Student Life 101 a hit with participants

by Ainsley Munro, Student Success Office.

New Waterloo students will be on campus today as Student Life 101 kicks off its fifth session of the summer. The two-day program allows incoming students to experience Waterloo life and connect with campus resources before they arrive in September.

“The program has seen a lot of success so far,” says Gabrielle Smith, Coordinator, New Student Transition, in the Student Success Office. “Almost 800 incoming students have registered for Student Life 101 sessions and we’ve seen over 500 parents sign up for the concurrent Parent Orientation sessions.”

See what students are saying about the program:

There is still space in the August 20 and 23 sessions, as well as the August 28 international session, and university staff who interact with the incoming class are encouraged to help them learn more about Student Life 101 and why it’s an important first step in their university career.

Back to top

"I am pleased to announce the successful conclusion of our executive search for the Associate Vice-President, Principal Gifts position in the Office of Advancement, a critically important portfolio dedicated to building our fundraising capacity at the $1 million+ gift level," wrote Vice-President, Advancement Ken McGillivray in a recent announcement. "Michael den Haan, an exceptional advancement professional with a proven track record, will join the Waterloo team on August 12, 2013."

Den Haan (right) joins Waterloo from the University of Toronto, where he served as Executive Director of Advancement in the Faculty of Medicine from 2007 to the present. "Michael has led his program to phenomenal success over the last 6 years, achieving exponential growth in fundraising revenue, implementing a new model of advancement and enhancing the culture of philanthropy in a large and complex faculty," McGillivray writes. "Of particular note, Michael and his team of 30 advancement staff in the Faculty of Medicine have raised more than $300 million to-date for the Boundless Campaign at the University of Toronto."

Prior to his time at Toronto, Michael held several progressive positions at the MS Society of Canada, including National Campaign Director and Assistant Vice President, Major Gifts & Planned Giving. While at the MS Society, he worked with all levels of the organization across the country, including the Foundation board, the national office, seven regional offices and 130 local offices, and successfully launched and directed a $20 million national capital campaign. He also grew up in the Kitchener-Waterloo region.

"I want to offer special thanks to Stephen Shapiro who has served in an interim capacity since January and has done a superb job in building the team and moving our Principal Gifts program forward," McGillivray concluded. "Michael and the team look forward to continuing this positive momentum."

Back to top

Tales of a Teacher: Greta Kroeker

by Victoria Faraci. This is the first of three Centre for Teaching Excellence Teaching Stories that will appear in the Daily Bulletin this week. The full versions of each piece first appeared on the Centre for Teaching Excellence's website.

Enter Dr. Greta Kroeker’s office and you’ll think you’ve been transported back in time. Handmade crafts abound: an apron, a necklace, a wooden birthing stool. Visual art adorns her walls, including a splendid painting that recalls the work of the fifteenth-century artist Hieronymus Bosch. All of these items were made by Kroeker’s students in her History 347 “Witches, Wives, and Whores” course. With numerous student pieces on hand, as well as research papers and replica journals, she excitedly moves around her space, explaining the creative genius behind these many artifacts.

Kroeker opens up the past for her students, encouraging them to immerse themselves in history through classroom simulations. This year, in her “Witches, Wives, and Whores” course, one group of students staged a traditional wedding ceremony, while another group explored a sixteenth-century witch trial by enacting a mock “burning at the stake” in Uptown Waterloo. Such projects give students an active role in their learning, motivating them to deeply engage with the course content. “I want them to build on their critical thinking and research skills,” Kroeker says. “I get a lot out of the class and I hope that they do too.” Dr. Heather McDougall, Associate Professor and Acting Chair of the Department of History, asserts that Kroeker’s course is an example of “hands-on history,” blending traditional scholarship with experiential learning.

Kroeker constantly strives to improve her courses. To this end, she solicits ongoing feedback from her students. She notes that one of the most important things she has learned from years of teaching is to really listen to her students. “Listening to them enriches what I am able to give them.” With this in mind, Kroeker has worked hard to make her lectures engaging for students. “It’s very important,” she says, “not to lose students along the way… I always have to keep the momentum in those big lecture courses.” Accordingly, she aims in her lectures to conjure a seamless historical narrative for her students, sometimes even acting things out in class.

In her classroom, Kroeker uses the first hour to lecture on that day’s assigned readings. The students are also responsible for a series of reading logs due at the beginning of class. The rest of the class is devoted to informed discussion of the readings and to group work.

Teaching on and off since the age of eighteen, Kroeker’s passion for teaching is driven by her belief that teachers have the power to help shape young people’s sense of identity. “I really believe in the power of history,” she says. “I think that teaching history teaches empathy,” something this crowded planet could use a bit more of, she adds.

In terms of her own research, Kroeker says that “there is no more energizing and exciting impetus for continued research than having a classroom like this.” Kroeker is inspired by “the generosity of spirit” she witnesses as her students cooperate and collaborate in the name of creativity. When asked what she wants students to take away from her class, Kroeker says, “Dates I don’t care so much about, but I want them to grasp how history moves so that they can move history.” With this seemingly simple sentiment, Kroeker gives her students the tools they need to become critical, yet creative, thinkers.

Read the full story on the Centre for Teaching Excellence's website.

Back to top