Jean Andrey named Dean of Environment

Professor Jean Andrey has been appointed dean of the Faculty of Environment for an initial five-year term that begins on July 1, 2015 and will end on June 30, 2020.

"The appointment was unanimously recommended for consideration by the nominating committee established under Policy 45 and has been approved by the Board of Governors and Senate," wrote Vice-President, Academic & Provost Ian Orchard in a memo distributed yesterday. "Professor Andrey has been acting as interim dean since August 2014 when André Roy stepped down from the deanship."

Andrey completed her BA at Wilfrid Laurier University, her MSc in physical geography at the University of Calgary, and her PhD in geography at University of Waterloo.

A faculty member at Waterloo for 25 years, Andrey currently holds the position of professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Management. Her past administrative service includes her appointment as interim dean (August 2014 to present), associate dean of graduate studies (2006-08, 2012-14), associate dean of graduate studies and research (2005-06), director of the joint graduate program in geography (2008-10), and graduate officer and associate chair of the department of geography (1991, 1998-2002). Her research expertise spans a variety of fields including climate resilience, weather-transport interactions, natural hazards and risk assessment, and sustainable transportation. Her work has been recognized with her election as fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society in 2011, the university’s Outstanding Performance Award which she received in 2006 and 2007, and numerous teaching awards. She has acted as principal investigator on 25 research projects.

"In her career she has taught 10,000 students at the undergraduate and graduate levels, which demonstrates her formidable imprint on a Faculty that has approximately 13,000 alumni," says a statement from the Secretariat and Office of General Counsel. "She has supervised or co-supervised over 36 graduate students in addition to a considerable number of undergraduate student researchers and activity on master’s and doctoral committees. In addition to her university responsibilities, she has served as president of the Canadian Association of Geographers (2012-14) and also vice-president (2011-12), and she has served on the board of governors for St. Jerome’s University (2005-11)."

The Dean of Environment Nominating Committee was chaired by George Dixon, vice-president, university research. An external search consultant, Janet Wright & Associates, was engaged to assist the committee. The position was advertised in the October 2014 and the committee consulted widely throughout the Faculty of Environment and the University administration. It also met with the president and the vice-president, academic & provost, to review issues, priorities, opportunities and challenges affecting the Faculty, and the structure of the decanal role. Efforts were then focused on identifying excellent declared and potential candidates, both internal and external.

From the long list of applications and expressions of interest received from individuals throughout North America and internationally, the committee narrowed the list of individuals to be invited for an interview. On the basis of the interviews and in-depth referencing available to the committee, members unanimously agreed to recommend Professor Jean Andrey for consideration by the constituency as the next dean of the Faculty of Environment.

Faculty, staff and students in the Faculty of Environment were given the opportunity to meet with Professor Andrey on Friday, March 13. A secret electronic ballot was then issued to all regular faculty and staff in the Faculty of Environment. The ballot result in all constituencies was strongly positive, confirming the committee’s view that Professor Andrey should be recommended as the next dean of environment.

"I wish to add my own support for Professor Andrey’s appointment," the provost writes. "Her long experience at the university as an administrator, teacher and researcher will help to guide the ongoing development of this dynamic Faculty for the next few years."

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Rush named Applied Health Sciences dean

James Rush has been appointed dean of the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences for an initial five-year term that commences on July 1, 2015 and ends on June 30, 2020.

"The appointment was unanimously recommended for consideration by the nominating committee established under Policy 45 and has been approved by the Board of Governors and Senate," wrote Vice-President, Academic & Provost Ian Orchard in a memo distributed yesterday. "Professor Rush has been acting as interim dean since July 2014 when Susan Elliott stepped down from the deanship."

Jim Rush completed his BSc in human kinetics and his MSc at the University of Guelph, and his PhD at State University of New York Upstate Medical University, Syracuse.

A Waterloo faculty member since 2000, he currently holds the position of professor in the Department of Kinesiology. Prior to joining the university, he was postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Veterinary Biomedical Sciences and Dalton Cardiovascular Research Center, University of Missouri-Columbia.

"His past administrative service includes appointments as interim dean (July 2014 to present), associate dean (2013-14), chair of the Department of Kinesiology (2009-13), associate chair of the department (2008-09) and associate dean, graduate studies and research (2006-07)," says a statement from the Secretariat and Office of General Counsel. "His research interests are in vascular and skeletal muscle physiology, and from 2003-13 he held the CIHR-Canada Research Chair in Integrative Vascular Biology. His research program (as principal or co-investigator) has secured 30 grants totalling nearly $7 million, and he has supervised or co-supervised 21 graduate students or postdoctoral fellows. In addition to his university responsibilities, he has served as a journal editor or associate editor for a variety of publications, has sat on a variety of external grant allocation/review committees, and is a member of the board of directors of the Schlegel-University of Waterloo Research Institute for Aging and with the Waterloo Regional Cardiac Rehabilitation Foundation."

The Dean of Applied Health Sciences Nominating Committee, chaired by President Feridun Hamdullahpur, engaged an external search consultant, Janet Wright & Associates, to assist in the search. The committee consulted widely throughout the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences and the University administration with regard to the issues, priorities, opportunities and challenges affecting the Faculty and the structure of the dean's role. Efforts were focused on identifying excellent declared and potential candidates, both internal and external.

