Author, scholar, and public intellectual Randy Boyagoda will make the case that who and what we read can be life-or-death decisions in a free public presentation Thursday in the Performance Hall at the SoCA Armouries.

A professor of English at the University of Toronto, Dr. Boyagoda also serves as vice-dean, undergraduate, in its Faculty of Arts and Science. He is author of six books, including four novels. His research and writing, supported by the Social Science and Humanities Research Council, the Canada Council for the Arts, and the Ontario Arts Council, has been nominated for the ScotiaBank Giller Prize, the IMPAC Dublin Literary Prize, and named a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice and Globe and Mail Best Book of the Year.

Thursday’s talk, entitled “Why’d you put the book down, Francesca? Life and Death, Reading and Dante,” will explore signal moments in the Divine Comedy with life-and-death stakes based on the decisions individuals make about who and what they read, how, and why.

Having read a canto a day of the Divine Comedy for the past five years while writing a Dante-inspired novel, Boyagoda will read from his most recent novel Dante’s Indiana, published by literary press Biblioasis, about people whose lives have been radically changed by the books they took up at high and low points in their lives.

Hosted by the Humanities Research Group as part of its Distinguished Speakers Series, the lecture will begin at 5 p.m. Feb. 16. The event will conclude with an audience question-and-answer session and refreshments.

The Humanities Research Group will present “Know Your Rights! A Community Symposium on the Charter,” Friday, March 3, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the Freed-Orman Centre. An online participation option will be available here on conference day.

The free symposium, with simultaneous interpretation in both English and French, is intended to better equip equity-seeking groups and official language minority communities with information and tools to support efforts to ensure their rights and freedoms are recognized.

The day will feature three panels:

• the first will tackle access to justice under the Charter;
• the second will explore how human rights protected by the Charter can be expanded to aid vulnerable groups;
• the third panel will focus on how to increase the scope of language rights for official language minority communities.

A full agenda listing the panellists and their presentation topics can be viewed here.

Participants, whether attending in person or virtually, can attend any or all panels of their choosing. The symposium will end with a networking session.

Complimentary refreshments and lunch will be served to participants who RSVP by Feb. 27 to Petar Bratic at braticp@uwindsor.ca.

Symposium inquiries can be directed to political science professor Emmanuelle Richez at emmanuelle.richez@uwindsor.ca.

Cette information est aussi disponible en français.

A mini round dance and panel discussion Tuesday, Feb. 14, will bring continued awareness to Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and 2 Spirit people.

“Violence against Indigenous women and girls is an unfair reality and cruel truth, but one that needs to be better understood in order to protect the health and safety of all Indigenous sisters,” says Michelle Nahdee, Indigenous legal studies co-ordinator in the Faculty of Law.

Panellists include Beverly Jacobs, senior advisor to the president on Indigenous relations and outreach and an associate professor in the Faculty of Law; political science professor Rebecca Major; and Kristen Jeavons, Indigenous justice co-ordinator for Legal Assistance of Windsor.

Dr. Jacobs contributed the chapter “Honouring Women” to the 2018 book Keetsahnak: Our Missing and Murdered Indigenous Sisters. Inspired by their discussion of the book, members of the Paul Martin Law Library’s Truth & Reconciliation Reading Circle participated in the commemorative art installation “Walking With Our Sisters” project by making moccasin vamps, or tops. The vamps they made will be displayed during today’s event.

Presented by the Paul Martin Law Library’s Truth & Reconciliation Reading Circle and the Turtle Island Aboriginal Education Centre and sponsored by the Office of the Senior Advisor to the President on Indigenous Relations and Outreach, it runs 1 to 3 p.m. in the CAW Student Centre Commons.

People filled the Essex Centre of Research (CORe) atrium in celebration Friday, Feb. 10, as the Faculty of Science officially opened its Wine and Spirits Lab.

Housed in Essex Hall, the lab will provide laboratory analytical services to industry while creating authentic work-integrated experiences for students through on-campus internships.

“We are the only university in Ontario with such an opportunity for undergraduate students,” says Chris Houser, interim vice-president of research and innovation. “Students will develop the analytical and technology skillsets as a result of the work in the lab that will help them secure meaningful and impactful careers.”

Industry partners, media, and local dignitaries joined UWindsor staff, faculty, and students to tour the lab as part of the event hosted by the Faculty of Science and the Office of the Vice-President, Research and Innovation.

"The wine and spirits lab provides our students a unique opportunity to build their analytical and transferable skills in direct partnership with our community,” says Dora Cavallo-Medved, acting dean of science.

“And it is through those partnerships that we will help to build future careers for our students right here in Windsor-Essex."

That lab is part of UWindsor’s Extension Science Program, created to expand and strengthen partnerships with local wineries, breweries, distilleries, and greenhouses to support economic growth and diversification in Windsor and Essex County.

Chemistry alumna Allison Christ (BSc 2011), the winemaker at Colio Estate Wines, values the partnership.

