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Monday, July 5, 1999

  • The hazy days of summer
  • In search of a dean of math
  • College names next principal
  • Neuroscience program to begin

The hazy days of summer

It's hot: hot and nasty. The weather prognosticators say it will reach 34 degrees today, with "extreme" UV sunlight readings and such high humidity that there's a "humidex advisory". ("The humidex is a Canadian innovation, first used in 1965" -- now there's something to be proud of.)

Answers to the quiz

We have a winner -- at least, some correct entries are on hand from the quiz on Canadian university trivia that appeared in Friday's Bulletin. I'll be looking over the answers and identifying the winner later today. Meanwhile, now that the deadline is past, here are the names of the 26 institutions called for in the quiz:

A is Manitoba; B is Mount St. Vincent; C is Algoma University College; D is the Memorial University of Newfoundland; E is Trent; F is Simon Fraser;

G is Regina; H is the Technical University of British Columbia; I is Laval; J is Concordia; K is Toronto; L is Winnipeg; M is McGill; N is British Columbia; O is Victoria;

P is Windsor; Q is Nipissing; R is Brock; S is Athabasca; T is Sherbrooke;

U is McMaster; V is the Université de Québec à Montréal; W is St. Francis Xavier; X is Wilfrid Laurier; Y is Université Ste.-Anne; and Z is York.

With this oppressive weather, the heavens welcome various arrivals on campus for "summer" programs, including UW's major day camps. Youngsters from Arts Computer Experience and Engineering Science Quest will be noticeable around campus for the next several weeks.

Also arriving today are part-time students for what remains of UW's "summer session". At one time dozens of courses began at this time every year and ran for six weeks; most of the students were schoolteachers who had qualified in the days when a degree wasn't required. Things have changed, and this year there are only half a dozen "summer" courses, all offered at the church colleges; they're in the fields of social work, religious studies, and peace and conflict studies.

And people keep coming and going at the conference centre in Ron Eydt Village. Now through Friday: some 75 participants in an "MVP Hockey Camp".

Job match results for co-op students will be posted today at 3 p.m. -- that is, the results of the computer process matching students' preferences with employers' choices for fall term jobs. Some will get good news, some not-so-good news; and later this afternoon there are meetings for students without employment, to tell them what comes next. Meetings will be held at 4:30 for AHS, science and ES students (Biology I room 271); at 4:30 for arts, accounting and math students (Physics room 145); at 4:30 for 1B engineering students (Engineering Lecture room 101); and at 5:30 for upper-year engineering students (EL room 101).

Here's some news, forwarded by David Wang in the department of electrical and computer engineering: "The Waterloo Aerial Robotics Group, who departed last week for the Millenial International Aerial Robotics Competition amid little fanfare (the members were too busy working hard on midterms and the helicopter), have come back with another extraordinary performance. They are currently in third place behind University of Berlin and Simon Fraser but won the Best Design Award for the second year running as well as picking up awards for the Best Technical Presentation. More detailed info to follow after the team members recover from the grueling competition. This year saw the team enter two helicopters and a ground vehicle which bodes very well for next year's finals."

Staff and faculty members will have received their Keystone Fund brochures and pledge forms by now, and there's a little problem, says Meredith McGinnis in the development office: "Current and past donors to the Keystone Fund receive a 'Personal Giving History Summary' which summarizes information about gifts and pledges made to UW during the past fiscal year and provides a cumulative giving total since 1980. Unfortunately, any gifts made on May 1, 1998 or final payroll deduction payments made on April 30, 1999 are not included in the total amounts of gifts/pledges from May 1, 1998 to April 30, 1999." She sends apologies to those affected by the miscalculation. Keystone Fund pledges last year totalled $543,653 from active and retired faculty and staff members.

In search of a dean of math

The committee set up to find UW's next dean of math "is now in place and has held its first meeting", says a memo from the provost of the university, Jim Kalbfleisch, who chairs the nominating committees that select deans. The nominating committee is looking for someone to succeed Alan George, the "interim dean" since July 1, 1998.

Advertising of the job will begin in August, the provost's memo says. "The Committee plans to meet again in September. By then the members hope to have identified the important issues facing the Faculty so that the characteristics to be sought in the next Dean can be developed in context.

"The Committee would very much appreciate receiving input on this phase of its work and, accordingly, invites you to make your views known over the summer to any member of the Nominating Committee. Members intend to consult broadly, so don't be surprised if your views are sought out.

