production stil from the set of "To the Soul"Jaleah Taylor’s documentary “To the Soul” is one of two projects by the recent film grad selected to air as part of “Reel Shorts: Windsor.”

Short film showcase available online

Having films in the Reel Shorts: Windsor showcase is a great opportunity for students, says producer Mike Stasko, a professor in the Department of Communication, Media and Film.

A compilation of works by local independent producers and student filmmakers from the University of Windsor, it is part of Absolutely Canadian, a national CBC series featuring documentaries, short films, and unscripted programs that tell unique stories from across Canada.

The sixth installment is now available through the broadcaster’s video streaming platform, CBC Gem. It brings together stories about a migrant love story, a local bakery, finding your way in a complex world, technology addiction, and a special spotlight on a local musician and community theatre.

“Having this continued support from CBC is really unique for a film program in Canada,” notes Stasko.

He points to recent graduate Jaleah Taylor (BA 2023), who has earned a place for two projects: the documentary To the Soul and the fiction work Beyond, both produced as assignments for a class she took with Stasko last year.

“Providing an opportunity for students like Jaleah to get their first professional credit while just coming out of school provides a huge jumpstart into the industry,” he says.

Stasko says the increasing quality of film produced by UWindsor students is a testament not only to their talents, but the focused support of instructors.

“The professional calibre of selected films in this year’s showcase is a result of years of hard work of curriculum design and students’ enthusiasm to learn and improve,” he says.

Besides Taylor, grads with featured selections include Sydney Cremasco (BA 2023), Welcome to Nana’s; Calum Hotchkiss (BA 2018, MFA 2021), Continuum; and Shahad Al-Haddad (BA 2022), Behind the Curtain.

Find Reel Shorts: Windsor on CBC Gem.

computer screen displaying open access toolA new resource of the Leddy Library will help researchers find suitable open access journals to publish their research.

New tool helps researchers find Open Access journals to publish in

The Leddy Library has launched a new resource designed to help researchers find suitable open access journals to publish their research in. The Open Access Journal Finder consolidates information from the library’s 12 license agreements (and counting) that offer campus authors complete waivers, or partial discounts, on article processing charges.

With the tool, researchers can easily navigate data on journal titles and can search by subject, title, publisher, and discount amount. The tool gives campus authors relevant information about these journals to help them make informed decisions on where to publish their research.

In addition to information on journals covered by these agreements with commercial publishers, the tool also includes a dedicated section for community-led, free-to-publish open access journals, also known as diamond open access.

“Community-led open access journals are an important part of the journal publishing ecosystem, fostering a more equitable dissemination of knowledge,” says Pascal Calarco, scholarly communications librarian.

Working in collaboration with colleagues at Western University Libraries, co-op student Miyang Settia Roh and librarian Roger Reka developed the tool in response to feedback from participants at a library workshop in the fall.

“After hosting a publishing workshop in the fall semester, we heard from researchers who were excited about these new license agreements but were facing difficultly trying to track down specifics for each journal,” said Reka. “We hope that this tool can be help researchers take advantage of these new benefits.”

Roh, a student from Western University who joined the Leddy Library in January as part of her Master of Library and Information Science program requirements, was able to organize licensed open access journal data into a comprehensive spreadsheet and used MS Power Bi to craft the Open Access Journal Finder Dashboard tailored for university students and faculty members.

“Throughout this endeavor, I cultivated an understanding of open access license agreements and also gained valuable insights into creating user-friendly tools that enhance accessibility to scholarly resources as well as a skill set in data visualization,” said Roh.

The tool will be continuously updated as the library signs on to new agreements with open access publishing rights.

The library also provides consultation and support to researchers with sharing their works openly. For assistance, contact Calarco or email scholarship@uwindsor.ca.

sign indicating offices of nursing facultyAn online survey open to campus community and the general public aims to gather insights and engage stakeholders in shaping the future direction of the Faculty of Nursing.

Survey to help launch Faculty of Nursing’s five-year strategic plan

Earlier this week, the Faculty of Nursing launched the initial stages of what will become a new five-year strategic plan. Nursing has created an online survey and is requesting feedback.

The faculty’s previous interim strategic plan, 2020-23, was created prior to the campus-wide “Aspire: Together For Tomorrow” strategic planning process. Now that Aspire is in place, nursing’s initiative is the next step for the faculty.

“Since the institution-wide Aspire plan has already rolled out, we can build a sustainable plan that not only is an extension of Aspire, but also builds on recent successes of the faculty,” says dean of nursing Debbie Sheppard-LeMoine. “Now is the perfect time to develop and implement a faculty plan.”

A steering committee of staff, faculty, and students has been created to help facilitate the process. The online survey is intended to gather initial information on perceptions of the faculty, where it should be headed, and how people want to be engaged moving forward. It is open to the public as well as the campus community.

“I invite the entire campus and communities to share their thoughts and perspectives on the future of the Faculty of Nursing,” says Dr. Sheppard-LeMoine.

The survey is accessible here. Submissions are due by March 11. Survey participants will be eligible to win gift card prizes.

Black History – Black Futures posterA retiree and a current student each claimed prizes in quizzes marking Black History – Black Futures month.

Quiz winners claim posters and prizes

A retiree and a current student each claimed prizes in the quizzes published by DailyNews to mark Black History – Black Futures month.

Linda Menard-Watt, a retiree from Information Technology Services, claimed top honours Feb. 21 by having her entry drawn from all those which correctly noted that Black nationalist leader Marcus Garvey gave a talk in Windsor in 1937, Mary McCleod Bethune was denied accommodation by a Windsor hotel while in the city for 1954 Emancipation Day celebrations, and Sharon Burey was the first woman and first Black senator from Windsor.

Law major Angie Budhwa won the Feb. 26 contest, identifying Elijah McCoy as holder of 57 patents, Cornelius Langston Henderson as an engineer who contributed to the construction of the Ambassador Bridge and the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel, and Fred Thomas as the athletic subject of a downtown mural.

Each won a poster by artist Robert Small as well as a collection of swag from the University of Windsor Alumni Association.

graphic Igniting Discovery GrantsWE-Spark Health Institute is accepting applications for its Igniting Discovery Grants.

Grants available for development of health projects

WE-Spark Health Institute is now accepting applications to stimulate the development of early-stage, novel, and innovative health research and education projects in Windsor-Essex.

The WE-Spark Igniting Discovery Grants provide funding for projects that have any health research focus across all health themes: biomedical research; clinical research; implementation science; educational health programs; health services research; and social, cultural, environmental, and population health research.

Additional grants are also available:

  • Cancer Research, funded by the Seeds4Hope Program, Windsor Cancer Centre Foundation
  • Childhood Cancer Research, funded by ChildCan
  • Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant Research, funded by the Katelyn Bedard Bone Marrow Association
  • The Tayfour and Emara Research Grant, funded by Fouad Tayfour and Barry Emara

The objective of the grants is to provide new research teams and programs with support to pursue quality projects and encourage exploratory and discovery-oriented projects, and boost collaborations in the Windsor-Essex community and beyond.

The letter of intent deadline is 5 p.m. April 1. They are non-competitive and used to assign reviewers. The funding start date is September 2024.

For complete information including guidelines and application forms, visit the WE-Spark Health Institute website.

Find a list of previously funded projects at www.wesparkhealth.com/projects.