When education professor Yvette Daniel and her team across five sites envisioned the Tikkun Youth Project, which brought together youth and university researchers, activists, and community organizers world-wide to lead to positive social change, they knew its legacy would continue long after the project had ended.

Unlike some projects that find their way to publication after the research is completed, Tikkun planted the publishing seeds long before the research began.

The Tikkun team had dreams to preserve the energy and determination of the collaboration in a book as a means to keep the dialogue around healing and repair and civic engagement in motion.

“I knew, like the concept of Tikkun, the book would come together one step at a time,” said Dr. Daniel. “With our research partners working around the globe, we needed a mechanism to bring all of our research together for the final book.”

To facilitate the publishing process, Leddy Library prepared an electronic submission form to allow the authors of Tikkun to submit, review, and edit their chapters. Mita Williams, scholarly communications librarian, worked with Daniel to streamline the process and prepare the book for open access publication.

“The future of publishing scholarly monographs must involve some form of open access,” said Williams. “It allows readers to enjoy anthologies of global voices and long-form works that can change or challenge existing disciplines.”

Since the project wrapped up in 2017, many of the youth participants who contributed to Tikkun are continuing the work they started. Now that the publication is complete, the team hopes that the book and their experiences will equip participants to broaden the message and get more youth involved in civic engagement activities in their local communities.

“The publication of this open access book will allow us to reach a broader swath of youth in various communities, to inspire them to take on leadership roles,” said Daniel. “We want them to know that every small step in making a change counts in the larger scheme of things.”

After roughly four years in the making, the final publication of Tikkun Beyond Borders: Connecting Youth Voices, Leading Change is now available in digital and print formats.

—Marcie Demmans

Three teams of UWindsor professors have received grants for cancer research projects as part of a $200,000 announcement made Monday.

Teams led by nursing professor Debbie Kane, chemistry professor Simon Rondeau-Gagne, and biology professor Munir Rahim will receive funding through the Windsor Cancer Centre Foundation’s Seeds4Hope grant awards program.

“We are proud to support local research programs that are making much-needed contributions to our community,” said Houida Kassem, the foundation’s executive director.

Kassem said that without the generosity of donors and the dedication of world-class local researchers, new discoveries improving diagnostics and treatments and enhancing support and outcomes for survivors would not be possible.

Dr. Kane is leading a research project that includes surveying cancer patients and survivors about their experiences in the workforce. Dr. Rondeau-Gagne is developing nanomaterials to deliver electric fields directly to inoperable glioblastoma tumours. Dr. Rahim is studying the immune system response to viruses in bone marrow transplants for leukemia patients.

Other grant recipients are the Windsor Regional Cancer Centre’s Ming Pan and Indryas Woldie. Dr. Pan’s research project involves using artificial intelligence to contour esophageal tumours and Dr. Woldie is researching new treatment of multiple myeloma.

The Windsor Cancer Centre Foundation has awarded more than $2 million to local cancer researchers and their teams through Seeds4Hope since its creation in 2009.

─ Sarah Sacheli

New buildings and outdoors spaces prompted an update to the virtual tour of campus produced by YouVisit for the Office of Enrolment Management.

“Our campus has grown since our initial iteration of this interactive, immersive introduction to the UWindsor experience,” says digital media producer Naomi Pelkey. “We have brought it up-to-date so that people anywhere in the world can see what our facilities are like, and familiarize themselves with the campus, the city, and the community.”

Pelkey added video elements and photography of the Essex Centre of Research (CORe), the SoCA Armouries, and the Alan Wildeman Centre for Creative Arts, as well as park spaces along Turtle Island Walk and on the former site of the Music Building.

A new script leads users through the tour, which allows them to explore a walkthrough or jump to a specific location on an embedded map.

“Buildings, classroom, labs and equipment are all crucial elements of our learning environment,” says Chris Busch, acting associate vice-president, enrolment management. “High-quality infrastructure facilitates better instruction, improves student outcomes and supports academic success.

“The updated campus virtual tour allows people to remotely visit UWindsor and see the historical investments that we have, and continue to make, to improve the student experience. This is something that we should be proud of and showcase to the world.”

The virtual tour is accessible from the UWindsor.ca homepage.

There will be an open viewing of shadow performances to illustrate two social justice pieces, Wednesday in the Jackman Dramatic Art Centre.

Students of the Drama in Education and Community class invite the campus community to their shadow performance The Monsters We Don’t See, in the Movement Studio on Nov. 27 at 10:30 a.m.

• “Hope/Less” raises awareness and shows the effects of mental health issues.
• “I Remember” discusses the effects of human trafficking.

The total running time of the performances is 15 minutes, followed by a brief question-and-answer session about the processes, techniques, etc. Some of the themes and images may be upsetting.

Also Wednesday, students in the fourth-year course, Theatre for Young Audiences, will present Amazing Aesop Fables in the DRED Studio at 1:30 p.m.

—Dana Roe

Don’t be dogged by end-of-semester stress. Take a “paws” from stress with the friendly dogs and cats of Therapeutic Paws of Canada.

Volunteers will bring their certified therapy dogs to the “Paws Room” in Salon A, Alumni Auditorium on the second floor of the CAW Student Centre twice in the next week:

• Wednesday, Nov. 27, from 6:30 to 8 p.m.
• Tuesday, Dec. 3, from noon to 1:30 p.m.

Additionally, two friendly felines will occupy a cat room in the adjoining Salon B on Nov. 27.

This event is organized by the Peer Support Centre, the University of Windsor’s Senate Student Caucus and the Windsor chapter of Therapeutic Paws of Canada. It is sponsored by the University of Windsor Students’ Alliance and Campus Parking Services.

Executive chef Paolo Vasapolli and his team in Catering Services have planned a festive menu for its faculty-staff holiday luncheon, Dec. 3 in Vanier Hall’s Winclare Room.

Six stations will serve guests as they mingle with friends and colleagues:

• A french fry bar serving regular and sweet potato fries, with a selection of toppings that includes garlic aioli, gravy, sautéed mushrooms, barbecue pulled beef, double smoked bacon, and vegan black bean crumble
• A pasta station offering tortellini with smoked salmon, and penne with mushroom ragout
• An appetizer board featuring charcuterie and grilled antipasto
• A slider bar with two types of patty — beef or black bean — and a choice of toppings
• A station with assorted sushi
• A dessert stop serving specialty coffees, tiramisu cups, and fresh fruit with yogurt and chocolate sauces

Tickets are $12 per person, including tax and a seasonal beverage, available on a first-come, first-served basis from the Catering Services office, room 12, Vanier Hall. Each department is asked to delegate an individual to co-ordinate purchases.

An eyewear pop-up shop will kick-off a Holiday Market in the CAW Student Centre Tuesday to Thursday, Nov. 26 to 28.

The market, held in conjunction with the Skate the Date winter festival, features vendors offering everything from sweet treats to jewelry, in the Commons area. Find a list of each day’s merchandise on the event Facebook page.