![[University of Waterloo]](/images/logobars/goldbar.gif)
| Yesterday |
Friday, February 4, 2005
|
Editor: Chris Redmond credmond@uwaterloo.ca |
| President | VP (education) | VP (internal) | VP (administration and finance) | |
| The Blue Ticket | John Andersen (science) | Howard Bender (political science) | Sabrina Bowman (environment and resource studies) | Matthew Jermyn (sociology) |
| Team A.I.R. | Mark Johnson (political science) | Parthi Kandavel (arts) | Anitta Satkunarajah (political science) | Yasid Gilbert (mathematics) |
| StudentsFirst | E. J. Hunt (biology) | Bobby Naini (computer engineering) | Lawrence Lam (computer engineering) | Carmen Lam (accounting) |
| Rock It | Nada Basir (biology) | Andreea Pop (health studies) | Lee Bowman (biology) | Ahmed Farrakah (mathematics) |
| Independent | Nick Cake (arts) |
"Rumors are spreading about pending changes related to Spring Convocation," he said in a recent memo, sent "to confirm that changes are indeed being considered". But, Lavigne said, "final decisions have not been made. I will engage key participants in planning and some decision making once some fundamental decisions are made soon."
He continues: "For 2005, we anticipate continuing with 5 ceremonies. The number of ceremonies may have to be increased starting in 2006.
"We will continue to hold ceremonies in the [Physical Activities Complex] but may have to expand seating into the small gym. Consequently, marshalling grads, gown distribution, alumni sales and post ceremony receptions will be displaced. At this point, we are considering alternative locations for robing rooms so that robe distribution, alumni sales and the marshalling of grads can occur in the [Student Life Centre]. Receptions may be moved outdoors to a tent.
![['The Full Spectrum' brochure cover]](/images/2005/0120quantum.gif)
Quantum
computing is the topic of the latest brochure produced by UW's office of
research. "The Institute for Quantum
Computing puts Canada at the
leading edge of the next technological revolution," it says, next to a photo
of physics professor Ray Laflamme peering through a molecular model.
It lists 14 UW faculty members, as well as post-doctoral fellows and
researchers at other institutions, who are working in areas such as
quantum optics and superconducting quantum devices.
|
Convocation ceremonies -- especially the arts and environmental studies ceremony, held on the Thursday afternoon of convocation week -- have been stretching out to painful lengths in the past few years. Convocation is scheduled for June 15 through 18 this year.
The work of this celebrated humanitarian group will be the topic of a special lecture by Dan Bortolotti, the author of Hope in Hell: Inside the World of Doctors Without Borders, tonight at 7:30. The lecture takes place at St. Jerome's University's Siegfried Hall and is open to all, though seating is limited.
Hope in Hell, published by Firefly Books, is a critical and timely exploration of this bold humanitarian enterprise. Bortolotti offers a complex understanding of the issues involved in providing humanitarian assistance to a world fractured by war and natural catastrophe.
"Since the Red Cross was founded in the 1860s," he writes, "the neutrality of humanitarian groups has been almost universally recognized. But the recent attacks on aid workers in Iraq and Afghanistan suggest that humanitarian workers can no longer take that for granted. And the problem is not simply that extremists don't respect the rules. It's also that Western governments intentionally dress up their military interventions as 'humanitarian'."
![[Josh Ritter tonight at the Bombshelter]](http://www.feds.ca/graphics/Josh-Ritter-FULL.jpg)
Dan Bortolotti is a graduate of St. Jerome's
who is now the successful author of
four books. He is a regular columnist with Chatelaine, has been an
editor with Equinox and Today's Parent, and has contributed to
MoneySense and Maclean's.
His books will be available for purchase through Words Worth Books.
| WHEN AND WHERE |
|
'Teaching Dossiers' workshop 12:30, Rod Coutts Hall
room 306, details
online.
German studies lecture: Christiane Harzig, University of Erfurt, Germany, "German Immigrants to Toronto and Waterloo in the 1950s and 1960s", 3:30, Humanities room 334. Chemical physics seminar: Xiaojing Zhou, department of chemistry, "Marrying Organic Molecules to Silicon Surfaces", 4:00, Chemistry II room 361. Upstart Festival of short plays continues: tonight 7:00, Saturday 2:00 through 11:00, Studio 180, Humanities building, details online. The FASStastics, 2005 edition of FASS, on stage in the Humanities Theatre, tonight 7:00 and 10:00, Saturday 8:00. UW Ski at Chicopee Day organized by UW Recreation Committee, Saturday. 'Pilates on the Ball' workshop organized by campus recreation, Saturday 10:00, information ext. 7126. Programming contest Saturday 1 p.m., details online. Chinese spring festival party organized by Chinese Students and Scholars Association, Saturday 7 p.m., South Campus Hall. 'BBGG Big Queer Dance Party' hosted by Gays and Lesbians of Waterloo, Saturday 9 p.m., Graduate House -- all ages, cover $3. 'Rediscovering Our Black Roots: Small Communities in Ontario", talk by Elise Harding-Davis, North American Black Historical Museum, Monday 5 p.m., Davis Centre room 1301. |
The latest issue of the staff association newsletter, Staff News, introduces a mock advice column with (one hopes) mock letters from UW staff members about workplace problems. The first one talks about overload ("I don't even have time to go to the bathroom"), and here's part of the answer provided: "Going somewhere for half an hour or an hour, where you can chat, unwind, eat, or just sit quietly will invigorate and refresh you. . . . Schedule a meeting with your manager/supervisor and go through all your projects, talk over the timeframe in which all these tasks can be realistically finished. . . . Don't panic, just do what you can realistically do in a day. Work hard, work steady, but take care of you while you are doing so."
Today, as I noted earlier in the week, is the deadline for this year's nominations for Distinguished Teacher Awards. And there's one more week before the deadline for a second notable honour: the Award for Distinguished Teaching by a Registered Student. Says a summary from the UW teaching resource office: "The awards are given in recognition of excellence in teaching of all kinds by registered students. The awards are open to all students who have a formal teaching role at the University of Waterloo. The Selection Committee will look for intellectual vigour and communication skills in the interpretation and presentation of subject matter. Concern for and sensitivity to the academic need of the students is an important criterion. . . . The nominations should consist of detailed statements making the case for the award. A complete nomination consists of at least five signatures from present or past students of the nominees and from past and present faculty supervisors of the nominee. A minimum of three of the signatures must be present or past students."
![[Hohendorn]](http://www.graphics.uwaterloo.ca/content/imagebank/images/19960716.jpg)
A well-known staff member in the co-op education and career services
department, Edith Hohendorn (left), retired officially on
February 1. She had been at UW since January 1975, and her last title was
"administrative assistant, employment contracts administration".
Sports this weekend: basketball against Lakehead, tonight and tomorrow night (women at 6 p.m. and men at 8 p.m. both evenings) in the PAC main gym. Women's volleyball against Guelph, 2:00 tomorrow in the PAC. Women's hockey against Toronto, Saturday 7:30 at the Icefield. Curling "crossover" tournament Saturday and Sunday at the Granite Club on Seagram Drive. The track and field Warriors are at York for a meet tomorrow.
CAR