Prospective students and their families visiting campus Friday for Spring Open House are “our special guests,” says Zora Savic, events coordinator in the liaison office.

She says students, faculty and staff have been busily preparing for the event, one of the most important in the student recruitment process.

“We have learned that coming to our campus, meeting with our people and getting the UWindsor experience is one of the best ways to convince high school students to choose to come here,” she says.

“Open house gives them a chance to see firsthand what we mean when we say we offer a personalized undergraduate experience that is geared to their success.”

Among the highlights are the information fair in Ambassador Auditorium, presentations on paths to law or med school, a chemistry magic show and a jazz trio.

Savic encourages employees to present a warm welcome, showing their UWindsor pride. “Staff and faculty who wear the Ask Me button make it easier for visitors to identify people who can help with some directions or basic information,” she says.

Open house runs 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 9. Learn more on the event Web site.

For feminists like Catherine Hundleby, every day is women’s day. However, having a special day to help others recognize how much progress still needs to be made to create a truly equitable society for women is critical, the professor in philosophy and women’s studies says.

“It’s good to think back about how far we’ve come and how far we still have to go,” says Dr. Hundleby, who will appear on a CJAM radio talk show today to acknowledge International Women’s Day.

Each year around the world, International Women's Day is celebrated on March 8. Thousands of events occur throughout the month to mark the economic, political and social achievements of women.

However Hundleby says that women’s strides have hit a standstill. After spending a portion of her sabbatical at the Clayman Institute for Gender Research at Stanford University, she has focused more of her attention on what’s referred to as “the stalled gender revolution.”

“There has been a gender revolution beginning in the 19th century and extending on through the 20th century and there have been massive improvements in the life of women, especially in wealthy nations such as ours,” she said. “But something stopped. Somewhere around 1990 things evened out. Although people have continued to fight for women’s rights in wealthy nations, we are not seeing any further benefits.”

Women are not making any more than they were in 1990, still earning about 80 to 85 cents for every dollar a man makes, there has been no increase in the number of women in government and no decline in the number of women living in poverty, Hundleby says.

A great deal of Hundelby’s attention is focused on androcentrism, an often unconscious tendency to treat masculinity as the typical standard or the ideal. She says it creeps into our everyday attitudes and behaviour in such simple ways as tending to interrupt women more often than men and lending more favourable credibility to male voices.

Hundleby will appear today on Research Matters, a weekly talk show on CJAM 99.1 FM that highlights the work of University of Windsor researchers and airs every Thursday at 4:30 p.m.

The Trifecta Trio, a trio of musicians on the faculty of East Tennessee State University, will play a classical concert free and open to the public in the Music Building’s Recital Hall on Friday, March 9, at 7 p.m.

The trio -- Aryn Day Sweeney, oboe; Jeffrey Whaley, horn and Chih Long Hu, piano – will perform 20th century works of York Bowen and Jan Koetsier as well as new pieces by Greg Danner and Maria Niederberger.

Find more information, including a full program and performer profiles, on the School of Music Web site.

The University of Windsor Lancers hope to sweep the team banners for the second straight year when the best university track and field athletes in the country meet in Winnipeg for the 2012 Canadian Interuniversity Sport indoor championships.

The three-day national meet, hosted by the University of Manitoba, will kick off Thursday with the season awards luncheon. The first final of the championships, the women’s weight throw, follows shortly after; the meet concludes Saturday afternoon.

The Windsor women are looking for their fourth consecutive CIS title. After edging archrival Guelph by a single point back in 2009, they crushed the competition at the last two nationals, winning by 41 points over Toronto in 2010 and by 55.5 over Guelph a year ago. Despite their status as reigning national and conference champs, the Lancer women head into the CIS meet ranked second behind the Guelph Gryphons, who settled for third place at the Ontario championships.

On the men’s side, the Lancers were even more dominant at last year’s nationals, finishing with a mind-boggling 84-point lead over Regina. With the triumph, Windsor avenged a heartbreaking one-point loss to Guelph in 2010.

