Organizers of the University’s Spring Open House — 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, March 7 — invite submissions from campus partners for engagement activities.

The event provides prospective students and their families an opportunity to meet with faculty, staff, and current students; tour campus; and attend presentations. Examples of outreach activities include:

• Academic presentations by faculty and current students
• Tours of facilities, equipment, and laboratories
• Performances, exhibitions, or experiment demonstrations

Acting associate vice-president, enrolment management, Chris Busch, encourages departments and groups to get creative.

“We are hoping that designing activities that really provide our visitors with a taste of the UWindsor experience will enable them to envision themselves here,” he says. “Have some fun with your ideas!”

To aid organizers in preparing for your session — booking spaces, scheduling, promotion to invitees — complete the brief survey by Friday, Feb. 7.

One of Canada’s top architects will discuss the power of architecture as an agent of community transformation in a free public presentation Thursday, Jan. 30, in the SoCA Armouries.

Donald Schmitt, a principal of Diamond Schmitt Architects, is committed to the design of architecture that transcends convention and enriches everyday life. He is the founding chair of the Public Art Commission for the City of Toronto, a member of the University of Toronto design review panel, and served more than a decade on the design review panel of the National Capital Commission.

Schmitt’s recent designs include the transformation of the National Arts Centre and the Senate of Canada Building in Ottawa; the Gilgan Centre for Research and Learning at Sick Children’s Hospital; Emily Carr University of Art + Design in Vancouver; Lazaridis Hall at Wilfrid Laurier University; and the compact mixed-use, transit-connected, pedestrian-oriented SmartCentres Place in Vaughan. He is also the architect working on the renovations to the Ron W. Ianni Faculty of Law Building.

His lecture, entitled “Architecture as an Agent of Transformation,” is part of the ArchiLecture series celebrating the 10th anniversary of the creation of the Visual Arts and the Built Environment (VABE) program. It begins at 7 p.m. in the Performance Hall in the Armouries, located at 37 University Ave. East.

The Student Counselling Centre is hosting a weekly bereavement group to support students in their time of grief as well as to help inspire hope and healing following the Iran tragedy.

“An individual’s response to grief will depend on their unique experiences, circumstances, culture, and personality,” says Ashley Vodarek of the Wellness Outreach Office. “This group is designed to help students identify their own ways of dealing with grief and loss, explore their emotions surrounding their personal loss, and develop coping skills to help them in this time of need.”

The bereavement group meets every Tuesday 3 to 4 p.m. in the CAW Student Centre Boardroom, room 277. The first session will be held on Jan. 28, and the group will be offered until Feb. 25.

Students are encouraged to call ahead if they plan to attend. Direct any questions to the Student Counselling Centre, 519-253-3000 ext. 4616 or scc@uwindsor.ca.

The CAW Student Centre has events planned for the next two days, promoting mental health literacy as part of Revive and Thrive Week.

Tuesday, Jan. 28, Exodus Escape Rooms will set up two 15-minute puzzles in the centre’s commons, free to students, 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

A limited number of packages of hygiene products will be distributed free on a first-come, first-served basis Wednesday, Jan. 29, starting at 11:30 a.m. at the main entrance. Each of the “Take-Care-of-U” bags are a surprise — lip balm, body wash, detergent, skin care bars, razors, shaving cream — you never know what you might get.

Lancer Recreation is also holding events for all students on Tuesday, starting at 10 a.m. with a tai chi demonstration in the St. Denis Centre’s Multipurpose Room, a visit with therapy dog Kooper in the Human Kinetics Building, and concluding at 5 p.m. with a slime-making session.

The Leddy Library invites students to get “emojinal” Tuesday by making a custom button to express their feelings, from 2 to 4 p.m.

Find a full list of activities planned during the week on the website of the Wellness Outreach Office.

On Feb. 6, Windsor Law will welcome Supreme Court Justice Andromache Karakatsanis, speaking under the auspices of Windsor Law’s Women and the Law student group as part of the Kathleen A. Lahey Feminist Legal Lecture Series.

Named to commemorate the work of former Windsor Law professor Kathleen Lahey, who now teaches at Queen’s University, the series revives one founded in 1993 that had featured such prominent speakers as Constance Backhouse, Mona Stonefish Jacobs, Claire Young, Patricia Hughes, Sheila McIntyre, Brenda Cossman, and Judge Micheline Rawlins, but has been on hiatus for the last few years.

“By reviving this annual event, Women and the Law seeks to inspire Windsor Law students to advocate for change within the community,” says Women and the Law chair Mallory Allan. “We seek to engage students within the Faculty of Law and the broader community in discussions about the legal issues that affect women within the legal system, female law students, and women in the legal profession.”

A question and answer period will follow the lecture. It is open to University of Windsor faculty, staff, and students, but attendees are asked to register in advance.

—Rachelle Prince

It can take up to eight blood donors each week to treat someone with leukemia. Canadian Blood Services is giving students, staff, and faculty two chances this week to help meet that need, with donor clinics in the CAW Student Centre on Wednesday and Thursday, Jan. 29 and 30.

Organizers hope to collect 152 units of blood over the two days. Both clinics will open at 10:30 a.m., running until 3:30 p.m. Wednesday and 4:30 p.m. Thursday. Walk-in donors are welcome, but appointments will better accommodate donors’ working schedules. To book an appointment, call 1-888-2DONATE (1-888-236-6283).

As with previous clinics, the Department of Human Resources encourages all eligible employees to participate in this worthwhile process and asks any employees who wish to donate to make the necessary arrangements with their supervisors regarding the possibility of extended lunch or break periods.