Waterloo Daily Bulletin May 29, 2012

The VeloCity Garage will be holding an open house on Thursday, May 31 from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. inside its newly-expanded space at the Tannery on 151 Charles Street in Kitchener. The event is open to all members of the university community and light refreshments will be served.

The Garage expansion, announced in February, increases the total space for VeloCity at the Tannery from 600 to 6,500 square feet. There are 25 active student and alumni startups in the Garage space.

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Congress is a group effort

There is an awful lot of activity going on behind the scenes on campus to make sure the nation's largest largest annual multidisciplinary academic gathering runs smoothly. Co-convenor James Skidmore has provided an overview that gives an idea of the work involved:

"Charlene Schumm and her team at the Scheduling Office have had their hands full figuring out how to house classes during Congress. They’ve done a fantastic job of freeing up space for Congress while still finding alternate locations for courses that still want to have a class during Congress week.

The folks at Food Services have been managing a deluge of catering requests. On a typical day they might have 10 catering orders. During Congress that number jumps to 60! Extra equipment is being rented to handle the volume. Food Services is also managing the Beer Tent, and that has to be built from the ground up: the tent, tables, chairs, etc - all of that has to be brought in and set up.

Plant Operations also has its hands full. They’re installing all the special signage for Congress. Over 1300 signs have been ordered for both campuses, so there’s enough to do in addition to their usual jobs at this time of year (e.g. sprucing up campus and whatnot). Custodial services will be adjusting their shifts to maintain the cleanliness of the buildings.

UW Police Services have been preparing for the influx of rowdy humanists. Parking Services has been getting ready to help direct delegates to the appropriate parking spots.

Instructional Technology and Media Services (ITMS) is handling the audio-visual needs of the associations meeting on our campus. And since we live in the age of PowerPoint and YouTube, you can imagine that they have a lot to do as well. ITMS will have student operators available in all Congress locations on campus to help with any audio-visual emergencies.

The good folks at the Student Success Office have offered a lot of support for Congress preparations. They’re training and organizing the hundreds of volunteers who will help Congress run smoothly. They’re also working to transform the PAC into a lovely reception area for the two Presidents’ receptions where upwards of 800 delegates are expected on Monday and Tuesday evenings. Other members of this office have lent a hand in organizing ConnecTent, the evening festival bringing together delegates and Waterloo region citizens for a celebration of local food, drink and entertainment (28-30 May)."

And as for yesterday? "Monday was the busiest – and hottest! – day at Congress yet," Skidmore. "Food Services had to make 61 drops (that’s food service lingo for dropping off catering orders) in addition to mounting the first of two President’s Receptions at the PAC. The reception was well attended, the PAC looked wonderful, and the food was superb. (Most interesting item on the menu: gazpacho soup served in a glass with a drop or two of vodka. Genius!) The organizers Jane Kolb, Gabrielle Smith, Rob Sexton, Wilma Balvert, and Rex Coffin and their teams can be very proud of how they hosted Congress delegates.

Front and centre in today's Congress activities are the Big Thinking lectures featuring author Margaret Atwood at 12:15 in the Humanities Theatre, and author and business exec Don Tapscott, which gets underway at 7:00 p.m. in the Theatre of the Arts at the Modern Languages building.

And the ConnecTent at the corner of Father David Bauer Drive and Erb Street, where you can sample local foods, beverages, and entertainment, is now free! The tent is active from 6:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. tonight and tomorrow, with Canada's "Polka King" Walter Ostanek providing the musical entertainment this evening. Tickets can be secured online, and anyone who has already bought a ticket will be reimbursed with a food voucher at the event.

As well, here's today's "Skid @ Congress" roundup:

Tuesday, May 29

"I still have to go to the daily Congress operations meeting at 7:00 a.m. This is a humanities conference, but where’s the humanity in having to meet at such an early hour? Still, I’m struck at how chipper and upbeat everyone is. I’m convinced that they put something in the coffee at Laurier to make otherwise rational people think they’re happy to be at such an early meeting.

After that meeting Eleanor Ty (Laurier’s Academic Convenor) and I are meeting Andrew Rippin, the Academic Convenor of Congress 2013 in Victoria. He’s at Congress 2012 with a whole slew of Victorians to find out about Congress 2012 to find out how we put together Congress. I hope they’ll be able to copy our successes and avoid our mistakes.

Today SSHRC is sponsoring two panels on Canada’s future, and I’ll be going to both. The morning panel is “Imagining Canada’s Future”, and Don Tapscott (a leading authority on innovation), Dan Gardner (Ottawa Citizen columnist), and Diana Carney (Vice-President, Projects at the think tank Canada 2020) will do the imagining. The afternoon panel, “Thinking Ahead – What Canada Will Look Like in 2030” is being moderated by John Macfarlane, editor of The Walrus, and features four Canada Research Chairs.

At noon I’ll try to find a seat in Waterloo’s Humanities Theatre for one of the biggest events of Congress: Margaret Atwood’s lecture “Bedtime Stories.” She’s going to talk about the importance of story in understanding humanity. A lot of the lecture will centre on her 1972 book Survival, her defence of Canadian literature that marked a turning point in how CanLit was received and studied at universities.

After Maggie’s talk I have a couple of options. I can head over to Waterloo’s beer tent and chat with Aaron Miller. He’s staffing Waterloo’s Twitter wall there and is such a friendly, amiable guy that it’s always nice to have a chance to talk to him. (To follow Congress happenings on Twitter search the hashtag #congress2012.) I could also drop in on the Canada Population Society’s panel on why we still need a census or I could take in the one-hour concert of Scandinavian music by Ensemble Polaris.

My sense of duty will probably get the best of me, however, and I’ll end up going to the annual general meeting of my own association, the Canadian Association of University Teachers of German. We’re celebrating our 50th anniversary with a huge gala banquet at the Clay and Glass Gallery. David John of Waterloo’s German program will be giving an after-dinner talk outlining the history of the association.

The unfortunate delegates who aren’t Germanists still have some great options for the evening: the second of Waterloo’s two President’s Receptions is being held in the PAC, and ConnecTent, the Experience Waterloo festival of local food and entertainment will be going strong."

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New members to join the 25-year clubs...

The 25-Year Club Reception will be held on Tuesday June 19, 2012 between 6:00 - 9:00 p.m. in the Physical Activities Complex (PAC). The new 25-Year Club members and the 35-Year employees will be presented with an award for their dedication and years of service. Attendees must RSVP by May 31, but it helps to know who's being honoured before doing so.

The new members of the 25-Year Club, who began working at the university in 1987, are: