Not only has Omar Zghal excelled in his undergraduate career, says the supervisor of his three-year research placement as an Outstanding Scholar—he has made it look easy.

Zghal will receive the 2013 President’s Medal, awarded each year to a graduating student who has made significant contributions to campus and community activities while maintaining a superior academic record, during Convocation ceremonies Wednesday afternoon.

His research supervisor, chemistry professor Holger Eichhorn, says Zghal has reached the level of a good graduate student.

“His academic success may appear to be effortless because of his cheerfulness, but he works hard and is goal-oriented,” Dr. Eichhorn says. “However, most astonishing to me is his level of integrity and maturity. He chooses his classes, activities, and involvements by following his interests and what he considers to be of general importance, which explains his wholehearted commitment to the chosen tasks.”

A chemistry major, Zghal maintained a cumulative grade point average of 12.52 and twice received an NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Award. His extensive volunteer work includes a term on the UWindsor Senate; several positions on the University of Windsor Students’ Alliance, including as a councillor; serving as president of the Muslim Students Association and on the UWindsor Emergency Response Team. In the community, he volunteered at Windsor Regional Hospital’s Cardiac Wellness Centre.

Business grad touted for top achievement

BComm grad Maria Vasilevski will receive the 2013 Governor General’s Silver Medal, awarded each spring to the undergraduate honours program graduating student deemed to be the most outstanding in their field, in relation to their graduating peers.

In her four years at the Odette School of Business, Vasilevski never earned a non-A level grade, receiving 26 A-pluses in her coursework. She served several co-op terms in pursuit of her honours degree and turned a placement with Deloitte into a full-time position with the firm.

As a social worker counselling clients for a family health centre, Amanda Cramm noticed a recurring theme—their involvement in the legal system.

“I began to feel I needed to be educated to assist them properly,” says Cramm.

She got that education, and on Friday will become the first graduate of a UWindsor program that combines a law degree with a master’s degree in social work. Her surname puts her ahead of classmate Meaghan Smith—the two formed the inaugural class of the MSW / JD program.

Combining the two disciplines took some work, says Cramm, but has proven to be worth the effort: “It has been a challenge and that is what I was looking for.”

She says law and social work share a common concern for the client, with their roots in advocacy and representation. She also appreciates the advantages of completing a graduate degree and the law curriculum in three years.

“You’re more competitive in the workforce,” Cramm says. “And it balances your perspective.”

Before she started her studies in law, she had assumed that she would resume a career in social work following her graduation. Instead, she will write the bar examinations and has an articling position lined up with a full-service firm in London.

“Once I got here and learned what I can do, it convinced me to pursue the practice of law,” she says. However, she expects her training in social work will inform her career, saying she looks forward to exploring “more non-traditional forms of law,” such as mediation and conciliation.

Being the inaugural cohort in the joint program had advantages as well as difficulties, says Cramm. She and Smith were called upon to be the public face of the program, meeting with potential students and interested professionals.

“It was kind of cool to be the first,” Cramm says. “It’s nice to be able to educate people about the benefits of both degrees.”

The University of Windsor released a commemorative photo book Tuesday in celebration of its 50th anniversary, featuring a selection of photos shot over an 18-month period by photographer Richard Bain.

The book, sponsored entirely by the University’s Alumni Association, also features stories and anecdotes by UWindsor faculty members:

• Alistair MacLeod, an internationally recognized author;
• Marty Gervais, photographer, journalist, publisher and Windsor’s first poet laureate; and
• George McMahon, historian and writer;

as well as others who have shared their unique perspective on the University’s connection with its community.

“Through Richard’s lens, this book not only captures the past 18 months of campus life, it is a reminder of the unique characteristics and characters that bring this campus to life,” said Holly Ward, the University’s chief communications officer. “It is a yearbook for our very recent past, but I believe it is also a yearbook for all of our alumni, and for all of our Lancers who have a shared history on this campus.”

Because of the support of the Alumni Association in sponsoring the entire cost of producing the book, all proceeds from its sales will benefit student scholarships. Copies are available at the University Bookstore.

“As we celebrate 50 years as the University of Windsor, this book is dedicated to the contributions of the First Nations peoples, the Jesuits, the Basilians and founding father, the Reverend E.C. LeBel, who all had a hand in creating the path leading to where we are today,” said UWindsor president Alan Wildeman. “The book depicts the story of who we are and where we are going as a campus community and provides an exciting perspective on our place in the history of our community.”

