December 1, 2004

Wednesday, December 1, 2004

New associate VP is appointed
$3 million gift for pharmacy school
Dental vote, investments, and more

Editor:
Chris Redmond
credmond@uwaterloo.ca

Light snow is one thing (the photo was taken last week by math student Martin Pei) but winter storms are quite another. Here's a reminder about what to expect in bad winter weather. For simplicity, the rule is that UW closes for the day if the local public school board (Waterloo Region District School Board) closes all its schools (but not if it just cancels the buses). On a winter storm morning, listen to a local radio station, such as AM 570, for an announcement about the schools, or check the UW web home page for a university announcement. If UW closes, there will be no classes or exams, libraries are closed, and everybody gets a 24-hour extension on assignments due that day. A few essential services, including policing and residence cafeterias, will continue. Details of the storm procedure are on the web; search for keyword "storm" from the home page.

New associate VP is appointed

UW is creating a new senior position to manage its "strategic" projects with outside partners, and has named an experienced municipal administrator to take the job.

[Thompson] Becoming associate vice-president (strategic initiatives) is Gerry Thompson (left), former chief administrative officer for Waterloo Region. His two-year appointment starts today.

It was announced in a memo yesterday from provost Amit Chakma:

Who's in charge here?

President: David Johnston
Vice-President (Academic) and Provost: Amit Chakma
Associate Provost (Academic and Student Affairs): Bruce Mitchell
Associate Vice-President (Academic): Gail Cuthbert Brandt
Associate Vice-President (Learning Resources and Innovation): Tom Carey
Associate Vice-President (Strategic Initiatives): Gerry Thompson
Vice-President (University Research): Paul Guild
Vice-President (Administration and Finance): Dennis Huber
Vice-President (University Relations): Laura Talbot-Allan
Associate Provost (Human Resources and Student Services): Catharine Scott
Interim Associate Provost (Information Systems and Technology): Alan George
Director, Business Operations: Bud Walker
Secretary of the University: Lois Claxton

"The University of Waterloo has initiated a number of projects with various partners in government, industry and the local community. These projects have potential to evolve into larger initiatives of strategic importance. In addition, there are many other partnership opportunities that need to be explored and critically analyzed to determine their suitability and feasibility.

"Reporting to the Provost, the Associate Vice-President, Strategic Initiatives will help UW administration to explore, identify and analyze various multi-stakeholder initiatives, produce road maps for their pursuit, and help with the execution of these initiatives. In developing a strategy for each of the projects, the Associate Vice-President will assist in the preparation of a business case and help identify and secure funding from external partners. In this latter role, he will interact closely with leaders in the community, industry and government and will position UW to respond to various opportunities.

"Mr. Thompson is very well known in the community as a senior administrator and is uniquely qualified for the position. He has a distinguished record of service as the Chief Administrative Officer for the Region of Waterloo from 1991-2004. In 2003, in recognition of his outstanding contributions to public service, he was awarded the Institute of Public Administration of Canada's (IPAC) Lieutenant Governor's Medal of Distinction in Public Administration. We are extremely fortunate to have a distinguished public servant join the administrative team to lead our strategic projects. The President and I are delighted to have Gerry as a colleague."

$3 million gift for pharmacy school -- a news release from the City of Kitchener

The University of Waterloo's faculty of science, downtown Kitchener school of pharmacy, has received a substantial donation from the Lyle Shantz Hallman Foundation. The donation of $3 million from the Hallman Foundation allows the university to take a major step forward in the development of its new downtown Kitchener campus by naming its first director: Dr. Jake Thiessen.

The Hallman Foundation's one-time payment of $3 million will be used for an endowment fund to support in perpetuity the school's head position, the Lyle Shantz Hallman Director of the school of pharmacy.

At a meeting of Kitchener City Council, the president of the university, David Johnston, made the exciting announcement while providing Council with an update on the progress of the campus. "We are grateful for this very generous gift by the Lyle Shantz Hallman Charitable Foundation," said Johnston. "Its implications are far reaching for both the university and our community."

The funding comes from the foundation set up to carry on the work of Lyle S. Hallman, described on a UW web site as "Friend to Applied Health Sciences". Hallman died a year ago. The foundation has also made a major gift to help move the Wilfrid Laurier University school of social work downtown.

Jake Thiessen, an associate dean of the University of Toronto school of pharmacy, was named interim director of the UW school earlier this fall.

Johnston went on to note: "The Hallman family have been leaders in helping to build our Kitchener-Waterloo community and in pioneering research into health care at the university. The downtown Kitchener health sciences campus and school of pharmacy continue that tradition of building communities through an innovative partnership with the City of Kitchener, UW and the other project partners."

Jim Hallman, president of the Hallman Foundation, also spoke to Council. "We are very committed to this fine initiative by the City of Kitchener and the University of Waterloo to improve health care in the local region," said Hallman. "We hope our contribution will form a strong foundation for the school of pharmacy."

