Daily Bulletin, Thursday, March 10

FINANCE COMMITTEE:  A sort of draft budget for UW for 1994-95 was
presented to the senate finance committee yesterday, but it's so full of
question marks about both income and expenditures that it doesn't give
much to go on. It does have some fascinating facts. For instance, it would
cost $407,000 to eliminate one of the unpaid days staff and faculty
members are expecting to take. And, parking is a possible source of new
revenue for the operating budget (at present parking just breaks even).
And, the government grant, this year $126.2 million, is going to go down
by $3.1 million and maybe more.

The finance committee spent most of its time looking at details of UW's
current spending as requested by members at the previous meeting.  For 
example:  The "tuition benefit" for faculty and staff members and their 
dependents costs about $405,000 this year -- one-quarter of it covering 
courses taken by staff and faculty themselves, three-quarters of it for 
courses taken by dependents.  Also for example: "administrative stipends" to 
deans, department chairs, and associate deans and chairs total $563,000.

The committee was also told that the voice mail system recently introduced
at UW cost $105,489, which was paid by the telephone services department
and is allowing that department to cut its budget for part-time staff, not
to mention saving all the other departments money on direct lines and
answering machines.

(By the way, on this date in 1876, Alexander Graham Bell completed his
first working telephone, and made that famous cry over the wires into the
next room: "Mr. Watson, come here, I want you!"  And a voice came back
to him: "Meridian Mail . . . Mr. Watson is on the phone. . . .")

STAFF MEMBERS are invited to watch John Cleese -- yes, the Monty Python, 
Fawlty Towers fellow -- at noontime today, as part of the staff training 
and development Brown Bag Lunch Series.  To be shown is one of a series of 
videos made by Cleese on organizational issues; this one is on "Presentation 
Skills".  Bring your lunch to Davis Centre 1302, from 12 noon to 1:00.  
Refreshments will be provided, says Katrina Maugham of human resources.

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S WEEK continues, tonight with a panel discussion by 
"feminist professors" (that's all the information provided to us) at 7 p.m. 
in Needles Hall 3001.  Tomorrow, a breast cancer information workshop at
12:30 (Davis Centre 1301), and "Womyn on the Verge", described as "a night
of womyn's entertainment", in Humanities room 180.

A major event today is the "Dialogue on Gender Relations" sponsored by the
science faculty.  The star visitor is Sheila Tobias, a Tucson-based
researcher and expert in math and technology teaching, the author of
Overcoming Math Anxiety and other such books.  Her main talk is at 3 p.m.
in the Theatre of the Arts; there will be a separate presentation, specifically
for undergraduate students in science, at 5:30 in Biology 1 room 271.  The
dean of science office is sponsoring this second annual "dialogue".

TOM HARPUR, well-known writer on religion, speaks at 7 tonight (in the
great hall of Conrad Grebel College) about his new book, The Uncommon
Touch: An Investigation of Spiritual Healing.

WELFARE REFORM:  Reform of the social welfare system is the topic of a
one-day conference at Renison College tomorrow.  About 150 people are
expected for the event, one of four regional conferences being held on
social security reform issues.  The federal minister of human resources,
Tom Axworthy, had been announced as the keynote speaker, but he can't make
it.  Taking his place at 9 a.m. tomorrow will be Lorna Marsden, president
of Wilfrid Laurier University, recently named as a member of Axworthy's
task force to develop an action plan for reform.

Chris Redmond
Information and Public Affairs, University of Waterloo
888-4567 ext. 3004      credmond@watserv1.uwaterloo.ca