McMaster prof coming to head AHS

A former McMaster University dean will come to UW as of July 1, 2010, to head the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences, the president has announced.

She is Susan Elliott (left), a specialist in environment and health who will succeed Roger Mannell, dean of AHS since July 2005.

The appointment was recommended by a nominating committee established under UW Policy 45 and was approved by the university senate in closed session on Monday and by the board of governors executive committee in a conference call yesterday.

Says a memo from president David Johnston, being distributed on campus this morning: “Susan Elliott completed her PhD in medical geography at McMaster University in 1992 and has had a successful career in the area of transdisciplinary health research and administration. Her first academic position was at the University of Victoria where she continued her research in the area of environment and health, and began to work on issues of local importance, particularly Aboriginal health.

“Her return to McMaster led to several exciting research as well as leadership opportunities, first as director of the Institute of Environment and Health, then as director of the School of Geography and Earth Sciences, and most recently as dean, Faculty of Social Sciences (2003-2008), the largest faculty on the McMaster campus. She is presently a professor in the School of Geography and Earth Sciences and holds an adjunct professorship with the United Nations University International Network on Water, Environment and Health." Her recent research includes a major study of food allergies.

Elliott visited Matthews Hall to meet people in AHS during the search process, and the usual vote of faculty and staff members was held. As a result, the president's memo reports that her appointment"has positive support from both the faculty and staff constituencies".

And he adds: "I wish to add my own strong personal support for this appointment. Professor Susan Elliott is an experienced administrator and accomplished leader, as well as a highly respected scholar and educator. She will bring wisdom, commitment and energy to the position and will help strategically develop the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences in the years to come. She will also be a valued member of UW’s senior administrative team and I look forward to working with her. I know she can count on the support of the entire UW community as she takes up her new challenge."

The AHS faculty includes the departments of kinesiology, health studies and gerontology, and recreation and leisure studies, as well as research units such as the recently formed Propel Centre for Population Health Impact.

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International Week, GIS Day and more

International Education Week continues at UW, with events designed to demonstrate that it’s a small world and that Waterloo is right in the middle of it all. Take, for example, applied health sciences student Kristen Freeman, seen at left in the photo. A note from the Waterloo International office explains that “as a Students for Development intern this summer working in the Dzaleka Refugee Camp in Malawi, she was helping with orientation for students in the camp who would be coming to Canada under the Student Refugee Program, part of the World University Service of Canada. One of those students came to UW!” Freeman will be speaking about her experience on the CIDA-funded program this afternoon at 3:30 (Needles Hall room 1101). “Also sharing their experiences,” the announcement continues, “will be Makeddah John, who studied the preservation of the St. Lucian dry forest through sustainable development; Juliet O’Farrell, who travelled to Ghana to work in a primary school; Miriam Romero Alvarez, who worked in an orphanage in the Ukraine; and Corrine Cash, who conducted research into water management in South Africa.” Tomorrow, two students who came to UW under the Student Refugee Program will share the story of their journey from Africa to Canada. That event will take place in St. Paul’s University College chapel starting at 7 p.m.

Other international connections are shown off by a photo display that will be up today in the lobby of the Tatham Centre. The pictures were taken by UW co-op students who worked somewhere outside Canada on co-op work terms in the course of 2009. "Come on by," suggests Karina Graf of co-op education and career services, "grab a ballot and vote for the pictures that you like the best. Winners will be announced by 4:30 p.m. and prizes will be awarded at this time." There are other International Education Week events happening as well; see the "When and where" column at right for a fuller listing.

I'm groping for a connection here, but I suppose you can't tell whether you're doing something international unless you know where you are, and that brings in the world of Geographic Information Systems. The Faculty of Environment and the University Map Library will celebrate the 6th annual GIS Day today, says the library's Eva Dodsworth: "Quite popular now with UW students and faculty, GIS Day is an annual event at UW that encourages students and researchers to talk to others about their research in GIS or research using GIS technology. It gives students the unique opportunity to showcase what they have worked on all term, or all year. GIS Day is a geographic literacy initiative that exposes the campus community to GIS technology as well as the geospatial resources available from the library." Things are scheduled between 1:30 and 3:30 in the courtyard of Environment I building."This year's event will include welcoming comments from the Dean of Environment, a map gallery, live demos, short presentations, door prizes, and cake."

