Faculty reach 3-year salary agreement

A message from the Vice-President, Academic & Provost.

The University is delighted to announce that the university and faculty association negotiating teams have reached agreement for faculty salaries starting May 1, 2015. The length of the agreement is for three years, until April 30, 2018. Terms of the agreement regarding scale are: 1.95 percent increase in each of the first two years, and 1.50 percent increase in the third year. Other terms include changes to the thresholds in the faculty salary structure and to the unspent balance in the Faculty Professional Expense Reimbursement, and the establishment of a working group on possible faculty salary inequities.

We are grateful to the members of the negotiating teams - FAUW: Professor Lynne Taylor (Chief Negotiator), Professor Lori Curtis and Professor Shelley Hulan - and the University: Professor Ian Goulden (Chief Negotiator), Professor Jean Andrey and Professor Doug Peers.

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Celebrating Waterloo's cool factor

by Feridun Hamdullahpur, President and Vice-Chancellor.

As promised in our last update, I am pleased to provide to you our inaugural State of the University report. The report, Defining Tomorrow, is available both in print and in an enriched digital format. In today’s globally competitive post-secondary education sector, we need to tell our story well. This report communicates very clearly that Waterloo is academically strong, unique, bold, innovative, and prepared to take on the world’s foremost challenges.

Being a global leader means attracting and retaining the best students, faculty, and staff.

On February 3 I was proud to announce Sandra Banks as vice-president university relations, and Stephen Watt as dean of the Faculty of Mathematics and professor in the David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science. Welcoming them both on board is a testament to Waterloo’s ability to attract the best and brightest, not only in our students, but in our staff and faculty as well.

I travelled to San Francisco this month to welcome industry leaders, policymakers, academics, startups, VCs and alumni to the University of Waterloo Innovation Showcase in Silicon Valley at the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s annual conference. AAAS shone a light on some of the world-changing research and technology to come out of the University of Waterloo, including: BlackBerry, Clearpath Robotics, the Center for Theoretical Neuroscience, the Institute of Quantum Computing, MappedIn, Nicoya Lifesciences, Nuvation Engineering, Palette, and WAVElab. It was a wonderful evening showcasing Waterloo’s innovative spirit, and we managed to further deepen our valuable connection with Silicon Valley.

Additionally, Waterloo’s robust participation in AAAS was an opportunity to build enhanced links with academic and institutional leaders at some of the world’s leading research universities and market leading organizations. This is key to growing opportunities for our students and faculty, and for ensuring Waterloo’s story is never far from centre stage in our sector.

That was certainly the case in Ottawa this month, as I joined my colleagues across the country and Governor General David Johnston to celebrate Canada’s top Natural Sciences and Engineering Researchers for 2015. I encourage you to read about the prestigious awards and their recipients, several Waterloo researchers among them.

Congratulations to our distinguished award winners!

Closer to home, I was proud to be present an award at the 2015 Business Excellence Awards Gala last week. The gala allows the Chamber of Commerce to recognize businesses and entrepreneurs through twelve awards to those who have made a significant impact as role models in our community through their involvement and leadership. I was pleased to present an award and to extend my congratulations to all nominees.

This month’s Treat-a-Gram was another success thanks to campus-wide participation and the hands of many volunteers. I am pleased to say that through treat sales, as well as additional gifts made at the time of purchase, we raised $12,724 in support of the General Student Wellness Fund.

Thank you to all of you who participated, and especially those of you who lent your time and effort to making the project a success.

If you haven’t seen it yet, check out the Treat-a-Gram 2015 video and end your week with a smile.

On February 19^th, Grade 10 students and their parents were invited to campus for an evening of information on post-secondary education. The event covered topics such as: finding a program you’ll love, admissions and applying to the university, how to pay for post-secondary education, and tips from current Waterloo students. Again, it’s all about attracting the best and brightest.

I hope all of our current students enjoyed the February reading week, and caught up both with their studies and their sleep!

Thanks to all of you for your hard work this month. February can be a tough month to get through – but spring is almost upon us!

With best wishes for a great weekend,

Feridun

Pictured: Feridun Hamdullahpur presents the Greater KW Chamber of Commerce Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award to Lesley Warren, owner of Lesley Warren Design Group, at the 2015 Business Excellence Awards Gala on Friday, February 20.

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AVP International to retire this spring

"Effective April 30, 2015 Dr. Nello Angerilli will retire as Associate Vice-President, International," says a note from Vice-President, Academic & Provost Ian Orchard. "Steps to appoint an interim Associate Vice-President are underway and a search committee will be established to appoint a new AVP, International in due time."

