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September 24, 2015 / Vol. 51 No. 23
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PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY FRANK NEUFELD
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Western’s newspaper of record since 1972
2
Western News
| September 24, 2015
Western News
Editor’s Letter
Visit the Western Events Calendar at
www.events.westernu.ca for a full look
at the week ahead.
Western News (ISSNO3168654), a publication of Western University’s Department
of Communications and
Public Affairs, is published
every Thursday throughout
the school year and operates
under a reduced schedule
during December, May, June,
July and August.
An award-winning weekly
newspaper and electronic
news service, Western News
serves as the university’s
newspaper of record. The
publication traces its roots
to The University of Western
Ontario Newsletter, a onepage leaflet-style publication
which debuted on Sept. 23,
1965. The first issue of the
Western News, under founding editor Alan Johnston, was
published on Nov. 16, 1972
replacing the UWO Times
and Western Times. Today,
Western News continues to
provide timely news, information and a forum for discussion of postsecondary issues
in the campus and broader
community.
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Nov. 16, 1972
BEST BETS
JASON WINDERS
Western News Editor
FOLLOW
SEPT. 24 |
Athletics
Curatorship of university’s
athletic history enters new era
11 a.m. Western Sports and Recreation Centre
@ We s t e r n E d i t o r
Taking time to
praise tomorrow’s
alumni today
F
or me, becoming an alumnus was a lot like becoming
middle aged – I never really expected it to happen to me,
and then, when I woke up one day and realized it had
already arrived, I had no idea what the hell to do about it.
My university never prepared me for being an alumnus. I am
not sure many of us were. We picked up our diplomas, answered
our phones (most of the time) when the university came calling in
six months and played our part as donor, or mentor, or volunteer,
when called upon.
For me, it continues to be an affable, if unspectacular, relationship. Such is the fate for those of us who are in no danger of having
a building named after us on our undergraduate campus.
But that will change for a lot of institutions in the near future.
As thousands of alumni return to Western’s campus this weekend, my thoughts turned to the next generation of alumni who are
currently seated in classrooms across campus.
I have great expectations for this bunch. These kids are going to
change everything – from how we view work-life balance to how we
approach health care, politics and technology. No generation has
both desired connections, and had more options at their fingertips
to make those connections, than this one.
And when the Baby Boomers (finally) step aside – their era will
dawn.
What will that mean for them as alumni one day? Perhaps that is
an exhausting answer for my Alumni Relations colleagues to consider, but there is an excitement surrounding this wave of energy
that will come rushing over us in the next decade or so.
And don’t blame them for being eager and demanding. We
made them this way.
As universities, we have trained these young people to work
collaboratively, think globally and give of themselves. We have
embedded them in a culture of support. We asked them to question ‘how we’ve always done things’ – so don’t get irritated when
they do just that.
What will these young alumni allow us to do as an institution that
we never contemplated? The possibilities are endless.
I think of those students French Studies professor Henri Boyi
takes into far-off communities through his Rwanda: Culture, Society and Reconstruction course. I think of those who lend a helping hand across town or around the globe as part of Alternative
Spring Break. I think of all those students who have driven their
hands deep into the mud of Vindolanda or dipped a toe in Lake
Naivasha.
All because of their time at Western.
I think of all these students and all their experiences they will
carry with them for a lifetime; I cannot see them limiting their
involvement to simply answering the phone, writing a cheque and
walking away. They will demand – and you’ll pardon the well-worn
expression – an experience as our next wave of alumni.
And I have great expectations for what that will look like.
Opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of
or receive endorsement from Western News or Western University.
HIREWESTERNU CAREER FAIR
Students and alumni have the opportunity today to connect with 71
top employers, without ever leaving the campus.
SEPT. 26 |
1:30 p.m. International and Graduate Affairs Building, Atrium
CREATIVE WRITING: HOME AT WESTERN
Celebrate the art of creative writing with an afternoon of literary readings from Western’s current Writer-in-Residence, Tanis Rideout, and
Western Student Writer-in-Residence, Helen Ngo.
SEPT. 26 |
11 a.m. Delaware Hall Residence (DHR) 30
DELAWARE 50-YEAR CELEBRATION OPEN HOUSE
This year, Delaware Hall Residence is celebrating its 50 years with an
open house during Homecoming Weekend 2015.
SEPT. 26
#HOCOONTHEHILL
One day. Two concerts. And unforgettable Western Experience.
OCT. 2 |
8 p.m. Paul Davenport Theatre
PARSONS & POOLE CONCERT WITH ANAGNOSON
& KINTON, PIANO DUO
The Parsons and Poole Legacy Concert was created by alumni to
honour Margaret Parsons and Clifford Poole, two of the Faculty’s early
piano teachers and international performance artists.
PAUL MAYNE // WESTERN NEWS
Recent Western graduate Nick Komarnitsky has taken over as the new curator for the John P. Metras Museum.
Located in Alumni Hall, the museum is gearing up for Homecoming weekend, Sept. 25-27.
B Y PA U L M AY N E
NICK KOMARNITSKY OFTEN wonders if the leather
helmets worn by Western Mustang football players ‘back
in the day’ really made a difference.
“Doesn’t seem like a lot of protection offered here,” he
said, holding the hardened leather helmet up for closer
inspection. “I think some of the old football equipment is
some of my favourite stuff. I can’t imagine football players
today wearing stuff like this.”
The helmet is just one of the thousands of artifacts,
equipment and photos that make up the John P. Metras
Sports Museum. And Komarnitsky, a recent graduate of the
master’s program in Public History, is now overseeing the
entire lot as the museum’s first paid curator.
The Metras Museum, as it’s simply known, was founded
in 1984 by the ‘W’ Club and situated at the front of Alumni
Hall, where it still stands today. Created to make visible
what had long been the pride and joy of students and
staff at Western – the university’s legacy of excellence in
athletics – legendary Mustangs coach Dutch Decker was
the inaugural curator.
Decker teamed up with long-time London Free Press
sports writer Bob Gage to establish a collection of photographs, artifacts, newspaper clippings and other items,
many of which were donated by staff and alumni, along
with an array of financial contributions. Gage took over as
curator in 1988, followed by well-known Western studentathlete Ted Hessel, who just recently retired after seven
years at the helm of the museum.
The museum’s centerpiece is its comprehensive team
photo collection, which consists of more than 2,100 unique
pieces from more than 60 men’s and women’s sports teams,
and spans from the early 1900s until today. The museum
also boasts a growing oral history collection, developed
in partnership with Western’s History Department, which
serves as a way to collect the memories and feelings of a
host of athletic alumni.
“I was completing the master’s program in Public History
and worked at the museum all during the school year and,
in the summer, did internship,” Komarnitsky said. “From
there, Ted happened to be retiring and it was good timing
for me. I enjoy reading about Western’s athletic history; it’s
a really fun topic.”
While he’s now curator of the museum, it was something
Komarnitsky wasn’t even aware existed when he first got
to Western.
“I did my undergrad at Guelph, and they don’t have a
sports museum at all; Western is one of only two schools
that does,” he said, noting the University of Alberta is the
other. “It shows you how important athletics has been to
the university here.”
While 24 years old, and still fairly new to Western, Komarnitsky will have Hessel as his trusty backup.
“He’s like an encyclopedia of Western and Western
sports history. It’s unbelievable,” Komarnitsky said. “He
knows everything off the top of his head. He will be around
and popping in occasionally, so I will still have access to him
and his vast knowledge base.”
When Gage passed away in 2009, he bestowed more
than $1 million to Western Athletics, with a large portion
of that money going to the museum, to ensure Western’s
athletic legacy would continue to be preserved. It also
meant getting extra storage space for the museum in
Thames Hall, allowing Hessel to move his large collection
of memorabilia from his basement to campus.
“At one time, he’d be bringing everything from his
house to the museum, back and forth,” Komarnitsky said.
“Now, we have storage right here on campus, as well as a
work space.”
Also, in 2009, the Metras Museum developed a working
relationship with Public History, hiring an intern to identify,
catalogue and digitize sports artifacts and photographs.
While great strides were initially taken in collecting visual
and textual research, there was still a need for the collection
of oral research.
In order to fill that gap, an oral history project was
undertaken in the summer of 2012 that would focus on the
collection and preservation of oral testimonies of former
athletes, administrators, and coaches at Western. These
are currently available, metrasmuseum.ca, with new additions each year.
