Campus Catchup

The University of Winnipeg has received a $4 million donation from local residents John and Bonnie Buhler, reported on Jan. 22. It is the largest private donation the university has ever received.

The money will go towards the construction of a new building named after the couple, the Buhler Centre. The new building will include the faculty of business and economics, the division of continuing education and the Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art. It will also include a public bookstore, a café, state-of-the-art classrooms, computer labs and meeting spaces.

$1 million of the donation will create a new scholarship program, the Buhler Knowledge Access Fund. The scholarship will be awarded to outstanding students and students in need in the faculty of business and economics.

– Kelly Loeper

The president of the University of Ottawa is trying to get its city council to implement a universal bus pass for students, reported on Jan. 26. Students at the University of Ottawa and Carleton University would have to pay a fee of approximately $145 each semester for a transit pass; the funds would be transferred from the university to the transit authorities.

The president of the University of Ottawa said this move would save the city money and benefit students, but many students don’t think it’s fair for every student to pay the fee because not everyone uses public transit.

During a referendum last year, University of Ottawa students voted in favor of the idea. Carleton University has not held a vote on the issue.

The debate has started among councilors on Jan. 27, along with other discussions about municipal budget issues.

– Kelly Loeper

The University of New Brunswick and its Mi’kmaq Maliseet Institute (MMI) are working to create a bachelor’s degree in First Nations governance and management, which is the first degree of its kind throughout the country, reported on Jan. 7. The degree is an expansion of the current certificate program at the university.

The degree will be created due to $550, 000 to the university from the province to go towards developing programs and services for Aboriginal students.

The funding will also be used to implement programs to include First Nations perspectives at the university. Currently, MMI researchers are working with First Nations education experts to develop culturally appropriate courses.

– Kelly Loeper

Researchers at the University of British Columbia are considering the impact the Olympics have had on its host city, reported on Jan. 7. The research is the second of the four part Olympic Games Impact (OPI) Pre-Games Report, which Olympic officials require each host city to partake in.

Leading the study is Rob VanWynsberghe from the School of Human Kinetics and Department of Educational Studies in the UBC Faculty of Education. Along with sociologists, engineers, creative writers and kinesiologists, he is researching the Olympic’s impact on Vancouver so far.

They have so far found positive impacts for the economy and sport development. They have found an increase in business in Vancouver and Whistler, as well as a higher medal count for Canada in the Games.

Their results in the housing and environment strata were inconclusive.

The third and fourth volumes of the report are expected in 2010 and 2013, respectively.

– Kelly Loeper

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