Alumni represent department's 40 years

A senior vice-president of Best Western, the head of the YMCA for Cambridge and Kitchener-Waterloo, a three-time medalist in the world triathlon championships, and co-founder of a Halifax agency that has provided outdoor education for 25,000 young Canadians — they’re among 41 people to be honoured on Friday night as one of UW’s academic departments celebrates its alumni.

The department is recreation and leisure studies, part of the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences, which is marking its 40th year and will honour 40 Distinguished Alumni “plus one for our 41st year”.

Mark Havitz (left) became chair of the rec department on July 1, just in time for the 40th anniversary celebrations. Says Havitz about the award winners: “They are leaders in youth development; authors; educators about pre-retirement programming and strategic change; social activists; experts on technology; business owners; directors of recreation; researchers; champions of healthy lifestyles; advocates for those who are disadvantaged; Olympic athletes and more.”

For example, Kathy Durst was the first female commissioner of recreation and culture for the City of Waterloo, and later served as the city’s Chief Administrative Officer. Fred Galloway is a former general manager of the Robarts Medical Research Institute in London and has been vice-chair of the Canada Games and Ontario Games. Chris Bourne, the three-time medal winner, is also executive director of Active Living Alliance for Canadians with a Disability.

Founded in 1968, the RLS department offered the first leisure studies co-op program in Ontario. Its undergraduate Recreation and Business program developed in 1975 with Wilfrid Laurier University's School of Business remains the only one of its type in Canada. In 1976
RLS started the first leisure studies master’s degree program in Ontario and in 1993 introduced the first — and so far the only —leisure studies PhD program in Canada. “Recent published reports,” says Havitz, “place UW RLS as the top research program among approximately 300 peer programs in North America.”

A news release from the department traces some background: “Forty years ago, when students enrolled in the fledgling program, futurists were predicting three-day work weeks and lives of leisure for us all.

“Contrary to what was predicted in the last century, life is not getting easier for many people. Sedentary lifestyles and huge increases in type II diabetes are partially attributable to too much technology and not enough activity; people seem more connected to their technical toys than to their own backyards; our environments are polluted and under siege by tourists; work/life balance is a constant struggle for families; we own bigger houses but don't live in them; people in communities volunteer less and don't seem to know their neighbours; seniors, people with disabilities, and marginalized groups such as those who have been incarcerated are still stigmatized by society; many labour saving devices do not in fact save us time; and we have little time for self-care.

“All of the above issues are rooted in leisure. Ron McCarville, a professor in the recreation department, states: ‘Leisure is the way we build and maintain the most important relationships in our lives; it is perhaps the best way for each of us to discover who we are and who means the most to us.

“Now mid-20th century predictions of a leisure society are discussed as part of the "history of leisure" and we strive to understand why these predictions were largely wrong. Meanwhile, over 2,700 UW Recreation and Leisure Studies alumni work or volunteer every day around the world to help remedy these societal conditions and make a meaningful difference in their communities.”

The 40-year celebration begins with an awards dinner Friday evening in the Festival Room, South Campus Hall, and continues with a barbecue and alumni reunions at a tent on the Matthews Hall green following the Homecoming football game on Saturday.

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Director named for Balsillie School

A former United Nations official who is now a UW faculty member has been named the first director of the Balsillie School of International Affairs, scheduled to open in 2010 in Waterloo.

A news release yesterday, on behalf of the school’s Advisory Board announced the appointment of Ramesh Thakur (right) as the inaugural director for a two-year appointment that began September 1.

Said the release: “Dr. Thakur is responsible for providing academic leadership to its doctoral and masters degree programs and its significant research work in the field of international affairs. He will take advantage of his extensive international experience to establish links with international organizations and universities throughout the world.”

Thakur is a professor in UW’s department of political science, as well as a Distinguished Fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation. He is the author or editor of more than 30 books on international affairs.

His academic and public career includes posts as a vice-rector and senior vice-rector of the United Nations University in Tokyo (1998-2007) and assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations (2003-2007); professor and head of the Peace Research Centre at the Australian National University in Canberra (1995-1998) and professor of international relations and director of Asian Studies at the University of Otago in New Zealand (1980-1995). He was also one of the Commissioners who produced and wrote The Responsibility to Protect (R2P).

The Balsillie School was launched in 2007 with a $100 million donation from Jim Balsillie, co-CEO of Research In Motion, and support from other donors and agencies. It is backed by UW, Wilfrid Laurier University and CIGI as “an independent academic institution devoted to the study of international affairs and global governance,” and is building a home adjacent to the CIGI headquarters on Erb Street.

Says the news release: “The school will assemble a critical mass of extraordinary experts to understand, explain and shape the ideas that will create effective global governance. Through its graduate programs, the school will cultivate an interdisciplinary learning environment that develops knowledge of international issues from the core disciplines of political science, economics, history, and environmental studies and other related disciplines.”

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Awards for volunteerism, leadership

From Catharine Scott, the associate provost (human resources and student services), comes a reminder notice that nominations for the 2008 President's Circle Awards are due in a few days.

