Daily Bulletin

Statistician named Fellow of RSC

He's among 60 Canadian professors and others raised to the rank of FRSC this year. They will be inducted at a ceremony in Ottawa in November.

"The work and research accomplished by each of these distinguished men and women have had a profound impact on Sciences and Humanities in Canada," says an announcement from William Leiss, president of the Royal Society of Canada. "The Society is proud to welcome them as Fellows, and in so doing to recognize and salute their outstanding contribution to their disciplines."

Lawless joins 45 other professors at UW, active and former, who have been made Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada.

Since its inception 118 years ago, a news release notes, the Royal Society of Canada "has been regarded as a force for the enrichment, interpretation, and strengthening of Canada's intellectual heritage. It differs from most scholarly and scientific societies in that it encompasses a broad range of disciplines -- natural and applied sciences, medicine, social sciences and humanities. Its mandate is the promotion and development of learning and research in the arts and sciences, achieved through the work of its three Academies: the Academy of Science, the Académie des lettres et des sciences humaines, and the Academy of Humanities and Social Sciences."

Lawless (right) lists his research field as "Analysis of lifetime and event history data; reliability; statistical methods for systems and processes; statistical methods and theory. Applied statistics. Special applied interests: epidemiology, manufacturing and service systems, medicine, reliability, risk."

He is a UW product all the way, with bachelor's, master's and PhD degrees from Waterloo; he became a faculty member here in 1972.

First-year seminars in arts

Says the letter from dean Bob Kerton: "The course, which is directed toward students in all Year 1 Arts programs, is a seminar featuring in-depth exploration and discussion of a challenging topic in a small-group setting. While it will appear in the University of Waterloo Undergraduate Calendar for the first time in the 2001-2002 academic year, it is being offered on a pilot basis in the current year. Seven sections of the course (three in Fall Term, four in Winter Term), all on different topics, will be presented. . . .

"Each section of Arts 199, whatever its topic, will emphasize traits crucial to success in University studies -- communication and writing skills, critical reading and critical thinking, and research experience. Enrollment in each section of Arts 199 will be limited to just 20 students, all in Year 1 Arts. You will have the opportunity to get to know your professor and your classmates well, and you will be exposed to the excitement and variety of University scholarship in Arts."

Arts 199 is based on a proposal submitted last year by Betsy Zanna, academic counsellor in arts, based on a study of programs for first-year students at various other universities. In her report, she gives particular attention to the University 101 course at the University of South Carolina and the Freshman Seminar program at Princeton.

Many first-year students, Zanna wrote, "enter university filled with confidence and optimism about their plans and prospects. For some the actual experience is a surprise. Some students have difficulty adjusting to different methods of teaching and learning, to more complex library systems, to facilities available in university."

She suggested that senior professors could offer seminar courses based on their special interests, in which students would give seminar presentations, write a number of short papers, perhaps keep a journal, and in most cases write a major essay at the end of the course. "Hour tests and final exams would not fit the rationale of the seminars because demonstrated mastery of factual material would not be the goal of these courses." The emphasis would be on learning university skills: using computer systems, writing, doing library research, making oral presentations.

Arts 199, according to its formal calendar listing, will "provide a unique opportunity to explore ideas and cutting-edge topics in depth".

The fall sections of the course will be "Cliques, Crowds, and Individuals", taught by Ken Westhues of sociology; "Negotiating Literary Spaces: The Immigrant Experience, Racism, and Ethnic Diversity in Contemporary Canadian Fiction", taught by Brenda Cantar of English; and "Oppression, Liberation, and Theology", taught by Peter Frick of religious studies.

Winter sections will be "Perspectives on Consciousness", taught by Donald Horton of history; "The Atom Bomb: Debates, Dilemmas, and Decisions", taught by Ashok Kapur of political science; "The Job Interview", taught by Pat Rowe of psychology; and "Critical Approaches to Historical Novels and Films", taught by Karin MacHardy of history.

What's happening this week

Dana Porter Library: Monday to Friday 8 a.m. to 2 a.m., Saturday and Sunday 10 a.m. to 2 a.m.
Davis Centre Library: Monday to Friday 8 a.m. to 3 a.m., Saturday and Sunday 10 a.m. to 3 a.m.

In the Ron Eydt Village conference centre over the next few days: a small group visiting UW to receive training in global information systems; some 125 participants in the Hockey Ministries International Christian Athletic Hockey Camps; and starting Wednesday (more on this one later), the 2000 Global Inline Hockey Festival.

Wednesday at noon, several music students will give their end-of-term recitals in a program at the Conrad Grebel College chapel. It begins at 12:30 p.m. and includes piano, saxophone, flute and voice performances; admission is free.

Also Wednesday, the employee assistance program sponsors a talk on "Wills and Power of Attorney", by Kitchener lawyer Barney Lawrence. He'll speak at 12 noon in Davis Centre room 1302.

And later the same day, the Accounting Students Association will hold a job fair in the Student Life Centre, from 3 to 6 p.m. "Many leading companies of the country that are interested in potential Waterloo co-op students and graduating students have been invited," says the ASA's professional development director, Phillip Huang. "While it is primarily targeted at accounting, economics and other business majors, we encourage all UW students to take advantage of it."

On Thursday, music will fill the great hall of the Student Life Centre, as the UW stage band presents "Jazz on a Hot Summer Noon" (and boy, I hope they're right and it's hot by Thursday). The concert is free and starts at 12:00.

Also Thursday, the mature student services office is organizing its summer luncheon for the "mature" (older-than-average) students among us: phone ext. 2429 for information and reservations.

"Communication, Conflict and Reconciliation" is the theme of the 17th International Social Philosophy Conference, to be held Thursday through Saturday at Wilfrid Laurier University. There will be 72 papers presented at the event, which is being co-hosted by Jan Narveson of the UW department of philosophy and James Wong of the department of communications studies at WLU. All sessions will be held in the Science Building, WLU, starting at 3 p.m. Thursday. The public is welcome, at no charge, on an available-space basis. For further information about the conference, contact Narveson at ext. 2780, or jnarveso@watarts, or phone the philosophy department at ext. 2449.

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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