Final steps of Johnston's presidency

Yesterday's special Convocation ceremony was the last public appearance for David Johnston as president of the University of Waterloo, and the photographers were out afterwards as he walked towards the University Club and lunch (above), flanked by Waterloo chancellor Prem Watsa and the day's special guest, Abdul Kalam, former president of India. "I am thrilled to be part of this event on my last day," said Johnston, who will be sworn in on Friday as Governor General of Canada.

At the ceremony, held in the Humanities Theatre (cellphone image by Ryan Jacobs), the official party didn't march in to "Pomp and Circumstance" but were lifted into view by the stage elevator. Kalam was awarded a honorary degree, and addressed the audience on "Dimensions of the 21st Century University". "Students need to be empowered," he said, "through great teaching and world-class research opportunities."

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Students meet careers at annual fair

Some 200 employers and more than 3,000 students and recent graduates of UW, Wilfrid Laurier University, Conestoga College and the University of Guelph will come face to face tomorrow to discuss careers and employment prospects.

The occasion is what’s described as “Canada’s largest post-secondary career fair of its kind”, sponsored by the four institutions and now in its 17th year. The same group organizes a Job Fair during the winter term.

The fair, which is not open to the general public, will be held at RIM Park in Waterloo from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. tomorrow. It’s free to students and alumni from the participating universities and college. A shuttle bus service will be available from all four institutions to get them to RIM Park, on the east side of Waterloo, and home again.

“We are very encouraged by the sizable number of organizations taking part in the fair, something we can attribute to the strength of our graduates and academic programs at the four local institutions,” says Carol Ann Olheiser of UW’s Centre for Career Action, one of the event’s key organizers.

Students and alumni will have the opportunity to meet with Canadian and international employers and gather vital information on careers. In turn, employers get an opportunity to promote their organization to future employees and reduce recruitment costs by connecting with many highly skilled candidates on the same day in one location. Suncor Energy, Certified Management Accountants (CMA), QuickPlay Media, and Toronto Hydro are some of the "featured employers” this year, says Avneet Kaur Dhillon, a student working in the co-op and career services department who’s helping make the day’s arrangements.

Olheiser says the Career Fair is "an exceptional opportunity for students to network with employers. They can use this like ‘one-stop shopping’ to ask for career information, qualification requirements, industry trends, etc. Students are so fortunate to have the largest career fair of its kind take place right here in our community. A real bonus is that transportation and admission are free to students from the partner institutions.” Students from other Canadian colleges and universities can get in by paying a $40 fee.

Shuttle buses between the main UW campus and RIM Park will leave from the Ring Road near the Hagey Hall entrance driveway every 30 minutes from 9:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m., returning every 30 minutes from 11:00 until 4:00.

There’s a difference between tomorrow’s event and the Job Fair that will happen a few months from now, organizers say: “Career Fair is an opportunity for you to network with employers and learn about career opportunities that may be available to you upon graduation. In addition, many of the employers in attendance are currently recruiting for co-op and internships and permanent or contract positions either immediate or after graduation. At Job Fair, organizations have job opportunities available at the time of the Fair or within six months following the Fair. This Fair can encompass employers hiring for summer, co-op, full-time, part-time, permanent or contract positions.”

A "fair guidebook" is available at the Centre for Career Action in the Tatham Centre. "Decide on employers that you want to target," the experts advise students who will be attending. "Prepare a list of questions to ask."

Additional information about upcoming fairs, registration procedures and a complete list of participating organizations are all available online.

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Cellphones, minerals, and the summer heat

Representatives of Bell Mobility and Worldlynx Wireless will be on campus tomorrow "to discuss the improvements and features of their products and the services they can provide", says a memo from the telephone services unit in Information Systems and Technology. The event is aimed mostly at staff and faculty members, and will be held in Davis Centre room 1302. "A short presentation will be made from 11:00 to 11:45," says Kathleen Ebrahimi of IST, "on University of Waterloo approved devices and the applicable monthly rate plans along with exclusive Bell Mobility services and support mechanisms designed to make your monthly billing more manageable. Bell will also discuss their new HSPA 3G network and all of the features and benefits it offers." The Bell visitors will be available after the presentation to answer any questions, and I'm told that they expect to have some answers about the signal problems that have reportedly plagued cellular users on and near the campus over the past couple of weeks.

