Town Hall meeting tomorrow

Members of the campus community have an opportunity tomorrow to engage directly with the President and Vice-President, Academic & Provost at the Fall 2013 Town Hall Meeting, which will be held from 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the Theatre of the Arts.

The president and provost will deliver opening remarks, followed by a question and answer session.

There are many ways to have your say at tomorrow's event. You can attend and ask questions from the floor, you can send in questions via email both before and during the meeting, and you can tweet your questions using the hashtag #uwth, or by sending questions directly to the @UwaterlooLIVE Twitter account.

The event will also be livestreamed.

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Changes to Vacation, leave of absence policies

Revised versions of Policy 6 – Vacation – Staff and Policy 39 – Leaves of Absence for Staff Members have been posted on the Secretariat’s website as part of a project to review and renew all university policies over a multi-year time period.

Changes to these policies include:

• A harmonized definition of vacation credits (Policy 6, Section 4.C Vacation Entitlement and Accrual, and Policy 39, Section 2.D Vacation); and
• A new header, which will be part of all new and amended policies.

The updates to the two Class-S policies were brought forward by the Staff Relations Committee (SRC) earlier this Fall and were approved by the President on October 28.

As the review and renewal project unfolds, the Secretariat will provide further correspondence.

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"Where in the world?" contest winners named

by Lenore Ramirez. Carmen Sandiego could not be reached for comment.

On Thursday, November 21, Co-operative Education and the Centre for Career Action organized a “Where in the World?” photo contest for students who worked USA and international work terms. 233 people voted on the winners, which were on display during International Education Week and are detailed below.

International category:

1st place – Louisa von Waldberg - Vevey, Switzerland

“Vevey, Switzerland is referred to as “the city of pictures” given the fact that you can see Lake Geneva and the Swiss Alps peeking through the soft cloud cover! This image really captures the essence of Vevey and the Canton Vaud as it’s such a peaceful and cheery place even on a cloudy day! I wanted to highlight the brightly coloured buildings, the breathtaking view and the beautiful gardens that were in full bloom in May. I have such fond memories of spending time with the kids I worked with there!”

2nd place- Shane Antonition - Spittal Falls in Bermuda

"This is a photo of the wave action at Spittal Pond Nature Reserve, the day after the island of Bermuda was brushed by Tropical Storm Gabrielle! I’ve always been in awe of the power of hurricanes and storms – and was actually IN this one…so to be able to capture the beauty of these waves just after being ravaged by a storm was something very special for me!"

3rd place – Natalie Sham - Kisumu, Kenya

"This photo depicts the relationship between the people of Kisumu Kenya and the water hyacinth, a week that has actually taken over Lake Victoria. This seemingly lovely plant has endangered the livelihood of the Kisumu people, sustainability and the food economy. One third of the populations of the three East African countries of Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania derive their livelihood from the lake through fishing and agriculture."

USA category:

1st place – Anthony Chuang - Perseid Meteor Shower

"This is a photo taken during the Perseid Meteor Shower on August 13, 2013. Eight interns at my company decided to drive an hour into the middle of nowhere to observe the meteor shower. After about an hour of shooting and a hundred or so photos later, this turned out to be my favorite one. The Milky Way was clearly visible to the naked eye, and the top of the photo contained one of the shooting stars. That cold night, cuddled under some blankets in a deserted observation point, looking up at the Milky Way in awe, was quite unforgettable."

2nd place- Paulom Shah - San Francisco sunset

"The vibrant, natural colours of the sky and the view of the city inspired me to capture this moment. This scene is everything I thought the city is renowned for; the cable cars, steep hills, eclectic mix of architecture and the beautiful scenery."

3rd place – Si Rui Wang - Chicago Subway Rail at night

"Since I live in the city, mass transport is part of daily life. I have always been greeted with an absurd amount of noise, smell, and people whenever I take the ‘L’. I just flew in from Boston that Sunday night and was taking the ‘L’ home. The station was placid and peaceful, which is vastly different from what I encounter during the day. It calmed me down from a day of stressful travel and helped me reset my mind for work next day. The combination of an unbeatable view plus the alienating quietness is what made this photo special."

Full-size versions of the winning and finalist photos are available on the Co-operative Education website.

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Win tickets to next week's Hadfield lecture

Did you miss out on tickets to see Col. Chris Hadfield speak on campus December 3? Well, before your hopes and dreams come crashing back to earth, take heart: there's still a way to attend.

A contest for tickets to Hadfield's public lecture is running in the University of Waterloo's social media sphere. Here's the spiel:

"Commander (soon to be professor) Hadfield's new book "An Astronauts Guide To Life on Earth" looks at the individual commitment to pursuing your dreams, big or small. We want you to tell us (and show us) how the University of Waterloo is inspiring you! Send us tweets, pictures or videos tagged #UWProfHadfield telling us about your dreams and how Waterloo inspires (or inspired) you to achieve them. The best will get a ticket to see Chris Hadfield on December 3rd at the Humanities Theatre."

Tweets, Twit Pics, Instagram content and Vine videos can be given the hashtag #UWProfHadfield. Any other content can be emailed directly. Please note that approved content could appear in a public forum at the December 3 event. Winners will be contacted directly on Friday, November 29.

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Listen! And other orders for this week

The Waterloo Global Science Initiative (WGSI) is hosting a screening of the documentary film Listen, which is a critical look at standardized testing in the United States. The documentary features an interview with WGSI Equinox Summit: Learning 2030 participant Nikhil Goyal.

"In fall 2013, Equinox Summit: Learning 2030 started a global conversation about the future of high school," reads the event's promotional material. "Be part of this thought-provoking exploration as we lead up to the release of the Learning 2030 Blueprint."

The free event will take place on Thursday, November 28 at 7:00 p.m. in QNC 1502. A Q&A with director Ankur Singh will follow the screening.

In the spirit of "vote early, vote often:" Polls open for the University of Waterloo Staff Association's Fall 2013 Board of Directors elections tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. Voting will continue until 5:00 p.m. on Monday, December 9. Both paper and electronic balloting will be used, and members should review the voting procedures and determine which method of voting they wish to use before the opening of polls.

And finally, a reminder that the VeloCity Fund Finals event will be taking place tomorrow, November 28, featuring startups from the University of Waterloo duking it out for their share of over $100,000 in grant funding. The audience will have a chance to win one of four Pebble smartwatches, and the first 100 guests will have a free boxed lunch. Registration details are online.

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