McMaster University

[DC83]

That election smell is really gettin' strong around here...

[oldcoote]

Originally Posted by DC83

That election smell is really gettin' strong around here...

That's bunge.

[SteelTown]

It appears this meet today will evolve into something bigger in the future. Federal reps, provincial reps, McMaster reps, private sponsors and David Braley.

[dvy88]

so they are halting the b line stop at mac starting september 2nd and relocating it off campus (main st.)... other bus stops including the 1A, 51 and 5 are going to be relocated by 2011. This is an outrage!!!

apparently its going to make the campus more pedestrian friendly...

[SteelTown]

You know those new median islands that they built right in front of Hamilton Hall? It has flowers and trees. They want to build more of those along the road and only allow bikes on the road.

I had a rendering of that somewhere, pedestrian friendly campus.

[dvy88]

sadly they are forgetting where the pedestrians come from. =/

[DC83]

Big day is here for Mac's new stadium

The Hamilton Spectator
(Sep 13, 2008)



It's been years -- and $23 million -- in the making. But tonight the wait finally ends and a new era for Hamilton sports begins when McMaster University officially opens the beautiful Ron Joyce Stadium, when the football Marauders take on the University of Ottawa.

http://thespec.com/News/Local/article/434565

[FRM]

that is the most beautiful university football stadium in Canada , if not one of the most beautiful in all of Canada.

[flar]

Looks like it has top notch amenities, but I hate stadiums with seating only on one side. And the university has problems with its spending priorities, but that's another story...

[omro]

Originally Posted by flar

Looks like it has top notch amenities, but I hate stadiums with seating only on one side. And the university has problems with its spending priorities, but that's another story...

Doesn't look like they had room for a two sided stadium though.

[SteelTown]

This morning I was at the McMaster Downtown Centre, old courthouse. That's quite an interesting building inside. When was it built?

Looks old. Like the phone booth has that old English phone booth style with a bench. The bathroom is old, one of those pull the handle washroom. The door has a knob, which is odd for me as a germaphobe. Washroom doors nowadays you just push or pull. This one has a knob, ewww haha.

[raisethehammer]

I think it was built in the 50's.
I used the can in the GO Station today...man, those are beauty public washrooms....too bad we can't open up the one's in the Gore again.

[DC83]

^^ Although rediculously off topic, I have to say I really like the old school washrooms upstairs @ Union Stn in TO. They're like you're describing, Steeltown. Very neat.

And I don't think they wanted a two-sided stadium, Omro? I think they were going for the 'intimate' feel of the game, or were trying to create a demand for tix? Kind of like Percival Molson Memorial Stadium in Montreal, it is a CFL-class stadium but only seats 20,000 people. Yet it sells out every game and has so for the last, what, 8-9 years?

[RePinion]

Originally Posted by raisethehammer

I think it was built in the 50's.
I used the can in the GO Station today...man, those are beauty public washrooms....too bad we can't open up the one's in the Gore again.

Yep. 1958 or something like that. The courthouse is a great, but generally unappreciated, example of mid-century international style architecture, relatively rare for southern Ontario. It is one of the two great icons of the style in Hamilton, the other being of course City Hall. City Hall is definitely flashier, but I have to say that the courthouse is probably the better building of the two.

As for public washrooms, these are definitely a great and very common feature here in Europe. Hard to believe that a city the size of Toronto doesn't even have them. It would be brilliant for Hamilton to take initiative and start installing some public washrooms in the core -- restoring the one's in Gore Park (which back in the day were known for their safety and cleanliness) would be the most logical start. This would be an exellent way of encouraging a culture of active street life downtown.

[highwater]

Could someone post a pic? The building I'm picturing in my mind is definitely not International Style.

[markbarbera]

Here is a pic posted on a website highlighting Hamilton Architecture:



source: http://pages.interlog.com/~urbanism/moham.html

It's not a great photo, but it may jog your memory. It's the McMaster Continuing Ed building at the corner of Main and John. I always considered its style more akin to Art Moderne myself.

[highwater]

Thanks Mark. I realize now that I was thinking of the current family court in what used to be the library. Definitely International Style and definitely beautiful. I still like City Hall better, though. What can I say? I'm a big City Hall fan.

[highwater]

And you're right. The expanses of limestone do make it a bit of a hybrid, but the predominance of glass, flatness, and rectilinear form make it IS, IMO.

[highwater]

Open House, McMaster Campus Master Plan

Following is a message regarding McMaster's open house this Thursday, to review its Campus Master Plan:



Last year, McMaster's University Planning Committee formed a working group to refresh McMaster's Campus Master Plan, which was originally drafted in 2002 by a committee of stakeholders (students, staff, neighbours, faculty and city officials).



