Johnston and Chakma set town hall meeting

The town hall meeting will take place Tuesday, December 4, at 2:30 in the Humanities Theatre. It was announced in a memo (left) sent across campus yesterday.

Department heads' meeting: Thursday, 4 p.m., South Campus Hall Faculty and staff meeting: December 4, 2:30 p.m., Humanities Theatre

Says the memo: "Given the complexity of university activity and the rate at which changes occur, from time to time it is important to reflect on what we have accomplished and the challenges we face."

President David Johnston and provost Amit Chakma say, "We will give you an environmental scan of what universities in Ontario are facing as well as specific challenges, including funding, enrolment, and the upcoming capital campaign, which Waterloo needs to address. There will be ample opportunity for questions and answers.

"Our faculty and staff provide the foundation on which UW's excellent reputation is built. We look forward to this meeting as an occasion to express our gratitude and admiration for the effort and support your provide. We know, because of your excellence and dedication, we can chart a course for UW that will make a great institution greater.

"We look forward to seeing you on December 4."

About the exam schedule Charlene Schumm of the registrar's office says she wants to send her apologies "for the time it has taken to publish a final exam schedule for the fall term. Getting the schedule posted is our highest priority in Scheduling and we're hoping to have the final version by the end of this week. "The Registrar's Office is in the process of implementing new exam scheduling software. Unlike the fixed exam scheduling systems that are used at many other universities, the University of Waterloo uses a student-driven system that schedules exams according to the availability of the students with regard to the multiple exams one student may need to write. In order to accomplish this, Scheduling must wait to proceed with exam scheduling until after the drop/add period to have an accurate student list for each course. "Among other things, the new software has provided us with a better means of spreading exams over the entire exam period which will allow us to avoid the "bunching" of exams that has taken place in the past."

Health institutes' president visits

Hirdes was appointed as liaison last summer to provide "an early heads-up on new CIHR initiatives", as well as giving feedback from Waterloo faculty members to CIHR through a telephone "focus group" of delegates from universities across the country.

Officially launched in June 2000 with 13 research institutes, CIHR has a budget of $477 million for 2001-2002. Hirdes believes more UW faculty could be tapping into that support.

"UW has been underrepresented in terms of grants submitted and funding received compared with other peer universities," he says. "The shortcoming at UW has not been absence of expertise." And, he adds, while infrastructure could always be improved, "it's not dramatically hurting us." However, "CIHR is interested in multi-disciplinary research. We have to be able to think outside the discipline and communicate well with people from other disciplines."

"CIHR has a strong interest in commercialization of health research," he adds, envisioning how "experience at UW in generating spin-off companies . . . can translate to health-related research."

So far this year, UW has received 10 operating grants totalling $614,958 from CIHR for work by 11 researchers. That represents less than one per cent of the CIHR grants and awards budget for this fiscal year, making the university eligible for a one-time development grant of $100,000 aimed at building the health research capacity on campus.

To help foster interdisciplinary links for that research, the office of research is currently compiling a research registry with brief descriptions of faculty involved in health research. "We do have the expertise to be a much stronger presence," Hirdes says.

During his UW visit, Bernstein, himself a world-renowned geneticist, will hold an interactive session for UW health researchers from 10:30 a.m. to noon tomorrow in Needles Hall room 3001. While here, Bernstein also will meet with UW president David Johnston, UW vice-president, university research, Paul Guild, and deans of the faculties. In the afternoon, he will visit Wilfrid Laurier University.

"We welcome Dr. Bernstein's visit because it gives us an opportunity to showcase our strengths in, and multidisciplinary approach to, health-related research," Guild said.

Bernstein has said in previous addresses that we are in the midst of a profound revolution in health research sparked by our emerging understanding of the molecular basis of human biology and disease. As a result, the health care system will be radically altered -- rational diagnosis, individualized treatment decisions and prevention strategies will replace empirical and symptom-based diagnoses and treatment.

The agency he heads was established in June 2000 to fund research aimed at improving health for Canadians, providing more effective health services and products, as well as strengthening the health care system.

CIHR promotes a multi-disciplinary approach to health research. It is organized through a framework of 13 "virtual" institutes -- each one dedicated to a specific area of focus, linking and supporting researchers pursuing common goals. The 13 CIHR institutes specialize in Aboriginal Peoples' Health; Cancer Research; Circulatory and Respiratory Health; Gender and Health; Genetics; Health Services and Policy Research; Healthy Aging; Human Development, Child and Youth Health; Infection and Immunity; Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis; Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction; Nutrition, Metabolism and Diabetes; Population and Public Health.

Film society picks Korean flicks

In recent years, South Korean cinema, like Chinese and Iranian film productions, has been the centre of an amazing creative ferment. However, only a few of the South Korean successes filtered into North American cinemas.

