Last day of the 'why not?' celebration

Seems like only yesterday that UW was launching its 50th anniversary year with cheerleaders (left), 1950s icons and pizza in the Physical Activities Complex — and today, suddenly, it's all over.

A party for staff, faculty and retirees this afternoon (3:00 to 4:30) in the Columbia Icefield will be the closing event for the 50th anniversary, which has brought one special event after another through this calendar year. The launch was held January 11, and highlights since then have included old-timers' hockey, the "2017 The Workplace" conference on co-op education and employment in general, Convocation ceremonies with an anniversary touch, and the record-breaking Canada Day party on the north campus on July 1.

"This has been an exciting and eventful year," says UW president David Johnston in a letter to staff and faculty. He was on stage at the launch event in January, and he'll be on stage again this afternoon, to thank those who made the anniversary a success and to say a few words about UW's past, the present and — especially — what he foresees for the university over the 50 years that lie ahead.

Johnston will also help draw the last winning ticket in the 50th anniversary raffle (there will still be a chance to buy tickets as the event gets started this afternoon) and emcee a session of the "Reach for the Top" competition that's been held several times in the course of the year. Today's competitors are teams from human resources and the graduate studies office.

Historical plaques that are to find a place on campus will be unveiled today by UW historian Ken McLaughlin, who chaired an anniversary subcommittee dealing with such matters. And as a final gesture, a 50-year time capsule, made in the UW carpentry shop, will be sealed, with anniversary memorabilia and current UW publications inside it. Refreshments at the party will include "hot cider and afternoon tea", says associate provost Catharine Scott, a co-chair of the committee that has planned the event.

"Please plan to leave work early and drop by on your way home," the president's letter to staff and faculty said. The evening shift for unionized staff has been adjusted today so that the 3:00 to 4:30 period is university-paid time and they can also attend the event. Parking lots W and X near the Icefield will be open and free this afternoon.

Later in the day, Campaign Waterloo donors and volunteers have been invited to an "appreciation celebration" much like the one that was held in October for Toronto-based supporters of the campaign. Johnston and other officials and Campaign leaders will speak. The by-invitation party is scheduled for 5:00 to 7:30 in the CEIT building foyer.

In a final celebratory moment, the 50th anniversary flag is to be lowered for the last time in a brief ceremony tomorrow morning at 11:00 at the University Avenue flagpoles.

Back to top

Civil eng chair to be acting dean

a memo issued yesterday by provost Amit Chakma

"As you know, Dean Adel Sedra will be taking a sabbatical leave from July 1, 2008, to June 30, 2009. After consultation with the faculty and staff of the Faculty of Engineering, I am very pleased to announce the appointment of Professor Leo Rothenburg (left) as Acting Dean of Engineering effective July 1, 2008, for a term of one year.

"Dr. Rothenburg is currently Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Waterloo. He holds an undergraduate degree in Physics from the Moscow State University and a Doctorate in Civil Engineering from Carleton University. Prior to joining the University of Waterloo in 1983, Dr. Rothenburg worked in the consulting industry.

"An internationally recognized expert in geotechnical and pavement engineering, mining and petroleum engineering, he has been a consultant to several international development agencies and many legal and engineering firms worldwide. He has more than a hundred technical publications to his credit, including over 50 papers in refereed journals, several patents and awards winning papers. Dr. Rothenburg is a member of several international professional societies and currently serves as a core member of the ISSMGE technical committee on particulate media and on the editorial board of Computers and Geotechnics.

"Professor Rothenburg is an experienced leader in the Faculty of Engineering. He is currently completing a second successful term as Chair of the Department of Civil Engineering. He has been a key member of the leadership team in the Faculty of Engineering’s Vision 2010 planning process. He is also providing leadership to UW’s UAE initiative. As such he is eminently qualified to take on the role of Acting Dean and advancing the goals of the Faculty of Engineering.

"I am personally grateful to Leo for his long standing commitment and dedication to UW and his willingness to serve as Acting Dean. President Johnston and I look forward to working with him, and we are confident that he will have your full cooperation and support."

