President's Town Hall meeting this Thursday

The President's Town Hall Meeting will be taking place on Thursday, October 30 at 10:30 a.m. in the Humanities Theatre.

In his address to campus, President Hamdullahpur will be reflecting on the University's accomplishments this past year and will talk about the year ahead.

President Hamdullahpur will also be previewing Waterloo's first-ever state of the university report, entitled "Defining Tomorrow," a document that provides a snapshot of the University's progress towards its goals over a one-year reporting period. The report will be published in early November and will be available online and in hard copy format.

Differentiating this town hall meeting from its predecessor events (the last comparable town hall was held in November 2013) are its start time—10:30 a.m. as opposed to the afternoon—and the luncheon that will be held immediately following the conclusion of the town hall in the School of Accounting and Finance's Don Craig Atrium at noon.

What hasn't changed, however, is the University community's ability to join the interactive dialogue and share their thoughts and ideas about where Waterloo is heading. Questions can be asked from the floor, they can be sent in via email, and posted on Twitter both before and during the meeting by sending tweets to @UWaterlooLIVE or by using the hashtag #uwth.

There's still time to register to save your seat at the town hall and the luncheon event.

The event will be webcast for those people unable to make it in person.

 

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Voters head to the polls in municipal election

Citizens across Waterloo Region (and the rest of the province) will be casting ballots today for a bevy of municipal leaders: mayors, councillors, regional councillors, regional chairs, and school trustees for the public and Catholic boards of education (as well as French Public and Separate boards). It's kind of a big deal.

A range of positions will be on the ballot in Waterloo and the surrounding area because of our two-level system of government, in which some powers are assigned to the city or township and some to the Region.

The University of Waterloo will undoubtedly be impacted by the election results, and not just in terms of policy decisions made by the City and the Region by representatives new and returning. By law, the mayors of Waterloo and Kitchener and the chair of the Regional Municipality of Waterloo are automatically members of the University's Board of Governors.

With Kitchener and Waterloo incumbent mayors Carl Zehr and Brenda Halloran not running for re-election, that means that there will be new faces at the board after election day. Carl Zehr has been on the board since 1997, and Halloran since 2006. Of course the longest-serving member is Regional Chair Ken Seiling, who has been a Governor since 1985. Seiling is running for re-election.

The City of Waterloo has a complete list of candidates in each ward. A number of people with active ties to the University of Waterloo are involved in the election this year, including:

• Tom Galloway (plant operations department), seeking re-election as one of the four regional councillors from Kitchener;
• Jeff Henry (student success office), running for re-election in the Ward 6 seat on Waterloo city council;
• Margaret Johnston (co-operative education and career action), running for council in Kitchener's Ward 8;
• Andrew Clubine (student in Knowledge Integration), running for WRDSB trustee.

(Have I missed any Waterloo-linked candidates? let me know!)

The City of Waterloo has set up a poll locator to help voters find their way to their designated polling place.

Students living on campus are able to vote in Village 1 from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. If they do not live on campus, students will use the voting area closest to their place of residence. Student voters will need a piece of photo identification and documentation demonstrating that they live in the City of Waterloo. This documentation includes:

• A lease or rental agreement relating to a Waterloo property;
• A document showing campus residence;
• A piece of "qualifying mail" like a hydro or water bill; and
• A legal declaration that confirms your voting eligibility in the City of Waterloo at a voting station.

Students can also vote in the municipality where they are temporarily residing while attending school as well as their permanent home in a different municipality (their hometown).

Under the Municipal Elections Act, all employees who are eligible to vote in the election are entitled to three consecutive hours during voting hours on election day to cast their vote. Quoth the act, "an elector whose hours of employment are such that he or she would not otherwise have three consecutive hours to vote on voting day is entitled to be absent from work for as long as is necessary to allow that amount of time."

 

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Esri Canada names Waterloo as GIS centre

This is an excerpt of an article that originally ran on the Faculty of Environment's news page.

Esri Canada has selected University of Waterloo as a Centre of Excellence (ECCE) in Geographic Information Systems (GIS).

Waterloo’s Faculty of Environment has long been a global leader in GIS with the help of Esri’s software suite centred on the ArcGIS desktop, server and web platforms.