The book is available at the University Bookstore or for order online. Its price of $50 plus tax goes to support University of Windsor student scholarships.

Two words resurface in the letters of support that helped English professor Dale Jacobs win an Alumni Award for Distinguished Contributions to University Teaching—innovation and generosity.

Dr. Jacobs is director of the department’s composition program, the only one of its kind in the country. He was brought to the University of Windsor specifically with a view to founding this unique graduate stream in composition pedagogy.

Its graduates praise him for going “above and beyond” for his students.

Hollie Adams, now working on her doctorate at the University of Calgary, says that when they completed the pedagogy seminar, she and two classmates wanted to continue their studies.

“While he was already teaching a full course-load, Dr. Jacobs agreed to develop and supervise a directed study, tailored specifically to our interests,” she writes. “Despite the amount of work involved, he was actually eager to take on this additional responsibility.”

Josh Mehler, currently pursuing a PhD in rhetoric and composition at Florida State University, recalls Jacobs’ willingness to learn with his graduate students.

“There is no doubt that Dr. Jacobs cares deeply and genuinely about his students and their success, and that genuine connection is reflected in every aspect of his academic life.”

And Daniel Richards, a doctoral candidate in the English department of the University of South Florida, says Jacobs’ instruction prepared him well for academic success. He writes that Dale Jacobs modelled for him “a life of the mind that is altogether challenging, innovative, interesting, eclectic, versatile, while unabashedly human.”

Jacobs will receive the alumni teaching award at the morning session of Convocation on Thursday, June 13. The awards recognize excellence in all areas of teaching, including classroom presentation, curriculum development, versatility, teaching methods, and student support. In addition to Jacobs, education professor Kara Smith and chemistry professor Philip Dutton will receive the honour during the University’s 99th Convocation ceremonies this week. Click here for a list of past recipients.

The University of Windsor's 99th Convocation ceremonies will run today through Friday at the St. Denis Centre.

Among more than 3,300 graduands who will receive their degrees are winners of the Board of Governors Medals, awarded to the graduating student with the highest academic standing in each program:

• Dramatic Art: Lydia Michelle Stassen
• English: Farrah Shadeh Nakhaie
• Languages, Literatures and Cultures: D. Sabrina Baskey-East
• Music: Jacqueline Dawn Kraay
• General Program, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences – Arts: Stephan Charette
• Labour Studies: Jessica Mary Toldo
• Political Science: Alexandra Rosinka
• Psychology: Kate-Lynn Elizabeth Chauvin
• Social Work: Ursula Meloche
• Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminology: Ruth C. Urlacher
• General Program, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences – Social Sciences: Carol A. Reader
• Biological Sciences: Sabrina Lauren Botsford
• Chemistry and Biochemistry: Omar Zghal
• Computer Science: Christopher William Thomas Drouillard
• Earth and Environmental Sciences: Amy Louise Tanner
• Economics: Nathalie Anaxa Hinchey
• Mathematics and Statistics: Christopher Robert Reaume
• Physics: Daniel-Anthony Travo
• General Program, Faculty of Science: Jacob Samuel Gordner
• Business Administration: Maria Vasilevski
• Education: John Freer
• Inter-Faculty Programs: Sharon Hanna
• Kinesiology: Carly K. Meyer
• Law: Andrew Richard McLean
• Law – JD/LLB Program: Neil Kenneth Stuart Harris
• Nursing: Jennifer Elizabeth Peters and Caitlyn Danielle Wilpstra

The Centre for Teaching and Learning is producing a live webcast of the proceedings at convocation.uwindsor.ca.

Francis Lemire knows how to put his set theory into practice. A professor emeritus of mathematics, he applied his skills to Monday’s DailyNews quiz and won a pen imprinted with the new UWindsor logo.

Dr. Lemire’s entry was drawn from all those which correctly matched the description to each of the University’s five founding colleges: the Roman Catholic affiliate Assumption, the Anglican Canterbury, the non-denominational Essex, the Redemptorist seminary Holy Redeemer and the United Church affiliate Iona.

To help celebrate the University of Windsor’s 50th anniversary, DailyNews will run a contest each Monday, offering a prize donated by the University Boookstore. Today’s prize is available for purchase from the Bookstore’s kiosk in the CAW Student Centre at $11.99 apiece.