop at the Campus Bookstore during this weekend’s sessions of the Head Start orientation program.

Attendees who will begin studies in September in human kinetics, arts, humanities or social sciences will receive information on the transition to university life June 3, 4 and 6. Check-in, a welcome session and parent programming will be held in the lobby of the Centre for Engineering Innovation. Other locations include Dillon Hall, the CAW Student Centre, the Toldo Health Education Centre and Leddy Library.

The Campus Bookstore, with its full line of Lancer- and UWindsor-themed clothing, school supplies and giftware, will open this Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in addition to its usual schedule of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday.

Preventive maintenance will require an outage of electrical and steam services to campus on the weekend of June 24, reports Facility Services.

The shutdown will disrupt most campus buildings, with the exceptions of the LeBel Building, Centre for Automotive Research and Education, Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research, Centre for English Language Development, maintenance and grounds buildings.

The electrical power outage will also disable card access and is scheduled for 12 hours, 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday, June 26. Find details in this document: Campus Wide Power Outage Information.

The steam outage will also disable hot water and heating and cooling systems. It is scheduled to begin at noon Friday, June 24, and run through 10 a.m. Monday, June 27. Find details in this document: Campus Wide Steam Outage Information.