The Earth Sciences Museum has added a little more sparkle to the collection thanks to a gift valued at approximately $50,000 from science alumnus Jim Reimer (BSc 1978, MSc 1980). He and his late father, John, developed a passion for minerals in the early 1970s, and now the family’s hobby will be preserved in the Reimer Family Mineral Gallery and Groundwater-Driven Mineralization Display at the museum in the lobby of the CEIT building. The collection features specimens gathered by Reimer and his father on family vacations across Canada and the United States, and through field trips organized by the Kitchener-Waterloo Mineral Club. The collection will also include crystals from former and current members of the club. Peter Russell, the museum’s curator, says the display will “allow us to explain the role of groundwater in the formation of mineral deposits. This display will also be the first to have an interactive computer on the subject at the museum.”  In addition, Reimer  donated custom showcases to house the collection, complete with LED lights. On September 16, the Earth Sciences Museum thanked the family for their gift (left: the donor with his mother, Annelies). “Jim’s gift shows his passion for geology and his loyalty to the University of Waterloo,” said Terry McMahon, dean of science. Reimer spoke about the importance of attracting our youth to science. “Science is a key driver of Canada’s prosperity, and we need to get more young people interested,” he said.

Noel A. Kinsella, the Speaker of Canada’s Senate, will visit St. Jerome’s University the day after he officially witnesses David Johnston being sworn in as Canada’s new Governor General at a ceremony in Ottawa. Kinsella’s visit was originally scheduled for this Friday, the actual day now set for Johnston’s ceremony, so his visit and he event he’s attending — The Feast at St. Jerome’s — have both been moved to Saturday night. Kinsella, a noted human rights advocate and academic, will be receiving the 2010 Chancellor John B. Sweeney Award for Leadership in Catholic University Education. Also at The Feast, he will speak about the importance of Catholic higher education. He holds a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from University College, Dublin; a licence and doctorate in philosophy from St. Thomas Aquinas University in Rome; and a licence and doctorate in theology from the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome. His studies took place during the heady and turbulent years of the Second Vatican Council, when Rome was thronged with the world’s leading theologians. Kinsella then taught psychology and philosophy for 42 years at St. Thomas University in Fredericton. “Senator Kinsella strongly believes in the role of the Catholic university,” says a news release from St. Jerome’s. “His work as an educator, a scholar and a human rights activist underlines his dedication to Catholic university education for young people today.”

More than 23,000 undergraduate students were sent e-mail this week about an online research project being conducted by Maureen Drysdale of St. Jerome’s University and Gary Waller of the university’s psychology department and Centre for the Advancement of Cooperative Education. “The purpose of the study,” they were told, “is to examine the psychological outcomes of education that are believed to play a part in academic achievement and subsequent employment success. For example, study skills and attitudes about competence in certain subjects have been linked to achievement and success. This study will examine the differences in some of those psychological variables between students in co-op programs and students registered in regular programs. We are looking for volunteers. . . . The questionnaire will ask you to rate yourself on a number of behaviours and characteristics.” There’s more information online. “There is a second phase to this study which will take place in your final year of university,” this week’s letter adds. “If you are willing to be contacted regarding the second phase, your contact information will be collected at the end of the questionnaire.” Drysdale is already being lauded for her research into issues related to co-op: she received the Dr. Graham Branton Research Award this summer from the Canadian Association for Co-operative Education, which cited her “significant impact”.

Frank Seglenieks, coordinator of the UW weather station, may have stumbled onto something when he polled the denizens of his web site about how they liked this year’s summer weather. “It was a very hot summer,” he notes in his quarterly report, “almost 2 degrees above average, making it the hottest summer since 2005. Without these last three relatively cool weeks at the end, it would have been even warmer overall.” The average daily high was 25.3 Celsius, he calculates. “As far as precipitation goes, we had 314.6 mm compared to an average of 274.0 mm, still within the average range. Four days accounted for over half of the season's precipitation.” Now about that poll: “A lot of people liked the weather we had during the summer. The results were that 42% called it great, 31% good, 8% OK, 6% bad, and 10% called it a total washout. Interestingly, although last summer was very different weather-wise, the poll results this year were pretty much exactly the same as last year. Does this mean that certain people will always love or hate the summer no matter what the weather? And that there are the same number of people that like the hotter summers as like the cooler summers?”

And here's a note from the Centre for Contact Lens Research, part of Waterloo's school of optometry: "Do you wear (or have you ever worn) contact lenses? The Centre for Contact Lens Research is surveying past and present contact lens wearers to learn why people decide to stop wearing contact lenses (or “discontinue” lens wear). A 1993 questionnaire focusing on University of Waterloo staff, students and faculty found that 51% of respondents had discontinued lens wear. The current questionnaire will allow us to update our understanding of discontinuation rates and rationale, taking into consideration the latest advances in contact lens materials and designs. This questionnaire is open to anyone living in Canada. Please consider completing it if you are a current or previous contact lens wearer. Eligible respondents will receive a $10 gift card in appreciation of their time. We would really appreciate your participation!"

CAR

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