'Henna managed to cross cultural borders and language barriers," says arts student Rebecca Steiner about her experience learning henna decoration during a tour of Bangladesh in 2008. She'll be offering hand and foot art during tomorrow's Arts Symposium (10:00 to 5:00) in the Student Life Centre, sponsored by the Federation of Students. Meanwhile, the staff association's 17th annual craft sale runs today (10 to 4) and Friday (9 to 3) in the Davis Centre fishbowl lounge, offering ornaments, chocolates, candles, jewellery and art by staff members and retirees.

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CECS plans a 'major' reorganization

by Patricia Bow

The staffing structure within Co-operative Education & Career Services will undergo major change in 2011. The details of the planned reorganization were shared Wednesday at a meeting held in the Tatham Centre for all CECS staff, including some who teleconferenced from Ottawa and as far away as Dubai.

Although almost all staff will see some change to their job descriptions, those most affected will be people who work directly with students and employers — field co-ordinators, co-op advisors, assistant directors, and some career advisors. Collectively, they make up the majority of CECS staff.

“This is a re-deployment, not a downsizing,” said Peggy Jarvie, CECS executive director, in an interview last week. “The object of the re-organization is to make CECS more effective, to make it work better for students and employers — for example, we will be more able to develop relevant jobs. And with roles more clearly focused, it will also create a better environment for staff, who are really passionate about what they do.”

One of the key changes will be to split the field co-ordinators’ functions into three: a student advisor to concentrate on students’ needs and experiences, an account manager to maintain relationships with current employers, and a business developer to cultivate new employers. Other changes will, among other things, regularize the role of team managers, move some co-op advisors into the Centre for Career Action, and create the new position of student experience manager. These changes are also meant to contribute to the university’s focus on student success.

The need to reorganize has intensified in the last decade, Jarvie says, largely because of the widespread success of the work-study educational model pioneered in Canada by Waterloo in 1957. With more than 80 post-secondary institutions across the country now offering co-op programs, there is increased competition for employers. At the same time, the workload in CECS has grown heavier, with more than 120 academic plans and approximately 15,000 students now involved. Given those pressures, the many-faceted role of field co-ordinator — creating and maintaining relationships with students and with existing and new employers — has become too complex.

Staffing changes have been in the wind at CECS for years. The ground was prepared by the Learning From Experience review headed by Bruce Mitchell in 2005 and the Co-op Employment Process Review led by Kenneth McKay and Miguel Anjos in 2006, which made recommendations that led to the current “framework for renewal.”

The proposed organizational changes have been built through prior consultation around student and employer needs. The Staff Relations Committee and Deans’ Council were briefed on the process last week.

The next, equally crucial step will be to further consult with staff on how the new structure can be made to work most effectively. “We are really looking to staff to help build this,” Jarvie says.

The input process will happen over the next few weeks. Staff will offer comments through a survey, and in discussion groups to be facilitated either by human resources or by the external consultant hired by CECS last December, as well as in one-to-one conversations. CECS will also seek input from the Co-operative Education Council, a student-staff-faculty body, and from the Co-op Students Council, a FedS body.

Once the new structure for front-line staff is finalized, a new role structure will be designed for staff involved with international co-op and other special programs, as well as the remaining roles within CECS.

The plan could be fully implemented within a year, “and we expect to accomplish this within our current funding,” Jarvie says. But the renewal won’t stop there. “This current renewal is just one piece in a much broader, longer-term renewal process that will continue another few years at least.”

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Canada Research Chairs marking 10 years

based on a news release from media relations

Four top Waterloo researchers are giving presentations at a two-day conference in Toronto marking the first decade of the Canada Research Chairs program, a key part of the federal government's strategy to position the country as an international leader in research and development.

The Thinking Ahead for a Strong Future conference, yesterday and today at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, celebrates 10 years of success for the Canada Research Chairs. The conference, the first in a series of regional events, will showcase the contribution of the chairs to research in such areas as health, food, technology, the environment and the economy.

"The Canada Research Chair program and subsequent research at the University of Waterloo has had a tremendous impact on scientists, the economy and quality of life for Canadians," says George Dixon, vice-president (university research) at Waterloo. "The CRC program has been instrumental in recognizing and building support for research excellence at universities across Canada." Waterloo currently holds 60 of the 2,000 chairs that have been awarded Canada-wide.

The four Waterloo researchers making presentations at the Toronto event:

• Karen Collins, Canada Research Chair in Interactive Audio, based in the drama and speech communication department, speaking on "The Brave New World of Communications: What’s Next?"  She's looking at where the entertainment technology is going in the next 10 years, focusing on portability, flexibility, customizability, sustainability, ubiquity and affordability. She will explore music, video games, sensor technology, brain-computer interaction, ubiquitous gaming and the end of the digital divide.

