University of Waterloo Chancellor Prem Watsa gave a special lecture to students after his convocational duties on Thursday, June 12. The chancellor's talk, entitled "Business as a Calling," was about the history of Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited, and how the financial holdings company continues to attract great talent in the area of finance.

His talk, which took place in in Engineering 5, was given to students in Engineering as well as scholarship recipients supported by Fairfax Financial.

Watsa is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Fairfax Financial, a financial services holding company which, through its subsidiaries, is engaged in property and casualty insurance and reinsurance and investment management.

Photograph by Laura Janzen.

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Campus veterans profiled as milestones marked

by Susan Fish.

The annual reception that honours members of the university's 25- and 35-Year Club gets underway tonight at 6:00 p.m. in the Physical Activities Complex. Employees who joined the university in 1989 and 1979 will be presented with an award for their dedication and years of service to the University.

Nearly 100 employees, faculty and staff alike, will be officially welcomed tonight, and in honour of the celebration event, the Daily Bulletin has asked a few of them to reflect on their time at the university.

In her 25 years as a professor of Geography and Environmental Management at the University of Waterloo, Jean Andrey has taught nearly 10,000 students. Andrey pursued her PhD (at Waterloo) in the first place because she loved teaching. In the early phase of her career, she worked hard to master the art of teaching and was gratified in 1995 when, nominated by her students and facilitated by her colleagues, she received the University of Waterloo’s Distinguished Teaching Award.

“I think UW supports its faculty members so they can make contributions that fit their talents and their dreams. It was nice to know that what I thought I had accomplished was also seen that way, that the institution knew who I was and accepted that.”

Over time, Andrey focused more on research as well as teaching and in recent years has contributed in service—she has been associate dean of her department twice, has served on search committees, has just finished a two-year term as the President of the Canadian Association of Geographers and is about to embark on an interim dean position for the Faculty of Environment. “This university is nimble and it’s moving forward and it has dreams as an institution. It’s fun to be part of that.”

During his last months as a graduate student, Ron McCarville was invited to interview at three Recreation and Leisure programs around North America. The first was at the University of Waterloo, a place he had heard about from his supervisor Roger Mannell at Acadia University, and later at Texas A & M where people said Waterloo was the place to be.

“What I liked when I arrived at UW was that everyone’s doors were open. It was a wonderful sign and it’s still that way. People always went by first names – not doctor or professor—and I thought, where else would I want to be?” McCarville was so impressed with Waterloo that once they made him an offer he called the other schools and said, “Look, I’ve died and gone to heaven. Don’t bother interviewing me—I’m going to Waterloo!”

McCarville crossed into Canada on July 1, 1989 and stopped at a Tim Horton’s for coffee and Timbits. McCarville, who was honoured with a Distinguished Teaching Award in 2003, began serving as Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies in 2008. He recalls his own struggling undergraduate days when the registrar, Mr. Green, sat with him and said, “How can I help you today?” McCarville says this experience changed his life, and that being associate dean has been his chance to be Mr. Green, to make life better for students.

When Nancy Heide started working at Waterloo she didn’t join the pension plan because she didn’t think she’d be staying that long. To her surprise, 25 years later, she’s still here.

“I kept getting great opportunities as I’ve grown in my career and they’ve always been more than enough for me to want to stay there. UW is like home to me. It’s where I want to stay.”

Heide spent a number of years working in Development & Alumni Affairs, Communications & Public Affairs and Marketing & Undergraduate Recruitment—completing a BA part-time along the way—before landing as the Operations Manager at VeloCity three years ago.

While Heide looks back on terrific memories of being an advisor to the annual University of Waterloo Canada Day celebrations and working with then-president David Johnston, what she’s most excited about is helping students and alumni fulfill their dreams through Velocity. She says her favourite day of the term is the Velocity Fund Finals where start-ups pitch to win $25,000 for their company. “I like helping people and I believe in what we’re doing, helping young people learn and grow. I get inspired by them and it means a lot to me to help them succeed.”

Growing up, Mary Synnott was a feminist even though she had never heard the term. “I’ve always been an advocate of equality,” she says.  Little did she know she would spend much of her career as the Administrative Assistant in Waterloo’s Women’s Studies program. In 1979, Synnott was a single parent looking for work when her sister saw an ad for a job at the University of Waterloo. When Synnott interviewed, she was offered a different job: undergraduate secretary in the Biology department.  After six years, she moved to the Women’s Studies department.

