His experience as president of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment has given UWindsor alumnus Richard Peddie (BComm 1970, honorary LLD 2001) great insight into entrepreneurialism, leadership and innovation.

A new initiative of the Odette School of Business will extend the influence of the recently retired executive.

The Richard Peddie Leadership Initiative launches with $750,000 in initial funding raised by Dr. Peddie’s colleagues and friends on his retirement from Maple Leaf Sports, owner of signature Toronto sports franchises including hockey’s Maple Leafs, basketball’s Raptors, and soccer’s Toronto FC, as well as the Air Canada Centre, Ricoh Coliseum, and BMO Field.

The initiative includes three key elements:

• The Centre for Leadership Competency Measurement, dedicated to the measurement and development of leadership competency for Odette School of Business students;
• The Leader-in-Residence Program, where Peddie will be the first in a series of resident leaders who will deliver guest lectures, be available for small group mentoring, and generally participate as members of the Odette School of Business;
• The Richard Peddie Invitational Speaker Series, a major annual event to feature top experts on the subjects of leadership, management and success measurement.

Peddie’s previous recognition from the University of Windsor includes the Clark Award in 1998, an honorary doctorate in 2001 and the Alumni Award of Merit in 2009.

He served as the Odette School of Business executive-in-residence in 2002, when he developed and delivered a leadership course. He has been instrumental in supporting the Odette Business School debating team, which has enjoyed success in competitions across North America. High school students from across Windsor participate in the annual Richard Peddie Invitational Debating Competition.

The Odette School of Business will formally introduce the project during a Breakfast with Champions event in the Odette Building on Wednesday, January 25. Peddie will discuss dynamics of a winning team, drawing on insights garnered from his three decades of senior executive roles.

The event will begin with a continental breakfast at 7:15 a.m., followed by the presentation and discussion at 7:45 a.m. The Breakfast with Champions speaker series is free and open to the public, but pre-registration is required. RSVP by January 23 on a first-come, first-served basis to Barbara Barone at 519-971-3678 or e-mail bbarone@uwindsor.ca.

More than 30 campus and community agencies will answer questions, provide demonstrations and distribute freebies during Student Health Fair in the CAW Student Centre’s Ambassador Auditorium, Wednesday, January 18, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The event is part of Mental Health Awareness Week. Also Wednesday, fourth-year acting students Christina Bryson and Margaret Evraire present their original play White Noise, at 12:30 p.m. in the Studio Theatre, Jackman Dramatic Art Centre. The play explores the last moments of a fragile young woman’s journey toward taking her own life, and the internet friendship that led her to do so.

On Tuesday, January 17, Music, Mood and Food, offers free yogurt and fruit to the accompaniment of a live performance of therapeutic music, starting at 11:30 a.m. in the CAW Student Centre Commons. The Ambassador Auditorium plays host to a series of presentations:

• 1 p.m., a panel discussion entitled “Thriving in University: How to Look After Your Mental Health;”
• 2 p.m., a presentation on “Living Well with Stress;”
• 4:30 p.m., the Beautiful Minds information session focused on successfully coping with mental illness; and
• 5:30 p.m., a performance of the play Type 2 - A Bipolar Journey by Jason Gale and Tyler Workman.

Mental Health Awareness Week continues through Thursday, January 19. Find a full schedule for the week on the event’s Web site.

The Centre for Career Education is holding a workshop on Friday that will give students tools and tips to be successful at the January 24 job fair, “A Partnership to the Future.”

The one-hour workshop will run twice in room 351, Dillon Hall – at 1 and 2:30 p.m. on Friday, January 20  -- and costs $5. Learn more on the workshop’s Web site.

The job fair itself, a joint project of the University of Windsor and St. Clair College, is slated for Tuesday, January 24, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the St Denis Centre. The Job Fair is open to all current students and alumni of University of Windsor and St. Clair College.

It will offer the opportunity to meet face-to-face with over 60 companies representing several career fields, including:

• policing, security and correctional services;
• federal and provincial government corporations;
• medical and health care;
• engineering;
• information technology;
• manufacturing;
• banking, accounting, finance;
• military; and
• public utilities.

