Task force will look at wildlife

UW officials announced Friday that a task force will look at issues involving wildlife on the campus, in the wake of a controversy over the death of four beavers in Laurel Creek two weeks ago.

Said Friday's announcement: "The University of Waterloo . . . is striking a task force to examine how UW manages campus-dwelling wildlife that pose a risk.

"Deep Saini, Dean of the Faculty of Environmental Studies, will lead the task force which will draw on campus expertise in wild-life and animal-care management, and will consult as appropriate. Recommendations of the task force will be made to the university's Provost, Amit Chakma.

"Although UW's recent actions concerning beavers were congruent with Ministry of Natural Resources guidelines, the University is sensitive to the outpouring of public opinion."

There has been much in the media, and many letters of protest have come to UW leaders, since the animals were killed by a licensed trapper hired to remove them from the creek. University officials have pointed out that the trapper used humane methods recommended by the Ministry and approved by the Humane Society.

Back to top

New executive in Tatham Centre

A UW graduate and experienced executive, Rocco Fondacaro (left), starts work today in the new senior position of "Director, Student and Faculty Relations" in the department of co-op education and career services.

"I'm very pleased," says a memo from Peggy Jarvie, executive director of CECS, announcing the appointment. In part Fondacaro comes as a successor to Cathie Jenkins, associate director of the department, who retired earlier this year. But the title is a new one, as part of the reorganization Jarvie has been putting in place.

She writes: "Rocco comes to us with over 25 years in the corporate, educational and not-for-profit sectors, including senior marketing and product management roles at Nortel and Christie Digital. He has his PhD in social psychology from UWO, and has taught and conducted research there and at Carleton. He is experienced in developing vision and strategy for new and emerging programs and services, including Nortel's advanced consumer telecommunications business which led to the introduction of many of the current internet and e-services successfully marketed by telecoms and internet service providers, and his strategic skills are complemented by extensive experience in managerial and influencing roles.

"In his most recent role at Communitech, he was heavily involved in the Business and Education Partnership of Waterloo Region, and developed an extensive network throughout the community, among high tech businesses, HR departments, local school boards and other agencies. Rocco's skills, background, and work experience position him well for the challenges and opportunities of this role."

Fondacaro was profiled earlier this year in the alumni e-newsletter for his work with Communitech: "He is hoping to woo University of Waterloo graduates back to Waterloo Region, tantalizing them with the region's prosperity and exciting tech-sector stronghold."

Back to top

'Integrity' scholarships to 3 at UW

UW students have received three of 20 scholarships given across Canada to recognize "academic and personal integrity", says the sponsor of the scholarship program, publishing company McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

Each scholarship is worth $500. "In addition to academic and personal integrity," says the company, "nominations were evaluated based on the student's classroom engagement and initiative. The scholarship review committee, a non-partisan board including educators and administrators from colleges and universities across Canada, reviewed the applications. The committee looks for students who show respect and empathy for others, whose overall behaviour and participation have a positive impact on the classroom, and who draw upon the array of learning resources available to them.

"Students were nominated for the scholarship by a professor." The UW winners:

• Matei Zaharia, nominated by computer science professor Srinivasan Keshav. "Matei was not only the best student in my class, he was also very helpful both to me and to the other
students in the class," said Srinivasan. "Matei's interactions with the other students were empathetic, considerate, and with total integrity. I think his whole-hearted participation was critical to making the class a successful learning experience for the other students."

• Rajat Suri, whose scholarship was mentioned in the Daily Bulletin a few weeks ago. He was nominated by chemical engineering professor Michael Fowler. "His genial personality and strong academic ability make him a favorite of his classmates to approach for academic help," said Fowler. "He never refuses anyone a few minutes of his time, despite being extremely busy with numerous time commitments outside the chemical engineering program."

• Jeanna McCuaig, nominated by biology professor Dragana Miskovic. "I strongly feel that based on her involvement in the classroom and additional teaching assistant experience, Ms. McCuaig deserves to be awarded this scholarship," said Miskovic. "This award would provide an extra motivation for this industrious young woman."

"Based on the comments from the professors who nominated these students, it's clear that the scholarship winners add an extra dimension to the learning experience," said Patrick Ferrier, president of McGraw-Hill Ryerson Higher Education. "As a major provider of learning solutions, McGraw-Hill Ryerson is proud to recognize these students for the exceptional value they bring to the classroom."

Back to top

Just a few other notes today

Big doings on campus this morning: "Dr. Eliot Phillipson, President and CEO of the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), will be joined by James Rajotte, Member of Parliament, Edmonton-Leduc, on behalf of the Honourable Maxime Bernier, Minister of Industry, to announce a major investment in state-of-the-art infrastructure for Canadian universities, colleges, research hospitals, and non-profit research institutions." After the announcement, there will be a lab tour and "photo opportunity" as well as refreshments for VIPs and media. The event starts at 11:00 in the March Networks Exhibit Atrium, a.k.a. the lobby of the CEIT building.

"To mark World Town Planning Day on November 8," says the latest issue of the e-newsletter from environmental studies, "local high school students teamed with UW Planning students and staff from local municipal and regional governments. Teams brainstormed ideas as to future uses of a property in Waterloo earmarked for redevelopment. The following week, high school students participated in sessions about global positioning systems (GPS), remote sensing, and geographic information systems as part of the international GIS Day. On December 7, Grade 12 students and their teachers are invited to visit the Faculty for ES Discovery Day: hands-on sessions relating to urban planning, ecological footprints, GPS and surveying, and water issues." More information: k3davis@fes.uwaterloo.ca.

Canadian Blood Services sends a thank-you to the 136 people who successfully donated blood at the clinic held at UW November 15-17, and will be back on campus December 5-7. • The Federation of Students is doing an online survey on "what products you would like to see in the newly relocated Aussies convenience store". • A recent brochure from the UW library says there are 11,377 pages on the library's web site.

The road construction at the intersection of Columbia Street and Fischer-Hallman Road wasn't interminable after all, it seems, as all the lanes at that busy junction are finally clear to traffic. • Demolition work is under way at the "old Bank of Montreal building" at the corner of University Avenue and Phillip Street, which was a landmark in UW's earlier years and for a time housed UW offices such as the Computer Systems Group. • The rags of red balloons seen around campus this morning are left over from publicity for the fine arts department's show and sale on Friday night, but I have no explanation for a different kind of debris, an entire ripped-up telephone book outside Needles Hall.

CAR

Back to top