“I love my job and, as the only full time employee in the department, I wear many hats. My job is always evolving and is far more complex than when I began.” Today Synnott is also the administrator for management studies and does academic advising. “The students and faculty are all great to work with and the material they study is very interesting.” She appreciates the opportunity to learn and use new technology in her role at work—it makes her job easier and helps her keep in contact with students—and has had a welcome side effect of helping her stay in touch and even enjoy playing video games with her grandchildren.

In 1979, when Roger Mannell came to the University of Waterloo to teach in recreation and leisure studies, the trees on campus were young enough that they were moved around from time to time. Mannell had never stayed in any city longer than four years since he had left home at 19. Even in Waterloo, he expected to be like the trees—soon transplanted. Instead he has stayed for more than 35 years, and even after retiring, continues as an adjunct professor and researcher, focusing on the decisions people make that affect the quality of their lives. His decision to come to Waterloo was rooted in the University’s reputation as a leader in leisure studies and the opportunities to collaborate in the psychology department.  What kept him here was the “incredibly collegial environment” at the university and a community that met the needs of his family. He was attracted by the co-op system and the opportunity to be engaged in a variety of roles—Mannell served as Dean of Applied Health Sciences, chair of his department and chair of the University Appointments Review Committee among others.

For him, the support of colleagues and institutional support made it easy to stay.  “I never really thought about taking advantage of opportunities to leave.”

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Workshop to explore climate change adaptation

with files from Sam Toman.

In recent years, governments of all sizes across the globe have gotten a new message about climate change. Yes, we still need to stop harming the planet, but we also need to start adapting our cities and systems to survive a new chaotic climate.

The result is a myriad of policies and projects touching all facets of society. Extreme rain means updating storm water management and sanitation systems in our cities. Persistent drought commands a reorganization of food systems and an evaluation of available water sources. Even our family homes need ‘proofing’ against the new extreme weather reality.

Charging ahead with these adaptation projects is a needed step towards facing problems that should have been addressed decades ago; or in some low and middle-income countries, that were never tackled in the first place. But as researcher Carrie Mitchell of the School of Planning notes, we need to take a step back and have a critical look at what’s worked so far, what hasn’t, and, most importantly, why.

“There have been millions of dollars and thousands of adaptation projects implemented worldwide,” says Mitchell. “Unfortunately, often they’re only looking at solutions from one perspective, or in one locale. It sometimes feels like we are reinventing the wheel with each new project; lessons learnt from past efforts should be better integrated into future projects and plans. Globally, we have committed billions of dollars for adaptation funding. We need to invest wisely to reduce the risks a changing climate will pose for cities’ critical urban infrastructure and its citizens.”

Mitchell has a plan for a more effective climate change adaptation scholarship. She’s gathering experts from all around the world, with diverse academic backgrounds ranging from environmental science, urban planning, engineering, and economics to look at climate change projects from as many different angles as possible to determine the true value of projects. The interdisciplinary gathering, called “How (well) are we adapting to the water-related impacts of climate change?” will take place on Thursday, June 19 and Friday, June 20 at the Balsillie School of International Affairs.

The workshop will complement a new project, lead by ICLEI Canada and including Waterloo researchers, to develop a compendium of adaptation options emerging from international water/adaptation projects.

All Environment faculty are invited to attend. Registration details are online.

Read more of the research profile of Carrie Mitchell on the Faculty of Environment website.

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Mini Town Hall tomorrow has employee focus

The fifth in a series of Strategic Plan Mini Town Halls is scheduled for tomorrow from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. in Environment 3 Room 3412.

The theme focus will be on the robust employer-employee relationship.

Theme leads Marilyn Thompson, associate provost, human resources, Carlos Mendes, president of the University of Waterloo Staff Association, and Linda Brogden, occupational health nurse, will be speaking.

The town halls are organized to give an opportunity to members of the university community to learn how the Strategic Plan is being put into action as the theme leaders and members of the theme working groups present their progress and also answer questions.

Questions can be submitted in advance to townhall@uwaterloo.ca, and the conversation can be joined using the #UWth hashtag and also by following @uWaterlooLIVE on Twitter.

The event will be webcast live, and seating is limited.

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