Lighting the lamp for Locks of Love
When the 2011-12 women’s OUA hockey season comes to a close, a pair of Western Mustangs will be losing more than their equipment. Tawn Rellinger and Katie Dillon, both fourth-year players, have decided to cut off their hair and donate it to Locks of Love, a non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to children suffering from long-term medical hair loss.
“I think it’s a great idea,” Rellinger says. “I tried to put myself in someone else’s shoes, and to think about what it would mean to have real hair on my head when I couldn’t grow my own. I am very fortunate to know that my hair will grow back, and that the donation of my own hair will put a smile on someone’s face.”
Rellinger has recruited Dillon to join the cause, and she’s hoping to get more teammates on board.
“As students, it’s an easy way to give since it’s often difficult for us to contribute financially,” Dillon says. “And I think this is an extremely easy way for us to help people who aren’t fortunate enough to grow their own hair. It seems like something so little, but for those children, I think it makes a big difference in their self-confidence and the normalcy of their lives.”
Aside from fellow donors, Rellinger and Dillon are looking for donations to help the cause and the Mustangs women’s hockey team will be holding a fundraising event in the near future.
Award pushes HIV/AIDS vaccine
The National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP) awarded Sumagen Canada Inc. $728,000 to support human clinical trials for a preventative HIV vaccine, SAV001. Developed by Dr. Chil-Yong Kang and his team at Western, the vaccine received approval by the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) to start human clinical trials this month.
This financial assistance from NRC-IRAP and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation allows the team to proceed more quickly to Phase I human clinical trials to test the safety of its SAV001 HIV/AIDS vaccine. The SAV001 vaccine has the potential to save millions of lives around the world by preventing HIV infection.
Suncor CEO named 2012 Ivey Business Leader
Rick George, Suncor Energy Inc. chief executive officer, will receive the 2012 Ivey Business Leader Award and address Canada’s prominent business leaders at a gala dinner on Oct. 17.
George was appointed president and CEO of Suncor Energy Inc. in 1991, and currently holds the CEO position of the company. In 1999, he was named ‘Outstanding CEO of the Year’ after leading a remarkable business turnaround at Suncor, and received the Canadian Business Leader Award in 2000. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in December 2007.
“Rick George has all the qualities of an exemplary Canadian business leader,” says Carol Stephenson, Richard Ivey School of Business dean. “He is a natural leader who stands out not just as a tremendous strategic thinker, but also has a strong connection and dedication to giving back to the community. He embodies the Ivey spirit of leadership and sets a positive example we should embrace and acknowledge.”
Lake opening set for Jan. 19
Suzy Lake, whose work has influenced and inspired a generation of artists around the world, will be on hand to open her McIntosh Gallery exhibition, Poetic Politics.
The public is invited to meet Lake at an opening reception at 7:30 p.m. today. She will meet with Department of Visual Arts graduate students and give a public tour of the McIntosh show at 12:30 p.m. Friday. The exhibition continues until Feb. 18.
Recognized as a pioneer among women artists of the 1970s, Lake investigates individual identity as a social construct through the use of photography, performance, film and video. Lake’s large-scale photographs and related performances have brought her praise from around the globe. In her self-portraits, she uses costumes, make-up and props to assume a variety of identities.
Valpy new CanWest Fellow in FIMS
VALPY
Award-winning journalist Michael Valpy will teach a graduate course in the Journalism program, New Media and Deep Democracy, as the Faculty of Information & Media Studies new CanWest Fellow in Media.
Valpy has enjoyed a distinguished career in journalism, most notably at The Globe and Mail, where he has been a reporter, a national political columnist, a member of the editorial board, a deputy managing editor and an Africa-based correspondent. He has also produced documentaries for CBC radio, written for Maclean’s and other national news magazines, and has co-authored two books on the Canadian constitution.
The CanWest Global Fellowship in Media, a four-month appointment, was established in 2006 through a donation from The CanWest Global Foundation.
