![[University of Waterloo]](/goldbar.gif)
| Yesterday |
Friday, October 15, 2004
|
Editor: Chris Redmond credmond@uwaterloo.ca |
![[Smile and Teddy]](/images/2004/1015obediah.gif)
Tina Obediah of the registrar's office shows off one of the "Aroma Bears" available as part of her department's United Way fund-raising. |
"I am continually impressed by the generosity of the retirees and those on campus," she said in a memo to supporters on Wednesday. "It makes a lot of sense that people of the K-W community support the United Way since the United Way exists to support and strengthen the community."
D'Souza also announced the winner of the first United Way donor draw for this year's campaign: Pam Martin of co-op education and career services. "Pam was quite excited," she writes, "to hear that she had won the first of three $35 Retail Services gift certificates."
Special fund-raising events are under way on many parts of the campus. D'Souza cites "the continuing Engineering Bingo and Tuesday's Distance Ed. Bingo, the sale of the Human Resources United Way raffle tickets for 11 unique baskets (contact Neime Cahit or Glenda Rutledge for the tempting details), and Friday's Dress Down day and $35 Retail Services gift certificate draw for donors new to UW's United Way campaign (did not donate last year).
"The sooner people get their pledge forms in, the more draws they are eligible to participate in -- with the grand prize of a $100 University Club gift certificate or Day Off With Pay being drawn from among all donors with pledges in by October 29."
But the heart of the campaign is still the programs and agencies it supports across Kitchener-Waterloo and surrounding areas. One of the K-W United Way's five focus areas is Strengthening Families. Through agencies such as Catholic Family Counselling, Community Justice Initiatives, K-W Extend-A-Family and K-W Counselling Services, among many others, families are helped through a wide variety of difficulties.
For example, says background information from the campaign, "Catholic Family Counselling exists so that people find the strength, skills and confidence needed to deal with life's challenges and opportunities. They focus on strengthening and supporting the quality of life for children, adults and families in K-W and area through different counselling programs. . . .
"Extend-A-Family is committed to enhancing the well-being of individuals with mental and/or physical disabilities and their families by building partnerships, encouraging the development of friendships and relationships and promoting an inclusive community that ensures the full rights of all individuals."
Contributions help all sorts of groups and projects. For example, organizers say, "$2 a week lets a mother and her pre-school children attend the Live & Learn support group once a week for a month through the House of Friendship. . . .$10 a week gives supportive counselling for one senior for a year through RAISE Home Support Services for the Elderly."
They'd been hoping for something of the kind over the past few weeks, since the province killed off the Ontario Innovation Trust amid concerns over its accountability. The new funding was announced by premier Dalton McGuinty during last week's Ontario Economic Summit in Niagara-on-the-Lake.
"We are still working to understand exactly what is included," says Paul Guild, UW's vice-president (university research), whose office keeps a close eye on the complex arrangements involving CFI and matching funds from the province and the private sector. In general, the federal foundation pays 40 per cent of the cost of a project, on condition that the rest is found from other sources -- usually, in the past, 40 per cent from the OIT and 20 per cent from industry.
Richard Van Loon, chair of the Council of Ontario Universities and president of Carleton University, said, "The restoration of the capacity to match federal research funding is most welcome, and will enable the universities to maintain the momentum of research and development so crucial to the advancement of knowledge and the future economic prosperity of Ontario."
Besides the concern over losing federal grants because matching funds
couldn't be found, universities have had some anxiety about not
attracting prominent researchers who wouldn't come to Ontario without
the certainty that their work would be funded. "The uncertainty had
already cost the University of Waterloo two star researchers whom the
university had wooed," the Record has reported. "The scientists
headed to Quebec and Alberta instead."
| WHEN AND WHERE |
|
Border Air Quality Symposium hosted by Waterloo Centre for
Atmospheric Sciences, all day,
more information online.
Imaginus poster sale 9 to 5, Student Life Centre. Alumni job search workshop 9:00 to 5:30, Tatham Centre. Technical speaker competition for engineering students, sponsored by Sandford Fleming Foundation, faculty-wide competition 10 a.m., Doug Wright Engineering room 2534. Centre for International Governance Innovation lecture: Wayne Simpson, U of Manitoba, "Immigrant Integration in the Canadian Labour Market", 12 noon, 57 Erb Street West. 'Betting on the Ponies' outing for engineering alumni, tonight, details online. Coming Out Week movies: "Boys Don't Cry" 9:00, "But I'm a Cheerleader" 11:15, sponsored by Gays and Lesbians of Waterloo. "Big queer dance party" Saturday from 9:30, Graduate House. Classical studies colloquium, "From Myth to Magus: Hermes in the Western Tradition", Saturday all day, Davis Centre room 1304, details ext. 2436. Black Knight Squash Tournament Saturday, Physical Activities Complex, sponsored by campus recreation. Tamil Cultural Night Saturday 6 p.m., Humanities Theatre. Russian Mennonite Garden dedication ceremony Sunday 3 p.m., Conrad Grebel University College. Stress management noon-hour session sponsored by Employee Assistance Program, Monday (and second part October 25), register with Johan Reis, health services. Know the Score displays from the Responsible Gambling Council, Monday-Thursday, Student Life Centre. Part-time studies information night for prospective students, Tuesday 7 p.m., continuing education office, 335 Gage Avenue, Kitchener. President's Committee Breakfast with Bernard Duncker, biology professor, speaking on "From Budding Yeast to Improved Biomarkers for Early Cancer Detection", Thursday 7:30 a.m., South Campus Hall. Tickets $15 (bring a guest at no charge) from the development office, 888-4973. Blood donor clinics October 21, 25-29, November 1, Student Life Centre; signup booklet now available at the turnkey desk. |
![[In cardinal's robes]](/images/jerome.gif)
St. Jerome, as envisioned by El Greco, is officially commemorated on September 30 each year. |
Margaret Visser, author of the best selling Much Depends on Dinner and The Geometry of Love, will be this year's recipient of the Chancellor John Sweeney Award.
