UWindsor president Robert Gordon plans to do a lot of listening and learning to begin his tenure, he said in his first official address to the campus community, Monday in the student centre.

Before a full house of University officials, employees, and students, he listed top priorities that included connecting with community partners, planning for financial sustainability, finalizing the strategic mandate agreement with the province, and building infrastructure.

Already, he noted, the University is the economic engine of Windsor-Essex, and he is eager to build on its legacy as regionally relevant but global leaders.

“I am thrilled to be part of this community and this family,” Dr. Gordon concluded.

Watch a video recording of his presentation.

Co-operative education allows students to experience new cultures and new places, to meet new people, and to see the world from a different perspective, says Kristen Morris, manager of co-op and workplace partnerships within the Office of Experiential Learning.

She points to biochemistry student Michelle Quan, currently completing a 16-month co-op with China National Offshore Oil Corporation Petroleum North America in Fort McMurray, Alta.

Working as a lab technician, Quan is responsible for handling and analyzing oil samples to ensure they meet predetermined standards, prior to shipping. She is expanding her professional network and developing career-related work experience while completing her degree.

“More than ever, employers value candidates who can demonstrate resourcefulness and flexibility within a changing environment,” says Morris. “Gaining this type of experience and allowing students to grow as individuals is exactly the impact we are hoping for when working with faculties to offer exceptional experiences for our UWindsor students.”

Third-year students of chemistry and biochemistry can apply for 8-, 12- or 16-month positions locally, nationally, or abroad when admitted to the co-op internship program. The deadline to apply for the next intake of the Chemistry & Biochemistry Co-op Internship is Friday, Sept. 20. Apply online at http://www.uwindsor.ca/coop-workplace-partnerships/301/our-programs.

University Players is offering DailyNews readers three chances to win two tickets to see its production of William Shakespeare’s tragedy, Othello, in Essex Hall Theatre.

The play will begin its run on Friday, Sept. 27, with an opening-night reception at 7 p.m.

To enter the contest, just send your answers to the following trivia questions. Three winners will each receive two tickets to Friday’s reception and performance, selected at random from all correct responses received by 4 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 17.

1. The play is frequently given what subtitle?
   a) Good Night, Desdemona
   b) The Jealous General
   c) The Moor of Venice
   d) A Tragedy of Errors
    
2. In what way does Othello ask to be remembered?
   a) One that lov’d not wisely but too well
   b) I lived the greatest prince o’ the world
   c) Love they to live that love and honour have
   d) My heart hath one poor string to stay it by
    
3. Which character warns Othello against jealousy, calling it “the green-eyed monster”?
   a) Cassio
   b) Brabanzio
   c) Desdemona
   d) Iago
    

Contest is open to all readers of the DailyNews. Send an e-mail with your responses to uofwnews@uwindsor.ca. One entry per contestant, please. Note: the decision of the judge in determining the most correct response is inviolable.

Othello continues through Oct. 6. Wednesday through Saturday performances are at 8 p.m.; Sunday matinees are at 2 p.m. For more information or tickets, call the box office at 519-253-3000, ext. 2808, or visit www.UniversityPlayers.com.

The CAW Student Centre is staging a day’s worth of retro activities ripped from the 1980s on Wednesday, Sept. 18, from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

The event will boast roller skating, aerobics, games, era-appropriate music and treats, says Sandra Riccio-Muglia, director of student centre events and programming.

“Our ’80s Revival is going to be totally tubular,” she says. “Join us for some most excellent grindage — and thanks to our sponsors, it’s all free!”

By the time he was 19 years old, Mitch Kurylowicz had launched Project Jenga, raising over $1,000,000 to bring secondary education to rural Kenya, earning him the Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers and the Mandela Legacy Award.

Now he operates Make Luck History, a consulting group specializing in creating positive impact and positive returns for organizations looking to make a sustainable difference while adding to their bottom line.

Kurylowicz will discuss his own experiences to point up the joys and benefits of giving time, energy, or money in a Community Philanthropy Lunch ’n’ Learn session presented by the University of Windsor Alumni Association, on Tuesday, Oct. 1, in the School of Creative Arts Armouries.

The $10 admission includes lunch; register online through the event website.

On Thursday, Sept. 19, Windsor Law professor Reem Bahdi, dean Christopher Waters, and the Transnational Law and Justice Network will host a panel discussion entitled Canada and Saudi Arabia: Legal Frameworks and Policy Options. The goal is to identify the legal regimes and policy options available to Canadians as they navigate an increasingly complicated relationship with Saudi Arabia.

“Saudi Arabia’s human rights record is abysmal. Its involvement in Yemen has received sharp international criticism,” says Bahdi. “Saudi Arabia is accused of a range of wrongs, from suppressing women’s rights to abusing migrant workers, and torturing human rights activists. Our panel will explore how and why Canada should respond to such realities.”

Panellists will include Peggy Mason, former Canadian ambassador for disarmament to the United Nations and president of the Rideau Institute; and Jackie Hansen, Amnesty International Canada’s gender rights campaigner. Dr. Waters will serve as moderator.

The free public event is set for 5 p.m. Thursday, in room G102, Ron W. Ianni Faculty of Law Building.

Mason and Hansen will participate after a Sept. 17 press conference on Parliament Hill drawing attention to the latest report of the UN Expert Panel on Yemen, which documents and denounces continuing war crimes by all sides of the conflict.

—Rachelle Prince

Every year, approximately 1,500 Canadian children are diagnosed with cancer. They will need up to five blood donors to help treat their illness.

Canadian Blood Services hopes to spread awareness for the lifesaving impacts of blood, plasma, platelet, stem cell, and financial donations, and is holding a donor clinic on campus Thursday, Sept. 19.

It is open to the public and will run 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the CAW Student Centre’s Alumni Auditorium. Walk-in donors are welcome, but appointments will better accommodate donors’ working schedules. To book an appointment, call 1-888-2DONATE (1-888-236-6283).

As with previous clinics, the Department of Human Resources encourages all eligible employees to participate in this worthwhile process and asks any employees who wish to donate to make the necessary arrangements with their supervisors regarding the possibility of extended lunch or break periods.

The University of Windsor’s Board of Governors Tuesday ratified three-year collective agreements with Unifor for Local 2458 full-time office and clerical staff; Local 2458 part-time office and clerical staff; Local 2458 stationary engineers and refrigeration mechanics; and Local 195 Campus Community Police and parking services employees.

Unifor locals ratified the agreements Thursday, Sept. 12.

The University thanks members all the bargaining teams who worked diligently to reach a successful conclusion to the recent talks.