Daily Bulletin

It's Simon for president

"It was a unanimous decision," says a communique from the nominating committee, which had been expected to take most of this year in a painstaking Canada-wide search. "We're not even doing any interviews," added a committee member who asked to remain nameless. "As soon as we saw this guy's CV, and realized the breadth of his experience, there was no doubt in anybody's mind.

"Besides, if he's used to living under a bridge along Laurel Creek, maybe he'll accept a presidential salary that doesn't break the $100,000 barrier. Every buck helps these days, you know."

In his series of reminiscences about UW's history, Simon has not indicated his age -- beyond hinting that he was already venerable when farmland was turned into the UW campus forty years ago -- or his academic background. He has, however, made clear that neither locked doors nor good taste is much of an impediment to him. Both traits are expected to stand him in good stead in Needles Hall.

Pension premiums could drop again

"We're getting, frankly, to the point where we don't have a quality institution in many areas," Thompson said, warning that it would get much worse if budgets were sliced again. The provost, Jim Kalbfleisch, said a 2.1 per cent cut would be required to balance the 1998-99 budget if nothing else is done.

"There are a lot of questions that remain," said Kalbfleisch as he took committee members through a sketchy outline of the budget. "And the big one is, what are we going to do about the 2.8 million? It's too red a number to take to the board of governors!"

A budget cut or levy would be "unpalatable", the provost said, "having done this five years in a row". He mentioned several other possibilities, some more realistic than others, for bridging the gap between $183.0 million in revenue and $185.8 million in spending:

• Bringing in more first-year students, in parts of the university that could cope with that. A boost of say 300 students (from around 3,700 to 4,000) would mean an extra $1 million in tuition fees.
• "Stretch out the amortization period on the debt," the accumulated $6 million deficit, arising mostly from the early retirements of 1996, that's currently supposed to be paid off at $3 million a year.
• Revenue from the north campus "Watpark" development -- "in the fullness of time", maybe, but not in time to be any use this year.
• An arrangement with a soft drink company, of the kind that has drawn much publicity at McMaster University. The university gives Coke, say, a monopoly, and the company makes a cash payment to the university. "It is really a way to raise money from students," and UW isn't much interested, Kalbfleisch said.

Reducing or eliminating premiums for a time would help to slow the growth of the pension fund, and at the same time would save money from the university's operating budget. As currently scheduled, UW will put about $3.9 million into the fund in 1998-99 (that's half of the $7.8 million that would be its normal contribution). So a saving of the whole $2.8 million deficit is at least possible.

Cutting the university's contribution would also have the effect of reducing the premiums paid by individual staff and faculty members, since by the rules of the pension plan, UW must at least match what individuals pay -- a total of $3 million this year, after the 50 per cent reduction.

The pension and benefits committee is to meet Monday and will be asked to start considering the possibilities.

In other discussions, the committee was told that there's no sign of information from the Ontario government about the distribution of its university grants from next year, meaning that the revenue figures in the draft UW budget are based on assumptions and guesses. There are also no detailed rules about differential tuition fees in "professional" programs. "Realistically," Kalbfleisch said, "the earliest that we would be able to consider differential fees would be for January -- or next May."

A little fifty-mile swim

Some colleagues -- and fellow swimmers -- apparently didn't believe she could do it, but Bell is clearly tough stuff. The result: last Friday, just two months after starting the marathon during her daily lunch-hour swim, she finished.

Co-worker Christine Robson describes the scene:

Dwight Taylor in A-V co-ordinated with Rebecca Boyd in athletics to have Lydia's certificate ready for the Friday lunch hour swim when her final laps were done. Also, Dwight hooked up a sound system to the observation gallery above the pool so that she could be cheered on, or badly embarrassed, by her co-workers. Keith Townsend took photographs of Lydia with her certificate and water bottle prize, as well as in the pool by the edge. We are very proud of her achievement; her supervisor, who was away ill, still brought a congratulations card with him on Monday, and the director, who had supplied gold stars for her tracking sheet in the office, also gave her a prize of a little chime bird house which is hung proudly in the office window.

Nuts to you, and more

"No, this is not an April Fool's joke," insists a note from the CS graduate students' association, which is presenting the talk. Cramer explains: "Are software systems any different from meat cleavers? Nope! The same organization of priorities affects how a person reacts to a software system. The lack of recognition of the 'emotional human' by designers and scientists limits the effectiveness of their efforts."

So he'll talk about Bill Gates's elitism, the money that's wasted on people installing their own software, "the failure subtlety", "why Stussy is vital", Freud and a few other things. The talk starts at 3:30 today in Math and Computer room 5136.

And other events on this damp day:

• The Films for Awareness series continues at Conrad Grebel College with "NFB Bonanza", "Dinner for Two", and "Mother Earth", at 12 noon in Grebel room 156.
• ACE, otherwise known as the Association of Collegiate Entrepreneurs, presents "Business Opportunities on the Internet" at 5:30 tonight in Davis Centre room 1302. (See more about the event, and about ACE, in today's Gazette.)
• An opening reception for "Fabled Garden", an exhibit of artwork by Don MacKay of the fine arts department, starts at 7 tonight in the chapel lounge at Renison College.
• The monthly tour of the UW observatory begins at 8:00 tonight, "regardless of weather", in Physics room 308.

CAR

Editor of the Daily Bulletin: Chris Redmond
Information and Public Affairs, University of Waterloo
credmond@uwaterloo.ca | (519) 888-4567 ext. 3004
| Yesterday's Bulletin
Copyright © 1998 University of Waterloo