News Briefs

January 5, 2007

Pres. resigns at U of R

REGINA – Robert Hawkins announced his immediate resignation as president and vice-chancellor of the University of Regina Dec. 21, citing “differences of opinion on management philosophy and other issues.”

In a news release, Board of Governors chair Mo Bundon said the president and the board “need to be onside with each other, and we have agreed that a change is an appropriate move.”

Hawkins, who became president in September 2005, will continue as a professor at the university. Until a national search for a new president can begin, the board appointed vice-president research and international Allan Cahoon as interim president for six weeks and will appoint an acting president after that.

Tentative agreement reached at Western

LONDON – The University of Western Ontario and its faculty announced Dec. 22 they had reached a tentative four-year collective agreement, subject to ratification by faculty members and the university’s board of governors.

The faculty association will vote on the contract Jan. 16 while the board will review the agreement Jan. 25. If approved, the contract would cover the period July 1, 2006 through June 30, 2010.

U of T sports under a bubble

TORONTO – The University of Toronto has inflated one of the largest air-supported structures in Canada over the playing field of its new Varsity Centre, expanding the opportunities for all-weather sports and recreation programming.

In a news release, the university said the bubble – about the height of a five-storey building and large enough to cover the entire field – will increase playing time for intramural teams and practice time for track and field, football, field hockey, soccer, lacrosse and rugby. The structure is part of the first phase of Varsity Centre, a $61.7 million project that will include a 5,000-seat grandstand, artificial surface playing field, eight-lane track, a proposed teaching and training facility and renovations to Varsity Arena.

Munroe-Blum reappointed

MONTREAL – Heather Munroe-Blum has been reappointed to a second five-year term as principal and vice-chancellor of McGill University.

Munroe-Blum was first appointed in January 2003. Her new term will expire Dec. 31, 2012. She is also a member of the faculty of Medicine.