An original composition co-written by percussion instructor Nicholas Papador is on the program for a concert by music faculty in the School of Creative Arts on Saturday, Oct. 26.

Dr. Papador on marimba will lead students in a performance of his 2008 work, Voduophidian. The students will play congas and bongos, vibraphone, glockenspiel, cajon, tom-toms, African bell, shakers, gongs, and more.

The Collage Concert will also feature vocalists Bruce Kotowich, bass and Jennifer Swanson, soprano, saxophonist Jeffrey Price, clarinetist Trevor Pittman, and pianist Ina Yoon. The concert is an opportunity for them to collaborate with colleagues playing favourite works, from George Handel and Franz Schubert to living composers.

Find a complete program on the event webpage.

The show starts at 7:30 p.m. in the Performance Hall, SoCA Armouries, at 37 University Ave. E. Tickets are $20; $10 for students with ID. Purchase in advance online or at the door.

—Susan McKee

Peer-Assisted Learning Sessions (PALS) is a free, voluntary program in which specially trained leaders — students who were successful in taking the same course before — support current students toward academic success in small, collaborative learning sessions offered on campus and online.

“PALS goes beyond the traditional approach of targeting at-risk students and shifts the focus to targeting courses with historically difficult content,” says Ashlyne O’Neil, special projects co-ordinator in the Office of Open Learning.

“Students of all backgrounds and ability levels can join these small, engaging sessions that allow them to interact with the material and each other, practicing effective learning strategies while mastering important concepts.

All members of the University community are invited to learn more about PALS at the Office of Open Learning online teaching community of practice gathering on Friday, Oct. 25.

These friendly, informal gatherings are open to faculty, staff, and students interested in ways to enhance teaching and learning with digital technologies.

“UWindsor’s PALS program is unique in providing online Virtual PALS sessions as well as on-campus sessions,” says Nobuko Fujita, one of the organizers of the event. “Students can connect with each other using Blackboard Collaborate Ultra from anywhere with Internet, from multiple types of devices including smartphones.”

Register for the event at https://ctl2.uwindsor.ca/openlearning/workshops/9/#wkshp-117.

For more information, contact organizer Fujita by email at nfujita@uwindsor.ca or phone 519-253-3000, ext. 2105.

President Robert Gordon and other senior leadership from the University are looking forward to meeting with University of Windsor students, faculty, and staff at two town halls to take place on Oct. 24 and 31.

These events will update the campus community on the development of the University’s plan for negotiating Strategic Mandate Agreement 3 (SMA3) with the Ministry of Colleges and Universities.

SMA3 will establish performance metrics, targets, and enrolment corridors related to Ministry funding for the 2020-25 period. Beginning in 2020, approximately $23 million of the University’s existing provincial grant will be tied to achieving annual performance targets. By 2024-25, that amount will increase to nearly $56 million.

A face-to-face consultation with the Ministry is scheduled for late November. Deans, associate deans, heads, and directors have been meeting since August to discuss the SMA process, and consultation is ongoing.

“The SMA framework outlines the mechanisms and metrics for both performance-based and enrolment-related ministry funding. Bilateral negotiations will determine the specifics of how that framework will be applied at the University of Windsor,” said Dr. Gordon.

“Making sure that what we propose reflects the strengths, values, and priorities of the university and our community is critical, and I encourage everyone to attend one of the town halls if possible.”

Information about SMA3 can be found on the University’s new SMA3 Process website. A video of the Oct. 31 Town Hall session will also be uploaded to the site for those who are unable to attend in person.

An event that allows hockey fans to play alongside and against NHL alumni also helps raise money for cancer research.

Play for a Cure is a two-day event with a competitive spirit. Teams must raise the most money to get their first pick of an NHL alumnus. On the next day, the teams go head-to-head for a fun day on the ice.

The event has raised a net total of $284,936.33 for cancer research.

Jeff Casey, a cancer survivor and the event director, says the main goal is to raise awareness “of the amazing people and cutting edge research already being conducted in our community.”

Casey mentioned two projects Play for a Cure will support this year:

• Cancer Research Incentive Fund: a new partnership with the University of Windsor that will support cancer research scholars in their efforts to acquire national funding and build their research programs. The University of Windsor will match financial contributions toward the fund.
• Cancer Research Care Grant: a grant funding new and innovative clinical cancer research that will support collaborative projects focused on cancer prevention, detection, diagnosis, treatment, and care. It must be collaborative in nature by working with researchers associated with either the University of Windsor, Windsor Regional Hospital, Windsor Regional Cancer Centre, Hotel Dieu Grace Healthcare, or St. Clair College. It also must be led by a principal investigator that holds an MD.

Next year’s event is planned for March 26 and 27 and will be held at Caesars Windsor and the Vollmer Complex in LaSalle.

—Dana Roe

Librarians from across Canada will flock to Windsor this week for the fourth biennial Canadian Library Assessment Workshop (CLAW).

Supported by the Canadian Association of Research Libraries, the workshop will assist academic libraries in developing outcome-based measures to demonstrate library impact on research, teaching and learning.

“This is a great opportunity for libraries to consider their impact on the communities they serve,” said associate university librarian, Selinda Berg. “Assessment not only helps us understand the needs of the community, but also serves as a guide for decision-making.”

The workshop offers an opportunity to discuss a broad range of assessment topics, including:

• Critical Conversations on Positionality and Power in Library Assessment;
• Using APIS and Data Science to Support Collections Work;
• Choosing Your Assessment Method;
• Data for Impact and Improvement;
• Ecocycle Planning; and
• Ethnography for Librarians.

“We are thankful for the extraordinary support and network that we have with our academic partners across Canada and CARL,” said university librarian, Pascal Calarco. “We are excited to welcome our library colleagues to Windsor and showcase our campus community.”

The conference will take place Oct. 22 to 24 in the Student Research Collaboratory at the Leddy Library. For more information, visit the Canadian Association of Research Libraries website.

—Marcie Demmans

A discussion Friday by a panel of three local female business founders will cap campus observances of Women Entrepreneurship Week, Oct 19 to 26.

Hosted by the Entrepreneurship, Practice and Innovation Centre (EPICentre), the event will feature graduates of its multidisciplinary programs:

• Ola Ahmed, founder of Kindness Café;
• Taylor Lanoie, founder of Taylor Lanoie Social Media Content Creation; and
• Hanlu Li, co-founder of Ani & Fabi;

and will be moderated by program lead Sydney Thompson.

“We are very proud of all of the companies that have started up at EPICentre, but on this day, we want to highlight three of our fearless, female entrepreneurs in hopes that they will inspire others to follow their leads and turn their entrepreneurial dreams into reality,” said EPICentre director Wen Teoh.

The panel discussion is set for noon Oct. 25, in the EPICentre spaces on the second floor of the Joyce Entrepreneurship Centre. Admission is free, but advance registration is required.