New WUFA Website Launch

Who we are. What we do. Why it matters.  These are the themes of the renewed WUFA website.  Our goal for this project is that it will connect faculty to each other, and demonstrate the value of what we do to the wider Windsor-Essex community.  To this end, we are excited to feature the multi-faceted ways in which the work of WUFA members contributes to the growth and development of the University of Windsor and the region.  This work and the faculty who perform it deserve to be recognized and celebrated.

WUFA members are the teachers and researchers whose educational, scholarly, and service efforts form the intellectual foundation of the University.  As teachers, we prepare students to be informed and engaged citizens, and nurture the next generation of civic, political, and business leaders.  As scholars, we inform public debate about the important issues of our time; enliven Canadian culture and enrich our understanding of what it means to be Canadian, past and present; and connect Windsor-Essex to the wider world of ideas and action.  The new website will foreground these many contributions to the core mission of the University.

The new website is also organized to be a source of information for members about academic life at the University of Windsor and elsewhere.  The Featured Stories page will draw readers’ attention to “Who we are. What we do. Why it matters.” by showcasing members’ work and accomplishments.  This year, we are planning a series of pieces that highlight the many forms of teaching in classrooms and labs on campus. 

The new Key Issues page will report on matters of importance to us as academics and WUFA members.  We will keep you up-to-date on matters we are discussing with – in some cases, challenging – the Administration:

• hiring of 50 new faculty,
• proposed Intellectual Property policy,
• Employment Insurance Premium Rebate Program, and
• future of Kerr House.

The Key Issues page will also connect readers with issues and concerns that affect all academics and citizens.  For the launch, we are featuring stories about the suppression of data and the abandonment of evidence-based policy-making in Canada, the muzzling of scientists, and their organized – and fun-loving – protest against these practices.  This section of the website will continue to feature items of on-going concern.

Creating this website has been a lot of work.  My thanks to the WUFA staff and to Jennifer Hewer, in particular, who ensured we would be ready for a smooth launch.  Also working behind the scenes are a few UWindsor students and graduates.  WUFA hired NYN Designs – a local company created by our grads – to design the website, and Kate Hargreaves – an accomplished local author who is also our grad – wrote “Why WUFA Matters” after interviewing members of WUFA Council.  We are also working with the Digital Journalism program; their students are creating feature stories that will be published later this term.

The website continues to be a work-in-progress.  We welcome your comments, contributions, and feedback.   Please contact me at wufaprez@uwindsor.ca

Anne Forrest
WUFA President