“I really like being a part of the campus community; I
really like Western,” said Komarnitsky, who is planning for
the museum’s biggest weekend – Homecoming. “We get
a lot of people who come by. It’s a lot of fun when people
come in and pick themselves out on the wall and share
stories about their time at Western.
“That’s usually when it hits me how big athletics are here,
and what it means to so many who played.”
PRESERVING OUR HISTORY
The John P. Metras Sports Museum welcomes donations of pictures,
artifacts, schedules and any other materials relating to the athletic
history of Western. They also provide research help and limited
access to the collection on an appointment basis. For information,
email metrasmuseum@gmail.com or call 519-661-2111 ext.
88854. Follow the Metras Museum on Twitter at @metras_museum
or on Instagram at metras_museum.
| September 24, 2015
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4
Western News
| September 24, 2015
Western News
| September 24, 2015
Research
Scholar looks to ease pain of millions
AMANDA ALI DOESN’T mince words when
it comes to her work within the Faculty of Health
Sciences.
“The goal is to reduce the burden of osteoarthritis.”
Part of Western’s Bone and Joint Institute and
the Collaborative Training Program in Musculoskeletal Health Research, Ali is the inaugural
recipient of the Kirkley Postdoctoral Fellowship
in Musculoskeletal Health Research and Innovation.
With a focus on improving pain management
in osteoarthritis, she comes to Western from the
Institute of Medical Science at the University of
Toronto, to complete her postdoctoral project,
Improving pain management in osteoarthritis:
A senior-friendly peer-led community education
and mentoring approach. This work is being
conducted in the Sam Katz Community Health
and Aging Research Unit at Western, under the
supervision of Health Studies professor Marita
Kloseck and Orthopaedic Surgery professor Joy
MacDermid.
Ali’s research aims to develop a novel ‘peermentor-based program’ to get osteoarthritis
pain management information into the hands of
seniors in London retirement communities. The
project looks to identify mentorship models to
reduce health-care costs, the demand on specialized care providers and the overall burden of
osteoarthritis on this at-risk community.
Her present battle, however, is getting the
word out on what is often a misunderstood
disease.
Arthritis is a disorder that involves pain and
inflammation in one or more joints. However,
there are more than 100 forms of arthritis – and
not all are understood by the general public
despite their prevalence in millions of people.
“Osteoarthritis is the most common type of
arthritis, but rheumatoid arthritis is better understood,” Ali said. “Usually, when you get any kind
of information related to arthritis, the focus is on
rheumatoid.”
Simply stated, osteoarthritis occurs when the
protective cartilage on the ends of your bones
wears down over time. Although osteoarthritis
can occur in any joint, the disorder most commonly affects your hands, knees, hips, shoulders
and spine. Osteoarthritis often gradually worsens. No cure exists.
Rheumatoid arthritis, however, is a chronic
inflammatory disorder affecting small joints in
your hands and feet. Unlike the progressive
damage of osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis occurs acutely, causing a painful swelling
and joint deformity. An autoimmune disorder,
rheumatoid arthritis occurs when your immune
system mistakenly attacks your body’s tissues.
“There is also good information about management strategies for osteoarthritis, but part
of the struggle is helping people to understand
there is a difference between the various types
of arthritis,” Ali said. “There’s not a magic-bullet
treatment for arthritis; the subtypes shouldn’t
be treated the same. There are nuances. Part of
my work is raising awareness about this, using a
community-management approach.”
Among its many parts, Ali’s research looks to
create a unique pain management program for
osteoarthritis.
“A lot of the resources currently available
focus heavily on rheumatoid arthritis,” Ali continued. “What we’re hoping to do is build resources
specific to osteoarthritis, and create a community network of support for accessing and implementing specific pain-management strategies to
reduce the daily burden of this disease.”
While half of people over 65 years old will get
some form of osteoarthritis, that means half will
not, leading osteoarthritis researchers to believe
it is not be just ‘a normal part of aging.’
“Part of the challenge is the complexity of
the disease. There can be so many contributing
factors – genetics , activity level, injury,” she said.
“The disease doesn’t develop the same in all
people. X-rays may show osteoarthritis, but the
patient experiences no pain, and the reverse
is true, a patient may have pain, but show no
radiographic signs of osteoarthritis.”
Ali hopes to target patients who are just
starting to experience pain and address their
situation before the need for joint-replacement
surgery.
“Let’s say you have symptoms and you’re
still fairly young – early 50s. What can we do in
terms of lifestyle factors to manage the disease
and prevent progression? Plenty, according
to emerging research,” she said. “The current option for advanced osteoarthritis is joint
replacement. To me, that’s not an ideal solution.
It’s an invasive procedure and it’s not always
beneficial for people, especially with something
like osteoarthritis, which can affect multiple joints
in the body.”
While there were opportunities for Ali take her
research to the University of British Columbia or
Duke University, she saw Western as the best fit
for taking her work to the next level.
In May, Western further buoyed its leadership in musculoskeletal health research with
“There’s not a magic-bullet
treatment for arthritis;
the subtypes shouldn’t be
treated the same. There are
nuances. Part of my work
is raising awareness about
this, using a communitymanagement approach.”
the formation of The Bone and Joint Institute.
The institute builds on a $5-million investment
the university made into the Western Cluster of
Research Excellence in Musculoskeletal Heath
in November 2014. That program will fund
more than 70 researchers from several faculties,
including the Schulich School of Medicine &
Dentistry, Health Sciences, Engineering, Science
and Social Science to study conditions such as
arthritis, osteoporosis, trauma and work-, sportand exercise-related injuries.
Ali’s appointment coincided with the institute
announcement.
“I chose Western because this fellowship is an
amazing opportunity to work with the Bone and
Joint Institute. Also, the Sam Katz Community
Health and Aging Research lab is one of the best
for community research,” she said. “There are
a lot of people looking at implementation and
knowledge-translation studies. While there are
a lot of great goals, the critical component is to
engage the end user.”
- Amanda Ali
PAUL MAYNE // WESTERN NEWS
Amanda Ali doesn’t mince words when it
comes to her work within the Faculty of
Health Sciences. “The goal is to reduce the
burden of osteoarthritis,” said the Kirkley
Postdoctoral Fellow in Musculoskeletal
Health Research and Innovation.
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Western News
| September 24, 2015
Western News
| September 24, 2015
Research
Research
Alumnus floats revolutionary idea on rowing
Work looks to deny cancer fertile ground in lungs
“My area of
B Y PA U L M AY N E
BY GORDON SO
expertise is sports
biomechanics. If you
have a fundamental
understanding of
biomechanics, in
theory, you have the
means to scientifically
study any sport.”
- Brock Laschowski
BROCK LASCHOWSKI SUMS up
his graduate career with a simple programming note.
“When I explain to people what I
did for my masters, I typically refer to
it as a MythBusters episode,” said the
Kinesiology graduate.
Like the popular a Discovery Channel show, Laschowski is turning convention on its ear, especially as it
relates to the mechanics of oars and
rowing. However, unlike the television
program, his work, recently published
in the Journal of Sports Engineering
& Technology, will provide quantitative measures to elite rowing teams
worldwide allowing them to decide
whether they should invest further
resources into meticulously studying
different oar settings.
When deciding which masters program to pursue, Laschowski received
a call from the Canadian Sport Institute Ontario (CSIO), which supports
all Olympic and Paralympic sports in
Canada.
“They asked me if I were interested
in going to Western, because they
had an opportunity for me to work
with Dr. Volker Nolte, a world-leading
rowing biomechanist, while simultaneously conducting my masters research
in collaboration with the Canadian
Olympic Rowing Program, which is
also based in London,” Laschowski
explained.
“Having the opportunity to work
directly with the Olympic program,
while completing my thesis, it was two
birds with one stone.”
Nolte is the head rowing coach
and professor at Western, where he
teaches biomechanics and coaching. Since 1993, he has led the men’s
rowing team to 11 Ontario University
Athletics Championships and four
Canadian University Rowing Championships. Since 2010, he is also the
head coach for the women’s program.
Oddly enough, when offered the
research opportunity, Laschowski had
no previous rowing experience.
“Before my masters at Western, I
worked as a part-time laboratory assistant at the CSIO; they were already
familiar with my work,” he said. “My
area of expertise is sports biomechanics. If you have a fundamental understanding of biomechanics, in theory,
you have the means to scientifically
study any sport.”
