January 8, 2004

Thursday, January 8, 2004

Voicemail back after 'pretty wild' day
Galleries feature three new exhibits
Revised overtime policy approved
Senate seats ready to be filled

Editor:
Chris Redmond
credmond@uwaterloo.ca

A flyer distributed by the registrar's office this week explains that fall term marks posted on the Quest system are "unofficial" until January 21.

Voicemail back after 'pretty wild' day

Anybody who dials the UW voicemail system at ext. 4966 (888-4966) today will hear the familiar sound of Meridian Mail, as the new CallPilot system has been taken out of operation after technical troubles.

Yesterday was a "pretty wild" day for staff in information systems and technology, says IST's Greg Cummings, who reports that CallPilot failed about 7:30 yesterday morning. The new system was put in place just before the Christmas holiday.

Voicemail was "up and down" -- mostly down -- for the rest of the day, and about 10:00 last night IST decided to move CallPilot aside for a while and bring Meridian Mail back into operation while repair work is carried out. Meridian is the same system, with some upgrades, that UW has been using for the past decade.

Any messages that did get through on CallPilot yesterday are stored separately and can be accessed at ext. 4965 (888-4965), Cummings said.

Galleries feature three new exhibits -- by Barbara Elve

The UW art gallery greets the new year with three exhibitions, from a show about art conservation to digital images to works from the current Toronto arts scene. Two of the shows have their official openings tonight.

"Digital Journey", a collection of computer-assisted prints by UW fine arts professor emeritus Don MacKay, traces "20 years of artistic practice in the digital imaging world," according to a gallery news release.

"Looking at the development of digital imaging software -- from experimental software developed by the Computer Science Graphics Lab here at UW through graphics cards, windows, drawing or vector-based software, 2-D and 3-D drawing software, to the current Photoshop -- the 19 works in the exhibition provide the viewer with a fascinating look at what was capable of being achieved 20 years ago and what we are able to manage today.

"Garuda", 2002-03, by Don MacKay

"A lot has changed in the last two decades, and MacKay has been instrumental in the transfer of that information and knowledge to students at the University of Waterloo. Along the way, he has created a significant body of work that reveals the changing nature of the artist's media, as well as a style marked by compositional complexity, dramatic colouring and visual innovation."

"Digital Journey" opens with a reception on Thursday from 7 to 9 p.m. in the East Campus Hall Gallery.

Opening at the same time in East Campus Hall is "Vivid", a collection of abstract works in various media by Toronto-based artists Karen Azoulay (sculptural installation), Jordan Broadworth (painting), Angela Leach (painting), Scott Silverthorn (painting) and Julie Voyce (printmaking). The exhibition is curated by UW gallery director-curator Carol Podedworny, in collaboration with independent curator Virginia MacDonnell Eichhorn.

Podedworny describes "Vivid" as "an exhibition about current abstract practices." The artists, she explains, "have turned to abstraction with, on the one hand, a studio interest in the formal demands and aesthetics of the style, and, on the other hand, the conviction that every day reality informs the content of their work."

Both exhibitions continues through February 12. Gallery hours are noon to 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, noon to 7 p.m. on Thursday, and 1 to 4 p.m. on Saturday. Admission is free.

Meanwhile, "Handle with Care", an exhibit in the Modern Languages building gallery, focuses on the conservation and preservation of museum collections, taking a unique approach to the subject by showing damaged works in the university's own permanent art collection.

Curated by students in last fall's Fine Arts 330, "The History and Discourse of the Museum", the show reveals "the necessity of proper care and handling of works in public collections that are maintained in the public trust for future generations."

UW owns more than 600 pieces of Canadian art, much of which has been hung on office walls across campus. Without proper storage conditions, many of the works have succumbed to "damage by light, humidity, pests and even humans," says a flyer describing the show. "They have stayed out so long, their colours have faded, the paper has buckled and yellowed, and several works have spotting caused by mould. These works utter a silent plea for education about conservation."

A couple of other notes

Candace Newman writes from the teaching resource office: "TRACE is looking for interested and energetic international students or students with international experience to sign up for the Student-Speakers Roster and serve as guest speakers in classrooms across campus. This program provides students with the opportunity to share their expertise, and to practice and polish their presentation and communication skills." For more information she can be reached at cmnewman@fes or through the TRACE office. She'll be available all day today in TRACE, Math and Computer room 4055, to answer any questions.

