Monthly Archives: March 2013

The not-so-secret war between the universities and community colleges

Posted on March 30, 2013 by Ghoussoub

The folks of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC) may have entered the budget lockup in a sunny mood, but they can’t be now, in spite of their rosy post-budget announcements. The colleges on the other hand … Continue reading →

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Bill, Joram, Olek, Ted and Bob

Posted on March 24, 2013 by Ghoussoub

I am not posting today about Budget 2013 as many of you may have expected. I am writing instead about friendship, scholarship and death. Today, I was planning to drive down to Seattle to participate in a memorial service for a … Continue reading →

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NSERC: Time to press the “reset” button on its relations with government and the scientific community

Posted on March 21, 2013 by Ghoussoub

There is no doubt that Suzanne Fortier bears a big responsibility for the unprecedented changes to the landscape of government support to university sponsored research and innovation. But it is hard to believe that she is solely responsible for this major … Continue reading →

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NSERC: Time to press the “reset” button on the mandate

Posted on March 18, 2013 by Ghoussoub

Cathleen Crudden, President of the Canadian Society for Chemistry (CSC) has already hinted at it in her blog post on the occasion of Suzanne Fortier’s exit from NSERC. “Choosing her successor will be a critical task. With academic and industrial researchers calling for more funding … Continue reading →

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Suzanne Fortier’s last salvo

Posted on March 6, 2013 by Ghoussoub

You all heard the news by now, and I got more than my share of phone calls, emails and tweets informing me about it. Suzanne Fortier is to become the 17th Principal and Vice-Chancellor (President) of McGill University, effective early September, … Continue reading →

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It takes more than talent and hard work to win academic awards

Posted on March 2, 2013 by Ghoussoub

Upon seeing the announcement by NSERC of its “Top Researchers,” I couldn’t help myself from tweeting, “UBC a no-show! Get off your comfortable arse and start nominating your colleagues.” I was surprised by how many non-UBCers retweeted my scream. I then remembered a … Continue reading →

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