Daily Bulletin

Crash closes main entrance University Avenue and the main campus entrance were closed by police this morning after a traffic accident about 8 a.m. at the Seagram Drive intersection. Traffic headed for UW is being rerouted to Columbia Street. Sergeant Wayne Shortt of the UW police says two vehicles were involved in the crash, as well as people who were standing at a bus stop beside the intersection, and "a number of injuries" resulted. Two ambulances have arrived as well as police and a fire truck. Several police officers are at the scene. Shortt was collecting more information when I spoke to him about 8:40.

Honorary degrees for four

William Needles

Needles, a leading member of the Stratford Festival's first acting company in 1953 and top educator in academic theatre, will receive a Doctor of Laws degree at the convocation ceremony for applied health sciences and arts graduates to be held at the morning ceremony in the Physical Activities Complex. He will deliver the convocation address.

Also at that ceremony, Grace Schmidt of the Kitchener Public Library, who has worked for decades on preserving and celebrating the history and culture of Waterloo County, will receive a Doctor of Laws degree.

The afternoon ceremony of UW's 79th Convocation will see honorary degrees awarded to two University of Toronto faculty members: Larry Bourne, geography and planning, and Stephen Cook, computer science.

Bourne, one of the leading geographers in North America, will receive a Doctor of Environmental Studies degree. He'll give the convocation address to graduates in engineering, environmental studies, independent studies and mathematics. At the same ceremony, Cook, a world-renowned theoretical computer scientist, will receive a Doctor of Mathematics degree.

UW has convocations twice a year, in October and in June. Next year's spring convocation ceremonies are scheduled for June 14 through 17.

Thank-yous after orientation

It comes from Catharine Scott, associate provost (human resources and student services), the top administrator responsible for student activities at UW. Along with Heather Fawcett, orientation coordinator for the Federation of Students, Scott also gave a report to UW's senate Monday night on the success of the orientation week earlier this month.

The success of orientation 1999, Scott writes in her Gazette letter, "came from hundreds of students and staff who worked tirelessly to make it happen."

Name for MC proposed Another letter in today's Gazette calls for UW to rename the Math and Computer building in memory of computing pioneer Wes Graham, who died last month. "To honor Wes," writes electrical and computer engineering professor Abe Elmasry, "Waterloo would honor the man, his contributions, his colleagues from both faculty and staff and his students. And above all, UW would offer its gratitude to one of its own who had UW always in his heart."

A major emphasis in her report to senate was on how little beer was drunk during the week. "This year," her letter notes, "the Provost's Advisory Committee on Orientation determined that all events involving alcohol had to be held either on campus or in an establishment at which our own UW catering staff could serve. Our Federation of Students Bar Services and UW Catering staff are all 'Smart Serve' trained and their primary concerns are to make sure that students who are underage are not served alcohol and that alcohol is not over-served to anyone. They, like the rest of us, want Orientation week to be fun and safe for everyone.

"As part of the week, we held the World's Biggest Toga Party (or so we say until proved wrong) on Saturday, September 10. Our best estimate is that this party entertained 4,000 first year students and their upper year leaders. It was an amazing sight to see all those happy, if slightly chilly, Frosh dancing under the stars on the Village Green. It was a party that was special in a lot of ways -- very moderate alcohol consumption, lots of innovative togas using Star Wars and Smartie sheets, good spirits and comradeship, no accidents or injury (other than two band-aid cuts to staff members' hands who were serving drinks) and all Frosh delivered home either on-or off campus by an army of dedicated upper year volunteers."

Scott gives credit to many departments who played a role in orientation, and to Fawcett and her colleagues the Federation. Most of all, she concludes, thanks are due to "the Leaders, all 850 of them, who spend an entire week and part of their summer volunteering so that every new Frosh spends a week of fun and education and feels that Waterloo is the right place for them.

