President Alan Wildeman today announced the launch of a new webpage that provides information on dealing with sexual assault and sexual misconduct: http://www.uwindsor.ca/sexual-assault/

“The University of Windsor seeks to be a learning, living and working environment where all students, faculty and staff feel safe and respected.  No one should be a victim of any forms of harassment, or be subjected to any unwanted actions, including illegal actions, that compromise safety, dignity, or human rights,” says Dr. Wildeman.

“Sexual harassment and sexual violence are taken very seriously.  On this web page we provide information about what someone can do if they are a victim of sexual assault, or a colleague or friend of someone who has been assaulted.  We also summarize programs currently in place to provide education and training for the prevention of sexual assault.  Among the programs designed to promote awareness and prevention is the Bystander Initiative, which offers training to students to help them learn how to identify and intervene in situations where sexual assault can occur.  With respect to policies, the University’s current policies related to behavior and conduct, which can include sexual assault, are summarized. A stand-alone policy specifically focused on sexual assault is currently being developed.

"It is the responsibility of everyone to contribute to the University of Windsor being a place where harassment of any form is unequivocally discouraged.  We will continue to engage students, faculty and staff in collective efforts to have a safe campus.”

UWindsor biochemistry researcher Siyaram Pandey has the official go-ahead to test dandelion root extract as a treatment for patients with terminal cancer. Dr. Pandey and his student researchers have successfully shown in the lab how the extract causes cancer cells to go through apoptosis, or cell suicide, while leaving healthy cells alone.

“This is fantastic news,” says Pandey. “We’ve been waiting for this announcement for a long time and now it is real.”

Tuesday’s announcement has special meaning for a project dedicated to the memory of Kevin Couvillon, who lost a three-year battle with acute myeloid leukemia in November 2010. The following year Couvillon’s parents, Dave and Donna Couvillon, made a substantial contribution to Dr. Pandey’s research on natural extracts as possible cancer treatments.

Sunday, February 15, would have been Kevin’s 31st birthday. At this time each year the research team gathers to give a progress report to the Couvillons as well as to other financial contributors and members of the community. Dave Couvillon says this year’s event was especially encouraging with the announcement that the clinical trial received permission to proceed from Health Canada.

“We strongly feel that Kevin would want us to continue to fight against cancer so that others would be spared such a cruel fate,” says Donna Couvillon. “Natural medicine allows one’s own immune system to be part of healing process and we wholeheartedly support this endeavour and the excellent research done by this team.”

The dandelion root formula in use in the Pandey lab is about five times more concentrated than the extract that can be purchased over the counter and has been proven to kill leukemia, melanoma and pancreatic cancer cells in lab mice.

In 2012, Caroline Hamm, an oncologist at the Windsor Regional Cancer Centre, made the application to Health Canada to proceed with human clinical trials.

Pandey says the trial is now open for referrals with room for 30 patients who have exhausted all other cancer treatments. He says he is grateful for financial support from the Knights of Columbus Council 9671; Seeds4Hope; India Canada Association of Windsor; Pajama Angels and Joseph Szecsei. The project has also received government funding from Natural Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada (NSERC) and Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).

“This is huge, such a big accomplishment,” says Dave Couvillon. “To see it happening is the first step and now we need to keep our fingers crossed that they get the right kind of results and we’re confident they will.”

UWindsor’s Master of Human Kinetics program in Sport Management has been ranked among the top 25 programs of its kind in the world for the third straight year, according to SportBusiness International’s 2014 Postgraduate Sports Course Rankings.  

The survey, launched in 2012, has placed UWindsor’s program among pinnacle programs internationally because of its favourable showing in such categories as student satisfaction, class size, job support, and employment within three months of graduation. 

The program, offered through the Department of Kinesiology, features both internship and thesis options and guides students to careers in areas that include professional sport organizations; sporting goods and apparel firms; national/provincial sport governing bodies; municipal recreation;  culture and tourism departments; sport agencies and higher education. 

“We are the only university in Canada ranked among the top 25,” says Jess Dixon, an associate professor in the Faculty of Human Kinetics and graduate of the Sport Management program.

“The sport industry field is growing at a rate that exceeds the global GDP and we are on the cutting edge of scholarship, research and experiential learning at the University of Windsor. We know that the SportBusiness survey has garnered the attention of both students and professionals from around the world. Thanks to our placement in these rankings we can confidently tell our students what we have always known; they are attending one of the most prestigious sport management programs in the world.”

With its origins dating back to the early 1980s, Dr. Dixon says the program is very well-established and the rankings validate what it is doing to prepare students to be successful in their future careers in the sport industry.

“This global recognition is significant because it means we are meeting an international standard of education that puts UWindsor on the map in terms of satisfying the needs of our students and the industry that we serve and research – it’s a tremendous honour.”

Dean of Human Kinetics, Dr. Michael Khan, says the success of the program is reflected in its team oriented approach. 

“We are extremely pleased to be recognized internationally as one of the very best Sport Management programs in the world.  These rankings can be directly attributed to the tremendous team we have here and their dedication to ensuring the success of our graduates in the field.”

A dinner Saturday, February 21, will raise funds for the Teachers for Tanzania project, which sends students from the Faculty of Education and Academic Development to the Kititimo Child Centre in Singida, Tanzania, with school supplies, books and clothing.

There, they engage in service learning, research and relief work, under the leadership of professor Andrew Allen.

Saturday’s gala will feature a silent auction and begins at 6 p.m. at Windsor’s Fogolar Furlan Club, 1800 North Service Road. Tickets are $40; learn more on the event website. To purchase a ticket, contact Tanya Brogan at tbrogan@uwindsor.ca.