![[University of Waterloo]](/goldbar.gif)
| Yesterday |
Thursday, February 5, 2004
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Editor: Chris Redmond credmond@uwaterloo.ca |
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But he made it clear that UW's income is as much as $100 million a year behind where it would be if government funding had kept up with the cost of living -- and buying library books and paying utility bills -- for the past decade. Instead, "there's been no provision for inflation," the president said. And later reports to the same meeting made it clear that a big change is less than likely.
| Universities among 'stakeholders' asking for more (Star) |
News from Queen's Park might come early next month, Johnston said. Provost Amit Chakma added that other key information is missing too, such as the enrolment levels UW will hope to reach (or be asked by government to reach) next year. Still he's moving ahead on drafting a budget, and will show an "outline" to the board's finance and investment committee on February 25.
![[Peering into engine]](http://www.communications.uwaterloo.ca/Gazette/2004/feb04/sano.gif)
Energy efficiency
award winner Robin Sano gets the inside scoop on a 2004 Prius
after writing a thesis on the subject of gas electric hybrid cars that
won a Natural Resources Canada prize. The thesis explores the
savings -- in money and environmental impact -- that the university could
realize by
leasing the innovative vehicles rather than more expensive and less
energy-efficient cars for its top administrators.
The full story was
in
this week's Gazette.
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If there's no new money in the form of grants or fees, Chakma said, UW would have to cut spending by something like $8.7 million to balance the operating budget in 2004-05. That would be a 3.9 per cent cut. At $100,000 per faculty position, it's the equivalent of 87 professors or 145 staff members.
"That's a devastating impact," the provost said, although he quickly added that not all those positions would really disappear if there are cuts, because many of them would be re-created by the "strategic investments".
But he's working on ways of reducing the damage, and showed the board various charts of possible changes in income that would eliminate the need to make cuts, and maybe even allow some enrichment. If there's no grant increase from the government, for instance, a 10 or 11 per cent tuition fee increase would balance the budget, Chakma said. If grants go up 5 per cent, then a 5 per cent fee increase would be enough. "Of course, we don't expect government to do any such thing," he added.
There was speculation that a 2 per cent grant increase could be on the way for 2004-05, and some board members wondered aloud why it seems so hard to persuade governments that cash for universities is a good investment in a "knowledge economy".
Chakma told the board that the books will be balanced when the current fiscal year ends on April 30 -- though it's been a juggling act, since some of the money promised by provincial and federal governments for the current year hasn't actually arrived yet.
Said a memo from provost Amit Chakma: "Since Geoff McBoyle will complete his second term as Dean of Environmental Studies on June 30, 2004, a Nominating Committee was formed under Policy 45 to conduct a search for his successor. In the end, the Committee was not able to make a recommendation on Dean McBoyle's successor.
"I have requested Dean McBoyle to initiate a consultation process in the Faculty and provide advice to the Nominating Committee on the next phase of the Decanal search. The Committee will resume its search once the consultation is complete. Considering the time needed for the search process, it is now necessary to appoint an interim Dean under Policy 45."
![[LeDrew]](/images/2004/0205ledrew.gif)
The memo said the provost has consulted with "a
number of academic officers of the faculty", including the
present dean, and with several members of the nominating committee. The
outcome: "Professor Ellsworth LeDrew (left), currently serving as
Associate
Dean of Undergraduate Studies in the Faculty of Environmental Studies, will
be appointed as Interim Dean for a one year term."
LeDrew received his PhD in 1976 from the University of Colorado. He took an NRC postdoctoral fellowship at the Atmospheric Environment Service, and in 1977 joined the geography department at UW as an assistant professor. He was promoted to Associate professor with tenure in 1982 and to professor in 1988. His current research interests include the use of remote sensing in modelling boundary conditions for synoptic models in the Arctic, understanding climate change and variability in the Arctic using remote sensing of sea ice and snow cover, and the retrieval of the spectral signatures of tropical coral reefs from airborne and satellite imagery to detect and monitor environmentally induced change.
Said Chakma: "I am grateful to Ellsworth LeDrew for agreeing to serve as Interim Dean, and I look forward to working with him. I am confident that all members of the Faculty of Environmental Studies will give him their full cooperation and support."
Arts: Paul Lehman (political science); Neal Moogk-Soulis (English).
Mathematics: Albert O'Connor (computer science); David Wheatley (math and business).
Science: Rebecca Baxter (science and business, biochemistry); Alex Sloat (science).
At large: Tanveer Ali (political science); Abhignya Sarkar (computer engineering).