Laschowski investigates the effects
of oar-shaft stiffness and length on
rowing biomechanics. His research
accounts for the first-ever experimental investigation into the effects of
the shaft’s properties on elite performance.
Prior to his work, there were two
generally accepted theories about
rowing oars – one based on stiffness,
one based on length.
The former has to do with oar-shaft
deflection. When the blades enter the
water and the rower pulls on the handles, the oar-shafts bend as the blades
experience resistance while moving
through the water. This deflection stores
elastic potential energy in the shaft’s
material. Toward the end of the rowing
stroke, the oars, presumably, have a
‘whipping effect’ whereby all the potential energy is transferred into kinetic
energy, and the boat dramatically propels forward. Less stiff oar-shafts supposedly propel the boat more.
“This theory is largely based on
technology developed amongst the
rowing community. Not having a rowing background was advantageous
because it allowed me to analysis this
problem from a purely objective scientific perspective,” Laschowski said.
The latter assumption has been traditionally explained using lever theory.
In a basic lever system, if someone
where to apply a force to the longer
side of a lever, shortening the lever on
the other side of the pivot point allows
one to lift more weight for the same
effort – think of a seesaw. Nolte was
the first to apply this concept to rowing. He showed, mathematically, that
for a given inboard length and blade
design, a shorter oar would result in
larger blade forces. However, his theoretical model lacked experimental
validation, Laschowski said.
In collaboration with the Canadian
Sport Institute Ontario and Western’s
Varsity Rowing Program, Laschowski
was able to experiment with elitelevel athletes. In the experiments,
rowers were supplied with medium
and extra-soft oars, both of which
were tested at three different lengths.
The athletes performed multiple trials
for each setup.
“The biomechanical differences we
measured between rowing with the
different stiffness and lengths were
minimal, even smaller than the differences between strokes,” Laschowski
said. “The experimental results do not
necessarily support the two theories.”
In ice hockey, for example, minimal
variations in shaft’s length and stiffness have been shown to dramatically
affect performance. However, that
does not appear to be the case in
rowing.
Laschowski’s study suggests oarshaft stiffness and length are not the
determining factors for performance
as previously believed.
“Right now, Olympic programs
around the world put considerable
time and effort into achieving optimal
boat setups. My research provides
quantitative measures which can help
teams decide whether they should
invest further resources into meticulously studying different oar settings,”
he remarked.
Laschowski is currently working
with Paralympic wheelchair curlers at
the University of Waterloo’s Department of Mechanical Engineering,
while completing his second master’s
degree in engineering. He aspires to
pursue and learn more about engineering so, as an engineer working in
Kinesiology, he can apply science to
the practical side of sport.
NOTICE TO JOIN THE ACADEMIC PROCESSION
306th CONVOCATION - AUTUMN 2015
Autumn Convocation takes place Thursday, October 22 and
Friday, October 23, with ceremonies at 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m.
Members of Faculty, Senate, the Board of Governors and Emeritus/a Professors/
Archivists/Librarians are invited to take part in the Academic Procession. Full
information on joining the academic procession (including order of
ceremony, honorary degree recipients, assembly and regalia) may be
found on the Senate Website:
uwo.ca/univsec/senate/convocation/index.html
ALISON ALLAN ENCOUNTERS the reality
of her work every day she enters the London
Regional Cancer Centre.
“I might see a woman here, same age as
me, with a young child, just like me,” said the
Anatomy & Cell Biology and Oncology professor
at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry. “I
walk through the centre to my office and it does
provide a sense of urgency, in terms of what
we’re doing and to ensure we’re answering the
right questions.”
The question currently on her plate is: What
about the lungs, one of the most common
and deadly sites of breast cancer metastasis
(spreading), is so inviting for the cancerous
tumours? Allan was recently awarded a threeyear, $450,000 grant from the Canadian Breast
Cancer Foundation to delve deeper into that
mystery.
In her search, she has employed the ‘seedand-soil’ theory, which proposes patterns of
metastasis in specific organs are determined
by whether an organ provides the environment
(soil) needed by a cancer cell (seed) to start and
maintain growth.
Allan’s research studies the lung environment
to examine whether specific proteins can mediate breast cancer metastasis. She will identify
proteins produced by the lung and released
into its environment, and proteins that support
lung structure, that may help breast cancer cells
travel and spread.
“We’ve made a lot of progress in early detection and surgical techniques,” said Allan, adding if the cancer is caught when it is localized,
survival rates are upwards of 80 per cent. “But
the problem is, we don’t often know, even at the
time of surgery, whether the cells have established themselves in an organ, such as the lungs.
It’s that other 20 per cent that do metastasize
where there is no cure.”
While the cancerous tumours can travel to
multiple places, including the bones, liver and
brain, it is the lungs where the more aggressive
subtypes of cancer (triple negative and HER2positive) tend to invade.
“So, not only do we know they’re going to
progress faster, we know they’re going to go
to the lungs,” said Allan, Assistant Director of
the Pamela Greenaway Kohlmeier Translational
Breast Cancer Research Unit within the London
Regional Cancer Program.
She likened the ‘seed-and-soil’ concept to a
dandelion on your lawn. In order for it to spread
PAUL MAYNE // WESTERN NEWS
Alison Allan, Professor of Anatomy & Cell Biology and Oncology at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, is using the ‘seed-andsoil’ theory in hopes of finding new treatments to halt the metastasis of breast cancer to the lungs.
– and it might go everywhere – it tends to set up
shop and grow in congenial soil. One lawn might
be dandelion free, while next door is overrun
with the weeds.
“There has been a lot of research as to what
is inherent about the cancer cells itself, what
characteristics it has that might make it want to
go there. But no one has really investigated what
the lung microenvironment is about – what the
soil there, in a sense, is like,” Allan said.
The plan is to examine a pair of proteins,
which Allan discovered in previous research, and
determine through molecular means if there are
inhibitors (drugs) that could interfere with the
ability of the lung to provide that ‘optimal soil.’
“The tumour cells will escape into the blood
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stream and they produce proteins that allow
them to eat away at the blood vessels and get
into circulation, kind of like getting on the 401,”
Allan said. “Then, they exit off to an organ. Once
they get to the organ, they decide if they’re
going to die, or grow, or occasionally, remain
dormant. The hope is we can make it such an
unpleasant environment that the cells just die.
Hopefully, it doesn’t turn around and go somewhere else.”
But she knows it’s not an easy task.
“The difference with cancer is it is constantly
evolving. The idea of survival of the fittest is
that these cancer cells, the ones that persist
to become metastatic, they adapt. The cancer goes, ‘Screw you,’” Allan said. “If there 10
women with breast cancer, each one will have a
different cancer. Cancer at day one is different
from cancer in two years.”
Allan is working in conjunction with professor Gilles Lajoie and his Biochemistry group to
do proteomic analysis. It is this interdisciplinary
work that Allan admits is a plus in the world of
research.
“I love my job and the excitement of finding
new things, and the partnership we have with
the hospitals means the cancer researchers, and
others, are right here,” she said. “This means
the work we’re doing at the basic science level
can be more quickly translated to the clinics.
The goal at the end is getting this into patient
studies.”
8
Western News
| September 24, 2015
Western News
| September 24, 2015
Senate
Apologies, task force talk dominates
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On Friday, Olson questioned if the
apology was extended to students
and community members, in addition
to faculty.
Deakin was clear that “the apology was to all academic faculty and
in response to concerns expressed
by UWOFA concerning the academic
freedom of the individuals it represents. Academic freedom applies to
faculty members.”
Other Senate actions included:
University Research Board Task
Force presented an initial report to
Senate, outlining its mission and work
plans after meeting three times over
the summer.
The task force has defined its mission as:
The social sciences, arts, and
humanities are central to Western’s
vision and mission. Indeed, worldclass researchers in these disciplines
are found across the university in eight
of Western’s Faculties and Schools.
Changes in both the internal and
external contexts make it timely to
examine how social science, arts, and
humanities research is valued and
funded. The Task Force will recommend strategies and concrete action
plans that will better support success,
growth and leadership in research in
these disciplines across the university.
The report outlined three main
objectives for the task force; each of
these areas will become a standalone
working group. Those groups will
include, at least, one member from
each of the eight faculties in which
social science, arts and humanities
research is conducted. Members of
the steering committee have been
assigned to act as coordinators for the
working groups.
The objectives include:
How do external entities, including funding agencies and professional organizations, define leading
edge scholarly activity in social sciences, arts, and humanities disciplines?
