Excellence Canada update
To: Faculty and Staff
From: James Rush, Vice-President, Academic & Provost
Channel: E-mail
The University of Waterloo is preparing for certification under the Excellence Canada, Excellence, Innovation and Wellness standard. Excellence Canada certification provides independent, third-party validation of progress on an organization’s journey to excellence along with national recognition. Seven departments at Waterloo have achieved certification, and building on their success, we are now taking the initiative campus-wide.
Excellence Canada certification is more than an emblem. It will allow us to validate our commitment to excellence at Waterloo. It will support us in meeting strategic initiatives, sustaining innovative ideas and solutions, engaging and retaining students and employees; as well as assist us in upholding the health and well-being of our employees.
While we have many initiatives in place that move these elements forward, like the Healthy Workplace Committee, the process of certification gives us visibility into where we might be falling short and allows us to plan ahead, anticipate the needs of our community and continuously improve the qualities that make Waterloo a desirable place to work.
Currently, there are five working groups who are responsible for reporting on the initiatives, programs and practices under each of the Excellence Canada drivers: Leadership, Planning, Customers, People and Processes. The working groups are collaborating with campus stakeholders to put together their reports, and the next steps will be the on-site verification and focus group meetings in the spring.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the following people for their very good work on this important initiative:
- Associate Provost, Human Resources Marilyn Thompson, the initiative’s sponsor and chair of the Excellence Canada Advisory Committee;
- Members of the Excellence Canada Advisory committee, including Aldo Caputo; Pam Charbonneau; Nancy Collins; Katrina Di Gravio; André Jardin; Nick Manning; Katherine Marshall; Samantha Murray; Kenton Needham; Daniela Seskar-Hencic; Doug Turnbull; Rose Vogt; and Excellence Canada Vice-President and Lead Coach Catherine Neville;
- Driver co-chairs, including Kim Gingerich*; Cathy Newell Kelly*; Dave Kibble*;Sharon Lamont*; Christine Wagner; Jana Carson; Kim Snage; Susan Grant; Kathryn MacDonald*; Alice Raynard*; and
- Major Initiative Champions Feridun Hamdullahpur; Charmaine Dean; Dennis Huber; Karen Jack; and Sandra Banks.
*Indicates that the co-chair is also a member of the Advisory Committee
If you’d like to learn more, please visit the Excellence Canada at Waterloo page. If you have any questions about Excellence Canada, please contact Change Management Advisor Samantha Murray via email or by calling extension x31888.We’ll keep you up-to-date on our certification journey, and will know the final results by the end of the year.
