Sept. 12, 2025
Upper-year student Sophs guide the week-long Orientation programming. (Photo source: Darryl Lahteenmaa/Western Communications)
From moving into residence to concerts and community volunteering, Western News looks back on Orientation Week 2025.
Anita Woods (Photo source: Christopher Kindratsky/Western Communications)
Physiology and pharmacology professor Anita Woods and alum Priya Modi, BMSc’23, created an open-source database of physiology illustrations designed to reflect greater diversity. The royalty-free images are customizable for teaching and available for use across post-secondary and secondary classrooms.
Third-year Schulich MD students completing their clerkship training at Bluewater Health this year – the first cohort in the new Sarnia Clerkship program. (Photo source: Megan Morris/Schulich Communications)
Five Schulich Medicine & Dentistry students began clerkship training this month at Bluewater Health, part of a new program tackling physician shortages in Sarnia-Lambton. The partnership offers immersive, community-based learning while strengthening local health care.
Also covered by: CTV London, Sarnia Observer and Sarnia News Today
Professors at Ivey Business School are using virtual reality as a powerful tool for experiential learning. (Photo source: Ivey Communications)
Ivey professor Shannon Rawski is leading a new initiative using virtual reality simulations to help business students strengthen their empathy and perspective, especially in team settings.
Also covered by: Academica’s Top Ten
The Impact Project
Explore how the Western community is collectively contributing to meaningful change in the world, today.
Alexandra Elmslie (Photo source: Steven Anderson/Western Communications)
Alexandra Elmslie: How to be a voice for people with ADHD.
Coming Up
Sept. 17 (1 to 4 p.m.)
Managing Academic Stress
Support students in navigating academic resources before challenges become barriers. Door prizes and light refreshments available. Registration encouraged but not required.
Sept. 17 (12:10 to 12:50 p.m.)
Yoga with Melissa
Join instructor Melissa Chaffe for a Living Well @ Western yoga class focused on posture, balance and strength. Arts & Humanities Building, Rm. 2B15. Register today.
Sept. 18 (11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.)
3M Harvest Lunch
Join your colleagues for lunch to celebrate the launch of the 2025 United Way Elgin Middlesex Community Campaign. Even if you can’t attend in person, you can pay it forward with a $10 meal for a neighbour-in-need ticket.
Sept. 19 (8 a.m. to noon)
Bike to Campus Day
Hop on your bike for the fifth annual bike to campus day. A group photo will be taken in the open space in front of McIntosh Gallery at 8:30 a.m. Resources will be available for anyone interested in learning more about active transportation.
Working at Western
(Photo source: Western Communications)
Your voice is important: Strategic initiatives for community input in 2025–26
The new academic year brings fresh opportunities to engage our community in a range of strategic initiatives. Within Western’s Operations and Finance portfolio, four key institutional strategies will benefit from your input: Climate & Sustainability, Campus Development, Open Space and Responsible Investing. Visit our Community Updates webpage to learn more and find out how to get involved.
Join the autumn 2025 academic
procession
Autumn Convocation is Oct. 22 to 23. Faculty, Senate and Board of Governors members, librarians, archivists and emeriti professors, archivists and librarians are invited to take part in the academic procession. Please visit the University Secretariat website for more information.
Call for nomination: Honorary degrees
Members of the Western community are invited to nominate distinguished candidates to be considered for the conferral of an honorary degree. Visit the University Secretariat website to learn more.
Photo of the Week
It’s beginning to look more like fall, as the leaves change on campus. (Photo source: Iulia Costache/Faculty of Health Sciences)
Western in the News
In addition to the news above, your colleagues have been featured in the following media outlets.
Selma Purac (Image source: YouTube)
CBC Arts
Canadian pop-culture nostalgia rules at this year's TIFF
FIMS professor Selma Purac explains how nostalgia influenced selections at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival.
CTV London
New $44M Pathogen Research Centre at Western will help fend off viruses
Schulich Medicine & Dentistry professor Eric Arts and ImPaKT director Rick Gibson detail how Western’s Pathogen Research Centre will transform infectious diseases research in the country.
CBC Quirks and Quarks
Sep 6: Summer Science Spectacular
Anthropology professor Andrew Nelson led a project to help develop new methods to non-invasively scan Peruvian mummies without unwrapping them. The work was featured in a story about Canadian scientists’ summer field research.