Andrew Nelson, Anthropology, and
Charles Weijer, Philosophy, task force
co-chairs, will coordinate the work in
this area.
As a first step, they will be consulting directly with the major funding
agencies in Ottawa and professional
organizations to fully understand the
external context. Once that consultation is completed, the group will
examine where Western fits currently
and how it might best position itself
for the future;
What are the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities of and threats
to social science, arts and humanities research at Western?
Jacquie Burkell, Information and
Media Studies (FIMS), Cathy Benedict,
Music, and Weijer will coordinate the
work of this group.
They will conduct a document
review, and, in consultation with the
assistant deans of research, develop
a list of individuals and groups with
which to meet within each faculty/
school. They have begun to develop a
series of questions that may be put to
individual researchers and groups and
are considering whether to conduct a
common survey of all researchers in
the social sciences, arts, and humanities disciplines at Western. They will
also take part in a town hall to be held
later in the fall to which all researchers in the related disciplines will be
invited.
How is research in the social sciences, arts, and humanities supported at Western and how can this
be improved?
Jonathan Vance, History, and Nelson will coordinate the work of this
group.
The individuals to be consulted
across campus will vary depending on the question. For example,
a review of administrative practices
and processes will require targeted
consultations with those in Research
Development Services who do the
work that supports those processes;
understanding promotion of research
activity will require consultation with
the Department of Communications
and Public Affairs, staff in individual
faculties with responsibility for promotion and celebration of research,
and individuals at other universities to
understand best practices here and
elsewhere. The group will also want to
understand how researchers promote
and communicate their own work and
how they can be encouraged to do
that more effectively.
One change was made to the task
force’s membership. Alison Doherty,
Health Sciences, replaced Julia
Emberley, Arts & Humanities, in the
group.
The Provost’s Task Force on University Budget Models will hold two town
hall meetings between now and the
end of the calendar year. Dates are
forthcoming.
The task force assigned a subcommittee to explore the graduate
funding portion of its mandate. Karen
Campbell, Vice-Provost (Academic
Planning, Policy and Faculty), will chair
that committee, which will report its
findings through the overall task force.
The fifth round of Western’s Interdisciplinary Development Initiatives
program (IDI) is currently underway
with proposals due to Deans on Nov.
1 and to the Office of the Provost
on Dec. 1. At that point, a selection
committee will be struck to evaluate
the projects, Alan Weedon, Western’s Vice-Provost (Academic Planning, Policy and Faculty), told Senate
colleagues.
Deakin announced that while firstyear student applications to the university remained flat compared to
last year, the incoming first-year class
is projected to be 5,160 students.
Most programs hit enrolment targets;
some blew past those. Engineering,
for example, targeted 550 students
this fall, but is welcoming an incoming
class of 680. Deakin said the university
is eyeing an expansion of Engineering
enrolment from its current 550-student
target to 580. The 20-year plan will
allow the university to self-fund a new
building, renovations and increases in
faculty. The incoming class boasted an
88.5 per cent mid-year average upon
acceptance.
FIMS professor Nick Dyer-Witheford proposed a motion calling for a
‘question period’ to be incorporated
into future Senate meetings. The
motion goes to the Operations and
Agenda Committee for consideration.
English and Writing Studies professor Jane Toswell proposed a motion
calling for a “pro Chancellor” at the
university. Toswell’s hope was the new
position would open the Chancellor
position up to a wider, more diverse
talent pool and not just those “with
a lot of spare time, which means you
pretty much have to be rich.” The
self-defined “wacky” idea goes to the
Senate’s Convocation Committee for
consideration.
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY FRANK NEUFELD
PHOTO BY PAUL MAYNE
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Recently, UWOFA raised concerns
that the University administration had
not properly respected the tenets of
academic freedom when, during the
Senate meetings of April 10 and 17,
signage criticizing the employer or
members of the administration was
taken from some faculty members by
security personnel.
Western’s leaders confirm the University’s commitment to Academic
Freedom as articulated in the Faculty Collective Agreement, and agree
to uphold and protect its principles.
These principles, however, must be
balanced with the university’s obligation to ensure the rights and safety of
all persons attending campus events.
In the Senate meetings of April 10
and 17, decisions to disallow signage
were made, not on the basis of a
desire to limit freedom of expression,
but from a desire to ensure that all
attendees could be assured of their
right to attend and view the proceedings, unimpeded by those wishing
to protest through showing signage.
While the administration did respect
peaceful protest outside of the Senate
meeting room, it may have acted too
hastily in removing the signs before
they proved to hinder Senate activities or the rights of others to view the
proceedings.
For reference to the conditions
under which picketing, distribution
of literature and related activities may
occur, please refer to Board Policy
MAPP 1.5 at uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/policies_procedures/section1/mapp15.
pdf.
The Academic Freedom Article
of the Faculty Collective Agreement
may be found here: uwo.ca/facultyrelations/pdf/collective_agreements/
faculty.pdf.
The administration wishes to
extend an apology to faculty who felt
their voices were not heard because
their signs were removed during the
Senate meetings of April 10 and 17.
While consideration of the rights of all
attendees will remain part of decisionmaking in such cases, the administration respects the right of faculty,
librarians, and archivists to exercise
academic freedom and criticize the
employer publicly.
valu-mart
THE FIRST SIGNS of the future for
the university Senate had a lot to do
with signs from the past.
Prompted by a question from
Senator Kelly Olson, Janice Deakin,
Western Provost and Vice-President
(Academic), apologized to faculty for
campus security seizing protest signs
from a handful of faculty at both the
April 10 and April 17 Senate meeting. Signs from students and community members were also seized at
the meeting.
The University of Western Ontario
Faculty Association (UWOFA) questioned the action as it related to academic freedom.
“Decisions to disallow signage
were made, not on the basis to limit
freedom of expression, but from the
desire to ensure that all attendees
could be assured their rights to attend
and view the proceedings unimpeded
by those who were protesting using
signage,” Deakin said during Friday’s Senate meeting in the University Community Centre. “While the
administration did respect peaceful
protests outside the Senate meeting
room, it may have acted too hastily
in removing the signs before they
proved to hinder Senate’s activities
or the rights of others to view the
proceedings.”
This represented the university
administration’s second apology on
the issue in a handful of days. Earlier in
the week, the following the statement
was issued to faculty:
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10
Western News
| September 24, 2015
Relive your
Western
Experience.
Western News
Friday, Sept. 25
#HOCOonthehill
One day. Two concerts. An unforgettable
Western Experience.
ANNUAL ALUMNI AWARDS DINNER
5:30 p.m. Reception
6:30 p.m. Dinner
The Great Hall, Somerville House
Morning Concert
9 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Please join us at the 41st Annual Alumni Awards Dinner where
Western honours extraordinary alumni.
The Alumni Awards of Merit, Don Wright Faculty of Music Alumni
Awards, the WAA and W Club honorees will be recognized this evening.
Registration required.
Your home base for all Homecoming event information. A great
spot to enjoy refreshments, lively music, face painting, children’s
activities, a commemorative photo opportunity and free gifts,
while they last.
HOMECOMING FOOTBALL GAME
1 p.m.
TD Stadium
Western vs. Carleton
Visit HOCOonthehill.ca to purchase tickets.
IVEY BUSINESS SCHOOL
11:30 a.m.
Dean’s Welcome & Lunch
Richard Ivey Building
FACULTY OF ARTS & HUMANITIES
1:30 – 3:30 p.m.
Creative Writing: Home @ Western
Atrium, International and Graduate Affairs
Building (IGAB)
Celebrate creative writing on campus, with an afternoon of
readings featuring Tanis Ridout, Western’s current Writer-inResidence, and Helen Ngo, Western’s Student Writer-in-Residence.
Free event.
No RSVP required.
Cheer on the Mustangs as they take on the Ravens.
Individual Tickets: 519-661-3090
Group Sales (10+): 519-661-4077
Purchase online at: westernmustangtickets.universitytickets.com
GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY DINNER
5 p.m. Reception
6 p.m. Dinner
The Great Hall, Somerville House
Join your classmates from 1965 and earlier for an evening
featuring a three-course meal, musical entertainment and a
presentation of your reunion pin. Seating will be arranged by
reunion year.
Registration required.
Join the Faculty of Health Sciences in the main lobby for a welcome
back complimentary lunch.
