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PRESIDENT’S REPORT TO McMASTER UNIVERSITY’S BOARD OF GOVERNORS MARCH 6, 2014

Technological Advances and the Future of Higher Education

I wonder whether, having invented tools which would help him master his environment, homo habilis found the feeling of pride in his new discovery giving way to fear that in the long term what he had made might render him irrelevant. Even if two million years ago technological progress did not give rise to fears of self-annihilation, such a habit of mind would soon set in. At the dawn of the industrial revolution we see evidence of it in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, one of the great articulations of this fear of the dehumanizing and potentially self-destructive consequences of technological achievement.

Such anxiety has until recently been absent from the field of higher education. But it is one of the most interesting consequences of the advancing digital revolution that questions are now being posed about the future of unmediated, human-focused forms of education. Will Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and other forms of e-learning, it is now frequently asked, spell the end of higher education as we know it? There is a discernible urgency to the question when it is posed on campuses such as ours because of the implied Darwinian consequence of getting the answer wrong: no one wants their university to go the way of the Yangtze River Dolphin.

Undoubtedly education at all levels is undergoing dramatic and far-reaching change. Clerical command over the archiving and transmission of knowledge, which was the foundation of academic authority and influence at the time the first universities were founded, has been decisively overthrown in the age of the internet; and it is undoubtedly true that institutions need to find a very different raison d’etre if they are to survive very far into this century. It is also certain that as technology evolves to enhance the forms of e-learning with higher levels of interactivity—thereby making it a more plausible simulacrum for the forms of real human interaction—it will increasingly supplant established institutions of a certain kind.

Whether this process could continue until all traditional institutions are obsolete is probably unlikely and certainly open to debate. That it could do so is an opinion not exclusive to the proponents of technological advance; we also find it adopted largely for rhetorical effect by critics of higher education who have other reasons for wanting radical change. In government, for example, concern about the financial sustainability of what I have called the “human- focused” model of education has predisposed officials to espouse the virtues of e-learning and to see online education as the solution to a large range of practical problems, notwithstanding what research says about the potentially negative impact on quality of education.

If the quality of education is our main concern, however, it is interesting to notice that in the apocalyptic scenario, “human-focused” education is imagined to be overthrown when technology effectively and perfectly replicates what human interaction can provide. Even the most vehement advocates of e-learning see human fulfillment as the ultimate goal: despite the claims sometimes made that digital technology is forcing cognitive change in our children, there is ultimately surely no desire to see the latter replaced by technology. So even at its technology-positive extreme, 1 this current discourse on technology and education reaffirms, rather than repudiates, the human dimension—even if it does so by paradoxically postulating the achievement of humanity as the ultimate goal of the machine.

There is a need to consider these questions in a less alarmist and apocalyptic atmosphere. 2001 came and went and the supercomputer in Stanley Kubrick’s Space Odyssey failed to supplant human beings as masters of their own destiny. That universities will cease to exist as they are rendered redundant by digital technology is no more likely to happen—if, that is, they keep in sight both the profoundly humanistic goal of all education, and the brilliant new opportunities which emerging technologies provide for the achievement of that goal.

McMaster’s Institute for Innovation and Excellence in Teaching and Learning (MIIETL) was established last year in order to facilitate our negotiation of this complex landscape of changing pedagogies and emerging technologies. Our guest speaker at this meeting, Dr. Arshad Ahmad, is McMaster’s new Associate Vice-President, Teaching and Learning, and Director of the Institute. He will be discussing the process by which the former Centre for Leadership in Learning is being recast and reoriented as an ambitious research institute dedicated not only to improving the quality of teaching and learning on our own campus, but also through research to identifying and exploring approaches that will benefit the cause of higher education everywhere.

