Conference on Germans around the world

from the UW media relations office

Canada's most prominent area of German settlement -- Kitchener-Waterloo -- will host an unprecedented conference later this summer on the experiences of German-speaking immigrants around the world.

The conference, to be held at St. Paul's College August 24 to 27, is entitled Diaspora Experiences: German-Speaking Immigrants and their Descendants. It will showcase some 60 international experts giving public talks on German immigration in 27 countries and areas around the world.

Diaspora, a term commonly used to describe the socio-historical experience of the Jewish people, now has evolved into an analytical category for examining present-day patterns of immigration in broader terms.

"We will explore commonalities and differences experienced by German-speaking immigrants and their descendants when living in geographical and linguistic settings other than those of their own ethnic origin," said David John, director of the centre and a UW professor of German studies. "A conference on this topic and of this dimension has never before been held," he said. "We want to break new ground and provide an agenda for the future."

The conference was organized by the Waterloo Centre for German Studies, which is affiliated with UW's Germanic and Slavic studies department. The centre's mandate is to study, encourage and support German heritage, language and modern German-Canadian relations.

The event will feature three keynote speakers giving overviews to the German diaspora in terms of history, linguistics and literature: Hans Lemberg (Philipps Universität Marburg), "Reasons and Conditions of Population Transfer. Expulsion of Germans from East and Central Europe and their Integration in Germany and in Foreign Countries after World War II”; Janet Fuller (Southern Illinois University), "Language and Identity in the German Diaspora (and at Home)”; and Hugo Hamilton (an author living in Dublin), reading from his celebrated novel The Speckled People, a memoir of growing up in a mixed Irish-German-English culture.

John said that many local residents will find Hamilton's talk to be of interest as his experiences mirror their own. He will give his public presentation August 25, beginning at 7:30 p.m. in MacKirdy Hall, St. Paul's College (admission $8 for those not attending the full conference).

"We are delighted to make this offering to the international academic community and to our fellow citizens of Kitchener-Waterloo," John said.

The conference organizing committee, which he chairs, searched for the best possible speakers from around the world. Organizers sent out a call worldwide and received 139 expressions of interest, followed by 114 proposals that were then assessed anonymously by external experts. The proposals discussed aspects of the German diaspora in some 27 countries.

Built by German settlers and immigrants, Kitchener-Waterloo is a significant German heritage centre in Canada and is home to the greatest density of German-Canadians in the country. As a result, a large body of knowledge about German-Canadian culture and the German-speaking peoples exists in the area.

 

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Committee seeking new dean of science

a memo issued Friday by the provost

This is to inform you that the Nominating Committee, constituted under the terms of Policy 45, is now in place and has held its first meeting to begin the process of finding George Dixon's successor before he takes up his new position as Vice-President, University Research on July 1, 2007.

As required by Policy 45, the Committee (identified below) will advertise the position, internally and externally, in its search for the best available candidate. The Committee will be assisted by search consultant Dan Birch of Janet Wright & Associates Inc.

In the next few weeks, the Committee would very much appreciate receiving your views about the search process, including the characteristics to be sought in the next Dean of Science and the challenges and opportunities the new Dean will need to address. Please make your views known to any member of the Nominating Committee and feel free to suggest the names of strong potential candidates, both internal and external. Members intend to consult broadly, so don’t be surprised if your views are sought. If you prefer to respond in writing, please direct your submission to John Bullen (University Secretariat, Needles Hall; jbullen@uwaterloo.ca; fax 519-888-6337). However you respond, your comments will be held in confidence within the Committee.

• Amit Chakma, Chair [x4766; achakma@uwaterloo.ca]
• John Bullen, Secretary [x2623; jbullen@uwaterloo.ca]
• Melanie Campbell, member-at-large [x6273; mcampbel@uwaterloo.ca]
• Sujeet Chaudhuri, Electrical & Computer Engineering [x2843; sujeet@uwaterloo.ca]
• Brian Dixon, Biology [x2665; bdixon@uwaterloo.ca]
• Stefan Idziak, Physics [x5580; idziak@uwaterloo.ca]
• Lyndon Jones, Optometry [x5030; lwjones@uwaterloo.ca]
• Bob Linnen, Earth Sciences [x6929; rlinnen@uwaterloo.ca]
• Liz Meiering, Chemistry [x2254; meiering@uwaterloo.ca]
• Michelle Nash, undergrad student [519-742-5957; mnash@uwaterloo.ca]
• Christine Tauer-Martin, staff member [x7149; ctauerma@uwaterloo.ca]
• Karen Trevors, staff member [x2101; ktrevors@uwaterloo.ca]
• Maria Ziegler, grad student (Biology) [519-591-9340; mziegler@uwaterloo.ca]

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Notes as spring term exams begin

Friday's Daily Bulletin noted that "open enrolment" for fall term undergraduate courses was beginning on that day. That announcement jumped the gun a little: in fact, it's as of today that all students have equal access to class enrolment through Quest. June brought online appointments for returning students to choose their courses, and for the past two weeks enrolment has been open to new first-year students; starting today, and through September, the system is open equally to everybody.

Another follow-up: the Daily Bulletin of July 20 reported on a project headed by Arthur Yin, a University of Manitoba history student, to provide English-language books to a public library in his home town of Shenyang, China. Yin has approached several deans and other officials at UW for support, and received a major donation of books from the Federation of Students used book store. But there's also been some scepticism on campus about the legitimacy of the project, not to mention who's going to pay for shipping mountains of books to China. As a result, Bruce Mitchell, associate provost (academic and student affairs), and his assistant, Nan Gao, have looked into the matter and spoken to the city librarian in Shenyang. "It is a good project," Gao reports, according to a memo circulated by Mitchell in late July. "Previously, the English books donated to the library were brought to China either by Arthur himself or his friends. If there are thousands of books coming from abroad, Mr. Yang said, he thinks that the library might provide support for the shipment fees, etc. He also mentioned that he will be careful of the books that are being sent to the library, to avoid any political influence."

Mark Walker, the associate registrar (records and systems), circulated a memo earlier this summer about arrangements for the issuing of government work permits for international students. Ottawa announced a policy change a year ago, and regulations followed, including a requirement for a "verification form" from the university where a student is registered. Such documentation has to come from the registrar's office or the graduate studies office, Walker's memo stresses. "Students must complete and submit a Verification Form and a Student Acknowledgement and Consent Form to the authorized designate office for approval and signature. Both the Registrar's Office and the Graduate Studies Office charge $10.00 to verify enrolment information and sign the Verification Form. . . . Under no circumstances shall any other department complete the verification." Details of the government's regulations for visa student work permits are available online.

A recent memo from Jason Coolman, UW's director of alumni affairs, sums up the work done by his office during 2005-06 — including 24 alumni events around the world, five career planning workshops, a monthly e-newsletter that now has a mailing list of 43,000, and so on. "In order to invite our alumni to events and reunions," he writes, " we sent 211 broadcast e-mail, reaching 1,333,273 alumni throughout the year. . . . We launched life-long learning opportunities for alumni (20% discount on Continuing Education courses) and a speaker series calendar, highlighting all free on and off-campus lectures. To enhance internal event planning, we also launched an online alumni speakers list."

Anna Mayer, who worked as a housekeeper in Village I from 1966 until her retirement September 1, 1985, died on July 23, the human resources department reports.

CAR

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