Back to top

Brown water gushed along the west side of the ring road yesterday afternoon after an accident at the construction site near the Student Life Centre, where excavation has started for the tunnel that will connect the planned Quantum-Nano building to the rest of the campus. Neil Stewart of the plant operations department says a contractor's drill bit pierced an eight-inch water main. Generally it's a simple matter to close the two valves that would stop the flow, but it took a bit longer yesterday because things were under water, not to mention dirt, ice and snow. Meanwhile, buses and cars splashed carefully through the temporary lake in front of Needles Hall. Photo by Jaymis Goertz of the marketing and undergraduate recruitment office.

Back to top

Staff association would spend more

There were no awkward pauses between questions at yesterday’s “town hall meeting” sponsored by the staff association, as conversation continued steadily until the scheduled 10:00 end of the 90-minute meeting, and speakers touched on issues ranging from pensions to “downloading”.

As I said in yesterday’s venture into liveblogging the first minutes of the meeting, association president Jesse Rodgers started off talking about the planned new Policy 36 on grievances and “dispute resolution”, then moved into possible changes for the staff association itself. The PowerPoint slides from his presentation are online today.

If the group is going to do more on behalf of staff — and noises from across the room made clear that the roughly 200 people at the meeting do want it to be more active and more influential — then membership dues are going to have to go up, Rodgers made clear. He said the executive is working on a package of proposals to come to an association general meeting early in 2008, and at the moment it includes a three-level fee structure: $7 a month for the two-fifths of staff who are in salary grades USG 1 to 6, $11 a month for the two-fifths in grades USG 7 to 10, and $15 a month for the one-fifth in grades USG 11 and higher. At present, all staff pay $5 a month.

The first claim on the additional revenue, Rodgers said, would be hiring an “executive manager” for the association, someone who would manage the association office, head the members’ advisory committee, and “act as advocate for staff” under the direction of the executive. That would likely mean taking a role when the new Policy 36 is invoked, accompanying a staff member to the hearings about his or her grievance.

In the past the association has had just one employee, an administrative assistant, and that position will continue, he says. It’s currently vacant, with the departure of long-time admin assistant Barb Yantha for a job elsewhere on campus, but is expected to be filled shortly.

Beyond the hiring of a professional staff person, Rodgers told yesterday’s meeting, the executive is visualizing what he likes to call a “war chest” — a reserve fund, building up to perhaps $250,000, that could be used for legal help or other expenses if the association were ever pressed to defend a staff member in a major crisis, perhaps involving a lawsuit.

There are other things the association might get involved in if it had funds, he went on: day care subsidies, loans for members who want to take career-building courses outside UW, the creation of a “community presence”.

Several members challenged the president and his colleagues on the executive: why haven’t you been doing this or that? “Time,” said Rodgers, pointing out that association executives typically work “125 per cent of their normal time” with meetings and other workload piled on top of their existing jobs. “Expectations are high,” he said, “and for many staff members, the association’s relevance is low.”

But he pointed out that the successful revision of Policy 36, in which “we got 90 per cent of what we wanted”, is a demonstration that the association can make a real difference to staff members’ working conditions. Building on that achievement, the Staff Relations Committee will now look at Policy 5 on staff salaries and Policy 18 on staff employment, with an eye to tackling the “inconsistencies” and unclear provisions such as jobs that are “contingent on funding”.

Rodgers also noted that plans will be presented in the new year to restructure the association’s constitution so that all its executive members serve two-year terms rather than moving in and out of positions every year.

The question period also touched on pensions (no, lower-paid staff are not subsidizing higher-paid faculty, said Steve Cook, a staff representative on the UW pensions and benefits committee); the desire of some staff to get their pay biweekly; possible optical benefits (not a dead issue, Rodgers promised); and the tendency for departments to cut “administrative” staff and load the work onto people who already have their own jobs to do.

CAR

Back to top