Giancarlo Iannicello knows first-hand the value of donor support. The fourth-year business student has benefited from a number of scholarships and awards, he told a reception Tuesday for campus contributors to the Annual Giving Program.

“Scholarships validate your academic efforts,” he said. “Scholarships acknowledge your athletic pursuits; scholarships provide the financial freedom to focus more on my studies; scholarships allow me the freedom to volunteer in my field of study; scholarships really give students the opportunity to go the extra mile.”

With a theme of “Gateway to Student Success,” Tuesday’s event celebrated a record number of donors—615—contributing an average of $540 each, also an all-time high. Since inaugurating face-to-face canvassing seven years ago, the University’s fundraising campaign has seen the rate of participation among employees double from 17 to 34 percent.

One hundred percent of staff within Athletics and Recreation Services made a donation to the effort, earning special recognition for the department and its volunteer canvassers. Its employees will receive a catered coffee break.

Other awards included:

• a catered lunch for the Faculty of Nursing and the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry – Windsor program, for increasing donor participation by 12 percent;
• a catered lunch for the finance and human resources team for an 81 percent participation rate;
• a commemorative campus bench for Deb Goulding, a $100 gift card for Alisa Giroux-Souilliere, a package from local wineries for Marg Piche, and an extra vacation day for Evelyn St. Pierre, all drawn at random as door prizes.

This year’s $332,327 raised by the campus campaign tops a seven-year total of $2,046,303 in support of scholarships and departmental priority projects.

A new name for the section of Sunset Avenue between University Avenue and Wyandotte Street honours the First Nations history of the land that the University of Windsor sits on.

This pedestrianized section of the former street will become Turtle Island Walk, UWindsor president Alan Wildeman announced Tuesday.

“Many indigenous cultures refer to North America as Turtle Island,” he said. “And along Sunset Avenue is where the University’s Aboriginal Student Centre, that bears the name of Turtle Island, was located. When we asked for naming suggestions from the campus community, many suggested a name that would reflect our First Nations.”

He noted that many aboriginal cultures reference seven teachings, each represented by an animal: Truth (the turtle), Wisdom (the beaver), Love (the eagle), Respect (the buffalo), Bravery (the bear), Honesty (the raven), and Humility (the wolf).

“The turtle represents truth, which must be at the heart of the pursuits of a university,” Dr. Wildeman said.

The six seating pods installed along this route will each bear the name of one of the remaining six animals, he said: “Like truth, all speak to values that can make our University a better place.”

A new name for the stretch of the former Patricia Road that is now a walkway past Dillon Hall is coming next week. A ceremony this fall will unveil signage for these thoroughfares and the seating areas.

Having co-op work experience can look good on a resume, says Jennifer Krista—especially if it is served overseas.

A human resources student at the Odette School of Business, she presented a poster about her year working in Hanover, Germany, with TÜV NORD, which provides technical inspection services. Because the market in Germany is mature, the company is looking for international opportunities for growth—and that’s where Krista came in.

She worked on training techniques for new markets, and helped with a presentation for employees in the Middle East.

“I got experience working with different cultures,” she says. “It was wonderful having the opportunity to go abroad.”

Krista was one of more than a dozen Odette students who have completed their three co-op work terms discussing their experiences Friday. It was the first time this group presented in a poster format, replacing a written report, says Kristen Morris, manager of co-operative education programs.

“This way, the students have a chance to hear about each other’s experiences, and can share with junior students as well,” says Morris.

Ben Scholl says his year in London with 3M Canada taught him a lot about marketing—and a lot about himself.

“This was the first time I got to move away from home,” says the Windsor native. “I learned so much from it.”

See more photos from the event on the Facebook page of Co-op, Career and Employment Services.

A new advisory council for the World Health Innovation Network will provide leadership, influence and support for its work to accelerate health system sustainability and economic growth in Canada.

“Together these experts represent a broad cross-section of both the business and health sectors in Canada, the U.S. and the world who will work with us to address the challenges facing our health care system” says Anne Snowdon, the network’s academic chair. “We are honoured to have these esteemed colleagues join us to advance innovative health solutions that provide value to the healthcare system and the innovative companies who are key to some of these solutions.”

Read the formal announcement of these appointments:

• Jodi Butts is executive director of Rise Asset Development and an active alumna of the University of Windsor.
• Carolyn Cross, founder and CEO of Ondine Biomedical Inc. and Sinuwave Technologies Corporation, currently serves on the National Research Council of Canada.
• Martha Huston is the senior vice president and general manager of services and solutions for the medical segment of Cardinal Health.
• Jim Marsh is the president of WFT Investments and a special advisor to the dean of the Odette School of Business, University of Windsor.
• Donna Wellington is vice president of hospital operations at Henry Ford Hospital Michigan.
• Carol Stephenson is corporate director of Intact Financial Services Inc. and a former dean of the Ivey Business School, Western University.
• Peter Van der Velden is the managing general partner of Lumira Capital, Canada’s largest dedicated life sciences venture capital investor.

The World Health Innovation Network is based at the Odette Business School at the University of Windsor, creating partnerships to source, embed and scale innovations in health systems. Find complete biographies of the network’s advisory council on its website.

The UWindsor Welcome Week committee invites individuals and organizations to submit proposals for events for the annual fall orientation week, which this year will run September 4 to 10. Faculty organizing the Academic Program Orientation for specific departments are asked to complete a separate event notification form.

The committee is also accepting event proposals for any events that will be held during September’s UWindsor Welcome Month.

Event proposals are due June 30 and the academic program event notification is due July 17 for inclusion in promotional materials that will be distributed in August and September. The UWindsor Welcome Week committee will be making decisions about event proposals during the first two weeks of July.

All events must be inclusive and accessible for all, and must contribute toward at least three of the desired outcomes:

• Orienting students to campus;
• Building a sense of community;
• Fostering school pride, civility and tradition;
• Promoting wellness and inclusiveness; and
• Enhancing a sense of fun and excitement.

All forms, planning guidelines and details are available on the UWindsor Welcome Week website. For further information, contact Amber Norman at anorman@uwindsor.ca or 519-253-3000, ext. 3462.

A presentation Thursday, June 23, will display student visions for Windsor neighbourhoods from Sandwich to Ford City.

Instructor Dorian Moore tasked students in his Green Corridor course with envisioning designs for parks and the planned Gordie Howe international bridge. The projects are inspired by Open Streets Windsor, which will close some roadways to vehicular traffic July 17 and September 18, says Moore.

The showing is open to the public from 3 to 4:30 p.m. in room 115, LeBel Building.

Registration is now open for a soccer tournament for members of the Graduate Student Society.

The event is set for Saturday, July 16, in the south campus stadium and offers free food and prizes for top team and best player.

Register by June 30, using this online form.

The University of Windsor announced Tuesday the hiring of Richard Johnston as acting coach / track and field coordinator and Kevin DiNardo as acting coach / coordinator of field events.

Johnston and DiNardo both have a long history of affiliation with the Lancers track and field program as assistant coaches under former head coach Dennis Fairall. They will remain in these positions for the duration of the 2016-17 season.

The University will continue its search to fill the position of head coach for track and field.

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

• 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.

The shutdowns 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.