![[University of Waterloo]](/images/logobars/goldbar.gif)
| Yesterday |
Friday, October 21, 2005
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Editor: Chris Redmond credmond@uwaterloo.ca |
![[In files, by number]](/images/2005/1001smallgym2004convocation.jpg)
Convocation:
when the leaders of tomorrow wear the garb of the middle ages! UW's
Ninety-First Convocation will be held in two sessions on Saturday,
in the Physical Activities
Complex as always, at 10 a.m. for applied health studies and
arts, 2 p.m. for other faculties and programs. The morning speaker
is James Downey, who
will
be installed as a president emeritus of UW. Convocation will see
several honorary degrees awarded, including one to
Dianne O'Leary, professor of computer science at the University of Maryland,
who will speak at the afternoon session. Hannah Fournier (French studies)
and Jack Kalbfleisch (statistics and actuarial science) will be honoured
as distinguished professors emeritus. Gold medal recipients are Elin Moorlag
of sociology, as UW's top master's degree graduate of the year, and
Pieter Verburg of biology, as top PhD graduate of the year.
(Photo of graduates lining up in the small gymnasium before one of last
year's ceremonies, by Graphics Photo/Imaging.)
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Although the word "competencies" wasn't used in the 1997 "Fifth Decade" plan, it does include a list that is the basis for the new proposal. The 1997 plan recommends that UW undergraduates should "systematically acquire the knowledge and skills to develop their potential, compete successfully in the changing job market, and contribute productively to society". It lists these specifics:
President and provost speak November 1Faculty and staff members have been invited to a "town hall meeting" with UW's president and provost on Tuesday, November 1. The event starts at 4:00 in the Humanities Theatre."We look forward to this meeting," says the invitation, distributed yesterday, "as an opportunity to thank you for the effort and support you provide every day, and to update you on some of the important initiatives happening on campus. There will be ample opportunity for questions and answers." |
Says the Living-Learning report: "This list of competencies is generally congruent with those of other premier academic institutions. We suggest augmenting it slightly as follows."
• a thorough and comprehensive understanding of their chosen discipline;
• an appreciation of the
interdisciplinary context of their studies;
• an appreciation for intellectual, social,
cultural and political diversity;
• critical thinking skills;
• effectiveness in using information and
communications technology;
• strong interpersonal and communication skills;
• well-honed problem-solving skills; and
• an understanding of the importance of and commitment to
civic stewardship, civility in discourse, and ethical conduct.
![[Academic, Experiental, Community make a circle]](/images/2005/1019competencies.gif)
The report recommends "that Executive Council validate these
competencies and confirm they should be achieved by UW graduates."
Executive
Council is a committee of deans and other senior officials,
chaired by the president.
Says the report: "These competencies can be the product of an enabling and supportive educational experience, honed not only in the classroom and the lab, but also in work, living and social environments. These competencies can be grouped into three categories of educational experience: scholarly/intellectual, career/professional and social/cultural/civic. Underlying successful acquisition of all these competencies is a fourth competency: health/wellness."
Most of the recommendations in the Living-Learning report deal with programs that could be carried on through the student residences to beef up "social, cultural and civic" learning for UW students.
Campaign Waterloo, which is aimed at raising $350 million for UW by 2007 after passing its $260 million goal two years early.
Keystone organizers, inviting staff, faculty and retirees to donate, say it's not just the money that matters, it's also the evidence -- of interest to outside donors -- that the people who work for UW are supporting their own cause. Hence the new Keystone goal: gifts from 2,007 individuals by the time of UW's 50th anniversary, 20 months from now.
| WHEN AND WHERE |
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Architecture students in Toronto today for winter term
co-op employer interviews.
