Daily Bulletin

Downey will leave in 1999

In a letter to the presidential nominating committee, Downey says his reasons are "almost entirely personal, and are not related either to the way the university has treated me, which has been fairly and supportively, or the process of review now under way, which has been exemplary. The past five years of retrenchment and the difficult decisions that have flowed therefrom have taken their toll on my energies. And while the fiscal forecast is better for the next five years, there are still many streams to ford and rapids to shoot, and I feel it would be better for Waterloo if it had a president with fresh energies to steer it. . . .

"For the university it would mean new leadership at the beginning of what I believe will be a period of rebuilding, especially of our research enterprise. For myself, now 58, it will, God willing, provide time enough to make a meaningful return to teaching and scholarly writing or, perchance, to find another career engagement."

Downey's term as president runs through June 30, 1999. He became president April 15, 1993.

His decision was announced to members of executive council yesterday morning, and then made public by the university secretariat on behalf of the presidential nominating committee that was already at work. The committee, as required under UW Policy 50, began its work by surveying members of the university on whether they would like to see Downey reappointed.

"You may remember," says Downey in his letter, "that I hesitated in the fall before allowing the review process to proceed." The nominating committee now turns to a full-scale national search for a new president.

UW chancellor Val O'Donovan, who heads the nominating committee, issued this statement: "Dr. Downey's decision not to seek a second term as president is firm and must be respected, but it will come as a considerable disappointment to many people in the university, as well as to leaders in higher education both nationally and internationally, who were hoping he would continue to provide leadership. He has led Waterloo with a steady hand through the worst financial period of its history, and has helped to position our university to take advantage of the better times that we believe lie ahead. I have expressed to Dr. Downey my own appreciation for the admirable work he has done and continues to do."

Provenzano will head Federation

Provenzano, who is a Village don with a long record of volunteer activity, said during his campaign that he is committed to "financial stability" for the Federation in its multi-million-dollar business operations, and to "improving the quality and accessibility of our education. . . . I don't have any guaranteed ways of making the administration listen to me, but I think being an open-minded and approachable person would actually require them to pay some attention to the Federation."

He takes office May 1, and will spend the next year representing undergraduate students on the UW senate, the student fee committee, probably the board of governors, and a multitude of other bodies, as well as heading the Federation's activities.

These vice-presidents, also elected yesterday, will join him on the Fed executive:

• VP (administration and finance): Keanin Loomis. who received 510 votes compared to 445 for Jason Hayter, 411 for Steve Lambert and 238 for Peter Jenson.
• VP (education): Robin Stewart, who received 552 votes compared to 539 for Andrew Wilson, 359 for Mick Khazaei and 207 for Jeff Samborski.
• VP (internal): Shelley Flynn, who received 731 votes compared to 424 for Jeff Sommer, 322 for Renzie Gonzales and 174 for Dan Weber.
• VP (student issues): Meredith Owen, who received 958 votes compared to 632 for Jason Risley.

Open house about Macs tomorrow

Issued at the end of January, it replaces an earlier draft that offered an aggressive schedule for getting rid of most Macintosh computers on campus. Now here's the sort of thing it says:

UW is moving towards a more integrated PC-based student computing environment, and towards a more functional and integrated administrative environment also based on PCs. Consequently, UCIST believes that Macintosh computers are no longer a long-term strategic platform in these areas. Strategically, the UW computing infrastructure will emphasize web-based systems and services that are accessible from multiple platforms. . . .

The University recognizes that professors and staff need to choose the most appropriate platform to use for research and for their personal electronic workplaces. . . .

While most of the administrative information systems will incorporate web access eventually, it seems clear that fully functional client software will not be available on the web for all of them in a timely manner. No native Macintosh clients are expected to be available for any of them. . . .

Macintoshes will be supported by IST as long as there is a substantial user community on campus.

Coalition opposes war against Iraq

"End the War Against Iraq" members met Wednesday at the WPIRG office to plan a series of rallies calling for a diplomatic solution to the crisis. An information rally will be held this Saturday, February 14 at 10 a.m. at Speakers Corner in Kitchener. On February 21, a noon rally at Kitchener City Hall will be followed by a march to the office of Kitchener Member of Parliament Karen Redman.

The action will move to UW on February 25, with an educational event in the Student Life Centre great hall, followed by a march to the office of Waterloo MP Andrew Telegdi near Waterloo Town Square.

More information on the group or its activities is available from WPIRG at ext. 4882 or 2578.

Move to the Tutors' Houses

Happening today and tomorrow

The next in the Arriscraft Lecture series in the school of architecture is set for tonight at 7 in the Environmental Studies II green room. Speaker tonight is Esa Laaksonen, editor of the Finnish Architecture Review, speaking on "Experiencing Architecture".

The career development seminar series continues: tomorrow at 12:30, in Davis Centre room 1351, it's "Workplace Safety: Know the Issues".

The teaching resource office will sponsor a workshop tomorrow for teaching assistants, under the title "Assessing Your Students: Issues of Fairness". It starts at 12 noon in Math and Computer room 5158A. Facilitator will be Linda Schmoll of TRACE, who observes that "In most university-level courses, students are assessed by the adequacy of their knowledge, understanding and skills. Although many departments provide grading policies, the evaluation process can still be a challenge for many instructors. Whether you are a TA responsible for an entire course, a lab assistant, or a marker, you may be confronted with issues of fairness in grading. In this workshop, we will view three videotaped critical incidents dealing with expectations, instructor feedback and cheating. We will work in teams to develop some strategies and share our responses so that all can benefit." Preregistration: e-mail to trace@watserv1, or phone ext. 3132.

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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