Distance ed expands copyright clearance
Memorial University’s Distance Education and Learning Technologies (DELT) is expanding its copyright clearance function. DELT is now providing copyright clearance for courses taught at the St. John’s campus as well as those taught by distance. Faculty and staff can expect a seamless transition of this function from University Relations to DELT, and can continue to count on the expertise of the trusted staff providing this service.

DELT has been obtaining copyright clearance for individuals teaching distance education courses for many years. Movement of the clearance function for on-campus courses to DELT streamlines this function within a single department, enhancing this important service offering.

Nancy Simmons and Rosalind Bailey, copyright officers, are available to assist faculty and staff with obtaining clearance for any required course material. Ms. Simmons’ office has moved from the Arts and Administration building to the Education building, ED-2000F, in order to align this function with the department; however, she can still be contacted at ext. 2089 or via email at nsimmons@mun.ca.

Copyright clearance at Sir Wilfred Grenfell College and Marine Institute (MI) is not affected by this transition and will continue to function as it has in the past.

With the fall semester on the horizon, faculty and staff are advised to apply as soon as possible, no later than mid-June.

For more information regarding copyright clearance, please contact: On-campus courses, Nancy Simmons 737-2089, ED2000F, nsimmons@mun.ca. For distance courses, Rosalind Bailey 737-7578, ED2000F rbailey@mun.ca.

Dorm residence to go smoke free
Effective September 2004, Grenfell's dorm residence will be completely smoke-free. Currently two of the six floors are designated as smoke-free, however because of requests from students this will change in the fall.

Scott Furey, president of the Residence Council, outlined his concerns in a letter to the Division of Student Affairs.

“Of course, our first concern is health related,” he said. “An entirely smoke-free residence would create a healthy and safe living environment for all students living in residence. Banning smoking in residence would not only eliminate the presence of second-hand smoke in the building, but would also prevent the potential fire-hazard that can arise from students smoking in their rooms.”

Mary Sparkes, co-ordinator of Student Affairs and Services, agrees that health and safety are the primary issues with regards to the new policy. But there are other benefits as well, she said. Banning smoking will save money because it’s more expensive to replace carpets and painting in a smoking room.

There will still be an option for smoking students, however. “One of the chalet apartments will remain a smoking building,” she said. “Because the chalets are separate structures, the smoke will be contained in this building.”

NSERC office headed to Moncton
The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) has announced it will locate a regional office for Atlantic Canada in Moncton. While NSERC invests more than $700 million in university research across Canada each year, until now its entire staff has been located in Ottawa. NSERC currently supports the work of more than 1,400 researchers in 12 universities across the Atlantic region.

“The new office will be involved in helping Atlantic universities build research capacity and in stimulating innovation in the communities of the region,” said NSERC President Tom Brzustowski.

The office will be staffed by four people whose main functions will focus on communication and facilitating access to programs. Priority will be placed on ensuring that the office serves the whole Atlantic region.

Dr. Christopher Loomis, vice-president, (research), said that while Memorial lobbied strongly to have the regional NSERC office in Newfoundland, “we are pleased with NSERC's decision to open an office in the region dedicated to the needs of Atlantic Canada.