Johnston gives 'smart city' challenge

David Johnston, UW's president, is throwing out a big challenge to the leaders and people of Waterloo Region this morning as he speaks to the Chamber of Commerce about his "20 goals for 2010" that will make this region "the knowledge capital of Canada".

Johnston (right) is the featured speaker as the Chamber kicks off its Baker Investment Group Inc. Networking Breakfast Series for this year. The event is being held at the Delta Kitchener-Waterloo hotel in downtown Kitchener.

An advance summary indicates that the president will touch on some familiar themes, such as the need for high educational achievement and public support for science and technology. But he'll also cite the need for health care, improved public transit, and a cultural flowering. And he'll describe the importance of immigration and poverty issues in determining whether a community can attract and keep the people who will make it a "smart city".

Watch for more detail about Johnston's proposed "goals", and the response to them from local leaders, in the days ahead.

Today will be a busy day for the president, bracketed by the Chamber breakfast and a high-powered, by-invitation dinner tonight at the Centre for Interntional Governance Innovation on Erb Street. Johnston will be master of ceremonies there tonight as CIGI, UW, Wilfrid Laurier University and Canada's Technology Triangle host the event. Guest of honour is Dalton McGuinty, premier of Ontario and this year's winner of the "Global Personality of the Year" award as selected by fDi (Foreign Direct Investment) magazine, part of the Financial Times Group of London.

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Changes to University Teaching program

Open meetings are being held today to provide information about changes to UW’s Certificate in University Teaching program, which is designed primarily for doctoral students who are interested in pursuing a career as faculty members.

CUT, run by the teaching resource office and co-sponsored by the Graduate Studies Office, is made up of three courses that promise “a comprehensive teacher-development experience”. Grad students are told that the program aims to help them “become a more effective and reflective teacher”, “increase your knowledge of teaching and learning”, “have a forum in which to discuss teaching issues with others”, and “develop skills that prepare you to compete in today’s academic job market”.

UW’s CUT, introduced in 1998, was one of the first such programs, but they’re now offered at many North American universities. A feature story on CNN reports this week that “Several universities, including Washington, Colorado and Michigan, have built up significant centers staffed with experts to train and mentor teaching assistants.”

Waterloo’s CUT has been “overwhelmingly successful”, says a message sent to current participants a few days ago. Nearly 100 students have completed the certificate since it was created in 1998, and about 300 have taken the workshop-based course, GS 901.

The program requires students to attend workshops, write response papers, do a teaching and learning-based research project, prepare a teaching dossier, and have their teaching observed.

“We are making changes to help participants finish the entire program and receive their Certificate,” the e-mail announcement says. “While we will continue to allow CUT participants to follow the current program requirements, we strongly encourage you to register in the revised program so that you can have priority access to required TRACE workshops and booking observations.” The changes were approved by Senate Graduate and Research Council in June and came into effect on September 1.

Says the September issue of the Teaching Matters newsletter, summarizing the changes: “Our resources are finite and cannot meet the climbing demand. . . . Our intentions were to find a way to deliver the program within our means, maintain the quality and integrity of the Certificate, and help participants to complete all three courses and receive their Certificate.”

It goes on: “The principal change to the CUT is the registration procedure, which will allow us to cap our enrolments. Registration will be handled by the Quest system at the beginning of each term, and the numbers will be restricted so that we can maintain the quality of our service.

“There are other changes, too, designed to provide more support to participants as they move through the program.” Time limits are set on each course, the requirements have been reassessed, and support for English-as-a-second-language participants is being added.

Past participants will be given the opportunity to either complete the CUT under the old rules, or switch to the revised program. Three-quarters of the spaces will be maintained for doctoral program candidates, and one-quarter will be available to Master’s-level students.

For current CUT participants, an information session is scheduled today from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in Needles Hall room 3001. New CUT participants, or those interested in learning more about the program, can attend a similar session from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. in the same room.

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Volunteerism awards: deadline near

a memo from associate provost Catharine Scott

The President's Circle Awards for Volunteerism were established in 1997 to recognize the significant contributions of students in volunteer work both within the University and the community at-large. The President's Circle members play an important role in the development of the University, not only directly through their contributions to UW, but indirectly through the example they set for corporations, foundations, alumni and other individuals. The awards honour the extracurricular contributions of students in a variety of service areas, some of which may not be highly visible but nonetheless important to the community. A committee normally selects ten recipients each year to receive awards of $250 each.

As we wrote to you in March, we have changed the process and would encourage you to nominate students on an ongoing basis throughout the months of March to September. Any member of the University or the community at-large may nominate a student and I encourage you to do so. As well, because volunteer work often has a low profile, students are very much encouraged to apply directly for an award.

Once again, I ask that you make these awards known to deserving students and consider nominating some of our extraordinary volunteers yourself. Application/nomination forms are available online, at the Student Awards Office (Needles Hall 2001), the Graduate Studies Office (Needles Hall 3021), the Federation of Students (Student Life Centre 1102), and the First Year Student Life Office (Needles Hall 3006).

Applications/nominations forms must be returned to Heather FitzGerald, Director, Student Life (Needles Hall 3006), by October 2, 2006. If you have any questions do not hesitate to contact me at ext. 3-3186 (e-mail: cscott@uwaterloo.ca).

CAR

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