Fifty years ago today, this was the scene in a laboratory at the Waterloo College Associate Faculties, forerunner of UW. Identifications haven't survived, but the picture was taken November 29, 1957, by "RCH for Financial Post", according to notations attached to the negative. It's now part of the K-W Record photo collection in the UW archives.

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58 Canadians among 90 job candidates

A total of 90 "proposals for regular faculty appointments" came to the university-wide committee that keeps track of them during 2006-07, says a report presented to the UW senate's monthly meeting earlier this week. The University Appointments Review Committee says the 90 proposals involved 58 Canadians (or permanent residents of Canada) and 32 people from outside the country.

The total of 90 possible hires is pretty much even with the figures for the past few years: 86 in 2005-06, 92 in 2004-05, 97 in 2003-04, and 90 in 2002-03.

The report breaks down the number in various ways, indicating that 55 of the people to be offered jobs were men and 35 were women. There were 11 who would come to UW with tenure, 71 coming into probationary (tenure-track) positions, and 8 coming to definite-term appointments.

Arts accounted for the largest number of proposed hires, 32 of the 90, followed by engineering with 21.5 (apparently there was a position to be shared between engineering and applied health sciences), mathematics and science with 14 each, applied health sciences with 4.5 and environmental studies with 4.

Arts also had the most potential professors from outside Canada, 15 of the 32; engineering had 8 foreign academics and mathematics 6. Under government rules that were last changed in 2001, the university can advertise a faculty job in Canada and overseas at the same time, but must state that "Canadian citizens and permanent residents will be given priority." That policy was scheduled for review in 2004-05, the UARC report says, but "there has been no word on whether or whether the current situation will change."

The report notes that “appointment proposals from academic units and Faculties generally continue to be very good,” and the committee is able to review each one and give the okay within three or four days. What it doesn’t say is how many of the 90 proposals that the committee reviewed actually led to a faculty member being hired. Last year’s report mentioned that 62 out of 86 people were eventually hired by the university.

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Residences dress up with 'the right fit'

UW residences can provide “the right fit” for just about every student, say the T-shirts and other advertising media that will be launched at a noontime event today.

The department of Housing and Residences is hosting a special event for invited partners, student leaders, and all Housing and Residences staff members in the Village I great hall. Plans include free lunch, giveaways, and “some fun stuff too”, says marketing coordinator Mike Iley.

A photographer will be on hand to get a group picture: “Every Housing and Residences staff member (Administration, Facilities, IT, Residence Life dons, etc.) will be wearing a ‘right fit’ t-shirt that will have a saying that’s unique to them and the role they play within the department.”

It’s all to celebrate the launch of the department’s new “Right Fit” brand concept. Says Iley: “We’ve been working hard with staff from Graphics to create a creative concept (the T-shirts) that represents ‘The Right Fit’. People will begin to see the use of T-shirts in our new marketing materials.”

But what does it all mean? “The Right Fit speaks directly to students and underscores an underlying message: No matter where students come from, what they’re interested in, or where they want to go, the Department of Housing and Residences offers exciting living arrangements and support that enables all students to fit in and succeed.

“The T-shirts ‘fit’ the people wearing them. The unique sayings on the t-shirts symbolize that people are people — some people are similar, while others may be different from one another. What may be funny, quirky, or odd to some, might be perfectly normal to others. Students living in UW residences will meet and learn from a diverse group of people who are both similar and different from them. We’re confident that everyone can find their ‘right fit’ living here.”

The department is responsible for Village I, Ron Eydt Village, Mackenzie King Village, the Minota Hagey Residence, UW Place, and the two communities of Columbia Lake Village, as well as the off-campus housing office.

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Brief memos on a brisk morning

As charities kick into high gear for the Christmas season, UW's the Centre for Teaching Excellence is collecting items for the Out of the Cold program. Alan Kirker of CTE (still perhaps better known on campus under its previous names, TRACE and LT3) says the collection continues until December 18. "Stocking stuffers" for the homeless will be made from sweet treats, pairs of warm socks, toothbrushes, toothpaste tubes, disposable razors, shaving cream, shampoo, deodorant, hand cream, dark-coloured gloves and hats. Boxes are located in the Centre's two locations, Math and Computer room 4055 and Dana Porter Library room 328. More information: call Marta Bailey at ext. 33153.

The Waterloo-based Centre for International Governance Innovation will host a conference this weekend to mark the 10th anniversary of the signing of the Ottawa Treaty banning landmines. “In October 1996,” an announcement recalls, “Canada challenged the world to eliminate landmines. Responding to the challenge, 153 countries to date have signed and ratified the Treaty. Promoting, negotiating and implementing the Treaty gave Canada a new role and a distinctive voice on international issues. The conference is a joint initiative to promote and explore the issue of landmine eradication. Former Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy will deliver a keynote address. Photographer Tony V. Hauser's ‘Living with Land Mines’ photo exhibit will be on display. The exhibit features 16 life-size portraits of Cambodian children who have suffered the effects of landmines.” The conference will include such sessions as “The Landmine Treaty process: was it unique?”, “The military and the Landmine process”, “The Ottawa process and human security”, “What did the Treaty accomplish — where are we today?”, “If we’ve won the battle, can we win the war?”, and “The way forward”. Participation in the two-day conference itself, to be held at CIGI headquarters at 57 Erb Street West, is free, but there’s a $20 luncheon and a $150 Saturday evening dinner at which Axworthy will speak. Details are online.

The Centre for Teaching Excellence sent word to faculty members a few weeks ago that it was hoping to organize a couple of "Faculty Learning Communities" in the winter term — small groups of faculty who would meet regularly to talk about a particular teaching issue. The latest, from a memo circulated yesterday: "Based on indications of interest so far, CTE invites faculty to participate in a Learning Community about Supervising Graduate Students facilitated by Trevor Holmes, Senior Instructional Developer. If you are looking for something more than a single workshop but something less formal than a course or a series on this topic, consider joining us in order to share strategies, resources, and recent research. The Learning Community will develop its own direction, but the topic itself might involve learning about and trying some tools for effective supervision, identifying exemplary practices at Waterloo, learning from the recent Canadian and Australian research on supervision, reflecting on experiences you have had from both sides of the desk, and so on. Time commitment: 1.5 hours every three or four weeks, for a minimum of one term." More information: e-mail tholmes@admmail or call ext. 33408. CTE is also planning a number of workshops and other events in the term ahead, including a February 26 session on "Voice Care for the Lecture Hall". And David DiBattista of Brock University, who has been to UW in the past to speak about teaching, will be here January 28 for a workshop on "Using and Improving Multiple Choice Tests".

And this note from the Centre for Contact Lens Research comes from Alisa Sivak, who's back in the office after a year's parental leave: "We're currently recruiting subjects for a few different studies requiring different types of participants: current contact lens wearers between the ages of 38 and 50; current contact lens wearers who use reading glasses plus contact lenses, or who wear multifocal contact lenses; current contact lens wearers experiencing dry eye symptoms; non-contact lens wearers who experience moderate to severe dry eye symptoms and use eye drops on a regular basis." She can be reached by e-mail at amsivak@uwaterloo.ca.

CAR

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