“The President’s Circle Awards for Volunteerism were established in 1997,” she writes, “to recognize the significant contributions of students in volunteer work both within the University and the community at–large. The awards honour the extra–curricular contributions of students in a variety of service areas, some of which may not be highly visible but nonetheless important to the community. Normally, up to ten recipients are selected for awards of $250 each.

“The President’s Circle Awards for Leadership were established in 2007 to acknowledge the outstanding performances of student leaders at the University of Waterloo. The awards recognize students who have left a lasting impression on the UW campus through encouraging student participation, acting as a role model, enabling others to become leaders, or taking initiative to lead by example to make the university community better. Normally, up to ten recipients are selected for awards of $250 each.

“Nominators may be students, staff, or faculty of the University or member of the community at–large. Nominators are encouraged to work with the student to ensure that the information submitted to the Selection Committee is complete.

“Students may self-nominate for the President’s Circle Award for Volunteerism and are very much encouraged to apply, since this work often has a low profile. Please note: students may not self-nominate for the President’s Circle Award for Leadership.

“Once again, I ask that you make these awards known to deserving students and consider nominating some of our extraordinary volunteers and leaders, yourself. Application/ nomination forms are available online and at the Student Awards and Financial Aid Office (Needles Hall 2001), the Graduate Studies Office (NH 2072), the Federation of Students (Student Life Centre 1102), and the Student Life Office (NH 1121).

"Applications and nominations forms, as well as reference forms and supporting materials, must be returned to John Trinh in the Student Life Office by October 3, 2008.”

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Homecoming, stress, and other notes

A newspaper error the other day has UW spokesfolks reminding everyone that this university's Homecoming celebrations are quite different from more traditional North American events that go by the same name. Monday's Record newspaper reported that 70 police officers dealt with rowdy revellers last weekend as UW and Wilfrid Laurier University celebrated Homecomings; the force issued 12-hour license suspensions and citations for various offences. Problem is, although WLU did have its celebration September 19-21, UW's Homecoming 2008 hasn't happened yet. It runs this Saturday, and the family-oriented event will be pretty much over by 6:30 p.m., rather than running into late-night party time. According to Jason Coolman, director of alumni affairs, the family focus sets UW Homecoming apart from others, and the celebration has so far never generated the sort of rowdiness that gets the police interested. Details of Homecoming activities, from the East Asian festival to alumni reunions and a late-afternoon concert by The Trews, are available online.

Not all UW's undergraduate students come from Toronto, but at last count 29 per cent of them do report either Toronto or the so-called "Greater Toronto Area" (GTA) as home. That makes the Ontario Universities Fair, being held this weekend at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, an important event for recruiting future years' classes. Organized by the Council of Ontario Universities, the fair is "the largest event of its kind in Canada", organizers say. "The fair is free to senior secondary school students, their teachers, family and friends, and provides a great opportunity to learn about program requirements and how to apply for university, as well as get a sense of the different student experiences that can be expected at Ontario’s universities. Representatives from all of the province’s universities are on site to answer questions." That naturally includes Waterloo. "We are expecting yet again this year to have close to 200 UW staff, students, alumni, and faculty participate in this event," says Julie Kalbfleisch, assistant director of the marketing and undergraduate recruitment office. "The booth for 2008 will be staying the same for the most part, with some minor updating. Last year's OUF had an estimated 92,500 visitors and we are expecting the same numbers for 2008."

This week’s issue of Maclean’s magazine — the one dated September 22 — includes the magazine’s second annual report on “Canada's Best Professional Schools”, including faculties of engineering. The main editorial copy looks at learning-by-doing activities, and UW gets a mention for its solar car success. But the piece focuses on Québec's École de Technologie Supérieure, which rules in another competition: concrete canoes. While the engineering programs aren't ranked, there's a chart of average entering grades for 36 institutions, which lists UW’s figure as 87.6 per cent, behind only Victoria and Saskatchewan. But that doesn’t necessarily put Waterloo in third place nationally: Québec numbers aren’t comparable, experts say, to those in the rest of the country. UW can reliably claim to have the second-largest engineering school in the country, behind Toronto. However, only 16.5 per cent of UW engineering students are female, placing this university 20th out of 36.

You work here? You're stressed? Counselling services to the rescue, with something called Mindfulness, "a stress reduction program for staff". Says counsellor Marilyn Perdue: "This eight-week program in intended for staff challenged by life and work stress and is designed to maximize personal, interpersonal and work coping skills, optimize well being, and cultivate inner resources for greater emotional balance. Participants will develop the ability to let go of stressful thought patterns and experience more moments of calm in their lives. Participants will have the opportunity to learn and practice mind-body awareness skills including mindful walking and sitting meditation, body scan, gentle yoga stretching and mindfulness practices in daily life. The group begins Tuesday, September 30, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. The location is in the Great Hall in Village I. The fee is $20, which includes a book, practice CD and work book. To register drop by Counselling Services, Needles Hall room 2080, or call ext. 32655."

CAR

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