Daily Bulletin

Lunch marks United Way success

"There is still money coming," adds Chandrika Anjaria of the information systems and technology department (left), who was co-chair of this year's campaign along with Winston Cherry of the department of statistics and actuarial science.

After today's celebration, gifts are still welcome, of course, but will go straight to the downtown offices of the United Way of Kitchener-Waterloo and Area -- the UW share of the campaign is over for 2000.

Today's party for "area coordinators and department reps" in the campaign is being held (starting at 11:45) in Davis Centre room 1301. Anjaria is promising lasagna and "a special cake" for the occasion.

And a final note on the United Way campaign: yes, there was a prize draw for donors, and some thirteen faculty and staff members received various awards. Their names will be appearing in a United Way thank-you ad in next week's Gazette.

Attracting Ontario's top students

The OUAC figures show the number and percentage of first-year students at each university who arrived with high school averages of 80 or better -- what used to be called "Ontario Scholars".

The Ontario Scholarships are no longer given, having been replaced with the "Aiming for the Top" awards for even more elite high school grads. It was announced a few weeks ago that UW had attracted Ontario's highest percentage of Aiming for the Top winners -- 728 students, or 17 per cent of this year's first-year class, with an average high school mark of 90.6. Queen's was second, with 10 per cent of its first-year class receiving the scholarships.

But Queen's is continuing its tradition of coming in ahead of Waterloo, and first in the province, in attracting students with marks over 80. The most recent figure from the OUAC is from September 1999, when 85.4 per cent of first-year students at Queen's were in that category, compared with 74.0 per cent at Waterloo. Toronto was third at 70.4 per cent.

The showing of over-80 students at UW has been declining, from 76.9 per cent in 1996 to 75.2 in 1997, 74.9 in 1998 and now 74.0. In 1996, Queen's was at 88.5 per cent.

Province-wide, a total of 41,518 Ontario high school graduates entered university in the fall of 1999, the OUAC says, and 22,429 of them had marks of 80 or above. That's 54.0 per cent.

And for the other VP The call for nominations for two regular faculty members to the nominating committee for vice-president (academic) and provost closed November 30 at 3:00 p.m., the university secretariat reports. Acclaimed to seats on the committee were Wayne Oldford of statistics and actuarial science and Pat Wainwright of health studies and gerontology.

Search for a VP (university relations)

Says the report: "Aware of the keen competition by organizations for top people in the fund-raising field, the Committee has engaged Janet Wright and Gerri Woodford of Janet Wright and Associates as consultants. Both Dr. Wright and Ms. Woodford have extensive experience and contacts in the field of not-for-profit executive recruitment and were consultants to the committee three years ago when Ian Lithgow was recruited."

Lithgow died in October. James Downey, former president of UW, took on the vice-president's role during Lithgow's illness and is now officially acting vice-president (university relations), while the committee carries on a Canada-wide search.

Its report notes that an ad for the position has now appeared in the Globe and Mail and The Record as well as media on campus. "A detailed position profile is available on the web."

Members of the committee are UW president David Johnston as chair; John Bergsma, chair of the Alumni Council; Bill Bishop, president of the Graduate Student Association; Rob Caldwell, board of governors member and chair of the UW Foundation; Downey, the acting VP; Chris Farley, president of the Federation of Students; Linda Kieswetter, director, individual gifts, in the development office; Geoff McBoyle, dean of environmental studies; and Catharine Scott, associate provost (human resources and student service). Lois Claxton, secretary of the university, is secretary to the committee.

Says the report: "The Committee encourages and welcomes nominations, suggestions and applications which can be directed to the Chair, the Secretary or the consultants."

High schoolers imitate government -- from the UW news bureau

The event, co-sponsored by UW's political science department and the History Heads' Association, has been an annual December event on the Waterloo campus for more than 25 years. This year, 15 delegations from eight regional schools will be involved.