CAMPUS UPDATE

Chemist Pippa Lock named 3M National Teaching Fellow

Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Pippa Lock, has been named a 3M National Teaching Fellow by 3M Canada and the Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. Lock was one of 10 educators across Canada to be named a fellow for 2014, joining 13 McMaster faculty members to have been named previously. The 3M Fellowship is the only pan-Canadian, cross- disciplinary recognition of educational leadership and excellence in university teaching.

Professor elected President of Canadian Mathematical Society

Professor Lia Bronsard was elected President of the Canadian Mathematical Society in December. Bronsard will help oversee the activities of more than 1,000 members from across the country. The Society’s winter national conference is scheduled to take place in downtown Hamilton this year.

Henry Schwarcz named AAAS Fellow

Professor Emeritus Henry Schwarcz has been made a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The world’s largest scientific society elevated him to Fellow for his pioneering development and application of stable isotope analysis for environmental Earth sciences, geoarchaeology and the reconstruction of human history.

Design Charrette held for new Fitzhenry Studios

2 Students, faculty and alumni from the School of the Arts met with architects and planners in February to brainstorm what the Dr. Robert and Andrée Rhéaume Ftizhenry Studios and Atrium could look like. Participants analyzed everything from lighting and ventilation to the size of the elevators needed to transport people and art from floor to floor. The space was made possible thanks to a $3M gift from alumnus Robert Fitzhenry.

Celebrating a Quarter Century

McMaster welcomed 144 new members to its Quarter Century Club in January. The honour recognizes and celebrates employees and faculty who have given 25 years of service to the University.

Research

Theoretical Chemist wins Steacie Prize

Paul Ayers has won this year’s Steacie Prize, widely recognized as Canada’s most prestigious award for scientists and engineers under the age of 40. The prize is awarded to an individual who has made notable contributions to research in Canada. Ayers leads one of the largest theoretical research groups in the country and earlier this year was awarded the E.W.R. Steacie Memorial Fellowship, designed to boost the career development of outstanding university faculty.

McMaster receives $3.7M for Research Partnerships and Facilities

Nineteen researchers from five Faculties are leading projects and research programs awarded funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council. The goal of the NSERC grants is to increase research and training in targeted areas that could strongly enhance Canada’s economy, society and/or environment within 10 years. The CFI funding is for state-of-the-art equipment to upgrade or augment current facilities or to create new labs on campus.

The recipients of the awards are as follows:  Kjetil Ask, Assistant Professor, Division of Respirology, Department of Medicine  Emily Cranston, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering  Marie Elliot, Canada Research Chair in Microbial Genomics and Assistant Professor, Department of Biology  Elkafi Hassini, Associate Professor, DeGroote School of Business  Rafael Kleiman, Professor, Department of Engineering Physics  Dimitrios Konstantinidis, Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering  Mark Larché, Canada Research Chair in Allergy & Immune Tolerance and Professor in the Department of Medicine  Grant McClelland, Associate Professor, Department of Biology  Joe McDermid, Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering  Cheryl Quenneville, Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering  Eduard Reinhardt, Professor, School of Geography and Earth Sciences

3  Petra Rethman, Professor, Department of Anthropology  Gregory Steinberg, Canada Research Chair in Metabolism, Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes, Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, and Co-Director of the Metabolism And Childhood (MAC) Obesity Research Program  Eva Szabo, Canada Research Chair in Metabolism in Human Stem Cells and Cancer Development, and a scientist in the Stem Cell and Cancer Research Institute  Ray Truant, Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences  Rong Zheng, Associate Professor, Department of Computing and Software  Altaf Arain, Professor, School of Geography and Earth Sciences and Director, McMaster Centre for Climate Change. Contributing partners: Natural Resources Canada - Canadian Forest Services; Environment Canada – Climate Research Branch; Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources; Ingegneria Dei Sistemi, North America Ltd.; Long Point Region Conservation Authority and St. Williams Conservation Reserve Community Council.  Todd Hoare, Associate Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering. Contributing partner: Prosensus Inc.  Igor Zhitomirsky, Professor, Department of Materials Science and Engineering. Contributing partner: Advanced Ceramics Corporation.

