![[University of Waterloo]](/goldbar.gif)
| Yesterday |
Wednesday, September 4, 2002
|
Editor: Chris Redmond credmond@uwaterloo.ca |
The power is in the hard hat -- but so is the water, as engineering students found out yesterday, the damp way. |
Scheduled ELPE times are 12 noon for students in math, environmental studies and applied health sciences; 2 p.m. for engineering; 4 p.m. for science and arts.
"For most students writing this exam," says Ann Barrett, manager of the English proficiency program, "it will be their first experience with exam writing at UW; for some others it will be their last, as they need this requirement to graduate in October. But we don't recommend leaving this exam to the last, as in the past we have had fourth year students who have failed our simple test of written English!"
The exam this year has some changes, Barrett says. "We're in the same place (the PAC), but the exam is moved to Wednesday from Friday and there are only three sessions instead of four. The change in day is to accommodate our marking deadline. This year we will mark about 3,000 papers -- a Herculean task, but our team of dedicated markers is ready for the challenge."
And she goes on: "Students can look forward to a variety of interesting and thoughtful topics. Gone are the days of such topics as 'All that glitters is not gold' and 'Don't worry, be happy.' We have written new topics on everything from advertising to technology which will be easily understood by the culturally diverse group of students who come to UW from Canada and the world.
"One final note: students should bring their shiny new WatCards (or their old well-used ones), or a recently-taken photo ID. They should also bring something to write with. Every exam we have a few carefree types who come armed with nothing but their wits. We will provide a pencil, but we will not mark an exam without ID. We wish success for all who write, and results will be posted in two weeks in undergraduate offices and here in PAS 2082."
Tonight, students get together with others from their respective faculties for special events, including the Big Banana Games in environmental studies, which are pretty well guaranteed to produce a lifetime's memories. Math and arts students have a scavenger hunt on their schedule, and AHS students face "Battle on the High Seas".
There are two performances of "Single and Sexy" today in the Humanities Theatre -- at 5:00 and 7:00. Admission is free.
For several hours today, they'll eat, listen and talk, at a program organized by the teaching resources and continuing education office. "We've got a great response," says TRACE director Barbara Bulman-Fleming, who reports that 37 new professors are expected, out of 44 who started work at UW this summer and fall.
"It's mainly to welcome them," she says, "and to get across the idea that they're not alone." After all, new professors, probably in their first permanent job and on a strange campus in a new city, face big challenges as they launch into teaching, move a research program forward and deal with changes in their personal lives.
"There are people here who have done it successfully," says Bulman-Fleming, and the newcomers will hear from some of those people today.
They'll have lunch in the Festival Room of South Campus Hall, then hear a talk by Jim Frank, associate dean of graduate studies, about "juggling teaching, research and service", she said. There will also be brief words from provost Amit Chakma, vice-president (university research) Paul Guild, Cathie Jenkins of the co-op and career services department, and Catherine Schryer of the faculty association.
Then comes "a panel discussion featuring recently tenured folks, mainly, talking about what they wished they'd know when they first started out -- problems they had with balancing personal and professional life, that kind of thing." Speakers will be Jenn Stolz (psychology), Charlie Clarke (computer science), and John Hamel (electrical and computer engineering), plus Roydon Fraser, mechanical engineering professor and faculty association representative.
| Also new today: a web site to help faculty members with "community, campus, teaching, research, success" |
She said yesterday that there are plans to borrow a faculty member part-time from one of the academic departments to work with TRACE specifically helping meet the needs of first-year professors as they settle in at Waterloo.
![[Reid]](/images/2002/0904reid.gif)
The UW writer-in-residence program is being revived this fall with
arrival on campus of not a poet, novelist or playwright,
but a journalist.
As an arts and entertainment reporter with The Record, Rob
Reid (left) brings
extensive and varied experience as a writer, as well as a
wide range of contacts in the local arts community.
Says Renison College professor Judith Miller, who administers the writer-in-residence program: "We hear much about the spin-off companies from the high-tech side of the campus, but not a lot about the artists and arts organizations that grow out of the faculty of arts." She envisions Reid acting as a bridge to reconnect the university with those arts grads, and to facilitate ongoing relationships between UW and the wider arts community.
Between now and May 31, Reid will be on campus about five hours a week. He has agreed to act as a resource for a reading course Miller is teaching for the first time this term, Creative Nonfiction (English 365). Students in the reading course will explore what some critics have termed "literary journalism," a genre which employs techniques of fiction, drama and poetry in fact-based writing.
As well, Reid will conduct a series of four public conversations with working artists in the area, looking for answers to such questions as: How can one pursue a passion in the arts -- and make a living? The first conversation will be with UW fine arts professor emeritus and artist Tony Urquhart on September 18. Another Portrait of the Artist later this fall will feature Blyth Festival director Paul Thompson.
Reid's contacts will be used to organize "A Moveable Symposium: Arts in the Mid Sized City". The symposium will gather groups of "arts workers" from the area for conversations about their areas of interest, including galleries, visual arts, books and writing, music and the theatre. In May, all the participants will be invited to meet to consider the local "artistic community", the role of arts organizations, and the possibility of better links between UW and the arts community.
Reid's residency will also include time for informal contacts with students across campus, as well as an opportunity for him to act as a resource for other classes.
Previous UW writers in residence have included Earle Birney, Graeme Gibson, Susan Musgrave and Sandra Birdsell, although the last full residence was in 1988-89. Miller feels it's high time the residency was revived, and a fund established in memory of UW English professor Ken Ledbetter will help pay an honorarium and other expenses.
Reid says he hopes to "bring to people's attention the vibrancy of arts at UW, and the significance of its contribution to the community." As well, says Reid, "I hope to find out how students are thinking, how they see the arts, what their issues are."
And apparently a few people were confused by Friday's announcement that the price of photocopying, when paid for by WatCard, is going up from 7 cents a page to 9 cents. This price applies to activity at self-serve copiers across campus, says Susan Schaefer of UW Graphics. Departmental copiers are not, of course, affected.
Thirdly, I noted yesterday that the soccer Warriors had played over the weekend, though I didn't yet have the scores. I do now. The men's team tied Trois-Rivières 1-1 in a Saturday game. The women's time beat Brock 1-0 on Friday, lost to Guelph 1-0 on Saturday and tied Trois-Rivières 2-2 on Sunday.
It's open house night for the observatory in UW's department of physics. Tours start at 8:00 this evening, in Physics building room 308, and include an opportunity to look at the spangled heavens through the telescope atop the building. Everyone is welcome.
The weekly gay and lesbian discussion group, sponsored by Gays and Lesbians of Waterloo, continues without pause. Tonight, the topic is "Coming Out", and the talk starts at 7:00 in Humanities room 373. A social time follows.
And here's a note from Alex McCulloch in the library's user services department: "Library books that were signed out by faculty, graduate students, and staff before the beginning of August are due on September 12, 2002. Users should return or renew their books if they haven't already done so. If they are renewing on-line, the name of the tab in TRELLIS to go to is "your library account". On-line help for renewing is available. Patrons should not try to renew more than 50 books at a time."
CAR
TODAY IN UW HISTORYSeptember 4, 1986: Thursday night of orientation week presents, for the first time, an alternative to the traditional pub crawl: an alcohol-free "fun crawl" at Bingeman Park. |