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Friday, December 8, 1995

It's the first day of exams

And I believe I'll repeat what I wrote in this Bulletin on the first day of fall term examinations two years ago:
We won't say anything so fatuous as "Good luck," since success on exams has very little to do with luck. But perhaps it would be fair to make one suggestion especially for first-year students: Be of good courage! Your abilities got you this far and they won't fail you now.

Faculty move toward unionization

As this week's Gazette reported, for those who didn't already know, Wednesday's general meeting of the faculty association had a motion on the agenda designed to move the group towards certification under Ontario labour law. The motion finally voted on wasn't quite the same as the one circulated ahead of time, but here's the text:
The members of the FAUW instruct the FAUW Board to take the necessary steps to prepare for a move to certify in the event that voluntary agreement on the Memorandum of Agreement is not reached by December 31, 1995, including:

(a) the establishment of an unincorporated association of the same name which complies with the requirements for trade union status under the Labour Relations Act;

(b) if necessary, the scheduling of a special general meeting at a date to be determined by the Board for approval of any necessary by-law amendments or other appropriate motions; and

(c) the taking of any other steps the Board determines necessary in order to prepare for certification.

Ian F. Macdonald, president of the association, notified me yesterday that the motion was carried: 90 votes in favour, 40 against, 9 abstentions.

Still talking early retirement

Things have been busy in the human resources department since the Special Early Retirement Program was officially announced on Monday, and the 550 eligible staff and faculty got their packages of tempting information.

Says David Dietrich of HR: "There has been a steady stream of phone calls to our department. We are providing answers as quickly as we can and we thank everyone for their patience.

"Often, questions are similar, and therefore we encourage attendance at one of the group information sessions. If questions are unanswered after attending or if you are unable to attend a session, please call the Human Resources contact listed on your SERP summary sheet.

"Note that the six sessions arranged before the holidays are near capcity and another session has been arranged for Monday, December 18, from 2 to 4 p.m. Spouses are welcome to attend as well. Please call Anne Wagland at ext. 2078 to reserve your place."

By the way, I made a small mistake in this week's Gazette, in the front-page "highlights" box about the retirement plan. The "bridge" benefit that's part of the plan -- a monthly cash payment -- continues not just "until Canada Pension kicks in", as I said, but until the individual reaches age 65. Some pensioners can choose to collect CPP starting as early as age 60, at a reduced rate; if they do so, the bridge benefit continues.

Open house in robotics labs

The ConStruct, or Control of Flexible Structures, group is opening its labs to any interested visitors this afternoon from 1:30 to 3:30. Says David Wang: "Come see some state-of-the-art robotics and flexible structures research. Graduate students will be there to explain the equipment in layman terms. The lab is on the first floor of the CIM building (which is the part of the Davis Centre separated from the main portion by the pedestrian overpass)."

Enhancing the learning experience

That's the title of a teaching and learning workshop to be held today from 1:30 to 3:30 (Humanities room 373). The speaker is Terry Downey of UW's political science department. Says a blurb from the teaching resource office, which is sponsoring the event:
Downey . . . has had an opportunity to explore active learning strategies with faculty from universities in Canada and the United States. They have examined student motivation and identified practical approaches for creating an active learning climate. In this workshop, Terry will present active learning techniques for use in various classroom settings.
Information: ext. 3132.

Senate won't meet this month

The UW senate -- the senior academic governing body -- was scheduled to meet December 18, as it meets on the third Monday of every month, September through June. The meeting has been cancelled: the senate executive committee met this past Monday and decided that "there weren't sufficient agenda items to warrant a Senate meeting", says Mary Lou Klopp of the university secretariat.

Stuffy in the Math building

Heating, ventilation and air conditioning will be turned off in the Math and Computer building on Monday morning from 6 to 9 a.m., the plant operations department advises. The shutoff is to allow preventive maintenance on the equipment.

Three big events this weekend

Today: Marlene Miles, my colleague in information and public affairs, marks a birthday.

Tomorrow: jazz singer Holly Cole performs in the Humanities Theatre, 8 p.m.

Sunday: the staff association holds its family "Winterfest" at the Columbia Icefield, 2 to 5 p.m.

Chris Redmond
Information and Public Affairs, University of Waterloo
(519) 888-4567 ext. 3004
credmond@watserv1.uwaterloo.ca

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