After six years of dedicated service, Mary Jo Haddad has announced she will be stepping down as Chancellor of the University of Windsor on May 31, 2025.

Reflecting on her tenure, Dr. Haddad said: “There have been so many remarkable moments of inspiration and excitement. I have loved witnessing student excellence and passion through my campus interactions, engaging with students and hearing their stories and dreams.”

She also expressed pride in the University’s achievements under the leadership of President Rob Gordon and the Board of Governors, highlighting their resilience during challenging times and steadfast commitment to serving students and the broader community.

“It has been an honour to support the University’s vision and promote excellence. I am proud of what we have accomplished together and will always be a champion,” she said.

Haddad said she announced her decision now to facilitate a smooth transition and a comprehensive search for her successor. During the next nine months, she will continue to focus on key University priorities and remain actively involved in convocation, which she describes as “a highlight of my role as Chancellor.”

Haddad was installed as the University’s eighth chancellor in spring 2019, becoming the first woman in the University of Windsor’s history to hold the position.

As Chancellor, she championed the importance of leadership in society. She launched the Chancellor’s Leadership Series to engage Canadian thought leaders and inspire the next generation by advancing scholarship in leadership, innovation, sustainability, and diversity.

In addition to being an ambassador for the University and role model for students, faculty and staff, Haddad helped advance important campus projects and capital campaigns, including Transforming Windsor Law and the Toldo Lancer Centre.

“We deeply appreciate Mary Jo’s incredible dedication to the University and to our Windsor-Essex region,” said Dr. Gordon. “Her exemplary leadership, service, support, and advocacy have made a significant impact on the University and the community, and we are all truly grateful.”

Haddad previously served as president and CEO of the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Toronto, championing global child health. She has been instrumental in initiatives such as founding chair of MaRS Innovation and Children First Canada. Honoured as a member of the Order of Canada in 2010, she also received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012 and the Premier’s Award for Outstanding Achievement.

A search committee with representatives from the Senate and Board of Governors will be finalized in the upcoming weeks to support the appointment of a new Chancellor.

A UWindsor researcher who is a world-renowned expert in the Internet of Vehicles has been named to the Royal Society of Canada’s College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists.

Ning Zhang, a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, is one of 56 new RSC college members from across the country announced Tuesday by the Royal Society of Canada. He was selected for his contributions to the field of performance analysis and optimization of connected vehicles and cognitive wireless networks.

“I am honoured to be among this year’s list of inductees,” Dr. Zhang said. “I’m grateful to the Royal Society of Canada for selecting me and I am looking forward to the opportunity to meet and collaborate with the other members of the college.”

The College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists is comprised of mid-career researchers who have demonstrated a high level of achievement. Membership is for seven years. Fellows and college members are called upon by governments and agencies to provide advice, and they promote a culture of knowledge and innovation in Canada with other national academies around the world.

“Royal Society recognition as an emerging scholar is a prestigious accomplishment,” said Shanthi Johnson, UWindsor vice-president, research and innovation. “Dr. Zhang is most deserving of this honour.

“His work is an example of UWindsor’s commitment to pursuing bold, impactful research, and we look forward to watching his research achievements grow.”

Zhang holds a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in the Internet of Vehicles. His work has been cited more than 19,000 times in the global research community. His accomplishments include being an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Distinguished Lecturer, being named a Highly-Cited Researcher, and winning numerous best-paper awards.

The society describes the College as bringing “multigenerational capacity” to address societal challenges and seize new opportunities, including those in emerging fields.

“The Royal Society of Canada is very proud to welcome today an imposing group of inspiring scholars, artists and creators whose peers have recognized their exceptional contributions to the world of science and culture and to the well-being of Canada,” said RSC president Alain-G. Gagnon. “The impact of their work will continue to be felt in the development of public policies for years to come, while contributing to the well-being of our society.”

The society will induct its 2024 Fellows and College members at a ceremony Nov. 8 in Vancouver.

Liza Strik was glad she listened to her inner voice. The first-year student of movement science says she was about to leave the Welcoming Celebration early when she thought: “What if I win the tuition prize draw?”

Staying for the draw led Strik to win up to $4,000 in tuition remission, sponsored by the University of Windsor Alumni Association, at Wednesday’s event greeting the incoming class of undergraduates.

“My parents are going to be amazed,” she said as she claimed her prize. “They’re the ones paying for my tuition this year.”

