Waterloo's Week of Welcome

by Jacqueline Martinz, Federation of Students

As Orientation Week winds down and upper-year undergraduates arrive on campus, the Federation of Students has put the finishing touches on the jam-packed schedule for Fall Welcome Week 2013. Held every term to help new and returning students ease into the academic year, Welcome Week is five solid days of entertainment. This year Welcome Week runs from September 9 to 13.

On Monday, undergraduates will be able to attend the grand opening of the International News store owned and operated by the Federation of Students. A ribbon-cutting ceremony will be followed by cake and cupcakes at 11:00 a.m. inside its newly renovated space in the Student Life Centre (SLC).

Free bubble tea and special events from Feds’ services The Glow Centre for Sexual and Gender Diversity and The Women’s Centre will be a part of the programming on Tuesday.

Undergraduates will dance the first Wednesday night of the term away at The Bombshelter Pub’s trademark Legendary Wednesday.

A BBQ lunch with President Feridun Hamdullahpur will be held on Thursday from 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the SLC Courtyard. The Bombshelter Pub will provide the after dark activities again with a Pig Roast and Trivia Night.

The week will end with an exhilarating outdoor concert featuring talented bands Mother Mother, Arkells and The Beaches.

More information about Welcome Week and the complete schedule of events is available online.

Back to top

Shell funds engineering activities

Shell Canada has forged a partnership with the University of Waterloo's Faculty of Engineering to provide $200,000 in program funding over the next three years to support a broad range of student activities, including student team sponsorship, Capstone Design project awards and Women in Engineering (WiE) mentorship.

The Shell Student Activity Fund, the Shell Design Symposium Awards in Chemical and Mechanical Engineering and the Shell Weekend Conference: Women Exploring Engineering will, according to a statement from Shell, "uniquely support the model of experiential learning that is one of the hallmarks of Waterloo Engineering, Canada’s largest engineering school."

"Waterloo Engineering is recognized for its culture of initiative and enterprise,” said Terry Soeder, a University of Waterloo engineering graduate (BASc.,’77, Chemical Engineering), from the Shell Sarnia Refinery and a Campus Ambassador.  “We are excited to invest in programs that provide students with a dynamic learning environment.  We believe our investment will help foster today’s students into tomorrow’s leaders who will help meet rising energy demands responsibly and build a new energy future."

“The student experience at Waterloo is what defines us,” said Pearl Sullivan, Dean of Engineering. “Shell’s significant investment in our students and Capstone Design projects will enable an exciting diversity of project development, industrial mentorship and experimental prototyping, as well as essential field trips and award incentives. I am especially pleased with their commitment to engaging women in the essential networking and mentoring that’s so critical in our field."

Eligible students for the Shell Student Activity Fund include those participating in official student teams while completing their engineering degrees. Over 20 undergraduate student teams compete annually at Waterloo, in fields including robotics, sustainable energy, hybrid vehicle design and hydrogen fuel cell development, often earning first place victories against graduate and post-doctoral candidates from top international schools., All engineering students may apply to the fund, which can be used to cover parts, equipment, materials, or travel. A total of $145,000 in funding will be provided to eligible students over three years.

Capstone Design, the culmination of the Waterloo Engineering undergraduate experience, sees fourth- year students, in teams of three or four, present their design projects at an annual symposium, to complete their degree requirements. Shell Canada will present three annual Design Symposium Awards in chemical engineering and three in mechanical engineering, with a value of $4,000 per department for three years.

Additionally, in partnership with WiE Connect, Waterloo's Women in Engineering outreach program, Shell Canada will sponsor a weekend conference for female engineering students in Ontario to learn more about life as an engineer in the workplace. Students will have the opportunity to meet women working in the field to talk about careers and opportunities.

Students are welcome to mingle with Shell campus ambassadors in the Student Design Centre in Engineering 5 on Tuesday, September 17 from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Refreshments will be served.

Back to top

Walker named Royal Society Fellow

A news relations from the media relations team.

A professor from the University of Waterloo who is an expert in human rights and race relations in Canada has been named a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (RSC).

Professor Jim Walker (right) of the Faculty of Arts received the honour after his peers selected him from a list of exceptional candidates. He teaches in the Department of History at Waterloo.

"The university is proud to have an internationally recognized scholar like Professor Walker among our faculty,’’ said Feridun Hamdullahpur. “His work examining the importance of human rights in society has universal applications, and therefore the potential for positive impact in Canada and around the world. We congratulate him on this deserved honour."

Professor Walker teaches and conducts research in Canadian and international human rights, race relations in Canada, immigration and African-Canadian history.

In honouring Professor Walker, the RSC noted, "His scholarship and teaching on racial equality in Canada since World War II have influenced an entire generation of Canadians both within and outside the academy. His research helped launch African-Canadian history and aboriginal history as fields of historical inquiry."

He is a former Bora Laskin National Fellow in Human Rights Research and the author of several works relating to the historical development of human rights.

"When I look around at other people on this campus who are fellows, I’m absolutely delighted and flattered to be in their company," said Professor Walker. "I’m hopeful that this recognition from the society will reinforce a trend in the historical discipline to undertake studies in human rights and race relations because understanding how we get our rights and what problems they were intended to solve helps us to apply and protect them."

Additionally, Professor John E. Thompson, professor emeritus from the Faculty of Science, and associate vice-president, university research at Waterloo, is recognized as a Life Member. He has been an RSC fellow since 1987. The honour comes after 25 years of fellowship.

Professor Walker is among 84 new fellows, and will be inducted in a formal ceremony on November 16 at the annual general meeting of the RSC in Banff, Alberta.

Back to top

Notes as campus kicks into high gear

Waterloo gets back into the swing of this week, on its main campus and at satellite campuses near and far.

To take the influx of students into account, several Retail Services outlets are offering extended hours, including the Book Store the Waterloo Store, and Write Stuff, which will be open today through Thursday from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., and on Friday, September 13 from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Campus Tech and those Media.Doc locations not currently closed for renovations are open Monday to Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Full hours for all Retail Services locations are available online.

Food Services locations are also back in action with the start of a new term, including:

• Bon Appétit in the Davis Centre, open Monday to Thursday from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and Friday from 11:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.;
• Browsers in the Dana Porter Library, open Monday to Thursday from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. and Friday 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.;
• Brubaker's in the Student Life Centre, open Monday to Thursday, 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.;
• CEIT Café, Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.;
• Liquid Assets in the School of Accounting and Finance, open Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.;
• ML's Coffee Shop, Monday to Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.;
• PAS Lounge, Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.;
• Pastry Plus in BMH, Monday to Friday, 8:15 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.;
• Subway in the Student Life Centre, open Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.;
• Tim Hortons (Davis Centre), Monday to Thursdays 7:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.;
• Tim Hortons (South Campus Hall), Mondays to Thursdays, 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., and Fridays, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.;
• Tim Hortons (Student Life Centre),  Mondays to Thursdays from 7:30 a.m. to 11:00 p.m., Fridays from 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., and Saturdays and Sundays from 11:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.

In addition, Festival Fare is closed until September 11, and will be open Monday to Friday from 11:00 a.m. to 1:45 p.m.

Full hours for all Food Services locations are available on the Food Services website.

Feds Used Books, located in the Student Life Centre, is open this week, Monday to Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and will be open Saturday, September 14 and Sunday, September 15, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Back to top