Entering the home stretch, as the fall term winds up, are students who will graduate next spring. The arts faculty held a late-afternoon "Homestretch Event" Thursday for its class of 2009, and about 100 of them showed up, crowding the Graduate House to the walls. "Key messages to the students," says Alex Lippert of the dean of arts office, "included to follow your passion and your career will fall into place, to remember UW on your travels, and to be a productive member of your community. The students were also given academic information— when to fill out intent-to-graduate forms and what to expect in terms of resources from the Alumni Career Advisor."

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Keystone makes a year-end appeal

Staff and faculty members received a reminder late last week that the Keystone Campaign, which has so far brought in $8.8 million in gifts to the university from current and retired employees, still welcomes their support — and can provide a 2008 tax receipt for money received before year’s end.

“It has been another incredible year for the Keystone Campaign,” says Krishna Mistry, acting manager in UW’s development office, adding that more than 2,300 people have pitched in as donors since Keystone was launched as part of Campaign Waterloo.

“Much of the success this year,” she writes, “can be credited to the hard work of our outstanding Keystone volunteers. Led by Keystone Campaign co-chairs Bob Norman, Pam Helmes-Hayes, and Steve Brown, the three Keystone volunteer working groups have achieved great things this year. From the Viva Las Vegas June event, to the treat-a-gram program, to the Run/Walk for Excellence, and the many Keystone profiles posted on our web site, 2008 will be remembered. . . .

“Thanks to everyone who supported UW and its marvellous students through Keystone this year. Looking ahead to the new year, the Keystone Campaign shows no sign of losing momentum.”

A letter from the three co-chairs, distributed as part of the year-end reminder package, notes that “People who work at the University of Waterloo have a lot in common. We know that education and experience are key ingredients in the recipe of achievement. We value innovation, discovery, and collaboration. And we share a proven passion for investing in future leaders, ensuring that today’s successes are surpassed tomorrow.

“For many of us, supporting the Keystone Campaign is how we choose to channel these values into a tangible form.”

It goes on: “Through this tremendous support, the university is well-equipped to attain great heights in its sixth decade. Yet today, during this challenging economic time, your gift is needed more than ever. . . . At UW, it’s easy to see the lives that your donation affects –– just take a look at the students you see on campus.”

The package also included a pledge card as well as a desktop calendar for 2009, a now traditional Keystone keepsake that also serves as a reminder of the campaign all through the year for those who use it. This year, in addition to the pay dates and holidays, the calendar lists the three annual Keystone events, namely Treat-a-Grams, the June party and the Run/Walk for Excellence.

Julia Wegenast, also of the development office, was involved in putting the calendar together, and adds an assurance that “the listed pay dates have been checked and re-checked for accuracy” after it turned out that the 2008 calendar shows the wrong date for December’s monthly payday.

Keystone focuses on undergraduate and graduate scholarship programs, though its totals also include givings to the university that are earmarked for everything from library books to athletic equipment, as long as the giver is a staff member, faculty member or retiree.

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Next year, classes on one Saturday

Working out a timetable for the 2009 fall term that squeezes in 60 days of classes between a late Labour Day (Monday, September 7) and the last permissible day for exams (Tuesday, December 22) wasn’t easy, says UW registrar Ken Lavigne.

The result: the university senate will be asked to approve a set of calendar dates that includes Saturday, December 5, as a regular class day. Senate was actually scheduled to discuss the proposal at its November 17 meeting, but didn’t get through much of the agenda that day and will tackle it again in December or January.

“This whole exercise was prompted by the lateness of Labour Day,” says Lavigne, noting that the last time the beginning-of-term holiday fell on September 7, the latest day it can be, was in 1998. Since then, the rules about the number of study days students must have between exams have been tightened — also by senate action — and the result was that we were confined at both ends of the term,” the registrar explains.

And shortening the term isn’t possible because accreditation for some of UW’s academic programs, as well as longstanding senate rules, require a minimum of 60 class days.

Lavigne and his staff worked out various “scenarios” for the term, he said, and some of them included major changes to orientation week, which traditionally starts on Labour Day, with classes beginning a week later. It would have been possible to make the calendar fit if orientation were shortened, or if it took place before Labour Day, but “we didn’t want to force a change to orientation without proper analysis,” he says. He’ll be asking senate to advise that a review of the orientation process, which is under way anyway, “include an examination of the length of proceedings”, so that the problem will be fixed before Labour Day falls on the 7th again in 2015.

The schedule that’s finally being proposed is “a series of compromises”, Lavigne said, noting that it does provide the minimum 12 days of fall term exams, but in reality it’ll be “a tough challenge” to fit all the exams into that length of time.

The plan, if senate approves, is for orientation to start on Labour Day as usual, and classes to begin the following Monday, September 14. The last two days of classes will be December 4 (a Friday) and 5 (a Saturday, with Monday’s class schedule in effect). Exams will start on Wednesday, December 9.

Also coming up for approval — but not so complicated — are the calendars for the winter and spring terms of 2010. Classes are to begin on Monday, January 4, 2010 (last day of classes Monday, April 5), and Monday, May 3 (last day Wednesday, July 28).

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'Truths about Canada' told in lecture

a release from UW's media relations office

John Ralston Saul, one of Canada's leading public intellectuals, will share his insights about the country's identity and future at a public lecture hosted by the Centre for International Governance Innovation and UW's bookstore tomorrow evening.

An award-winning essayist and novelist, Saul will give a talk entitled "Are You Ready for Three Radical Truths about Canada?" It's based on his latest book, A Fair Country: Telling Truths About Canada, published in September by Viking Canada.

"John Ralston Saul is considered one of the world's 100 leading thinkers and visionaries," says May Yan, director of retail services. "He has had a growing impact on political and economic thought in many countries and we are honoured to have him speak in our community."

Saul is widely known for his commentaries on the nature of individualism, citizenship and the public good, as well as for his critique of contemporary economic arguments. His works have been translated into more than a dozen languages. In his new book, he unveils a plan for change by challenging the conventional wisdom that has defined Canada's history to date. He argues that . . .

• Canada is "a Métis nation".
• Peace, Order and Good Government is a misnomer that should be returned to its original phrase — Peace, Welfare and Good Government — which conveys fairness.
• The country's increasingly dysfunctional elite is damaging Canada.

Saul explains how recognition of the country's aboriginal nature and a return to an emphasis on egalitarianism can increase the effectiveness of the political and business elites. As a result, Canada's presence on the world stage will be strengthened. Tomorrow's meet-the-author event begins at 7 p.m. in the CIGI atrium, 57 Erb Street West. Admission is free; register online.

CAR

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