"At this time I would like to thank Nello for his many contributions to the University of Waterloo. Since joining UW in February 2013 Nello has led the transformation of Waterloo International as it repositions itself to support the university’s needs. As champion of the Internationalization theme under the strategic plan, Nello has steered UW towards global prominence and internationalization through strategic partnerships."

"We wish Nello all the best as he moves onto the next chapter, in which he intends to become a full-time sailor, prepare his small boat to cross a big ocean, and complete the next leg of a voyage, from Mexico to the South Pacific and New Zealand, that started in Vancouver 5 years ago."

"Bon voyage Nello!"

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Student portal: building momentum

The student portal has built some strong momentum as Engineering and Mathematics students have logged in this term, joining Arts and Environment students who gained access last year. Students in Applied Health Sciences will be invited mid-March, followed by Faculty of Science students in May.

The mobile-friendly student communication tool delivers the Waterloo information students need, just when they need it. Based on student feedback, a new user interface was released last December, reconfiguring the layout with a widget browser. This lets students favourite their commonly accessed widgets and deliver content one widget at a time – an easier way for them to consume the information.

Student user feedback has been very positive and to gather further insights, we are hosting two student consultation groups, March 3 and 12. These sessions will help us understand how students are using the portal, ask for changes they’d like to see, and discover ideas for future cross-campus promotions.

The portal’s first Hackathon is planned for March 21. This group will help us test the newly created student development framework and they can create their own portal widgets. Their feedback will help us revise the framework so student web development can be offered more broadly in the fall term.

We’ve recently added new content:

• WatCard widget – displays current balance and last transaction
• Awards widget – lists undergraduate awards searchable by name and program/faculty (graduate awards coming later)
• Computer labs widget – displays real-time lab availability in Arts and Engineering

Stay updated on the portal’s progress by reading regular news updates on the student portal site. If you would like to be included in the campus partner email updates, please email Jude Doble, the student portal project manager.

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Friday's notes

If you are a first or second-year Mathematics or Computer Science student who loves free sushi, then consider yourself invited to a special Computational Mathematics Sushi Night to learn more about the program on Wednesday, March 11 at 4:30 p.m. in—where else—the DC 1301 fishbowl.

"It will be an opportunity to socialize and enjoy some good sushi and a variety of Japanese cuisine," writes Patricia Robinson-Angel. "Computational Mathematics seniors and alumni will share their experiences."

RSVP to Patricia Robinson-Angel by Monday, March 2. if you are able to make it.

There's still time to help the Library make its new website easier to use by taking a 10-minute online test that focuses on click-preference and site navigation. "Your responses will help us to organize the content on our website," says a note from the Library. Participants will be eligible to win an iPad mini. The test closes on February 28, 2015.

The Waterloo Region Record has a profile of Waterloo engineering alumnus Jaisal Chauhan who died on Whistler Mountain this week.

Connect with NSERC's president on a vision for 2020: As part of a cross-Canada tour, NSERC president B. Mario Pinto will be on-campus to meet with researchers, students, administrators, and stakeholders to discuss the NSERC 2020 Strategic Plan. Thursday, March 12, 10 a.m. to noon, Federation Hall, Main Hall. Seating is limited so please register by March 6.

Human Resources is reporting that the following staff members will retire, effective March 1, 2015:

• Rosella Leis, who started at Waterloo in July 2001, retires as a staff member in Conrad Grebel University College;
• Ann Saddington, who started at the University in July 2007, retires as Payroll Benefits Administrator in Human Resources;
• Gordon Hitchman, who started working at the University in September 1989, retires as Research Associate in Mechanical Engineering;
• Robin Atchison, who started working in December 2004, retires as administrative assistant and publicity co-ordinator in the Drama and Speech Communication department; and
  
• John "JJ" Jongerius, who started working at the University of Waterloo's Federation of Students in May 1974 as the manager of the Feds Record Store, and who retires as Manager of Feds Used Books after more than 40 years with the Feds. After two years as an undergraduate student studying cultural anthropology and political science, JJ got a job with the Feds part-time beginning in 1973, holding various positions with Feds and its Board of Entertainment (BEnt), which produced and promoted concerts for Waterloo students, bringing such performers as The Bee Gees, Joni Mitchell, Sha Na Na, Leonard Cohen, and Frank Zappa to campus, just to name a few. From 1974 to 1991, he managed the record store, which was located in the Campus Centre, and took on the role of manager of the Used Bookstore in 1988. He was also the Feds' postmaster from 1990 to 2000, the manager of the Variety Store and Scoops, the Feds' ice-cream stand (now Wasabi!) from 1995 to 2000. At his farewell party in the Bombshelter Pub on Wednesday, his friends and colleagues presented him with a cake highlighting his penchant for loud Hawaiian shirts, and a special framed golden record commemorating his years of service with the Federation of Students over four decades.
  

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