In the high-octane world of oil-patch philanthropy, the entrepreneurs who built Calgary’s ARC Resources Ltd. (ARX-T24.04-0.02-0.08%) have operated much like the company they created – quietly active, with a disdain for grandstanding publicity.

But that low profile is being shed today as the ARC team, led by co-founder Mac Van Wielingen, make a game-changing gift to the University of Calgary – a $9.5-million donation to the university’s business school to embed ethical leadership in its curriculum, research and culture… Read More

from the breaking-out-of-the-stranglehold dept

We’ve written a bunch about Canadian copyright collecting society Access Copyright, which gets universities to pay up for a license to cover people photocopying educational material. The organization doesn’t really distribute very much of its money to content creators and yet it’s been seeking a massive 1,300% increase in fees — and Access Copyright claims that even if professors just link to copyrighted content, they have to clear that through Access Copyright.

Not everyone believes that’s the case. The University of Calgary has said that the new fees are way too high, and it will no longer use Access Copyright at all. Instead, it will seek to clear any copyrights directly, when needed, or otherwise encourage professors to link to material online that students can use. It will be interesting to see if Access Copyright challenges the university for doing so. How much do you want to bet that Access Copyright will now be snooping around, looking for a professor who fails to properly clear a photocopy somewhere.

Update: Looks like York University is about to do the same thing.

A $5-million donation from the Brenda Strafford Foundation will support a new Centre on Aging at the University of Calgary. The Brenda Strafford Centre on Aging will promote the quality of life and quantity of years for senior citizens through coordinated research, teaching, and community outreach. To date, Dr. Barrie I. Strafford, the foundation’s chair, has contributed over $8.5 million to uCalgary, with gifts supporting aging-related research in the university’s faculties of kinesiology, medicine, nursing, and social work. uCalgary News (Academicagroup)

When a medical ethics report co-authored by a top Canadian doctor was published, it was hailed as “required reading” for all health-care providers and medical students.

Now, people can’t distance themselves from the report fast enough.

The international publisher, the authors and the University of Calgary have no comment on the report that has “RETRACTED” stamped in bold red letters across its 88 pages.

A short notice, published in the journal where the report first appeared, explains it was pulled because “multiple passages” by Dr. Rene Lafreniere, a prominent Calgary surgeon and medical professor, “were taken from other sources without appropriate attribution given the original authors.”

That fits the University of Calgary’s definition of plagiarism.

(Source: www2.canada.com)

A tree-lined street where people could meet for lunch, shop for groceries, or do some window shopping close to work or home is the inspiration behind the first phase of the University of Calgary’s plan to develop its West Campus lands. The university plans to start with a town centre, which will have a Main Street theme and provide another major entrance to campus. The long-term development plan for West Campus will continue to unfold this year after the Alberta government approved the creation of an arms’-length development corporation that will manage the project as trustee of uCalgary’s property. UToday

(Academicagroup)

Leases could net university $100M for scholarships

The sprawling lands that surround the Alberta Children’s Hospital are moving closer to becoming part of the university community, complete with apartments, office space and retail outlets.

The University of Calgary’s board of governors recently approved the transfer of 36 hectares of land to a trust that would oversee rental income of the west campus development.

Don Ellard, vice-president of facilities management and development at the university, said the plan could earn the school between $50 million and $100 million for endowments over the next 25 years.

(Source: calgaryherald.com)