Province invests $2.2M in McMaster Teaching, Learning and Research Projects

The University will benefit from more than $2.2M in provincial funding through the Productivity and Innovation Fund. This includes the development of a $1.17M central Graduate Professional Skills portal, which will house training modules for students across Ontario, a $500,000 first-year experience program and $575,000 in funding to develop a common utility consumption database and benchmarking system.

Student Success

Student wins first Mandela Award

First-year student Michael Abraham received the first Nelson Mandela Award in February during the John C. Holland Award ceremony. The award, created by the Hamilton Black History Committee, recognizes a young person from the Hamilton area with a keen interest in human rights, social justice and community services. It carries with it a $1,000 academic scholarship.

McMaster hosts Three Minute Thesis Competition

Graduate students were put to the test in February when they were given just three minutes to explain their research to a panel of judges and a live audience. Winners are eligible to take part in the provincial finals of the competition, which will be hosted by McMaster in April.

Business students tops at MBA Games

4 A team of students from the DeGroote School of Business won this year’s MBA Games. The 40- person team beat squads from 22 other schools to take the overall prize and also won the athletics category.

Conference addresses how Care Catalyzes Change

Hundreds of current and aspiring young leaders from across campus attended the McMaster Student Leadership Conference in January. Participants took part in workshops on everything from social media, supervision and team dynamics to budgeting, environmental stewardship and McMaster’s Learning Portfolio.

Community Engagement

McMaster renews long-time commitment to downtown Hamilton

McMaster will relocate 200 staff, 4,000 students, offices and classrooms from the current Downtown Centre to more than 50,000 square feet of space at 1 James Street North. The current building is owned by the City, which now requires the space for its own purposes.

Residents, students, scholars meet at the ARCH

Local residents, students and scholars recently gathered for the opening of the Action Research Commons Hamilton, known as the ARCH. The new initiative, located at Kenilworth Avenue and Main Street East, is a collaborative work and meeting space for students, scholars, area residents and others interested in or currently conducting community-based research in Hamilton. Created in partnership with the School of Graduate Studies and Homestead Christian Care, it is open to members of all Faculties.

Students in Discovery Program graduate

The third cohort of students in McMaster’s Discovery Program graduated on December 14. The program, which has grown in size and reputation since its inception, offers a no-cost, university- style course to adults who did not previously have access to post-secondary education, often because of economic, social, medical or other barriers. This year’s class included 20 students, representing a wide range of ages and backgrounds.

Professor joins National Network of ‘Women for Nature’

Gail Krantzberg, Director of the Centre for Engineering and Public Policy, has joined a new federal initiative committed to environmental conservation and awareness amongst women. Women for Nature, conceived by Nature Canada, is a network of researchers, teachers, artists, politicians and environmental activists from across Canada. The group’s goal is to have a presence at senior levels of government and reinforce the message that nature preservation is important for all of Canada.

Thousands attend Connect to Careers Job Fair 5 Nearly 4,000 students, alumni and members of the public attended the second annual Connect to Careers job fair at Hamilton’s Careport Centre in January. The fair welcomed students from Mohawk College, Redeemer University College and McMaster, as well as members of the public, who connected with employers offering summer and co-op positions as well as full and part-time jobs.

Students get career advice from alumni in the arts

Students looking to work in the arts took part in a networking session on campus in January. The event, part of the yearlong Spotlight on the Arts festival, gave students the opportunity to ask questions and learn from a number of alumni, including the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra’s Diana Weir, the Hamilton Arts Council’s Stephanie Vegh and record label executive Jeffrey Remedios.

Juno Award-winning Toronto Mass Choir performs with McMaster students

Students in the McMaster Choir performed alongside the Juno Award-winning Toronto Mass Choir and its alumna director Karen Burke in January. Burke also taught a special workshop for the Choir before the performance, which took place at the Westdale United Church.