![[University of Waterloo]](/goldbar.gif)
| Yesterday |
Friday, December 5, 2003
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Editor: Chris Redmond credmond@uwaterloo.ca International Volunteer Day for Economic and Social Development |
![[Bales]](/images/2003/1205bales.gif)
| WHEN AND WHERE |
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Columbia Lake Village open house at the "North Community" (new
graduate townhouses), 11:00 to 4:00 today and Saturday.
Reggae Christmas from 9 p.m. tonight at the Graduate House. Winterfest, annual staff association family party, Sunday 2 to 4 at the Icefield (registration deadline was in October). Power shutdown Monday, 6 to 7 a.m., at the Icefield and north campus houses. Canadian Centre of Arts and Technology official opening celebration, 10 a.m. Monday, Modern Languages room 117. |
Says the report: "The Mary Bales Graduate Scholarships in Arts will be open to Canadian/permanent residents who hold an Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS). Candidates will be selected based on academic achievement and the value of their research to the Canadian economy and society. The awards, valued at $5,000 annually, will be matched by OGS funding to provide a total of $15,000."
"I feel that the University makes a substantial, positive impact on this community," says Bales. "When I make my annual donation, I think of those students who receive scholarships and it makes me feel good to know that I am helping young people gain access to education."
The donor report notes that "In addition to her generous support for Campaign Waterloo: Building a Talent Trust, Mary has also made a planned gift to UW in her will to go wherever it is most needed. 'I've always respected Waterloo as an innovative and exciting university. Knowing that my estate will provide for the institutions and charities I care about somehow makes the end of my life a beginning, not an ending,' Mary says about her planned gift to Waterloo and other recipients."
Raised in Lowell, Indiana, Bales studied science and engineering at Purdue University, received a BA from New Mexico State University, and earned an MA and MPhil from UW. She continued graduate studies at the Medieval Institute at the University of Toronto before launching a career in real estate.
Says the donor report: "Mary has established an impressive record of volunteer activities in Kitchener-Waterloo. She has been a committed supporter and volunteer of the local YWCA, the United Way, and Grand River Hospital. Mary presently serves on the Board at The Economical Insurance Group and chairs the Board of Heartwood Place." Heartwood is an "affordable housing" complex in downtown Kitchener that is having its official opening today.
At UW, she chaired the program committee of the National Alumni Council and, from 1994 to 2000, was a provincial government appointee on the university's board of governors. She's now back on the board for another term, and is also chair of the faculty of arts section of Campaign Waterloo. In 2002, she received the UW Arts Alumni Achievement Award for her contributions to her professional field and her community.
![[Probe in eye]](/images/2003/1205eye.gif)
Procedure at the Centre for Contact Lens Research -- photo by UW Graphics Photo/Imaging. |
Recent technological advances include bifocal contact lenses as well as . . .
Contact lenses that can be worn continuously for up to 30 days and
nights without limiting the eye's supply of oxygen;
Contact lenses that are worn overnight to change the shape of the
eye, significantly improving vision without the use of spectacles or
traditional contact lenses;
Contact lenses that correct astigmatism (irregularly shaped eye
causing distorted vision).
"We've never been busier," said Desmond Fonn, director of the CCLR. "Advances made by the contact lens industry as well as new technology have enabled us to use our vast experience and skills to put these lenses to the test."
As international leaders in the field and the only facility in Canada dedicated to contact lens research, the CCLR has been inundated with requests to conduct clinical trials and other research.
Members of the public are invited to participate in the innovative research being conducted at UW. Registration details can be found on the CCLR web site.
![[It's still in the carton]](/images/2003/1203ipod.gif)
The winner
of an Apple iPod, at an event at the Campus TechShop last week, was
second-year math student Shawn Morel. "He thought he would have to wait
until after Christmas to get one," says Susy Kustra of retail services,
who got Morel (left) to pose with TechShop manager John Jaray.
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Kristin Schmidt, who's worked this fall as office staff for the campaign, says a few more cheques have "drifted in" since her last report, "to increase our grand total to $175,885". The target for this year's UW campaign, which ran during the month of October, was $150,000.
Says Schmidt: "Check the web site in the coming week for our final 2003 total, as well as a comparison of previous campaign results. I would like to remind everyone that the campaign office is officially closed next Friday, December 12, and thus any remaining special event money must be in to me prior to this date. For those of you with special event money outstanding, please contact me to arrange for drop off or pick up."
She also noted that evaluation forms have been sent to United Way volunteers across the university, "to help us make next year's campaign even more successful. Please take a few minutes to fill them out, and return them in the envelope provided."
The United Way drive was a success not just on campus but across Kitchener-Waterloo, as the community-wide goal of $5.3 million was surpassed.
The co-chairs of the university campaign, Pat Cunningham (dean of mathematics office) and Winston Cherry (statistics and actuarial science), attended a downtown Achievement Breakfast the other day and, Cunningham says, "proudly accepted a Campaign Leadership Award on behalf of the University of Waterloo. This award recognizes that UW had the greatest increase among the corporate campaigns in the percentage of donors at the Leader Level (donation of $1,000 or more per year) and the highest percentage dollar increase from those Leaders.
"To date in 2003 we have 45 Leader donors contributing more than $63,000 towards our $171,000-plus results. Only Sun Life and Manulife have more Leader donors than UW this year!"
And Heather Montgomery, development associate for the community-wide campaign, congratulated the university: "I am constantly reminded of what a strong and caring community we live in, and it is people like you that make it such a wonderful place to live, work and raise families."
CAR