'Be mine' today, eat rose sorbet

Happy Valentine's Day to all, and especially all who are in love. It's a day for roses (Engineers Without Borders will be selling "fair trade roses" in the foyer of Carl Pollock Hall today) and lace (did you know that UW's library owns an 1887 scrapbook with bits of lace and other souvenirs collected by a young lady traveller?) and delicate things to eat. Brubakers in the Student Life Centre and Festival Fare in the Davis Centre both have special Valentine lunches today, there's a Valentine buffet dinner at REVelation in Ron Eydt Village, and there are two special meals at the University Club, luncheon at $18 and dinner at $45 with rose sorbet, lamb Wellington, and other such luxuries.

And then there's chocolate. Keystone Campaign volunteers will be distributing some 1,480 packets of "treat-a-gram" cupcakes today, each sold for $3 to be delivered to somebody on campus, says Ryan Jacobs of the UW development office. "As always, proceeds from the treat-a-grams will be designated to undergraduate and graduate scholarships and will qualify for the university’s matching gift opportunities." He adds special thanks for the "fantastic efforts of Food Services and all of our tremendous volunteers".

Of course there are other kinds of love. The Centre for Teaching Excellence is holding its "Loving to Learn" day on Friday, and Nancy Collins of the UW library says the "Why do you love the Library?" contest will open today online and run through March 3.

In other matters . . . how easily can you read the screen on your BlackBerry? “The ability to focus on things at a close distance begins to get harder in a person’s thirties,” says Alisa Sivak of UW’s Centre for Contact Lens Research, “and gradually gets more and more difficult until they require bifocal or multifocal glasses or contact lenses for everyday tasks such as reading and computer work. This change is called presbyopia.” She’s involved with a new research study of the problem: “Some people have more difficulty than others in adapting to this help, especially if they’re trying these glasses or contact lenses after their presbyopia has progressed past the early-onset stage. Previous studies of vision correction for presbyopia have focused on clinical tests — for example, reading from a typical eye chart under optimal lighting conditions — which may not accurately portray the conditions of everyday life. To more accurately understand how people cope, our study combines clinical measures with real-world scenarios, including ordering a snack at a local café, sorting cards, and reading text on a BlackBerry?. We’re looking for people between the ages of 38 and 50 who wear soft contact lenses. Study participants receive $15 per hour (maximum: $230). The study lasts one month, and to help collect the real-world data we provide all participants with a BlackBerry for the duration of the study.” More information: e-mail research@optometry.uwaterloo.ca.

The Warrior football team has announced plans for a football day camp to be held during the schools' March break (March 10-14) in conjunction with Twin Cities Minor Tackle Football Association. The camp will run from 8:30 to 5:30 those days in the Columbia Icefield gym, says Warrior coach Marshall Bingeman, "and will feature daily football instruction, intramural games and swimming." More information is online, and Bingeman can be reached at ext. 33149.

Looking a little further ahead: Martin Scherer of the Engineering Science Quest day camp announces that "registration for Summer 2008 opened this past weekend. During the months of July and August, ESQ hopes to bring over 2,300 children (who are entering grade 1 to 9), to the campus and engage them in hands-on engineering, science and technology activities. Highlights from last summer include campers learning about alternative energy, memory allows, lego robotics and making a USB powered flashlight." ESQ is also running a March break session, he says, and at last report it was already almost full. More information is on the website.

Finally, yes, those are Grand River Transit buses making their usual trips through campus. GRT drivers and mechanics were ready to go on strike as of this morning, but late-night negotiations reached a tentative agreement just in time to keep the service running — welcome news to students making use of the UPass service that was introduced last fall.

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UW identity: a lighter shade of yellow

The university has a new look on the web today, with a freshened-up version of the logo, one that will soon be seen in printed materials as well. It’s an early piece of an “identity review project”, headed by vice-president (external relations) Meg Beckel, that will take a look at all aspects of how UW presents and explains itself to the outside world.

A sharp eye will see several differences between the old logo (left), which was introduced in 1997, and the new one (right) — most obviously, the words “University of”, which have tended to blur or disappear when the logo is used in small sizes, are now in capital letters. In addition, “we’ve updated the fonts,” says Christine Goucher, manager of client services in UW Graphics. The former logo used a classic typeface called Cheltenham; now the little words are in Solex and the “Waterloo” is in Eidetic.

“A number of designers worked on it,” Goucher says about the new logo and related designs for such things as UW business cards and a set of “wordmarks” for the faculties and schools. Specifications and rules, called an “identity guide”, are available on the Graphics web site.

The UW colours are being defined a bit differently for use in the new symbols. “We’ve toned down the yellow a little bit,” Goucher says, “and made a deeper red.” Graphic designers specify colours using Pantone, a commercial system for matching inks and other media, and standards are also being provided for UW’s black, yellow and red in hexadecimal form: 231f20, ffe090, b91439.

“When you apply system guidelines,” says a message from vice-president Beckel that’s part of the new identity guide, “you make it easier for your audience to quickly identify that your publication is coming from the University of Waterloo, immediately putting your message in context.

“The fonts, colours, and word marks outlined in this guide are in response to feedback from marketers and communicators on campus. . . . UW’s Executive Council endorses these changes as a first step in a larger UW identity review project.

“The larger project is in response to calls for a recognizable institutional identity, or ‘brand’, supported by messages highlighting UW’s distinguishing traits or attributes. This project will address the fact that the multitude of promotional materials we now produce, with very different looks and styles, is a sign that there is a lack of an agreement on campus when it comes to UW’s public identity, and UW’s positioning with our many audiences.”

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Bank sees bright future for Region

a news release from BMO Financial

The Waterloo Region and Guelph area is “one of the brightest stars in the Canadian economic skies,” according to a new report published by BMO Financial Group and Canada’s Technology Triangle Inc. Keeping the region’s economy shining brightly will be challenging in the short term because of the manufacturing sector dealing with a strong Canadian dollar and weakening U.S. demand. However, the area’s economy should show strong growth by 2009.

“Waterloo-Guelph derives its strength from the old economy based on traditional manufacturing to the new economy based on high technology and services,” said Doug Porter, Deputy Chief Economist, BMO Capital Markets.

Following impressive growth in previous years, economic momentum in the region slowed in 2007. In 2008, the area’s economy continues to face challenges, but will begin to turn around with GDP posting a moderate 1.5% advance this year. Strong growth will return in 2009, with projected economic growth of 2.7% during 2009-2012, outpacing both the Ontario and Canadian economies.

According to the report, a number of factors will contribute to this above-average growth, including solid population growth supporting residential construction and retail sales; spillovers from the excellent educational institutions in the area which will fuel business creation; and the area’s industrial mix, including the burgeoning high-tech sector.

The area includes the cities of Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge and Guelph, and the surrounding areas. Its population is about 622,000 and growing quickly.

Waterloo-Guelph is part of the manufacturing heartland of Ontario, with the automotive industry representing the largest component. Waterloo-Guelph’s high tech sector is growing by leaps and bounds. Drawing on the strength of its excellent post-secondary educational institutions, the area has spawned such leading edge companies as Research In Motion, COM DEV, DALSA and Christie Digital Systems.

“Those who read the full report will see that we have an innovative, diverse and prosperous regional economy that has a reputation for technology leadership,” said John Tennant, Chief Executive Officer of Canada’s Technology Triangle Inc. “The analysis highlights the region's capacity to respond to challenges and seize opportunities.”

CAR

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