Roly Webster named athletics director

The University of Waterloo has named Roly Webster as its new director of athletics and recreation after an extensive search.

Webster will oversee the Department of Athletics and Recreation, which includes more than 600 student-athletes and 80 coaches on 32 varsity teams. Another 200 recreational programs bring 30,000 students to Waterloo's facilities each term.

“Welcoming Roly to Waterloo is exciting for our students, staff and beyond as he brings a wealth of experience and knowledge working in a university atmosphere,” said Chris Read, associate provost, students at Waterloo. “Roly shares our passion and commitment to providing our students with outstanding athletic and recreational opportunities.”

Webster acquired extensive experience working in a university environment after spending more than 19 years in various roles at Wilfrid Laurier University, including close to 13 years in athletics and recreation. He was a co-ordinator of facilities, events and sponsorship. He also worked as a development officer managing promotions, sports information and media relations for the Golden Hawks while implementing an annual athletic fundraising and department marketing strategy.

In his latest role as executive director and chief operating officer of Laurier’s students' union, he advised and mentored the student executive, and provided leadership and direction for the full-time staff. Webster implemented a successful refinancing strategy to eliminate the students' union debt.

“Roly’s strong leadership style is undeniable and his holistic approach to developing students will be a welcomed addition to the department,” said Read.

Webster was also associate director of alumni relations at Laurier, responsible for building and cultivating lifelong relationships between the university and its 80,000 alumni. He was promoted to interim director, providing leadership to both alumni relations and annual giving, including achieving a goal of $1.3 million raised.

“It is an absolute honour to be joining one of world’s most renowned universities and I look forward to working with all of the tremendous staff and students at Waterloo,” said Webster. “The University has an outstanding athletics program that enriches the student experience and provides a great foundation to build on. Whether it’s one of the varsity programs competing for a national championship or a student engaging in recreational programming, I intend to ensure we achieve excellence in all aspects of the department.”

Webster holds a degree in kinesiology from Laurier and a master of arts in leadership from the University of Guelph. He will begin his duties on September 8.

 

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Acceptable Use policy enabled on Eduroam

This week, Information Systems and Technology (IST) began enabling an Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) on the University's eduroam network as a production trial that will ultimately lead to a permanent implementation.

The trial will run from August 18 to August 29. "If no major issues are experienced during this period, the policy will be permanently implemented in October (with further communication), says a statement from IST.

According to IST, the reason for the trial is that the University is required to have an Acceptable Use Policy for its wireless network.

The policy will need to be accepted on every device connected to eduroam once every 120 days. While connected to eduroam, the policy will intercept browser traffic (http only) on devices that have not accepted the policy and redirect to a page with terms & conditions. Once the policy has been accepted by the use, it will not prompt the device again for 120 days. The policy will be integrated into the "splash pages" for both the uw-unsecured and uw-guest networks.

Anyone with questions or concerns should contact the IST CHIP service desk by email or by calling extension 84357.

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Hitting the bricks and other notes

Starting today, the entrance roadway at the Needles Hall kiosk will be closed for 3 to 4 weeks as masons install the brickwork on the northwest corner of the building addition. Access, both entry and exit, will be from the northern lane (or exit side) of the kiosk. Emergency vehicle access will continue to be available as the bricks go up.

Also today, the term loan due date for extended loan library books changes from September 15, 2014 to January 15, 2015. Library patrons can begin renewing their books for the Fall 2014 term today.

"Have you set a goal to lose weight, increase strength and muscle tone, improve endurance and/or feel healthier?" asks a note from UW Fitness. "Do you want the convenience of exercising on campus in a fun, private, well-equipped gym supervised by trained exercise professionals?" UW Fitness, located in the Manulife Wellness Centre and Lyle Hallman Institute for Health Promotion, is offering small group personal training sessions for Waterloo faculty and staff. These twice-weekly exercise sessions include cardiovascular exercise, resistance and weight training, and flexibility exercises under the supervision of a certified exercise physiologist in a "private and encouraging environment right here on campus."

Information about the 6-week sessions is available on the UW Fitness website, and you can contact UW Fitness by email or by calling extension 36841. These particular sessions are not open to students, and there are limited spaces available.

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