Keystone profiles language program head

“September was an eventful month for Ann Barrett (left) and her dedicated team in the English Language Proficiency Program (ELPP),” says a profile posted on the Keystone Campaign website. “As administrators of the English Language Proficiency Examination, which involves all UW students, the team marked 3,866 exams in one week.”

The profile continues:

Teachers at ELPP are also involved in teaching writing to undergraduate and graduate students, which Ann, who has been at UW since 1989, finds to be one of the most rewarding aspects of her job. “The best part of my job is being able to run the writing program that best suits UW students,” she says. “We are constantly improving and expanding our programs to help as many students as possible.”

With this kind of commitment and enthusiasm, it’s not surprising that this dedicated UW employee and graduate was a Staff Appreciation Award recipient for 2005/06.

What motivates you to give to the Keystone Campaign?

I received a great education from UW and it’s important to me that motivated students always have the chance to attend UW.

What makes you proud to work at UW?

It’s wonderful to work in a clean, safe, and beautiful environment. When I arrived here in 1989, I was so pleased to be in a smoke-free environment. I have always loved the beauty of the campus and I appreciate the natural environment that surrounds us.

Where were you born and have you lived in any other interesting places?

I was born in Dudley, England. My parents (89 and 93) are World War II vets (my mother was in the RAF and my father was in the Polish army) who met in England after the war. About five years after my parents married, my father’s sister, who had gone to Canada with her family as refugees from Ukraine, found out that my father had survived the war and made contact. We left England for Canada in 1954. I had my third birthday on the ship and my first memory is of meeting my father’s relatives in Hamilton, where I lived until I moved to Waterloo in 1973.

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A wealth of free words on campus this week

This week offers an embarrassment of riches for the mind, with talks, readings, presentations, and public colloquia lined up back-to-back. Among other gems, George Elliott Clarke, Governor General’s Award-winning poet and novelist, scholar, and UW alumnus (he’s a former Imprint editor), will read from his works at 4 p.m. in Modern Languages room 246.

Here are other events, all of them free and open to the public (some require pre-registration). Still more events are listed to the right, under “When and Where.”

Wendy Frisby will deliver a Hallman Visiting Professorship Lecture on Thursday at 3:30, on “Mobilizing Communities to Promote the Health of Women and Youth Living in Poverty.” A former UW faculty member (recreation and leisure studies), Frisby is now a professor at the University of British Columbia. Frisby's work focuses on community-based strategies to reduce social isolation and poor health among those living in poverty, who are least likely to participate in current market-driven service programs. "Many of the health problems identified by women living below the poverty line, such as physical inactivity, stress and social isolation, can be alleviated by developing real partnerships between the women, municipal recreation departments and other community groups that eliminate barriers to participation in leisure and physical activity programs," Frisby says in a UW Media Relations news release. Location: Lyle S. Hallman Institute, room 1621. Register at 519-888-4567, ext. 32010 or email carchiba@healthy.uwaterloo.ca.

The 2008 Bechtel Lectures in Anabaptist-Mennonite Studies at Conrad Grebel University College will be given by teacher, theologian, author, and pastor, Alfred Neufeld (right), Thursday and Friday at 7:30 p.m. in the Great Hall at Conrad Grebel. He will speak on “The Mennonite Experience in Paraguay, 1927-2007.” From the Grebel website: “The two lectures on the Mennonite experience in Paraguay cover Mennonite immigration as well as the emergence of a multicultural community of faith. … The concept of mission by migration is explored here, as well as the Anabaptist roots for service and public-political presence and engagement. The lectures end with an overall evaluation of present and future challenges which the Mennonite community in Paraguay is facing.” The Paraguay-born Neufeld spent three years working on a "global confession of faith” for the International Community of Mennonite Brethren churches. He chairs the National Co-ordinating Committee for the Mennonite World Conference Assembly that will be held in Asunción, Paraguay, in July 2009.