The UW campus -- a collaborative project between the university and the City of Kitchener -- will be anchored by a school of pharmacy and include a Family Medicine Teaching Centre that will combine clinical care with teaching and research in family medicine. It was made possible by a $30 million commitment from the city. The city's contribution came from a $110-million Economic Development Investment Fund approved by city council in March. The approval of projects under the fund is based on detailed business plans.

"I am delighted that this new downtown campus has made significant progress in such a short time," said mayor Carl Zehr. "We are that much closer to realizing the tremendous benefits the new school will bring, including the revitalization of our downtown economy and the attraction of health care professionals to our community."

The School of Pharmacy could be under construction by 2005, with the first students arriving in 2007. The Family Medicine Teaching Centre will begin phase I in space near the new campus in 2005, in order to provide for new medical trainees for the 2005-06 academic year.

Dental vote, investments, and more

Online polls are open today (and tomorrow until 8 p.m.) as graduate students vote on a proposed dental plan. Says the Graduate Student Association web site: "This includes full- and part-time students (domestic and international), including those in co-operative programs. It does not include those enrolled in cost-recovery programs. The initial cost will not exceed $42 per student per term." If voters say yes, the plan would likely be introduced next spring or fall term.

WHEN AND WHERE

Rodney Sawatsky, former president of Conrad Grebel University College, funeral service 11 a.m., First United Church.

Canadian Undergraduate Technology Conference information meeting Wednesday 5 p.m., Davis Centre room 1301. The conference will be held January 20-22 in Toronto.

Warrior basketball, women 6 p.m. vs. Windsor, men 8 p.m. vs. Western, PAC main gym.

Germanic and Slavic studies colloquium with graduate student presentations on applied linguistics, Thursday from 10 a.m., Modern Languages building, details online.

Anthropology book launch: Irregular Connections by Harriet Lyons (UW) and Andrew Lyons (Wilfrid Laurier University), Thursday 4 p.m. at Lucinda House, WLU.

Arriscraft architecture lecture: Steve Badanes, Jersey Devil Design/Build Group, Thursday 7 p.m., Architecture lecture room.

Perimeter Institute lecture: Raymond Laflamme, director of UW's Institute for Quantum Computing, "Harnessing the Quantum World", Thursday 7 p.m. at Waterloo Collegiate Institute (wrongly listed yesterday as happening Wednesday).

Orchestra@UWaterloo inaugural concert Thursday 8 p.m., Humanities Theatre, admission free. Math alumni event beforehand, information ext. 3638.

Pre-Christmas concert by UW music ensembles in the Davis Centre great hall, Wednesday, December 8, 12:15.

Response from UW alumni has been "fantastic" since a new "affinity partnership" was introduced early this fall, says Jude Doble of the alumni affairs office. The arrangement links UW with Clearsight Wealth Management, "a full-service investment and retirement planning firm". Says a summary sent to alumni: "Clearsight was chosen by Waterloo because it has designed an exclusive program that offers exceptional benefits for our alumni -- lower fees, professional advice and a wide selection of products. If you have investable assets of $50,000 or more, are concerned about your retirement, desire more personalized service from your financial institution and are tired of paying large commissions to your investment advisor, Clearsight's services were designed for you." It also explains: "UW enters into affinity relationships with great consideration, ensuring that the services are of value to UW alumni." (A share of the revenue goes to support alumni programming.) "Faculty and staff are welcome to access the services as well," says Doble, and there's more information online.

POSITIONS AVAILABLE

On this week's list from the human resources department:

LT3 faculty liaison, engineering, Centre for Learning and Teaching Through Technology, USG 8

Grounds gardener, plant operations

Software specialist, Math Faculty Computing Facility, USG 9-12

Collections maintenance supervisor, library user services (Davis), USG 6

Director, organizational services, library, USG 15

Associate university librarian, information management and systems services, library, USG 14

Director, alumni affairs, office of development and alumni affairs, USG 13

Longer descriptions are available on the HR web site.

The latest memo from the energetic people on the UW Recreation Committee lists an eclectic range of events for staff and faculty: the "Nutcracker" ballet at the Humanities Theatre on December 8, the Waterloo Siskins "teddy bear toss charity hockey game" on December 17, dinner at Brubacher's Grill House on the 19th, and the Total Woman Show in Kitchener in mid-February. "Get in on the UWRC experience!" says the memo -- which also announces a contest asking people, "How many days per week do you read the Daily Bulletin?"

The morning-long volleyball camp for grade 12 boys, scheduled for this Saturday, is to be held at the Columbia Icefield, not in the PAC as I said a couple of days ago. . . The Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance, which includes UW's student leaders, is in the middle of a three-day intensive lobbying effort at Queen's Park "to bring their vision of higher education to the government". . . . UW is represented today through Friday at an education fair being held in Hamilton, Bermuda, to interest potential students. . . .

Marlene Epp of Conrad Grebel University College is co-editor of a new book under the title Sisters or Strangers? Immigrant, Ethnic and Racialized Women in Canadian History. . . . There's no announcement of non-credit computing courses being offered in December, says a note from information systems and technology, because no more courses are scheduled until the new year. . . . The latest models of the iPod MP3 player are "perfect holiday gifts", says the Campus TechShop, which is offering various iPods as well as accessories. . . .

CAR

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