Researchers including Rob Feick, Peter Johnson, Peter Deadman, Derek Robinson and Su-Yin Tan help train the next generation of GIS experts (roughly 400-450 students annually in seven undergraduate courses) as well as six graduate courses in advanced cartography, spatial analysis, spatial database design, GIS application development and beyond.

The Faculty’s long-standing relationship with Esri Canada stretches back to the mid-1980s, and this new status as an ECCE will help foster collaboration and innovation in GIS teaching and research among the member institutions and the broader Canadian higher education community.

“This includes promoting communication related to GIS education and employment opportunities and building a body of knowledge related to the development of GIS software applications with a special emphasis on mobile and web-based environments,” says Feick, an associate professor in Environment’s School of Planning. “It will also foster collaboration in external funding opportunities.”

Currently the University of Waterloo is one of the six initial members of the Esri Canada Centres of Excellence program.

Read the rest of the article on the Faculty of Environment's news page.

 

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FASS Talent Optional night and other notes

FASS is bringing a fine company tradition to Waterloo students this week with a Talent Optional Night on Wednesday, October 29 at 7:00 p.m. in the Student Life Centre.

"Anyone and everyone is invited to come up and perform whatever they want, even if you just learned today," writes Elizabeth McFaul. "Fancy yourself a singer or a poet? A rapper or a dancer? A comedian or an actor? Then we want you! Or you can partake in the most important role of all: that of an esteemed audience member!"

FASS stands for Faculty, Alumni, Staff and Students. FASS is the University's 53-year-old amateur theatre company. Every year, FASS produces an original script for its annual show in February. Right now, they in the writing phase. Production will kick off in January with auditions, followed by rehearsals and so on before the shows begin in February.

"Let the countdown begin! There's five days left until the official University of Waterloo United Way Campaign ends on October 31," writes Jacqueline Martinz. "The goal for this year is $250,000. Make a contribution today, and help spark positive change in the region. More information about how to donate is available online."

Students interested in graduate or professional school should check out the annual Professional School & Post-Degree (PPD) Days event happening in the Great Hall of the Student Life Centre this week. On Tuesday, October 28 from 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. the event caters to those interested in education, health, pharmacy, social work, and college post-degree/certificate programs. On Wednesday, October 29 from 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. the event is intended for people interested in learning more about the fields of MBA, law, veterinary, engineering/technologies, and graduate studies.

Career options, graduate school admission requirements, program specifics, and application procedures and deadlines will be a few of the topics that students can talk to representatives about over the course of the two days. Students will have the opportunity to interact with and ask questions of representatives from 115 institutions.

The University of Waterloo Staff Association (UWSA) is getting into the holiday spirit as registration has opened for Winterfest 2014. "Join us at Columbia Icefield for an afternoon of ice skating, snacks, crafts, balloon animals, and of course a visit from Santa Claus and his little helpers," says the note from UWSA.

Winterfest is free for UWSA members and their adult guests (14 years of age and older). If you would like to have your child (13 years of age and under) receive a gift from Santa, there is a charge of $9 per child. The cost for non-UWSA attendees is $5 per adult and $14 per child (if they are receiving a gift). The various toys are described online.

Registration forms can be submitted along with payments to the UWSA Office, located in DC 3603, to Melissa Zapletal at extension 33566. Registrations are due by Thursday, November 6. The UWSA is also looking for volunteers - if your teenager could use some volunteer hours and would be interested in helping out at Winterfest, please contact Jo Voisin.

Here's a message from the Science Undergraduate Office: “The Science Undergrad Office (ESC 253) will be closed from 1:00-2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 29, instead of from 12:00-1:00 p.m. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Check the Science current undergraduate students page for our regular hours.”

Undergraduate students are invited to come and have their say at a Fall Reading Break Referendum Information Session, hosted by the Federation of Students, today at 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the Student Life Centre's Great Hall. Feds speakers including Vice-President, Education Stephane Hamade will share details and answer questions.

Here are today's Get Up And Go Passport Challenge clues:

• Donors are their life
• This is “Creative” space

Here's how to play: register your team, download your passport and head out to the two sites you think the clues match. Get a date/time/signature by someone from that area on your passport, and follow the same procedure each working day until the contest ends on October 31.

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