![[University of Waterloo]](/images/logobars/goldbar.gif)
| Friday |
Monday, February 7, 2005
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Editor: Chris Redmond credmond@uwaterloo.ca |
Thai honour for UW technologist![[Richards]](/images/2005/0207richards.jpg)
Les Richards (right), a senior adviser at the
Centre for Learning and
Teaching Through Technology and the distance education
office, has been honoured for his work helping universities in Thailand
develop distance education teaching.
Richards was awarded the Plaque of Honour for his contribution to
e-learning in the faculty of science at the
Ubon Rajathaneei
University in Thailand. He earlier was given a similar award for work
at the Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University.
Richards established an interactive computer-assisted learning
resource centre and has been engaged in projects relating to UW and
the University of Guelph.
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Edited by Barbara Elve and coordinated by Janet Rohrbach in communications and public affairs, it's "the first of our special publications in the post-Gazette era", the front page explains. It offers "a compendium of new faculty members, many of whom came to Waterloo despite intense competition for their services".
Included are professors who started at UW since July 1, 2003, as identified by the deans. For each one there's a photo plus a paragraph about academic background (from Guelph to Queensland), research interests and spare-time activities, based on the answers to questionnaires that were sent to the new faculty.
"Over the past few years," writes Martin Van Nierop, director of C&PA, "the University of Waterloo has been on a voyage of renewal that has taken it around the world. Since 1996, the year that SERP (Special Early Retirement Program) was offered to faculty and staff, UW has been playing catch-up to replace about 140 faculty. . . .
"For a while, as dollars remained scarce, it was difficult to make much of a dent. But in recent years, special funding programs and grants have been introduced by governments, such as those for the double cohort. Combined with UW's own strategic initiatives, there have been more resources made available to hire the best talent."
He quotes provost Amit Chakma: "Our motto has been -- if we see excellence and top talent out there and it's available, then let's go after it and compete for the best." The result "has been an unprecedented program of hiring new, highly-qualified faculty members to help boost the depleted faculty ranks. The new faculty, many of them young and starting out in their careers, come from universities around the globe, continuing UW's trend of internationalization. . . .
"Chakma has made it a personal mission to recruit the best young professors available for the university's professoriat, not only to inject new talent but to continue the UW tradition of featuring top, innovative professors. . . .
"The university adopted a policy of going after top people, and creating more positions where the need was greatest. Endowed research chairs were created with the help of funds raised through Campaign Waterloo. Other benefits were added to entice prospective faculty members."
The new publication, which will be arriving by campus mail this week and will also go to off-campus audiences, says that more attention was also paid to salary structure and rewarding more senior talent already here through merit awards. This policy also benefits those new faculty able to step in at higher levels. "If a good case is made to get a very promising individual and bring them here at a higher level, say as an associate professor instead of assistant, then we listen and act accordingly," says the provost.
Other benefits used to attract quality people included earlier sabbatical leaves (possible after three years), new performance-based merit bonuses for outstanding faculty (unique in the country), and improved maternity/paternity leaves.
"A variety of improvements make for a better environment. Year after year we are improving, and quality attracts quality," Chakma maintains.
He says that when recruiting, the university looks for a number of things: where professors obtained their PhDs; their supervisors/mentors; publication and research track record; the stage they're at in their careers, and, of course, references. Once they are here, he says, more effort is being made to ensure professors receive better orientation to the whole campus and what it offers. For example, a special reception held for new faculty members brings professors from every faculty and discipline together, so that "a faculty member from one area can meet another from a completely different discipline."
As new faculty members progress in their careers, more emphasis will be placed on developing their talents and assessing them, both in reference to their teaching prowess and their skill in research, says Chakma.
So is UW making progress? "Absolutely. The trend we have established is a very good one, across all faculties. It's like planting seeds. You bring in good people and as they grow and develop, more good people join them and they grow together, and the university's reputation for quality is enhanced world-wide."
A final note from Chakma in the new publication: "The university is also placing more emphasis on staff, both in the work environment and in renewal. Having top talented faculty and staff is essential to the university's success and health, he adds."
| WHEN AND WHERE |
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Federation of Students candidates' forum 2 to 4 p.m.,
Arts Lecture room 113.
