UWindsor faculty and staff will celebrate the end of a very challenging semester by gathering online Friday, Dec. 11, for a wine tasting and social.

Participants will enjoy a package of three wines — a pinot grigio and the Lady in Red cabernet-merlot from Sprucewood Shores Estate Winery and a riesling from Dancing Swallows Vineyard — delivered contact-free to their doors.

Then from 5 to 7 p.m. Dec. 11, they will interact with the winery owners for a real-time tasting and tour on the Gather Town platform that allows for interactive video chat. Users control who, when, and how they talk to people online.

Tickets are $50; find details at tinyurl.com/y4qrkbxw.

As the halfway point of the annual Adopt-a-Family campaign draws near, organizers are rallying the UWindsor community to contribute online, safely and securely. Donations support the children, youth, and families served by the Windsor-Essex Children’s Aid Society who depend on the generosity of faculty and staff year after year.

Linda Ingram, secretary to the assistant deans and research chair at Odette School of Business, has been organizing the effort in the faculty for more than 10 years. She says that she will miss gathering the coats, toys, and games that her colleagues normally purchase as part of the campaign, but is quick to point out the gratitude she feels to be able to contribute given the restrictions the pandemic has placed on this year’s campaign.

“The need in our community has never been greater, with so many people not working due to COVID,” Ingram says. “We are some of the very lucky ones who can help to make this holiday a happy one for the kids.”

Giovanna Abraham, assistant to the associate vice-president, operations, agrees with Ingram and explains that her department has adjusted as well: “While things are different this year, our team is still committed to participating, just in a different way.”

According to Abraham, individuals have chosen to make online donations directly as a way to contribute safely and still make the holidays a bit brighter for those in need.

For all those wishing to participate, visit the online donation site. A tax receipt will be issued for each contribution and a family will have an extra gift under the tree thanks to you.

For further information, contact Meagan Haugh at meagan.haugh@uwindsor.ca.

The chief commissioner of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission will deliver a public lecture Tuesday, Dec. 1, entitled “Christian and Indigenous people can co-exist.”

Murray Sinclair has served in Canada’s Senate since 2016 after a 25-year legal career; he was Manitoba’s first Aboriginal judge and Canada’s second.

The event will be live-streamed at www.assumptionu.ca/senatorsinclair starting at 7 p.m. It is presented by the Stephen Jarislowsky Chair in Religion and Conflict at Assumption University, Canterbury College and Iona College.

For information, call 519-973-7033, ext. 0, or email cbertrand@assumptionu.ca.

UWindsor president Robert Gordon announced the suspension of privileges for the Delta Chi fraternity to book space on campus after a series of messages allegedly exchanged by its members were brought to his attention.

“Many of the messages shared in this note are disturbing, unacceptable, and entirely incongruent with the values of our school and the work we are doing to create a more inclusive and equitable community at the University of Windsor,” Dr. Gordon wrote in a message to the campus community Thursday.

“As president, I take responsibility for the progress we need to make to ensure that our campus protects the emotional, physical, and psychological safety of everyone in our community.”

Acknowledging that the organization does not have a formal relationship with the University, he pledged to launch an investigation into the matter and noted it has also been referred to Windsor Police Services.

Read the entire statement.

Campus partners are working to maintain a robust set of Knowledge Base Articles (KBAs).

The KBA team will continue to compile a Weekly Digest of the most-referenced KBAs to streamline student-focused questions to ask.UWindsor to support consistent communication with current and future students.

These are this week's top-five referenced KBAs:

• How do I access and complete an online SET?
• What happens if I cannot get a student visa prior to my planned departure to Canada? (COVID-19)
• How do I sign in to UWinsite Student?
• How do I view my offer of admission to an undergraduate program at UWindsor?
• How do I know when to register for classes?

Find Winter 2021 KBAs by clicking here.

Submit common questions to askkba@uwindsor.ca.

myUWinfo.uwindsor.ca is the University of Windsor’s employee gateway to human resource information.

Watch Information Technology Services team member Eva Bernachi as she walks through how UWindsor employees can find, view, and print their tax slips (T4s and T4As) online in this 121-second Tech Talk video.

If you want more information about myUWinfo, click on the link in the Comments section below the video.

Tech Talk is a presentation of IT Services. More Tech Talks are available at www.uwindsor.ca/its/tech-talk.

The Senate Governance Committee on Special Appointments welcomes applications for Distinguished University Professor, Professor Emerita/Emeritus, and Honorary Professor.

Applications for eligible candidates must be submitted to the University Secretariat by Dec. 15, 2020. The criteria and process can be found here.

For additional information, contact Danny Anger or by email at angerd1@uwindsor.ca.