Staff salary settlement reached

"The university is delighted to announce that the university and staff association have reached a tentative agreement for staff salaries starting May 1, 2015 subject to approval by the Board of Governors," says a note from Vice-President, Academic & Provost Ian Orchard.

"The length of the agreement is for three years, until April 30, 2018. Terms of the agreement regarding scale are: 1.95 percent increase in each of the first two years, and 1.50 percent increase in the third year."

Other terms include changes to the Staff Excellence Fund, conducting a total compensation review within the next year, and the merit program for regular USG staff members continuing for the three years of the agreement.

"We are grateful to the members of the Provost’s Advisory Committee on Staff Compensation for coming to this agreement," the provost's memo concludes

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Celebrate Pi's first ten digits this weekend

"Happy Epic Pi Day from the Faculty of Mathematics," says a message from the Faculty.

"2015 is a once in a lifetime opportunity to celebrate the first 10 digits of pi. March 14, 2015, 9:26:53 = 3.141592653. Are you celebrating Pi Day this Friday or Saturday? Share your day with us and other pi loving communities across the world using the hashtag #EpicPiDay."

The Mathematics Society is hosting its usual Pi Day festivities today in MC 3038 and MC 3039 with free pie, a pi recitation contest, and novelty sale. Pie will be served at 1:59 p.m., followed by the recitation contest at 2:30 p.m. Novelties will be sold from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.

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March Break Open House tomorrow

The University of Waterloo will welcome more than 6,000 visitors when it hosts its March Break Open House on Saturday, March 14 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Watch the video for more details.

The event is geared towards high school students who have applied to Waterloo and those who will be applying to university next year, with information sessions and activities related to undergraduate studies as part of the agenda. It is a full-day program that is designed to answer the more detailed questions that future students may have now that they have applied or been admitted to Waterloo.

To learn about the academic opportunities at Waterloo, students and their parents are encouraged to attend presentations focused on individual programs and faculties. Visitors can also attend information sessions relating to co-operative education, residence life, and financing an education. Booths focused on academics, housing and athletics will be set up in the Student Life Centre, where campus tours will also start.

For students who are unable to attend, many of the presentations and information sessions will be webcast.

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Extending the Grebel table

After months of consultation, the Board of Governors at Conrad Grebel University College approved a strategic plan to take the College to the year 2020.

"The previous plan, which focused on academic facility enhancements, academic growth and faculty renewal, was completed this year and our board needed to look ahead," said board chair Fred Redekop.

In the last 5 years, Grebel successfully completed a major building project, started a new Masters in PACS, and replaced 8 faculty members who retired.

The new strategic plan focuses on the future, but draws on Grebel’s inherent strengths.  External consultants from Blue Leap met with more than 30 people and conducted intense surveys of a variety of stakeholders including alumni, church leaders, faculty, and students.  “Our exploration quickly indicated that Grebel is a trusted meeting place bringing together people with similar values but from different backgrounds. Grebel is recognized widely as a place that values and builds community and this must be nurtured and developed,” said Cam Shapansky, partner at Blue Leap.

“Our research partners were struck by the depth of loyalty and engagement from our constituents and reminded us about how rare this is,” said Board Secretary James Barber.

After seeing the data and feedback, the strategic plan team chose the theme “Extending the Grebel Table” as a way to illustrate the plan.  “We consolidated the research and focused our impact in four areas,” said Susan Schultz Huxman, the college’s president. “These areas include our people, our programs, our facilities, and our constituencies.”  

Community building is at the core of each aspect and success indicators were named for each area. For example:

• Enriching People and Positions includes collaborative research, developing a shared identity, and a faculty retention plan;
• The plan for Program Development includes the creation of a certificate program in Theological Studies in partnership with Mennonite Church Eastern Canada and the exploration of a Rotary International Peace partnership;
• Facility Enhancement for the campus involves the feasibility study for a music performance space and improvement to the dining facilities;
• Growing the Constituencies involves a focus on student recruitment, but also involves new partnerships and active integration of existing programs and constituencies.

Working groups are being formed to take leadership on the specific initiatives and will drive the plan over the next 5 years. 

“I’m really pleased by the work the Board did on this strategic plan and the direction and guidance it provides to enrich and extend our mission `to serve church and society,’” said Huxman.  “We need to extend the Grebel Table to a wider variety of people and share our resources. Adding a few `leaves to the table’ will make our community more welcoming and extend the impact we can make.”

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March Break research and other notes

"The University of Waterloo is holding a research study on Tuesday, March 17 about augmented reality and we are inviting high school students to participate," writes Lisa Brackenridge. "If you know of grade 10-12 students interested in participating, and potentially earning community involvement hours (with approval of school principal and parent), please encourage them to attend and register using Eventbrite. Pizza will be provided and students will receive a certificate of participation. After completing the study, participants will also be entered into a draw to win one of three $50 gift cards. The study is for a project with the Digital Arts Communication 309/English 303 course in the Department of Drama and Speech Communication under the supervision of Professor Jill Tomasson Goodwin.

The Quest student information system is currently unavailable, due to the replacement of hardware components, according to a note from IST. The next update on Quest's status is set to be released at 10:00 a.m. In the meantime, Quest is down and unavailable.

Here's today's Nutrition Month "myth vs. fact" provided by Health Services Dietician Sandra Ace:

Myth: Eating a high protein diet builds muscle.

Fact:  Protein alone does not increase muscle mass. A good strength-training program, along with enough calories from healthy foods, recovery time and sleep are also needed for building muscle. And when it comes to protein, it’s not a case of “the more, the better.” Very high protein intakes displace other important nutrients obtained through a balanced diet, can be high in saturated fats and may also lead to gains in body fat if this results in excessive calorie consumption.

Ongoing and future research will help to clarify optimal human protein needs. Based on current knowledge, most people get enough protein from following a balanced diet based on Canada’s Food Guide.  However, some people, including adults who are very active or those trying to build muscle, might benefit from eating more protein. This interesting study concluded that eating more than 30 grams of protein in a single meal did not provide a further increase in muscle synthesis. Rather than loading most of your daily protein into your dinner meal or post-workout snack, you may get more benefit from spacing your intake evenly throughout the day. If you would like to learn more about your protein needs or other nutritional requirements, consult a Registered Dietitian.

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