Friday, May 22, 2015

Erin Sargeant Greenwood named Interim Vice-President, Advancement

"I am pleased to announce that Erin Sargeant Greenwood will serve as interim Vice-President, Advancement, effective immediately," says a note from President Feridun Hamdullahpur that was circulated yesterday. "Currently serving as Associate Vice-President, Campaign Strategy & Implementation, Erin will be appointed as Interim Vice-President, Advancement until there is a permanent appointment to the position."

Erin joined the University of Waterloo in 2008 as Associate Vice-President, Annual & Planned Giving after a career in advancement at Nipissing University, York University, KCI Ketchum Canada and Branksome Hall. She later served as Associate Vice-President, Development, leading the Development unit within the Office of Advancement. In 2014 she was appointed Associate Vice-President, Campaign Strategy & Implementation, responsible for campaign strategy and readiness programs in support of Waterloo’s Strategic Plan.

"As Interim Vice-President, Advancement, Erin will be a member of Waterloo’s senior leadership team, responsible for advancing the University’s goals through strategic fundraising and alumni relations programs, locally, nationally and internationally," the president's memo concludes.

Arts introduces scholarships for top local students

The University of Waterloo’s Faculty of Arts is helping students in Waterloo region get a head start in financing their university studies with a new scholarship that targets incoming undergraduates from local high schools.

The Faculty of Arts Entrance Scholarship for Waterloo Region offers up to $2,000 top-up funding to 316 new students whose Grade 12 marks are between 95+ and 80 per cent and have applied for full-time studies in the Honours Arts or Honours Arts and Business programs.

“These new scholarships recognize the strength of our local students and to encourage them to stay in the region to earn their bachelor’s degree, and go on to join the thriving regional workforce,” said Douglas Peers, dean of arts.

Arts is Waterloo’s second largest and most diverse faculty, with 15 academic departments, two schools, and the Stratford Campus – all dedicated to a wide range of disciplines in the humanities, social sciences  and creative arts.

“This is an exciting time of transformation for the Faculty of Arts,” said Dean Peers. “We’re well underway implementing our five-year Strategic Plan, which is pragmatic and responsive to the changing needs of students in the 21^st century.”

The plans include construction this year of a new addition to Hagey Hall of the Humanities that will provide Arts students with 13,825 sq. ft. of social, study and project space. The Faculty is adding flexible learning options focused on career skills such as digital communications and international trade; and they are increasing opportunities for students to study and work abroad as part of their academic program.

“I’m incredibly proud of the high calibre of teaching and research in all Arts fields at Waterloo,” said Feridun Hamdullahpur. “Our Psychology and Sociology units are currently ranked in the world’s top 100, and Philosophy, Accounting and Political Science are among the world’s top 200.”

Offering 23 major options for close to 7,000 undergraduate students, the Faculty also runs professional bachelor’s programs in Accounting and Financial Management, based in the School of Accounting and Finance, as well as Global Business and Digital Arts, based at the Stratford Campus.

“We look forward to more new students from the area joining our vibrant Faculty community,” says Dean Peers. “We’ll ensure they get all the opportunities to thrive in Arts and graduate well-prepared to make their mark as contributing members of Waterloo Region.”

Staff association to host introspective information sessions

The University of Waterloo Staff Association (UWSA) is hosting four information sessions to discuss issues impacting the organization’s future, with the first session scheduled for Wednesday, May 27 from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. in ALH 124.

"Currently UWSA membership is at 65 per cent of eligible full time/part time staff," says a note from the UWSA. "Over the years the UWSA has operated under the constant stress of having to keep the numbers above a percentage that would be reflective of an organization that officially represents all staff."

"In 2006 in consultation with HR the UWSA put in place a mechanism where new staff members were automatically enrolled into the UWSA membership, but had the ability to withdraw. In 2013 we were asked to modify this practice in order to comply with the Employment Standards Act which states that written authorization from the employee is required before an employer can make deductions (other than those legislated by law) from an employee’s pay. This latest change has had a negative impact on the UWSA membership, and needs to be addressed."

In this information session the UWSA will discuss:

• Membership numbers in more detail
• The efforts made by the UWSA to improve membership uptake
• The implications of a continuous decline in membership
• What is needed to strengthen the UWSA's relationship with the University of Waterloo, i.e. strengthening the Memorandum of Agreement, making changes to its governance, etc.
• The Faculty Association's solution to the same issue.

Other sessions will be held as follows:

• Friday, May 29, 8:45 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. in DC 1302
• Thursday, June 11, 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. in NH 3001
• Tuesday, June 16, 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. in MC 5501

"We encourage you to come out and share your questions and thoughts on this matter. If you are unable to attend one of these meetings, please send your comments to carlos.mendes@uwaterloo.ca."

The UWSA will gather feedback from these meetings to assist in the Board of Director’s decision making process.

"We hope to see you at one of these sessions," the UWSA's memo concludes.

Waterloo Black finishes 13th at ACM world finals

by Anna Beard.

Congratulations to Volodymyr Lyubinets, Deon Nicholas, Geoffry Song, and coach Troy Vasiga of the Waterloo Black ACM team on their 13^th place finish at this year's Association for Computing Machinery International Collegiate Programming Contest World Finals in Morocco. 

The Waterloo Black ACM team competed against 127 other teams, solving nine of 13 problems. Only two universities from Canada qualified for the event, the other being the University of Calgary.

The Waterloo Black ACM team won their spot at the world finals by finishing first at the East Central North America Association for Computing Machinery Regional Programming Contest in Windsor this past November. Waterloo's junior ACM teams, Red and Gold, placed 7^th and 8^th respectively, at the regional contest. 

Team coach, David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science lecturer Troy Vasiga, explained that although the team is a bit disappointed, they did very well and represented their university with class.

"I am very proud of the team for their effort, diligence and dedication," wrote Vasiga in an email to members of the School.

The top 12 competition teams receive medals – four gold, four silver, four bronze. 

The ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest is a worldwide competition held annually with student teams from universities and colleges all over the globe. Competitors race to solve complex math problems that challenge their problem-solving, programming, and teamwork skills. Teams must qualify in a regional event before competing in the World Finals with the chance to win $16,500 and the title of “World Champion”.

Friday's notes

Canadian Blood Services will be holding a donor clinic on campus next week in the Student Life Centre from Tuesday, May 26 to Thursday, May 28 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. They are also looking for student, staff and faculty volunteers. Anyone interested in helping out can contact Andrea Davies, coordinator of volunteer resources by email at andrea.davies@blood.ca or by calling (toll free) 1-866-537-7700 ext. 5867.

Plant Operations has announced that elevator #2 in E3 will be out of service on Wednesday, May 27 from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. as regular maintenance is carried out.

Human Resources has notified employees that their Salary Increase Advices are now available on myHRinfo. These increases are effective May 1. To view your Increase Advice, login to myHRinfo and navigate as follows:

Self Service > Salary Increase Advice > Details.

Printed advices will be soon be mailed to Faculty and Staff members who have elected to receive hard copy pay advices.

"If you have any questions about the details of your salary increase, please contact your Faculty Executive Officer for Faculty or Department Head for Staff," says the note from HR.

If there are any errors in your information, please contact:

• Faculty: Ljiljana Skobo, Faculty Data Administrator at lskobo@uwaterloo.ca or ext. 37580
• Staff: Joan Kennedy, Compensation & Benefits Analyst at joan.kennedy@uwaterloo.ca or ext. 31948