Pouring, not boring: On Tuesday October 29, the Centre for Pavement and Transportation Technology (CPATT) hosted a group of grade 5 and 6 students from Waterloo's Our Lady of Lourdes Elementary School.

"Many of the CPATT graduate students participating in this event by showing the students some of the projects underway in CPATT," writes Laura Bland of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. "The students were able to have a hands on experience in both the structures laboratory and the pavement laboratory at the Civil and Environmental Department at the University of Waterloo."

The visit concluded with a short presentation from CPATT Director Susan Tighe, who described some of the many activities CPATT is involved in.

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President speaks, signs MOU in Azerbaijan

Last week, President Feridun Hamdullahpur travelled to Azerbaijan to participate in the Baku International Humanitarian Forum, which took place on October 31 and November 1.

The conference was a forum for scientific, political and cultural leaders including senior government officials, Nobel Prize winners, and leaders of influential international organizations. Hamdullahpur chaired the "Scientific Innovations and Their Transfer into Education" roundtable and delivered a speech during the forum's plenary session.

In addition to his participation at the forum, Hamdullahpur held a number of meetings with top government officials including Azerbaijan's Minister of Education Mikayil Jabbarov, the Minister of Communications and Information Technologies Ali Abbasov (pictured at right with the president), and the chairman of a State Committee.

During the trip, the president also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Baku State University (BSU). The agreement encourages and enables first-year BSU students to apply for admission to undergraduate programs in Waterloo's faculties of Mathematics and Science. Above, Hamdullahpur is pictured signing the agreement with Baku State University Rector Abel Maharramov.

Photographs provided by Ilham Akhundov.

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Faculty of Arts showcases major success

One event. Three hours. 24 majors.

The Faculty of Arts is hosting a Major Showcase on Tuesday, November 12 from 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. in the Student Life Centre's Great Hall.

The showcase promises to bring together representatives from each of Arts’ 24 majors, including current students, staff, and faculty, to help students who have not yet declared a major, including first-year Honours Arts/Arts and Business and upper-year Liberal Studies students learn about the different majors they can choose from.

First-year academic advisors, Arts peer mentors, and the Arts international exchange team will also be present at the event to answer questions and provide information about the upper-year experience in Arts.

Students can drop in to the Student Life Centre Great Hall anytime between 2:30 and 5:30 pm on November 12 to chat with major representatives. The orange Arts banners will be hard to miss.

Anyone with questions can contact the Arts Undergraduate Office.

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Mennonite Archives launches peace guide

by Laureen Harder-Gissing. Originally published by the Mennonite Archives of Ontario.

What was it like to be a conscientious objector during World War II? Did Mennonites participate in the War of 1812? Did Mennonite women contribute to World War I relief efforts? Do Mennonites celebrate Remembrance Day?

These are some of the questions asked at the Mennonite Archives of Ontario by genealogists, local historians, school children and academics. The “peace position” has been part of Mennonite doctrine and practice for nearly 500 years. Naturally, there is a great deal of curiosity about how the Mennonite commitment to non-participation in war has provided them with unique historical experiences and perspectives.

To encourage this growing interest, the Archives has created a peace research guide to our holdings. Since archives are organized by creator not subject, identifying peace-related sources can be time consuming. The guide identifies source materials for peace history with a focus on Mennonite responses to military conflicts.

Spanning the years from 1786 to the present, the guide highlights the rich collections in peace history held at the Mennonite Archives of Ontario. Listings range from 19th century military exemption papers and World War I military tribunal records, to taped interviews with World War II conscientious objectors and efforts by Ontario Mennonites to raise awareness of Central American conflicts in the 1980s. As the guide is electronic, new listings will continue to be added as peace-related historical documents make their way to the Archives.

Currently the Mennonite Archives of Ontario, housed at Conrad Grebel University College in Waterloo, is undergoing a large renovation that will make the collection more accessible. However, researchers can use the guide to locate materials of interest, and then make an appointment at the Archives to view them in person. The new facilities are projected to be open in June of 2014.

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Audited financial statements online; other notes

Finance has published the University of Waterloo's audited financial statements for the year ending April 30, 2013 and the Schedule of Operating Expenses for April 30, 2013 and the Schedule of Ancillary Enterprises Income and Expenses for April 30, 2013.

The Registrar's Office has informed students that they can begin making changes to their Winter 2014 timetable in Quest starting on Monday, November 11. To view a specific drop/add start time, students need to log into Quest and follow four steps:

1. Click Academics
2. Click Enroll
3. Select the term and then click continue
4. Click Appointments

Step-by-step instructions can be viewed on the "How do I view my appointment time for the beginning of drop/add?" web page.

Human Resources reports that the following faculty members retired as of October 1:

Wendy Mitchinson, who started at the university in July 1985 as an associate professor, retired as Professor in the history department.

Human Resources is also reporting that the following staff members retired as of October 1:

• Darlene Radicioni, who started at the university in September 1988, retires as Program Coordinator, Graduate and Postdoctoral Programs in the Centre for Teaching Excellence
• Norma Code, who began working at the university in February 1987, retired as Chairperson Secretary in the Department of English Language and Literature
• Margaret Yuen, who joined the university in April 1977, retires as a Librarian
• Gail Hudson, who began working at the university in February 1999, retires as Administrative Assistant in Statistics and Actuarial Science
  
• Theresa Murray, who started at the university in July 1990, retires as Residence Attendant in Housing and Residences.

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