![[University of Waterloo]](/goldbar.gif)
| Yesterday |
Thursday, August 28, 2003
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Editor: Chris Redmond credmond@uwaterloo.ca |
![[Report cover]](/images/2003/0825report.gif)
Up-to-date figures from the report
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The largest chunk of new material is in Johnston's front-page letter. Here's what he has to say:
"Much of the activity on campus these days is related to making room: for more students, for staff and faculty, for teaching and learning and generating new knowledge, for finding ways to use that knowledge -- in short, for the things we've earned a reputation for here at Waterloo.
"Making room for students is a top priority this year. Two graduating classes from Ontario secondary schools -- the double cohort -- are seeking admission to university in the fall. And over the next decade, children of the 'baby boom' generation will enter university in record numbers. We'll need to hire more faculty and staff, enhance our facilities, and acquire more learning resources.
"But expanding enrolment to educate greater numbers of students without compromising the quality of education will be a serious challenge in the current fiscal climate. Over the past decade, total provincial funding has decreased by almost 15 percent. The number of students per faculty member has risen from 22.8 to 25.4 during this period, increasing class sizes and affecting the quality of our programs. We're urging the province to increase funding to help ensure that there is a place for every willing and qualified student and that universities have the resources to provide those students with a high-quality educational experience. We're encouraging the province to regard university funding as an investment in Ontario's social and economic future.
"In the meantime, buoyed by the early success of Campaign Waterloo, which you'll read about in this report, we're moving ahead with our bold plan to make room for more talented people here at Waterloo. In May 2003 the William M. Tatham Centre for Co-operative Education & Career Services officially opened, providing much-needed space for our growing co-op program. Construction continues on our new five-storey Centre for Environmental and Information Technologies Building and on additions and upgrades across campus too numerous to mention here. Work on the School of Architecture's new home in Cambridge is progressing, and the UW Research and Technology Park on North Campus is taking shape.
"Waterloo's new chancellor, Mike Lazaridis, knows what can happen when talented people come together. He's founder, president, and co-chief executive officer of Research In Motion Ltd., a company whose success depends on bright minds, many of them Waterloo graduates. And he is a driving force behind the new Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, a community of scientists dedicated to investigating fundamental issues in theoretical physics. Two of our leading researchers in quantum information -- Raymond Laflamme and Mike Mosca -- are among the group of scientists working together to stretch the limits of what's known about how the universe works.
"I'm pleased to welcome someone with the kind of vision Mike Lazaridis has to Waterloo. He's just the kind of person for whom we're making room."
![[Doughnut graph]](/images/2003/0827graph.gif)
That would amount to 104 per cent of UW's overall admissions target -- 5,142 -- but some faculties, led by science and applied health sciences, are well over their targets, while others are below where they were expected to be.
And even within the faculties, there are sizeable variations. Civil engineering, for instance, is at 103 per cent of its target, while electrical is at 92 per cent.
The totals are as of August 22, and fees aren't due until September 3, so it's not possible to say how many of the "confirmed" students will actually make their payments and show up for classes, Burroughs notes.
He adds: "The data and targets . . . include year one newly admitted students only -- they do not include UW students who are continuing in year one studies and who will be part of our government claim for funding on November 1." The first day of November is the official date for reporting fall term enrolment -- after students have had time to drop out, change faculties, or register late.
The group will dedicate seven days out of a 12-day non-credit field trip to working with locals in a remote community. Located at an altitude of 6,000 feet in the mountainous Durika Biological Reserve, the community boasts an exhilarating diversity of lush rain and cloud forests, monkeys, toucans, and jaguars.
"We will be working on a micro hydro-electric project, planting trees in deforested areas, and bringing used clothing to a nearby indigenous village," said student Kelly Bush.
The students will also be helping the community with daily tasks such as gardening, repairs, and the herding, milking, and feeding of the goats. The goal is for the students to integrate themselves into the daily lives of the people they will be staying with.
Each morning the students will work in the community, then trek in the afternoons on rainforest trails to waterfalls, an indigenous village, and, for two days and one night at an elevation of 10,000 feet, backpack to the continental divide from where both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans can be seen.
The UW students will be traveling as part of a group of 15 university students from across Ontario. The experience is led by John McKillop of Journey South, a Toronto-based teacher turned eco-adventure travel operator.
The Durika community was founded 15 years ago and includes about 30 residents who left their city lives for a simpler lifestyle. The community is entirely sustainable in that they produce all the food and materials they need on-site.
Community members use the money raised through eco-tourism to buy tracts of rainforest with the aim of creating a protected wildlife corridor between Durika and La Amistad National Park. To date they have secured 18,000 acres of rainforest.
"Job descriptions for all advertised positions are on view in Human Resources for staff members who wish to research the full details of a position. Staff members who indicate their interest will be provided with a personal copy of descriptions for jobs being actively recruited. . . .
"The university welcomes and encourages applications from the designated employment equity groups: visible minorities, women, persons with disabilities, and aboriginal people."
And now the headings from yesterday's list, which is available in full on the HR web site:
Other notesUW's Carousel Dance Company will hold an open house again tonight (6 to 8 p.m., East Campus Hall) to show off the facilities and offer information about fall classes for adults and children.The staff association social committee is offering tickets for the opening game of the Kitchener Rangers hockey season, September 19 -- contact Nancy O'Neil at noneil@uwaterloo.ca. |
Copeland sends word that on Tuesday night -- at 8:07 p.m., to be precise -- the call centre "went over the million dollar mark in pledges raised for the spring/summer term. This is an important milestone as this is the first term that the new Campus Call automated tele-fundraising system has been fully employed (in previous terms, manual "paper based" calling campaigns were being phased out).
"Although the Call Centre has reached the $1M milestone in past terms, it is important to note that this most recent fundraising success has been accomplished with significant business efficiencies -- most notably, an approximate 43% reduction in caller staffing requirements."
He says that this term more than 90,000 attempts have been made to reach alumni and other prospects, and more than 15,000 prospects have been reached. Of those who were asked to pledge money to UW, 27 per cent said yes -- more than 4,000 of them altogether, with an average pledge of $243.
CAR