The Muslim Medical Association of Canada – Windsor Chapter through the Windsor Islamic Association has gifted $1.2 million to the University of Windsor, Faculty of Law to help establish a Chair in Palestinian Human Rights Studies. This historic gift is the first of its kind in Canada and builds on Windsor Law’s access to justice mission.

“This gift demonstrated our commitment to supporting academic excellence and advancing the university’s mission in the areas of social justice and community building,” said Dr. Osman Tarabain of the Windsor Islamic Association. 

Windsor Law’s mission is to educate ethical, justice-seeking lawyers through teaching, research, advocacy and service. 

“From the social determinants of health to harm prevention, doctors and lawyers shared common goals,” said Faculty of Law Dean Reem Bahdi.  

“We were deeply grateful for this gift, which helped the faculty advance its justice-seeking mission.” 

As the semester approaches its end, the Print Shop is here to make your exam preparation seamless.  

Faculty and instructors can rely on the Print Shop for efficient, high-quality, and secure exam printing services, ensuring exams are ready for distribution when needed most. 

To further support your needs, the Print Shop has introduced a new drop box for Scantron submissions. The secure drop box, located outside the back entrance of the Print Shop and marked by new signs, allows faculty to submit Scantron forms after hours. Please note that only new Scantron forms will be accepted – no mixed papers. 

As a reminder, the Print Shop is the designated resource for campus printing. Using its services ensures consistency, quality, and compliance with university standards. Faculty and staff are encouraged to submit any final requests for posters, lawn signs, or nametags as soon as possible to ensure timely production before the semester concludes.  

The Print Shop is open Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and is always ready to assist with your printing and signage needs. Visit us in the lower level of Chrysler Hall Tower, room 01, or contact us to get started. 

The Career Centre is seeking students to compete in the WACE Global Challenge, a four-week virtual experiential learning program where multidisciplinary teams from universities around the globe tackle real-world projects that advance UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Supported by edtech start-up Practera, the program connects students with real organizations, helping prepare them for global workplaces. Participants will collaborate with international peers, solve real-world challenges, and build skills in innovation, cultural intelligence and consulting—enhancing their career readiness and global network.

The Career Centre encourages students from diverse academic disciplines to apply to form a dynamic team with unique perspectives, skills and experiences, representing the University’s commitment to excellence and innovation.

All current University of Windsor students are eligible to apply. Ideal candidates are self-driven, capable of managing multiple responsibilities, effective communicators, eager to gain a global perspective and adaptable to change.

Interested students can apply here, with an application deadline of Thursday, Dec. 12.

For questions or additional details, contact careerservices@uwindsor.ca.

Digital microfluidics is a fascinating field that involves the programmable manipulation of tiny discrete droplets on a chip. Droplets, much smaller than raindrops, are precisely controlled to perform various benchtop biological and chemical analyses on a device called a lab-on-a-chip.

Jalal Ahamed, a professor in the Department of Mechanical, Automotive and Materials Engineering, and doctoral student Gnanesh Nagesh are leading a collaboration with Professor C.J. Kim at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) to combine several disciplines and develop a thermal control system for lab-on-a-chip devices.

“Professor C.J. Kim is known as one of the pioneers in digital microfluidics, and this is a unique opportunity for us to learn from a leader in the field. In his lab at UCLA, we received hands-on training in digital microfluidics, and we learned how they design and program these devices,” says Dr. Ahamed.

Driven by an NSERC Alliance International Catalyst Grant, the team has been working to develop an integrated microthermal sensing and heating system for droplet-based lab-on-a-chip devices.

As lab-on-a-chip technology advances, integrated control and sensing systems will remain at the forefront, driving more sophisticated and impactful microfluidics for biomedical analysis and instrumentation.

In her 30 plus years as co-ordinator of Lancer Recreation, Sandra Ondracka has seen a lot of change, including the adoption of the name “Lancer Recreation” from its previous label of “Campus Recreation.”

“Our focus has expanded from the university campus to include a more global perspective,” she says. “In keeping with the Aspire strategic plan, we put a lot of emphasis on drawing the community into our spaces and recreation programming.”

The Toldo Lancer Centre hosts events: everything from high school graduations to competitions of athletics and robotics. Children’s summer camps and the low-ropes Challenge Course have attracted thousands of youths onto campus who may otherwise not have stepped foot here. In addition, Ondracka points to many campus and community collaborations with local health care organizations and departments such as kinesiology, to jointly offer programs such as the Cardiac Wellness Maintenance Program, LAWS - Girls in Motion, and the Adaptive Physical Exercise (APEX) program.

She is proud that the University has signed on to the Okanagan Charter, which commits institutions to embed health into all aspects of campus culture and to lead health promotion action and collaboration locally and globally.

“The entire concept of fitness has grown into a key part of overall health, mental as well as physical,” she says. “Where recreation used to be an option, now it’s integrated into everything we do to promote well-being.”

Her work involves co-ordinating with the Student Counselling Centre, the Wellness Office under Student Affairs, and other campus groups such as the Lancers Recover  and providing employee supports to ensure a healthy environment.

“I know the difference this makes in people’s lives,” Ondracka says. “Never did I think at the start of my career that it would take on this sort of importance on campuses across the country.”

But she truly believes that recreation and the Lancer Centre support student recruitment and retention, academic performance, and a sense of belonging on campus.

