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University of Waterloo | Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

Tuesday, September 29, 1998

  • Heritage talks start tonight
  • The pension and benefits committee
  • Careers and other details
  • Universities face the hurricane
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* Michaelmas and Kol Nidre

Heritage talks start tonight

The first in a series of special heritage presentations at UW this fall is scheduled for tonight, when Shane O'Dea of the Memorial University of Newfoundland talks about "Heritage in Newfoundland: The Survival of a Cultural Landscape". O'Dea is chair of the Heritage Canada Foundation board of governors. Five other speakers are due later this fall in the series, sponsored by the Heritage Resources Centre and the Heritage Canada Foundation, in association with the UW school of planning.

O'Dea will speak at 7:30 tonight in Environmental Studies I room 132. Heather Black of the Heritage Resources Centre says anyone interested in attending is welcome, but should call ext. 3066 in advance, or e-mail: hrc@fes. There's no admission charge.


Newfoundland heritage: 19th-century houses make up the Prescott Inn bed and breakfast in St. John's.
The evening series is a non-credit accompaniment to a credit course in heritage planning that got started last week. "Getting Engaged in Better Decision-Making" is the overall title. "The program is intended to provide learning and training opportunities for graduate students, practising planners and interested citizens who are having to play a stronger role in heritage planning, management and decision-making because of reductions in government funding and other changes which are placing more responsibility at the local level," said Gordon Nelson, geography professor emeritus and head of the heritage centre. He is coordinating the series jointly with Stephen Lauer of Heritage Canada in Cambridge.

Topics include cultural heritage, natural heritage, heritage planning, communications, economics and heritage, heritage tourism, beauty, conservation and politics in heritage. There is a focus on initiatives and problem-solving in the Grand River watershed, but some speakers will come from further afield to help participants understand what is happening in the heritage field in other areas.

O'Dea says that while Newfoundlanders had some interest in history and "antiquities" at the turn of the century, "it took Confederation," in 1949, "to make them alert to the loss of their architectural heritage." Ironically, he adds, the Centennial celebrations of 1967 made Newfoundlanders more aware of their historic buildings. "In a decade this had moved to being a concern with the urban landscape and with the social implications of building preservation. It now involves the cultural landscape. . . . The difficulty now is to reconcile the demands of a heritage industry with the needs of preservation."

Future presentations in the evening series:

The pension and benefits committee

Dollars for Scholars

For various reasons I got a few things wrong in yesterday's announcement about the Dollars for Scholars lottery, says Meredith McGinnis in the development office, who knows this stuff. Very importantly, there will be two more $1,000 draws in the 1998 lottery -- in mid-October and mid-November -- not just one more, as I said.

In the 1999 raffle, with tickets going on sale later this week, total prizes for the year will be $14,500, not $15,000, because the "early bird" prize is $2,000, not the $2,500 I said it would be.

And she notes that "Ian Williams kindly agreed to be our spokesperson for the raffle, but the Senate Committee on Scholarships and Student Aid are not sponsoring the raffle -- Ian's endorsement and support are unofficial." There you are, for the record.

It's another of those morning-long meetings for the UW pension and benefits committee, which will discuss such technicalities as "purchase of past service" for staff and faculty who were out of the pension plan for a time.

There will also be discussion of the "flexible pension plan" option that was officially introduced as part of last spring's package of changes. It's considered a possible benefit for people who have made their regular pension plan contributions and also reached their Registered Retirement Savings Plan limit, but still want to put more money aside tax-free. Public meetings about the new provision will be held around the end of October, with details to be announced.

And then there's item 4 on the agenda, which, if not x-rated, at least might produce a titter here and there. It's a discussion of Viagra, the "impotence pill", which first -- uh -- came up at the committee's last meeting in June. I quote from the agenda:

Given that this drug is about to be approved in Canada, Dietrich shared with the Committee some of the problems experienced by organizations in the US with respect to managing its use; the drug is very expensive (~$11.00 per pill) and, if no controls are placed on its use, could have a significant financial impact on UW's Plan. . . . Unless the Committee makes a decision to limit/restrict coverage (similar to what it did with the "patch"), the drug is automatically covered by the Plan.
After that, item 6, "retirees and surplus distribution" (of pension fund money), should be anti-climactic.

