United Way givings hit $102,314 yesterday

Daily Bulletin

Women's sport 'initiative' launched

The "Women's Sport Initiative", as the campaign will be called, addresses the need for "more equitable funding of women's athletics".

Says athletics director Judy McCrae: "Women's sport is enjoying unprecedented growth and is providing new role models, experiences, and opportunities for young women." She said "close to 2,000 women" have played for UW in Warrior uniforms or, in earlier years, under the Athena name. "With the burgeoning interest in women's athletics at Waterloo, additional resources are necessary to continue to offer quality programming and an exceptional student athletic experience."

The idea of the "Initiative" started with a discussion between McCrae and UW president David Johnston, himself the father of five daughters and a strong proponent of interuniversity athletics. According to Johnston, "the positive experience of being involved in varsity athletics is something that UW strives to make available to all of our students. However, one of our particular challenges remains: women's sport initiatives are in need of more equitable financial support if they are to remain one of the pillars of our athletic tradition."

The athletics department says UW operates 14 women's interuniversity sports, "and more are expected to be added in the future including a women's ice hockey team (sixteen men's sports are offered). Impressive strides have been made in the opportunities that are now available to female athletes, both in our society and at the university level."

Waterloo women's teams have won more Ontario championships (39) than the men's teams combined (35), and approximately 50 per cent of UW's "Academic All-Canadian" candidates are women. "Despite more parity in the number of sports offered and the success of our teams, more needs to be done to close the funding gap in order to create additional opportunities for female athletes and coaches."

The campaign is directed at those 2,000-plus women who have competed in the Waterloo gold and black. Leading the effort are Hall of Fame alumni co-chairs Maura Purdon (volleyball, 1973-1976) and Leanne Dietrich (field hockey, 1990-1995). According to McCrae, "Their leadership and passion for women's sport will be a tremendous asset as the campaign is rolled out."

The short-term goal is a minimum of $50,000 to create a permanent endowment whose annual proceeds will be be used to support a variety of opportunities for athletes and coaches.

A glossy brochure, being sent to potential supporters, includes words from Johnston and McCrae, introduces the campaign co-chairs, shows off a few of the women's teams and trophies, and adds testimonials from two recent Athlete of the Year winners: Amy Adair of the field hockey Warriors and swimmer Val Walker.

Two convocation ceremonies tomorrow

A total of 940 undergraduate and graduate students will receive degrees and diplomas at UW's 81st Convocation in sessions at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. at the Physical Activities Complex.

Among them will be Anne Ellen Wilson of psychology, who will also receive the Alumni Gold Medal as UW's top PhD-level graduate for this year. David Westwood, also of psychology, received his MA last spring and will make a return appearance to be given the gold medal as the top graduate at the master's level for 2000.

Other appearances Donald Knuth continues his Pascal Lecture appearances today, with a "seminar for the math faculty" on "The Joy of Asymptotics" at 2:30 in the Humanities Theatre. Saturday at 7:30 p.m., he performs an organ duet recital (with Jan Overduin) in Benton Street Baptist Church, Kitchener. Olive Dickason will be guest of honour at a reception this afternoon, sponsored by several UW departments and units: anthropology, Canadian studies, history, women's studies, and the dean of arts. The reception runs from 4 to 6 p.m. in the Festival Room, South Campus Hall.

Both will be honoured at the morning convocation -- for graduates from arts and applied health sciences -- and so will Al Evans, of St. Paul's United College, receiving one of UW's Distinguished Teacher Awards.

Also at the 10 a.m. convocation, computer innovator Donald Knuth will be awarded a Doctor of Letters (DLitt) degree for his contributions to art and literature. Knuth, a professor emeritus at Stanford University, is the author of The Art of Computer Programming, and has been on campus this week as the Pascal Lecturer for this year.

The same ceremony will see honorary degrees given to Raymond Breton, a well-known scholar in the area of ethnic relations in Canada, and Olive Patricia Dickason, one of Canada's foremost historians and scholars. Breton, a professor emeritus at the University of Toronto and the W.L.M. King Visiting Professor in Canadian Studies at Harvard University, will receive a Doctor of Letters (DLitt) degree, while Dickason, a professor emeritus at the University of Alberta, will receive a Doctor of Laws (LLD) degree. She will give the convocation address.

Michael Lazaridis, the founder of high-tech company Research In Motion Ltd., will be awarded a Doctor of Engineering (DEng) at the afternoon ceremony. Currently RIM's president and co-chief executive officer, he will deliver the convocation address to graduates in engineering, environmental studies, independent studies, mathematics and science.

At the same ceremony, Phyllis Lambert, a leading Canadian architect and scholar, will be awarded a Doctor of Laws (LLD) degree. Lambert founded the Canadian Centre for Architecture, a museum and study centre.

As well, former UW professor Giacinto Scoles, who was instrumental in establishing UW's strong reputation in chemical physics, will receive a Doctor of Science (DSc) degree. Scoles now is the Donner Professor of Science at Princeton University.

For the first time, a UW convocation (both sessions) will be webcast on the Internet.

After convocation, Renison College will hold its own brief ceremonies in the great hall of the Luxton Building, with presentation of Renison certificates and awards, and valedictory addresses by two students, Lindsay Allen and Disa Almeida.

