Summer 2011

I’m often asked if our busy pace slows down during the summer months when our campus is less crowded, and many people are surprised when I explain it’s quite the opposite. These last few weeks have not only been eventful, but we’ve experienced historic announcements and milestones that are continuing to elevate the profile of the University of Windsor. This summer, we have been busy writing what will become the next chapter in the future of our institution.

It was a historic day for our university when, in partnership with the Province of Ontario and the City of Windsor, we announced plans to relocate the Music and Visual Arts programs downtown to the Armouries building. We also revealed our plans to investigate the feasibility of moving the Social Work program and the Centre for Executive Education into the Windsor Star building. This highly anticipated announcement was more than two years and countless meetings in the making. As we head into the next development stages, all of our decisions continue to be centred on what is best for our students. More details about these exciting plans are found in this issue.

Just ten days after the downtown news conference, the provincial government announced a $2 million capital funding donation to build a “clean room” lab in the Centre for Engineering Innovation (CEI) which will enable the Faculty of Engineering to have the critical capacity it needs to finalize an Aerospace program, to coincide with the opening of CEI in the fall of 2012. The first phase of the building will be completed this summer, allowing our researchers to move in to the southern portion of the complex.

Building on the momentum of all of this positive news, one week following the Aerospace announcement I had the pleasure of participating in my favourite event of the year – Convocation. Our Spring 2011 graduating class was especially memorable as we conferred our 100,000th UWindsor degree. All of our alumni have contributed to reaching this milestone, with more than 32,500 working in Windsor-Essex and approximately 18,000 in the greater Toronto area. We’re proud that more than half of our alumni are living and working in Ontario, and proud that alumni across the country and around the globe are creating value for communities and our world.

The importance of creating value for our communities is the focus of this issue, specifically through the award-winning research we undertake in all of UWindsor’s many disciplines.

We have set out to demystify research activity and perhaps even clarify a misconception that these highly-specialized efforts don’t intersect with everyday life. Again, the explanation proves quite the opposite. For example, UWindsor research is making your vehicle more fuel efficient, your child safer on city streets, the products you purchase more valuable and affordable, the long-term care of your loved ones more dignified, and your environment more sustainable.

Through historic announcements, significant milestones and ground-breaking research, the University of Windsor is creating a tremendous amount of value for our students and our community. These efforts are giving you, our alumni, even more reasons to be proud of your alma mater. I trust the collection of stories in this issue will give you more than enough material to help spread the important news about the positive developments at the University of Windsor.

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Alan Wildeman
President and Vice-Chancellor