May & June 2015
Chief Operating Officer
- Congratulations to Nicole Farrell, the newest member of our Departmental Managers, Administration & Finance team. We know she will do an excellent job in her new role with the Department of Clinical Neurological Sciences.
- Please look for communication regarding the process for the renewal of the Schulich Medicine & Dentistry Strategic Plan. Further information will be distributed throughout the coming weeks and months.
Media Relations
- More than 170 medical students from Schulich Medicine & Dentistry participated in Discovery Week. Several media outlets covered Discovery Week, including Afternoon Drive on CBC Windsor, Blackburn News, Woodstock Sentinel Review, Ingersoll Times and The Post.
- Research by John Ciriello, PhD, shows that sleep apnea in pregnant women may cause long-term health risks in their children. CTV London covered the study.
- An article by Dr. Phillip Jones and Dr. Bob Kiaii describes the role of surgical checklists – modeled on aviation checklists – in medical practice and their role in reducing medical errors. CTV London covered the article.
- A study authored by Greta Bauer, PhD, finds that the risk of suicide in the transgender community may be reduced by changing policy and societal factors. The results of Bauer’s study were covered by Afternoon Drive on CBC Windsor, CTV London, AM980, Blackburn News, Toronto Sun and the Globe & Mail.
Human Resources
- On June 10, the Human Resources team hosted the first New Employee Orientation Program. Survey results found that the orientation provided an “excellent overview of how Schulich Medicine & Dentistry fits into the institution, a better understanding of the governance structure at the School, and an opportunity meet other colleagues." All of the survey respondents stated that they encourage other new employees to attend the orientation. As a result of positive feedback, the next orientation has been scheduled for October 14.
- We are pleased to announce the appointment of Nicole Farrell to the position of Manager, Administration & Finance, Department of Clinical Neurological Sciences (CNS) effective July 6, 2015. Nicole will provide strategic leadership and stewardship to the Department of CNS, in an effort to continue effective and efficient administrative operations. Nicole has held the positions of Office Manager/Research Assistant and Teaching Support Analyst at the London Health Sciences Centre, as well as Education Coordinator with CNS. Most recently, she held the position of Executive Assistant to the Dean at Schulich Medicine & Dentistry, managing all administrative operations. Nicole has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Western University and is completing her Master's degree in Business Administration at Royal Roads University. We are proud to promote talented people and we look forward to Nicole's contribution to the CNS team.
- The Wellness Committee has changed its email address to wellnesscommittee@schulich.uwo.ca. We are continuing to provide a variety of physical events that are taking place around campus and in the hospitals. Walks have been scheduled on Main Campus for 12:10 p.m. in the Medical Sciences Building lobby and at Victoria Hospital at 12:05 p.m. meeting at the B Entrance, Ground Level, Donation Board. Our next steps will be to introduce mental wellness (starting July 20) with Mandala Mondays, which will be open session for anyone who might want to take a break from their workday and participate in some therapeutic colouring. More details to follow.
Finance
Fiscal Year-end:
- The 2014-2015 fiscal year-end has closed. We appreciate everyone meeting with Vicki and Katey to review your year-end results. We hope to finalize year-end in the next few weeks and then carryforwards will be posted to departments as appropriate.
- At the end of May, interest was allocated to the Fund 4 accounts so the balances now reflect the actual expendable dollars.
Purchasing:
- A reminder that procurement requires competitive quotes for purchases over $10,000.
- Requisitions need to be completed before an invoice is received from the vendor.
- For requisitions over $50,000, please contact Rosemary Hicks by email for approval.
Research
- In cooperation with Research Western, Lawson Health Research Institute and Western University faculties, we are developing a city-wide support process for the CIHR Foundation 2015 2nd Live Pilot. The registration deadline for the 2015 Pilot is July 27, 2015.
- The summer seminar series for participants in the Summer Research Training Program (SRTP) begins on Tuesday, July 7.
- Western University’s access to Pivot, a comprehensive funding opportunities database, has been restored. The database is updated daily, and includes funding for many purposes such as research, collaborations, travel, curriculum development, conferences, equipment, training and more. Pivot can be accessed at http://pivot.cos.com/.
Basic Medical Sciences
Basic Medical Sciences Undergraduate Education (BMSUE)
Dr. Candace Gibson
- Summer Academic Orientation (SAO) is underway. Faculty and staff are providing one-on-one counselling to incoming first-year students about course selection and the BMSc and Neuroscience programs.
- Approximately 750 students have been admitted to Medical Sciences First Entry program for 2015-2016, many of whom will pursue modules leading to a BMSc degree or a BSc in Neuroscience. Once again, Medical Sciences First Entry had the highest admission average for all undergraduate programs at Western University for this upcoming year.
- Enrolment in basic medical science courses for 2015-2016 began on June 22 and will be ongoing until early September. Enrolment updates are sent weekly to departments.
Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs
Dr. Andrew Watson
- Applications for the Dean's PhD Graduate Stipends and Dean's MSc to PhD transfer Stipends are now open. The recipients must possess an outstanding academic record, and will have demonstrated outstanding research excellence and potential.
- The Deans Undergraduate Research Opportunity Students will be presenting their research projects on August 20 in the Medical Sciences Building, Room 148. Participants must present their research in less than four minutes. All are welcome.
