Staff recognition: 63 per cent say yes

Almost two-thirds of staff members who voted in a recent poll have said yes, they favour keeping "a recognition program for staff that includes a monetary component".

The university secretariat, on behalf of the Staff Compensation Committee, announced the result in this memo that they've asked me to publish:

"As the first step in the Committee’s review of the Special Recognition Award Program, the opinion of staff was solicited through an e-question as to whether there is interest in continuing in some manner with the Special Recognition Award Program implemented in 2004. Prior to asking the question and based on advice about typical web survey response rates provided by Mary Thompson, Co-director of the UW Survey Research Centre, the Committee agreed that a 30% response rate, with a 60% ‘yes’ result would trigger continuation of the program and a full review over the summer months.

"The results of the e-question follow: Of 1755 eligible voters, 518 (or 30%) voted. Of those who voted, 11 (or 2%) declined, 181 (or 35%) voted ‘no’, and 326 (or 63%) voted ‘yes’.

"The Committee met on June 13 to consider the results and agreed to begin its review of the program immediately. The Committee anticipates having the review completed and any changes to the program implemented by January 2007. As a result, nominations for the 2007 award will not be accepted until January.

"As always, comments are welcome and should be directed to Trenny Canning, Associate University Secretary, NH 3060, tcanning@uwaterloo.ca . Please note that all comments received since the program’s inception will be considered as part of the review."

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Planning prof admires UW risk-taking

UW is a family affair for Mark Seasons (left), associate professor in the School of Planning. He completed his PhD in planning at UW in 1989, his son is in third-year political science and his daughter is working part-time on her PhD in geography. Seasons says he’s proud of his children and of UW. “We educate well-rounded students who improve the quality of life in Canada and overseas. UW graduates are trained to make a difference.”

He is also associate dean (undergraduate studies) in the Faculty of Environmental Studies and enjoys the balance of teaching and research, plus the cross-campus connections that come from the administrative part of his job. “A significant element of my time at UW has been traveling and experiencing other parts of the world,” he says. “Our faculty does a lot of work in China, and I enjoy the personal growth that comes from that experience, and from being able to apply the skills we have developed at UW.”

What motivates you to give to the university? “I believe strongly in the kind of education that we provide at UW, and I'm aware of the need to address the university’s fiscal shortfall. I admire and respect our faculty and staff members. I want to help support the work that we do in our faculty and across campus.”

What makes you proud to be at UW? “As President Johnston has said, UW is about being innovative and getting on with things. We train people to take risks, to experiment, and to improve things, whether it's through Computer Science, Arts, or Environmental Studies. These are surprisingly rare qualities in universities.”

What is your favourite spot on campus? “The courtyard between Modern Languages and Environmental Studies is a nice little oasis. It's a great spot to grab a coffee with colleagues and even to have meetings.”

How has your background led you to UW? “I was born and raised in Ottawa. I stayed in Eastern Ontario for my undergraduate degree at Queen's and have since lived in Calgary, Toronto, and Kitchener-Waterloo. I also lived in Auckland, New Zealand, where I spent 18 months working for the NZ federal government. My 20 years of professional experience has been a great background for my work here in the School of Planning.”

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Faculty members begin sabbaticals

Here are some more UW professors who have begun sabbatical leaves to get on with research, writing, course preparation and exploring new fields of study. All these individuals began six-month sabbaticals on July 1. The descriptions of their work are from information submitted to UW’s board of governors.

Jeffery Orchard, school of computer science: “I will use the six-month sabbatical to pursue research in multi-modality image registration and forensic image processing.”

Daniel Scott, department of geography: “The six-month sabbatical will be used to complete field work and to publish the results of several funded projects on climate change and tourism, fulfill obligations as Canada’s representative to the new World Meteorological Organization – World Tourism Organization Expert Team on Climate and Tourism, and work with collaborators in Sweden and New Zealand on a book on ‘Global Change and Tourism’.”

John Straube, civil engineering and architecture: “The sabbatical will be used to complete several research projects, to write technical papers, and to visit Building Science research institutes in Alaska, Germany, and New Zealand.”

Paul M. Malone, Germanic and Slavic studies: “Most of the requested sabbatical leave will be spent drafting and writing the planned monograph on Doris Dörrie, one of Germany’s most successful contemporary film-makers and authors, with at least one research trip to Germany in the fall to consult film archives in Berlin, Munich and Frankfurt; and possibly to interview the author in person. I intend to complete the monograph in mid-2007.”

Craig S. Kaplan, computer science: “I will use the time to study the mathematical foundations of ornament and pursue implementation projects related to that study. In particular, I will investigate whether there is a computational model for pattern design that can generalize the measure of order provided by planar symmetry groups. This work will be of value to the emerging field of computational aesthetics.”

Brent Doberstein, geography: “I will complete two research projects involving travel to Asia, and finish several publications from research already completed. I will also present at two conferences (October and December).”

CAR

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