The community is invited to an Open House this Thursday, October 2 (12:00 pm – 2:00pm) in Convocation Hall, to learn of the committee's work and recommendations. Details are provided in the following Daily News article:



Daily News Story - Campus Plan Open House (http://dailynews.mcmaster.ca/worthme...ng.cfm?ID=4507)



Gord Arbeau

Associate Director, Public Relations

Office of Public Relations

University Advancement

McMaster University

1280 Main St. West, CNH 111

Hamilton, Ontario

905-525-9140 (27305)

Cell - 905-512-2075

Fax 905-521-1504

arbeaug@mcmaster.ca

[SteelTown]

New digestive health institute launches with 'super star' leader
by FHS Advancement
October 09, 2008

A $15 million gift today launched a new research institute at the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine at McMaster University which will work towards the causes and cures of digestive diseases.

The Farncombe Family Digestive Health Research Institute will have a research focus on understanding the causes of common gastroenterology conditions, particularly inflammatory and other bowel diseases, with particular attention on the role of the intestinal microbial environment. This research will generate new therapeutic approaches to the disorders which affect more than 2 million Canadians and impact many aspects of health.

The new institute has been initiated by the Farncombe family of Oakville. They have donated $15 million to provide capital for new facilities, as well as the creation of endowed leadership positions, and the development of a team of young researchers.

The institute will build on a successful digestive health research program developed at the university for more than 25 years, considered one of the top 10 gastroenterology research groups in the world. An internationally-renowned 'super star' in the field has been attracted as its inaugural director. John Wallace, a pharmacologist and founder of two pharmaceutical companies, is currently at the University of Calgary, and will take the Institute position on January 1, 2009.

"We sincerely appreciate the leadership of the Farncombe family," said Peter George, president and vice-chancellor of McMaster University. "Their gift is the fourth largest gift ever to a Canadian medical school. Three of these four gifts have come to the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine, which attests to the world-renowned work being done here."

"The Farncombe Family Digestive Health Research Institute will greatly enhance our capacity to help the thousands who suffer from inflammatory bowel disease."

Kevin Glasgow, CEO of the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of Canada, said there is a profound need for additional research, as Canada has amongst the highest prevalence rates for Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis in the world.

"McMaster is already robust as a world leader in digestive health research, and from its young researchers has spawned the leaders of many other important gastrointestinal research centres. This will solidify its pre-eminent role."

He called John Wallace a 'super star', adding: "Dr. Wallace is one of Canada's - and the world's - pre-eminent gastrointestinal researchers."

John Wallace said: "I am delighted to be joining one of the premier digestive disease research groups in the world. The generosity of the Farncombe family will allow us to build on the existing excellence, achieving our goal of developing better therapies and cures for many chronic digestive diseases."

The Farncombe family initially gave $3.5 million in 2004 to the intestinal diseases research program at McMaster, to establish a gnotobiotic or sterile laboratory unique in Canadian universities, as well as an endowed professorial chair, the Farncombe Family Chair in Inflammatory Bowel Disease. That gift subsequently prompted more than $21.5 million in research grants; investments in additional facilities including DNA sequencing equipment and the allocation of two senior scientist positions, as well as the arrival of international graduate students attracted by its research programs.

The $15 million gift announced today will provide:

Capital for a new $3.5 million facility within the McMaster Health Sciences Centre, to include labs, offices and an innovation meeting area and atrium for multi-disciplinary scientists to share ideas and generate new collaborations. Construction is expected to begin in 2009;

Establishment of a Farncombe Family Digestive Health Research chair with a $3 million endowment, to support the institute's scientific director;

Three chairs, endowed with $2 million each, to attract high potential junior researchers and allow them to establish their academic research career over a five year term;

Scholarships for graduate students.

"This is a fascinating area of study. At a time when we hear of deadly digestive infections such as Listeria, there is increasing evidence that some infectious agents are required for the body to maintain health," said John Kelton, the dean and vice-president of the Faculty of Health Sciences and the dean of the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine.

"In other words, healthy individuals require a balance in the type and number of bacteria that live within their bodies. The Farncombe Family's remarkable gift will allow McMaster to be the first Canadian university to systematically address this important question by studying the effects of bacteria on the entire well-being of humans."

Development of a young team of researchers is important, said Steve Collins, a founding leader of the digestive research program at McMaster and now associate dean for Research for the Faculty of Health Sciences.

"We are very grateful to the Farncombe family for their continued support of our research," he said. "This gift will enable us to fully exploit our large germ-free laboratory which is essential to better understand how intestinal microbes can initiate and maintain chronic disease. We now have a unique infrastructure that will attract scientists of the highest calibre and enable us to go beyond existing boundaries in our search for the causes of functional and inflammatory bowel diseases."