Chemical engineering seminar: Thomas Boughner, Pope & Talbot Ltd., "Process Safety and Loss Management," 1:30, Doug Wright Engineering room 1501. Earth sciences department annual Farvolden Lecture: George Teutsch, Umweltforschungszentrum, Germany, "Groundwater Hydrology at Catchment Scale: Need for New Paradigms?", 2:00, Humanities Theatre. Computational mathematics colloquium: Dianne O'Leary, University of Maryland, "A Homotopy Optimization Method for Protein Structure Prediction", 3:00, Math and Computer room 5136. EinsteinFest winds up at Perimeter Institute: exhibits open; talks tomorrow including "Could the Laws of Physics Change?"; jazz Saturday night; presentations Sunday; details online. George Soulis, founding chair of systems design engineering, long-time faculty member, 80th birthday party Saturday 2:00 to 5:00, Highland Baptist Church, 135 Highland Road West, friends welcome. Sports this weekend: Women's basketball vs. Manitoba, 7:00 tonight, Columbia Icefield gym, and at Ryerson Saturday; football vs. Windsor, Saturday 2:00, University Stadium. Out-of-town sports: Women's hockey at Brock tonight; men's hockey at Princeton tonight, at Yale tomorrow; badminton at McMaster tomorrow; cross-country and men's rugby both at Brock tomorrow; field hockey at York tomorrow; soccer (men and women) at Queen's tomorrow, at Royal Military College on Sunday; swimming at Laurentian Saturday and Sunday; men's basketball at Queen's tournament; women's volleyball at Toronto on Saturday, Ryerson on Sunday; women's rugby at Western on Sunday in the OUA semifinal. CKMS (Radio Waterloo) general meeting Sunday 1:00, Student Life Centre multipurpose room, controversy online. Tourism lecture series: Daniel Scott, geography, "Climate Change, Recreation and Tourism", Monday 9:30 a.m., Arts Lecture Hall room 105. Blood donor clinic Monday-Wednesday 10 to 4, Thursday 9 to 3, multipurpose room, Student Life Centre, appointments now at the turnkey desk. Used books sale organized by mature student services, Monday and Tuesday 9:00 to 2:00, Modern Languages lobby. Canadian Institutes of Health Research campus visit: meetings with graduate students and researchers (call ext. 6040 for appointment); Anne Martin-Matthews, Institute of Aging, "Funding Research from Cell to Society, from Promise to Practice" 2:30, Clarica Auditorium, Lyle Hallman Institute. 'Peaceable Kingdom' film showing, and presentation by Harold Brown, Farm Sanctuary, Monday 5:30, Davis Centre room 1304, sponsored by WPIRG. Marcel Massé, executive director, World Bank (Canada), "How Fast Can We Change? Some Effects of Globalization in Canada," Monday 5:30 p.m., Centre for International Governance Innovation, 57 Erb Street West, free tickets 885-2444 ext. 251. School of architecture reception for visiting team from the Canadian Architectural Certification Board, Monday 5:00 to 7:00, Architecture building, community welcome. Sharcnet tutorial Tuesday 2 to 4 p.m., Rod Coutts Hall room 108, aimed at new and potential Sharcnet users. Pascal Lectures on Christianity and the University: Lamin Sanneh, Yale University divinity school, "Faith and Power: Islam and Christianity in a Secular West", Thursday 7 p.m., Humanities Theatre; seminar Friday, October 28, 3:30, Davis Centre room 1304. Homecoming 2005 Saturday, October 29, include keynote speaker George Roter of Engineers Without Borders, 6 p.m., Humanities Theatre, full schedule online. Retirees' association luncheon, Tuesday, November 1, Luther Village, some tickets still available, 749-2307. |
Lorette said the majority of givings from faculty, staff and retirees -- 57 per cent at last count -- go to support scholarships and bursaries. The next major opportunity to become a Keystone supporter will be in late November, when an end-of-year reminder and appeal is distributed across campus.
"Stan McKay is known as a powerful speaker and he is addressing an important issue," writes David Seljak, director of the St. Jerome's Centre, which is hosting the talk. It is co-sponsored by the Waterloo Catholic District School Board, and supported by the Ignatian Lecture fund, endowed by the Upper Canada Province of the English-speaking Jesuits of Canada.
Says Seljak: "The history of mission to First Peoples in Canada has been an experience of misunderstanding by all involved. Different cultures and assumptions about truth blocked real communication. Europeans offered the Good News from their own cultural perspective and imposed it as part of the cultural genocide that First Peoples continue to experience. The struggle to maintain the ownership of truth is related to the economic and social marginalization of First Peoples as the colonial history flows into the present. The Elders of First Nations teach respect as a way of life and this means there can be right relations if Canadian society is willing to address historic wrongs."
McKay, who comes from the Fisher River Cree Nation in Manitoba, has worked extensively in leadership roles among the First Nations and the World Council of Churches. He served as director of the Dr. Jessie Saulteaux Resource Centre, an ecumenical theological college that prepares Aboriginal students for ministry, and is co-author of The First Nations: A Canadian Experience of the Gospel-Culture Encounter. He received an honorary doctorate from UW in 2002.
Tonight's lecture starts at 7:30 in Siegfried Hall, St. Jerome's. Admission is free.
Tomorrow, McKay will be a central figure in the one-day "Challenge for Change" event sponsored by multiple Christian agencies -- including St. Jerome's -- and held at St. Peter's Lutheran Church in downtown Kitchener. Registration information is available online.
Anglican issues: In another church-related event tomorrow, the Renison Institute of Ministry, based at Renison College, will host a briefing on some key questions facing the Anglican Church in Canada and beyond.
The implications of two reports will be presented by Rev. Stephen Andrews, the president of Thorneloe College, the Anglican affiliate of Laurentian University. The Windsor Report is a summary of findings by the Lambeth Commission on Communion, which was asked to consider ways in which the world-wide Anglican communion can stay together in light of stresses created by issues such as the blessing of same-sex unions in one Canadian diocese. The St. Michael's Report summarizes the considerations of the Primate's Theological Commission of the Anglican Church of Canada on the Blessing of Same-Sex Unions.
Andrews is one of 12 theologians on the Primate's Theological Commission, and was one of the Canadian presenters to the Anglican Consultative Council in Nottingham, England, in June, who described to the international council the thinking and the processes that have guided the Anglican Church of Canada in developing its position on the blessing of same-sex unions.
The event, from 1 to 4 p.m. tomorrow at Renison, will include small group discussion. Admission to the afternoon is $10 per person (free for students), and the number to call for registration is 884-4404 ext. 628.
CAR