• Susan Tighe, Canada Research Chair in Sustainable Pavement and Infrastructure Management, based in civil and environmental engineering, speaking on "What Will the Next Industrial Revolution Look Like?" Tighe will talk about research advances in materials and design, focusing on the design and construction of sustainable roads and airfield runways to make them safer, more cost effective and environmentally friendly.

• Michael Worswick, Canada Research Chair in Lightweight Materials, based in mechanical and mechatronics engineering, also on the "Next Industrial Revolution" theme. He heads a team addressing key elements of the automotive life cycle, spanning material production, fabrication into structures and superior service performance in vehicle crash-worthiness and occupant safety. Aims include developing the next generation of low-weight, high-strength automotive structures, employing ultra-high strength steels and lightweight magnesium and aluminum alloys.

• Jack Callaghan, Canada Research Chair in Spine Biomechanics and Injury Prevention, based in the kinesiology department, speaking on "Living to 100: What Are the Implications for Individuals and Society?" Callaghan will look at how preventing low back injury can increase the number of quality years of life, as opposed to simply quantity. Eighty per cent of the population will suffer from low back pain at some point in their life making low back pain the most prevalent musculoskeletal problem affecting Canadians. His research examines injuries in working years and how they impact the quality of life during a longer life span.

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Book launch today, film showing tomorrow

A new book by Douglas Cowan of Renison University College — Sacred Space: The Quest for Transcendence in Science Fiction Film and Television — will have its launch at 4:00 today at the university bookstore in South Campus Hall.

The book, published by Baylor University Press, is the tenth written by Cowan, a professor of religious studies, and explores the trust that humans have in something greater than themselves, and how this hope for a greater power is manifested in science-fiction cinema and television. It draws on popular examples such as Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, Babylon 5, and Stargate SG­1 to reveal religious ideas present in the media.

“I think that sci-fi has a lot more to tell us about the quest for transcendence than many critics have given it credit for,” says Cowan. “That, and it's way cool. It has monsters and spaceships and phasers. What's not to like?”

A previous book on religion and film, Sacred Terror: Religion and Horror on the Silver Screen, was published in the fall of 2008. Cowan says he’s "always been a sci-fi geek. From the moment I saw the first episode of Star Trek or read by first copy of Dune, I've been hooked. Indeed, as a kid I remember getting in trouble a lot because I often let my Saturday chores slide so I could be in front of the TV for Star Trek. As a sociologist of religion and popular culture, I like the topic because it's largely underexplored or explored, in my opinion, poorly.”

Cowan plans to use Sacred Space as the text for his Religion and Film class in the winter term.

A documentary film created by a group of St. Jerome’s University students will have “its first official private screening” Friday night at Federation Hall.

One of the group, Jenn Wunder, tells the story: “In Fall 2008, a group of students in the Sexuality, Marriage, and Family Studies program were awarded a $12,000 grant from the Arts Endowment Fund to create a documentary film that explores issues of inclusivity on campus. This project evolved from a previous class project, ‘The Eroticization of Lesbians in the Media’, for a course on Sexual Ethics (SMF 310) with Dr. Tracy Penny Light. The original project exposed the discomfort that many UW students, faculty, and staff had with identities that were not strictly heterosexual. Despite an active gay and lesbian community on campus, this project (and others) has revealed that UW could be a more inclusive campus.

“The class presentation received a large and positive response from classmates and the professor, who encouraged the group to further pursue their ideas in the form of a full-length documentary. Jenn Wunder, Laura Madden, Faith Cameletti, Kayla Orr, and Alexandra Wendel have been working on the film since.

“Upon completion the documentary will be used as a training and educational tool for first year students and during orientation week. It will also be available for use in courses dealing with topics of acceptance, inclusivity and sexuality as a whole, such as in SMF 204, 206, 310, and 365, although it is hoped that faculty and staff will find the film useful for teaching and learning in a variety of disciplines and learning contexts.

“The BeInclusive project seeks to promote a campus climate that is inclusive of marginalized and under- or misrepresented groups, in particular the LGBTQI community. In order to raise awareness about inclusivity, BeInclusive has hosted a series of guest lectures from experts in the field of sexuality, inclusivity, and various related areas. In addition, the BeInclusive team has been working with GLOW and the Women's Centre, who have offered a great amount of support throughout the process.

“Ultimately, this film will function as a means of bringing to the surface key issues that are impacting the lives of students, faculty, and staff campus-wide.” Friday night’s screening is by invitation; inquiries can go by e-mail to jenn@ beinclusive.ca.

CAR

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