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University of Waterloo -- Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

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Thursday, May 22, 1997

How IST will be organized

Information systems and technology, which was created out of three departments last year, is now organized into six "groups", its head has announced. Jay Black, associate provost (IST), will talk more about the new organizational structure at an open house that's scheduled for tomorrow morning.

Says a Web page outlining the new structure:

Information Systems and Technology uses a matrix organizational structure to provide its services to the UW community. Staff are organized into six functional units called groups, each with well-defined areas of technical responsibility. On the other matrix dimension, strategic consultants assist academic-support departments in articulating and achieving their own information systems and technology goals, identifying and providing IST support to clients, and managing large projects to achieve major shifts in information systems and technology at a departmental or institutional level. Faculties interact with IST through their associate deans of computing and the University Committee on Information Systems and Technology. Individuals contact IST through Client Services and the various interfaces it has for answering questions, processing requests, and providing information.

So here are the six IST groups and their directors:

Administrative support (Bill Futher): budget administration, human resources within IST, telephone services.
Applications technology (Bob Blackburn): corporate database, software for the university information systems.
Client services (Paul Snyder): communications and marketing, end-user documentation, installation and support of equipment, training.
Electronic workplace (Carol Vogt): desktop computing, software packages, teaching and learning technology.
Production support (Martin Timmerman): mainframe computing, userids, installation and support of networks, backups.
Systems (Roger Watt): technology assessment, hardware and software specifications, campus network.

The three "strategic consultants":

Academic and external affairs (Dave Kibble): "The primary immediate responsibility is . . . the Tri-Library Automation Project."
Finance and business operations (Roy Wagler): "A primary immediate responsibility is for the ongoing Financial Systems Project."
Student information systems (Dave Mason).

The organization chart also includes two "senior technologists", Bruce Uttley (for computer-telephony integration) and Andrea Chappell (for teaching and learning technology).

In tomorrow's open house, Black will explain the new organization and the key people will talk about what they're going to do. It will start at 10 a.m. in Davis Centre room 1302.

Seven candidates face campus

An all-candidates' meeting will start at 12:30 today, as the people who are seeking to represent Kitchener-Waterloo in Parliament come to the Theatre of the Arts to answer questions. (The federal election is set for Monday, June 2.)

I was wrong in correcting myself yesterday: that is, I had the names of the candidates for the K-W seat right the first time. And here they are again, in a whole new random order:

Steve King, Independent
Ted Martin, New Democratic
Lynne Woolstencroft, Progressive Conservative
Andrew Telegdi, Liberal, the incumbent
Helmut Braun, Marxist-Leninist
Mike Connolly, Reform
Monte Dennis, Canadian Action

French winners visit campus

High-achieving secondary school students and their teachers are the guests at a banquet in the Laurel Room tonight, as prizes are awarded in UW's annual French contest.

Heading the roll of honour is Alex Jackson of Woodlands Secondary School in Mississauga, who will soon be saying "au revoir" to Canada after finishing in first place. He wins a two-week home-stay holiday in France provided by the Language Workshop of Toronto and return flight funded by Meloche-Monnex Insurance Co. of Toronto.

The 24th annual contest, involving 160 finalists from 64 high schools in 15 counties in southwestern Ontario, was held April 30 at UW and conducted by the French studies department, said Pat Aplevich, contest chair. Second-prize winner was Mitun Das of Glenview Park Secondary School in Cambridge, who will receive a $500 scholarship.

By the light of the full moon

Many of the world's Buddhists celebrate Wesak, or Vesak, today, on the day of the May full moon, though there are other dates for the festival as well. More mundane things going on today and tomorrow:

Voice mail and the "automated attendant" that answers calls to UW at 888-4567 will be out of operation for about twenty minutes, starting at 10:00 tonight. New equipment is being put in place at the UW switchboard for "phase 2" of the installation of new phones across campus. "We are not anticipating any telephone down-time," says Ginny Polai of telephone services.

Co-op students will be focused on the Needles Hall bulletin boards and the Student Access computer system again, as posting #3 of fall term jobs will be available at 12 noon today.

The staff association subcommittee on pensions, benefits and staff compensation will meet at 12 noon in Matthews Hall room 1040; all association members are welcome to come and talk about possible pension enhancements.

The once-a-term Ottawa reception for UW alumni and co-op students takes place at 5:00 this evening in the penthouse of the Citadel Inn, Lyon at Queen Streets, in the capital's downtown.

The Math Society, which has "large scale movie showings every second Thursday", in the words of vice-president Robin Stewart, will sponsor the two most recent Star Trek films, "Generations" and "First Contact", at 7:00 and 9:00 tonight in Davis Centre room 1302.

A workshop for teaching assistants, "Facilitating Effective Discussions", is set for 12 noon tomorrow in Engineering I room 3516. Registrations and information: the teaching resource office, phone ext. 3132.

A patchwork of information

Or more accurately, information about patchwork: Waterloo County is playing host to a Quilt Festival for the rest of this month. It involves a number of events scattered across several locations, most importantly the second annual Ontario Juried Quilt Show at the K-W Art Gallery, 100 Queen Street North, Kitchener.

Other Quilt Festival sites include the Joseph Schneider Haus museum, Woodside National Historic Site, the Homer Watson House, Doon Heritage Crossroads, and several private galleries. Several lectures, workshops and other special events are planned, and the festival winds up with the Ontario Mennonite Relief Sale in New Hamburg, with its famous quilt auction, on May 31.

Finally, I have a correction

In yesterday's Bulletin I observed that Dave Copp, president of the UW retirees' association, was formerly of the co-op department. Well, that's true in a way, but somehow I forgot that years before his retirement, he switched jobs, and in fact it was the research office, not co-op, from which he retired.

CAR

TODAY IN UW HISTORY May 22, 1975: UW gives an honorary degree to Ira G. Needles as he retires as the university's chancellor. He is succeeded by Carl A. Pollock.

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