Our Lady Peace headlines an all-Canadian line-up of chart-topping
artists. One of the most successful Canadian rock bands, Our Lady
Peace has sold more than 5 million albums worldwide, won four JUNO
Awards and 10 Much Music Video Awards.
Visit HOCOonthehill.ca to purchase tickets.
HOMECOMING WELCOME CENTRE
10 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Alumni Hall Lobby
Complimentary for alumni in reunion years
(1965, 1960, 1955, 1950, 1945, 1940)
DVBBS entered the EDM scene in 2013 with the No. 1 club track
of the year Tsunami. They’ve since performed at the biggest club
shows and festivals and they’re crashing Homecoming to kick off
#HOCOonthehill.
Evening Concert
7 p.m. – 11 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 26
HEALTH SCIENCES
11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Faculty of Health Sciences Lunch
Arthur and Sonia Labatt
Health Sciences Building, Lobby
DON WRIGHT FACULTY OF MUSIC
4:30 – 6:30 p.m.
Alumni Concert
von Kuster Hall, Music Building
Relive those moments on stage.
Dust off your instrument or warm up your vocal chords to take the
stage with fellow alumni for a fun-filled reunion concert. No recent
experience necessary.
All music alumni are invited to participate.
Note: Rehearsal is from 10:30 a.m.– 12 p.m.
Registration required.
ENGINEERING
11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Engineering Annual Open House
Richard Dillon Atrium, Claudette MacKayLassonde Pavilion
Reconnect with Engineering alumni and friends at Western’s first
LEED-certified ‘green building’, dedicated to clean energy research
and student activities. Complimentary refreshments available.
Free event – registration required.
Join faculty, friends and classmates as Dean Bob Kennedy welcomes
you back to Ivey. He will also present this year’s award recipients in
the BMO Financial Group Auditorium. Complimentary lunch in the
Brock Pavilion; to be designated by the graduating class.
SCHULICH SCHOOL OF MEDICINE & DENTISTRY
6 – 11 p.m.
The Dean’s Gala
London Convention Centre
300 York St.
Relive your story and join us for an evening of dinner, dancing and
renewed friendships as we toast the recipients of the Alumni of
Distinction Awards and celebrate our history of excellence.
www.schulich.uwo.ca/homecoming
Registration required.
FACULTY OF SCIENCE
11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Homecoming BBQ with Rick McGhie
Grad Club-Lower Level
Middlesex College
BBQ lunch and complimentary soft drinks. Vegetarian option.
Complimentary parking in the Middlesex Lot.
USC 50TH ANNIVERSARY REUNION
8 p.m. – 1:00 a.m.
The Wave, 2nd floor, University Community Centre
Join fellow USC alumni at The Wave for the featured anniversary
celebration. Enjoy live entertainment and appetizers while mingling
with USC alumni from a wide range of decades. Reminisce, celebrate
and spend the evening in great company.
More details on the 50th Anniversary celebrations is available online
at westernconnect.ca/USC50
Sunday, Sept. 27
WESTERN ALUMNI SERVES – CAMPUS CLEAN-UP
10 a.m.
University College Hill
Help HOCO shine. Lend a helping hand with fellow Western Alumni
Serves volunteers to restore Western’s campus and surrounding
neighbourhoods to their original state, following a full weekend of
Homecoming celebrations. We provide the tools, along with a free
Western T-shirt and a light lunch. No experience required. Students
welcome.
JEWELS IN THE CROWN:
WESTERN ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
ART COLLECTION OPENING
11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
McIntosh Gallery
President and Vice-Chancellor Amit Chakma and Meena Chakma
invite alumni and friends to celebrate the opening of Jewels in the
Crown, the Western Alumni Association Art Collection at McIntosh
Gallery. The Alumni Art Collection features works by Canadian artists
generously donated by the Alumni Association. Catherine Elliot
Shaw, BA’80, MA’93, Curator, McIntosh Gallery, will bring greetings
and highlight a few of the collection’s most noteworthy pieces.
Guests will enjoy a strolling brunch and mimosa. There is no better
way to wrap-up your Homecoming weekend.
Free event – registration required.
DELAWARE HALL 50TH ANNIVERSARY
CELEBRATION
11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Formal Lounge, 2nd Floor, Delaware Hall Residence
Western is celebrating 50 years of Delaware Hall. Join us for an open
house and retrace your steps in the hallways as you visit your old
residence room. Reconnect with your friends and fellow floormates
in the dining hall for some refreshments. Meet some of the students
who now call Delaware Hall home and see the changes we have
made in our recent renovation.
Tours at 11:15 a.m., 11:45 a.m. and 12:15 p.m.
Free event – registration required.
Free event.
CONGRATULATIONS ON
40 YEARS AT WESTERN!
This month, Marci Oswald marks 40
years of outstanding service to Western!
The staff in the University Secretariat
would like to thank her for everything
she has done for the university and for
us over all those years. Marci’s support
of the work of Senate, the Board, and
their committees, and of all those who
have participated in governance at this institution has set
a standard that would be hard to match. Thank you Marci.
It is a privilege to work with you.
Irene Birrell, Paul Eluchok, Erika Hegedues, Nancy Martinelli,
Terry Morrisey, Melissa O’Connor and Dalia Salim
For full details and registration information visit
alumni.westernu.ca/connect/homecoming
| September 24, 2015
11
12
Western News
| September 24, 2015
Western News
| September 24, 2015
13
Staff Profile
Long-time techie ready for ‘shock to his system’
B Y A D E L A TA L B O T
ON WAYNE BRERETON’S desk, just last
week, you could spot a number of asynchronous
items casually strewn about – a floppy disk, an
audiocassette, a compact disc and a thumb
drive.
In fact, his office is full of gadgets and audiovisual equipment, like a playroom spanning
more than six decades of advances in technology. Some of these items – including that floppy
disk – are undoubtedly relics, unrecognizable to
many Western students today.
But Brereton, Manager of Technical Services
in the Faculty of Arts & Humanities, has seen
it – and used it – all. And now, after 45 years in a
faculty he considers his second home, he’s ready
to retire.
Brereton started at Western as a technician in
the language labs in 1970. He was fresh out of
high school and something of a tech-oriented
kid, having learned from his father who owned
and operated a TV repair business.
“I walked in – this guy had advertised he
needed a technician. I just finished high school,
and he said, ‘You can have the job, and if you
like the job, you can go back to school for it,’”
Brereton said.
He started servicing reel-to-reel machines
students used to listen to audio and record
themselves as they studied a foreign language.
The machines were finicky and always breaking
down, Brereton said. But he liked the job and,
eventually, went to night school at Fanshawe
College to train in audiovisual technology – in
black-and-white television.
“In 1980, Tom Collins – one of my favourite
deans, a real tough guy – decided to start a
ADELA TALBOT // WESTERN NEWS
Wayne Brereton, who has worked in the Faculty of Arts & Humanities for 45 years, with
three decades as the Manager of Technical Services, retires Sept. 30.
department called Technical Services. Arts &
Humanities should have its own, he thought.
He walked in one day said, ‘I’ve created a new
department and you’re in charge. Be in the office
in 10 minutes.’ And for 30 years, I’ve been manager. I’ve been really lucky,” he said.
“I haven’t ventured out of Arts much. I didn’t
have to. These guys are great.”
Safe to say Brereton and his team made many
changes to media on campus over the years.
They built theatres, labs, editing suites and
smart classrooms. They serviced ever-changing
equipment needs – from a 16mm projector to
Blu-ray players. Under Collins, Brereton built
Western’s first large-scale smart classroom in
Middlesex College. In the 1990s, as Provost,
Collins approved $100,000 for a state-of-the-art
projector for a super-classroom in Alumni Hall.
This acquisition meant Brereton and a colleague
spent 10 days in New York learning how the projector worked and how to maintain it.
“This was huge. This has always been so much
fun, because of the creativity and the trust they
allow you to do things,” Brereton said.
“Some of my fondest memories are with these
guys,” he added, with a nod to a running group
he was part of on campus for many years.
“We had a little group, rain, snow, whatever.
At 12 o’clock, everybody’s there. There were
about 25 guys; we did marathons together.
Every day at noon, we ran out of Thames Hall for
25 years. But then everybody’s knees started to
go,” he chuckled.
“Being technical, everything is OCD with me. I
have a routine. The game plan was to retire at 65.
And I don’t want to be the ‘old guy’ who stands
in the way of the young guys doing this.”
After his last day on Sept. 30, Brereton hopes
to relax, travel, go fishing, even get into photography – his final frontier to tackle in the gadget
world.
