From: Jacinda Reitsma, Vice-President, Administration and Finance
Date: Monday, January 20, 2025
Subject: Thank you to our community
To the UWaterloo community,
I’m pleased to share that all students temporarily displaced by the heating issues at some University of Waterloo Place (UWP) residence buildings were invited to move back into their rooms beginning Sunday morning. This process is ongoing, but most students have now settled back into their usual accommodations.
Permanent fixes to the University-owned boilers at UWP will be required and the temporary boilers will stay in place until they are complete.
Handling this issue has truly been a team effort. First and foremost, I’d like to thank those students who were affected – your positivity and your patience allowed staff to ensure a smooth transition into temporary accommodations for everyone. I am sure that there were bumps in the road, and I know that this past week was a stressful one for all of you, but the way you came together to support each other was a lovely example of the strength of our community.
To the Plant Operations and Campus Housing teams who have been working around the clock to bring heat back to these buildings and to support our students while they had to be away – thank you. The Athletics team was also instrumental in ensuring that students were able to move out quickly to Columbia Icefield when the decision was made that it wasn’t safe to stay overnight in UWP. None of this work would have been possible without each of you going the extra mile
I’m also very touched to share that so many employees answered our call for volunteers for this past weekend that we didn’t have enough shifts to fill the demand. Each of you ensured that there was a friendly face for students to connect with in their temporary accommodations, and I’m very grateful for that.
Thank you once again to everyone involved for your commitment to the wellbeing of our students during a difficult time. Each and every one of you demonstrated that when we come together and are creative in the solutions that we seek, we can achieve our purpose.
Jacinda Reitsma
Vice-President, Administration and Finance
Office of the Vice-President, Administration and Finance