Daily Bulletin

Big money in design contest

A total of $20,000 in prize money is offered. The Record said students "will compete to design a public open space, connecting pedestrian and cycling links as part of the redevelopment of the Waterloo-owned property around Waterloo Town Square." An emphasis of the project is connecting downtown ("Uptown") more closely to the UW and Wilfrid Laurier University campuses.

The newspaper quoted Rick Haldenby, director of the UW school of architecture: "I'm not aware of anything that works quite like this -- where the students are being invited to directly contribute to the discussion of the future of a city." He said the "Waterloo City Centre Public Space Ideas Competition" will attract national and international attention.

First Gulf is working on site plans for redevelopment of Waterloo Town Square, the elderly shopping centre facing King Street, and the former Seagram distillery site just to the west of it. The firm's plans will be unveiled at a public meeting May 10 at the Waterloo Recreation Complex beginning at 5 p.m., with formal presentations at 7 p.m.

The competition is being credited to the Record's managing editor, Don McCurdy, who has lived in Waterloo for much of his life. "It's a real opportunity for the public to get involved," McCurdy said, adding that development of both properties is "critical" to the future of the city.

The newspaper said entries in the student contest will be judged by design professionals, students, First Gulf and representatives of the Uptown Vision Committee, the Business Improvement Area, the city and the Record. Readers of the paper will be able to vote for the design they like best, and a special prize will be awarded.

First Gulf may use the winning student proposals in its eventual design, development manager Mark Kindrachuk said. "Obviously, we want to look at it and we are looking forward to the exciting and refreshing ideas," he said.

It's important that the development links the universities to the city's core, Kindrachuk said. And Waterloo mayor Joan McKinnon called it a "golden opportunity" for students to help design the people places in the city's core area and the connections to the Laurel Trail, which lead to UW and Wilfrid Laurier University.

Chemistry conference opens

According to Heather Lord, laboratory manager and coordinator of the symposium, speakers and participants from around the globe will be converging on the Davis Centre "to discuss the latest advances in sample preparation for chemical analysis in fields as diverse as forensics and biomedicals, environmental monitoring, flavour, fragrance and food chemistry. Vendors of instruments and supplies in these fields will also be on hand in the Davis Centre Lounge.

"The displays in the Davis Centre Lounge will be open to interested members of the university community on all three days, and registration will be available on-site for last minute symposia attendees. The final program shows the titles of the over 30 talks to be presented, she said. Full information is available on the web.

Today and the days ahead

The chemical engineering department presents a seminar today: Sieghard Wanke of the University of Alberta will speak on "Ethylene Polymerization with Morphology-Controlled Supported Ziegler-Natta Catalysts", a title which I regret to say I don't understand very well. Time: 3:30. Place: room 2517 of the Doug Wright Building, a.k.a. Engineering I.

On Wednesday, the Employee Assistance Program offers an afternoon-long workshop on "Beyond Willpower: Enhancing Your Personal Well-Being Through Self-Change", a title which I think I do understand, even if I'm not too good at carrying it out. Time: 1:00 to 4:30. Place: Math and Computer room 4020. Preregister: Johan Reis of health services, ext. 4830.

The conference season is about to begin at the Ron Eydt Village conference centre. The first arrivals will be participants in the Education Program for Software Professionals, coming in tomorrow and staying through early June. The biggest events are the annual Women Alive conference, next weekend, and a church youth convention scheduled for May 7-8, each with about 1,000 participants. (And happening this Thursday and Friday: a two-day Warrior football camp.)

St. Paul's United College holds its annual fund-raising dinner and auction this Saturday night. The theme this year is "That's Entertainment Too", with a number of entertainment packages being among the items that diners can bid on. David MacKenzie, a St. Paul's alumnus and co-inventor of the game Trivial Pursuit, will be auctioneer again this year. Tickets for the dinner are $50 from the St. Paul's office, 885-1460.

The Friends of the Library will hold their annual Authors Event at noontime on May 12, honouring people on campus who have produced books in the past year, and presenting a talk in the Theatre of the Arts by one of the university's many creative people. The speaker this year is to be Leonard Enns of Conrad Grebel College, who says he will talk on "Exploring a Composer's Wardrobe".

Before you know it, this university is going to have a new president. On the last evening of his six years in office, Monday, May 31, James Downey is to be honoured with a by-invitation dinner at the Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery in downtown Waterloo. Paul Mitchell, chair of the board of governors, is the official host.

Spring convocation ceremonies will be held June 16 through 19.

The tenth annual Matthews Golf Classic is scheduled for Monday, June 21, at the Grand Valley Golf Course in Cambridge. For more information: Jan Willwerth in information systems and technology, jan@ist, phone ext. 2376.

Staff named to committees

Staff grievance committee: Marion Reid, management sciences; Jan Willwerth, IST.

Joint health and safety committee: Cathy Jardine, graduate studies office; Paula-Ann Zahra, graphic services.

Personal safety advisory committee: Luanne McGinley, religious studies.

Advisory committee on traffic and parking: Grace Schaefer, registrar's office.

Staff relations committee: Iris Strickler, graphic services.

Staff training and development committee: Gail Chopiak, Jewish studies (faculty of arts); Bob Hicks, IST.

Staff association finance review committee: Ed Spike, electrical and computer engineering.

Pension and benefits committee: Marius van Reenen, mechanical engineering.

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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