From the long list of applications and expressions of interest received from individuals throughout North America and internationally, the committee narrowed the list of individuals to be invited for an interview. On the basis of the interviews and in-depth referencing available to the committee, members unanimously agreed to recommend Professor Rush for consideration by the constituency as the next dean of the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences.

Faculty, staff and students in the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences were given the opportunity to meet with Professor Rush on Monday, March 16. A secret electronic ballot was then issued to all regular faculty and staff in Applied Health Sciences. The ballot result in all constituencies was strongly positive, confirming the committee’s view that Professor Rush should be recommended as the Faculty's next dean.

"I wish to add my own support for Professor Rush’s appointment," the provost writes. "His experience at the university as a respected administrator and his exemplary track record as a researcher will foster his ability to lead this unique and exceptional Faculty for the next few years."

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Celebrating the Co-op Students of the Year

by Clare Flood.

On Tuesday, March 17, six students from each of Waterloo’s Faculties were honoured as 2014 Co-op Students of the Year, and three others received honourable mentions.

The awards are presented to students who meet the following criteria: 

• outstanding evaluations from their employer
• contributions to their employer above and beyond the job description
• high academic standing
• contributions to co-op
• volunteer and community involvement

Three students were further nominated by Waterloo for the national Canadian Association for Co-operative Education (CAFCE) Co-op Student of the Year Award and provincial Education at Work Ontario (EWO) Co-op Student of the Year Award. For 2014, Waterloo students won both of these awards.

“We are celebrating the achievements of our finest students in co-op”, said President Feridun Hamdullahpur at the ceremony. “I am delighted to have this opportunity to congratulate you on your successes.”

Federation of Students Vice-President of Education Stéphane Hamade was also in attendance. “Co-op is one of the main reasons why I and so many other students attend the University of Waterloo. It offers the chance to improve our skills, try out several career paths, and develop a wide and diverse network.”

Some highlights of each student’s work term and future plans are:

• Erin Wong, Applied Health Sciences: CAFCE honourable mention, led the development of a research-focused ultrasound at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, and will be entering graduate or medical school this fall
• Skye Wattie, Arts: EWO winner, managed a full-time portfolio at RL Solutions, where he has been offered a permanent position beginning in September
• Andrew Andrade, Engineering: CAFCE winner, co-founded the startup PetroPredict, where he will be continuing to work part-time this year
• Jessica Peixoto, Environment: traveled to the Curtin University Sustainability Policy Institute in Western Australia to help create a doctorate program, and will be traveling to South America this summer before beginning a full-time job search
• Liam Horne, Mathematics: became Chief Operating Officer at Piinpoint, where he will continue to work
• Laura Sevick, Science: completed data analysis on curative chemotherapy for colorectal cancer patients at St. Michael’s Hospital, furthering her interest in pursuing a career in the healthcare industry

Honorable mentions for the 2014 awards are:

• Gillian Bedard, Applied Health Sciences
• Chase Denomme, Arts
• Bryan Nerger, Engineering

Check out the entire Co-op Student of the Year profiles, as well as application guidelines for the award on the CECA website.

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Wednesday's notes

“The Science Undergrad Office (ESC 253) will close early, at 3:00 p.m., on Wednesday, March 25," says a note from the office. "We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Check the Science current undergraduate students page for our regular hours.”

Are you interested in having fun and getting fit? The Waterloo Staff, Faculty, and Alumni Dragon Boat Team will soon be getting on the water, and the team is looking for new members. An information session for interested participants is being held today from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. in EV3 3412.

"Everyone is welcome and no experience is necessary," says the announcement. "Our club also has a Breast Cancer Survivor/Cancer Survivor team that is welcoming new members."

Contact Mary Power or the Waterloo Paddling Club for more information.

“The Federation of Students is hosting its Winter General Meeting at 3:00 p.m. today in the SLC Great Hall," writes Jacqueline Martinz. "Undergraduates are encouraged to attend and vote on motions that will impact their experiences at the University of Waterloo. This is a fantastic opportunity to learn about what’s happening within their student union, and be engaged on campus. The agenda for the meeting is available online. For those who are unable to attend, the meeting with be aired at live.feds.ca.”

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

Myth: Eating dark chocolate is good for your heart and lowers your risk of cardiovascular disease.

Fact:  I hate to disappoint you in the midst of Easter chocolate season, but dark chocolate may not be as beneficial to health as chocolate manufactures would like us to believe. This good news is, however, that it’s probably not bad for us either. It is true that the cocoa solids present in dark chocolate contain beneficial plant phytonutrients called flavanols, naturally occurring antioxidants that help the body repair damaged cells. There are a number of short term studies (some funded by the chocolate industry) that suggest consuming cocoa products  may provide cardiovascular benefits, such as small effects on lowering blood pressure, but other studies have found no impact. Based on the current state of research, concluding that eating chocolate lowers your risk of heart disease is more than a stretch- it is inaccurate.

Chocolate is a calorie-dense food that contains saturated fat and some sugar. Until longer and more conclusive studies are completed, enjoy chocolate in moderation but don’t fool yourself into thinking that a chocolate bar is “health food.”  Limit yourself to a couple of small squares a day and choose dark chocolate with at least 60% cacao solids. Check the Nutrition Facts for calories, saturated fat and sugar in a portion and note the portion size, which might be different than your actual portion. Remember that vegetables and fruits contain antioxidants that can benefit our heart and health in many ways and most Canadian adults get fewer than the recommended 7 to 10 daily servings.

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