“My wife was worried retirement would be a
shock to my system. I guess it’s a new adventure.
I’ll miss the people, especially. These are great
people. They’re all really smart, good to work
with. They love new technology and the ability
and trust I’ve been given to do this is amazing,”
he said.
“It’s been a lot of fun, not like a job. I don’t
think there are many places you can meet these
kinds of people that would allow you to do
this.”
JOIN THE CELEBRATION
An open house reception to honour Wayne Brereton,
as he retires from his position as Manager of Technical
Services, Faculty of Arts & Humanities, is scheduled for
4-6 p.m. Monday, Sept. 28, in The Great Hall, Somerville
House.
14
Western News
| September 24, 2015
Western News
| September 24, 2015
15
Honours
College welcomes
New Scholars
JOANNA QUINN
Political Science
F
Joanna Quinn is a political scientist who studies
transitional justice and post-conflict reconstruction
focusing specifically on the politics of acknowledgement. She has studied how countries deal with
large-scale human rights abuse, and her work is
helping to shape policy by encouraging countries
to use culturally appropriate mechanisms to facilitate post-conflict reconciliation on the national and
international stages.
our Western professors and a King’s University
College professor have been named among
the 48 new members of The College of New
Scholars, Artists and Scientists. Those named to the
College, part of the Royal Society of Canada (RSC),
represent the emerging generation of scholarly, scienPAUL MAYNE // WESTERN NEWS
tific and artistic leadership in Canada.
Members will be inducted during ceremonies on
Nov. 27 in Victoria, B.C. They will be joined by fellow
Western colleagues Kathryn Brush (Visual Arts), John
Leonard (English and Writing Studies) and Jesse Zhu
(Chemical and Biochemical Engineering), who were
named Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada earlier
this month.
CHANTELLE RICHMOND
Geography
PAUL MAYNE // WESTERN NEWS
Chantelle Richmond, Anishinabe of Biigtigong Nishnaabeg (Pic River First Nation), is a professor in the
Department of Geography. Her research is based
on a participatory model that explores the intersection of Indigenous people’s health, knowledge
systems and connection to land. With a greater goal
of improving Indigenous health equity, Richmond
engages in community based methodologies that
empower Indigenous voice and vision in health and
social research.
PAUL MAYNE // WESTERN NEWS
BIPASHA BARUAH
ANTONIO CALCAGNO
Women’s Studies and Feminist Research
Philosophy and Religious Studies, King’s University College
Bipasha Baruah is the Canada Research Chair in Global Women’s Issues, and a professor
of Women’s Studies and Feminist Research. Baruah conducts innovative interdisciplinary
research on gender, development and globalization; women and work; and social, political
and economic inequality. Her research on women and property ownership and women’s
employment in renewable energy and resource efficiency has influenced policy within governments, financial institutions and non-governmental organizations.
Antonio Calcagno explores the relation between consciousness and social and political
objectivities. He focuses on how the mind conditions bonds in groups, communities and
states. He is an internationally recognized specialist in the philosophy of Edith Stein and early
phenomenology. A scholar and translator, he helps disseminate the continental tradition of
philosophy to English-speaking audiences.
Information and Media Studies
Nadine Wathen is an interdisciplinary scholar whose
research examines the health sector response to
violence against women and children, interventions
to reduce health inequities and the science of knowledge translation - with a key focus on enhancing
the use of research in policy and practice. To better
prepare emerging professionals and scholars in
the practice and science of knowledge translation,
she founded Western’s Joint Graduate Program in
Health Information Science.
PAUL MAYNE // WESTERN NEWS
PAUL MAYNE // WESTERN NEWS
NADINE WATHEN
16
Western News
| September 24, 2015
Western News
Schulich can handle residency cuts; larger issues remain
B Y PA U L M AY N E
ABOUT EVERY DECADE, the
province goes through a cycle of readdressing the number of physicians
needed to be trained and they “never
get it right,” said Schulich School of
Medicine & Dentistry Dean Michael
Strong.
Announced last month, the Ontario
Ministry of Health and Long Term
Care plans to cut 50 residency spots
in the province, 25 in each of the next
two years. Schulich alone will lose
eight spots over two years.
Despite the fact Strong feels the
province has been on the right track
lately, as far as ensuring there are
ample physicians for Ontarians, this
latest move seems to be heading
in the wrong direction. “So it takes
10 years before you can correct it
again,” he said. “Now, we have an
aging population, the Baby Boomers
are going to hit, one in four are going
to have a dementia of some sort. So,
now is not the time.
“We can handle that,” Strong continued. “At the end of the day, the
discussion we really need to have
is, ‘Are there, across Canada, areas
that are deficits that we really need
to work carefully with?’ The answer
would be ‘yes.’ In Ontario, we train a
lot of Canadian specialists. Changes
we make in Ontario are a Canadian
change. That discussion needs to be
in much greater depth.”
According to an Ontario Health
Ministry spokesperson, the number
of first-year residency spaces has
gone from 639 in 2003 to more than
1,200 today. As a result, 94 per cent
of Ontarians currently have a family
doctor.
“Overall, the number of physicians
in Ontario will grow 13 per cent by
2021, which is almost triple the rate of
Ontario’s population growth,” wrote a
spokesperson for Eric Hoskins, Minister
of Health and Long Term Care. “This
year alone, Ontario will add 700 net
new doctors – 250 of them in family
medicine. After a decade of growth,
it is prudent to review the residency
spaces in this province to ensure we
have the right mix and number.”
Last year, 55 graduating medical
students couldn’t find residency spot,
according to the Canada Residency
Matching Service, despite Ontario
having the fewest family doctors per
capita in Canada at 103 per 100,000
people, tying them with Saskatchewan. The national average is 111 per
100,000; Nova Scotia is the highest at
133 per 100,000.
Currently, 800,000 Ontarians don’t
have a family doctor. When you combine that with the fact the province is
adding 140,000 new people each year,
Mike Toth, Ontario Medical Association president, sees the residency cuts
leading to fewer physicians trained in
Ontario to meet current – and future
– needs.
“In the early 1990s, medical school
enrolment was cut. As a result, we
began this century with a doctor shortage in Ontario where hundreds of
thousands of people didn’t have a
family doctor, and wait times to see
a specialist or for surgery were far
too long,” said Toth, calling the cuts
“irresponsible” and “unacceptable.”
“Ontarians can expect more of the
same as a result of this action.
“We believe this move is based
purely on fiscal considerations and
not the health-care needs of Ontarians. Ontario’s doctors put patients
first – it’s time the government did
the same.”
It’s a complex issue, Strong said,
especially with regards to everything
from the selection of what specialty
areas are deemed necessary, and
selected, for residency spots by the
province, to the non-availability of the
operative resources required for other
speciality areas in medicine.
“We have to be really careful. A lot
of the areas, for instance orthopaedics, went unfilled in some areas,” he
said. “We have a real need for orthopaedic surgeons, but we need more
operative resources.”
The ministry, he said, is working with
medical schools to determine what
specialties will be hit with the cuts.
Chris Watling, Associate Dean of
Postgraduate Medical Education at
Schulich, appreciates the concerns of
the students who have a significant
stake in any changes that are made
to residency training in Ontario. But
he is confident Schulich can weather
the storm.
“The reductions in residency training positions that have been mandated will have a modest impact at
Western,” he said. “For the 2016
residency match, the ministry has
required us to cut four Canadian Medical Graduate residency positions, and
then in 2017 we have been required
to cut an additional four International
Medical Graduate positions. The loss
of eight positions over the next two
years represents less than 5 per cent
of our total residency positions.”
Watling added Schulich would
ensure these reductions not adversely
impact the quality of the affected programs.
“Even after the planned cuts
have been made, there will remain
more available residency positions
in Ontario and in Canada than there
are graduating medical students in
Canada,” he said. “At Western, we are
committed to helping our graduates
to prepare as well as possible for the
match process in order that they have
the best chance of matching to their
desired specialty.”
Strong, along with other medical
school deans, is in the midst of discussions with the province to ensure the
residency spots cuts are taken from
the proper areas
“Most of us are saying, ‘Let’s just
step back for a moment, finish what
we’re doing in trying to get this manpower correct and then lets make the
appropriate changes,’” Strong said. “I
get it, we all get it, it’s tight, finances are
tight, but it’s not the time to do this.”
