![[University of Waterloo]](/goldbar.gif)
| Yesterday |
Wednesday July 9, 2003
|
Editor: Chris Redmond credmond@uwaterloo.ca |
![[Brandt]](/images/2003/gail.gif)
Former Renison College principal Gail Cuthbert Brandt has been appointed associate vice-president (academic) for a five-year term beginning September 1, UW provost Amit Chakma announced in a memo on Tuesday.
Brandt, a Renison College history professor, will succeed Bruce Mitchell in the position, which he left on July 1 to assume the post of associate provost (academic and student affairs).
As associate VP (academic), Brandt will be responsible for the coordination of international activities, including the international student office and the development of strategies to enhance and facilitate international connections. She will act as advisor to the vice-president academic and provost on interdisciplinary programs, and will serve as chair of the interdisciplinary programs board, the senate undergraduate council and the distinguished teacher award committee. Brandt will also be responsible for the implementation and coordination of academic department and undergraduate program reviews.
Brandt was principal and vice-chancellor of Renison from 1992 to 2002, and has served on numerous university committees, recently chairing the Provost's Task Force on Female Faculty Retirement.
"She has a keen interest in interdisciplinary programs and international affairs," says the memo from Chakma. Brandt will remain on the faculty of Renison and will be seconded to the associate vice-president position.
![[Book cover]](http://www.bloomsburymagazine.com/Images/Books/Batch1/0747554080.JPG)
For the
second year in a row, everybody in Waterloo Region is being urged to read the
same book at the same time.
Last year it was No Great Mischief, and this year it's The Stone Carvers, a book by a local author: Jane Urquhart, who now lives in Stratford and who is married to retired UW fine arts professor Tony Urquhart.
The One Book, One Community program is sponsored by the Record, with support from local booksellers, libraries and other agencies. "To make it easier to get your hands on a copy," says Noemia Ellis of UW's retail services department, "the UW bookstore is offering The Stone Carvers for $15.75 (25 per cent off the cover price)."
She said "a reading challenge" has been issued to Wilfrid Laurier University, with cooperation from the WLU bookstore. Each store is now collecting names from people on its campus who read the book, or have already read it. (At UW, readers can e-mail Susan Parsons at s3parson@rs1 to get onto the list.) The reading binge continues through September 26.
The Stone Carvers was a finalist for the 2001 Giller Prize, the biggest award in the Canadian literary world, and made the "long list" for that year's international Booker Prize. The publisher, Bloomsbury, explains what it's about: "Father Archangel Gstir, a good-natured Bavarian priest, has been sent to the wilds of Canada to set up a new parish. He recruits Joseph Becker to create a crucifix. Many decades later his granddaughter Klara who has learnt Joseph's skills is called upon to carve a monument to the Canadian dead."
Says one reviewer: "Vivid, dark, redemptive, this is novel of great beauty and power." The question now is, how many people in and around Waterloo will read it, and will they think the same?
In advance of the campus blood donor clinic that begins on Monday, a Canadian Blood Services info booth will be open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. today in the student life centre. Prospective donors are encouraged to stop by and make an appointment to donate, or to ask questions about donating blood and donor eligibility.
IST sends word that an "old authentication system referred to as uwaterloo.ca" will be disabled this morning. If users experience an authentication problem, the advice is to contact the IST helpdesk at ext. 4357 for assistance.
Engineering students vote today in the engineering society's executive elections. Chief returning officer Graeme Baer sends word that polls will be open from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the foyer of CPH, and from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on the first floor of RCH. Also today, the economics society will be holding a barbecue from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the arts quadrangle.
Notes from the co-operative education and career services department: job posting number six of the continuous interview phase begins today, available as of 6 a.m on ACCESS and by noon on CECS bulletin boards. The posting will expire at 8 p.m. tomorrow. Also today, a career development seminar, entitled "Job Search Strategies," will take place from 2:30 to 4 p.m. in TC 1208.
This is the last day to register for the campus rec beach volleyball tournament taking place on Sunday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at various locations on campus. Each team must have at least one female player on the court at all times. Cost is $40 per team, and teams can register at the athletics main desk at the PAC.
Looking ahead to Saturday, planning grads of the class of 1983 will gather for a reunion. For details, contact Brad Blain at bblain@uwaterloo.ca.
C&PA