Daily Bulletin

UW applies for building funds

UW provost Jim Kalbfleisch says UW will ask -- again -- for funding for a major building on the present site of parking lot B1. Originally the Centre for Environmental Science and Engineering, it's been called the Centre for Environmental and Information Technologies in more recent discussions. Plans are for a building of about 165,000 gross square feet, the provost said -- just a little larger than the Dana Porter Library, or half the size of the Davis Centre.

The building would be primarily for research, with a central "theme" of water, Kalbfleisch reminded UW's board of governors last week. That orientation could be a problem in the Superbuild competition, as the Ontario government has said the most important criterion in approving building projects is the possibility of creating new spaces for undergraduate students. Academic space isn't the only thing UW would need in order to increase enrolment, Kalbfleisch pointed out, mentioning teachers, residence rooms, co-op jobs and recreational space.

The estimated construction budget for CEIT is about $33.5 million, and based on previous government building programs, UW might hope to get about 80 per cent of that money from the province.

In addition to CEIT, Kalbfleisch said, UW will submit "two or three smaller projects", probably including one that's being put forward jointly by St. Jerome's University and Renison College. "We haven't finally sorted out what they would be."

He said the $660 million Superbuild budget for colleges and universities "sounds like a big number", but "if you actually figure out what it means, it's small!" UW's proportional share would be somewhat less than officials had hoped to receive for CEIT under previous funding programs, he told the board of governors.

East Asian business seminar

"Its purpose is to explore business opportunities, trends and challenges in East Asia," said Kathryn McKie, festival chair, who is coordinating the event. The day-long seminar includes a keynote speaker and four panel discussions. Featured panelists are senior-level academics, business professionals and government representatives from Canada and abroad who are experts on East Asian commerce.

Lorna Wright, director of the Centre for Canada-Asia Business Relations at Queen's University, will give the opening address on "The Key to Understanding Asian Markets for Business Success," at 9 a.m., followed by the panel discussions. Victor Sun, senior executive of Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Group, London, will give the luncheon keynote address: "China, the Changing Market".

During lunch and at the post-seminar reception, participants will have an opportunity to meet and talk with members of the Team Canada Task Force, regarding their Asian tour. Seminar topics include "Opportunities and Challenges in East Asia", "Doing Business in East Asia", "Opportunities and Insights from Japanese Auto Plants", and "Trends in Buyer/Seller Relations".

The event is co-sponsored by Communitech and the Chamber of Commerce of Kitchener-Waterloo. It's meant for business people with trade links in the Pacific Rim and professionals who want to develop their careers there. The fee for the day: $99.

Tomorrow the Festival winds up with Family Day, described as "a lively range of East Asian cultural activities" for "children of all ages and their parents". Activities, from origami to martial arts and East Asian food, run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at the Waterloo Recreation Complex downtown. Admission is free.

Two students visit Nepal

"As first-year students in Environment and Resource Studies, the two met and discovered they shared the same dream. This past summer -- after finishing second year -- the two students made their dreams come true and set out for Nepal.

"The pair travelled to Nepal originally to participate in a three-week conservation run down the Karnali River in the western part of the country. They were to be part of an international team examining ways to reduce the impacts of whitewater rafting on Nepal's fragile ecosystem.

"However, when they arrived in Nepal, Heather and Marjorie found out the company in charge of the conservation run was in turmoil and the rafting trip was impossible. Wondering if they had been victims of a scam, they talked with a director of the company who felt badly for the students so he arranged a trip for them with another company. . . ."

The story of their summer trip -- rafting down a nearby river, hiking into a Mount Everest base camp, exploring tropical jungles, and incidentally learning much about international development -- is told in a release issued this week by UW's news bureau. It's written by Andrew Smith, recruitment and promotion coordinator for UW's faculty of environmental studies.

"As part of their trip," the release notes, "the two students spent three days at Kathmandu University talking about research at the University of Waterloo. By chance, Heather and Marjorie were the first UW representatives to visit Katmandu University after the school signed a linkage agreement with UW's Department of Systems Design Engineering. Since their return, Marjorie and Heather have had numerous e-mail messages from students at Katmandu University asking about environmental issues in Canada and about coming to Waterloo to study."

It notes that Marjorie Hall will soon be a familiar face to prospective UW students across Canada. She is one of six students profiled in a brochure sent to all UW applicants. The brochure, headed "Think one person can make a difference? So do we," highlights contributions UW students and graduates are making around the world.

Interviews end, weekend starts

Beginning today, co-op students who took part in the main interview period may view, on ACCESS, employer rankings that have been received by CECS. Some rankings may be missing; CECS will try to resolve this with employers by the Nov. 9 ranking day.

Because of the large number of co-op students in the interview process this term, it was decided to make the ranking information available to students earlier so they can have more time to make decisions and as a way to possibly reduce the Needles Hall congestion that will occur next week on the day the ranking forms are handed out.

• The autumn arts and crafts fair continues in the Student Life Centre, and preregistration for the spring term continues in department and faculty offices.
• Patrick Friesen, nominee for the Governor-General's Award in poetry, gives a day-long poetry workshop today at Conrad Grebel College (cost, $30). This evening, in company with singer and songwriter Cate Friesen, he'll be at Grebel for "Collaboration", starting at 8 p.m.; admission is free.
• "The World We Want Beyond 2000" is the title of a weekend workshop (tonight and all day tomorrow) at St. Peter's Lutheran Church in downtown Kitchener. UW's four church colleges are all among the sponsors, and speakers include Mel Watkins, visiting UW this term as Stanley Knowles professor of Canadian studies, and David Seljak of St. Jerome's University. Information: 884-0710 ext. 3907.
• The Math Society's annual charity ball is being held Saturday night -- food, door prizes and dancing, all in support of local shelters. Last-minute information: ext. 2324.

And . . . the annual universities issue of Maclean's magazine, with its controversial rankings, should be on the newsstands Sunday night or Monday morning, dated November 15. Also in print the first of the week should be the November 15 issue of Time magazine, which I understand is expected to contain a major article about American students choosing Canadian universities.

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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