In recognition of the specific and ongoing issues of systemic racism faced by students, researchers, and faculty in Canadian higher education, the Office of the President has invited submissions for the UWindsor Anti-Black Racism Teaching and Learning Grant.

The grants will fund:

• research projects that focus on aspects of teaching in higher education;
• academic units and educational leaders in implementing course and curricular reforms; and
• scholarship on learning and teaching as it relates to anti-Black racism pedagogy.

Applicants are invited to submit well-defined proposals that will demonstrably enhance teaching and learning by 4 p.m. Wednesday, June 30. Award winners will be expected to share their outcomes with the university community and to submit a final report of their activities to the Centre for Teaching and Learning.

The Anti-Black Teaching and Learning Grant will award up to $5,000 for teaching and mentorship grants, and up to $10,000 for teams working on curriculum design. Grant duration will be up to 24 months in total, with a start date no sooner than July 1, 2021.

For details on eligibility and adjudication criteria, visit the Office of Research and Innovation Services information page on the Anti-Black Racism Teaching and Learning Grant.

Starting university is a major project in confidence and personal development. For biology student Kim Nguyen, spreading her wings to become known beyond her high school friends was a leap of faith.

“Going into undergrad, I was super shy and kept to my high school friend group,” she says.

Making the leap to meet new people — including professors — meant consulting instructors, finding ways to volunteer in labs, and joining student groups.

“Get to know your professors and ask for help during office hours,” Nguyen says. “They are a great resource.”

Nguyen’s advice is a personal testimonial to her recent presentation win at Ontario Biology Day 2021.

“I started looking into research at the end of my first year and began volunteering in the Porter Lab at the beginning of second year,” she says.

Soon, Nguyen went from a volunteer to having professor Lisa Porter as her advisor for her undergraduate thesis. By asking questions and showing her interest in the research, she has developed bonds with research leaders, graduate assistants, and other graduate students in the lab.

Nguyen also ventured into student groups. She signed on as a peer mentor in the LEAD program, became an active member of the Friends of MSF, and joined Best Buddies UWindsor.

Now she is preparing to apply to medical school with letters of reference and an impressive peer support network that is getting her through the pandemic and the application process.

“After completing my fourth year in Health and Biomedical Sciences, I have friends that I would not have met if I didn’t decide to socialize outside of my familiar bubble,” says Nguyen.

She counts as her favourite Lancer moment travelling to Costa Rica for Alternative Spring Break — a trip led by dean of science Chris Houser and Simon du Toit, co-ordinator of the Outstanding Scholars Program.

Nguyen’s newfound confidence brought her to new heights in the classroom and beyond, culminating in her climb in the Andes to the Incan citadel of Machu Picchu.

—Tim Brunet

A team effort co-ordinated by the Office of Experiential Learning has completed an inventory of the University’s experiential learning courses from 2017 through Winter 2021.

Tagging these courses in the UWinsite system was necessary to enable reporting to the Ministry of Colleges and Universities as required by the University of Windsor’s Strategic Mandate Agreement, commonly referred to as SMA-3.

Judy Bornais, executive director of the Office of Experiential Learning, extends her sincere and heartfelt thanks to faculty and staff who participated in this project.

“This has been a significant undertaking and an opportunity for the institution to position itself to further expand experiential learning on campus,” says Bornais. “Although the inventory process was necessary for SMA-3, completing the process puts us in an excellent position to focus on providing students with exceptional EL experiences and to target areas for future growth.”

She says that providing UWindsor students more opportunities to make connections between their academics and the real world better prepares them to apply their education in their careers after graduation.

“Exciting developments are underway in the experiential and work-integrated-learning arena that will make a positive difference for our students while simultaneously benefiting community and employer partners,” says Bornais. “Our students are highly skilled and very committed, and their work in the community is highly valued. We also know that the connections students build are a huge part of attracting and keeping graduates in much needed fields in the region.”

Faculty members interested in developing experiential learning opportunities for their students can find resources on the Experiential Learning webpages and can contact Anna Galka for assistance at Anna.Galka@uwindsor.ca.

The work of University of Windsor researchers will be featured in a virtual exhibit of the International Day of Light at the STEM Expo held in conjunction with the Canada Wide Science Fair, May 19 to 21.

The STEM Expo is open to the public; the International Day of Light exhibit includes videos explaining the latest research, demonstrations, do-at-home experiments, and a live “Carnival of Light.” Access the booth via https://youthscience.ca/science-fairs/cwsf/ottawa-2021/directory/. Follow the activities throughout the month of May via social media @IDLCanada on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Tiktok.

The UNESCO-sponsored International Day of Light is a worldwide enterprise that provides an annual focal point for the continued appreciation of light and the role it plays in science, culture and art, education and sustainable development, and in fields as diverse as medicine, communications, and energy. This year’s focus is the Trust Science pledge, a worldwide campaign to promote support for the scientific process and to acknowledge the many benefits of science for society.

The Canadian Association of Physicists is a supporting partner of the International Day of Light. UWindsor physics professor Chitra Rangan chairs the IDL Canada steering committee.

“We have an amazing organizing team of 25 students from across Canada creating a stunning virtual exhibit that will highlight the world-leading science that happens in Canada,” she says. “Over 20 universities and 10 optics and photonics organizations are participating in the month-long celebration. We invite everyone to get involved.”

More information is available on the association’s website.

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:

• What is the University of Windsor's Tuition Guarantee? (743)
• How do I view my offer of admission to an undergraduate program at UWindsor? (351)
• Can I defer my graduate offer? (687)
• How do I provide my Social Insurance Number (SIN)? (525)
• How can I receive a Graduation Eligibility letter? (615)

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

Some techniques recommended to manage stress are applicable only in specific situations, acknowledges the May 2021 edition of Workplace Wellness E-Digest.

Published by the Department of Human Resources’ Office of Employee Engagement and Development, it asks: “For example, if you find yourself in a high-pressure situation like a conflict at work or a toddler's tantrum, is it really practical to meditate for stress relief at that time?”

The newsletter shares examples of relief techniques for various types of stress, as well as information on the stress-related causes of weight gain, sources of good stress, and mental health resources available to UWindsor employees.

Read the entire issue of the Workplace Wellness E-Digest.