Visser is perhaps best known for her entertaining exchanges with the late Peter Gzowski on CBC's Morningside, where she illuminated the cultural significance of everything from turkey to table salt. A professor of ancient Greek at York University for eighteen years, Visser translates her classical understanding into insightful analyses of the roots of social ritual in Much Depends on Dinner, The Rituals of Dinner, and The Way We Are.
Visser -- a committed Roman Catholic -- is being recognized in particular for her book, The Geometry of Love: Space, Time, Mystery and Meaning in an Ordinary Church. Her examination of the history, iconography and ritual use of Saint Agnes, a small church outside the walls of Rome, illuminates both the Roman Catholic tradition and the nature of belief itself. In it, Visser embraces her own faith tradition and the discipline of scholarship to produce, in the words of one reviewer, "a profound analysis of [St. Agnes] as a representative of churches, specifically Roman Catholic ones, everywhere." The Geometry of Love was on the best of the year lists for both the Toronto Star and the Globe and Mail. It was named number one best seller by Maclean's magazine.
The Chancellor John Sweeney Award is named for the late chancellor of St. Jerome's and honours individuals and organizations that have demonstrated excellence as leaders, educators or scholars in support of the Roman Catholic tradition. Past recipients include the Congregation of the Resurrection (the founding order of St. Jerome's), Rev. Jacques Monet, and the Hon. Allan J. MacEachen.
Tickets for tonight's dinner, which raises money for a graduate program in Roman Catholic Life and Thought, cost $85 from the St. Jerome's development office, 884-8111 ext. 277.
![[The Flying Public tonight at the Bombshelter]](http://www.feds.ca/graphics/flying-public-WEB-PREVIEW.jpg)
Controversy continues over the Federation of Students decision to
suspend "club" status for the Embassy Student Association, a group
associated with a weekly Christian service that had been attracting
hundreds of students. Sources of background information,
allegations and rebuttals:
A special publication introducing UW's newest faculty members is being put together by the communications and public affairs office. A memo to recently-arrived faculty from C&PA director Martin Van Nierop says the publication "will be distributed across campus and to special stakeholders" to tell them about "the high quality of our newest faculty members, focusing on your excellent academic achievements and research interests". It says much of the information about newcomers is being provided by their deans, although a questionnaire is also being sent out.
"We are really looking for some chaos in the pool," Michelle Robinson writes from the campus recreation office, which is preparing to host the annual Oktoberfest Lifeguard Competition tomorrow at the Physical Activities Complex. "Teams will be competing in Simulated Emergency Response Competition, water rescue and first aid," she says. Volunteer "victims" are wanted (e-mail pwhittin@fes) and, just to make the pool busy during the rescue event, there's an open public swim (anyone with a campus rec membership, plus family members) from 10:30 to 12:30 tomorrow. Spectators are welcome all day: "This is your chance to get out and see the exciting world of lifeguard competitions."
The library's interlibrary loan software, RACER, will be out of operation 9 p.m. tonight until 2 p.m. Sunday for a system upgrade. . . . Representatives from UW will be in Mexico City this weekend to talk to potential students at an education fair sponsored by the American School Foundation. . . . Change to the Waterloo Region landscape as the result of city development is the theme of an art exhibition, "Environmental Spaces", by Kelly Borers, now through November 6 at the Waterloo Community Arts Centre on Regina Street. . . .
Sports this weekend: Women's basketball vs. Alberta 7:00, then Saturday 6 p.m. vs. Trinity Western, PAC gym. Men's hockey vs. Laurier 7:30, Columbia Icefield, then tomorrow at Oswego. Badminton Saturday 10 a.m. vs. McMaster, PAC. Soccer vs. Laurier, Saturday at Columbia Field, men 1 p.m., women 3 p.m. Men's volleyball Saturday 2 p.m. vs. Guelph, PAC. Men's rugby Saturday 3 p.m. vs. Toronto, Columbia Field. Men's basketball Saturday 8:00 vs. alumni team, PAC. Out of town: cross-country at Queen's Invitational tomorrow; field hockey at Toronto Saturday, vs. Western at Toronto Sunday; football at Toronto tomorrow; women's hockey at Laurier Sunday 2 p.m.; women's rugby at Western tomorrow; swimming meet at Guelph tomorrow; women's volleyball at McGill Invitational all weekend. Details on how the Warriors teams are doing so far this season are on the athletics web site.
CAR