As part of a series of concrete steps aimed at combatting Anti-Black Racism on campus, the University of Windsor has issued a call for student, staff, and faculty nominations and self-nominations for the University of Windsor the Anti-Black Racism Task Force. Task Force membership will be predominantly Black. 

Deadline for nominations is October 20, 2020 and can be submitted at: www.uwindsor.ca/joinabrtaskforce

A future of true inclusion and belonging begins with our actions and choices today. To find about more about this important work, visit: www.uwindsor.ca/antiblackracism. 

Prey, a film chronicling a sexual abuse survivor’s court battle with the Catholic Church, recently won another national arts award -- this time for Best Editing in a Feature Documentary at the Canadian Cinema Editors (CCE) Awards, announced on Twitter October 2.

Edited by School of Creative Arts’s (SoCA) film faculty member Nick Hector, Prey follows the story of William Hodgson Marshall, a Basilian priest and former Windsor Catholic school teacher who was convicted of abusing 17 young people over his 38-year career. Survivor Rod McLeod subsequently sued the Catholic Church and won a $2.5 million judgement.

The piece, filmed and edited at SoCA with the support of FAHSS's Vincent Georgie, was directed by CMF alumnus Matt Gallagher with a crew that included students Alysha Baker, Randi-Lyn Miller, Cri Kosti, and Steven Boere, went on to win the Rogers Audience Award for best Canadian documentary and the DGC Jury Prize at Hot Docs, as well as the LiUNA People’s Choice Award at WIFF.

Hector joined SoCA’s film faculty in 2018 where he teaches editing to third and fourth-year film students and MFA Film and Media Arts students, as well as a first-year time-based media course in the Visual Arts program.

“The critical success of this project proved to me that I can do good work at the university – I work in a very supportive and nurturing environment,” Hector says.

“This kind of film (Prey) it’s more like being a literary editor where your author hands you a 100,000 page first draft. Matt shot about 200 hours of film. So, it’s a process of elimination, pulling things out and revealing the gem that’s in there.”

Hector says Gallagher shot the film over a two-year period following in real time the court case and appeal. As the story unfolded over time he says he was tasked with figuring out the film’s narrative purpose.

“I would say that constructing the emotional arc, how the film engages with you and triggers your emotions over time is the most significant challenge,” says Hector. “To figure out the logic of the structure is the craft. Working out the emotional structure I see as the art of it.”

The awards were announced on Twitter October 2nd.

Three members of the University of Windsor community are among the women being honoured as this year’s ATHENA Scholarship recipients.  

Selection criteria for the ATHENA Scholarship Program, valued at $5,000 each, include academic excellence; enhancement of the quality of life in the community; mentoring others; leadership and team building; and diversity.

New this year is an additional $5,000 scholarship in honour of Loretta Stoyka, President of the ATHENA Scholarship Fund (Windsor), for a student in the University of Windsor’s Faculty of Law.

University of Windsor scholarship winners are:

Tara Chan, who has maintained a solid academic record while passionately helping others in the community in various leadership and mentorship roles. In 2014, she graduated from the University of British Columbia with a Bachelor of Arts Degree. This year, she completed her combined Law (JD) and MBA degree at Windsor Law

Chan’s mentorship activities include involvement in the peer mentorship program at Windsor Law. Her community involvement includes volunteering as a litigator with Community Legal Aid, and as a deputy divisional superintendent with St. John Ambulance. She intends to pursue a career as an employment lawyer and is committed to serving her community while representing the values of ATHENA that reflect gender and visible minorities.

Paige Coyne excels academically while serving as a student leader and mentor. She received a Bachelor of Human Kinetics (honours) in 2017, and a Master of Human Kinetics in 2019 from the University of Windsor. She is currently a UWindsor PhD candidate in kinesiology.

Her passion to make a difference in the lives of women includes service as a Board Member of Leadership Advancement for Women in Sport (LAWS) at the University of Windsor. She also contributes to improving the confidence and self-image of female students by her involvement in the Girls in Motion event; Healthy Kids Community Challenge; and Windsor’s Fitspirit Celebration. Coyne aspires to be a college or university professor and focus on community-based project research.

Celina DeBiasio has maintained academic excellence as an advocate for women’s health. She graduated from the University of Windsor in 2017 with a Bachelor of Science (Honours, With Great Distinction) in biochemistry, and recently completed her second year in the Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) program at the University of Ottawa.

Her leadership and community involvement include her role as co-founder and co-leader of the Ottawa Chapter of the Student-Senior Isolation Prevention Partnership to reduce social isolation of Ottawa seniors.

DeBiasio is a student mentor and student leader of the Vertical Mentorship Group at the University of Ottawa. Her commitment to diversity includes membership in the Indigenous Health Interest Group, and Women’s Health Interest Group in Ottawa. She is looking forward to a career as a health care provider and making a positive impact in her community.

Though recipients will receive their scholarship cheques this year as scheduled, the 2020 ATHENA Scholarship Luncheon will be postponed and held in combination with the 2021 luncheon on Thursday, November 18, 2021 at St. Clair College Centre for the Arts. 2020 recipients, along with their families and guests, will be invited to join and be recognized at the 2021 luncheon, where University of Windsor Chancellor, Mary Jo Haddad will be the guest speaker.

The University of Windsor community mourns the passing of faculty retiree Dr. Deborah Cook, who passed away on October 6th, 2020.

Dr. Cook commenced her employment on July 1, 1989 with the University of Windsor as Assistant Professor in the Department of Philosophy. She was promoted to Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy on July 1, 1993, and was later promoted to Professor in the Department of Philosophy on July 1, 2000, a position she held until her retirement on January 1, 2020.

Dr. Cook’s, obituary can be found here:

https://www.henrywalser.com/memorials/Cook-Deborah/4358750/

Campus Flags will be lowered today in her memory.