“The analytical analysis is very important to wine making, beer making and distilling, but the equipment is cost prohibitive to small producers, so we get to reap the benefit of the University doing the investment for us to really help us and that support is crucial,” she says.

Unlike traditional internships, in which students compete for a limited number of positions, UWindsor’s program is a scalable experience, with students receiving credit towards degree completion. The Wine and Spirits Lab will in turn drive innovative research projects between local industry and faculty at the University of Windsor.

Undergraduate science students Quinn Santoro and Rachael Roberts are the inaugural interns for the lab.

“I think it is giving me a lot more lab experience because during COVID a lot of lab work was brought online so I wasn’t able to get into the lab in person and use all the different equipment,” says Roberts. “This lab experience has now allowed me to train with the different equipment.”

Inspiration for the Extension Science grant came from conversations with local industry and a sector scan grant completed in partnership with Invest Windsor-Essex. UWindsor received a $750,000 provincial grant in 2019-20 to renovate the laboratory and purchase analytical equipment in support of the project.

The D2L Brightspace learning management system (LMS) has been rolled out campus-wide for the Winter 2023 term, with more than 2,680 courses and 18,757 users active on the platform.

“Congratulations to the LMS implementation project team members, who have made exceptional efforts to integrate the platform in an extremely compressed timeline necessitated by the Blackboard contract end date,” says provost Patti Weir. “Thank you to all the instructors and staff who were willing to learn, adopt, and adapt their courses in Brightspace mid-academic year. Your commitment to student experience is applaudable.”

The collaborative efforts by the campus community to prepare for the new LMS have been key to the success of its campus-wide implementation. More than 1,120 faculty, staff, and graduate and teaching assistants have attended in-person or online training across 94 workshops in preparation for the beginning of the Winter 2023 term. Many others have made use of the synchronous training, materials, and how-to documentation provided by the Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL) and D2L.

“The faculty-specific outreach and support we received from CTL, and the communication provided to ensure we were prepared was phenomenal. It was remarkable the way everyone pulled together to make this transition happen,” says Michele Stewart, faculty champion supporting the Odette School of Business.

Rachel Elliott, one of Nursing’s faculty champions, agrees: “The Faculty of Nursing has appreciated the faculty-specific drop-in sessions and the consistent support to ensure that we can help students during this transition. I honestly can’t believe how smooth the transition has been for us.”

Faculty champions have reported that instructors felt supported, had their questions answered when needed, and appreciated information tailored toward individual needs. They said that from their perspective, it was a daunting transition in the middle of the school year, but the implementation team executed an extremely well-thought-out and structured plan.

“The 15-minute information sessions, the drop-ins, an amazing group of pilot instructors, and using champions to filter down information and assist within faculties were brilliant outreach strategies,” says Gregg French, one of faculty champions in arts, humanities, and social sciences.

The LMS Implementation team consists of members from Information Technology Services, the Office of Open Learning, and CTL.

“Overall, it was a very easy transition,” says Jade Powers, a fourth-year psychology student. “Brightspace is intuitive and aesthetically pleasing. I like the fact that you can track your progress and identify what you have already opened in the course. During the first pilot class, our professor provided us with an overview of the platform, which was very helpful.”

Workshops for instructors, staff, GAs and TAs, as well as one-on-one support through in-person and online drop-in sessions, continue. Brightspace drop-in support is available Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., virtually through Microsoft Teams and at the CTL offices.

The Brightspace LMS replaces Blackboard, which will be fully decommissioned April 28. More information about Brightspace can be found online.

The Lead Volunteer Program is accepting applications for new and returning event volunteers to support orientation programs such as Head Start, Winter Orientation, and UWindsor Welcome Week.

Event volunteers play a crucial role in making individual connections with the incoming undergraduate students at Head Start throughout the summer, says student development specialist Amber Norman.

“Incoming undergraduate students have all kinds of questions about what it’s like to be a student in their faculty and look to the expertise and guidance of upper-year students that have already walked the first-year path,” she says. “This is an ideal opportunity for upper-year undergraduate students living in Windsor over the summer who would enjoy sharing their experiences with others and offering support to those transitioning to campus life.”

Applications can be accessed through the Lead website and are due by Friday, March 3.

For more information, visit the Lead website or email lead@uwindsor.ca.

An event Tuesday, Feb. 15, promises conversation on making, saving, investing, and growing money.

Presented by the diaspora cultural festival AfroFest, “Smart Money Tribe” will run 4 to 6 p.m. in the Student Centre Commons with guest speakers:

• Kemi Anazodo, a professor of management at the Odette School of Business;
• Lydia Ughulu (MM 2019), a client adviser with Royal Bank of Canada; and
• Arjei Franklin (BHK 2005, B.Ed 2006), a constable with the Windsor Police Service.

The event will conclude with refreshments and a prize raffle for students in attendance.