![[University of Waterloo]](/goldbar.gif)
| Yesterday |
Wednesday, December 3, 2003
|
Editor: Chris Redmond credmond@uwaterloo.ca |
![[Three kids and a blue dinosaur]](/images/2003/1203children.gif)
UW's president,
David Johnston (right), joins a playgroup in the psychology department's centre
for child studies during a VIP tour yesterday. That's Ken Seiling, chair of
Waterloo Region, at left, and Carl Zehr, mayor of Kitchener, at top.
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Their activities "have made both the campus, local community and beyond a better place to live", said Heather FitzGerald of the student services office. She noted that the winners were picked by a selection committee, while their awards are funded by members of the President's Circle, a group of top donors to the university.
Says FitzGerald: "The annual award was established in 1997 to recognize the significant contributions of students in volunteer work while being registered in full or part-time studies at the University of Waterloo. . . . Nominations were invited from the university and local community." The awards dinner and presentation took place at the University Club.
This year's winners, with background information provided by the student services office:
Gaylord Albrecht, psychology, who volunteers as an outreach worker with the "Off the Streets, Into Shelter" program -- handing out food, making referrals, supporting youth in court and encouraging positive life changes. With the Canadian Mental Health Association, he is a resource volunteer who provides emotional support, counseling, and information to individuals with mental health issues.
Jeannette Byrne, graduate kinesiology, a volunteer with the 'Out of the Cold' program of St. Louis Catholic Parish, the Kinesiology Graduate Student Association, the Graduate Student Association, UW Senate, UW Board of Governors, and the Alzheimer Society of Kitchener-Waterloo. As a Volunteer Companion for the Alzheimer Society. she makes weekly visits to provide social and recreational benefits to a woman with Alzheimer's.
Nicole Chinnick, English literature, who volunteers for the Womyn's Centre and as a Shadow Mentor for the International Student Office. She's also a committee member for Big Brothers Big Sisters, and with the Off-Campus Dons and the UW tutors.
Yolanda Dorrington, combinatorics and optimization. As a volunteer in her faculty she has held numerous positions with the Math Society, Federation of Students and the Math Orientation program. She has acted as a volunteer at-large, helping with other events such as You@Waterloo Day, the University Fair, Campus Day and Student Life 101. She also works the Kitchener-Waterloo Humane Society.
Daniel Henhawk, recreation and leisure studies. Since 1997, he has been involved with the Ontario Olympic Youth Academy, established by the Canadian Olympic Committee to promote the ideals of the Olympics and volunteerism in Ontario High School students and athletes. He also volunteered with the Canadian Olympic Committee and helped to raise funds to support high performance athletes. He has also been an Orientation Leader and Federation Orientation Committee member, Student Society executive, and a Director for the Rec Mentorship Program.
Crystal Legacy, environment and resource studies, who organized a national conference for the Sierra Youth Coalition, was Ontario representative for the Sierra Youth Coalition National Committee, Orientation Leader, and Federation Orientation Committee member for the Faculty of Environmental Studies, as well as the Environment Commissioner and the Project Administrator for the UW Sustainability Project.
Lana Phillips, graduate planning. She has been actively involved with on-campus organizations including GLOW, Warrior Weekends, the Graduate Students Association and the Association of Graduate Planners. opportunities and other resources to the LGBT community in the K-W area. She has held multiple positions with GLOW such as the Social Hours Coordinator and the Services Co-ordinator, and has helped to re-establish the service's presence on campus and to recruit new volunteers.
Catherine Anne McAllister, biology and psychology. She volunteers with the Independent Living Centre of Waterloo Region as a puppeteer. She is responsible for delivering the "Kids on the Block" presentation in cooperation with the program coordinator and the other volunteer puppeteers. She helps to conduct presentations made to children in schools, churches, and community groups on topics such as disabilities, which include physical, developmental, and emotional difficulties.
Carolyn Welch, computer science, who has been active with the Girl Guides of Canada since 2001, and has held numerous roles within the organization. Said her nominator: "She has willingly and enthusiastically taken on a full leadership role, assisting with everything from planning and preparation to the leading of the meetings. She leads by example and has a sincere honest way with the girls."
Jerry Xing, pre-health. who has been a volunteer with the Hospice of Waterloo Region. His involvement as a Client Support Volunteer matched him with a family with five children, one of whom was terminally ill. Jerry made weekly visits to provide them with emotional support and friendship, as well as a break from the stresses that accompany living with a sibling who is dying. Jerry also assisted in the Hospice's weekly music therapy program. .
From 11:00 to 3:00 today, there's a Faculty and Staff Tech Fair at the Campus TechShop in the Student Life Centre. "We have 15 vendors coming to show the latest and greatest in technology," says Susy Kustra of retail services. "This fair is a great opportunity for faculty and staff to come and look for research, department and personal equipment needs, have questions answered directly from the vendors and get some free giveaways and prizes."
UW Graphics offers a noontime brown-bag seminar today about Ricoh office equipment: "See how to take advantage of the exciting time and energy saving functions of your Ricoh multi-function unit." The actual seminar starts at noon (reservations, ext. 2210), and people from Ricoh, which provides most departmental equipment across campus, will be on hand at Graphics headquarters "for hands-on demonstrations and to answer your questions".
A memorial service for Gerald Stortz, St. Jerome's University history professor who died last week, will be held at 12 noon today in Notre Dame Chapel at St. Jerome's.