Hoskins’s spokesperson said this
decision is not based on achieving cost
savings and has been arrived at through
a “collaborative, evidence-based process,” which takes into account Ontario’s current and future needs.
“Even after this recalibration, we
will still have more residency spaces
than medical students graduating
from Ontario schools each year. We
have been working closely with our
medical schools to determine where
changes need to be made based
on evidence and will be consulting
with students and other stakeholders before any changes are implemented.”
Student Life
PhD student writing
new circuit solutions
“In the early 1990s, medical school enrolment was
cut. As a result, we began this century with a doctor
shortage in Ontario where hundreds of thousands
of people didn’t have a family doctor...Ontarians can
expect more of the same as a result of this action.”
- Mike Toth
Ontario Medical Association president
ADELA TALBOT // WESTERN NEWS
Tengyuan Zhang, a PhD student in Mechanical and Material Engineering, recently developed Nectro, a
conductive pen that can be used to draw electric circuits quickly and with ease. He launched a Kickstarter
campaign to fund his invention last month.
B Y A D E L A TA L B O T
MAYBE YOU REMEMBER fumbling with the wires while
building a circuit board in a high school science class. If
you do, you likely remember it being an arduous and timeconsuming task, figuring out what went wrong if the circuit
wasn’t working.
Tengyuan Zhang hopes his latest project will not only
make this classroom experience more fun for students, but
also instil in them the kind of scientific spark he found – and
continues to enjoy.
Zhang, a PhD student in Mechanical and Material
Engineering, recently co-developed Nectro, a conductive
pen that can be used to draw electric circuits quickly and
with ease. Working with Engineering graduate Junming
Li and Engineering professor Jun Yang, Zhang launched
a Kickstarter campaign to fund his invention last month.
Currently, he has raised just shy of $19,000 toward a $50,000
goal.
Nectro is Canada’s first conductive ink pen, Zhang said,
noting he believes it has the potential to be the best available today.
“There are other similar products in the market, but
they are more conceptual. They are not that easy to use, or
sometimes you draw the trace, but it’s not always conductive,” he said.
“Their claim is they dry fast, and they do, compared to
the first generation of this type of product, which uses a
different technology (than we do). But it can take 20 hours
to dry; you can’t use it right away,” Zhang continued.
This is why he worked to develop a new type of ink – a
new type of pen, actually – in his lab. The pen Zhang developed is comprised of ink he synthesized using a nanotechnology – a process and product awaiting a patent. Nectro’s
ink, he said, dries right away.
“The moment you draw the trace on photo paper or our
transparent film, it dries immediately. In three seconds, the
moment you finish your circuit, you have high conductivity.
It’s a water-based ink, not a gel, so it flows uniformly. You
don’t need to worry the trace you draw has a crack. It has
100 per cent reliability,” he explained.
But it’s not just the ink that separates Nectro from other
conductive pens on the market. Zhang also developed a
special eraser to pair with Nectro’s ink.
“The pen is double-tipped; one end is ink, the other is
eraser. If you make a mistake, you don’t have to redraw the
whole circuit,” he noted.
Nectro’s eraser will work only with Nectro’s ink, he
added, noting he believes there are currently no other
erasers available for conductive ink.
As for potential users, Zhang hopes to see Nectro take
off primarily with younger generations. Professionals stand
to benefit from it as well, he said, as it will speed up the
process of creating even the most complicated circuit
prototypes.
“Children like drawing, and if they can draw, they can
make circuits and use (the pen) as a learning opportunity,”
Zhang said.
“In high school, this used to be done using a circuit
board and you had a circuit diagram. But there are too
many wires – if you make a mistake it takes a long time to
find a misplaced wire. This is very good for education, for
beginners and those designing circuits.”
Propel, Western’s business incubator, is supporting Nectro, and Zhang hopes after the Kickstarter campaign, the
project will take off.
“We hope we can get this money and start to build our
mass production line and manufacture this ink in London.
I hope this kind of product can go into the market and
change people’s lives and excite their interest,” he said.
“I enjoy doing this. I don’t expect to make a lot of
money – that’s not my first goal. Doing a start up will cost
you energy and time, but it will make you know that much
more.”
“We hope we can get this money and
start to build our mass production line
and manufacture this ink in London. I
hope this kind of product can go into
the market and change people’s lives
and excite their interest.”
- Tengyuan Zhang
| September 24, 2015
17
18
Western News
| September 24, 2015
// CAREERS
A central website displays advertisements for all vacant academic positions. The following positions are among
those advertised at uwo.ca/facultyrelations/faculty/academic_positions.html
Please review, or contact the faculty,
school or department directly.
Full-Time Academic Appointments
Faculty of Engineering
Western Research Chair in Urban
Resilience and Sustainability
Seeking outstanding candidates for a
Western Research Chair in Urban Resilience and Sustainability. Western created the Western Research Chairs Program (modeled after the Tier 1 Canada
Research Chairs) to support the recruitment of senior investigators to build
capacity in existing areas of research
strength and strategic priorities. Details
on this program can be found at http://
www.uwo.ca/research/wcre/index.html.
Applications will be accepted until the
position is filled. Review of applications
began Aug. 31, 2015. The anticipated
start date is Jan. 1, 2016.
Ivey Business School
Management Science
Seeking candidates for a limited-term
appointment at the rank of Lecturer,
Assistant, Associate or Professor, or a
Visiting appointment at the rank of
Associate or Full Professor, in the area
of Management Science. The position
begins in July 2016, although alternate starting dates may be arranged.
This appointment may be for up to
three years and is potentially renewable.
Review of applicants will commence on
Oct. 19, and applications will be considered until the position is filled.
Schulich School of Medicine
& Dentistry
Department of Pathology and
Laboratory Medicine
Seeks a board-certified veterinary
pathologist (DACVP) in the area of
experimental pathology, with particular emphasis on rodent pathobiology
and comparative pathology of animal
models of human disease. We invite
applications from outstanding early
career investigators to fill a probationary (tenure-track position) at the level of
Assistant or Associate Professor, effective July 1, 2016, or as soon as possible
thereafter. Application review will commence Oct. 15. Applications are sought
until the position is filled.
Western News
Faculty of Science
Departments of Chemistry and
Applied Mathematics
Canada Research Chair Tier I in
Computational Materials and
Biomaterials Science
Invite applications for a Tier I Canada
Research Chair (CRC) in Computational
Materials and Biomaterials Science, to
be jointly appointed to a tenured position at the rank of Associate or full Professor. The rank will be commensurate
with the successful applicant’s qualifications and experience. Applications will
be considered starting Oct. 31, and will
continue until the position is filled with
an anticipated start date of July 1, 2016.
Faculty Donation Opt-Out
All positions are subject to budgetary
approval. Applicants should have fluent
written and oral communication skills
in English. All qualified candidates are
encouraged to apply; however, Canadian citizens and permanent residents will
be given priority. Western is committed
to employment equity and welcomes
applications from all qualified women
and men, including visible minorities,
Aboriginal people and persons with
disabilities.
Get into Western’s Employment
Resource Centre (WERC) and talk to a
career leader today - no appointment
needed. E-advising is available by emailing werc@uwo.ca. Student Success Centre, UCC, room 210. Visit werc.uwo.ca.
// STUDENT BULLETIN
Student Central In-Person Hours
9 a.m.-4 p. m. Mondays, Tuesdays,
Thursdays and Fridays; 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Wednesdays.
Student Central Helpline Hours
519-661-2100. 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday
to Friday
hirewesternu Career Fair
The deadline to opt-out is Sept. 30.
Contact the Dean’s Office of your faculty
to opt-out.
Get Ready, Get Set, Get Hired!
Visit the Event Calendar on CareerCentral regularly for details on upcoming
career workshops offered through The
Student Success Centre; registration
opens two weeks in advance of the
workshop date. Visit westerncareercentral.ca.
Need resume, cover letter, CV or
LinkedIn help?
Twitter Contest
Hey, #WesternU, follow @westernuWSS
on Twitter for a chance to win prizes
throughout the month of September
with a grand Prize of $250 to The Book
Store at Western. This contest is only
open to current Western students, faculty and staff. Organizations/groups and
Western Student Services employees
will not be entered in the draw, but they
are still encouraged to follow for info
about Student Services. Visit publications.uwo.ca for details.
Group Career Counselling for International Students
Eight sessions geared toward international students close to graduation looking for non-academic employment in
Canada. Starts on Oct. 1. Register at
westerncareercentral.ca.
