The AVPA Office provides leadership with respect to the governance of academic matters at the University of Waterloo, particularly for undergraduate and non-credit programming, and also serves as a central source of information and support for advancing academics at the University of Waterloo, including oversight of strategic projects related to teaching and learning; the Academic Leadership Program; and units and programs focused on providing support related to academics.
This work involves close collaboration with faculty members, associate deans (undergraduate), teaching fellows, the registrar, the associate vice-president graduate studies and postdoctoral affairs, and others.
The AVPA Office falls under the leadership of the Associate Vice-President, Academic, David DeVidi. Read more about Dave's work as the AVPA.
Core AVPA Office
David DeVidi
Associate Vice-President, Academic
Martin Cooke
Assistant Vice-President, Academic - Leadership and Strategic Initiatives
Ruth Huard
Administrative Manager and Assistant to the AVPA
Ruth serves as the central nervous system of the AVPA Office, expertly handling logistics and operations for key stakeholders within the AVPA’s purview and creating synergy amongst them alongside managing the AVPA’s schedule. She also supports academic governance committees such as the Alternative Credentials Approval Committee (ACAC) and the Undergraduate Operations Committee (UOps), and coordinates the Academic Quality Assurance Program's site visits. Ruth is responsible for the financial administration of the AVPA and its associated offices, personnel matters, and recurring processes, including HR files, co-op student supervision, and flexible work arrangements.
Skilled in managing relationships with various individuals and stakeholders, she is highly detail-oriented and organised and executes a number of tasks with finesse and ease.
Ruth has been at the University of Waterloo for nearly 40 years, having worked for the Co-Operative Education office and Accessibility Services before starting at the AVPA office in 2012.
Alisa Sivak
Communications Associate
Alisa’s role in the AVPA office is newly established and evolving. In addition to facilitating internal communication about internal teaching and learning-related processes and strategic projects, she is working towards developing new processes for recognizing excellence in teaching via external teaching awards, and exploring opportunities to enhance the visibility of teaching at Waterloo.
She is an enthusiastic collaborator who is comfortable seeking highly specialized input and reframing information to meet the needs of her audience.
Alisa has a M.A. in Educational Studies from the University of British Columbia and a teaching certificate from McGill University. In a previous lifetime she worked as a knowledge translation specialist in the field of vision science research. She has worked at the University of Waterloo since 2001.
Sarah Seabrook
Special Projects, Communications and Community Engagement Specialist
Sarah's role at the AVPA is centred around conceptualizing, planning, and implementing projects and plans for the AVPA and aiding in the development of strategic communications. Sarah's work is also focused on supporting the newly established Teaching and Learning Incubator, helping to map out strategic projects, and forging connections among the University of Waterloo community to drive teaching excellence and innovation across the university campus.
Sarah is a recent graduate of the University of Waterloo with her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Business, and her Master's in Political Science and Policy. Her master's research examined Canada's health policy regime and the barriers to accessing healthcare for those with reproductive health challenges.
Sarah is enthusiastic about community engagement and in leveraging the on-the ground experiences of students and community members to inform the policy process and strategic goals.
Academic Integrity
Amanda McKenzie
Director, Office of Academic Integrity
Amanda McKenzie oversees the Office of Academic Integrity at Waterloo.
Academic integrity is intricately tied to ensuring quality assurance and is part of both the University Undergraduate Degree Level Expectations (UDLES) and Graduate Degree Level Expectations (GDLES) set out by the Ontario Universities Council on Quality Assurance (the Quality Council).
Accomplished collaborator, facilitator and leader, Amanda continues to provide strategic direction to promote integrity and support student success.
McKenzie is active with the Academic Integrity Council of Ontario (AICO) She also has a long history with the International Center for Academic Integrity (ICAI) McKenzie was one of the co-founders of ICAI Canadian Regional Consortium (ICAI Canada), and was also an Officer and Board Member of the International Center for Academic Integrity (ICAI) In addition, she has published in the field of academic integrity, serves on the editorial team for the Canadian Perspectives on Academic Integrity journal and is frequently asked to speak on the topic at events around the world.
Amanda has been at the University of Waterloo for over 12 years. She has been at the helm of the Office of Academic Integrity since 2012 and spearheaded the development and led the Quality Assurance Office from 2015-2023. She joined the University of Waterloo in 2011.
