Towards a school of CS

The proposed change was approved without opposition at a meeting of the mathematics faculty council on November 20, says a report to senate from the dean of math, Alan George.

Says a "rationale" provided in George's report: "Computer Science as a discipline has evolved substantially since the formation of the Faculty of Mathematics, with a far broader scope and much deeper coverage than was imagined decades ago.

"As demand for leadership and for support in computing has become more widespread, many internal and external expectations and obligations fall onto academic Computer Science units. In response, many North American universities have formed Schools and Faculties of Computer Science, thus raising the visibility of their activities in computing. At

School of accountancy School of architecture School of optometry School of planning

Waterloo, the term 'School' is used to distinguish units within the Faculties of Arts, Science, and Environmental Studies that have professional accreditation. To many people outside our university, the term 'School' also brings to mind a unit that is larger than a 'Department.'

"Becoming a School within the Faculty of Mathematics will raise the external visibility of Computer Science (to industry and government, and to academic units within other universities). It is hoped that the name change will signify to possible sources of external funds and to potential students that Waterloo is undertaking new initiatives in graduate studies and research.

"The change in name highlights that Computer Science has formal collaborations with several other units outside the Faculty, that its programs are designed to be professionally accredited, and that it promotes external relationships with industry. The size of Computer Science as an academic unit means that each of these activities is done on a large scale, with considerable resources, and on a continual basis, and that the School may govern itself internally in some ways in which other departments might not."

Until 1975, what's now the CS department was the "department of applied analysis and computer science".

This month's senate meeting is scheduled for the afternoon of December 17. The December meeting is sometimes cancelled, but the senate executive committee, which met Monday, decided the full meeting should go ahead.

St. Paul's College sets some goals

He told a recent meeting of Waterloo Presbytery, the United Church of Canada governing body for this part of Ontario, that St. Paul's enjoys the "active, ongoing tradition" that comes from its church roots. He traced them back to John Wesley, founder of the United Church's Methodist forerunner, who founded a school as early as 1740.

"In doing so," said Brown, "his vision for education reflected a strong critique of the education that prevailed in his day which, as he saw it, divorced knowledge from love. In his view, education was necessary to understand on the one hand how the world had fallen -- was so much less than God meant it to be -- and on the other hand, necessary to regain -- at least glimpse again -- that original perfection of the created order."

He noted that St. Paul's is one of six United Church colleges in Canada and one of more than 700 members of the International Association of Methodist-Related Schools, Colleges and Universities in more than 65 countries.

"Today," the principal said, "all universities and colleges are changing to meet nearly unprecedented challenges. Two of these are major increased enrolment demand and the effects of 10 years of significantly reduced government operating funding. The impact has caused universities to re-think their mission and how they carry it out. St. Paul's is no different. We have just completed a major renewal of our vision for the next 10 years." He listed some highlights:

• "St. Paul's will become a global village of learners here on the campus of the University of Waterloo. Students learn much from each other. A residential college with a diverse student body from across the country and around the world will enrich the learning environment and help educate the global citizen of tomorrow."
• "St. Paul's will provide shelter and community for those most in need of it. Right now Waterloo housing policy places a lower priority on the needs of graduate students than on first-year undergraduates. Many graduates have dependents and are from other countries. It is part of our vision to help meet their need."
• "St. Paul's will strive to combine learning with love of neighbour. A new academic program for the University of Waterloo that educates young people and others in the public values and professional skills necessary for leadership in the voluntary sector of our economy."
• "St. Paul's will review our role as a Christian college at the University of Waterloo. The Board has agreed to renew its understanding of St. Paul's as both a Christian college and a liberal arts college founded upon the highest commitment to the application of reason in the search for and preservation of truth."
• "St. Paul's will help build a talent trust for church and society. Begin a trust fund to provide prestigious university scholarships to young people who show a talent for leadership in society or church."

Remembering December 6, 1989 Today is the 12th anniversary of the so-called "Montréal Massacre", in which a gunman killed fourteen women at École Polytechnique before committing suicide. "This year our remembrance of the fourteen young women is all the more poignant," says Vera Golini, UW's director of women's studies, "because the terror and carnage of September 11, 2001, are also painfully alive in our hearts and collective consciousness." In an article prepared for the Bulletin of the Canadian Association of University Teachers, Golini notes that there has been a "continual climb" in women's enrolment in engineering programs in Canada over the years since 1989. "Engineering has changed since 1989, and the present initiatives are designed to further accelerate the expansion in opportunities for women." But that doesn't change the pain of the memories from that day twelve years ago. I'm not aware of any memorial service to be held at UW today, although there will be commemorative events many places across Canada.

Seminar today about air quality

"This event will outline recent advances in environmental protection through the use of risk management methods to ensure that the risks of air pollution are accurately estimated and that effective controls to improve our health are put in place," said professor emeritus John Shortreed, who is a member of UW's Institute for Risk Research. "We also want to ensure that most importantly, there is transparency in the decision-making process."

Shortreed said recent developments in standard frameworks for risk management will be explored by a cross-section of government, industry, university researchers and public interest groups. "We will examine how to foster a common understanding of available Risk Management Frameworks and how these concepts are being applied in leading jurisdictions around the world."

Speakers at the seminar, who come from academic, government and non-government organizations, are keen about using risk management concepts in setting priorities for protecting the public interest, safety and the environment, including the positive impact of the economy on population health. Among the speakers will be UW graduate Ken Ogilvie, executive director of Pollution Probe, who will be talking about the role of the precautionary principle in addressing air pollution issues.

The main goal of NERAM is to integrate the scientific knowledge and expertise that exists across many diverse disciplines in Canada, thereby providing a comprehensive approach to environmental risk assessment and risk management.

And a little of this and that

And it's exam season: fall term exams start today, with such biggies as Biology 130 and Math 137. Exams continue through December 20.

So this is what acting deans do when they finish acting: Mary Thompson, who was dean of math for the first seven-twelfths of this year and who's now on sabbatical leave, will give a talk today, "An Introduction to Statistical Analysis with SUDAAN". She'll speak at 3:30 in Math and Computer building room 5158, as a preview of the opening celebrations for the Southwestern Ontario Research Data Centre, set for tomorrow.

The Korean film series, which has run for the last several weeks thanks to the fine arts film society, comes to an end tonight with "Spring in My Hometown" (a 1998 tale about two 13-year-old boys during the Korean War). The showing starts at 7 p.m. in East Campus Hall room 1220.

Memo from the co-op education and career services department: as of today, "CECS will change students' co-op record to indicate 'On Own, Self-Imposed' if they were not employed as of the beginning of the continuous interview phase, have not completed and submitted to CECS their continuous phase registration form, and have not informed CECS that they have found employment for the January-April 2002 work term."

For those celebrating one holiday or another, the University Club will be offering its traditional lunch buffet December 10 through 21, 11:30 to 2:00 each day. The price is $13.95 per person, for roast turkey, pork loin, salmon, and all the things that go with them, down to Christmas pudding with rum sauce. Reservations: ext. 3801. (The Club is also offering a dinner buffet on December 12 and 19, 5 to 8 p.m.)

Note for students who are still making adjustments to their winter term courses: Quest, the computerized student information system, will not be available December 24 through January 1, so get your changes made in the next few days.

CAR