New award will honour 'leadership'

A new Award for Leadership will be given to UW students for the first time this year, sponsored by the same group of supporters who have been offering the Award for Volunteerism for the past decade.

The new honour is announced in a memo from Catharine Scott, associate provost (human resources and student services), who writes: “The President’s Circle is a committed group who annually contribute $1,000 or more to the University of Waterloo. 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.

“It is through their generous support that the President’s Circle Awards for Volunteerism and Leadership have been established to recognize the significant volunteer contributions made by students to UW and the local community.”

She notes that 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 awards honour the extra–curricular contributions of students in a variety of service areas, some of which may not be highly visible but nonetheless important to the community. Normally, up to ten recipients are selected for awards of $250 each.

As for the new honour, “The President’s Circle Awards for Leadership were established in 2007 to acknowledge the outstanding performances of student leaders at the University of Waterloo. The awards recognize students who have left a lasting impression on the UW campus through encouraging student participation, acting as a role model, enabling others to become leaders, or taking initiative to lead by example to make the university community better. Normally, up to ten recipients are selected for awards of $250 each.”

For both awards, nominators may be students, staff, or faculty, or even members of the community at large. “Nominators are encouraged to work with the student,” says Scott’s memo, “to ensure that the information submitted to the Selection Committee is complete.

“Students may self-nominate for the President’s Circle Award for Volunteerism and are very much encouraged to apply, since this work often has a low profile. Students may not self-nominate for the President’s Circle Award for Leadership.”

Application or nomination forms are available online and at the Federation of Students office in the Student Life Centre or the student awards office, graduate studies office and student life office, all in Needles Hall. Forms should be returned to John Trinh in the student life office by October 12. More information: call ext. 36876 or 35632.

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October brings United Way campaign

From “dress-down day” tomorrow (and every Friday this month) to a profile of Krystal Benesch (left), former Miss Oktoberfest and star of the women’s hockey Warriors, the promotions are under way for this year’s United Way campaign on campus.

The campaign is an attempt to raise $170,000, up from last year’s $165,000 target — and that shouldn’t be hard to do, since a total of $184,193 trickled in from UW donors during and after the 2006 campaign. “We are already $38,000 towards that goal,” says Stacey Ritzer from the United Way office in the Davis Centre.

The money will go from UW to the United Way of Kitchener-Waterloo and Area, which has a community-wide goal of $5.3 million this year, and from there to 42 member agencies to support about 80 programs focusing on children, families and neighbourhoods in K-W and the surrounding area.

“Friday is our first Dress Down Day," says Ritzer, “and if anyone is interested in stickers they can contact me at ext. 33840 or send me a e-mail, unitdway@uwaterloo.ca. Every Friday will be a dress-down day for the month of October.” The idea is to pay a small fee, which goes to swell the United Way coffers, in return for the privilege of dressing even more casually than normal on those special days.

Also getting under way this week is the traditional United Way bingo organized by staff in the faculty of engineering. “It's easy to play,” writes Karen Dubois from the dean’s office. “E-mail kdubois@uwaterloo.ca to purchase one card for $2 or three for $5. Three numbers will be drawn each day and e-mailed out to participants. At the same time you can play Survivor Bingo. It's perfect for people who don't want to check winning numbers each day. Both bingos are open to all bingo aficionados including staff, students, faculty and people outside the university.”

As for the lady in the dirndl, Krystal Benesch, she’s the subject of the first in a series of weekly profiles that will be posted on the United Way web site during the campaign. “Krystal was an active member of the Varsity Women's Hockey Team,” says her profile, “and is featured on the UW Library poster series. Not only that, but Krystal was also Miss Oktoberfest 2005. Although she was busy, she found time to volunteer with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Kitchener-Waterloo. Specifically, Krystal was involved with the In-School Mentoring program.”

The agency offers a variety of programs, from the well-known one-to-one mentoring program to Camp McGovern , a residential camp in Hanover, Ontario. “Krystal also spoke highly of the Strong Start program, where children 5-6 that are academically behind their peers get back on track,” says the profile. “Your donations help fund a lot of programs and activities that are implemented by a volunteer, programs that provides these kids with a role model, a confidant and a line of support to increase confidence and help make them successful.”

Other agencies that draw support from the United Way include the John Howard Society of Waterloo-Wellington, the Catholic Family Counselling Centre, the Ontario March of Dimes, Focus for Ethnic Women, and the Child Witness Centre of Waterloo Region.

“Regardless of how well our community seems to be doing,” writes UW president David Johnston in support of the United Way, “there are always people who fall through the cracks and come to need our help. I urge you to find it in your hearts to give.”

