THE FACULTY association holds its annual general meeting this afternoon, starting at 2:30 in Math and Computer room 5158. On the agenda, mostly, are reports from the association's committees -- ranging from membership to academic freedom and tenure. News on the membership front: fewer members (down from 593 a year ago to 583 this January), but also fewer professors who aren't members (254, down from 273), so that the association now represents 69.7 per cent of total faculty.
As for academic freedom and tenure -- well, see this morning's Gazette, which includes a report on the cases of two professors who are facing dismissal from UW because of sexual harassment. The AF&T committee will also report to the association on half a dozen other matters, including the continuing saga of Ken Westhues of the sociology department.
Elections of the faculty association's 1995 leaders are to be announced at today's meeting. Taking over as president is Ian Macdonald of the chemical engineering department, the association's long-time salary chair. His election isn't official yet, but it's also no secret, having been openly referred to in the latest issue of the association's newsletter, distributed last week.
HAPPENING TONIGHT: The astronomy group in the physics department holds its monthly open house, or rather open-telescope. The event was announced for 7 p.m., but, as Jennifer Busler of physics advises, "recent observations have noted that the Sun doesn't set until 8 p.m. Would you be so kind as to alert your readers that should they be planning to attend they shouldn't show up (outside Physics 313) until after 8 p.m. if not closer to 8:30."
And back on the ground, the English Language Proficiency Exam will be offered at 7:00 tonight in the Physical Activities Complex. Undergraduate students who haven't yet met their faculty's English proficiency requirement should plan to be there.
SECONDARY school students are visiting campus today -- about 70 of them -- for the ninth annual "enrichment colloquium series" sponsored by the faculty of arts and the Waterloo County board of education. They'll be back on Monday for more. Over the two days, they will hear several UW speakers on the general theme of "Inquiry", including Carmeta Abbott of St. Jerome's College ("The Dance of the Archives"), Geoffrey Fong of psychology ("Why do people fail to do what's good for them?"), Swani Vethamany-Globus of biology ("Limb Regeneration in Salamanders"), and Lynne Taylor of history ("Resistance and Collaboration in World War II").
EXAMS start tomorrow. . . .
Chris Redmond
Information and Public Affairs, University of Waterloo
888-4567 ext. 3004 credmond@watserv1.uwaterloo.ca