Students and faculty will be able to breathe easier thanks to a multi-million-dollar grant from the Ontario Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Development (MAESD).

The University of Windsor’s board of governors has voted to proceed with the Greenhouse Gas Campus Retrofit Project to be supported by the single-year project grant of $4.5 million.

The improvements will include upgrades to eight air handling units and control systems within the conjoined Human Kinetics building and St. Denis Centre complex, as well as new LED lighting with controls and added roof insulation to the Dennis Fairall Fieldhouse.

"We are very pleased that MAESD has supported this project,” said University of Windsor president Alan Wildeman.

“It will allow us to begin the process of modernizing these important campus facilities and further reducing our environmental footprint."

Danny Castellan, UWindsor manager of Facility Planning, Renovation and Construction, said the existing air handling units no longer perform as intended from both an operational and maintenance perspective.

“The current units are up in the rafters and are a maintenance issue due to the difficulty in accessing the equipment,” Castellan said. “The current equipment is also one of the largest energy users and greenhouse gas emitters within the overall campus.”

The renovations will provide extensive benefits in the form of an improved student experience, decreased maintenance issues, and a more sustainable campus through the reduction of energy and GHG emissions.

The Greenhouse Gas Campus Retrofits Program was launched by the Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Development to assist postsecondary institutions in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improve the energy efficiency of their campuses.

A total of $85.2 million in grant funding has been made available to eight universities, each selected following a competitive call for proposals.

Dr. Wildeman said the retrofit complements the work being planned for the Lancer Sport and Recreation Centre.

The University of Windsor was recently ranked among the greenest post-secondary institutions in North America by the Princeton Review for its commitment to sustainability.

Two teams from UWindsor’s School of Computer Science took home prizes at the fourth annual Hacking Health Windsor-Detroit event at St. Clair College on April 13 and 14.

More than 200 participants converged on the St. Clair College South Campus for an event that brings together creative and collaborative professionals and students from both sides of the border. Coders teamed up to create design solutions to healthcare challenges.

As the event unfolded, six challenges were revealed, giving 38 teams just 24 hours to produce a solution. UWindsor students won two of the 10 awards. Around 40 computer science undergraduates, masters students and students from the Master of Applied Computing program participated, along with faculty mentors Pooya Moradian Zadeh, and Stephanos Mavromoustakos, and organizer Phillip Olla.

The “joinIN” team won the Green Shield Canada Design Challenge:

• Kayla Bondy
• Rida Mehdi
• Marcus Leung
• Jonathan Krehling
• Nikola Zagorac

The “SOS Locate ME” team won the People's Choice Award:

• Miso Pijic
• Ankit Angra
• Sugam Dhalla
• Daren Zaborek
• Dalibor Loncarevic

Hacking Health Windsor Detroit was co-founded in 2015 by TechTown Detroit and Windsor’s WETech Alliance as the first cross-border hacking health chapter in the world. The association of leaders from across multiple sectors; healthcare, technology, design, and business, work together to improve healthcare and foster collaborative innovation.

Sara Elliott

Thursday’s earthquake was nothing compared to the impact of the United Way on the Windsor-Essex community, provost Douglas Kneale told a reception Friday to honour the most generous donors to the charity’s campus fundraising campaign.

“I would like to take your example and multiply it,” Dr. Kneale said.

Eighteen UWindsor faculty, staff, and retirees give at the leadership level, a minimum of $1,200 a year.

Anjana Jacob is the United Way’s relationship manager for leadership giving. She thanked supporters for stepping up to the plate.

“You have made a significant investment in our community to make positive change,” she said.

Campus campaign chair Datta Pillay noted that the University community has topped $100,000 in donations 10 years in a row.

Students who sign on for film professor Mike Stasko’s latest project will have a chance to work with a couple of Canada’s best-known comedic talents: actors Colin Mochrie and Kevin McDonald have signed on to the cast of Boys vs. Girls.

The feature is the fifth produced by the Dot Film Company founded by Stasko and Theodore Bezaire, 2002 grads of the communications program. Set in 1990, Boys vs. Girls recounts the battle of the sexes that breaks out when a summer camp is forced to go co-ed.

The film is slated to start production in June, in and around Windsor-Essex County. UWindsor alumni and students will help make up its crew.

Mochrie, who will play the camp director, is best known for his turns on the television series Whose Line is it Anyway? and This Hour has 22 Minutes. McDonald, a founding member of the Kids in the Hall sketch comedy troupe, will play the camp’s caretaker.

Stasko says he can’t wait to see the two bring their characters to life.

“It is very exciting to be bringing these amazing comedy icons to Windsor,” he says. “I know they’ll bring the film to another level and have everyone rolling in the aisles.”

The production team is currently running a crowdfunding campaign to raise a portion of the film’s budget. Watch a video pitch at https://igg.me/at/boysvgirls.

Now that exams are over, it’s time to treat yourself, and the Campus Bookstore has just the thing — individual servings of buttery biscuits by Eat My Shortbread.

This premium snack is perfect for those times you want a luxurious handmade treat with your hot beverage. The shortbread offers a no-mess, nut-free indulgence to the most discerning foodie.

Each package of three portion-controlled fingers costs $2.95, available in a choice of three flavours: original, chocolate chip, and buttercrunch toffee.

Try one for yourself from the Campus Bookstore, located on the lower level of the CAW Student Centre.

Food Services has begun its summer hours of operation effective today — Monday, April 23.

The Tim Hortons Express in the Centre for Engineering Innovation will open from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday to Friday.

The Starbucks outlet in the Toldo Health Education Centre will open 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday to Thursday, and Fridays from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

The Marketplace in the CAW Student Centre will offer its Tim Hortons self-serve and grab-and-go choices weekdays from 8:15 a.m. to 3 p.m. It will serve lunch specials from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

These hours are subject to change; find the most up-to-date information on the Food Services website.