Canada Excellence Research Chair holder David Cory speaks as MPs Peter Braid and Gary Goodyear look on during the Government of Canada's announcement of the expansion of the CERC program at an event held at the Institute for Quantum Computing yesterday. Minister of State for Science and Technology Gary Goodyear announced that the federal government has committed $53.5 million over the next five years for the creation of 10 new chairs. The first group of 19 CERC chairholders was announced in May 2010, and included IQC faculty member Cory, Canada Excellence Research Chair in Quantum Information Processing, and Philippe Van Cappellen, CERC chairholder in ecohydrology. Photo by Chris Hughes, ELED Photography.

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Searches underway for new VPs

"We are now beginning the process of identifying individuals to hold the positions of vice-president, advancement and vice-president, external relations," writes president Feridun Hamdullahpur in a memo sent yesterday to the university community.

The decision to split the office of Vice-President, External Relations, held by Meg Beckel until June of this year and currently held on an interim basis by Tim Jackson, into two portfolios was announced at Senate in September and at the Board of Governors' most recent meeting in October.

The memo explains the new division of labour as follows:

"The vice-president, advancement will serve as the university’s chief advancement officer and will be responsible for planning, implementing and overseeing fundraising and alumni relations. S/he will provide leadership in developing and securing public and private philanthropic support, and coordinating alumni activities throughout the university in partnership with its constituent faculties, federated university and affiliated university colleges.

"The vice-president, external relations will be accountable for community relations, government relations, communications and public affairs, and media relations. S/he will share major responsibility for establishing the university as an important member of the broader community and for ensuring that it is recognized as being committed to the social, cultural and economic development of the Waterloo Region, Ontario and Canada."

Continues the memo: "Nominating committees have been put in place to support searches for each position. Committee memberships are posted on the Secretariat website and further information, including advertisements and detailed position descriptions, will be added as it becomes available."

• Vice-President, Advancement
• Vice-President, External Relations

"The university has engaged Odgers Berndtson, a professional executive search consulting firm, to assist the nominating committees. Over the next month, representatives will consult members of the university community who are expected to interact regularly with the positions; however, input and feedback is also welcomed from all members of the university community.

"You are particularly invited to consider the following questions:

1. What are the issues, challenges and opportunities facing the vice-president advancement and vice-president, external?
2. What advice do you have for the search committee as to the background, credentials, qualifications and leadership styles we should be seeking in these individuals?
3. Do you have any suggestions as to individuals to whom we should speak about these opportunities?

"Submissions should be directed to Salvatore Badali at Odgers Berndtson, (416) 366-1990 x347, sal.badali@ odgersberndtson.ca, www.odgersberndtson.ca. Notwithstanding, you are invited to convey your views on matters concerning either position to any member of the relevant nominating committee. Comments are due no later than December 9, 2011 and will be held in confidence within the relevant committee."

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Doc Studio contest for campus filmmakers

With an HD camera tucked into seemingly every conceivable gadget these days, the line between filmmaker and average person has been blurred. That said, for those who aspire to a career behind the camera, TVO, Ontario's public educational media organization, has established both a documentary film initiative and a short documentary contest that invites students to contribute.

"As a proud supporter of Canadian documentary films," TVO's media release reads, "TVO is committed to fostering talent among filmmakers and as such, created the newly launched docstudio.tvo.org as a platform to showcase Canadian documentary filmmakers and their work, as well as act as a learning community that supports point-of-view filmmaking."

Filmmaker in Residence Alan Zweig (director of Vinyl, I Curmudgeon, Lovable, and a Hard Name) has posted a video describing the contest. The inaugural Doc Studio contest invites students, accomplished and amateur filmmakers to hone their cinematic skills to create an interview-based short documentary masterpiece that can be visually told in five minutes or less. The challenge is to create a film that "captures something unique about your subject and resonates with others."

Submissions should be inspired by the style of Alan Zweig and will be accepted until February 27, 2012.

The contest plays out as follows:

1. Entrants may submit the film online via TVO's YouTube Channel or on DVD by mail with a completed entry form. Entries must be original to the person or group submitting the video and may not contain any content (clips, stills, music, etc.) that is not owned in its entirety by the Entrant.
2. Determination of the winner of the grand prize consists of two rounds of evaluation. In the first round, a panel of judges chosen by TVO will select the top five entries from among all eligible entries based on the following criteria:
• To interview someone;
• To create intimacy with your subject - to reveal something they would never tell anyone else;
• To make a film about something you are passionate about; and
• To tell a good story
3. The top five entries elected in round one will be chosen on or before March 2, 2012 and will proceed to round two.
4. Round two takes place between March 5-11, 2012. The selected top five entries will be posted online on TVO's Doc Studio microsite where visitors will be asked to vote. The winner of the contest will be determined by the video that has received the most votes in round two. In the event of a tie, entries will be re-submitted to the judges to determine the winner between the tied entries alone.

The winner will be announced on or around March 12, 2012.

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Mental health support system under review

by Chris Read, University Housing Officer

A review of the mental health support system for students is well underway on campus. The project, requested by Bud Walker, AP Students, is being worked on by a team of 4 - Chris Read, (Housing), Stephen Chris (Health Services), Dave Mackay (Counselling Services) and Mario Coniglio (Science) along with a comprehensive review team. The project team is tasked with determining and understanding the mandates, operations, programs, processes, structure and outcomes of the 3 primary wellness units (Counselling Services, Health Services and OPD). The project will identify current strengths of existing services, as well as make realistic and implementable recommendations that improve support.

The Project Team is interested in input from any individuals or groups. Please send information to mhrp@ uwaterloo.ca. Ideally, comments would help answer the following question:

What does uWaterloo need to do to improve the campus communities’ mental health support system for students?

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Mixed notes

Viewing and voting for the University of Waterloo Sustainability Project's EcoArt photo contest will take place today in the Great Hall of the Student Life Centre from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. A dozen photographs have been chosen to be displayed based on criteria including visual and emotional impact and originality. Winning photos will be featured in the Alternatives Journal and Imprint. Contest submissions and other images from the EcoArt working group can be viewed on Flickr.

The mid-cycle review session for the Plant Operations Night Shift is taking place from 10:00 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. in the Festival Room of South Campus Hall.

And a correction to note: on Friday I posted the library's extended hours for the exam period, which should have read November 27 to December 22, not December 2. To recap: Davis is open 24 hours, except for Sundays from 2:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m., and Dana Porter is open Monday to Sunday, 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. On the last day of extended hours, December 22, Davis will close at midnight and Porter will close at 11:00 p.m.

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