For two other seats, just one nomination apiece was received. Acclaimed to the senate are Amy Jack (recreation and leisure studies) for an applied health sciences seat, and Katherine Johnston (geography) for an environmental studies and independent studies seat.
Official information and, in most cases, candidates' statements can be found on the secretariat's web site.
| WHEN AND WHERE |
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International Celebration Week continues with Cultural Caravan,
11:00 to 3:00, Student Life Centre -- displays, performances and food.
Drum Circle, 5:30.
Open
lectures.
Senate scholarships and student aid committee, 10 a.m., Needles Hall room 3004. Engineering Exchange Week information, 11:30 to 1:30, Carl Pollock Hall foyer. Today: France, Switzerland, Denmark, Finland, Holland, Sweden, Italy. Waterloo in Germany exchange program information session, 12:30, Modern Languages room 245. Federation candidates forum, 2:30, Arts Lecture Hall. 'Are You Prepared to Work Outside Canada?' Career workshop, 3:30, Tatham Centre room 1208. Applications of Internet protocol videoconferencing, first meeting of planned group, 1:30, Flex lab, Dana Porter Library. K-W Metropolitan Area Survey 2003, "retrospective and prospective" seminar, 2:30, PAS (Psychology) building room 2030, organized by Survey Research Centre. Fermentation engineering seminar by Jeno Scharer, chemical engineering, presented by Club for Undergraduate Bioengineering, 4:30, Rod Coutts Hall room 309. Costa Rica volunteer work slide show, 6:00, Student Life Centre room 2134. Engineering III natural gas shut off, Friday 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Engineering graduate studies presentations, Friday 3 to 6 p.m., University Club, for students possibly interested in graduate work. |
![[FASS logo]](http://www.fass.uwaterloo.ca/graphics/fass_logo_gold.png){kind=logo}
Continuing on stage, and also in the Humanities building -- but in the smaller Studio 180 -- is the UpStart festival of short plays. Performances today are "A Room of One's Own" at 12:30 and "Almost Sisters" and "Carte Blanche" at 8:00. In yesterday's Daily Bulletin, apparently, there was a mistake, based on out-of-date information from the drama department. "The play 'Savage/Love' is being done," I'm told, "by Tom Leslie, not Isinglass Theatre."
Engineering students will pay $6 a term to the Sandford Fleming Foundation starting this fall, up from the present $4, following approval by the UW board of governors this week. . . . Provost Amit Chakma told the board that the dean of engineering, Adel Sedra, will head a task force to review how UW spends its internal student aid funds. . . . "The pension fund has been managed conservatively but extremely well," said Purdy Crawford, chairman of the board of Allstream (formerly AT&T Canada) and former chief executive of Imasco, during a brief board discussion of investment policies. . . .
The president of the faculty association, Catherine Schryer, writes in the latest issue of the association's Forum that the faculty relations committee has been, as it said it would do, discussing the PeopleSoft computer system. "Our position," says Schryer, "is that academic concerns must predominate and that a software system cannot overrule such concerns. We have secured ongoing updates on the system and promises that all academic units will be consulted on the implementation."
Andrew Sepic of the track and field Warriors set a UW record in the pentathlon (hurdles, long jump, shot-put, high jump and 1000-metre run), reaching 3,062 points in competition at York on the weekend. . . . The "dispensing cap" -- the maximum UW's employee health plan will pay towards the dispensing fee when a staff or faculty member gets a prescription filled -- was increased to $6.60 as of January 1, from last year's $6 level. . . . David Blowes has been named interim chair of the earth sciences department for a six-month term that started January 1. . . .
I frequently hear from Arda Ocal, who operates "AoK: The Pre-Bomber Show" on Wednesday nights on CKMS radio. He's got something unusual coming up: "a Blind Date Speed Challenge, where eight students will come to the studio and the four men and four women will all meet each other in 10-minute speed dates. At the end, each person will pick the person with which they could see themselves having the most fun on a real date." The "blind date couple champion", he says, "will enjoy an all-expenses-paid date". The event happens February 11, and right now he's looking for contestants. More information is available on the show's web site.
Finally, here's a reminder that tomorrow will be the nomination deadline for this year's Distinguished Teacher Awards. Nominations for a second major prize, the Distinguished Teaching by a Registered Student Award, are due a week later, on February 13. "Please help recognize excellence in teaching at the University of Waterloo," says Verna Keller of the teaching resource office, whose web site has all the details.
CAR
![[Grants 30%, fees 27%, research 18%]](/images/2004/0206piechart.gif)