Read more about the federal mini-budget Economic update statement by minister of finance Coverage from National Post, Toronto Star Reaction from university heads, faculty, students

Prize for architecture's Rome program

The award recognizes the program's contribution to internationalizing the educational experience of students. It was presented at a ceremony at the Columbus Centre in Toronto yesterday.

The Rome Program celebrated its 20th anniversary in June of this year with an enormous display of drawings by students and Italian architects at the Galleria in BCE Place in Toronto. The exhibit followed the main themes of the design work of the Waterloo program and provided a record of the changes in architectural thought and style over the past two decades.

Students spend a four-month term studying architectural design and history in one of the richest and most challenging urban environments in the world. To date more than 900 architecture students have participated. The students carry a full course load and visit sites in Rome and elsewhere in Italy.

"The student design projects address problems of wide interest to the local community and specific to the condition of contemporary Rome -- the treatment of archaeological sites, the creation of cultural institutions and the development of new public spaces," said Eric Haldenby, director of the architecture school.

As a result of this intense engagement with the community, the program has become a fixture in the architectural scene in Rome, exhibiting its work each year and supporting active programs of teaching, research and design in collaboration with academic, government and private organizations. The Waterloo Studio, located on the historic Piazza Santa Maria in Trastevere (pictured above), has been called "the most creative centre in Rome" by the director of urban design for the City of Rome.

The program has been recognized as a keystone in the curriculum in architecture at UW, as one of the most successful cultural initiatives linking Italy and Canada, and now as one of the foremost international programs in a Canadian university.

It received the Scotiabank-AUCC award this year in the category of "Broadening the Student Experience". "Universities in Canada have a long tradition of international collaboration," says Peter Godsoe, chairman and CEO of Scotiabank. "We at Scotiabank strongly support this internationalization effort, and we commend all those who participated in this year's awards program."

Other winners were the and University of Victoria's "International Experience" emphasis of the faculty of business, the University of Toronto's Munk Centre for International Studies at Trinity College, and the Environmental Education Project in the Amazon sponsored by the Université du Québec à Montréal.

The individuals responsible for the winning initiatives will be invited to present their work at a conference in Montréal beginning October 30.

UW-based Christian band is honoured

The nominations are the latest in a string of honours for the band, says one of its members, David Wang of the electrical and computer engineering department. The UCMVA awards ceremony will take place November 18 in Washington.

Last Saturday the band won "best rock album" honours at the 22nd Annual Canadian Gospel Music Association Covenant Awards for its new album, "Completely". The new album was produced by Gemini Award nominee Andrew Horrocks, and can be heard on the web. The song "Humility" on the album was also a finalist in the "best rock song" category.

Although the band (pictured at left) has garnered other honours in the past, including nominations at the 20th Annual Canadian Gospel Music Association Covenant Awards and a number one song on the Spiritual Rock charts on mp3.com, the band members consider this a very special honour. "This award is selected by a panel of judges which include some of the top names in the Canadian music industry. For our album, which was only released a month ago, to win was beyond our wildest expectations," says Wang.

"Critical Mass" has eight members: Eric Kubica (professor in systems design engineering), Tim Devine (UW philosophy graduate), Matt Devine (English grad), Tom Pawelko (electrical engineering), Jodie Wang, Sharon Pawelko, Matt Bierschbach, and Wang.

Science open house for kids; and more

Also happening today and on the weekend:

Jerry Lawless of the statistics and actuarial science department will speak at 2:30 (Math and Computer room 5158) on "Survival and Event History Analysis for Data from Longitudinal Surveys". The event is co-sponsored by the stats department and the Survey Research Centre.

A "TeleLearning Research Roundtable" is scheduled for 2:00 in Dana Porter Library room 329, sponsored by the LT3 Centre. Michael Leung will give a presentation on "Exploring the Middle Ground Between Passive and Proactive Task Support".

Igal Kvart of the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, will speak at 3:30 in the philosophy colloquium series (Humanities room 373). Title of his talk: "Causation".

The Kiwanis Travel and Adventure Series gets going for the season with a presentation tonight at 8:00 in the Humanities Theatre: "Jordan -- More Stories from the Holy Land" by Sandy Mortimer. Single admission is $6, children $3.50.

A new "Poets' Salon" promises "casual intellectual discussion in a cozy environment", namely the POETS pub-lounge in Carl Pollock Hall. "Students, staff and faculty from across campus are invited" to this new "intellectual forum" on Sunday evenings, says Alex Matan, arts director for the Engineering Society. Things run from 7:30 to 10 p.m.

Sports this weekend: Lots. The hockey Warriors host Brock tonight at 7:30 at the Icefield, then play tomorrow at Ryerson. The soccer teams host Western tomorrow at Columbia Field (men 1 p.m., women 3 p.m.). The women's rugby team hosts Queen's tomorrow afternoon (1:00) in the league semi-finals. Otherwise, the teams are all away from home: football at Guelph tomorrow afternoon, field hockey in a tournament at Toronto, men's rugby at Brock on Sunday afternoon, men's basketball at Western for a tournament, women's basketball at McGill for a tournament, cross-country in the Laurier Open tomorrow (well, that's not very far from home), swimmers at Toronto today, McGill tomorrow and Ottawa on Sunday, tennis in the team championships at WLU, women's volleyball at Queen's for a tournament, and squash in the west sectional tournament at Western.

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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