This November, the Fine Arts Film Society is starting its twelfth season of film screenings, discussions, and other events. The Film Society is open to all film enthusiasts, inside and outside the UW campus. The Film Society is committed to bringing to the K-W area exceptional and non-mainstream films from international production. Many of the films we present have never been shown commercially in Canada. We have been working through cultural exchanges with other countries. Film Society screenings will take place at the University of Waterloo's East Campus Hall 1220 auditorium, which seats 40 people in comfortable theatrical chairs and offers good projection and viewing facilities. Also, selected showings are planned at the Princess Cinema.

Anybody can become a Film Society member. Members are eligible for an unusually low admission of $3.00 per person. The membership is valid for all Film Society programs and events for one calendar year. Princess membership cards are also honoured. Non-members are welcome (the non-member admission is $5.00 per person). Tickets and Film Society memberships are available at the door. There are other benefits to Film Society members and visitors, such as program sheets and discussion opportunities.

Since its debut in January 1988, the Film Society has shown over 300 feature and short films, including an István Szabó Retrospective (with the Academy Award-winning film director in attendance). The Film Society has featured German, French, Romanian, Cuban, Russian, British, Bulgarian, Polish, Korean, Belgian, Turkish, Chinese, Australian, Taiwanese and Czech films.

Printed programs will be available at the University of Waterloo campus, the Princess Cinema, Aroma Café, Wordsworth Books, K-W Book Exchange, and a few other locations in the K-W Area.

Events on Hallowe'en and after

Under the sign of the jack-o'-lantern, there will be a Hallowe'en lunch today at Brubakers in the Student Life Centre, and Hallowe'en dinner at the cafeterias in both Village I and Ron Eydt Village.

And tonight I suppose every place that can have a party will be having one. Certainly the Graduate House will (DJ, games and munchies, starting at 9:00, with a prize for the best costume). "Let's scare some kids this night," chimes in Rosie Pareja, vice-president (internal) of the Engineering Society. "We are turning POETS into a haunted house."

The connection is irresistible: look to the Student Life Centre for seasonal vampires, as the week-long blood donor clinic continues there, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. And flu shots are available in the SLC as well, 10:00 to 5:00.

And also in the SLC, Students for Life will hold a Hallowe'en bake sale from 11:00 to 2:00. "Goodies will sell for as low as 25 cents," I'm told, "and proceeds will go towards our distinguished speaker event for the term." (The speaker is Adrian Dieleman, who survived a road accident that left him a quadriplegic, and who will speak on November 13 about "his tragic past and his tremendous love of life".)

Co-op students will know that today is the last day of interviews in the regular series for winter term jobs. Ranking forms will be available Tuesday.

Today's the day for the traditional chili lunch in the arts faculty, in support of the United Way campaign. Food will be served starting at 12 noon in Humanities room 373 -- price $4 for chili, bread, drink and a cookie. At the same time, tickets in the arts 50-50 draw will be for sale. Today is the day the United Way campaign on campus is scheduled to wind up, but there's still a little way to go: as of last night, $142,972 had been received towards the $150,000 goal. While the bulk of the money is from faculty, staff and retirees' gifts, some certainly comes from these special events.

The Orchid Ensemble will perform ("traditional Chinese music, classical and folk styles") at 12:30 today in the chapel at Conrad Grebel University College. Admission is free.

The biology department, and more specifically the Great Lakes Research Consortium, presents a talk at 12:30 by Helen Domske of the University at Buffalo. She'll give (Biology I room 370) "An Update on Aquatic Species in the Great Lakes".

At 4 p.m., the InfraNet Project presents Jan Steiner of Park City Solutions, speaking on "An Informationally (and Maybe Functionally) Impaired Health System", in Davis Centre room 1302. "Given the reality of informational impairment," an abstract says, "Dr. Steiner will describe how health system professionals function, the use they make of systems, and how successful their workarounds are."

Muslim Students for Universal Justice present a forum tonight on "Poverty: The Causes, Effects and Solutions". Speakers include Judy Greenwood-Spears of the Ontario Green Party, plus, MSUJ is hoping, somebody from the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty. The event runs from 6 to 9 p.m. in Biology I room 271.

The volleyball Warriors, male variety, will host Guelph's Gryphons at 8:00 this evening in the PAC main gym.

Somewhere, some time today, the Ontario cabinet is meeting, and is expected to make a decision on whether to authorize $13 million of SuperBuild funding to help get UW's north campus "research and technology park" under way. Municipal funding has already been promised, and a decision about matching funds at the federal level are still to come. "If this thing were easy, it would be done," president David Johnston told UW's board of governors last night.

Note for tomorrow: in the "Arts Talks Back" lecture series, Anne Zeller of the anthropology department will speak on her primate research (3:30, Humanities room 373).

CAR