"If you prefer to respond in writing, your submission should be directed to John Bullen (Secretariat, Needles Hall; jbullen@secretariat; fax 519-888-6337). However you respond, your comments will be held in confidence within the Committee."

These are the committee members:

The ad that will be appearing in print describes the faculty of mathematics as well as its next dean:

"Consisting of approximately 130 regular faculty members, 40 support staff in five academic departments (Applied Mathematics, Combinatorics & Optimization, Computer Science, Pure Mathematics, Statistics & Actuarial Science) and 20 additional support staff in the Mathematics Faculty Computing Facility, the Faculty offers graduate and undergraduate programs leading to the BMath, MMath, and PhD degrees. Full-time undergraduate enrolment is about 3200, with three-quarters in co-op (alternating work/study) programs; about 40% of the Faculty's 230 full-time graduate students are enrolled in doctoral programs. Enrolment in UW's six Faculties (Applied Health Sciences, Arts, Engineering, Environmental Studies, Mathematics, Science) exceeds 17,000 full-time students.

"The successful candidate will have a proven record of scholarship, teaching and administration in order to qualify for a tenured appointment at the full Professor level. Applications should be accompanied by a current curriculum vitae; an outline of the talents, experience and ideas a candidate would bring to the deanship; and the names and addresses of three referees in a position to comment on a candidate's academic credentials and administrative experience. Nominations are also invited and should include a current CV, where possible.

"Applications and nominations will be treated in confidence" and are due by September 30.

"The initial five-year appointment is expected to begin on July 1, 2000. In accordance with Canadian immigration requirements, this advertisement is directed to Canadian citizens and permanent residents. The University of Waterloo encourages applications from all qualified individuals, including women, members of visible minorities, native peoples and persons with disabilities."

College names next principal

St. Paul's United College has announced the name of the person who will succeed Helga Mills, its principal since the fall of 1994. He is Graham Brown, who has been director of residences at Queen's University for the past nine years.

He will become principal of St. Paul's on September 1, the college's board of governors announced on Friday.

Brown holds degrees from Toronto, Yale and Oxford, and has taught courses in religious ethics and the philosophy of religion in Canada and the United Kingdom. Recently, he edited a publication on theological education in Canada with contributions by an ecumenically diverse group of theologians from across the country.

He serves as a director of Hospice Kingston, and is an active recreational triathlete.

Neuroscience program to begin

The "friendly, supportive atmosphere" that has evolved between faculty in the departments of psychology, kinesiology and health studies and gerontology has spawned a new collaborative graduate program. Subject to approval by the Ontario Council on Graduate Studies, a PhD program in behavioural neuroscience will be offered starting in September 2000.

Researchers in psychomotor behaviour, biohealth, biomechanics, psychomotor behaviour, and clinical psychology will bring their expertise to a field which, "when applied, can help to alleviate some major sources of human suffering that arise from common pathologies of the brain such as head injury, stroke, and neurodegenerative diseases," says a description of the new program offered to UW senate last month.

Senate approved the initiative, which was spearheaded by Barbara Bulman-Fleming of the behavioural neuroscience division in the psychology department. "I'm a great believer in collaboration," she said, pointing to the cooperation among the three departments over the past few years. As a result of the closer ties, "the behavioural neuroscience field in psychology is thriving with the participation of members from outside the department. . . . A lot of scientific problems are best seen from several perspectives," she added.

Behavioural neuroscience can be defined as "the study of the relations between the structure and activity of the brain and its function in generating integrated, adaptive behavioural responses." Among the research interests of faculty pursuing this area of scholarship at UW:

The new PhD program would allow students to enter the program from undergraduate programs in psychology, kinesiology or health studies and gerontology. Normally, said Bulman-Fleming, students would complete a master's degree before beginning doctoral studies.

A new course developed for the program, Fundamentals of Behavioural Neuroscience, will be offered for the first time this fall. The survey course will be team-taught by members of the program as an introduction to "major subareas of ongoing behavioural neuroscience research at Waterloo".

Before completing her term as dean of graduate studies at the end of August, psychology professor Pat Rowe will present the proposal to the Ontario Council on Graduate Studies for approval. Rowe's late husband, Philip Bryden, also a member of the psychology faculty, was involved in the very early planning stages of the collaboration, said Bulman-Fleming. "Phil would have been extremely supportive of this. He would be just beaming."

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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