Music will ring out over the noon hour, as the music department (based at Conrad Grebel University College) holds its annual Christmas concert and carol sing in the Davis Centre great hall. It's the twelfth year for the event, which leads many library-goers to take a break from their pre-exam studying and listen to the music in a space that apparently has a striking, cathedral-like acoustic. The University Choir, Chamber Choir and Chapel Choir will all perform, and "we will include several traditional Christmas carols and invite audience participation," says Ken Hull, chair of the music department. A rehearsal starts at 11:30 and the concert itself will run about 45 minutes starting at 12:15.
The faculty association council of representatives will meet at 2:00 today in Davis Centre room 1302, with a general meeting of the membership following at 3:00 in the same room. At 4:30, in the nearby Davis lounge, there's a reception welcoming new faculty members.
The Warrior swimming and track-and-field teams have a fund-raiser this afternoon, a truckload citrus sale, running from 4 to 8 p.m. It's taking place in the Student Life Centre parking lot -- not, as I erroneously said yesterday, at East Campus Hall. Prices: $25 for a case of oranges, $23 for a case of grapefruit.
The English Language Proficiency Exam will be offered tonight at 7 p.m. in the Physical Activities Complex. Says Anne Barrett of the English proficiency program: "Students should note that the only form of identification we can now accept is the WatCard. Arts students should note that the pass for ELPE is changing to 65 as of September, 2004. Students should bring their ideas and their writing implements, but no electronic dictionaries, and they should arrive on time."
The scholarships and student aid committee meets at 1:30 in Needles Hall room 3004. . . . A meeting for co-op students who have winter term jobs in the United States will be held at 4:30 in Tatham Centre room 2218. . . . There's a reception for Renison College alumni this evening at Moose Winooski's restaurant in Brantford. . . .
An exhibition of paintings by Arnulf Remole, retired from UW's school of optometry, opens today at the Kitchener Public Library main branch, with a reception at 4 p.m. . . . John Casti of the Technical University of Vienna speaks on "Limits to Scientific Knowledge" at 7:00 tonight at the Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex, in an event sponsored by the Perimeter Institute. . . .
Positions availableTwo jobs are listed in this week's offering from the human resources department:
More information is available on the HR web site. |
![[Higgins]](/images/2002/0402higgins.gif)
Michael Higgins (right) will serve another term as
president of St. Jerome's University -- four years starting in July 2005.
He's been president (and vice-chancellor) at the UW-federated institution
since 1999. Chancellor Richard Gwyn, who chaired the presidential review
committee, said he was "quite delighted. Michael Higgins is absolutely
first-class, good as any university president in the country." The
committee's recommendation for renewal was unanimously approved by the
St. Jerome's board of governors, a news release says.
A report from the senate graduate and research council council has a paragraph of interest on the subject of post-doctoral fellows: "To smooth the way for PDFs in terms of providing practical information and support, and so UW knows of their presence, a small subcommittee will be formed to develop a pragmatic package -- rights and responsibilities, needs and concerns such as housing, benefits, Intellectual Property and, possibly, 'registration' (not an approval mechanism) in the Graduate Studies Office. There is also the matter of UW accountability vis-a-vis PDF holders of Tri-Council awards. The Review of Graduate Studies at the University of Waterloo (Sedra, September 2002) called for UW to develop 'policies' on the engagement of PDFs, addressing such issues as the minimum level of stipend and the maximum length of tenure, registering PDFs, and providing them with basic services."
UW's senate gave approval the other day to a program that calls itself "MBET@Distance" -- more formally, the "Part-time Master of Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology Delivered in a Distance Learning Mode". Says a summary: "The objective is to preserve the unique and innovative aspects of the full-time MBET program while making the MBET opportunity available to a larger number of students. . . . The program appeals to people who are already involved in technology-based businesses and who experience the impediments to successful commercialization. . . . Candidates will be assessed throughout the program on both mastery of core material and on progress in developing and mobilizing ideas. . . . The program will be priced at a level that will generate funds permitting the reimbursement of the home units of participating faculty, payment of an overload fee and the hiring of new faculty. . . . It is likely that in many cases employers will reimburse all or part of the cost."
One of the reports on the agenda for today's faculty association meeting comes from a special committee looking at the issue of mandatory retirement, or rather, the possible end to mandatory retirement if Ontario law changes. Frank Reynolds of the statistics and actuarial science department chairs the committee, and reports that it has looked at political issues (what will the new Liberal government do?), UW policies that might need changing, pension and benefit issues ("the needed changes would be relatively minor, in general"), and an estimate of how many faculty members would choose to work past age 65 even if they could. "An attempt is underway to obtain the experience in other jurisdictions," he writes. Oh, and then there are the "anticipated administration reactions: Only preliminary consideration has been given to this area."
And . . . in this Daily Bulletin a couple of weeks ago, I wrote that the Waterloo Engineering Endowment Foundation had given grants of "$26,547 in the past term" to support undergraduate teaching in engineering. Apparently I was badly misreading part of a chart that appeared in the Iron Warrior. In fact, WEEF spent $34,997 during the spring term, with grants ranging from $3,370 for a conductivity meter and digital burette in a chem eng laboratory to $750 for the Concrete Toboggan team. (And the projects I mentioned in the November 20 Daily Bulletin were from previous terms. Sorry.)
CAR