The on-campus campaign is operated almost entirely by volunteers, and more of them are needed. Anybody interested can get in touch with Ritzer by e-mail (unitdway@uwaterloo.ca) or phone (ext. 33840). A volunteer appreciation lunch is being held today, 11:45 to 1:00, in the Laurel Room of South Campus Hall, where those involved in the campaign will have “an opportunity to meet speakers from United Way agencies and see how your contributions make a difference”.

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Ontario's election, and other notes

Ontario's election and referendum are just a long weekend away, with voters preparing to go to the polls on Wednesday, October 10. Both UW's Graduate Student Association and the Federation of Students have web pages devoted to election information, with details on who can vote and where, who's running in local ridings, and so on. There's also something calling itself Moment of Youth, featuring short video segments, Rick Mercer style, created by UW sociology graduate student Jon Callegher. He addresses some of the hotter election issues, such as education, crime and poverty, and there are discussion forums and links to background information.

An issue of some importance to UW is the policy Ontario's next government will follow on tuition fees and higher education funding. The Liberals and Progressive Conservatives have both said they'll add some money to government spending on colleges and universities, while the New Democratic Party's emphasis, as noted in this Daily Bulletin a few days ago, has been on a rollback and freeze for student fees. However, NDP leader Howard Hampton, appearing last weekend on CTV's interview program "ProvinceWide", did say that "we will replace" the money universities would lose from their budgets through a fee reduction. The Star, summarizing party platforms earlier this week, said the Conservatives would add $600 million to higher education funding in four years; the Liberals, $800 million, the NDP, $1.1 billion.

A proposal to rename the school of accountancy to be the School of Accounting and Finance is on the agenda for Tuesday’s meeting of the arts faculty council. • “If you’re an undergraduate student and want to change your plan(s) or add a minor or option,” says a memo from the registrar’s office, “you’ll need to complete a Plan Modification/ Application for Internal Transfer form before your enrolment appointment.” • The Employee Assistance Program is spreading the word that UW Fitness, located in the Manulife Wellness Centre wing of Matthews Hall, offers small group personal training sessions for UW faculty and staff members.

The third of four draws in the year-long 50th Anniversary raffle was held on Saturday, and the winner of 50 bottles of first-class wine was Tasha Glover of the graduate studies office. • An exhibition under the title “Neutrinos They Are Very Small”, with three artists’ responses to the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory, continues in Render, the UW art gallery in East Campus Hall, until October 20. • Lighting on the stairways in the popular Davis Centre seminar rooms, 1302 and 1304, will be improved “during renovations planned in the next year”, the joint health and safety committee was told at a recent meeting.

Rick Haldenby, long-time director of the UW school of architecture and the leader in planning and executing its move from Waterloo to Cambridge, has been reappointed to the director’s office for another four years, through the end of 2011. • Carol Cullen, a housekeeper in Village I who had been on the UW staff since January 1980, retired officially as of October 1.• Mary Marchant, who worked as a food services assistant at UW from 1981 to her retirement in 1995, died September 25.

The golf Warriors are in action today at the Western Invitational, with the men's squad competing at Union Golf Club and the women at Sunnydale Golf Club. • The Waterloo Institute for Health Informatics Research, which has held an "informatics bootcamp" several times on campus, will offer the program November 14-16 at York University's Schulich Executive Learning Centre in Toronto. • October 19 is the announced deadline for comments on the proposed new version of UW Policy 36, dealing with "dispute resolution" (staff grievances).

A memorial service will be held today for George Rich, formerly of UW's school of planning, who died September 24, aged 86. A specialist in such fields as planning education, administration and professional ethics, he came to UW in 1967, after serving for 14 years as chief planner for Winnipeg, and retired in 1988. Rich, who lived in Woolwich Township north of the city, was active in local affairs, and came to prominence in the 1970s during a controversy over a proposed dam at West Montrose. He was a long-time supporter of the Elora Festival. He is survived by his wife, Jo. A "celebration of the life" of Stanley George Rich is scheduled for 2:00 today in the chapel of the Graham A. Giddy Funeral Home, Elora.

And . . . Claire Davies, a PhD student in the department of systems design engineering, is speaking today at the annual meeting of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, being held in Baltimore. Topic: "Testing a Novel Auditory Interface Display to Enable Visually Impaired Travelers to Use Sonar Mobility Devices Effectively". Says an abstract: "After loss of vision, people have difficulty maintaining their independence and mobility, which ultimately affects their safety. Sonar devices have been developed to address this issue, but they have had limited acceptance, because they lack an easily interpreted interface. Davies and colleagues tested an auditory prototype that offers offer more environmental information than the current single tone design, thus providing the user with enough advance information to avoid obstacles."

CAR

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