Nominating committees are seeking input

Nominating committees for the Director, Institutional Analysis & Planning and the Associate Provost, Human Resources have begun their work and are seeking community input as the search for these senior leadership positions continue. That's the gist of two memos sent out to campus yesterday.

Currently there are three such nominating committees: One for the Vice-President, Academic & Provost, one for the Associate Provost, Human Resources, and one for the Director, Institutional Analysis and Planning. Elections for the provost's nomination committee were held in March.

The university has engaged the services of professional executive search consulting firm Odgers Berndtson to assist the nominating committees in the search for the vacant leadership positions.

The Director, Institutional Analysis & Planning Nominating Committee has begun its work in supporting the search for this position. The committee is made up of the following people:

• Geoff McBoyle, Vice-President, Academic & Provost (Chair);
  
• Mike Grivicic, Assistant University Secretary (Committees);
  
• Jana Carson, Manager, Evaluation & Accountability Institutional Analysis & Planning;
  
• Martha Foulds, Director, Planning Faculty of Engineering;
  
• Ian Goulden, Dean Faculty of Mathematics; and
  
• Dennis Huber, Vice-President, Administration & Finance.

The committee is inviting members of the campus community to consider the following questions:

• What are the opportunities and challenges facing the University over the next few years? What are the implications of these challenges and opportunities for the new Director?
• Specifically, what do you consider to be the essential mandate of the new incumbent and this person’s first year and longer term priorities?
• What are your thoughts on the most important qualifications for the position - in terms of leadership style, academic credentials, organizational experience, and functional experience?
• Are there any particular individuals you would like to recommend?

Feedback can be sent by email to Odgers Berndtson search consultants Gerri Woodford or Margaret Vanwyck or any member of the nominating committee.

The deadline for comments is Thursday, May 9, 2013.

The Associate Provost, Human Resources Nominating Committee is also in place and has held its first two meetings. The committee is made up of the following people:

• Geoff McBoyle, Vice-President, Academic & Provost (chair);
• Susan Elliott, Dean, Applied Health Sciences;
• Trevor Grove, Past-President, University of Waterloo Staff Association;
• Michelle Hollis, Assistant HR Director, Client Services;
• Bruce Mitchell, Associate Provost, Resources and Interim Associate Provost, Human Resources; and
• Jack Rehder, Executive Officer, Faculty of Mathematics.

According to the committee's memo, over the next few weeks the committee will be consulting with the campus community in order to "define the mandate and responsibilities" of the Associate Provost, Human Resources, as well as "the experiences, skills and attributes required for success in the role. The nominating committee is inviting feedback on the following:

• What are the major issues, challenges and opportunities facing the new Associate Provost, Human Resources in the short and long term?
  
• What would you consider to be the essential mandate and short and long term priorities of the new Associate Provost, Human Resources?
  
• In your opinion, what background, skills, qualifications and leadership/management style are required for success in this role?
  
• Do you have any suggestions as to individuals to whom the search consultants should speak about this opportunity?
  
  

Comments can be send to any member of the committee (email addresses are above), to Odgers Berndtson's search consultants Gerri Woodford and Deborah Kornachuk, or the committee's secretary, Rebecca Wickens. The deadline for comments is Friday, May 17, 2013.

In both cases, all comments and submissions will be held in confidence.

Comprehensive position profiles, advertisements, and other pertinent information will be added to the nominating committee web page once finalized.

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Getting our house in order for a new term

Today is the last day of the fiscal year, with a new one beginning tomorrow, May 1. Finance circulated a memo a few weeks ago asking that all current-year transactions from academic and support units be sent in for review to ensure that the 2013 Financial Statements are accurate, as they will be going in front of the Board of Governors. The Finance department is likely working feverishly to process the remaining transactions, which can include internal billings, manual adjustments, expense transactions, and purchases posted to the purchasing card system as they come in.

Looking ahead, in sync with the beginning of the fiscal or budget year, May 1 is the day on which faculty and non-union staff members get their annual pay increases. Retail Services operations are still closed for inventory, and will reopen tomorrow. Housing and Residences has also posted move-in hours for the upcoming term.

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Tuesday's notes

Obstruction—I mean construction—season has begun, with Phillip Street closed at the University Avenue entrance until sometime this summer for the second phase of a reconstruction that first began in September 2012. Half of Phillip Street has been closed off completely to a point around East Campus Hall. Access to Parking Lot B, East Campus Hall, Engineering 5 and Engineering 6 is still possible, but will have to be done from the Columbia Street entrance. According to the City of Waterloo, the street will remain closed until July 5.

The Fine Arts department and the University of Waterloo Art Gallery are presenting the second of two thesis exhibitions by MFA candidates from the graduate program in Fine Arts from May 2 to May 18, with an opening reception scheduled for Thursday, May 2 from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. The exhibition represents the end result of two years' worth of intensive research and studio production. Gallery One will feature the work of Nicholas Breton, a multidisciplinary painter who recently exhibited his work at the London Arts Council and the Mayor's Office coordinated by Forest City Gallery in London, Ontario. He is a recipient of the Keith and Winifred Shantz Internship Award. In Gallery Two is the work of Jessica Massard, who has recently been exhibited at Art Mûr, Montreal; The Moore Gallery, Toronto; Meghan Fish Contemporary, Halifax; and the University of the West Indies, Barbados.

Waterloo LEARN, the university's web-based learning management system, is scheduled to be offline starting today as the system is upgraded to version 10.1 in preparation for the Spring term. The downtime will last until Wednesday, May 1. LEARN Help is available to answer questions instructors or students may have.

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