Daily Bulletin

Monday, October 27, 1997

How the strike affects UW

They're working this term for boards of education, either in the schools or in education offices. About 50 of them are in UW's three teaching options (mathematics, French, and science) and 35 are from other programs, says Bruce Lumsden, director of co-op education. All are receiving phone calls from their coordinators, with what little advice UW is able to give so far.

He points out that the co-op department issued "strike guidelines" last year for the benefit of co-op students whose jobs, or even personal safety, are threatened by labour disputes. "These guidelines were developed to generally cover all strike situations," Lumsden says. "Obviously circumstances will vary with each situation. That is why we have instructed students to discuss their particular situation with their co-ordinator and their supervisor. This particular situation is quite unique given the size of the protest, the legal aspects of the action, the public sector involved and the complexity of the issues. We have contacted all the students by phone and have advised them to talk with the appropriate people on a regular basis as the situation unfolds."

The guidelines, issued early in 1996, say that

The student should . . . discuss with the employer what the expectations are with respect to crossing a picket line. In many cases alternate arrangements for work can be arranged between the employer and the student. The length and timing of the disruption will determine whether or not credit for the work term can be allowed. Generally speaking, students who have completed eight weeks of a work term experience will be given full credit for the term. If it is clear that the student's work term will be jeopardized by a prolonged strike and the student chooses the leave the job, then the department of Co-operative Education & Career Services will make every effort to find the student another position.

And staff, faculty and students who have children in school are scrambling to find child care, not to mention worrying about how far their kids' education is being set back. (I'd be glad to hear from parents who have found creative solutions to this week's problems, and departments that are making special arrangements for the families of the people who study and work there.)

Two good lines from convocation

Tom Brzustowski, former UW provost, now president of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council: "This is a great time to be graduating from university in Canada."

Arthur Carty, former UW dean of research, now president of the National Research Council: "I predict that by 2010 we will not only have confirmed the existence of primitive life forms elsewhere in our solar system but also have good evidence that we are not the only intelligent beings in the universe."

Board members are wanted

Consistent with the Protocol for the Appointments of External Board Members which was approved by the Board of Governors in April 1994, the Board invites the University community to submit, for consideration, nominations of individuals to serve on the Board. Nominations are to be received in the Secretariat by November 28, 1997 and will be put into a pool for consideration when appointments are made.

Prospectives candidates must be Canadian citizens, experienced in governance at a senior level, with expertise in finance/investment, law, marketing, fund-raising or major construction, and with commitment and knowledge of UW. They must also be able to make the commitment of time necessary to do the job.

Copies of the Protocol for the Appointment of External Board Members, information about the Board of Governors and nomination forms are available from Mary Lou Klopp, University Secretariat, Needles Hall room 3060, University of Waterloo, telephone 885-1511 ext. 6125, fax 888-6337, e-mail mlklopp@provost-admin.uwaterloo.ca.

Interviews spill out of NH

He says the total number of co-op students needing jobs is up by 8 per cent, from 2,896 last year to 3,135 right now, and the number of jobs available is up by 29 per cent, from 2,134 to 2,760.

Says Naese: "At first glance it may appear that we are part of the Canadian economic recovery and that we have received a windfall of co-op jobs. However, the increase in jobs is primarily in the high-tech area. Students not in computer related disciplines still need more jobs. Another situation is the high number of entry-level co-op students. This is always the most difficult group for which to secure employment. So the first challenge will be to locate more jobs for this year's high number of co-op students, especially for the areas in need. To that end CECS's field staff of 34 coordinators will reschedule their time and allot more of it to job hunting."

There's a second problem, he adds -- the sheer number of rooms available for interviews. The department has 70 rooms, counting everybody's offices: "While that may seem like a lot, it is not enough. The last three of the four weeks of employer interviews consume an average of 92 rooms per day." Among other temporary arrangements, the Needles Hall space that was formerly the cashiers' office, now under renovation, "now contains ten temporary interview spaces until the end of October. This, of course has delayed the cashiers from using their spruced-up quarters." Naese adds that during a peak day which saw more than 115 employers on campus, Federation Hall was turned into a satellite area with 20 interview rooms.

Briefly, these other notes

The rugby Warriors, meanwhile, finished their regular season in first place -- "without losing a game, in spite of all the off-the-field distractions", as one team member puts it, referring to the suspension of five players for heavy partying. On the weekend they defeated the Royal Military College 27-0 in a semi-final game, and they'll be hosting the OUA Division Two finals this Saturday at Columbia Fields, playing either Toronto or Carleton.

This Saturday, being November 1, is the deadline for "other grant" applications to the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, biggest single source of research funding at UW. Among those who care deeply: May Yan, UW's director of retail services, who knows that some of that grant money will be used to buy computing equipment, preferably from her Computer Store. She suggests: "Please call Dean Huber, ext. 6544, for submission quotes on IBM or Sun workstation/servers. See the UW Computer Store web-site also."

And . . . as I scraped the ice off my car this morning I concluded that there's probably going to be a winter. It's never to early to remind people that UW has a storm closing procedure, which is available on the Web and which says, in part,

UW will close automatically if the Waterloo County Board of Education closes all its schools for the day. If the school board closes rural schools only, or cancels school buses but does not close schools, UW is not closed.

CAR

October 27, 1967: The Dana Porter Library, open for some two years already, is formally dedicated, and portraits of UW's first two chancellors are unveiled.

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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