A native of Woodstock, she did not rate the draw win as the high point of her orientation activities to date, instead saying the best part is “getting to know my new friends.”

Alumni association president Gordon Orr said conferring the prize warmed his heart: “You see how appreciative she is to win, and you know you got to give them a little boost as they start their Lancer journey.”

Other winners included:

• Beachside Builders from engineering as top participants in Welcome Week,
• the Sea Cells team from science as most spirited faculty team, and
• human kinetics student Joseph Lichaa as best Welcome Week student leader.

Classes start today in most programs; find a complete schedule of Welcome Week activities on the orientation website.

Provost Robert Aguirre has appointed law professor Anneke Smit to a one-year post as special advisor to the provost on the Detroit-Windsor United Nations Regional Centre of Expertise for Sustainability in Education (UN-RCE).

A joint initiative of the University of Windsor and Wayne State University, the Detroit-Windsor RCE will anchor exchange and research on urban sustainability and connect ongoing community initiatives in the greater Detroit-Windsor region. The local centre is the only cross-border entity among approximately 180 such centres globally.

Dr. Aguirre called it uniquely situated to address a range of pressing issues, including sustainable and equitable land use planning and housing policy; environmental justice and the protection of water and land; industry and innovation in the green economy; active and public transportation, parks and public spaces; community health and well-being, and net-zero and climate action.

“The border makes our location unique and generative, enabling our two great institutions to maximize existing institutional strengths and relationships, while supporting campus and community partners,” he said.

Along with Dr. Smit, UWindsor’s RCE planning team has been led by professors Edwin Tam of civil and environmental engineering and Lee Rodney from the School of Creative Arts. UWindsor sustainability officer Nadia Harduar and Joel Gagnon, outgoing sustainability advisor to the provost, have also provided valuable support. Approximately 20 faculty members at both institutions were involved in the process leading to designation, with support from municipal governments, local school boards, economic development agencies, and social and environment advocacy groups.

“This region is seeing an incredible period of growth,” Smit said. “We need to ensure we grow in ways that are sustainable and of benefit to all. I am thrilled to continue to help build the Detroit-Windsor RCE as a centre of interdisciplinary, community-connected and impactful urban sustainability initiatives to support this.”

Smit is founding director of the Centre for Cities (C4C), which since 2019 has focused on research, teaching, and community engagement on sustainable and equitable city building, both in the Windsor-Essex and border region and nationally. She holds a five-year hybrid appointment to the Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research (GLIER) and is a co-lead of the Parks Canada-funded University of Windsor National Urban Park Hub (www.uwnuph.ca) with Clinton Jacobs, integrative biology faculty member and indigenous knowledge connector, and Catherine Febria, Healthy Headwaters Lab, GLIER, and integrative biology. She is a member of the new C4C Housing Systems Innovation Lab.

Smit joins Donna Kashian, director of environmental sciences at Wayne State University, in the inaugural cross-border RCE leadership. Wayne State will host a launch event on Sept. 20, followed by an event on the UWindsor campus later in the academic year. More details on these events, as well as how to get involved with the RCE, will follow shortly.

This year’s Humanities Research Group fellow, history professor Gregg French, will advance his research on racial identities and imperial power in the U.S. colonial empire while piloting an updated student mentor program.

Dr. French is working on his book, America’s Hispanic Empire: Antecedents and Identity Formation in the U.S. Imperial Experience. The project critically examines how agents of the U.S. empire were influenced by their interactions — both real and perceived — with Spanish colonial officials during the long 19th century.

“This includes everyone from military officers and colonial administrators to American merchants, business leaders, and organizers of expositions and world’s fairs,” French explained. “It also involves middle- and upper-class women in the U.S. who were reading about the outside world in reading circles and clubs, and how they were influenced.”

He noted that this influence sometimes involved direct contact, while at other times, it was shaped by imagined histories rooted in national and imperial narratives.

“For example, Columbus. He wasn’t Spanish, but the Spanish supported his ventures to the Americas during the 15th century. By the 19th century, the Spanish empire was in many ways crumbling, so they were trying to hold onto legitimacy and gravitated toward this history — imagined in some ways,” French said.

“The Americans saw this and, as they were rapidly expanding and attempting to justify their empire, began claiming a European connection. They positioned Columbus as a Spanish-American figure, tying their imperial legacy to Europe.”

French has published three articles on the subject, and his book will build on his doctoral dissertation, offering a more in-depth exploration. It is under contract with the University of Nebraska Press and is expected to be published in late 2025.

