Senate asked to okay diploma design

The university’s new diploma will look a lot like the old one, if the university senate gives its approval today to recommendations from a committee that was set up last year.

“The committee concluded that there was not support for a new diploma but a preference for retaining the current diploma with modifications,” registrar Ken Lavigne says in a report to senate. The new one will be bigger (15.5 by 10.5 inches, compared to 13 by 9.75 inches for the existing diploma), will use the university’s new seal, and will have “simplified text so that the name of the university, the graduate’s name and degree are more prominent”.

The full diploma is pictured below; the section portrayed at left is actual size if you’re seeing it at the usual screen resolution of 72 dpi.

The Diploma Review Committee included undergraduate and graduate students, as well as staff from the registrar’s office, marketing and undergraduate recruitment, creative services, and alumni affairs. It was asked to “develop diploma designs guided by the new graphic standard, incorporating the new university seal; consult widely to confirm support for a new diploma or a preference for retaining the current design; recommend a diploma design and implementation schedule to Senate.”

Lavigne reports that the group “reviewed the current diploma, identifying its strengths and weaknesses”, looked at diplomas from other universities, surveyed students, consulted alumni, “developed three new diploma designs informed by the results of the survey”, and did another survey asking for comparisons of the three possible designs and the current diploma. “One of the new designs and the current diploma were rated equally,” Lavigne reports. More surveying followed before the committee came up with its recommendation for “modifications” rather than a complete change.

The diploma report is likely to be a highlight of today’s senate meeting, which starts at 3:30 p.m. in Needles Hall room 3001. (Senate will be meeting at that slightly earlier time in 2011-12, as the result of complaints when meetings starting at last year’s 4:00 time repeatedly dragged into the dinner hour.)

Also on today’s agenda will be a presentation from psychology professor Geoff Fong about his international research on smoking rates and government regulation of tobacco. The university’s president and vice-presidents will report as they generally do, with VP (academic) and provost Geoff McBoyle speaking about a change in the way the university gets permission for photocopying of copyrighted material, a change that’s expected to affect classroom use in particular. And there will be changes to academic programs, including approval of a new Diploma and Certificates in Arabic Language, to be offered at Renison University College.

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Fund makes investments real for students

by Jude Doble, office of development

Thanks to a $250,000 donation by an anonymous donor, a student-run investment fund has been established in the School of Accounting and Finance. It will give a select group of students the unusual opportunity to invest real money in the stock market.

“We are providing an invaluable opportunity for our students who will conduct in-depth research and analysis of the markets, making decisions with real implications,” says the school’s director, Jim Barnett. “This bridges academic theory with the practical workings of capital markets and isn’t something students can get in the classroom alone.”

As part of the learning process, third-year students will act as financial analysts and fourth-year students will act as portfolio managers. This experiential approach to learning will develop industry-ready graduates who are well-versed in industry-standard technology and experienced with investment analysis and portfolio management. It will also help SAF to fulfill its mandate to develop talented professionals for the financial sector.

Alan Douglas, the school’s Finance area head, says, “Our students are enthusiastically looking forward to this opportunity. We think they will gain significantly from the responsibilities associated with managing the fund.”  

Says Accounting and Finance Student Association vice-president Jonah Hu: “This fund will provide an opportunity for students to perform well and make good judgement calls —  invaluable training for anyone pursuing a career in sales, trading or investment management.” It will also offer connections to industry leaders, since SAF alumni in the investment field will serve as mentors, offering strategic advice and presenting sessions on industry-related topics.

Tim Jackson, Waterloo’s vice-president, external relations, and himself a graduate of the school, calls it "exactly the kind of innovative, hands-on learning experience we expect from Waterloo. Not only will it train the next wave of finance leaders, but it will develop a cycle of alumni committed to Waterloo who know and value the importance of giving back as mentors.”

Pictured above: final-year accounting and finance student Ishan Sutar, using a terminal in the SAF building that provides licensed access to Bloomberg financial news services.

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Other notes on the cusp of autumn

President Feridun Hamdullahpur has already held half a dozen "consultation" meetings as part of the Sixth Decade Plan mid-cycle review, which was announced last week. At each of them, he's asking faculty, staff, alumni and others some key questions: “What would you see for the University of Waterloo as one of the globally recognized and respected universities? What might hold us back from getting there? What recommendations do you have? What priorities do we need to focus on?” There's just one consultation meeting today, a small gathering with a committee in the environment faculty, but tomorrow will bring a somewhat larger gathering with staff from several administrative departments, to be held first thing in the morning in the Village 1 great hall. Invitations to subsequent sessions continue to be sent out.

Women make up 52 per cent of the population and 61 per cent of university graduates, “yet their perspectives are represented in less than 20% of newspaper columns and guest commentary,” a gender gap that will be addressed in a public lecture tomorrow afternoon. Shari Graydon of Informed Opinions, a project aimed at “helping experts make their knowledge more accessible to the media”, will speak on “The Top 7 Reasons Smart Women Should Speak Up” on Tuesday at 3:30 in the Sun Life Auditorium, Lyle Hallman Institute. The free lecture is hosted by the Faculty Association’s Status of Women & Equity Committee. Diana Parry of recreation and leisure studies, the chair of the committee, says Graydon “casts a necessary spotlight on the need for female academics to elevate their profile in visual, broadcast, and print media. For the benefit of society at large, these women’s voices need to be shared more broadly.” Parry adds that “the ratio is even more skewed in the ‘STEM’ fields — Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math — making the problem especially relevant at the University of Waterloo and in Waterloo Region.” To be sure of a seat at tomorrow’s lecture, interested people can register online or call ext. 35158.

The week-long "DisOrientation" program, sponsored by the Waterloo Public Interest Research Group, gets under way today, the first event being a barbecue on the Matthews Hall green (from 11:00 to 4:00) featuring "tasty vegetarian food" and serving as a fund-raiser for "the legal defense fund of the Algonquins of Barriere Lake". That's followed by an "alternative learning teach-in" on "How to Actually Learn Something at University", starting at 12 noon, location "tba". Actually there are quite a lot of TBA's in the schedule issued by WPIRG a few days ago, but the latest information should be on its web site. As the week goes on, events range from workshops and film screenings to a Radical Bike Tour of Kitchener-Waterloo on Friday afternoon.

The office of organizational and human development is inviting proposals for workshop sessions at the Fifth Annual Waterloo Staff Conference, to be held April 3 and 4. "Proposals should be," it says, "for an educational and interactive session(s) focused on professional and/or personal development that will include discussion, activities, and engagement on a specific topic. These may be single presenter sessions or team-led. All proposals will be subject to a review process by the OHD office. You will receive reviewers' feedback by December 2." The application deadline is October 21; details are online.

And . . . the Staff Association will be holding its seventh annual weekend shopping trip to Erie, Pennsylvania, November 11-13. "There are still some spots left on the trip, if anyone is interested in having a fun weekend away," Sue Fraser writes from applied health sciences. "It’s a great time to meet other staff members from around campus. Your hosts are Peggy Day and Sue Fraser." She notes that non-members of the association can also come along, though they'll pay a $10 surcharge. Details are on the association's web site.

CAR

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