Students from Frank W. Begley Public School walked a tightrope, zig-zagged their way across beams, and balanced on a teetering platform Thursday as they manoeuvred through the low ropes challenge course at the Toldo Lancer Centre.

“We’re using this as a team-building opportunity,” said Begley teacher Kaitlin Denonville, who organized the trip for classes of Grades 5 and 7 students at the school. “It’s important for co-operation and practising communication skills.”

The course, sponsored by Ironworkers Local 700, was offered to the Begley students free of charge, thanks to a grant from IG Wealth Management. The financial planning company’s grant allows community groups to use amenities at the Toldo Lancer Centre at no cost.

The 40 students from Begley were the first group to use the course this season.

“With the nicer weather coming, there’s an uptick in bookings of our challenge course,” said Sandra Ondracka, UWindsor’s co-ordinator of recreation services. “We’re thankful to the Ironworkers and to IG Wealth Management that we have this course available to the community.”

The course employs about a dozen UWindsor students from across campus. Members of the Lancer Recreation Challenge Course Crew, they explain the feats and act as spotters as visitors attempt them.

Kinesiology student Robbie Oates infused a little imagination into a tightrope challenge in a section of the course called the Bermuda Triangle.

“Don’t fall into the hot lava!” he said, reminding the Begley students to hold onto the guide rope tightly. “Work together and help each other.”

Ondracka said the course was designed for all ages and can be used for workplaces, clubs, and sports teams.

“Really, it’s for any group that wants to work on team-building and leadership.”

—Sarah Sacheli

Humans have inflicted horrendous harms on other species, says Jing Lin, professor of international education policy at the University of Maryland. She will debunk anthropocentric ideas that put humans above all other species in an online presentation Tuesday, May 2.

Her lecture, entitled “Justice-based Pedagogies Focusing on Rights of Nature and Taking Nature as Our Beloved Family,” is free and open to the public. It will run 2 to 3 p.m. on Zoom; join here.

Dr. Lin promises to critique rampant capitalist greed leading to destruction of nature.

“I will posit nature as intelligent and equal citizens of Earth, study the nature rights movement, and explore justice-based pedagogies which heed the voices of nature, argue and speak on behalf of nature, engage holistic practices to connect with nature and to revive Indigenous ways of knowing and being, aiming to cultivate sense of interbeing and eco- cosmos-ubuntu consciousness in learners,” she says.

Lin has published and co-edited 16 books and many articles and chapters on peace and environmental education, contemplative inquiry and holistic education, and spirituality, religion and education.

This event is facilitated by UWindsor education professor Shijing Xu, Canada Research Chair in International and Intercultural Reciprocal Learning in Education, and by PhD candidate Chenkai Chi, in observance of Asian Heritage Month.

Spring is in the air and summer is right around the corner — time for faculty and staff to get feeling their best, and Lancer Recreation is ready to help.

“Come meet one of our wonderful personal trainers at the new Toldo Lancer Centre for a free consultation,” says Mike McMahon, assistant fitness and sport conditioning co-ordinator. “You’ll walk away with a better understanding of how to improve your health and wellness.”

Signing up for a personal training package also entitles clients to receive free access to the Toldo Lancer Centre and Forge Fitness Centre.

McMahon points to testimonials from UWindsor staff members.

“Being strong is amazing,” says Camille Armour, senior development officer for the Faculty of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences. “I had lived with the misconception that weight training makes you bulk up. Personal training helped dispel that thinking. Diet is eating right for your body, not a punishment.”

Oliga Tserakhava, talent retention co-ordinator in the Department of Human Resources, says she toyed with the idea of personal training but had always felt intimidated.

“After a few sessions, it was clear to me that I was just too afraid to try it before. After a couple of weeks of my training, I realized that I was getting excited to hit the gym and especially the weights,” she says. “I began to see results and it was just fun seeing myself progressing and getting stronger.”

McMahon invites those interested in becoming the best version of themselves to email him for details on booking personal training at Mike.McMahon@uwindsor.ca.

As collaboration outside of the academy becomes increasingly important for research impact, expanding its network of industry and community partners is a strategically important goal for the University of Windsor, and the research administration team is responding.

Launching on May 1, the new Office of Research Partnerships will add critical support to the UWindsor research ecosystem for researchers working with off-campus partners. From inception to implementation, Research Partnerships will offer supports for industry-researcher collaboration, community engagement, networking and outreach, intellectual property and commercialization, and innovative knowledge transfer to aid researchers in growing their research impact.

The Office of Research Partnerships will be headed by Tom Schnekenburger, who has been working with the Office of Research and Innovation Services since 2020. Schnekenburger started his career in Kitchener-Waterloo’s start-up ecosystem with a smart city technology company and worked with state and local governments on the West Coast of the U.S. to learn how to adopt innovative technologies. He joined the University of Windsor in 2020 in a shared role with Invest WindsorEssex and St. Clair College working to advance strategic partnerships in automobility and building on the strength of the regional ecosystem to further Windsor-Essex as a place to stay, learn, work and play.

In his new role as director of research partnerships, Schnekenburger will provide strategic direction on campus research partnerships, and leadership in expanding the networks available to UWindsor researchers. He will be responsible for cultivating relationships with industry, government agencies, and community partners who are positioned to put research outcomes into practice and keep a finger on the pulse of their needs to better support matching the right researcher to the right partner. He will also lead the identification and development of new and strategic partnerships that will keep the University on the leading edge of technology, arts, science, humanities, and social sciences research.

Supporting the office will be Nicole Roberge (BComm 2020), who joins the Research Partnership team from Finance. She will take on the role of innovation administration co-ordinator, looking after the UWindsor intellectual property portfolio and supporting networking with prospective off campus partners. Roberge will also work with colleagues in the Office of Research and Innovation Services to develop grants that will support commercialization of innovative technologies. Roberge has worked in the University's Finance Department for several years. She was a projects accountant on such major capital projects as the Toldo Lancer Centre and Transforming Windsor Law.

The Research Partnerships team is rounded out by contract/technology transfer manager Vesna Kaps (BComm 1996, JD 1997), whose legal expertise and wealth of knowledge about UWindsor research has long played a pivotal role in securing research contracts.

Together, the Research Partnerships team will play a key role in promoting UWindsor research and building its reputation for excellence. They will also expand the impact of this research by helping to make sure it gets into the hands of those who can put it quickly into practice for better, more resilient local, regional, and national outcomes.

The Office of Research Partnerships is part of the Office of Research and Innovation Services under the leadership of the Vice-President, Research and Innovation.

Whamburg, the campus restaurant adjacent to the Education Building, will open through the summer seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

It will continue promotional pricing on Wednesdays and offering Mare Nostrum items from its grab-and-go fridge, notes owner Adam El-Dika.

In addition, Whamburg has begun a walk-in special of half-price milkshakes after 6 p.m. and is now offering free delivery through third-party services: Uber Eats, SkipTheDishes, and DoorDash.

The University has declared a lab water still for sale by bid as Disposal File 1098.

The device, a Thermo MegaPure 3A Water Still model 6751, is used to remove impurities from water. Click here for details.