Daily Bulletin

Tuesday, December 2, 1997

Former provost named dean of math

The current dean, Jack Kalbfleisch, ends his second term as dean of math June 30, and a nominating committee has been at work as usual to find his successor. It was chaired by Gary Waller, associate provost (academic and student affairs).

Said Monday's memo from the provost: "Negotiations with the Committee's nominee were unsuccessful, and the Committee has informed the President that it will make no further recommendation. It is now necessary to appoint an interim Dean."

The memo goes on to note that "Under Policy 45, an interim appointment would normally be for at most one year. However, the President and I believe it would not be in the best interests of the Faculty, or the University, to restart the decanal search immediately. There is a need for continuity of leadership during a period of significant opportunity for the Faculty. Therefore, the interim appointment is being made for two years, and a new nominating committee will be formed next Fall."

The provost said that George's appointment was being made "following consultation with the Department Chairs and Associate Deans in the Faculty, and with their strong support".

He gave the usual biographical background:

Alan George received his PhD from Stanford University and joined our Computer Science Department in 1971. He was promoted to full professor in 1977, and served as Dean of the Faculty of Mathematics from 1980-86. Following two years as a Distinguished Scientist at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Tennessee, Alan returned to UW as Vice-President Academic & Provost in 1988, a position he held until 1993. He is well known for his research in large sparse matrices and other areas of Computer Science. Currently, he is coordinating the development of UW information technology projects for the Canada Foundation for Innovation.

The last day of classes

It's not too late to boost your performance, according to Judy Carscadden, psych grad student and exam preparation guru for UW counselling services. A combination of mental and physical training, with emphasis on balance and moderation, is the key to surviving the pressure of exams. The following tips, taken from her exam stress management workshop, can help minimize anxiety and maximize success:

• Develop a realistic schedule that includes time for exercise, eating, relaxation, socializing and sleep -- as well as studying.
• In the final days before the exam, focus on reviewing course content rather than on learning new material.
• Make the time and effort to plan meals and eat well. Try cooking ahead and freezing some for later.
• Achieve balance by scheduling time for exercise and a social life. Lack of exercise leads to a build-up of carbon dioxide in the body. Exercise releases tension, clears out the CO2 and stimulates the production of norepinephrine, a feel-good chemical.
• Giving up social activities to study can make you feel apathetic or burned out. Joining a club, doing a sport and spending time with friends -- in moderation -- can actually help improve marks.
• Get a good night's sleep before the exam. Pulling an all-nighter will result in cloudy thinking and fatigue anxiety.
• Do breakfast.
• Stop reviewing at least a half hour -- preferably an hour or more -- before the exam.
• Avoid arriving at the exam room too early. To kill time and unwind, take a walk or do a relaxation exercise. Steer clear of people who are busy scaring themselves and others by speculating about what is on the exam, what they didn't study, etc.
• If you have trouble focusing on the exam, jot down distracting thoughts and deal with them later.
• Intimidated by multiple-choice exams? Try covering the answers, figuring out what the right answer might be, then go looking for it.
• Have a healthy snack if energy flags.
• Don't forget to breathe.
• Sign up for the exam stress management workshop next term.

And these few other notes

Department heads have been invited to a meeting next Wednesday afternoon, December 10, in Needles Hall. Says a note from provost Jim Kalbfleisch: "There will be reports by the Vice-President Research (on the several new research opportunities), and by the Vice-President University Relations (on post-Campaign Waterloo plans)."

A Christmas concert by the Conrad Grebel Quartet is set for 7 to 9 this evening in the great hall of the Student Life Centre. Admission is free and refreshments will be served, compliments of the arts commission of the Federation of Students.

A power shutoff in parts of the Math and Computer building from 6 to 8 tomorrow morning will also affect some computer systems. The central VM system will be shut down until about 10:00, says Steve Breen of information systems and technology. The problem isn't the computers themselves, for which power will be available, it's the air conditioning. Normally, says Breen, "I can get away with just shutting down the big IBM mainframe (VM, payroll, registrar, etc.)," so Unix systems will continue in operation, absent "major problems".

Lawyers are expected in Quebec Superior Court today representing the McGill University Students Society in its suit against the Québec government over differential tuition fees for out-of-province students. "It's a question of mobility rights," says Tara Newell, president of the McGill student organization. Québec-based students are paying a one-year tuition fee of $1,668 -- that's the lowest rate in Canada -- while students from other provinces are being charged $2,868 this year. The government notes that the $2,868 figure still doesn't exceed the average fee in other Canadian provinces.

CAR

Editor of the Daily Bulletin: Chris Redmond
Information and Public Affairs, University of Waterloo
credmond@uwaterloo.ca -- (519) 888-4567 ext. 3004
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