Cambridge MD heads medical campus

The opening of a medical school campus in Waterloo Region is a step closer as McMaster University has named a "regional assistant dean" to head its planned branch at the UW health sciences campus in Kitchener. The inaugural class of 15 first-year students began their studies in Hamilton in September and will move to Kitchener this winter.

Cathy Morris (right), chief of staff of Cambridge Memorial Hospital, has been appointed regional assistant dean for the Waterloo-Wellington Regional Campus of Mac’s Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine. At the same time, Mac named a Beamsville family physician to head its planned Niagara outpost.

“The painful realities of physician shortages requires the willingness and vision to look at new strategies, in new locations, with renewed enthusiasm while providing the highest calibre of medical education,” says Morris. “This shared initiative brings together the best of McMaster’s innovative program and the clinical strengths and commitment of our enthusiastic community and partners, both vital to the development of our future health care providers.”

A graduate of McMaster’s medical school in 1981, she begins this month as the head of the medical school campus. She has been a hospitalist caring for patients at Cambridge Memorial since 2000, and has been chief of staff since 2005. As an assistant clinical professor of medicine at McMaster University, she has been involved in the clinical training of medical students and residents since 1986. She was an internist at Hamilton Health Sciences for 14 years before moving to Cambridge Memorial. She will maintain her hospital roles.

“We are very pleased to have a Cambridge physician lead the medical school in Waterloo-Wellington,” said John Kelton, dean of the DeGroote School vice-president for the Faculty of Health Sciences at McMaster. “Her involvement in the local medical community, along with her expert knowledge of the school as both a student and a professor, will guarantee the school quickly becomes an essential part of the region’s health care system.”

The first class is attending school at the Hamilton campus until December. The students will then start their classes in the Kitchener-Waterloo area in temporary space until the school’s new building is finished at the UW Kitchener campus, under construction at the corner of King and Victoria Streets. The campus will also be home for UW's own school of pharmacy.

The branch medical school will have 45 undergraduate students within three years, McMaster says, with the first graduates in 2010. By 2013 there will be at least 90 undergraduate and postgraduate students and residents at the school and in local hospitals.

Back to top

K-W Symphony returns to Humanities

The K-W Symphony is coming to campus for the first time in nearly three decades, with the first of four fall concerts scheduled for next week in what was once its regular home, the Humanities Theatre.

“The last time the KWS played at UW was in 1979,” says Carmen Robert, development manager for the symphony, announcing what’s being billed as the Intersections series. “The following year, The Centre in the Square was built with a capacity of 1,799 seats. Humanities Theatre is perfect for the new series, as it will appeal to university students and the venue is intimate and lends itself to an interactive program.” Humanities, built in 1969, has 721 seats.

The Intersections series promises “hip new vibe, alternative venue, and three incredible soloists! This series will explore the points where classical music meets other kinds of music and art: rock, jazz, folk, ethnomusicology, literature and theatre. Each concert focuses on a dynamic artist that bridges the gap between classical and another art form. This complete new approach to music presentation is sure to make waves across the world of classical music!”

A concert on October 18 will feature “The Story of the Saxophone”. Says a blurb provided by the orchestra: “The ultimate crossover instrument, the saxophone started in the symphony orchestra, and evolved into the instrument we know today. Learn all about one of the world’s favourite instruments with virtuoso saxophonist Wallace Halladay (left) as he plays classic and contemporary sax with Edwin Outwater and KWS!”

The second Intersections concert is set for November 8 and is titled “Latin Currents”. A description: “One of the world’s hottest young composers, Gabriela Lena Frank, travels through the jungles and mountains of Latin America, recording tribal sounds and integrating them into her stunning music. You’ll hear her Concerto for Piano and Cello, and explore the history and the future of Latin American music with Gabi and the KWS as your guide.” John Helmers is the cello soloist.

The third concert comes to Humanities on February 14: “21st Century Violin” with Gilles Apap, described as “the violinist of the 21st century” by Yehudi Menuhin, “Apap is changing the world of classical violin. Combining impeccable classical training with deep knowledge of folk traditions and a boundless imagination and sense of humor, Gilles will blow your mind. Join Gilles, Edwin Outwater, and the KWS for his famous rendition of Mozart’s 3rd Violin Concerto. Viewed on YouTube over 132,000 times!”

All three concerts will start at 7:30 p.m. and run without intermission, and all are to be led by the KWS’s newly arrived conductor, Edwin Outwater,

Robert adds that “We have a fourth concert on November 23 called Concertrama, also at UW. Guest artist is Leila Josefowicz, violin, and Larry Larson of the KWS on trumpet.” Details aren’t ready yet, she said.

Back to top

Girls visit Ontario engineering schools

from the UW media relations office

More than 100 girls in Grades 7 through 10 will gather at the University of Waterloo on Saturday for Go ENG Girl, an annual event that encourages them to consider a career in engineering.

Go ENG Girl is designed to spark an interest in engineering at a time when many female students abandon mathematics and the sciences. The program introduces the students and their parent or guardian to the range of undergraduate programs and careers that follow after graduation.

"We find that many women are opting out of math and science early in high school, without realizing that there are exciting options ahead if they stick with it," says Robin Shaw, one of the event organizers with UW's faculty of engineering. "We want to help them and their parents understand what engineering is all about, and how they can make a difference in society by studying and practicing engineering."

Last year, 127 girls participated in the event, along with 94 parents. Shaw expects more than 250 people to attend this year. The day begins at 9 a.m. in the J. R. Coutts Engineering Lecture Hall with registration, followed by welcoming remarks from Amit Chakma, UW's vice-president (academic) and provost, at 10 a.m. Lesley James, a graduate student in chemical engineering and member of the Women In Engineering Committee, will also welcome the participants.

Students will then be paired with female undergraduate students to work on one of two projects, creating either a hydraulic arm or web browser. Meanwhile, parents and guardians will learn about admissions, co-op and other topics. After lunch, members of an undergraduate student panel will share their experiences. An information fair will showcase various student groups and offer further information about admissions and co-op.

Go ENG Girl involves engineering schools at universities across Ontario, and participants must preregister at the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers web site.

CAR

Back to top