State of the University Report released

Waterloo’s first State of the University Report provides a snapshot of institutional strengths and priorities, recent achievements and plans for future growth.

Entitled "Defining Tomorrow," the report explores the strengths that set Waterloo apart – entrepreneurship, experiential education and world-changing research – as well as the core strengths that make Waterloo a world leader – top students, academic excellence and a commitment to building a better tomorrow.

"The title is so fitting," Feridun Hamdullahpur told the audience at the President’s Town Hall back in October. "This university is not sitting on the sidelines, so that others can participate, we are defining what tomorrow is going to look like."

From highlighting our unique entrepreneurial ecosystem to demonstrating Waterloo’s continuing leadership position in experiential education, to providing examples of the transformational research taking place on campus, the report outlines the University of Waterloo’s significant global impacts and shows how we are answering current and emerging global challenges with innovative solutions.

The report has been developed to highlight key strategic priorities, accomplishments and goals as they relate to the Strategic Plan over a one-year reporting period. It is a tool to help build Waterloo’s national and international profile and to increase overall awareness and understanding of Waterloo’s position as a leader in innovation and distinctive in key areas of strategic priority.

Print copies are beginning to circulate on campus, and the digital version (uwaterloo.ca/state-of-the-university/) of the report is now available. Content for both versions includes key stories, images and infographics, while the digital version features extended content and animated visuals.

Keep an eye on the University’s social media accounts for dynamic, shareable content highlights and other Waterloo points of pride under the hashtag #UWaterlooInnovation.

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Join CanBuild, the campus-wide food drive

by Madi Taylor.

In partnership with the Federation of Students, the University of Waterloo’s campus-wide food drive kicks off today in support of The Food Bank of Waterloo Region and the FEDS Student Food Bank.

This event isn’t a typical food drive.  We are asking students, faculty and staff to build teams and put their creativity to work by building structures from their food donations.

The new UWaterloo CanBuild program, which kicks off today, is a unique opportunity for the university to make a difference in our community while engaging in some healthy competition across campus.

UWaterloo CanBuild will run until Thursday, March 12, when structures are judged by a panel of esteemed judges. The awards include:

• Best Meal Award: The food products used in the structure could make a complete meal. Nutritious choices, which include all food groups, are important.
• Ingenuity Award: How did they get that to stand? This structure will be the most innovative and will demonstrate the clever use of resources.
• Most Cans Award: Based on the total quantity of can/food products used.
• Judges’ Award: The judges pick their favourite structure.
• Spirit Award: This award demonstrates the best use of the University of Waterloo’s visual identity (colours, logo) and promotes internal pride.
• People’s Choice Award: The University of Waterloo community votes for their favourite structure via social media channels (Facebook and Twitter).
• Faculty Award: The faculty with the most items of food donated overall.

What happens if you win? The winning teams will be awarded a trophy, the “UWaterloo CanBuild Cup” and have bragging rights for the next year. The University of Waterloo is a community partner of The Food Bank of Waterloo Region and together we continue to make a significant impact in our community so Waterloo students and others in our community don’t go hungry.

For complete rules and build guidelines are on the Community Relations and Events website.

Register your team before Wednesday, March 4 to help do your part in the fight against hunger.

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Melanie Campbell receives OCUFA award

Physics and Astronomy Professor Melanie Campbell has been named the winner of one of the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations’ 2014 Status of Women Award of Distinction.

The Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA) announced the winners of the 2014 Status of Women Award of Distinction and the Lorimer Award on Tuesday, February 3.

Professor Campbell, one of five award recipients, was cited “for her work to improve the position of academic women through organizational, policy, and educational leadership.”  The citation further reads “Her sustained dedication and distinguished leadership across all three of these areas while …developing and maintaining a career as a world class physicist provides evidence of a truly outstanding contribution to the status of women in the academy.”

Based in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, Campbell is cross-appointed to the School of Optometry and Vision Science. Her work on optical imperfections in humans and animals was recently celebrated with a national award of outstanding achievement in the field of photonics.

The Status of Women Award of Distinction recognizes women who have improved the lives and working conditions of academic women and, by extension, their students, colleagues, families, and friends.

“OCUFA is committed to advancing and protecting the personal, professional and academic interests of women in the academy,” said Kate Lawson, President of OCUFA. “That is why we are so proud to bestow this honor upon such an exceptional group of advocates for academic women.”

In her thank-you speech Professor Campbell said “I strongly believe that policies that make the workplace better for women, make it better for everyone.”

The awards were handed out in a special ceremony in Toronto on Saturday, February 7.

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Nominations open for staff seat on Board

The Secretariat & Office of General Counsel is seeking nominees for a staff representative to sit on the Board of Governors for a term beginning May 1, 2015 to April 30, 2018.

Current governor Andrea Charette of the Dean of Arts Office will complete her term as of April 30, 2015.

Nominations are thus being requested for one member of the full-time staff to be elected by the full-time staff members of the University, term 1 May 2015 to 30 April 2018.

Completed nomination forms should be submitted to the Chief Returning Officer, Secretariat & Office of General Counsel, in Needles Hall, Room 3060, no later than 3:00 p.m. on Friday, March 6. At least five nominators are required in each case.

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Student voting begins and other notes

The voting period for the Federation of Students elections starts today at 10:00 a.m. All undergraduates are able to choose the candidates they’d like to represent them by visiting vote.feds.ca. There will also be polling stations in the Student Life Centre and other locations on campus.

Undergraduates will be casting their votes for positions on the Feds Executive and the Senate. The voting period will end at 10:00 p.m. on February 12.

“It’s important that undergraduates cast their ballots during this time – the elected candidates will represent them within the University of Waterloo, to organizations such as the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA), to all levels of government, and more,” writes the Federation’s Jacqueline Martinz.

Additional information is available online.

Networking-related changes supporting the migration of a data centre to East Campus 2 will necessitate a brief outage in Quest service between 6:00 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, February 11. Quest will be down and unavailable during the service window.

The Warriors Men's Hockey and Volleyball teams have playoff games this week. Check out the Athletics Department website for more information on how to get a seat at a game.

The Faculty Association of the University of Waterloo (FAUW) has published a blog post dealing with the February 2 weather event.

The latest entry in the Winter 2015 Arriscraft Lecture Series will feature Anne Bordeleau, associate professor at the School of Architecture, as she speaks about her book "Charles Robert Cockerell, Architect in Time: Reflections on Anachronistic Drawings" on Thursday, February 12.

Bordeleau teaches design studio and cultural history from Medieval to Modern times. She received her professional degree and post-professional Masters in the history and theory of architecture at McGill University, she was awarded a PhD in Architecture from the Bartlett School of Graduate Studies (University College London) and a postdoctoral fellowship from the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art.

Her research gravitates around the fundamental relation between architecture and time, and her writings on different aspects of this relation have appeared in The Journal of Architecture, Architectural History, Footprint and Architectural Theory Review. In "Charles Robert Cockerell, Architect in Time: Reflections around Anachronistic Drawings" (Ashgate, 2014), she studies how a nineteenth-century architect addressed the shifting relation between architecture, time and history.

The book signing and reception take place at 6:00 p.m. and the lecture takes place at 7:00 p.m. in the Lawrence Cummings Lecture Theatre.

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