July 7, 2006—Volume 14, Number 1

Home away from home
Several hundred residents of northern Saskatchewan communities called the University of Saskatchewan campus home in early July after being evacuated due to forest fires. Residence buildings and food services were made available to them as they waited for word it was safe to return home.

CCDE open for business in Extension
The University’s new Centre for Continuing and Distance Education (CCDE) officially came into being July 1, creating a new home for Extension Credit Studies and the Extension marketing unit as a major step in providing for the needs of 21st century learners.

A new look for OCN
It’s the start of a new publishing year for On Campus News, the perfect time to introduce a new look for the U of S newspaper.

Centennial present from Canada Post
The development of a transit hub in front of Place Riel over the summer will involve not only significant Canada Post has announced it will mark the University of Saskatchewan’s 100th anniversary by issuing a stamp in 2007 featuring the U of S logo and an image of the College Building.

Preserving genetic material mandate of new project
The University of Saskatchewan is set to become the hub for animal and poultry genetic research in Canada.

How does your garden grow?
Education Dean Cecilia Reynolds planted a rose June 7 to help celebrate the opening of a prairie habitat garden beside the Education Building.  The garden grew from work by curriculum studies professor Janet McVittie, her students, and Saskatoon school children on ways to integrate science and the environment into school curriculum.  McVittie said she hopes the University garden will help teach teachers how to develop similar projects in their own school yards.

Fred Phillips – a self-made Master Teacher
Fred Phillips managed to make it though his first class as a university teacher by pretending he was the ideal instructor.  Today, he is that ideal instructor as well as the most recent recipient of the University’s Master Teacher Award.

Correction
In the April 7, 2006 issue, a story about the addition to the College of Law and the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) voluntary rating system incorrectly identified the Saskatchewan Forestry Centre as being LEED® certified.  That building is LEED® registered.  There are no LEED® registered projects at the U of S.

E-mail, computer policies detail rights, responsibilities
The acceptance of e-mail as a formal means of communication has prompted the University to adopt a new electronic mail policy that outlines acceptable use of the technology, and the responsibilities of both users and service providers.

IBM camp sparks interest in new technologies
The U of S will play host to a number of aboriginal youth in early July as part of an IBM initiative designed to spark interest in technology.

News Brief

Pet behaviour problems of interest to veterinarian
Having a pet in the house is all fine and good, until it starts to behave badly, and bad behaviour is the most common reason pets are surrendered to shelters or euthanized.  For Veterinarian Liz Snead, that fact is frustrating because there is help for troubled pets, and their owners. 

Campus-wide recycling to begin in late August
Recycling is coming to campus like never before.

What goes up…
Waste ethanol pumped into one compartment of a tanker at the POS Pilot Plant June 21 caused the tanker to tip up on one end.  As it did, the tanker hooked a second container and jack-knifed the two into the air.  POS President and CEO Bob Morgan said the flammable substance was completely contained.  Before Envirotec Services was allowed to pump out the liquid, the Heavy Urban Search and Rescue team from Saskatoon Fire and Protection Services shored up the tankers from below.  Battalion Chief Jeff Lehne explained this was to prevent the tankers from crashing back down when empty.  They were eventually lowered back to the ground using a crane.    

Internal controls under review
A review is underway at the U of S that will take a look at the current state of internal financial control, which the vice-president of finance and resources described as “everything from our policies for reimbursing travel expenses to how often we check our bank balances to who authorizes what.”

Appreciation Day
The University of Saskatchewan House Band, above, had its usual bird’s eye view of the annual employee appreciation picnic held June 14 in the Bowl.  Unfortunately, not everyone was feeling fully appreciated.  Young Ryland Bernath, whose dad Cary works in Computer Science and whose mom Jodi is with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, had a brief interlude of unhappiness during the picnic, but recovered in time for dessert.