An article appeared in the Ontarion expressing concerns about the various ways universities are ranked. Everyone has concerns about the ranking processes but I am more concerned about the attitudes expressed in the article.

First, the author complained that only those institutions with the highest tuition fees and the greatest level of corporatization are ranked first in Macleans. These are not true for Guelph, yet we are ranked number one. Second, the author attacks the level of research funding coming into the University. One of our Canada Research Chairs (and renowned teacher) Frances Sharom penned a response to the Ontarion. I attach her letter below. In addition, to supporting a large number of graduate and undergraduate students, research monies bring substantial support for staff positions at the University and make very substantial contributions to the running costs of the institution.

It is not perhaps the results of the individual surveys that is significant but the fact that all the surveys conducted this past year (including the assessment by students themselves) place Guelph as one of the very best comprehensive universities in the country: an institution that balances accessibility with the quality of education, research and service.

Sponsored research benefits students
Dr. Frances Sharom
Professor and Canada Research Chair, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology
An article in last week’s Ontarion decried the fact that the University of Guelph receives “restricted” funding from sponsors that can only be put towards research, implying that such funding does not benefit students. As a Canada Research Chair, I am the recipient of such funding from three sources, the federal government agency NSERC, the Canadian Cancer Society and the Ara Parseghian Medical Research Foundation, a private foundation dedicated to curing a fatal children’s disease.
A very large fraction of the research money I receive goes towards supporting students both educationally and financially. I employ three undergraduate Work-Study students in my research lab year-round, providing valuable lab experience and financial support. When they graduate, these students often ask me to act as a referee when they search for a full-time job, or go on to further education and training. Over the past 12 months, three senior undergraduate students completed 4th year research project courses in my lab. The materials they used, which are often expensive in molecular bioscience labs, were paid for by the funding from my research sponsors. This summer, I employed two co-op students full-time in my lab, paid for by research grants. Six graduate students are currently in the process of completing their PhD and MSc degrees under my supervision. Their salaries are largely paid for by sponsored research dollars. The sophisticated equipment that these students use, and the cost of their research materials, are again paid for by research grants. Without sponsored research, undergraduate and graduate students would not have these opportunities to engage in the excitement of scientific discovery, and be supported financially at the same time.
Research funding makes the university a better place for all of us.

Posted by Alastair Summerlee at 05:06 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Serendipity ?

A couple of weekends ago, we hosted over 1,000 potential students and their families for “Fall Preview Day”. These are students contemplating university for fall 2007. As usual, the visitors are herded into the main gymnasium for an official welcome and to be given instruction about the day’s activities and events.

It is difficult to know what to say in a 3-5 minute welcome that captures the essence of Guelph when there are so many good stories. Of course, I want people to know about the place and its successes but I also want the students and the families to appreciate something about the special atmosphere at Guelph. I want them to know about the ways in which we make a difference in teaching, research and service. I want prospective students to know that if they come here, it is likely that their lives will be changed by the people at Guelph and the special atmosphere here.

After my presentation, two students (one from Engineering and one from Arts and Science) spoke of their experiences at Guelph. To anyone in the audience, it would have appeared that our talks were coordinated. Both students spoke from the heart about the ways that Guelph had made a difference in their lives and pressed home the message that if the prospective students care about people and the physical and cultural environment in which they live, they should come to Guelph. In different ways, they each provided an account of the impact of coming to Guelph on their lives and on their life.

Serendipity? I think not.

Posted by Alastair Summerlee at 08:10 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Our influence grows! On Friday I participated in a small gathering to celebrate another achievement for the University of Guelph. The Meal Exchange program, which is a national organization, obtained a grant from the Trillium Foundation of Ontario to support the development of mentoring programs. At first glance, it may be difficult to understand what this has to do with the University of Guelph. Guelph has always managed to lead other universities with the amount of money raised with the Meal Exchange program, whether it is the amount of money garnered from the Skip-a-meal program on the meal card or the Trick-or-eat event on Halloween, every year we break the mould and shatter our own record for the amount of money or goods collected. There is something in the ethos at Guelph that keeps the programs going and keeps breaking those records. The current Executive Director of the national Meal Exchange program, a graduate from Guelph, realized that mentoring is the key to Guelph’s success and has developed a deliberate mentoring scheme that will be supported by the Trillium Foundation so it can be applied in other universities. At the celebration, a Guelph student spoke about the power of mentorship and the power of being involved in the programs. Her words, her experiences and her passion, make me enormously proud to be part of an institution that cares so deeply about those who are less fortunate. And when you tally up the fund-raising efforts this year alone, with a new record already on Skip-a-meal, Trick-or-eat and now the Masai project, in a year when we have the most aggressive target ever for United Way – this is clearly a marvelous place.

Posted by Alastair Summerlee at 08:00 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)