Tuesday, November 23, 1993

PRESIDENT SPEAKS:  UW president James Downey was interviewed yesterday on
CKCO television's program "Morning Magazine".  (The interview was taped
some days ago.) Downey spoke about his Newfoundland youth and his academic 
career, as well as commenting on UW's strengths and prospects.  Among the 
points he made:

  -- "Achievement attracts achievement, and that tradition very much
  continues," bringing good students, as well as top faculty and
  staff members, to UW.

  -- Government funding cutbacks have "hurt" UW's employees, especially
  with the hurried cuts of $10 million from the current year's budget.

  -- "We will, over the next year or two, be looking very carefully
  at where we wish to be at the turn of the new century."  Such planning
  will touch on, for example, the balance between graduate and undergraduate
  studies at UW, as well as "possible new sources of revenue. . . .
  Expansion in numbers would not be an objective."

GRAD STUDENT VOTE:  Results aren't official yet, but unofficially UW's
graduate students have voted in favour of a comprehensive dental plan
that will cost them $57 a term (with extra premiums for family coverage).
Duncan Phillips, president of the Graduate Student Association, says the
vote was 262-166 in favour of the general idea of a dental plan, and 
215-193 in favour of a comprehensive plan rather than a less ambitious
plan covering preventive dentistry only.

Grad students also voted on GSA membership in national student organizations.
The verdict was in favour of the Canadian Graduate Council (400-81) and
against the Canadian Federation of Students (416-70).

CULTURAL CARAVAN:  Federation Hall might be worth a visit today, as 
Cultural Caravan 1993 offers "the tastes, sights and sounds of exotic
lands".  There's lunch and a fashion show from 11 to 2, dinner and an
"international talent showcase" from 5:30 to 8:30.  Admission is free.

HOW MANY GRADS?  After UW's 1993 enrolment figures were circulated (a fuller
version will be in the December 1 Gazette, by the way), someone asked how
many alumni this university has.  One form of answer was posted on uw.general
by Bob Truman of the operations analysis office: "According to the 1992-93 
Student Statistical Information book published by the Undergraduate Registrar 
and the University Graduate Office, UW has granted 80,984 degrees 
(undergraduate and graduate), 228 diplomas, and 220 honourary degrees."

But those 80,000 degrees (plus several thousand more so far in 1993) don't
represent 80,000 different people.  You don't have to look any farther than,
say, Gerry Schneider, associate dean of engineering, to see someone whose
BASc, MASc and PhD are all from Waterloo.  Rosemarie Murray of the alumni
affairs office says the database there includes 78,256 Waterloo alumni,
including those known to have died.

Chris Redmond
Information and Public Affairs
credmond@watserv1    ext. 3004