Welcoming our new class

A message from Orientation.

One of the busiest and most exciting times on campus is almost upon us (it’s 4 days away, if you’re keeping track).

The Waterloo community will welcome a new flock of students for Orientation starting Sunday, August 31.

Orientation programming has grown to include offerings for four streams of new students, including first-year undergraduate students, transfer students arriving from another institution, exchange and study abroad students, and graduate students. Each stream features its own unique set of programming for the week, including activities for students living on-campus and off.

Students are encouraged to register and view their schedule of activities on the Orientation website.

First-year undergraduate student Orientation runs from Sunday, August 31 to Saturday, September 6. Students can select their faculty and housing option on the website to see their custom schedule, including campus-wide and faculty-specific events.

Transfer students will take part in a specialized Orientation program starting Monday, September 1, featuring breakout sessions for students transferring from another university, a college, or a post-secondary institution outside of Canada.

Exchange and study abroad students have a unique schedule set, depending on their faculty, with an Exchange/Study Abroad Orientation session set for Monday, September 1.

Graduate student Orientation will kick off on Tuesday, September 2 with a keynote by Larry Smith, Adjunct Associate Professor of Economics, followed by breakout groups for PhD and Masters’ students. These sessions are student-run with student moderators assisting in the breakout sessions.

Orientation continues to be a shared partnership between the Student Success Office, the faculties, the Federation of Students, the Graduate Students Association, College Pathways, Waterloo International, and the affiliated and federated institutions of Waterloo.

 

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Award winner lays groundwork for peace

The Alumni Committee of Conrad Grebel University College has announced the selection of Lisa Schirch (BA 1990) as the 2014 recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Service Award.

Lisa came to Grebel in the fall of 1988 from Mechanicsville, Virginia. After two years studying at Goshen College in Indiana and a service trip to Central America, Lisa was looking for a bigger range of classes to take. She found a rich variety of courses at Grebel and the University of Waterloo, as she worked toward a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations and Political Science with a concentration in Peace and Conflict Studies. She describes the experience of studying at Grebel as “taking courses that had a ‘heart’.”

After completing a Master and Doctorate in Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University, Lisa joined the faculty at Eastern Mennonite University where she is a Research Professor in the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding. She is also Director of Human Security at the Alliance for Peacebuilding. In this role, Lisa connects policymakers with global civil society networks, facilitates civil-military dialogue and provides a conflict prevention and peacebuilding lens on current policy issues.

A former Fulbright Fellow in East and West Africa, Lisa has conducted conflict assessments and participated in peacebuilding planning alongside local colleagues in over 20 countries in conflict prevention and peacebuilding including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Kenya, Ghana, and Fiji. She has published five books and dozens of chapters and articles on a range of themes including the design and structure of a comprehensive peace process in Afghanistan, civil-military relations, and the role of the media in peacebuilding. Lisa is currently working with a global network to write a curriculum on security sector-civil society relations. Her most recent book is Conflict Assessment and Peacebuilding Planning: Toward a Participatory Approach to Human Security published by Kumarian/Lynne Reinner Press in May 2013.

Reflecting on her time at Grebel, Lisa believes that “Grebel was the perfect place for me, with professors like Ron Mathies and Dean Peachey, who provided not only the theory of conflict resolution and peacebuilding but also could share in class their real-life experience.” Lisa credits one of the many PACS guest speakers, John Paul Lederach, for remembering her 10 years later and extending to her an invitation to teach in EMU’s Center for Justice and Peacebuilding.

Lisa works primarily with small local NGOs and civil society organizations. Helping large institutions begin their own peacebuilding programs, Lisa also has worked as a consultant on conflict assessment and peacebuilding planning for the United Nations Development Program, the World Bank, several branches of the US government, the US Foreign Service Institute, and many other international organizations. Lisa played a foundational role in starting up the organization 3P Human Security. 3P’s mission is to foster understanding and support for conflict prevention and peacebuilding in the US government, emphasizing the need for local civil society perspectives, principled negotiation, peace process support strategies, and sustainable development in security policymaking.

The Distinguished Alumni Service Award recognizes alumni who have made a significant and unique contribution to the church, community, nation, or world. “Grebel Graduates need to see alumni who follow their passions and volunteer their time in important social issues and for furthering God’s kingdom in the Church,” said Wendy Cressman Zehr, who chairs the alumni committee. Grebel Students will hear more from Lisa when she visits the College to present in some PACS classes, speaks at the College’s Peace Day events, and attends Community Supper to receive her award.

The public is invited to hear Lisa Schirch speak about “Taking Peace to the Pentagon” on Thursday, September 25 at 7:00 p.m. in the Conrad Grebel University College Great Hall in honour of the International Day of Peace.

 

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Wednesday's notes

Feds Used Books has updated its extended operating hours for September, which is quickly approaching.

The used bookstore, located in the Student Life Centre, is open Monday, September 1 to Sunday, September 7 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. from Monday, September 9 to Friday, September 12. On Saturday, September 13 and Sunday, September 14, the bookstore is open 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. from Monday, September 15 to Friday, September 19. Regular hours will commence on Monday, September 22, with 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. operating hours, Monday to Friday.

On Thursday, August 21, 30 or so members of the St. Paul’s community (students, staff, alumni and friends) gathered at the Element Hotel in Vaughan the night prior to their annual golf tournament.

"While there we had two staff and a student who were all nominated for the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge," writes Alumni Relations Officer Stephen Loo. "Kelly Deeks-Johnson, Advancement Officer, Steve Prentice, Residence Life Manager, and Melissa Mark (Residence Don) are all seen in the video taking the challenge. All three have also committed to donating as did Principal Graham Brown."

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