Find more information, including a list of participating employers, on the Centre for Career Education Web site.

Fourth-year music therapy student Christina Bell took top honours and the $500 award Sunday at the Ron W. Ianni Memorial Scholarship in Performance competition.

Bell, a soprano, studies voice in the studio of professor Elsie Inselman. In Sunday’s competition, she sang Meine Ruh’ ist hin by Richard Wagner, one of his compositions on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s Faust.

The scholarship was established by Mina Grossman-Ianni and the School of Music in 2005 to honour the late president of the University of Windsor. It is open only to full-time students enrolled in a music degree; the recipients of the highest grades in the December performance juries are invited to compete.

Bell’s rivals were pianist Tasula Calfas, marimbist Meghan Chamberlain, mezzo-soprano Amelia Daigle, trumpeter Katherine Raiger, guitarist Reece Smith, flutist Andjela Stevanovic, and violinist Victoria Turner.

Read the full story, “Soprano Christina Bell wins 2012 Ianni Scholarship competition,” on the Web site of the School of Music.

The University of Windsor offers a new tool primarily to enhance online collaboration. 

Blackboard Collaborate provides the campus with free access to virtual classroom and webconferencing facilities.

“This is a major step forward in enhancing our support for online, distance, and blended learning,” says Nick Baker, a learning specialist in the Centre for Teaching and Learning who was involved in the selection and piloting of the online collaboration tools.

“Basically, Blackboard Collaborate provides faculty, staff, and students with access to a highly flexible virtual classroom or office equipped with video and audio, where they can share ideas and collaborate in real time.”

Blackboard’s virtual classrooms have a whiteboard for sharing presentations or lectures, text chatting, desktop and application sharing tools, web-tours, polling, and even a quizzing module.  All material and communications can also be recorded so that students can go back and review the class material as needed. Students and instructors can access the virtual classroom and recordings from a link in their CLEW sites, but the software is also flexible enough to be used outside of CLEW.

Faculty and students are already using the Collaborate environment to record lectures, facilitate group meetings, provide virtual office hours, provide flexibility in class attendance (for example when students or faculty are away or for snow days), allow remote students to virtually attend on-campus lectures, communicate with distance students, collaborate with researchers, bring in guest speakers, and make virtual presentations.

To access Collaborate, users only require a computer with internet access (it will even work on dial-up connections), and for more interactivity, speakers, a microphone, and webcam.

“The reality of the modern student is that while it may be desirable, coming to a physical classroom or meeting with groups face to face is not always possible and so virtual classrooms are becoming ubiquitous in higher education. Without the support of tools like this, many students will either be strongly disadvantaged or unable to participate and learn to their potential,” Baker said.

For more information on Blackboard Collaborate, or to get access to your own virtual classroom, e-mail Baker at nbaker@uwindsor.ca or call 519-253-3000, ext. 4925. Also check the CTL’s events page for upcoming workshops to help you use the virtual classroom.

The CAW Student Centre’s MarketPlace food court will satisfy your south Asian craving Tuesday with a special Indian-themed menu.

The Homestyle station will serve a choice of entrée: tandoori chicken, beef curry, or chickpea and cauliflower stew, with traditional basmati rice or vegetables. The cost is $5.99 for lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., and $7.99 for dinner from 4 to 7 p.m.

The Uni-Com Centre for Learning in Retirement is now accepting registration in its winter slate of study groups.

Registration is $35; weekly meetings begin January 30. This semester’s topics include:

• Ancient Myth and Legend (part 2);
• Poetry: Writing and Discovery;
• Great Books and Satire;
• Fitness and Self-Defence;
• Taking a Financial Approach to Your Financial Plan;
• Highlights of the Many Cultures of India; and
• Baby Boomers and Eldercare.

Details are available at uwindsor.ca/Unicom. For more information or to enroll, call coordinator Bill McRae at 519-253-3000 ext. 3430.