Robert Gordon, Marium Tolson-Murtty, and Donna Mayne pulling cloth off statue.UWindsor president Robert Gordon, director of anti-racism and organizational change Marium Tolson-Murtty, and sculptor Donna Mayne unveil the statue of Mary Ann Shadd Cary during a ceremony Thursday.

Statue to honour legacy of pioneering abolitionist

A statue of trailblazing abolitionist and newspaper publisher Mary Ann Shadd Cary will honour her legacy for generations to come, UWindsor president Robert Gordon said Thursday at a ceremony to unveil the artwork on the University’s downtown campus.

Conceived and created by Windsor artist Donna Mayne (BA 1982), the bronze sculpture stands at the corner of Chatham and Ferry streets on the grounds of Windsor Hall, a former home of the Windsor Star.

“This project has been in the works for several years now,” Dr. Gordon said. “The University of Windsor is so proud to honour Mary Ann Shadd Cary’s legacy for generations to come as we work towards establishing a more safe, just, and equitable campus community — a truly inclusive future for the University begins with our actions today.”

Born in Wilmington, Delaware and arriving in Upper Canada in 1851, Shadd Cary was a teacher and prominent activist in Underground Railroad communities. In 1853, she published the first edition of The Provincial Freeman, a newspaper that advocated equality, integration, and self-reliance for Black people in Canada and the United States. Shadd Cary was the first woman in Canada and the first Black woman in North America to establish a newspaper.

Clinton Beckford, UWindsor vice-president of equity, diversity, and inclusion, said she embodied the reality of exceptionalism, calling Shadd Cary “a uniquely gifted and dedicated character who in her lifetime was an anti-slavery activist, journalist, publisher, teacher, and lawyer.”

“Her establishment of a newspaper was only one of a string of watershed moments and accomplishments,” said Dr. Beckford. “I join our community today in recognizing and celebrating her pioneering life and its indelible impact on Black lives today.”

Irene Moore Davis (BA 1993), president of the Essex County Black Historical Research Society and a Shadd family descendant, told the crowd assembled for Thursday’s ceremony that Shadd Cary is one of the most fascinating figures ever to have called Windsor home.

“It’s certainly my hope that this sculpture will help shine a light on this trailblazer, and that its placement at the downtown campus will make it easy for the public to access,” she said.

Moore Davis read an excerpt from a letter, written by Shadd Cary to her brother Isaac in 1851 on the eve of her journey from Toronto to Sandwich.

“I have been here more than a week and like Canada, do not feel prejudice,” she wrote, encouraging him to come to follow her example and move north. Find a digital copy of the letter in the Archives of Ontario.

Thursday’s ceremony also included presentations by Shannon Prince, curator of the Buxton Historic Site and also a Shadd family descendant; Willow Key, a master’s student of history; former City of Windsor poet laureate Mary Ann Mulhern (BA 1976, MEd 1984); and actor and playwright Leslie McCurdy, who depicts Shadd in her one-woman show Things My Fore-Sisters Saw.

speedometerUWindsor professors Peter Frise and Bill Van Heyst make the case for public investment in research to drive growth in the Canadian auto industry in an opinion piece published Monday. Photograph courtesy of Pexels.

Automobility program to advance industry innovation: professors

Canada’s research community must join in the response to competition from abroad for the country’s auto industry, UWindsor engineering researchers Peter Frise and Bill Van Heyst argue in an opinion piece published Monday in the Hill Times.

Based in Ottawa, the news outlet covers the federal government and national political issues.

The University’s new research program in Automobility-CASE centres on Connected, Autonomous, Secure, and Electric vehicle development.

“The role of research should be to improve the lives of Canadians and, in the context of the new paradigm of automobility, that means placing Canada at the forefront of developments in future mobility,” the professors write.

“Working together with our industry partners, the new Automobility-CASE program will continue the tradition of Canadian innovation that has made Canada an automaking nation for more than a century.”

Dr. Frise developed Canada’s first university program in automotive engineering in 1998 and the AUTO21 NCE in 2001. Dr. Van Heyst is the dean of the Faculty of Engineering and a professor in environmental engineering.

Read their entire commentary, “From evolution to revolution: automobility at the heart of University of Windsor,” in the Hill Times.

students consulting professorOptions for grading are among the most common questions of students consulting Knowledge Base Articles on ask.UWindsor.

Students seeking answers on grading options

Campus partners are working to maintain a robust set of Knowledge Base Articles (KBAs).

The team will continue to compile a weekly digest of the most-referenced KBAs to streamline student-focused questions to ask.UWindsor to support consistent communication with current and future students.

These are this week’s top-five referenced KBAs:

You can submit common questions or make suggestions to the KBA team at askkba@uwindsor.ca.

Acting vice-president, human resources appointed senior executive officer, equity, diversity, and inclusion

Daniella Beaulieu will complete her six-month term as acting vice-president, human resources, on May 13. Effective May 16, Beaulieu will begin her new appointment as senior executive officer of equity, diversity, and inclusion through the Office of the Vice-President of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion.

“Daniella’s experience and dedication to Human Resources has been instrumental in this leadership role during a period of considerable change,” said president Rob Gordon. “We are grateful for her many contributions to the institution and wish her all the best in her new role.”

In this position, Beaulieu will provide senior strategic leadership and support to the vice-president, equity, diversity, and inclusion, to advance the EDI priorities of the University. The move is part of a broader restructuring effort intended to embed human resources expertise, leadership, and decision-making within key strategic portfolios to enhance efficiencies, responsiveness, and transparency. This reorganization will see many elements of human resources report to the vice-president, equity, diversity, and inclusion.

“Our office is looking forward to welcoming Daniella to the team,” said Clinton Beckford, acting vice-president of equity, diversity, and inclusion. “Her portfolio will play a key role in the strategic planning and implementation of equity, diversity, and inclusion policies and practices at the University of Windsor.”