Celebrating a gift yesterday were, from left, Caryl Russell, program director, Well-Fit; Charles Ormston, past president of KWCF; Doug Letson, chair, grants committee, KWCF; and Mike Sharratt, professor of Kinesiology and former dean of Applied Health Sciences. – Photo by Meredith McGinnis

UW Well-Fit program funded for new equipment -- from the UW Media Relations Office

An innovative University of Waterloo fitness program seeking to better the quality of life for people coping with cancer has received funding from a local charitable foundation to buy specialized equipment. At a special ceremony Tuesday on the UW campus, the Kitchener and Waterloo Community Foundation donated $9,000 to the UW Well-Fit program for a new elliptical trainer.

"We are deeply grateful to the Kitchener and Waterloo Community Foundation for their support," says Caryl Russell, director of UW Well-Fit. "An elliptical trainer is a valuable contribution to Well-Fit because it offers excellent cardiovascular conditioning as it challenges the arms as well as the legs and has the advantage of reducing the impact on joints."

Since Well-Fit was launched in 2002, more than 100 local chemotherapy patients have benefited from the program. It is part of UW Fitness, one of many programs linking UW's research and teaching expertise in the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences (AHS) with community-based wellness services, training, and health-promotion programs.

As part of Campaign Waterloo: Building a Talent Trust, the Well-Fit program is looking for support to accommodate more participants, including patients undergoing radiation. The expansion plans will take place in the Manulife Wellness Centre in the AHS faculty, providing a new home for Well-Fit and much-needed space for clinical testing, group programs and education sessions.

Well-Fit is part of a comprehensive recovery strategy that offers individuals living with cancer an opportunity to participate in an innovative group physical activity program. It helps alleviate some of the negative side effects of chemotherapy, gives them a feeling of increased strength and control over their lives, as well as providing emotional support and motivation from others facing similar challenges.

Under the program, patients receive an assessment by Well-Fit's professional exercise specialists. Then they begin a twice-a-week, 12-week exercise program that includes treadmill walking/running, stationary cycling, functional strength and flexibility training. Each session lasts an hour.

UW Well-Fit provides a critical community service by helping cancer patients in Waterloo Region improve their physical and emotional well-being. It also includes a research component that monitors and evaluates these improvements, opening up an educational opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students.

 Well-Fit is offered in partnership with Grand River Regional Cancer Centre and is currently funded jointly by UW Fitness and charitable donations.

Ken Stollery passes

Kenneth Stollery died July 10, at the age of 57, after a courageous three-year battle with cancer. Holder of degrees from the University of Southern California and Queen’s University, he was a highly regarded member of the Department of Economics since 1974 and was widely published in the fields of natural resources, industrial organization and social security. “Ken loved to work on tough economic problems,” says Bob Kerton, dean of arts. “His research, especially his work on natural resources, has continuing value because it shows the effects -- on people -- of different public policies. This extends to his research findings on how we should assess global warming. Ken was especially modest about his achievements; he was a wonderfully helpful collaborator; as a colleague he will be sincerely missed.” Over the years, Stollery (right), served as associate chair for both undergraduate and graduate affairs, and was very popular with students because of his kindness and patience towards them. He also served on a number of university and Faculty Association committees.

When not tackling economic problems, Ken enjoyed walking, cycling, cross-country skiing, playing guitar, and singing at his church. The funeral service will be held at the Trinity Evangelical Missionary Church, 330 Conservation Drive, Waterloo, on Friday at 11 a.m. Interment takes place Saturday, 11 a.m., at the Parkview Cemetery in Waterloo for family and close friends.

Numbers help give a picture of UW

Dozens of charts and graphs make up the UW "Performance Indicators 2005" document that was presented to the university's board of governors this spring. A selection from the numbers that the "first annual" document provides:

Student-faculty ratio: In the past ten years UW's enrolment has gone up 28 per cent, the document says, while faculty numbers have risen only 4 per cent. "As a result, our student-faculty ratio has risen to become the highest of all the G10 universities." (The G10 are Canada's major research universities, including Toronto, Western, McMaster, Queen's, three in Québec and two in western Canada, as well as UW.) Student-faculty ratios are 24.3 at UW and anywhere from 22.5 to 18.6 at the other institutions, with an average of 21.1.

Home town: UW draws 15.0 per cent of its first-year students from the Kitchener-Waterloo region, 11.9 per cent from Toronto, 21.2 per cent from the Greater Toronto Area other than Toronto itself, 44.1 per cent from the rest of Ontario, 4.4 per cent from the rest of Canada, and 3.3 per cent from other countries. Another 0.1 per cent of students have an "unknown" origin, based on "school last attended".

Research funding: The faculty of science brings in the most money for research, with about $275,000 for each professor ("tenured and tenure-track faculty"). Figures elsewhere in the university: applied health sciences, $120,000; arts, $20,000; engineering, $160,000; environmental studies, $50,000; mathematics, $80,000.

Faculty ages: "We monitor the age distribution of faculty to anticipate hiring demands," says the report. "Although monitoring is essential at the departmental level, a good spread of ages at the university level is a measure of institutional stability. . . . Over the next decade nearly 30 per cent of our faculty members will be eligible to retire." In April this year, 1.8 per cent of regular faculty members were under 30; 23.8 per cent were in their thirties; 34.1 per cent in their forties; 27.5 per cent in their fifties (12.3 per cent aged 50-54, and 15.2 per cent aged 55-59); and 13.0 per cent in their sixties.

Co-op earnings: Co-op students earned $111 million from their work term jobs during 2004-05, including $53.4 million earned by engineering students and $34.8 million by math students.

Volunteers wanted, and other notes

Volunteer Services at the City of Waterloo is looking for a volunteer to coordinate the city’s Royal Medieval Fair, an annual event that takes place in September. Pioneer Comedy, a senors’ comedy and musical performing group, needs a piano player. For information, call 888-6488 or email volunteer@city.waterloo.on.ca.

The Mill Race Festival of traditional folk music is asking for volunteers to help staff information booths, take donations, help distribute water, and other jobs. The festival takes place in Cambridge July 29 – 31. More information at (519) 623-6898 or kmcgillc600@rogers.com

Shiv Talwar will speak on “Spiritual Growth Through Education”  in CEIT room 1015, Thursday at 7:30 p.m. The talk is presented by the Spiritual Heritage Education Network Inc. (SHEN) and the Waterloo-India Linkage  group at UW. SHEN is a K-W organization that aims to create a sense of global community through education.

Weekly job postings and interviews for co-op students still looking for fall term jobs will continue this week and through early August.

C&PA