The Lancers picked up where they left off this season as they claimed a 14th straight provincial men’s title. They are 34.5-point favourites this week, with conference rivals Guelph, York, Ottawa and Western following in the rankings.

Read a full championship preview on the CIS Web site.

When Lancer women’s basketball player Iva Peklova first spoke with local media, she said she had come to Windsor to win a national championship.

In a profile of the Prague native, Windsor Star sports columnist Bob Duff writes:

“Peklova began her Windsor days by delivering a bold statement. Then she helped deliver the goods.”

Read his article, “Peklova delivers the goods,” on the Star’s Web site.

Peklova and the rest of the Lancer women’s basketball team will travel to Ottawa for the Canadian Interuniversity Sport regionals with a berth to the national championship tournament on the line. Windsor will face off against Cape Breton on Friday night.

The UWindsor Relay for Life is making plenty of progress, but there is always room for more, says organizer Ramzi Nassereddine.

“We have 14 teams signed up, we have over 70 volunteers, over $3000 raised and counting,” he says.

A fundraiser for the Canadian Cancer Society, the overnight event starts at 7 p.m. on Friday, March 23, in the St. Denis Centre. Nassereddine calls it an opportunity to get together with family and friends and celebrate cancer survivors, remember loved ones lost to cancer, and fight back in the hope of finding a cure for this terrible disease.

Volunteers can form teams of 10 walkers who will hit the St. Denis track, but there is more to the event, says Nassereddine: “We have many activities going on all night.”

Among them is the ceremonial lighting of luminaries dedicated to someone with cancer. The group is selling them for $5 apiece. Learn more about the UWindsor Relay for Life on the event’s Facebook page, or join the fight by registering a team.

Professional Engineers of Ontario recognized UWindsor professor Waguih ElMaraghy for 20 years of volunteer service last week.

The association awards volunteers who have served on its council, chapters and committees a pin and certificate of appreciation based on milestone years of service.

Dr. ElMaraghy, head of the Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering, received his award at the association’s Toronto headquarters along with a letter thanking him for his dedication to the profession.

It read, in part: “We will continue to rely on your support to help govern and manage the affairs of the association…. We are indeed stronger for your contribution and guidance.”

Paul Godfrey, president of Postmedia Network, Canada’s largest publisher of paid English-language daily newspapers, will discuss the essentials necessary for building a winning organization as the next instalment of the Odette School of Business Breakfast with Champions speaker series, Wednesday, March 14.

Godfrey’s career encompasses long stints in the publishing business, professional sports management and politics. He has held the presidency of Sun Media Corporation, the Toronto Blue Jays baseball club and the National Post, and chaired Metropolitan Toronto Council and the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation.

Wednesday’s event is set for room 104, Odette Building. It will begin with a continental breakfast at 7:30 a.m., follow with the presentation and discussion at 8 a.m., and conclude by 9 a.m.

The Breakfast with Champions speaker series is free and open to the public, but pre-registration is required. RSVP by March 12 on a first-come, first-served basis to Barbara Barone at 519-971-3678 or e-mail bbarone@uwindsor.ca.

A change in her title to Dean of the Library from University Librarian will not change her job or library operations, says Gwen Ebbett.

“It’s a simple acknowledgement of the library’s key role in furthering the academic mission of the university,” she says. “We are an integral part of the teaching and learning on campus.”

Provost Leo Groarke announced the change Wednesday, noting that Ebbett’s position works with the other deans and his office to guide the academic affairs of the University.

“This is a change that reflects the practice at many other universities, the role of the library, and the role of our head librarian, who is an essential member of the deans council,” he said.

Friday is the deadline to register for the new series of Weight Watchers. The campus chapter will accept registrants on March 9 from noon to 1 p.m. in room 109, Memorial Hall.

The cost is $209 for 20 weeks; learn more on the Human Resources Web site.