September 9, 2002

Monday, September 9, 2002

A term packed with special events
Engineering dean speaks on Microsoft
Readers turning up volume of Mischief
And more on the first day of classes

Editor:
Chris Redmond
credmond@uwaterloo.ca

Once again, a smog alert for Waterloo Region

[Audience sits on the floor]
Library smarts: Luke Wilkinson and Michelle Bissonnette present a "Get Smart @ Your Library" program to a group of first-year students at the Dana Porter Library on Thursday. As well as a brief introduction to the library, newcomers received information on upcoming library tours and workshops -- and a handful of Smarties to make sure they get the message. Tours and information sessions continue at the Porter, Davis Centre and Map and Design libraries several times a day this week and next.

A term packed with special events

It's the first morning of classes for the fall term, and the calendar is getting full already -- and with more than just lectures, labs, lunches, and Boys 'n' Girls Night.

Here's a list of some of the more important events already announced for the next few weeks at UW:

Memorial service recalling last year's September 11 attacks on the United States -- Wednesday at 12 noon, Student Life Centre.
Engineering Society's open house to give students information about the recent Microsoft Alliance agreement with UW -- Thursday at 5 p.m., Rod Coutts Hall room 101.
"Welcome Students to the Community" barbecue, sponsored by the Student and Community Interaction Committee -- Sunday, September 15, 4 to 7 p.m., Hickory Street West.
"Forbidden Music of Nazi Germany", a series of concerts and talks by German musicologist Albrecht Riethueller -- beginning September 18 at Conrad Grebel University College.
Lecture by the auditor-general of Canada, Sheila Fraser -- September 19 at 4 p.m., Davis Centre room 1351.
Launch of a research chair in "in vitro ophthalmic toxicology" -- September 20 at 10:30 a.m., Davis Centre.
Progressive Conservative leader Joe Clark speaks on "Public Life and Faith in Canada", as part of the St. Jerome's lecture series -- September 20 at 7:30 p.m., Siegfried Hall.
Open house for distance education students -- October 5.
"Know the Score" program sponsored by the Responsible Gambling Council, October 7-10

This month also sees the beginning of two special series of general interest. First off the mark will be the "smarter health seminar" series, sponsored by the InfraNet Project and the Education Program for Health Informatics Professionals. It gets going with a talk September 18 (3 p.m., Davis Centre) on "Innovations in Medical Image Management", by people from local high-tech firm Nitra Inc.

Then comes the tourism lecture series, "Approaching Tourism", now in its third year, which will present talks at 9:30 a.m. every Friday. The first speaker will be Steve Smith of UW's recreation and leisure studies department, on September 20 ("Measuring Tourism").

Engineering dean speaks on Microsoft

In a statement posted Friday night, the dean of engineering says the use of Microsoft's C# programming language in a first-year electrical and computer engineering course "is under discussion".

Adoption of C# has been controversial ever since it was mentioned in the August 14 announcement of UW's involvement in the Microsoft Canada Academic Innovation Alliance. Funding to pay for the use of C# in E&CE 150 was announced as part of the $2.3 million arrangement between UW and Microsoft.

Shortly after the announcement, critics were saying that UW might have adopted C# because of the money and not for academic reasons. But Tony Vannelli, chair of the E&CE department, said C# was a sound academic choice, the most recent in a long series of languages that have been used in teaching first-year engineers. "The intent is to make the overall educational experience richer, not narrower," Vannelli said.

Says the statement from the engineering dean, Sujeet Chaudhuri, which was posted on the web in place of a previous "fact sheet" about the controversial aspects of the deal:

The use of C sharp is under discussion in the Curriculum Committee in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering for the redesign of a course for September 2003. In determining any curriculum initiative the Department and the Faculty of Engineering continue to apply the following principles where external support is available:

Provide the best educational experience for our students, exposing them to the best available methodologies;
Experiment with learning tools [e.g. Text books, software, equipment] from our own sources or from other academic institutions and commercial entities, including proprietary sources;
Vest responsibility for primary decisions on curriculum matters with academic colleagues in academic units [i.e. UW instructors and Departmental/Faculty curriculum committees];
Ensure that curriculum decisions are overseen by the appropriate Faculty Councils, and broad policy matters by Senate or its appropriate committees/councils;
Ensure that external financial or in-kind support does not inappropriately influence curriculum development.
In addition, the curriculum of the Faculty of Engineering must meet the curriculum control requirements of the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board.
When the redesign of this course is completed and approved the instructors will ensure that the students are acquainted with a variety of languages so that they can make thoughtful choices as to which one is most appropriate for particular projects.
The Faculty of Engineering attaches a great deal of importance on maintaining the academic integrity of its programs which are recognized to be world class. This integrity was never compromised and will not be compromised in the future.