The HRG fellowship, which is supported by FAHSS, offers faculty in the arts, humanities, and related social sciences a one-term teaching release to focus on major research or creative projects.

As a fellow, French will also lead the new HRG Student Fellowship program, supported by the Office of the Provost, which has accepted three upper-year undergraduate students and three graduate students. They will work alongside French on their research or creative projects.

“This stems from my interest in the scholarship of teaching and learning,” French said. “The goal is to bridge research with teaching and prepare students for careers in the humanities.”

The group will meet monthly to prepare grant applications, focus on their projects, and develop skills in articulating their research to a broader audience.

“We want to avoid siloing different humanities disciplines and bring everyone together for discussions,” French said. “Engaging with different perspectives, like a historian working with a visual artist, can be incredibly beneficial. Being able to share these insights with both academics and the public is crucial.”

He also mentioned the students will be tasked with visiting local high schools to garner interest in the humanities, specifically programs at the University of Windsor.

Now in its 35th year, the Humanities Research Group is a diverse community of students, academics, and community members dedicated to bridging disciplines and engaging a broader audience with ideas and debates across the arts and humanities.

It hosts a monthly speaker series, kicking off this term with guest Randy Boyagoda, a novelist and professor, who will lead a lecture on civil discourse on university campuses. The event will take place on Thursday, Sept. 26, at 6 p.m. in the SoCA Armouries Performance Hall.

For more information about the Humanities Research Group and the event, visit www.uwindsor.ca/humanities-research-group.

Lancer Recreation is giving the entire UWindsor campus community a chance to test out its fitness programs, pool, and intramural sports to find the best fit during Tryout Week, Sept. 9 to 15 at the Toldo Lancer Centre.

During this period, the usual fees will be waived for instructional classes in karate, mid-day release, Lancers Lift, Wing Chun Kung Fu, yoga, and Gia fit. Lane, leisure, and recreational swim times are available each day throughout the week.

And each evening will offer an opportunity to try an intramural league:

• Monday and Tuesday, co-ed competitive or rec basketball;
• Wednesday, women’s and men’s volleyball and indoor futsal;
• Thursday, co-ed competitive or rec volleyball; and
• Sunday, 7v7 outdoor soccer and flag football.

Find all the details — schedules, locations, and registration — on the Lancer Rec website.

An event Thursday, Sept. 19, will connect early career faculty and sessional instructors with each other and with campus units to give attendees a sense of where to get whatever help they may need as the year unfolds, says organizer Anne Mullen, academic initiatives officer in the Office of the Provost.

The Campus Community Network Event will run from 10:30 a.m. to noon in the Ambassador Auditorium, CAW Student Centre. There will be more than 30 offices represented to answer questions and share resources.

“This casual drop-in event provides an opportunity for attendees to walk from table to table, talking with representatives from offices across campus,” Mullen says. “We hope that you can join us and build your network.”

She encourages readers to share this invitation with colleagues who are teaching and may not have received an invitation. Attendance is free; find more details and register here.

The Lancer women’s volleyball team will host a fashion show fundraiser on Thursday, Sept. 19.

“Spike a Pose” promises hors d’oeuvres, a cash bar, and lots of raffle draws. It will open for cocktails at 6:30 p.m. in Vanier Hall’s Winclare Room.

“Proceeds from this event will help our Lancer women’s volleyball players reach their full competitive potential,” says head coach Lucas Hodgson. “Please join in the fun and show your support!”

Admission of $60 per person, $400 for a table of eight, includes parking. Find tickets and more information on the event webpage.

The Department of Human Resources has set up a website with information on monkeypox, an infectious disease caused by a virus related to smallpox.

The Public Health Agency of Canada and the Ontario Ministry of Health are now closely monitoring clusters of cases that have recently been identified in Canada, the United States, and Europe.

Find information on symptoms, transmission, and outbreak updates.

More than 2,000 students from Windsor-Essex have gained experience and training opportunities through the WE-Spark Health Institute, the organization revealed in its fifth annual Impact Report.

Awarding over $1 million in seed and bridge grants, the institute has fostered substantial growth in health research across the region, with local researchers securing nearly $78 million in external funding and fostering 1,685 active collaborations.

WE-Spark Health Institute is supported by the University of Windsor, Erie Shores HealthCare, Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare, St. Clair College, and Windsor Regional Hospital.

The full report can be accessed here.