Careers and other details

The fall career fair runs from 10:00 to 3:30 today at Bingemans Conference Centre on Victoria Street; shuttle buses will be running from the UW Student Life Centre. Co-sponsored by UW and three other post-secondary institutions, the fair is promising representation from more than 200 employers. "This one-day function," a publicity release says, "showcases companies from across North America, providing students and alumni with valuable exposure to often inaccessible organizations such as the Campbell Soup Company Ltd., The Correctional Service of Canada, The Toronto Stock Exchange, and Exocom Systems corporation. The 1998 Career Fair promises to be an informative and worthwhile event for students of all ages and interests.

And if it really gets you thinking about careers,you may want to set aside this Saturday for "The Whole Kit 'n' Kaboodle", a day-long event covering self-assessment, occupational research, resume writing, networking, interview skills and all those other scary things. "This day is jam-packed," the career resource centre warns. "If your attention span is limited, you may want to opt for the individual workshop approach." But if the megadose does appeal, you can preregister for Saturday through the CRC in Needles Hall, phone ext. 4047.

If it's possible that cultural management is in your future, you'll want to attend an information session at 4:30 today (Humanities room 373) about the cultural management specialization in the arts applied studies program. More information: ext. 5058.

"Free pizza and beverages" are promised as people from Cognos Inc., including chief executive Ron Zambonini, meet with students today from 6 to 8 p.m. in Ground Zero in the Student Life Centre. "Hear about exciting software careers," says the invitation, aimed mostly at graduating students in computer science, electrical and computer engineering, and systems design.

The Faculty Computing User Support Group, FACCUS, will meet again tomorrow, this time with several topics on the agenda: "Checking PCs for Year 2000 Compliance", "Update on Site Licensed Software", "Skills for the Electronic Workplace Training Update", and proposed topics for future FACCUS sessions. Tomorrow's meeting runs from 3 to 4 p.m. in Porter Library room 428.

Universities face the hurricane

Must be exciting to be in the path of a hurricane, wouldn't you think? In fact it's mostly misery and hard work -- and in the end Hurricane Georges was an anticlimax on most of the American mainland, after killing some 300 people in the Caribbean late last week. This report on how the University of South Florida, at Tampa, coped with hurricane preparations comes from a report from The Oracle, the student newspaper there:
School closed Friday to allow students and staff to prepare for the hurricane. Low-lying areas were evacuated in anticipation of flooding from the rains. Area residents taped their windows or stood in line for sandbags. But it was all for naught.

"I'm relieved, though I think some people were disappointed there wasn't more action," said Bill Heller, dean of USF-St. Petersburg. "We're glad it missed us."

Even though campus was closed and all events were canceled or postponed, USF was not empty. Two shelters, including one designated for people requiring special needs, opened Friday morning to house evacuees. "We've been through this before in '85 with Elena," said Cheryl Jacobe, who evacuated her Town 'n Country mobile home for USF Friday morning. "When they tell you to get out, you get out ... We packed up a few personal belongs and put them in the car, but there is not much you can do."

And not even flooding, which was a primary concern following rains that flooded three campus buildings Sept. 20, posed a threat. None of the residence halls nor the College of Business Administration Building flooded during the squalls caused by Georges, which is expected to hit New Orleans, La., today.

Closer to home, the campus' hurricane plan went off without any major problems. Fender said there were plenty of volunteers, sandbags were in place and potential projectiles such as newspaper racks were secured.

Georges has now been demoted to "tropical storm" status and stalled on the coast of Mississippi -- where it tore the roof off a community college gymnasium that was being used as an emergency shelter. New Orleans, a city built below sea level, is getting heavy rain but not the stunning blow that had been expected. Tulane University's web pages are rich with hurricane information, now with an emphasis on finding volunteers to help with cleanup in the bedraggled city. Over the weekend, students had been moved into four central residence halls for safety. With many students and faculty having left the city, classes won't resume for a couple of days.

CAR

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