Julie Piatek
Academic Integrity Coordinator
Julie is instrumental in the design, creation, and maintenance of materials that aim to promote best practices in the field of academic integrity, with her primary responsibilities revolving around managing various administrative tasks for the Office of Academic Integrity. Julie also takes an active role in delivering the Academic Integrity Workshop and Grad AIM in LEARN and collaborates with various campus support services, including the Library and Student Success Office, to enhance academic integrity education and awareness initiatives.
Julie is experienced in providing programming and research services in public and post-secondary libraries and has a Library and Information Technician diploma from Seneca College. She began working at the University of Waterloo in June 2023 while concurrently pursuing an undergraduate degree in Liberal Studies.
Academic Quality Enhancement (AQuE)
Angela Christelis
Director, Quality Assurance and Continuous Improvement
Maysah Eid
Quality Assurance Coordinator, New Programs and Research
Maysah’s role in the Quality Assurance and Continuous Improvement Office is focused on assisting programs going through cyclical reviews with getting their final assessment reports and progress reports completed and approved through university governance.
Maysah also facilitates the process of developing new programs and getting them approved, tracking major modifications and responding to related inquiries, and conducting research to help inform strategic decision-making for academic quality enhancement.
She believes in life-long learning and is passionate about education and streamlining processes, and is also a Certified Personal Trainer and Exercise Therapist.
Maysah has an MEd. from The College of New Jersey and has taught in international schools, reviewed and developed curricula, as well as coached faculty on best practices in pedagogy to enhance student learning since 2003.
Sukhmeet Singh Bedi
Quality Assurance Coordinator - Cyclic Program Reviews
Sukhmeet's primary responsibility revolves around ensuring that the University not only upholds the highest standards of quality but also consistently enhances them. His expertise is channelled into the seamless implementation and facilitation of our quality assurance and continuous improvement initiatives, which are instrumental in driving the University's Institutional Quality Assurance Process (IQAP). Sukhmeet is actively engaged in fostering and nurturing collaborative partnerships with diverse stakeholders throughout the university. This includes working closely with The Centre for Teaching Excellence (CTE), Institutional Analysis and Planning (IAP), Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs (GSPA), and Equity, Diversity, Indigenization, and Anti-Racism (EDI-R).
Drawing from over six years of insightful experience in the pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals industry, Sukhmeet possesses an intimate understanding of the vital significance of unwavering quality control and the relentless pursuit of continuous improvement.
Sukhmeet has been with the university since June 2023, reporting directly to the Director of Academic Quality Assurance and Continuous Improvement (AQACI).
Teaching Assessment Processes (TAP)
Sonya Buffone
Director, Teaching Assessment Processes
Kathy Becker
Specialist, Teaching Assessment Processes
Karmvir Padda
Research Assistant, Teaching Assessment Processes
Teaching Innovation Incubator
Kyle Scholz
Interim Managing Director – Teaching Innovation Incubator
Kyle is the Interim Managing Director of the Teaching Innovation Incubator (TII). He is responsible for supporting the development, implementation, and evaluation of (Beta-) TII projects - projects which will allow the TII to assess its own approaches to supporting ideas that have the potential to be part of the next generation of teaching and learning at Waterloo.
He is also tasked with working with an advisory group to flesh out the systems and implementation plans needed to launch the TII, preparing for the launch of the TII, and overseeing strategic communications and events to promote the projects and work of the Beta TII as well as other teaching innovations being developed on campus, with the goal of enhancing the culture of teaching innovation at Waterloo.
Kyle has worked at the University of Waterloo since 2013. His disciplinary background is in German language learning, and he obtained his PhD in German applied linguistics from the University of Waterloo, where he researched digital game-based language learning in extramural learning environments. His broader research interests include: innovative teaching practices, the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL), (Digital) game-based learning, second language development, and computer-assisted language learning (CALL).
Sarah Seabrook
Special Projects, Communications and Community Engagement Specialist
Sarah's role at the AVPA is centred around conceptualizing, planning, and implementing projects and plans for the AVPA and aiding in the development of strategic communications. Sarah's work is also focused on supporting the newly established Teaching and Learning Incubator, helping to map out strategic projects, and forging connections among the University of Waterloo community to drive teaching excellence and innovation across the university campus.
Sarah is a recent graduate of the University of Waterloo with her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Business, and her Master's in Political Science and Policy. Her master's research examined Canada's health policy regime and the barriers to accessing healthcare for those with reproductive health challenges.
Sarah is enthusiastic about community engagement and in leveraging the on-the ground experiences of students and community members to inform the policy process and strategic goals.