Schulich scholarships for future students

Two current high school students attending the University of Waterloo this fall will be doing so armed with a prestigious Schulich Leader Scholarship - a $60,000 award for undergraduates who plan to study in the areas of science, technology, engineering or math.

Schulich Leaders must show outstanding leadership in at least two of three criteria: academic excellence, financial need, or outstanding community, business or entrepreneurial leadership.

Lucas Palmer, whose average is 99 per cent, is captain of his high school's varsity volleyball team, has organized charity events that raised $11,000, and has logged 550 hours of community service - far more than the 40 hours required in order to graduate.

Chloé Simms’ average is 95 per cent. She’s already started her own fair-trade organic coffee business and is a Kiwanis Key Leader. She’s a founding member of her school’s Tolerance Club and has volunteered 400 hours at a retirement home in her hometown of Pembroke, Ontario.

Palmer, who wants to study medicine in the future, says: “I’ve always dreamed of going to Waterloo because of its amazing mathematics program.”

He was also inspired by Waterloo’s co-op education program.

“It’s really important for me to get good jobs on my resume before I graduate. I know there are lots of co-op opportunities for students in math and computer science,” says Palmer.

For Simms, who will join the Department of Physics and Astronomy in September, it was the opportunity to be part of a university with a strong reputation for entrepreneurialism and co-operative education. Simms, who has long dreamt of being an astronaut, was also drawn to state-of-the-art research facilities, like the Mike & Ophelia Lazaridis Quantum-Nano Centre and the Perimeter Institute.

Schulich Leader Scholarships are part of a $100 million gift in perpetuity on behalf of UJA Federation of Greater Toronto and the S. Schulich Foundation.

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Researcher wins World No Tobacco Day award

Waterloo psychology professor Geoff Fong has been awarded a World No Tobacco Day Award by the Pan American Health Organization and World Health Organization.

“His efforts have made a significant difference in advancing the fight against one of the leading preventable causes of death in the world,” a WHO press release stated.

A social psychologist, Fong is the founder and lead researcher of the International Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation Project (ITC), the only international research program that is evaluating the effectiveness of tobacco control policies of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. The ITC Project is an enormous research collaboration, currently with more than 100 researchers across 23 countries.

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Ravenhill named Balsillie school director

Professor John Ravenhill will serve as the next Director of the Balsillie School of International Affairs (BSIA).

Ravenhill, an internationally renowned political scientists, is the first externally-appointed director of the BSIA. He joins from the Australian National University where he is currently Head of the School of Politics and International Relations in the Research School of Social Sciences.

Ravenhill will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the school and the leadership of BSIA’s world-class research in international affairs.

“I am delighted to have the opportunity to lead the Balsillie School in the next phase of its development,” Ravenhill said. “In the brief period since its foundation, the School has made enormous progress towards establishing itself as a leading international centre for research and teaching on international affairs. The School is well-placed to realize its full potential, building on the unique partnership between a leading think tank and two excellent universities, its world-class faculty, and marvelous physical facilities."

Prior to his current role, Professor Ravenhill served as the Chair of Politics at the University of Edinburgh, Associate Professor at the University of Sydney, and Assistant Professor at the University of Virginia. He has also been a Visiting Professor at S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, the University of Geneva, the International University of Japan, and at the University of California, Berkeley.

Professor Ravenhill has been a consultant for the World Bank, the US Department of State, and the Korean Development Institute.

He will be appointed to the Faculty of Arts at the University of Waterloo and serve full-time as director of the BSIA for five years. He will take up his position on September 1, 2013. The current BSIA director, Professor David Welch, will serve until the end of his current appointment term, which ends on June 30. Terrence Levesque, BSIA associate director and professor of economics at Laurier, will be acting director from July 1 to September 1.

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Tuesday's notes

The Computing Help & Information Place (CHIP), located in MC 1052, will close at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 6. All services - helpdesk, software distribution, media resource, key permits and equipment loans - will be unavailable until the CHIP reopens for normal hours on Friday, June 7.

Why is the CHIP closed, you ask? Because they are celebrating the retirement of one of their own, Chandrika Anjaria, in the Laurel Room of South Camps Hall from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. RSVP to Liz Doede if you haven't already.

In other retirement news, friends and colleagues of Health Services clinic assistant Anna Gerard will also be celebrating her retirement with a party in the Health Services Conference Room on Thursday, June 6 from 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. RSVP to Chris Strome.

While we're on the subject, Human Resources has reported that the following staff members have retired as of June 1, 2013:

• Beverly Rodgers, who started at the university in September 1995 and retired as Secretary to the Chair - Management Sciences;
• Reinhard Zeidler, who started in October 1987 and retired as Custodian I - Plant Operations;
• Alan Reed, who started work at the university in August 2000 and retired as Shipper/Receiver at the Bookstore;
• Linda Kieswetter, who started at the university in September 1977 and retired as Associate Vice-President, Principal Gifts in Advancement; and
• Karen Critchley, who began working at Waterloo in September 1975, retiring as Draftsperson/Graphic Designer in Engineering Computing.

Effective June 3, Media.doc Dana Porter will be closed for the reminder of spring term, reopening Monday, September 2. Says a message from Retail Services: "please visit one of our four other locations across campus at Media.doc DC, EIT, MC, and SLC for your printing needs."

New entries on the Waterloo Stories page this week feature profiles of Faculty of Science researcher Qing-Bin Lu, Faculty of Arts researcher Geoff Fong, Faculty of Arts researcher Robert Park, and Faculty of Environment researchers Daniel Scott and Jean Andrey.

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