Dawn Martin-Hill delivers the 2007-2008 Sweeney Lecture in Current Issues in Healthcare. Titled ”Jidwa:doh – Let's Become Again: Indigenous Health Care and the Healing of a Nation,” the event takes place Friday at 7:30 p.m. in Siegfried Hall. From the St. Jerome’s press release: “This lecture focuses on the ways in which traditional practices, Indigenous knowledge, and the Elders' understanding of trauma provide resources and strength to communities that are pursuing healing. In the area of health care, there remains a tension between western-scientific approaches to medicine and Indigenous medicine since health care is so wrapped up in our identity, and for that reason too often a cause for misunderstanding. … Dawn Martin-Hill is a member of the Mohawk Nation, a cultural anthropologist, documentary film maker, and the academic director of the Indigenous Studies Program at McMaster University.…”

“Living Large: Sustainable Design of Big Buildings” is the second of two UW School of Architecture colloquia on large urban building design. The colloquium will be held Thursday, 1 to 9 p.m. In addition there are workshops Thursday 10 a.m. to noon, and Friday 9 to 10 a.m. and 1:30 to 5:30 p.m. The designers and engineers of many of the most innovative buildings in Canada will examine how environmentally sustainable design strategies can be applied at major urban scales. Eight sessions include such titles as “Tall Building Workshop and Case Studies: Bow, Trump, and Plaza Major,” and “The Current Revolution in Office Design.” The event takes place at the School of Architecture in Cambridge; email pbeesley@uwaterloo.ca for more information.

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Of competitions and other learning experiences

At the Canadian Engineering Competition, held this past weekend at UW, a Waterloo team came second in the Extemporaneous Debates, with UBC first and Western third. Other results, with first-place winners first:

• Senior Team Design: Queens, Dalhousie, Concordia.
• Team Design: New Brunswick, Laval, Moncton.
• Consulting Engineering: Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, Toronto
• Engineering Communication: Saskatchewan, Simon Fraser, École Polytechnique
• Innovative Design: Victoria, Queens, École Polytechnique
• Petrie Award for Technical Excellence: Concordia, Senior Team Design
• Teamwork: Sherbrooke, Innovative Design
• Environmental Awareness: Saskatchewan, Consulting Engineering
• Social Awareness: Guelph, Team Design Engineering

This week’s National Curling Championship competition (Canadian Interuniversity Sport and Canadian Curling Association) being hosted by UW at area curling clubs will determine who goes to the 2009 Winter World University Games, to be held next February in Harbin, China. There are 19 men’s and 17 women’s university teams competing today through Sunday.

Anyone interested in taking Continuing Education professional development courses up to the end of March are advised to register at least two weeks before the course starts. A three-day course on Project Management Applied Tools and Techniques runs March 25 – 27; The Power of One runs March 28; Guerrilla Grammar runs March 31. Courses are held at 335 Gage Avenue, Kitchener, and UW staff are eligible for a 50 per cent discount on the fee. Details online.

As part of Green Week, an environmental fair is happening today in the Student Life Centre Lower Atrium, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with booths showcasing the work of green groups from across campus and the community ... And to round out March Break, parents and children can learn about the environment, and about UW’s environment faculty, at the Children’s Museum March Break Eco Show. See website for fees and directions. Visitors will be able to share their eco-friendly ideas with others and win prizes. Environment dean Deep Saini will take part in the show’s opening on Thursday at 4 p.m. Students and staff from the faculty will be present during show hours, Thursday 4 – 8 p.m., Friday 10 a.m. – 8 p.m., and Saturday 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Register this week for a “lunch and learn” session for pre-tenure faculty members, “Documenting Your Teaching for Tenure and Promotion,” that takes place Thursday, March 20, 11:45 a.m. – 1:15 p.m., in CEIT room 3124. It will be moderated by Geoff McBoyle, associate vice-president, academic and former ES dean. Panelists are Donna Ellis, associate director, Centre for Teaching Excellence; anthropology professor Maria Liston; management sciences professor Miguel Anjos; and engineering dean Adel Sedra. “Tenure and promotion are critical milestones in a faculty member's career. … At this session, you will hear the experiences of two recently tenured faculty members regarding documenting their teaching, as well as the experiences of one dean in reviewing tenure files. You will also learn about best practices used at other institutions — primarily the teaching dossier….” Lunch is included. Register online no later than Friday, March 14.

CPA Staff

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