There's still lots of room at the "Becoming an Optimal Person" workshop tomorrow afternoon, and it's been opened up to other people besides UW staff. Students are welcome, as are employees' family members, says Johan Reis of the Employee Assistance Program. He can be reached at ext. 5418 for last-minute information and registration.

Envisioned as a way to "education the public about the importance of maintaining art collections, and the challenges facing the institutions who do so," the exhibition provides information labels to advise visitors about caring for art.

"Handle with Care" opens with a reception on Thursday, January 15, from 4 to 6 p.m., and continues through March 25. Hours are from 1 to 4 p.m. on Monday and Wednesday, and whenever the Theatre of the Arts is open.

Revised overtime policy approved

Staff members aren't expected to work "extra voluntary hours" without being paid, a memo from the staff relations committee this week stresses.

The memo introduces a new version of the staff overtime policy, UW Policy 16, which went into effect January 1 following consultations last year. Here's what the memo says:

"In March 2003, the Provost asked the Staff Relations Committee to review the Overtime Policy and clarify which staff members were eligible to receive overtime. The Committee has done this as well as made other modifications to improve the Policy. The Committee placed a version 'on view' so that feedback from staff could be solicited on the proposed changes.

"Based on feedback from staff, it was apparent that one of the changes that had been recommended created some misunderstanding about the issue of extra voluntary hours. The Committee's intention was to draw attention to this issue among the staff and management group and encourage everyone to keep this to a minimum wherever possible. Unfortunately, the language appeared to imply that working extra voluntary hours without compensation was expected. We are grateful for the feedback and have removed all mention of this in the revised version so that there is no misunderstanding. Workload continues to be an ongoing issue for discussion at the Staff Relations Committee.

"In accord with Policy #1, the attached revised policy, effective January 1, 2004, has been approved by the President."

The memo lists these main changes:

"The Policy now applies to all regular full- and part-time staff."

"The preamble has been expanded to encourage managers, where possible, to organize work assignments to minimize the need for staff to work overtime, and to encourage staff to inform their managers if the amount of overtime they are doing becomes a problem."

"The eligibility section has been expanded to make it clear that staff members can't schedule their own overtime and specifies that 'all regular full- and part-time staff members are eligible to be compensated for overtime, except those whose responsibilities are supervisory and managerial in character and include approving overtime assigned to others."

"Time in lieu of payment must be taken within one year from the date of overtime worked."

Senate seats ready to be filled -- a memo from the university secretariat

Nominations are requested for the following undergraduate student seats on Senate:

One student elected by/from the full-time undergraduate students in the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences, term from May 1, 2004 to April 30, 2005.

One student elected by/from the full-time undergraduate students in the Faculty of Arts, term from May 1, 2004 to April 30, 2006.

One student elected by/from the full-time undergraduate students in the Faculty of Environmental Studies/Department of Independent Studies, term from May 1, 2004 to April 30, 2006.

One student elected by/from the full-time undergraduate students in the Faculty of Mathematics, term from May 1, 2004 to April 30, 2005.

One student elected by/from the full-time undergraduate students in the Faculty of Science, term from May 1, 2004 to April 30, 2006.

One student elected by/from full-time undergraduate students, term from May 1, 2004 to April 30, 2006.

Nomination forms are available online or from the Federation of Students Office. At least five nominators are required in each case. Completed nomination forms should be sent to the Chief Returning Officer, Secretariat, NH 3060 no later than 3:00 p.m. Tuesday, January 27, 2004. Elections, if necessary, will coincide with the annual Federation of Students' elections (February 11-13).

Student Senators who will be completing their terms of office on Senate as of April 30, 2004 are Avi Caplan, Environmental Studies/Independent Studies; Adrian Chin, Applied Health Studies; Yolanda Dorrington, Mathematics; Jesse Helmer, Arts; Alex Sloat, Science; and Siyan Li, at-large.

Please refer to the following sites for information about Senate: the University of Waterloo Act; Senate bylaws; and committees and councils.

CAR

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