Looking ahead: the UW Retirees Association will hold its annual fall luncheon tomorrow in the great hall at Luther Village, just south of campus. Organizers promise "unbelievable door prizes" and a special presentation on "The Future of the Internet". The speaker: "Roger Watt, who was Director, Network Services, IST, when he completed a 39-year career at UW. Roger will explore the evolution of the Internet that started as a US defense research project in the early 1970s. This talk will review some of the milestones that brought us to today, and look at where expert opinions hope or fear it may be going." Watt will be giving the same talk, or at least a talk under the same title, on Friday morning as the speaker for this week's IST professional development seminar.

A “special launch event” is scheduled in the Student Life Centre tomorrow for something called My Waterloo Idea. Parts of the announcement are perfectly clear: “There will be free food, prize giveaways and guest speakers,” specifically Cheryl Rose, who is “director of partnerships and projects” for the Social Innovation Generation Unit in UW’s faculty of arts. Also, “We will be running a special contest looking for some of the brightest and most innovative ideas for the University of Waterloo! We hope to see you all there!” Yes, but what is it exactly? “My Waterloo Idea is anything you want it to be! Seriously, there are no good or bad ideas — only ones that you are passionate about. This site is for anyone that wants to make a difference in the University of Waterloo community and connect with others who are passionate about change. It doesn’t matter if your idea is big or small, short-term or long-term, just share it because who knows? Your idea just might make UW a better place. As members of a university campus, we are privileged and intelligent people who have the ability and responsibility to use our vast resources for positive change.” Find out more in the SLC tomorrow, 6 to 8 p.m.

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A peek at pensions, a word about worms

Members of UW's pension and benefits committee, and its consulting actuary, gave three public presentations to staff and faculty members last Friday, and I understand they were well attended, with an especially big crowd at the noontime session. Bev Seibel of the university secretariat, who handles administrative matters for P&B, reports that the PowerPoint notes for Friday's presentations are now available on the web for those who missed the live session. "If you look at the presentation," she points out, "you will see that the committee are seeking input on changing the interest credit on employee contributions to the five-year fixed-term chartered bank deposit rates on a phased-in basis." Also wanted: "input on phasing out the option for a member to take the commuted value of their pension on retirement between ages 55 and 65." Comments can be e-mailed to pensions@ uwaterloo.ca.

If it's not pensions, it's parking, and here's a message from Ed Danhousen of the police and parking services office: "The west side of UWP parking lot will be closed as of 5 a.m. Thursday. Steed and Evans will be repaving the lot and will need at least two days in order to complete the work. It may take an extra day depending on the weather. Parking for UWP will be on the east side, off Seagram Drive. Directional signage will be in place."

News from Conrad Grebel University College, as reported in its alumni newsletter: "Student Council chooses one or two Environmental Reps each term. Jen Van Overbeeke and Jonathan Van Egmond took their job to a whole new level this past summer when they began a community garden at the front of the Grebel residence building. While a group of 5 or 6 students took responsibility for the majority of the gardening, extra helping hands were easy to find on heavy work days. Diligent tending led to a harvest of tomatoes, onions, carrots, green peppers, and eggplants, all distributed throughout the apartments. There are hopes that in the future, the vegetables can be sold to the apartments and the proceeds donated to a local food charity. One of this term’s Environmental Reps, Andrew Stroud, has begun a vermicomposting project in the Grebel apartments. At the moment, the worms live in his closet, but he plans to expand the worm population so every apartment unit can have a bin. Andrew felt compelled to start this project, hoping to apply it to the problem of green waste in the Grebel kitchen."

Deaths of several retired UW staff members are reported by the human resources department. Margaret McKechnie, who died October 10, served as a food services assistant from 1981 to her retirement in 1990. Josef Betengiel, who died October 24, was a custodian in plant operations from 1968 to his retirement in 1979. And Ella Usher, who died October 31, was a secretary in the dean's office in what is now the Faculty of Environment, working from 1981 to retirement in 1986.

An announcement the other day from the UW staff association: "The Staff Association has added a blog to its website! We welcome you to visit the site and check in on 'What’s new with the UW Staff Association' where current workplace issues and events will be posted and can be discussed. The blog will be an ongoing tool to improve communication between the Staff Association Executive Committee and our SA members. Members are able to comment online to the posts. Our UWSA Announcements and Events appear on the right menu as before, but now they are blog entries and again staff can direct questions or comments in response to these postings."

With the seasons ending for a number of interuniversity sports, several Warriors have been named to Ontario University Athletics all-star teams and similar honours. Let's see: in men's rugby, Luke Demeter, Richard Lebel and Marc Sweeney are all members of the all-star squad for 2009. In women's rugby, Shannon Holder, Kaley Maksymyk and Julie Prout are listed as all-stars. And in men's soccer, midfielder Chris Lam is on the first-team all-star list, while Raphael Goldemann and Mohammad Aborig make the second team.

CAR

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