Foundational to Lancer Recreation are the values of equity, diversity and inclusion which also reflects another of the University’s Aspire priorities.

“We are constantly looking at ways to incorporate notions of diversity into our operations: reaching out to marginalized populations and asking at every stage ‘Are we being equitable? Are we being accessible? Do you feel like you belong?’”

With three full-time support staff and a student employee complement in the hundreds, the Lancer Rec team is responsible for summer camps, aquatics, intramurals, community outreach, TLC memberships, fitness and instructional programs. Ondracka’s job requires a lot of day-to-day “putting out fires,” ensuring excellent customer service and facilitating opportunities to maximize participation.

If all else fails, she is always ready to step in and lead a fitness course herself: “I can teach spin classes, interval training — everything but Zumba,” Ondracka says with a chuckle.

After wowing the judges at a recent hackathon, a winning team of computer science students got to set sail aboard a Royal Canadian Navy vessel.

The Royal Canadian Navy Hackathon 2024 invited five teams to join their Windsor problem-solving and design competition, which challenged students in STEM fields — science, technology, engineering, and mathematics — to come up with innovative solutions to real-world tests faced at sea.

Three Master of Computing students — Dawar Waqar, Saira Rubab, and Harjot Singh — won the competition.

“Participating in the Royal Canadian Navy hackathon was an exhilarating and competitive experience,” says team member Rubab.

“Being surrounded by cutting-edge technology and seasoned professionals with extensive experience in the navy was incredibly inspiring.”

Their team was tasked with developing a solution to address breaches on naval ships.

“We prioritized creating the fastest and most reliable approach, putting ourselves in the shoes of navy personnel to understand their potential challenges,” says Rubab.

“This perspective enabled us to deliver a practical and innovative solution. We were thrilled to know we secured a significant 15-point lead over the runner-up team, with a score of 99.3 out of 100.”

After the hackathon, the team toured a naval vessel. As event winners, the three graduate students later embarked on a full day of exercises on Lake Erie, all hosted by the navy.

“Engaging with the crew and exploring the ship’s technology up close was an incredible experience,” says Rubab.

“We had the opportunity to visit various areas, from the engine bays to the ship’s safety systems, and even participated in some of the exercises. One of the highlights was riding on a high-speed, high-maneuverability raft — it was an adrenaline-pumping thrill!”

Rubab says overall the experience was both enjoyable and enriching.

“It reinforced the concept that, even when competing against individuals with more experience, thinking creatively and considering stakeholders’ perspectives can provide a significant competitive advantage. We are grateful for this opportunity and eagerly anticipate the future of collaboration between technology and the navy.”

Today’s politics seem more contentious than ever, and we seem to pour more and more time and energy into one-on-one arguments with others — a wrong-headed approach, says philosophy professor Christopher Tindale, and his students in the Centre for Research in Reasoning, Argumentation and Rhetoric have the data to prove it.

The team argues that the most effective way to shift people’s beliefs is to modify the environment in which they are thinking about the topics that matter to them. Each student conducted an in-depth case study of a particular political actor or movement, such as Canadian women’s rights campaigner Nellie McClung or American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., to try and understand what worked about their methods of arguing.

For example, McClung engaged in well-publicized mock parliaments, where her speeches imitated those of Manitoba premier Rodmond Roblin, reversing the very points he used to deny women the vote to argue that the same should hold for men. In short, she modified the intellectual environment in which people thought, influencing their beliefs and values.

“Increasingly, especially online, the public debate is filled with misinformation and deliberate lies,” says Dr. Tindale. “To keep up, we have to glean what lessons we can from the argumentation styles examined in this research.”

Learn more in the full article, “To change people’s views, change the information environment,” published in the Research and Innovation in Action report.

A sweatshirt with “University of Windsor: est. 1963” appliquéd across the chest was the best-selling item of apparel at the Campus Bookstore this year, reports manager Marianne Nitz.

The garment is a cotton-polyester blend, boasts a hood and a kangaroo pocket, and is available in navy blue or natural. The navy version sold 201 units as of the end of November to top sales.

“At just $55, it is very reasonably priced,” Nitz notes.

Find it on the store’s website.

However, it wasn’t the best-seller overall. Patrons snapped up 469 click pens with University of Windsor printed along the barrel — the item sold out.

The University community is invited to join the Office of Human Rights, Equity, and Accessibility for the presentation of its OHREA Awards on Friday, Dec. 13.

The awards recognize and celebrate the contributions made by individuals and groups who advance human rights, social justice, inclusivity, employment equity, mental health, and accessibility at the University of Windsor.

After 12 years, this will be the final presentation as the wall plaque is filled. The plaque will serve as a reminder of the outstanding members of the University community who gave their time, talents, and energy to make the campus and the broader society more just and welcoming.

This year’s honorees are:

• Accessibility Award: Nicole Canzoneri
• Employment Equity Award: Kevin Milne
• Human Rights and Social Justice Award: UWin Pride
• Mental Health Champion Award: Giovanna Abraham
• OHREA Award: Lorraine Oloya

The event will run noon to 1 p.m. with the program starting at 12:15 p.m. in the CAW Student Centre’s Alumni Auditorium, Salon A & B. Donations of canned goods or money for the Campus Food Pantry can be made by visiting the University of Windsor Students’ Alliance office in Room 209, CAW Student Centre.