- We are pleased to announce the 12 recipients of the Schulich Medicine & Dentistry Internal Graduate Awards.
Communications
- The events team is currently focused on planning, marketing and securing sponsorship for See the Line — a concussion research and awareness partnership event taking place on August 12. Schulich Medicine & Dentistry is managing the CME and Symposium events. The day also includes a workshop hosted by Fowler Kennedy Sport Medicine Clinic and a Gala & Armchair Discussion organized by London Health Sciences Foundation. Visit seetheline.ca to learn more and register for these events.
- Promotion, planning and sponsorship work is also underway for the Dean's Gala (September 26) as part of our Homecoming Weekend. View the full lineup of Homecoming events. All faculty, staff, students and alumni are invited to attend our Homecoming events. The team is also continuing efforts on promotion and planning for the Dentistry 50th Anniversary Weekend (September 11 - 12).
- As part of the School's website redevelopment project, we successfully launched five new websites in June including: Department of Medicine, Division of Ophthalmology, Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Hospital & Interfaculty Relations and Internationalization.
- Phase three of the website redevelopment project is quickly advancing. The Communications web team has connected with the phase three departments, divisions and programs. All phase three members will be contacted and provided with a site map and homepage mock-up in the coming weeks, working toward an expected launch in late October 2015.
- If you have any questions about the website redevelopment project and the upcoming site launch, please contact Brian Blatnicki at 519.661.2111 ext. 88993.
Information Services
- The development group in Information Services (IS) has completed the migration of the legacy application known as the "PGE Database" to the Schulich Administrative System (SAS). The PGE database has been decommissioned as of June 15, 2015 and is no longer available. Work is continuing on completing the migration of undergraduate medical and dental student data from the Student Database to SAS.
- On June 16, improvements to the "impersonate" feature in Single Sign-On were implemented making the feature easier to use and more secure. When users go to impersonate, the search field will appear on the same screen and you will not have to add your own password a second time. For added security, when impersonating you will see a banner across the bottom of the screen indicating that you are impersonating including a button to end the use of the feature.
- Over the past month we have been working with our customers with access to our old survey software to transition them to Western University's new survey software, Qualtrics. The transition is now complete and as of June 15 Schulich IS no longer supports the old software. Future surveys are to be created in Qualtrics. For more information, please visit: http://www.schulich.uwo.ca/informationservices/resources/qualtrics.html.
Project Management Office/Strategic Technology Commons
- The Project Management Office has scheduled several Change Management workshops for Managers and Employees over the summer. You are encouraged to participate. Please email pmo.inquiry@schulich.uwo.ca to inquire or register for an upcoming workshop. We thank past participants for their positive and valuable feedback.
- Strategic Technology Commons (STC) has been updating their website to include testimonials and videos in the Digital Tools section. These updates demonstrate or highlight a number of leading e-Learning Development Tools that are used, or have been used for various courses.
- STC is actively supporting and working with faculty to create new and creative teaching demonstrations for the Western Conference for Science Education (WCSE) July 7-10. Effective Strategies for videoconferencing will be offered shortly, available in one-on-one or team sessions. Contact stc@schulich.uwo.ca for more details.
Education
- The Postgraduate Medical Education program is currently working through registering/re-registering 986 trainees for the 2015-2016 academic year. All PGME and hospital requirements must be met by July 1, 2015 for trainees to begin/resume training.
- The PGY1 Orientation Day will be held in conjunction with London Health Sciences Centre, St. Joseph’s Health Care London and the Windsor Program on Thursday July 2, 2015.
- Pre-Year One orientation to medical school will be launching in August, 2015. Along with the White Coat Ceremony, the week will also provide students with the opportunity to travel into the rural region to visit hospitals that are a part of Schulich Medicine’s Distributed Medical Education Network. Students will also take part in a facilitated "mission statement day" with a renowned leader in the health and business world as well as the local YMCA.
Alumni Relations and Development
- Alumni Relations and Development has received a final estate distribution of $117,000 to support the Kathleen and Dr. Henry Barnett Chair in Stroke Research at Robarts Research Institute. This represents a total bequest of $1,917,559 from this particular estate. Dr. Henry Barnett, internationally known neurologist and Robarts Research Institute Co-founder, is extremely relieved that this gift in its entirety has come to be realized during his lifetime. The implementation of his research has prevented an unaccountable number of strokes and continues to save many lives.
- Dr. Margaret Steele has committed a gift of $25,000 to create an endowed bursary for Masters in Public Health (MPH) students. Subject to Senate approval, the bursary will be named in honour of Dr. Steele's late mother, Rosaleen Rhodes. This bursary will assist our MPH students in acquiring valuable experiential learning opportunities in Canada and abroad.
- Dr. Fatma Hawash, a semi-retired physician in London, has made a donation of $10,000 toward Alzheimer's research at Robarts. Dr. Hawash has seen many patients suffer from this disease and was pleased to provide her support to help find a way to slow the disease progression.
Facilities
- The Dental Sciences Building (DSB) 6th floor demolition has been delayed slightly by site conditions, and is expected to wrap up next week.
- The DSB LLG floor demolition underway and is expected to last six weeks.
- The DSB 3rd floor demolition package will be tendered soon with a start date of mid to late July.
