Airing this summer on CBC Television, Absolutely Canadian showcases short films and documentary programs featuring stories from Windsor-Essex by local producers as well as student filmmakers from the University of Windsor.

It’s a great opportunity, says film professor Michael Stasko, who produced the Windsor Shorts compilation that will open the series at 7 p.m. Saturday, July 6.

“Rarely do we get the spotlight in our part of Ontario and so I’m excited that our students get their work out there and seen by many people,” Stasko says. “The content of the films represents other local actors and musicians from the area in addition to the filmmakers and cinematographers who are also from Windsor.”

Windsor Shorts will feature the works:

• The Card by Asil Moussa;
• Ei8ght by Sikandar Saleem;
• Visionary by Lourdes Lasala;
• Marley’s Journey by Selina McCallum;
• Craig Forget Reclaimed Wood Artist by Sasha Jordan Appler; and
• Philo by Sasha Jordan Appler;

as well as behind-the-scenes interviews with the filmmakers. The broadcast will be repeated Sept. 21.

Other episodes in the series will include:

Leslie McCurdy Story: On the Money, airing 7 p.m. Saturday, July 13, and Sept. 14, highlighting the work of the actress and playwright to stage the stories of heroic black women who stood up against racial injustice.

Two Land and Sea documentaries by UWindsor professors, airing at 7 p.m. Saturday, July 20, and Sept. 28 — Bud and Ron’s Northern Life by Kim Nelson, and Stasko’s Therapeutic Riding.

Rehearsals for a production of the Canadian romantic comedy Salt-Water Moon employed unique exercises developed in the Inspired Acting Lab led by director Lionel Walsh, a professor in the School of Dramatic Art.

Recent UWindsor grad Sofie Jarvis and her co-star James Kern were part of the team of students who created the exercises in “fantastic realism,” Walsh says.

“The goal of fantastic realism is give the performance a sense of exciting theatricality while remaining grounded in truth,” he says. “The result is a compelling performance that draws the audience into the experience with the actors.”

Jarvis plays Mary Snow and Kern her suitor Jacob Mercer in a story Walsh describes as a classic love story filled with humour — funny, touching, and heart-warming.

Performances are set in the Hatch Studio Theatre, Jackman Dramatic Art Centre, at 7:30 p.m. July 11, 12, and 13. Admission is $20, with a student and senior rate of $15. For tickets or more information, phone 519-564-3601 or email northernbrucetheatre@mdirect.net.

A team of students from the University of Windsor and St. Clair College invites the public to view its entry in a contest to create the best high-speed pod.

The goal of the 2019 SpaceX Hyperloop Pod Competition is to encourage students to think about new forms of transportation that could radically change the way cities function. The competition will judge student’s high-speed pod based on one criteria: a self-propelled pod that produces maximum speed with successful deceleration.

The UWindsor and St. Clair team is one of just three from Canada to reach this stage of the challenge. It features a diverse group of students, from different undergraduate and master disciplines.

Members will unveil their pod, 3083LIM-1, to anyone wishing to see this inventive project on Friday, July 5, at 5:30 p.m. in the Industrial Courtyard of the Centre for Engineering Innovation. Admission is free but requires advance registration through an online RSVP.

—Dana Roe

The University of Windsor has joined 13 other university libraries across Ontario to develop Collaborative Futures, an initiative led by the Ontario Council of University Libraries (OCUL) to build a next-generation library management system.

Collaborative Futures is a province-wide cloud-based library system that brings together a collection of over 18 million records from 14 academic institutions. It aims to provide increased support for the educational and research needs of students and faculty at Ontario’s universities through improved discovery and streamlined access to information resources.

“A key part of the Collaborative Futures vision is the implementation of a shared library services platform,” said Cathy Maskell, electronic resources librarian, who is co-leading the implementation for Leddy along with systems librarian Grace Liu.

The platform selected by OCUL to host the project, ALMA/PRIMO, was implemented at Leddy Library in early 2014.

“This puts us in a great position to join Collaborative Futures,” said university librarian Pascal Calarco. “Our experience with the platform will allow us to share expertise, streamline internal workflows, and strengthen inter-university resource sharing and collection management.”

The shared approach builds upon existing OCUL-wide collaborative initiatives such as Scholars Portal and collaborative licensing.

Maskell, who started her library career in 1976, has been witness to a wide range of library developments during her career and is optimistic about the partnership.

“There is so much potential to uncover. This collaboration will put academic libraries across Ontario in a strong position to strategically tackle the challenges we face,” she said. “We look forward to being part of this transformation and are delighted to have the opportunity to build the next generation library that our scholars and students need.”

The consortium plans to go live with the project in late December. For more information, visit the OCUL Collaborative Futures website.

—Marcie Demmans

Iain Baxter&, UWindsor professor emeritus of visual arts, has received a promotion within the Order of Canada to its highest rank of Companion, one of 83 appointments announced Thursday by Governor General Julie Payette.

According to a citation issued to the media, Baxter& was recognized for his “prolific career as a conceptual artist and educator, and for his enduring contributions that have defined Canadian contemporary art.”

Since 1966, Baxter& has earned international renown for his works questioning the role of art as commodity and as a medium for cultural commentary. Previous honours include his election to the Royal Society of Canada in 2013, an honorary doctorate in humanities from the University of Windsor in 2007, and the Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts in 2004.

The Office of Career Development & Experiential Learning has announced that job proposals for the 2019-20 Ignite Work Study program are now live. Ignite funds part-time jobs on campus for students and provides them an opportunity for financial benefit and to build skills relevant to their career development.

It is open to all UWindsor students — some restrictions apply; view the Ignite website for details. If approved, positions can receive a wage subsidy up to $1,000 per semester.

Applicants whose positions receive funding will be notified the week of Aug. 19. Students can begin working as early as Sept. 3.

The deadline to submit a job proposal is July 21. All job proposals must be submitted through Qualtrics.

Faculty or staff members interested in hiring a student through the Ignite program are encouraged to attend an information session to learn about the program and the changes being introduced this year:

• July 11 at 11 a.m. or 3 p.m.
• July 16 at 2 p.m.

Program co-ordinator Samantha DesRosiers asks those planning to attend to register in advance. Direct any questions to her at ignite@uwindsor.ca or 519-253-3000, ext. 2577.