Interim AVP International named

"I am pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Jean-Jacques Van Vlasselaer as interim associate vice-president, international, effective July 11, 2012," writes Sallie Keller, vice-president, academic & provost in a memo circulated to members of the university's Executive Council, Senate, Board of Governors, and Waterloo International staff on July 6.

Professor Van Vlasselaer is originally from Belgium, is fluent in four languages (French, Dutch/Flemish, German, and English) and has "wide comprehension skills" in Spanish, Italian, and Afrikaans.

He was a professor of French at Carleton University from 1970 to 2010, twice chairing the department. He served as special advisor to Carleton’s vice president research and international from 2002 to 2007, and as special advisor to the provost from 2007 to 2009. He also served as interim director of Carleton International in 2002 and 2008.

In April 2010, Van Vlasselaer was appointed special advisor to President Feridun Hamdullahpur and will continue in that role during his term as interim associate vice-president, international.

"Please join Feridun and me in welcoming Jean-Jacques to his new role at the University of Waterloo," the provost's memo concludes. "We look forward to the leadership he will bring in advancing UW's international goals."

The associate vice-president, international works with several partners to develop and execute the university's international strategic plan, while leading the Waterloo International Office. The position reports to the vice-president, academic & provost.

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Funding for computational and industrial math

a news release from the Faculty of Mathematics

The Fong Education Foundation Limited has established the Industrial Mathematics Research Fund and the Fong Computational Mathematics Graduate Award at the University of Waterloo.

Mr. Eddie Fong graduated from the University of Waterloo in 1980 with a BMath (Actuarial Science/Computer Science) degree. Since graduating, Mr. Fong has enjoyed an extremely successful career and is pleased to support his alma mater.

This new $200,000 gift is in addition to funding already received in support of graduate students in Mathematics, and will promote and facilitate student involvement in collaborative research engagements with industry partners. It will help attract outstanding graduate students and provide a fully-equipped work space in the EF Computational Mathematics Graduate Laboratory.

“We are grateful to Mr. Fong for his generosity,” says Ian Goulden, Dean of Mathematics. “Industrial and computational mathematics play a critical role in today’s increasingly complex world. This funding will support exceptional students and connect their expertise in quantitative and computational methods with industry partners who are solving real-world problems.”

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Housing Volunteers Make Their Mark

by Bronwyn Forbes, Co-ordinator, Marketing and Communications, Housing and Residences

On Saturday, July 7, 95 student staff members from the Department of Housing and Residences and the University Colleges decided to make their mark with the first ever Student Staff Conference. This one day conference, sponsored by Housing and Residences, gave students the opportunity to share their leadership experiences and background in a fun, engaging, and inspiring environment. Students were invited to participate in sessions that focused on making their mark in their personal journey, including their current role and future endeavours. These sessions covered topics such as personal branding, emotional intelligence, customer service, launching a career through student leadership, and how leadership impacts the student experience.

Delegates were also entertained by keynote speaker Stuart Knight’s presentation, Four Conversations of a Leader, which focused on how to connect with colleagues and customers through powerful conversation. The sessions finished with an interactive presentation by the Drum Café (pictured above) where students came together to make music, explore the diversity of each other’s unique contributions, share a common goal, and compose a high energy percussion set.

The day came to a close with a dinner, catered by UW Catering, and closing remarks from uWaterloo’s Associate Provost, Chris Read. Students came away from the day feeling energized and inspired to make their mark, not only in their leadership roles, but in the lives of others and the uWaterloo community as a whole.

Photograph by Light Imaging.

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Wednesday's notes

Hours for the Davis Centre and Dana Porter Library will be changing for the upcoming examination period of July 22 to August 10. Davis will be open 24 hours, except for Sundays, when it will be closed from 2:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. Porter will be open Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.

During this period, service desks and related services will be closed at regular times (Porter at 11:00 p.m. and Davis at midnight), and there will be attendants present in the Davis Centre branch for security purposes. Staff will monitor for noise, cell phone use, and hot foods that are not permitted in the library.

On August 10, the last day of extended hours, Porter will close at 11:00 p.m. and Davis will close at midnight.

Intersession begins Saturday, August 11 and runs until September 9. The libraries will be open 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday to Friday, and 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

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