Campus News Briefs

U of W committed to disability student services

The University of Winnipeg made the front page of the Winnipeg Free Press on Sept. 25 after a memo was leaked reportedly alerting staff that disability student services programs would be cut. Budget constraints and an unexpected increase in the number of students who need special services were cited as reasons. Saturday afternoon, the university’s communications department put out a press release saying that the memo was sent prematurely and that the decisions it outlined had not been approved by the university’s senior executive. Lloyd Axworthy, the university’s president and vice-chancellor, stressed the U of W’s commitment to providing services to students with disabilities. “Our mandate to reach out and support traditionally under-represented students, including those with disabilities, remains important to us,” he said in the release.

Sam vs. Judy – who will win?

Mayor Sam Katz and mayoral candidate Judy Wasylycia-Leis will put up their dukes on Thursday, Oct. 7 in a downtown mayoral forum. Presented by the U of W’s Institute of Urban Studies, the topics for discussion will include downtown issues from garbage to sidewalk conditions to rapid transit. Whether the city’s financial structure will be strong enough to go through with the ideas presented will also be discussed. The debate takes place in the atrium of Manitoba Hydro Place (360 Portage Ave.) from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Grants of a lifetime awarded to U of W profs for clean-up research

Successful elimination of organic micropollutants, toxicity, and nutrients from water and sewage lagoons in Winkler and Morden, Man., is paying off for two University of Winnipeg professors. Charles Wong, the Canada Research Chair in environmental toxicology and associate professor in environmental science and chemistry, and Bill Buhay, associate professor of geography, earned a grant of $148,760 from the Lake Winnipeg Basin Stewardship Fund. Several others also had committed their time and dedication to the project including Mark Hanson, an associate professor from the University of Manitoba and Jules Carlson who is in the chemistry field at U of W.

Randy Kobes leaves legacy to U of W undergrads

The fifth annual Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) poster competition was held on Sept. 22 and named after late associate dean of science, Randy Kobes. Kobes, who was recognized as an exceptional educator, academic and physicist, passed away on Sept. 18, 2010. Typically only graduate students from other universities are eligible for the competition, but this year the University of Winnipeg established the Randy Kobes Undergraduate Poster Session in tribute to his dedication to undergrads.
Twenty-four academically acclaimed students in the fields of chemistry, physics, psychology and anthropology submitted research projects with the goal of establishing themselves in their fields of choice. Winners, all from the physics department, included Michael Lang, Ian Taylor and Dylan Buhr.

Wesmen soccer kicks it up a notch

The Wesmen men’s and women’s soccer teams are off to an amazing start this year.  In a pre-season game against Canadian Mennonite University (CMU), the men’s team posted a 7-0 victory in a rain-shortened game, while the women showed their offensive strength in a 14-0 triumph. The season opener this past weekend showed the men coming up strong in a 2-1 victory against Providence College and the women also posting another solid performance winning 8-0 against Providence.

Published in Volume 65, Number 5 of The Uniter (September 30, 2010)

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