Media releases

• 10 years later, Brock’s grape & wine lectures are food for thought around the world

  Monday, February 13, 2017 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE: 13 February 2017 – R00032

  It began in 2007 as a way to get timely research out of the lab and into the hands of Ontario grape growers and winemakers.

  Today the annual lecture series by Brock University’s Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute (CCOVI) has a global reach. Since introducing live webcasting in 2012, and creating an online archive of the presentations by leading scientists and industry experts, the videos have had more than 7,000 views from 43 countries worldwide.

  It all starts up again this week as the 2017 series of weekly lectures takes place on Wednesday.

  “The series started as a way to get our research out to the growers and winemakers in our own backyard,” said CCOVI Director Debbie Inglis. “Taking the series online has been a real game-changer allowing us to share our industry-driven research across Canada and around the world.”

  Topics for this year’s series span the grape and wine value chain examining areas from sparkling wine production, to the effect wine ratings have on prices, and how climate change is impacting Ontario’s wine industry. The series will also bring in two Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada researchers from British Columbia to share their latest findings.

  The free lectures start a 2 p.m., except for Feb. 24, and will take place in room H313 of the Mackenzie Chown complex at Brock University.

  To watch the live webcasts or archived videos, go to brocku.ca/ccovi

  Lineup and dates for the 2017 CCOVI Lecture Series:
  •    Feb. 15: Belinda Kemp, CCOVI Oenologist, Brock University
  “A comparison of clones from Champagne and Burgundy grown in Ontario for sparkling wine production”

  •    Feb. 24, 10 a.m.: Kevin Usher, Research Scientist, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
  “The effects of pre-bloom, fruit set and veraison leaf removal on yield, composition and wine quality in the Okanagan Valley”

  •    March 1: Wendy McFadden-Smith, Tender Fruit and Grape IPM Specialist, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs
  “Sour rotted grapes: Managing your preharvest breakdown”

  •    March 8: Don Cyr and Lester Kwong
  Professor of Finance, Operations and Information Systems and Associate Professor of Economics, Brock University
  “The application of copula function modelling to Bordeaux en primeur wine ratings”

  •    March 15: Tony Shaw, Professor of Geography, Brock University
  “Climate change and the evolution of Canada’s wine appellations and emerging areas: Challenges and benefits”

  •    March 22: Jim Willwerth, CCOVI Viticulturist, Brock University
  “The potential impact of climate change on grapevine dormancy and cold hardiness”
  •   
  •    April 5: Gary Pickering, Professor of Biological Sciences, Brock University
  “Proselytizing pyrazines: How to avoid and remediate greeness in wine”

  •    April 12: Andrew Reynolds, Professor of Biological Sciences, Brock University
  “Opportunities for remote sensing by unmanned aerial vehicles to map variability in Ontario vineyards”

  •    April 26: Tom Lowery, Research Scientist, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
  “Epidemiology and management of grapevine virus diseases”

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:
   
  * Kaitlyn Little, Marketing and Communications Officer, Brock University, klittle@brocku.ca, 905-688-5550 x4471

  * Dan Dakin, Media Relations Officer, Brock University ddakin@brocku.ca, 905-688-5550 x5353 or 905-347-1970
   

  Categories: Media releases

• New funding helps Brock add new online alternatives

  Thursday, February 09, 2017 | By Brock University

  9 February 2017: R00031

  Brock University is getting nearly $430,000 from the Ontario government to help develop content for new online courses.
   
  A $330,000 eCampus Ontario grant will let the University create an online four-year bachelor’s degree program in Adult Education, while a separate grant of nearly $100,000 supports development of open course modules associated with the University’s Environmental Sustainability in Practice course in the Environment Sustainability Research Centre. 
   
  The Adult Education expansion builds on the success of Brock’s existing three-year bachelor’s degree program — the first fully online degree program introduced by the Faculty of Education in 1999.
   
  “It makes a direct contribution to the University’s strategic goals when it comes to online learning,” said Associate Professor Camille Rutherford in the Department of Teacher Education. New courses will be developed over the coming year in partnership with Niagara College as a supporting institution, she added.
   
  The program’s fourth-year option is expected to launch in September 2018.
   
  Work will be done in conjunction with Brock’s Centre for Pedagogical Innovation to look at best practices for online learning and how to incorporate them into the program’s technical design. The intent is to develop strategies and templates for online courses that can be used across the University.
   
  Rutherford said online learning is crucial for people who require a flexible approach to post-secondary education. For instance, most students in the Adult Education program have day jobs, and need a work-around as they endeavour to improve their teaching skills.
   
  “We have a large number of learners that teach within the college system, people in social services, health care, in instructional roles in the military and a large cohort at the Bruce Nuclear Plant,” Rutherford said, adding those students enrol from across the province.
   
  “This gives them an opportunity to engage in those learning experiences regardless of their location. It fits into their work life.”
   
  The expansion, she said, will allow Brock to “continue to distinguish ourselves as a desired place to be, a leader in e-learning and supporter of future-ready skills.
   
  “This will be an exemplary program, not just here at Brock, but across the province.”
   
  The Environmental Sustainability Research Centre (ESRC), one of Brock’s five transdisciplinary hubs, also has plans to share its grant-funded work once its new Environmental Sustainability in Practice course is created. The course, set to launch in September, will be available to students in various undergraduate programs looking to take a minor in Environmental Sustainability.
   
  Once the modules are completed, they will be made available to institutions across the province for incorporation into various undergraduate programs.
   
  “The University is absolutely delighted to see these successful eCampus Ontario grant proposals in online course module, program development and research and innovation categories,” said Vice-Provost Anna Lathrop.

  These projects, she said, will add to Brock University’s reputation as an institution that prioritizes 21st century learning in forums that integrate technological fluencies and personalized learning.

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:
  * Dan Dakin, Media Relations Officer, Brock University ddakin@brocku.ca, 905-688-5550 x5353 or 905-347-1970

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  Categories: Media releases