Last night: "Someone decided to make creative use of the windows and curtains in the Dana Porter to perform public art," says an overnight e-mail message from a student who signs itself just "peaceontheporter". The view is westward up University Avenue.

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Staff moving into Pharmacy building

by Martin Van Nierop

Staff will start moving into the new home of the School of Pharmacy at UW's Kitchener health sciences campus today.

The unique building, at the corner of King and Victoria Streets, is still undergoing final touches and including landscaping, readying for the arrival of staff who will move in throughout November, and for students at the start of the January winter term. There are currently 90 students already enrolled, out on co-op terms. They return in January, along with an additional intake of 120 students.

The building cost comes to approximately $48 million, not including completion of the fourth floor, which will become faculty research labs and is still being tendered. Total budget for the campus site to date is $78 million.

Siamak Hariri, of Hariri Pontarini Architects, said that the Pharmacy building and the site in general will be a campus of which the whole community will be proud. He said the building is unique, from its glass curtain depicting various medicinal herbs, to its interior use of tall windows allowing lots of light, to its extensive use of space for common areas where students and faculty can meet and interact. It is designed to be an exciting addition to the downtown area that will establish a connection with the community.

"A great school of pharmacy should have the capacity to lift your spirits. It's important that it not be just a building that solves a functional problem, but it actually has something that you feel as if you've come to this school and you want to be here. That's something that has a lot to do with being able to attract talent, but mostly makes you aspire to excellence." Hariri said.

The School of Pharmacy is also known as Building A on the health sciences campus site. Building B is the one currently rising next to it that will house the satellite medical school and an Optometry Clinic. The Pharmacy building is comprised of 120,000 square feet of space, in a seven-story tower, four-storey wing, finished basement, plus mechanical penthouses on top.

Building B totals 66,000 square feet and will have three storeys and a finished basement. A "quad" area between the two buildings will be a space for meeting, interacting and resting.

Inside the Pharmacy building workmen are putting finishing touches on labs, teaching spaces, reception areas and a small café. Anyone who walks into the building is struck by the amount of light that pours in. Hariri said it has been purposely designed with lots of light, in part to lift the spirits of everyone who enters, studies or works in the structure.

At full capacity, the pharmacy school will have 30 faculty members — 16 in the pharmaceutical sciences or "wet bench" fields, and 14 clinical or "dry science" — plus 20 staff members. Plans for the pharmacy school also call for about 70 graduate students working on master's degrees and doctorates.

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Federal government comes here to hire

“One employer, thousands of opportunities” is the promise of a “career expo” to be held tomorrow to show off the job possibilities offered by the Government of Canada.

“In the public service,” a federal web site says, “you can apply what you’ve learned in school. With more business lines than any other sector in Canada, the PS offers thousands of opportunities both nationally and internationally where you can put your talent to work. Whether you studied in computer science, biology, sociology, political science, commerce, law, medicine, business or information management, mathematics, engineering or public administration, there’s a job for you!”

To help prove it, the country’s top civil servant — Kevin Lynch, clerk of the privy council — will pay a visit to campus to speak at the expo. So will Liseanne Forand, deputy minister of the federal agriculture department.

And, in a departure from traditional government hiring practices, so will the Second City comedy troupe, who will greet students arriving at the expo, to be held at Federation Hall.

It’ll run from 1:30 to 6:30 p.m. and is aimed at students from UW and at the neighbouring post-secondary institutions: Laurier, Conestoga and Guelph. Some 23 federal departments and agencies will have booths at Fed Hall, where students can chat with federal staff members and, if they’re interested, set up job interviews to be held later in the week at the Tatham Centre.

The booths will shut down from 3:30 to about 4:50 so participants can hear words of welcome, including some remarks by Lynch, as well as watching a public service video and a couple of Second City sketches. Food and draw prizes are also on the plans for the afternoon.

The “career expo” is something new for the Public Service of Canada, which has traditionally done its hiring in more formal and drawn-out ways. It’s one of four special events being held at selected Canadian campuses this fall and winter to attract an increased number of new graduates into the federal civil service.

Ottawa is now in the second year of a Public Service Renewal Action Plan, which includes these goals for the current year: “By the end of March 2009, Deputy Heads will make offers to at least 4,000 post-secondary graduates for indeterminate positions.

“To accelerate closing the gap in representation of visible minority Canadians in the public service, overall recruitment in this area will exceed workforce availability.

“Each new recruit will have an orientation and learning plan to facilitate their effectiveness in the public service, including consideration of measures to strengthen second official language skills early in their career.

“During 2008-09, the Canada Public Service Agency (CPSA), in cooperation with the Public Service Commission (PSC) and departments, will pilot a new public service-wide approach to career fairs at no fewer than four universities across Canada. Managers will be equipped to make conditional job offers on the spot for suitable candidates.”

The government’s jobs site offers these five “reasons to join the Public Service of Canada: Make your mark (You can make a meaningful difference to the future of Canada); Kick-start your career (You can explore countless opportunities and career paths); Never stop learning (You can expand your skills and knowledge through continuous learning); Be part of a community (You can join supportive teams and professional networks); Get the balance you want (You can enjoy an attractive compensation package and flexible work arrangements).”

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Other notes for a whole new month

Beth Ali (right) has a new title: associate director, athletics, in the department of athletics and recreational services. Ali came to UW a year and a half ago, after a decade at the University of Toronto, to take the job of Interuniversity Sport Manager. "Beth will continue with oversight of the interuniversity program," says athletics director Bob Copeland, "and will play a key leadership role in strategic planning for the department moving forward. Beth is an accomplished coach and administrator with a track record of success in managing and leading high performance sport." That includes roles in field hockey administration at the Ontario and national levels.

UW staff who order their stationery supplies online from Corporate Express will be receiving an email message advising them of the company’s new “E-way” website, which launches today, according to Donna Foreman-Braun of the procurement and contract services office. “There is an online tutorial,” she points out. “Your current Corporate Express login and password will remain the same.” Questions can be directed to her at ext. 32027. Corporate Express is linked with the well known Staples office supply chain, with the result that “You now have access to over 15,000 stocked products,” according to its web site — not to mention such conveniences as “Live stock status during order entry”.

The Centre for Teaching Excellence is taking applications for this year's Course Internationalization Grants, jointly sponsored by CTE and Waterloo International. "The purpose of the grants," says a memo, "is to encourage faculty members to bring international perspectives into existing courses and to incorporate international components in their teaching and learning activities. Grant recipients are asked to use the internationalization strategies that are best suited for their courses. Examples of possible strategies include developing course-related international case studies or simulations; designing intercultural group work activities; hiring an RA to help locate course materials with an international focus, and inviting students with international experiences as guest speakers." Details are online, and grant applications are due by November 24. Up to eight grants of $1,500 each will be awarded this year, CTE says. Questions: email staraban@uwaterloo.

Robert Yi-Min Huang, who was a faculty member in chemical engineering for more than three decades, died October 6 in Waterloo. A specialist in polymer membrane separation processes, he came to Waterloo shortly after earning his PhD from the University of Toronto in 1963, and retired in 1996, though he continued to serve as a professor emeritus. He is survived by his wife, Ritsuko, as well as children and grandchildren. Memorial donations may be made to the Canadian Diabetes Foundation.

"Did you have trouble voting in the recent federal election?" asks an e-mail message that recently went from the Federation of Students to nearly 16,000 undergraduates. "If you had any issues, the Federation would like to know about it. Please contact Andres Fuentes, Vice-President (Education) of the Federation, at vped@feds.ca, and tell us your story."

CAR

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