Earlier Friday, the news site 'uwstudent.org' posted answers to ten questions that had been posed by readers to UW president David Johnston. One of them dealt with possible plans for similar arrangements in other faculties. From Johnston's answer:

There is a great deal of activity happening every day, largely centered in the work of individuals or small groups of faculty members. Last year, the university received $115 million in external research funding, and $30 million in private gifts in kind or cash.
To reiterate, external funding does not drive curriculum or research decisions. Nevertheless, external funds are welcome in part due to government funding cuts. To illustrate, we were forced to make a 5.5 percent base cut to our operating budget this past year, and only seven years ago, we made a 15 percent base cut as a result of reduced government operating grants, and since government grants do not recognize inflation we have had persistent annual real cuts of 3 to 4 per cent for the past decade.
As to the Microsoft Canada Academic Alliance Fund, we may make a further application in a year or two,

Readers turning up volume of Mischief

Speed readers are wanted, to make a sprint for the finish line in the No Great Mischief contest between UW and Wilfrid Laurier University.

The "friendly competition" -- to see which university can have the most faculty and staff read No Great Mischief by Canadian author Alistair MacLeod before September 20 -- is heating up as the deadline approaches.

In what UW Bookstore trade buyer Susan Parsons reports is a "wonderful response," more than 120 people on campus (some four per cent of faculty and staff) have completed the book since the inter-university challenge was announced at the end of July. WLU bookstore representatives have not divulged the number of their readers.

The contest is part of the One Book, One Community program that encourages everyone to read one chosen book as "a catalyst for building relationships, fostering friendships, and encouraging open discussion and debates on issues raised in the selected title."

Waterloo Region adopted the program in which libraries, city councils and bookstores jointly promote community-wide reading, and selected the work by MacLeod. The region's goal is to have one per cent of the total population (about 4,000 people) read the book by September 20.

The book, which has won the Trillium Award, the Canadian Booksellers Association Libris Award for Book of the Year, and the Dublin IMPAC Award (the world's richest literary award), is being sold at both UW and WLU bookstores at a 30 per cent discount.

Readers who wish to participate in "this cerebral Warrior vs. Hawk game" can register with Parsons (s3parson@rs1) at the UW bookstore. Those who have already read the book can also register. The names of all participants will be entered in a draw to win an autographed hardcover copy of No Great Mischief, or an Emblem or New Canadian Library Series Collection.

After the deadline, organizers of "One Book, One Community" are planning an event at the Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex on Friday evening, September 27. MacLeod will read and there will be various special activities.

The concourse in South Campus Hall, just outside the bookstore, is a busy place these days, as the textbook rush begins. A webcam is now monitoring the area, to give customers a preview of the lineup. During the rush, today through Thursday, the bookstore and TechWorx will be open 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day.

And more on the first day of classes

I said in Friday's Daily Bulletin that the Saturday football game against McMaster was going to start at 2:00. In fact, apparently game time was 3:00. I apologize for the error. As for the game itself, I have to report that McMaster won 34-3.

The Graduate Student Association this week sponsors a series of "Welcome Week" events aimed mostly at new grad students. There are "free desserts" from 1 to 3 p.m. today, and Scrabble Night starts at 7 p.m. at the Graduate House. Later in the week: Games Night at Campus Cove on Tuesday; Burger Day on Wednesday; a Welcome Mixer on Thursday night.

Today, as usual on the first day of the term, will be a professional development day for staff in the co-operative education and career services department. The program includes a talk by UW ombudsperson Marianne Miller ("Managing Conflict with Confidence") and a briefing by Bruce Mitchell, the associate vice-president (academic), on UW's growing internationalization efforts. Late in the day, department administrators will talk about proposed changes to aspects of how CECS operates.

Tomorrow, fresh from that day of new ideas, CECS coordinators will start a round of back-to-campus interviews with co-op students who are, uh, back to campus.

Also tomorrow, there will be a meeting of club representatives at 4:30 in the multipurpose room of the Student Life Centre, says David Romanyk of the Federation of Students. Clubs Days, to show off club activities and invite new members, are scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday in the SLC.

The Embassy -- the church that doesn't look like a stereotyped church -- will hold services tonight at Federation Hall, as it does every Monday. There are meetings at 7:00 and 8:30. (The previous schedule of a 7:30 service at the Humanities Theatre is now out of date.)

And starting today, the Warrior men's hockey team sponsors a week-long hockey school for boys and girls ages 6-11, at the Columbia Icefield. The camp will be run by UW coaches and players, and aimed at house league players and would-be players. The idea, an announcement says, is to introduce basic hockey skills through teaching, drilling, evaluation and feedback.

CAR

TODAY IN UW HISTORY
September 9, 1971: A joint meeting of the senate and board of governors votes to kill off proposals for a "unicameral" system of government as work on revising the University of Waterloo Act continues.