As 2009 comes to an end, Western News takes a look back at stories that sparked the interest of our readers and Internet surfers. And that interest was evident around the world.
While most of our readers are from Canada, interest in news about Western was spread across 220 countries this year, including Liberia, Argentina and Belize. With more than 928,600 page views on the hundreds of stories posted this year, the top 10 readership countries, besides Canada, were the United States, China, United Kingdom, India, Iran, France, Hong Kong, South Korea and Germany.
Topping the list of most-read stories – with close to 13,000 hits – was the news of Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry professor Yong Kang and the development of an HIV/AIDS vaccine pushing towards the first phase of human trials.
Also attracting a large readership was the story of a first-year student who went missing in April and was later found safe. Another popular read was the opening of the new Western Student Recreation Centre.
But many other stories also attracted large followings. Western News has chosen a handful for you to review. Perhaps not surprisingly, this annual review of top stories is itself one of our most popular articles, year after year.
So let’s take a trip back over a memorable 2009.
New faces on campus
New engineering dean appointed
Arts and Social Science takes new direction
Economic downturn creates budget challenges
Western passes budget, announces layoffs
Employee groups seek layoff alternatives
Investment policies, layoff prospects draw criticism
Senior salaries frozen, others volunteer
Carving out a more sustainable future
Alt-fuel vehicles join campus fleet
Making throwaway water clean again
Sustainability ideas sprouting everywhere
Ivey to build ‘world-class facility’
Adopting new technologies
Western carves out YouTube presence
Western staff member, students blog about Alternative Spring Break
From the research lab, desktop
HIV/AIDS vaccine nears human testing
Breathing life back into dying brain cells
Telescope captures celestial supergiant
Schulich dentist takes bite out of cold cases
Western’s Meteor Group tracks fireball in the evening sky east of Toronto
Going beyond the classroom
Record donation for United Way
Western identifies workplace gaps
Cheerleader enters ring of Cirque du Soleil
You decide – is Anton Allahar Ontario’s best lecturer?
Physics pioneers ‘scratch-and-win’ tests
Paddling along a road less travelled
Bringing war surgery back home
Viewers tune in for ‘Chuck’ watch
Next stop…Senate. Watch the step
Commuters scramble as transit strike hits
University prepares for flu virus outbreak