The role of Canada's prime minister will be handled by Sarah Smith of Waterloo Collegiate Institute. Other WCI students will serve as federal ministers, with responsibility to chair meetings of provincial ministers of finance and infrastructure, health, native affairs and environment drawn from other schools in the region. A delegation from Waterloo Collegiate will articulate the views of the First Nations.

Two schools, Waterloo Collegiate and Cameron Heights Collegiate, will produce newspapers during the conference to promote debate and provide information on events over the two days.

One of the eight schools will be the recipient of The Record Federal-Provincial Conference Press award, which will be presented at the conclusion of the event. The John Boulden Award, named in recognition of one of the founders of the simulation, will be presented at the end of the conference to one of the student premiers on the basis of a ballot among all conference participants.

Working sessions will be held in several rooms in the Modern Languages building on Tuesday and Wednesday. The concluding plenary session will be held in the Theatre of the Arts, Modern Languages building, Wednesday from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.

About the EAP seminars I've been asked to pass along an apology from the Employee Assistance Program committee about a noon-hour session that was, sort of, held last Wednesday. Marianne Miller, UW's ombudsperson, was supposed to speak on "Renting to Students: What You Need to Know", and an EAP flyer went out accordingly to staff and faculty members. But hardly anybody returned the reservation form at the bottom, so organizers decided to cancel the talk. "I left messages with those who had preregistered," says Johan Reis of counselling services, chair of the committee. But nobody notified the Daily Bulletin, which announced the event again right up to Wednesday morning -- and some 20 people showed up without reservations. In the end Miller did give an impromptu talk. "Please accept my apologies," says Reis. "To all who have attended our talks this past year, thank you." Another EAP talk is happening tomorrow at noontime: "Fighting Fat After 30", by UW nutritionist Linda Barton. It's scheduled for Math and Computer room 1085. I'm pretty sure this one is going ahead, but anybody who wants to make doubly sure can reach Reis at ext. 5418 to make a reservation. (Barton will speak again next Wednesday, December 13, also at 12 noon but this time in Davis Centre room 1302.)

In the lee of a snow squall warning

A session on "Using Macromedia Flash 5", led by Brad Miller of UW graphics, will be held at 11:00 this morning in the "FLEX lab" of the teaching centre, Dana Porter Library room 329.

Maria Lango of UW's international programs office sends word of a "pre-departure information session" today for students leaving on exchange, study or work in other countries in the winter term "or beyond". Says Lango: "This session is compulsory to all students unless they are away from the university on a work term this fall." The session is being held in Davis Centre room 1302 from 2 to 4 p.m., followed by a social gathering in the lounge next door with pizza and a chance to talk to exchange students now at UW from other countries.

The University Catholic Community will hold a "Christmas Reconciliation Service" starting at 7:30 tonight in Siegfried Hall, St. Jerome's University. "This will be a chance," says a note from the UCC, "to prepare for Christmas by examining our lives and hearts as a community. There will be an opportunity for individuals to receive the sacrament of reconciliation after a communal prayer service." Worship at the UCC continues through the holidays, including Mass on Christmas Eve at 7 p.m. and midnight.

The computer science department is holding its holiday party starting at 5:30 tonight in the multipurpose room of the Student Life Centre.

Tomorrow (Wednesday):

• The monthly sale of surplus UW property, at central stores in East Campus Hall (off Phillip Street), from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
• The annual noon-hour concert in the Davis Centre great hall, presented (starting at 12:15) by the UW Choir, Chamber Choir and Chapel Choir, with carol sing-along.
• The faculty association fall general meeting, in Math and Computer room 4021. The starting time has been moved from 2:30 p.m. to 2:00, the FAUW office says.
• A memorial service recalling the "Montréal Massacre" of 1989, at 5:30 p.m. in Siegfried Hall, St. Jerome's University.
• The English Language Proficiency Exam at 7 p.m. in the Physical Activities Complex, for students who have yet to satisfy their faculty's English requirement.

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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