    |
|
|
|
Compiled by Barbara Black
The UniversitŽ de MontrŽal, in response to pressure from individuals and the faculty union, has suspended its ads with Zoom Media and set up a task force to ponder what to do next. Their student union approves. The Concordia Student Union signed a contract with Zoom Media for a similar ad campaign here, which elicited some criticism. However, Zoom Media has contracts with 66 colleges and universities in Canada, and has just added hospitals to its client list.
UniversitŽ Laval is running a $23-million deficit. The administration of the Quebec City university plans to reduce spending by a whopping $74 million over the next five years by reopening contracts with employees and closing several programs. They have also called for the lifting of the tuition freeze.
Meanwhile, at Mount Allison University, in Sackville, N.B., the second strike by faculty in seven years is in progress. About 100 professors and librarians walked out on January 21.
McGill University didn't have to look far for a high-profile figure to replace Greta Chambers as chancellor. Richard Pound, chair of McGill's board of governors, will take office on July 1. As vice-president of the International Olympic Committee, he is trying to hold the IOC together amid a swirling bribery scandal.
The Montreal-based J.W. McConnell Foundation is giving three universities grants to encourage creative undergraduate programs. McMaster University, in Hamilton, will use their $1.8 million to train 75 faculty members to deliver "inquiry-learning" courses. The University of New Brunswick will use their $1.8 million to set up Renaissance College, to provide 20 to 25 students with interdisciplinary studies and a focus on community leadership. Acadia University, in Wolfville, N.S., where every student gets a laptop computer, will continue to push teaching and learning innovation.
