Director of Hong Kong office named

with material from a media relations news release.

The University of Waterloo has named Eva Cairns as the new director of its Hong Kong office.

Cairns (right) joined the university on January 2, bringing her experience in marketing and media.  She will represent the University and advance its mission in Hong Kong, the Chinese mainland and across Asia.

Cairns has business experience in Hong Kong, Macau, the Chinese mainland, Taiwan, the Philippines and South Korea. Originally, she entered the media industry as a marketing manager with Asia Magazine, affiliated with the South China Morning Post, Hong Kong's leading English newspaper and developed extensive media and marketing experience as her career progressed and matured with Turner Broadcasting System, Forbes magazine and GND Media Group Limited.

Eva graduated from the University of Regina in 1992 where she majored in computer science. Born in Guangzhou, China, she is fluent in English, Mandarin and Cantonese.

The office, established in 2011, is located in Hong Kong's central district and advances the University of Waterloo's mission in markets across Asia by supporting regional alumni communities, assisting in recruitment activities in schools, and by working with companies to develop co-op jobs and support co-op students.

 

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IAP director taking position at Dalhousie

The office of Institutional Analysis & Planning (IAP) will be seeking a new leader following the departure of Director Mary Jane Jennings in March 2013.

Jennings, who joined the University of Waterloo in 1997 as a member of the IAP team, has accepted a position as the inaugural Executive Director of Institutional Analysis and Research at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

“Mary Jane has been a major asset to our leadership team at the University of Waterloo. Her hard work and dedication helped give shape to goals and initiatives that will inform Waterloo’s success for many years to come,” says Sallie Ann Keller, vice-president academic and provost. “She is a valued member of the campus community, and her contributions will be missed. On behalf of the university, we wish her great success at Dalhousie.”

Jennings was named Director of IAP in 2010. Her deep understanding of the institution and the higher education sector helped lay the groundwork for an expanded program of analysis, budgeting and planning services, with the goal of enhancing IAP’s leadership in information and analytical services. She will assume her new responsibilities in Nova Scotia in April.

Founded in 1818, Dalhousie University has a strong focus on research, with more than 18,000 students enrolled in undergraduate and graduate programs.

 

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Students join Battle for Ca$h

Student teams from schools across the province, including the University of Waterloo, will be competing for "pride and prizes" in the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario's Battle for CA$H on Saturday in Toronto.

Think of it as the Hunger Games, only with more tax forms and fewer arrows. It's billed as a friendly competition that stresses the use of chartered accountant (CA) skills such as communications, teamwork, leadership and time management.

There will be 36 three-person teams from 20 institutions in the competition. The team members are undergraduate business students and are selected by the Institute's Board of Ambassadors in partnership with accounting or business society executives from 20 university programs across Ontario.

First prize winners will take home the CA$H Cup, along with $3,000 in prize money and an additional $1,500 for the winning school's accounting club. The second place team will win $1,500 and third place gets $750, with $300 given to the fourth, fifth, and sixth-place teams.

The University of Waterloo goes into the competition as the defending CA$H Champion, which means that the other teams will be looking to prevent a repeat performance. May the odds be ever in our favour.

 

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FASS auditions, other notes

The university's amateur theatre company, FASS (Faculty, Alumni, Staff and Students) is holding auditions next week for FASS 2013, this year's edition of the annual night of musical comedy.

This year's theme is "FASS for President." Auditions will run Wednesday, January 9 from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., Thursday, January 10, from 7:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., and Friday, January 11, from 7:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. The sign-in room is Hagey Hall 119. As always, everyone who auditions gets a part in the show.

FASS has enjoyed a long history on campus. The first show debuted in March 1963, and the theatre company celebrated its 50th anniversary last year. This year's edition of FASS will run Thursday, February 7 at 8:00 p.m., Friday, February 8 at 7:00 p.m. and 10:30 p.m., and Saturday, February 9 at 7:00 p.m. in the Humanities Theatre.

More information can be found on the FASS website.

Among the 91 latest inductees into the Order of Canada, announced by the Governor General of Canada on December 30, is Ron Schlegel, who is being recognized for his "entrepreneurial and philanthropic contributions to improving the care of seniors in Canada." Schlegel is being named an Officer of the Order of Canada.

Schlegel, who was an applied health sciences professor at the university from 1973 to 1991, established the Schlegel-University of Waterloo Research Institute for Aging in 2005, as well as Schlegel Research Chairs, and most recently is helping develop a centre of excellence for research, training and innovation in senior health care and wellness on the university's north campus. Schlegel operates long-term care facilities in Ontario, where innovative ideas developed at the University of Waterloo enhance the quality of life for seniors.

The induction ceremony will be held at a later date.

The next public tour of the Gustav Bakos Observatory, which houses a twelve-inch telescope and is located on the roof of the Physics building will be held next Wednesday, January 9, at 8:00 p.m. The observatory is named in honour of the first astronomer hired by the physics department at the University of Waterloo and has been in operation since 1967. Bakos died in 1991.

Tours allow visitors to learn about astronomy, and yes, to take a peek through the telescope. The tour, which starts at 8:00 p.m., will be preceded by a short talk on astronomy, plus an opportunity to task questions, followed by a tour of the dome. Visitors can meet in room 308 of the Physics building.

 

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