Career workshops: "Thinking About Graduate Studies?" 2:30, "Mastering the Personal Statement" 3:30, Tatham Centre room 2218. Senate executive committee 3:30, Needles Hall room 3004. Computational mathematics seminar: Michael Rubinstein, pure mathematics, "Elliptic Curves and Random Matrix Theory", 3;30, Math and Computer room 5158. 'Rediscovering Our Black Roots: Small Communities in Ontario", talk by Elise Harding-Davis, North American Black Historical Museum, 5 p.m., Davis Centre room 1301. 'Team America: World Police' film showing, 8 p.m., Humanities Theatre, free for students. 'An Appeal for a Humanistic Patent Regime for Pharmaceuticals', Jillian Clare Cohen, University of Toronto school of pharmacy, sponsored by UW International Health Development Association, Tuesday 11:30, Davis Centre room 1302. 'Eating for Energy' workshop Tuesday 12:30, followed by "One Woman's Story" 1:30, Student Life Centre room 2134 -- events for Eating Disorder Awareness Week. Germanic and Slavic lecture: Gisela Brude-Firnau, professor emeritus, "Discourses of the Centaurs: From Faust to Harry Potter", Tuesday 2:00, Modern Languages room 245. Screening of new video "Breaking the Silence: Giving Voice to Persons Living with Dementia", sponsored by Murray Alzheimer Research and Education Program, Wednesday 3:30, Lyle Hallman Institute auditorium, RSVP ext. 5040. Malcolm Gladwell speaks about his new book, Blink: The Power of Thinking without Thinking, Saturday 3 p.m., Centre for International Governance Innovation, sponsored by UW library, retail services and alumni affairs, reservations 888-4973. Copyright in Canada information session by Amber Lyons, McMaster University intellectual property office, including discussion of copyright on learning materials Thursday, March 3, 1 p.m., Davis Centre room 1302, reservations ext. 3300. |
The Hagey Lectures Committee has announced that Ursula Franklin of the University of Toronto will be this spring's Hagey speaker. She'll be on campus Wednesday, March 2, to speak on "Thinking About Technology: Defining Technology as Practice". A news release notes: "Acclaimed internationally for her pioneering work in the field of metallurgy, Dr. Ursula M. Franklin has also worked tirelessly to bring a humanitarian and feminist voice to the world of science and technology." Among many other distinctions, she's a Companion of the Order of Canada. Lecture tickets are, or soon will be, available (free) from the Humanities box office, 888-4908, and we'll be hearing much more about Franklin over the next four weeks.
The UW International Development Student Conference for this year will be held Saturday at St. Paul's United College. Attendance is free, but pre-registration is encouraged. The event is held to "educate students on issues in international development; offer students an opportunity to share their development work and research experiences; stimulate debate on development objectives and practices." Keynote speaker will be Lynnita Weber of Fellowship for African Relief, and the day will include a couple of dozen student presentations, as well as time to visit an "NGO Fair". Details are on the web.
Here's a reminder that nominations have been invited for both staff and faculty seats on the nominating committee for the position of vice-president (academic) and provost. Faculty nominations have now closed, and the deadline for staff nominations is approaching: "Nominations are requested for two staff members, elected by and from the regular staff of the University. Consistent with past practice, the Secretariat will be conducting this election. At least three nominators are required in each case. Completed nomination forms should be submitted to the Secretariat no later than 3:00 p.m., Tuesday, February 8. Elections will follow if necessary." A nomination form is available online.
Some of the signs are already up, but it's no longer certain that a major road on the west side of Kitchener-Waterloo is going to be named for UW pioneer Ira G. Needles. An executive of B. F. Goodrich Canada in the 1950s, Needles chaired the original board that met to plan the founding of a university in this community, and was chairman of the board of governors and later chancellor of the university. He died in 1986, and his name is remembered in the title of the UW administration building. Waterloo Region had planned to call the new road "Ira G. Needles Boulevard" and incorporate most of the existing Erbsville Road into it. But neighbouring residents have persuaded regional council to keep the Erbsville name, noting its historical importance. A short section of the road -- from Erb Street south to highways 7-8 -- may still be named for Needles, or the name may be used elsewhere in the community instead.
The web site for UW's Institute for Quantum Computing announces that "IQC Headquarters has moved to the second floor of the BFG building." . . . Clarence Wallace, an electrical technician in the engineering machine shop who had been working for UW since 1988, officially retired January 1. . . . The annual International Celebration Week is to be held February 28 through March 5, and a schedule of events is now online. . . .
CAR