Some new titles among staff courses

Giving staff an EDGE — as in Education, Development, Growth and Experience — is the theme of the fall brochure from UW's recently created Organizational and Human Development office. The brochure will be in the mail in the next few days, says OHD director Katrina Di Gravio (left).

Several new programs are offered this term. Among them: "E-mail as a Second Language", which focuses on managing e-mail and its appropriate use; "Managing Your Priorities", to help staff manage time and workload; "The Essential but Elusive Process of Effective Communication"; "No Need to Hide — Exploring and Understanding Conflict"; and "Guerrilla Grammar".

In addition, the Successful Supervision Program, offered as a pilot in April and May, is scheduled several times throughout this term, Di Gravio says, "along with some tried and true programs such as Personality Dimensions and Work-Life Balance."

And she points to a change in the traditional Leadership for Results program. "In response to staff feedback, the Leadership for Results program will now be offered as five independent modules. This means that staff no longer has to commit to all 5 modules at one time which allows for better flexibility. However, since 'The Basic Principles' is part of the core values of the University it is highly advisable that all staff take this module first as grounding for other workshops." The other four modules are "Giving and Receiving Constructive Feedback", "Proactive Listening", "Handling Emotions under Pressure", and "Giving Recognition".

The brochure also notes several other campus programs being run this fall, including Human Resources sessions in the Know Your Workplace series about policies, benefits and working conditions.

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Conference explores 'city and campus'

a news release from the school of architecture

The UW school of architecture will play host to a conference on a subject very close to its heart. The annual Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) Central Fall Conference is entitled City/Campus. It explores the roles of universities, and in particular, schools of architecture, within the communities where they are located. The conference takes place Friday to Sunday at the Architecture building in Cambridge and at sites in Waterloo.

How do design schools become agents for community building through real and speculative projects? How can they promote broader public involvement in the process of constructing and reconstructing cities? City/Campus will explore the relationship between design, public space, culture and community. It will be of interest to architects, planners, academics and municipal officials, especially in jurisdictions where efforts are being made to attract or expand post-secondary institutions, improve the quality of design and public space and develop culture and the creative economy.

“The realization that design influences the success of cities and institutions has propelled schools of architecture into new forms and degrees of engagement with the communities and universities in which they are located,” said Rick Haldenby director of the architecture school and co-chair of the conference along with colleague Jeff Lederer.

The conference is co-sponsored by the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture, the City of Cambridge, Vanbots Construction and the Northern Ontario School Of Architecture Project.

The keynote speaker, Alejandro Aravena, a young internationally-renowned architect is the executive director of Elemental, visiting professor at Harvard University and designer of the recent addition to the School of Architecture in Santiago, Chile. The keynote address will take place Friday in the Mike Lazaridis Theatre of Ideas at Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Waterloo. Following the keynote there will be a reception at the Centre for International Governance Innovation, on Erb Street.

A pre-conference workshop on Friday morning will examine issues related to establishing a new School of Architecture in Northern Ontario, drawing on the expertise of conference participants including current President of the ACSA, Kim Tanzer of the University of Florida.

More than forty faculty members and graduate students from schools of architecture across North America will present papers that provide specific examples of collaboration: developing community capacity, educating public architects, providing service learning, assisting communities in visualizing future development, buildings that provoke urban change, staging events, exploring new forms of public space and life, even reconstructing damaged cities.

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Grad student helped by Keystone funds

“Funding from UW has been an important part of my education,” says graduate student Flora Li, “and has enabled me to concentrate on my studies.”

In its series of online profiles, the Keystone Campaign breaks with tradition to interview not one of its donors — faculty, staff and retirees — but one of the people who benefit from on-campus givings, in this case a fourth-year PhD student in the electrical and computer engineering department.

“I was absolutely thrilled and honoured to receive the Carl Pollock Graduate Student Fellowship in 2006,” Li (right) tells the Keystone interviewer, “because it came at a time when I was running out of scholarship options. Unfortunately, many students forgo postgraduate studies simply because of financial limitations, so it’s critical that the university can provide funding for students who demonstrate scholarly potential.”

Li has been at UW for a decade now, first as an undergraduate and now in graduate study. She reports that she was originally attracted to UW because of its world-renowned undergraduate engineering program. “She is grateful for her co-op work terms which provided her with a deeper understanding of the theories taught in the classroom,” the profile says.

“She is a member of the Giga-to-Nano research group in Electrical and Computer Engineering and considers herself fortunate to have had so many remarkable experiences as a UW student. For example, as part of her master’s research, she had the unique opportunity to obtain industrial work experience developing digital image sensors.”

What do you like best about UW? “UW is an incredibly supportive and encouraging environment in which to conduct research. My supervisor, Arokia Nathan, has been an excellent role model and a constant source of inspiration. His suggestion that I research plastic electronics caught my attention because of the growing need for systems that are lightweight, unbreakable, and mechanically flexible. Imagine a digital display that can be rolled up and put into your pocket or a flat-screen TV that spans the length of your wall!”

What do you enjoy in your spare time? “In addition to my passion for scientific research and technological advancement, my other main passion is fitness. I am a certified fitness instructor and have taught fitness classes on campus and at GoodLife Fitness clubs. I dream that one day I will have the opportunity to travel the world, complete a long-distance bike tour, and practice yoga at the top of a mountain.”

CAR

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