Policy 18 up for review and renewal

"Over the past few years, the Staff Relations Committee (SRC) has been asked by members of the University community to review Policy #18 which may not be meeting the needs of staff and the University," says a memo to staff from provost Geoff McBoyle and staff association president Trevor Grove. "Specifically, there have been institutional changes and practices that do not appear to have been anticipated in the policy. As a result, SRC is concerned that there may be a lack of consistency and clarity in employment practices across our campus."

A subcommittee has been created to review and renew the current Policy 18, with the following guiding principles:

1. The process followed in revising Policy 18 must be collaborative, open, and provide opportunities for engagement by all University of Waterloo staff;
2. All uWaterloo staff need to be aware of the Policy 18 revision process on an on-going basis; and
3. The revised uWaterloo Policy 18 is to be implemented no later than January 1, 2013.

The members of the subcommittee include Trevor Grove, staff association president (uwsa.president@ uwaterloo.ca), Michelle Hollis, assistant HR director, Client Services (mhollis@ uwaterloo.ca), Kenton Needham, Director, Human Resources (kneedham@ uwaterloo.ca), and Jeremy Steffler, Director, staff association (jeremy.steffler@ uwaterloo.ca).

A Sharepoint site has been created to keep the community informed of the activities of the subcommittee.

"The first phase of the renewal process will be a series of roundtable discussions (starting April 9, 2012) to solicit your thoughts and opinions on the policy," the memo continues. "You can get involved in this process right now by completing an anonymous survey before April 9, 2012. The results of this survey will be used to help the subcommittee prepare for the roundtable discussions."

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World water reserves under pressure

a news release from the media relations office

The world’s unprecedented and growing urbanization, climate change and increased demand for food puts additional pressure on the world’s water reserves. These are the key messages in the United Nations (UN) World Water Development Report, which had its Canadian launch at an event yesterday co-hosted by the University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University.

The document is the flagship publication of UN-Water, which includes all UN bodies with water-related responsibilities. Among them is the UN University's Canadian-based Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH), whose director, Zafar Adeel, chaired UN-Water during the report's development. The report gives an overall picture of the state of the world's freshwater resources, and aims to provide decision-makers with the tools to implement sustainable use of our water. Representatives of UNU-INWEH and the Canadian Commission to UNESCO released the document, entitled Managing Water under Uncertainty and Risk during World Water Day activities held at the University of Waterloo campus.

“We are particularly honoured to host the official Canadian release of this important document,” said Professor Robert Gillham, executive director of the Water Institute at Waterloo. “This report provides a comprehensive assessment of the world’s water resources and reminds us that effective water management requires a mix of technical, social, economic and political inputs, which are all areas where Waterloo and Laurier student researchers are making a positive contribution locally, nationally and internationally.”

The University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University have well-developed reputations for water-related education and research, in particular through Waterloo’s Water Institute and Laurier’s Water Science and Cold Regions Research Centre. Scholars stress the importance of Canadian institutions taking a global leadership role on water issues.

“Canadians are surrounded by some of the biggest freshwater lakes in the world, and that can foster the illusion that water issues aren’t so pressing,” said Professor Richard Petrone, director of the Cold Regions Research Centre at Laurier. “But these are critical issues for humanity that we all need to think about, and reminding everyone about them through World Water Day is a very good thing.”

World Water Day highlighted university water research and raises awareness about local and global water issues. A graduate fair featuring graduate research and scholarship awards was also part of the event.

A full copy of the report can be found online.

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Lost Faculties play fundraiser, other notes

This Saturday, March 24 at 7:00 p.m., the Lost Faculties, the School of Optometry and Vision Science's loudest band (pictured above at Fed Hall, photograph by Colin Yardley), are playing a fundraiser for the Hopespring Cancer Support Centre at the Victoria Park Pavilion organized by the Breastperate Housewives. This group of breast cancer survivors are calling the event the Celebration of Hope. Tickets are $30 and anyone interested in attending can contact Tracey Chase.

"Jeanette Nugent from the Graduate Studies Office and Andrea Brandt from the Renison English Language Institute will be traveling to Turkey later this month (March 24-April 1) to represent the University of Waterloo in a series of “Education in Canada” fairs organized by the Canadian Embassy in Ankara, Turkey," writes Marta Bailey, Assistant Director, Graduate Communications and Postdoctoral Affairs. "They will be traveling with other Canadian institutions to five cities in Turkey to promote Canadian educational opportunities to Turkish students and their families."

"If faculty/staff at University of Waterloo are in contact with students or alumni from Turkey, please feel free to pass along the fair information (as listed below). Jeanette and Andrea would be pleased to meet with them," writes Bailey.

Saturday, March 24
City: Ankara
Fair Venue: Ankara Hilton Hotel Anadolu Ballroom
13:00-18:00 Fair Hours

Sunday, March 25
City: Izmir
Fair Venue: Izmir Swissotel Grand Efes 1 Ballroom
13:00-18:00 Fair Hours

Tuesday, March 27
City: Adana
Fair Venue: Adana Hilton Hotel Ballroom
13:00-18:00 Fair Hours

Thursday, March 29
City: Bursa
Fair Venue: Bursa Çelikpalas Hotel Ballroom
13:00-18:00 Fair Hours

Saturday, March 31 & Sunday, April 1
City: Istanbul
Fair Venue: Hilton Istanbul Hotel Ballroom
13:00-18:00 Fair Hours for both Saturday and Sunday

The fourth annual Pink Day takes place on Tuesday, March 27 with a coffee break in the Office of Research boardroom (NH 1021) from 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. There are two baskets full of "pink" goodies to win. Tickets are $3 each, or two for $5, or 5 for $10. The tickets are on sale until 10:15 a.m. on March 27. All proceeds will go to "The Weekend to End Women's Cancers - Team Jean Machine." See Jean Zadilsky (NH 1019, ext. 33300), Christine Gillis Bilton (NH 1047, ext. 38521) or Christina Yee (NH 1043 ext. 32526) for ticket and event information.

Desire2Learn's Edge Challenge invites developers, student and professional alike, to "shape the future of education by building mobile (and web) apps that improve the experience of teachers, students, administrators and start-ups." Up for grabs are more than $75,000 in cash and prizes. The grand prize is $25,000 and the chance to showcase a prototype to education thought leaders at the Desire2Learn July user conference in San Diego. In concert with the Edge Challenge, Desire2Learn is hosting a Pitch Night for ideas that could transform education using mobility/technology at its headquarters at the Communitech Hub on Wednesday, March 28 at 5:00 p.m. Contestants can register online any time before Sunday, March 25 at noon. Entrants will have 3 to 5 minutes to share their ideas, elevator pitch-style, with their peers and a panel of judges. The grand prize is $1,000 and a mentorship opportunity with one of the judges.

Here's the latest Nutrition Month "myth vs. truth" provided by Health Services dietician Sandra Ace:

"Myth": If a food is low in fat or fat-free, it must be healthy.
"Truth": Don’t judge a food by fat alone! Just because a food is low in fat or fat-free doesn’t mean it’s healthy. In fact, many low fat foods are not healthy choices, such as candy, pop, low-fat cookies and fat-free frozen treats. These are high in sugar and calories and contain few, if any, nutrients, so check the label. Some foods that are high in fat are excellent choices, such as fish, avocados, nuts, seeds and nut butters, because they are sources of healthy fats our bodies need.

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