IST launches new website

by Natasha Jennings.

Information Systems & Technology (IST) is pleased to announce the launch of our new website. Now in the WCMS, our new site allows visitors to quickly and easily access information specific to the Services and Projects provided by IST; stay up-to-date on related News and Events; and find content specific to their audience using the ‘Information for’ menu.  

Visit the site today and let us know what you think!

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Gift acceptance policy on the books

A new university policy on Gift Acceptance has been published by the Secretariat.

The new policy, Policy 7 - Gift Acceptance does a number of things, including:

• Providing a clearer framework regarding the acceptance of gifts by the University of Waterloo;
• Setting the principles and the legal framework that will guide gift acceptance, and
• Defining authority levels to solicit, negotiate, receive and accept gifts.

This new policy cancels and replaces the old Policy 7 – Approaches for Donations and Gifts-in-Kind, and, in keeping with the Secretariat’s multi-year project of policy review and renewal, is presented in a new policy template.

The new policy was considered and endorsed by senior development leaders in Advancement, the Faculty Relations Committee, the Undergraduate Student Relations Committee, the university’s Executive Council, the Graduate Student Relations Committee, the Staff Relations Committee, Senate and the Board of Governors. The policy received the approval of the president on November 21.

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Pharmacy student wins leadership award

Danielle Paes wants you to call the pharmacist, and the fourth-year Waterloo student is willing to go to any lengths to convince you—including posting a video spoof of Carly Rae Jepson’s popular song “Call Me Maybe.”

The YouTube video—which has close to 22,000 views—is just one reason Danielle received the Student Leadership award at this year’s Commitment to Care & Service Awards, the national awards program hosted by Pharmacy Practice and Drugstore Canada, Canada’s leading pharmacy magazines. The awards gala took place on the evening of November 25, at the Ritz-Carlton in Toronto.

Danielle believes pharmacists have all the right stuff—integrity, compassion, honour and knowledge—but they’re a humble group whose true value hasn’t been fully recognized by society. “It is my mission to change this,” she says.

Political involvement has been an effective tool, but Danielle isn’t content to simply belong to a long list of professional associations (six at last count). Instead, from her first year in the program, she was active in the Canadian Association of Pharmacy Students and Interns (CAPSI) and helped coordinate the Ontario Pharmacy Students Integrative Summit. In 2012 she was vice president of the University of Waterloo Society of Pharmacy Students, welcomed new pharmacy students as orientation committee chair and edited the school yearbook. This past year she sat on the pharmacy admissions interview panel at the university, was her student council’s member rep for the Canadian Society of Hospital Pharmacists and was elected to the CAPSI executive, where she is editor of the national newsletter. She takes her love of learning on the road, regularly attending national conferences and local interdisciplinary events.

The Commitment to Care & Service Awards honours community and hospital pharmacists, pharmacy owners and managers, pharmacy technicians and pharmacy students for their innovative contributions to pharmacy practice. Awards are presented in nine categories: Advanced Learning, Charitable Work; Collaborative Team Initiative; Green Leadership; Health Promotion; Integrated Pharmacy Program; Outstanding Pharmacy Owner or Manager; Overall Patient Care; Pharmacy Technician Initiatives; and Student Leadership.

The Commitment to Care & Service Award for Student Leadership is sponsored by the Ontario Pharmacists’ Association and Loblaw.

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Town Hall today and other notes

The Fall 2013 Town Hall Meeting takes place today 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 get involved in 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.

The Faculty of Environment's Ecology Lab is hosting a holiday open house today from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Hot spiced apple cider and baked goods will be available, as well as a craft station, where you can create handmade Christmas cards, gift tags, nature-inspired ornaments, and 3D snowflakes. More details are available online. This free event is being held in Environment 1, room 134.

Author and journalist Paul Wells will be on campus as part of the Political Science Speaker Series today talking about his new book, "The Longer I'm Prime Minister: Stephen Harper and Canada." The event takes place at 2:30 p.m. in HH 341.

Today, friends and colleagues of Carolyn Nelson and Fathy Ismail will gather to celebrate their retirements at two separate events. Nelson's event takes place from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in HH 373, and Ismail's event takes place at the University Club from 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Congratulations!

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