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University of Waterloo | Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

Thursday, February 19, 1998

The dean of math issue
VP has a concrete idea
Other notes this drizzly day
The Bulletin en français

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The dean of math issue

The president of the faculty association says in the group's January-February newsletter that "the only recent controversy that comes to mind at UW" has to do with the selection of the next dean of mathematics. Of course he was writing before the Ken Westhues case hit the headlines again a few days ago.

Says the FAUW leader, Fred McCourt:

The external nominee whose name was put forward by the search committee was ultimately not hired. As far as I understand it, there were two significant issues involved in the final decision taken by the administration, specifically, an appropriate level of remuneration, and administrative experience.
It will come as no surprise to most of you if I say that at many of the Canadian universities with which the University of Waterloo chooses to compare itself one can find outstanding researcher/scholars who are paid at a level that is considerably higher than that allowed under our salary policy to similarly outstanding researcher/scholars at the the University of Waterloo. . . . The nominee for the mathematics deanship was such an individual.

Wanting to bring in a distinguished researcher, but being constrained by policy about how high a salary to offer, "could create a difficult problem to resolve", says McCourt.

The provost announced in December that Alan George, who was dean of math 1980-86 and provost 1988-93, would be interim dean of math for two years starting July 1, succeeding the current dean, Jack Kalbfleisch. The provost said the nominating committee had put forward a candidate, but "negotiations with the Committee's nominee were unsuccessful, and the Committee has informed the President that it will make no further recommendation."

Several members of the committee have denounced that outcome, and one of them, Ed Vrscay of the department of applied math, rose at the January meeting of the UW senate to read a letter from the unsuccessful nominee. Excerpts:

My interaction with the Search Committee I found absolutely first rate -- both the tenor and the substance of the interview. That said, in retrospect, I found the process at the senior administrative level either inept or disingenuous.
I've seen several quotations from President Downey recently (in University Affairs, Maclean's and elsewhere) about the need to defend excellence and to find ways to keep "stars" in Canada etc.. The dissonance between rhetoric and reality is truly striking. It does not offer much encouragement to those of you in the Faculty who are genuinely committed to excellence. . . .
In essence I was offered the job with a substantial cut in salary and told additionally to personally assume all the risk in selling a house in BC as the market turned down. On no significant domestic issue did the Provost enter into negotiations with me. . . .
Over a three week period the Provost apparently consulted with the President and at each point returned with words to the effect that "we don't do that here" whenever I looked for some creative option. I can only conclude the the President and Provost were determined not to hire an external Dean (certainly not this one); and that the whole process was in fact a colossal waste of time, effort and good will.

Vrscay did not publicly identify the nominee. But the letter is dated from Burnaby, British Columbia, it refers to the author's previous time at Waterloo, and it's signed "Best wishes, J.B." That points pretty clearly to Jonathan Borwein, director of the Centre for Experimental and Constructive Mathematics at Simon Fraser University, who was in UW's department of combinatorics and optimization 1991-93.

VP has a concrete idea

Carolyn Hansson, UW's vice-president (university research), is also a mechanical engineering professor whose work deals with concrete and related materials. She was, among other things, a consultant on the building of the Confederation Bridge from the mainland to Prince Edward Island -- a project where it was vitally important to know how the concrete pylons would react to years of exposure to salt water.

Hansson will give a talk today, postponed from an earlier date last fall, on "Concrete Structures Viewed from a High-Tech Perspective". It's sponsored by the Women in Mathematics Committee, and starts at 3:30 in Math and Computer room 5158. All are welcome.

Says Hansson's abstract: "Portland cement concrete is produced in amounts greater than 5 billion tons per year. This fact and its low cost (approx. 10 cents per kg) has led to the generally held impression that concrete is "low tech". In reality, concrete is a highly complex, highly sophisticated composite material which is expected to withstand increasingly hostile environments. This presentation will explain why concrete is so popular and will describe the development of its structure and properties. It will also explain why better mathematical modelling could assist in producing a more predictable and more durable material."

About women in math, by the way: the mathematics faculty is announcing "A Celebration of Women in the Mathematical, Statistical and Computer Sciences", a conference to be held here May 22-23.

Other notes this drizzly day

The joint health and safety committee will meet at 2:30 this afternoon in Needles Hall room 3001. Among items on the agenda: the continuing issue of whether there should continue to be a smoking area in the lunchroom in the General Services Complex; the use of sunscreen by UW staff who work outdoors -- not that they'll be needing it much this week; and election of a new "worker co-chair" to replace Scott Murie of the library staff, who has left UW. (By Ontario law, a joint health and safety committee has two co-chairs, one representing the employer, one the workers. In UW's case, the employer co-chair is Tom Galloway, director of custodial and grounds services.)

St. Paul's United College has announced that Stephen Lewis, former Ontario NDP leader and Canadian ambassador to the United Nations, will be here next month to give the inaugural Stanley Knowles Visiting Professorship: Kerr-Saltsman Lecture. The professorship in memory of Stanley Knowles was launched in 1996. Says a letter from the college: "More recently, the Professorship caught the imagination of Robert Kerr, who recognized its potential for helping Canadians recapture some of the idealism represented by Stanley Knowles. Mr. Kerr's generous endowment has made it possible to include, as part of the Professorship, this prestigious lecture series which carries his name and, at Mr. Kerr's request, that of his friend, the late Max Saltsman, another long-term Canadian leader." Lewis's lecture will be given March 24 at 7 p.m. in the Theatre of the Arts; tickets will be available through St. Paul's.

The funeral service for George Atkinson, emeritus professor of chemistry and honorary member of the university, who died Tuesday, has been set for Saturday at 3 p.m. at St. John's Anglican Church in downtown Kitchener.

The Bulletin en français

Computerized translation seems to have improved a good deal since the last time I tried it out. A service is now available from AltaVista that does a halfway plausible job on web pages. To demonstrate what it can -- and can't -- do, I'm running this Bulletin through the translator, and the results can be seen at http://www.adm.uwaterloo.ca/bulletin/1998/feb/19thf.html.

CAR

Editor of the Daily Bulletin: Chris Redmond
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