"Their warmth, care and dedication to their Frosh is a wonderful thing to observe. Imagine spending a week making sure that everyone else is having a great time, while you solve problems, deal with homesick Frosh, stay to the end of every party to make sure your Frosh get home safely and get up the next morning full of goodwill, energy and enthusiasm for UW. They make their Deans, Executive and Administrative Assistants, College and University Heads, Residence Directors and Residence Life Advisors and all the rest of the administration proud every day we are privileged to work with them."

Digital hardware program in CS

"The intent of the program is to provide a primary background in the theoretical and software aspects of Computer Science and a secondary background in basic computer hardware and integrated components," the computer science department explained in its proposal for the program change.

The new program replaces the Computer Science with Electrical Engineering Electives (CS/EEE) program, "which has lost focus over the years. The new program has a title that better reflects program content and avoids possible confusion, as occasionally occurred with the CS/EEE title, that the program is a professional engineering program.

"The major change in program content is the elimination of material related to analogue electronics and an increase in material related to digital hardware."

In addition to existing courses offered by both the CS and electrical and computer engineering departments for the CS/EEE option, two new courses have been added to the program requirements: E&CE 324 (Microprocessor Systems and Interfacing), and a course in computer architecture.

Officially, the option should be available next fall, said computer science professor Prabhakar Ragde, associate chair (curricula), but current students may be able to move into the new program before that time.

Ragde cited the "positive feeling we got from this set of negotiations" between the CS and E&CE departments, as boding well for future joint ventures involving the two departments.

With the two departments housed in "different faculties with different cultures" -- CS in the math faculty, and electrical and computer engineering in the engineering faculty -- "the natural tendency is for the departments to keep to themselves. Breaking down interfaculty barriers," said Ragde, "provides more choice and flexibility for students, as they are not restricted to one definition of what an education should be. It's a broadening experience for faculty, as well."

Happening today, just briefly

The fall series of noon hour concerts at Conrad Grebel College begins today. Solon Pierce will pay "American piano music of the 20th century", at 12:30 in the Grebel chapel. Concerts continue every second Wednesday -- saxophone on October 6, sitar on October 20, piano again on November 10 and electroacoustic music on November 24.

Clubs Days continue in the Student Life Centre. And as the university's dozens of clubs launch their fall term activities, the Cercle Français will hold a general meeting today at 3:30 in Modern Languages room 104.

The field hockey Warriors (I almost wrote "Athenas", but the women's sports teams are all Warriors now) will host Guelph's Gryphons at 7:00 tonight on Columbia Field.

Securities head speaks tomorrow

The talk, open to the public, will be given in the Theatre of the Arts at 4 p.m. Following Brown's speech, with the catchy title "Creative Financial Accounting and Reporting Makes Life Difficult for Investors and Regulators", people will have an opportunity to speak with him during a reception at the University Club. (Free tickets for the reception are available in advance from the ASEC office, Humanities room 151A.)

"We chose Mr. Brown as our speaker because he is responsible for regulating the largest securities market in Canada," explains ASEC director Hubert Huang. "Public accountants and auditors play a significant role in the operation of securities markets. With the capital markets so important in business today, accountants and regulators must work together to develop and maintain standards that are useful and relevant."

Brown may pick up on themes he has presented in recent addresses to institutional investors and chartered accountants. He has urged accountants and company audit committees to "work together to stem the erosion of confidence in the preparation and audit of financial statements." Stressing the importance of public trust, he has challenged accountants to ensure they retain "the confidence of the public in the integrity of the public accounting profession."

Brown was appointed OSC chair in April 1998. He has a civil engineering degree and a law degree. Before his OSC appointment, he was a senior corporate law partner of Davies, Ward & Beck for 28 years.

ASEC is a student-run fund that finances projects to maintain the excellence in accounting education at UW through voluntary student contributions to an endowment fund. It provides capital for educational projects for teaching resources and laboratory equipment and to improve student learning facilities. Some of the currently funded services and activities include a tutorial centre, an accounting reference centre, and the ASEC computer lab on the third floor of the Humanities building, which has been expanded this fall to include a total of 15 Pentium computers.

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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