Psychological Services
Until Oct. 2, Psychological Services is
offering single-session walk-in appointments. Students can visit Western Student Services Building (WSSB), room
4112, to make a same-day appointment with a counsellor. Drop-ins do not
replace crisis services. For information
and hours, visit: sdc.uwo.ca/psych
Undergraduate Sessional Dates
Sept. 25: Last day to drop a first-term
first quarter (‘Q’) course without academic penalty (Kinesiology).
Oct. 1: Last day for students on exchange
or a letter of permission to submit transcripts for graduation at Autumn Convocation. Last day to withdraw application
for graduation: Autumn Convocation.
Last day to receive admission applications: Medicine for 2016.
Oct. 12: Thanksgiving Holiday.
Oct. 15: Deadline to apply for relief
against a final grade in a Spring/Summer Distance Studies course.
Oct. 22-23: Autumn Convocation.
Western News accepts letters to the
editor. Limit is 250 words maximum,
and accepted only from members of
the Western community – faculty, staff,
students and alumni. Writers may only
submit once a semester. As an academic
institution, Western News encourages
lively debate, but reserves the right to
edit, ask for rewrite or reject any submission, and will outright reject those
based on personal attacks or covering
subjects too removed from the university community.
WHO'S TAKING YOU
TO THE AIRPORT?
Campus Digest
Meet recruiters from 71 top employers
from companies such as Google, HBC
and Rogers Communications, 11 a.m.4p.m. Thursday, Sept. 24, in the Western
Student Recreation Centre.
Western students stand atop world in Undergraduate Awards
New Direct Deposit for Main Campus Undergrads
Skip the lines at Student Central and
receive your refunds via direct deposit.
New this year, students can enrol to
receive their refunds for scholarships,
bursaries, opt-outs, and tuition overpayments via direct deposit. Visit student.
uwo.ca to enrol.
Providing a safe, reliable ride to or from
Toronto Pearson International Airport &
Detroit Metro Airport to London, Sarnia &
other centres
Book online at
www.robertq.com
or call 519-673-6804
1-800-265-4948
USC Health and Dental Insurance
Opt-Out
The deadline to opt-out is Sept. 30. Optout online at studentbenefits.ca.
ADELA TALBOT // WESTERN NEWS
Moral philosopher Peter Singer
delivered a pair of lecturers – The
Most Good You Can Do: How
Effective Altruism is Changing
Ideas About Living Ethically
and Animal Liberation: Forty
Years On – in the Great Hall last
week, as part of a speaker series
sponsored by Western’s Rotman
Institute of Philosophy. Singer,
the Ira W. DeCamp Professor of
Bioethics at Princeton University
and a Laureate Professor at the
Centre for Applied Philosophy and
Public Ethics at the University of
Melbourne, specializes in applied
ethics and approaches ethical
issues from a secular, utilitarian
perspective. He is well known his
book, Animal Liberation (1975),
a canonical text in animal rights/
liberation theory. Here, Singer,
right, talks with Faculty of Arts &
Humanities Dean Michael Milde
prior to his lecture on effective
altruism.
Write a Letter
Graduate and undergraduate students
can make appointments for one-onone writing consultations at The Writing
Support Centre by calling 519-661-3655.
Drop-ins are available at Weldon Library
(beside Quotes Cafe) from 2-7 p.m.
Monday-Thursday and noon-3 p.m. Saturday.
19
Singer brings Changing Ideas to campus
For more information, please visit us on
the web at registrar.uwo.ca and follow
us on Twitter @westernuWSS and @
westernuReg.
Writing Support Centre
| September 24, 2015
Airbus
519 679-1211
71 Carriage Hill Drive, London
(minutes north of campus • free parking)
Welcome to your London Home
the convenience of Apartment Living!
Blossom Gate offers you varied floorplans in either our existing lowrise and highrise
buildings OR one of our newer highrise buildings - rent varies accordingly.
lounge, indoor bicycle storage, keyless entry
• 2 appliances
• Individual heating & cooling system
• Coin-less laundry facilities
• Free outdoor parking
• On-site management office
• Direct bus to downtown & Western Campus
• On-site variety store
• 1/2 block to shopping centre
103-625 Kipps Lane (at Adelaide St. N)
519 432-1777
Like us on facebook.com/blossomgate
THE SYMBOL OF QUALITY
SOCIAL SCIENCE STUDENT
Emma Rose Bonanno and 26 Western student colleagues were named
recently among the international winners of The Undergraduate Awards, a
worldwide competition recognizing
top undergraduate work.
In total, Western boasted 30 papers
from across 14 categories cited as
‘highly commended’ (among the top
10 per cent) in their fields. Western
had the second highest number of
‘highly commended’ recipients in the
world, behind only Trinity College
Dublin.
“We take enormous pride in the
fact our students are demonstrating
their exceptional talent among the
world’s most creative thinkers and
problem solvers,” said Janice Deakin, Provost and Vice-President (Academic). “This year’s results show that
our students can compete with and
excel against their peers from some
of the world’s top-ranked institutions.”
Through the competition, student
work in 25 categories was judged
against peers from 255 universities,
across 39 countries. Winners were
selected out of more than 5,000 submissions.
Bonanno received ‘highly commended’ in three categories – Education, Media & Journalism and Social
Science – a feat achieved by only one
other student in the world.
“I am absolutely honoured and
grateful to receive recognition in such
a prestigious, international competition. I am looking forward to being
inspired by other students across the
globe, as well as representing Western at the Global Summit in Dublin,”
Bonanno said.
Two of the Western students, Arts &
Humanities student Taylor Rodrigues
and graduate student Jennifer
Komorowski, who made this year’s
‘highly commended’ list were similarly
cited for their entries last year.
A complete list of Western student
winners and their categories:
• Education – Emma Rose Bonanno
and Jane Hutchison;
• Gender Studies & Anthropology –
Allison Taylor;
• Law – Sydney Kruth;
• Life Sciences – Cynthia Yeung;
• Literature Pre-1710 – Michelle
Harder;
• Literature 1710-Present –Theresa
Bailie, Luke Jennings, Jennifer
Komorowski, Jessica MacDonald
and Cynthia Yeung;
• Media & Journalism – Charlotte
Yun and Emma Rose Bonanno;
• Medical Sciences – Justine Baek
and Peter Grin;
• Music, Film, Theatre & Art History
– Kelsey Perreault, Rebecca Shaw
and Tamara Spencer;
• Philosophy & Theology – Brittany
Cartwright, David Hakim and
Curtis Sell;
• Politics & International Relations
– Taylor Rodrigues and Claire
Windsor;
• Psychology – Daniel Kharlas, Cisse
Nakeyar and Ana Ruiz Pardo;
• Social Sciences – Emma Rose
Bonanno, Melissa Hughes and
Aramide Odutayo; and
• Visual Art & Design – Emily Copeland.
Western honorees are invited to
attend the Global Summit in Dublin
in November.
NEWS AND NOTES
Students and alumni have the
opportunity today to connect with
71 top employers from companies such as Google, HBC and
Rogers Communications, without
ever leaving the campus.
Hosted by The Student Success
Centre, the hirewesternu Career
Fair runs from 11 a.m.-4 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 24, in the Western Student Recreation Centre,
4th floor gym.
“The hirewesternu Career Fair
is one of the best ways for students and alumni to build their
brand, and expand their professional network,” said Kate Baker,
Employer Relationship Developer
at The Student Success Centre.
“It is never too early or too late to
make those crucial professional
connections, and learn about the
skills employers are looking for.”
Visit success.uwo.ca for details.
Western Engineering professor Luiz Fernando Capretz has
been named one of 10 candidates shortlisted for this year’s
Global Engineering Deans Council (GEDC) Airbus Diversity Award.
The award recognizes people and
projects worldwide which have
encouraged students of all profiles and backgrounds to study
and succeed in engineering.
Capretz’s focus is on attracting and retaining students with
diverse personality types into
software engineering.
Three finalists will be selected
from the list of 10, and present
their project at the annual GEDC
conference, on Dec. 1 in Adelaide, Australia. The finalists will
be announced at the IE Reinventing Higher Education conference
in Madrid, Spain on Oct. 19-20.
20
Western News
| September 24, 2015
#purpleandproud
Since 1925
❤ Much loved sweater
courtesy of Ruth
Buchanan: BA 1955
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WWW.BOOKSTORE.UWO.CA
University Community Centre, Lower level • 519-661-3520