A team of doctoral students of argumentation studies from the University of Windsor made a big impression at the first International Conference on Debate and Dialogue held May 29 and 30 in Doha, Qatar.

The UWindsor students: Asma Tajuddin, Jiaxing (Jessie) Li, Amanda (Panambi) Morales Vidales, Ronnie Haidar, Jianfeng Wang, and Daniel Mejia Saldarruaga, led a session on “Argumentation in a Political Context.”

“It was truly a proud moment to see our PhD students shine the way they did,” says Pierre Boulos, a learning specialist in the Centre for Teaching and Learning and a senior fellow of the QatarDebate Center, which organized the conference.

The event attracted scholars from around the world for what was billed as an “open platform for discussing specialized academic issues that enrich our knowledge in the fields of debating, dialogue, argumentation, and other related fields such as philosophy, education, linguistics, and Islamic sciences.”

Dr. Boulos notes QatarDebate and the University of Windsor held a signing ceremony to formalize the relationship between the two institutions.

“The organizers and scientific committee were impressed with the depth of knowledge from our students, so much so that a separate session was planned at the conference showcasing UWindsor and the research around political argumentation,” he says.

“While we shared UWindsor and the Centre for Research in Reasoning, Argumentation, and Rhetoric with Qatar, our students have returned with new insights and knowledge from the debate community, and especially the thriving Arab debate community.”

Haidar calls the conference an extraordinary experience.

“It was an excellent platform for us from the argumentation studies program to showcase our important work to a diverse audience on an international stage,” he says. “I am proud to say that our program is a leader in this subject area, and we were able to demonstrate that at the conference. It was a fantastic experience, and I am grateful to have been a part of it.”

On July 8, 1798, the Duff-Baby Mansion opened its doors to become the home of Alexander Duff, a Loyalist fur trader from Aberdeen in Scotland.

Two hundred and twenty-five years later, the community will gather on the weekend of July 8 and 9 to celebrate the oldest building in Windsor with tours, games, and a series of public lectures illuminating the history of Sandwich Town.

History professor emeritus Larry Kulisek will present “Life in Sandwich in 1798” on Sunday, July 9. He is joined by Elder College instructor Frank Perissinotti, who will present “The Building of a Mansion in 1798.”

Volunteers from Les Amis Duff-Baby will lead tours of the house with demonstrations of lost arts and children’s games on the lawn outside from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. A brief procession at 11:30 a.m. will feature a bagpiper, a town crier, and remarks by city councillor Fabio Costante (BComm 2007, MBA 2008, JD 2013) and Les Amis Duff-Baby president Don Wilson. Face painting will be available from noon until 2 p.m., at which time the Riverfront Theatre Company will present The Founding of Sandwich.

On Sunday, tours will resume from noon until 4 p.m. The line-up of afternoon lectures is:

• Perissinotti, “The Building of a Mansion in 1798” at 1 p.m.
• Rick Duff, “Searching for your Scottish Family Roots” at  2 p.m.
• Dr. Kulisek, “Life in Sandwich, 1798” at 3 p.m.

Each lecture will be approximately 20 minutes long.

The Duff-Baby Mansion is located at 221 Mill St. All events for the 225th anniversary are free of charge. For more information, visit the Les Amis Duff-Baby Facebook page.

The Engineering to Adapt symposium, held June 22 and 23 at the University of Windsor, brought together stakeholders, enthusiasts, and experts from academia, industry, and the public sector to discuss current challenges and sharpen existing solutions that advance responsible living.

The Greek letter eta signifies efficiency, as well as being the symposium’s acronym, said conference chair David Ting, a director of the Turbulence and Energy Laboratory which hosted the event.

“Engineering efficiency entails minimizing entropy generation and environmental interference and is the key to brightening tomorrow,” he said. “Our research strives to catalyze every person to engineer efficiency.”

This symposium promoted collaboration to maximize opportunities for innovation. Dean of engineering Bill Van Heyst delivered welcoming remarks, and former dean Graham Reader gave a presentation on Waste Not, Want Not that focused on rethinking problems with food waste and fast fashion.

Marguerite Xenopoulos, Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Global Change of Freshwater Ecosystems and a professor in the biology department at Trent University, delivered a second keynote address discussing how engineers and aquatic ecosystems are intertwined and inspiring attendees to think beyond the surface.

Other presentations covered:

• Carbon and transportation
• Light, heat, and radiation
• Reclaiming Eden
• Engineering systems and analyses
• Our environment and ecosystems
• Greenhouse and energy
• Wind, soil, solar, and wave
• Renewable energy and society

Honorary chair Rupp Carriveau said it was exciting to watch the symposium form outcomes in real time.

“Brand-new collaborations were forged and existing ones were re-calibrated and improved through the illustrative and friendly forum of presentation and discussion that only happens in very collegial and supportive gatherings like this one,” he said. “So much more to come — I can’t wait to see what evolves between now and next year’s event!”

The organizers invite interested parties to the 2024 summits, Brightening Tomorrow Together and Thriving Through Change.

—Naomi Pelkey

The Joint PhD in Educational Studies program answers the call for highly trained talent to bolster Canada’s intellectual capital in an increasingly competitive knowledge-based economy, says its new director, Andrew Allen.

The program is a collaborative partnership between the University of Windsor, Lakehead University, and Brock University and is designed for working professionals. It offers the best of each of its partners, access to a wide range of expertise and research interests, and enhanced opportunities for depth and breadth in various fields of study.

“Education continues to face many challenges and our Joint PhD program provides exciting opportunities in generating new knowledge and directions in research and scholarship in education,” says Dr. Allen.

He began a five-year appointment as the Joint PhD program director July 1.

Allen has taught in the Faculty of Education across all program levels, including the Joint PhD program, since his initial appointment in 2002. He has served as co-ordinator of the Aeronautics Leadership Program and as chair of the University of Windsor African Diaspora Youth Conference, and currently holds the position of University of Windsor Anti-Racism Pedagogies Teaching Leadership Chair — the first in Canada.