Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Residence to set new standard for student living

Carly McCready, vice-president, operations and finance at the Federation of Students, Associate Provost, Students Chris Read, Feridun Hamdullahpur, president and vice-chancellor, Glen Weppler, director of housing, and Bernie Melloul of Melloul-Blamey Construction Inc. plant their shovels in the ground at yesterday's ceremony.

The University of Waterloo broke ground yesterday to mark the official start of construction of an innovative new residence for undergraduate students.

The student-focused design is a result of an extensive consultation process with stakeholders to create a living environment that enhances learning opportunities for its residents.

"Waterloo attracts the world's best, brightest and most motivated students," said President Feridun Hamdullahpur. "For many of them, the campus is their home for several years. We are committed to enriching the student experience with a student-focused approach to services so that every aspect of a student’s life on campus can be vibrant and fulfilling."

Among other amenities, the 12-storey building will include a community centre, 16 bathrooms per living floor, laundry, fitness room, a multi-faith space, six lounges on each floor where students can socialize and study with their peers.  The space will also be home to a full service cafeteria that will enhance the living experience for all students at UW Place, the largest residence community on campus.

"We consulted with students and other stakeholders so that we considered all factors that are integral to a welcoming and positive environment that will support the personal, social and educational needs of our students," said Glen Weppler, director of housing and residences. "This building will house more than 500 students, and its completion will ensure that the University can continue to offer its first-year housing guarantee for undergraduate students, a crucial component for student success."

The target completion date of the project is the summer of 2017, with the first residents moving in just before fall term.

Architectural render by Masri O Architects.

Ring Road rail crossing to be closed for ION work

Later this afternoon, GrandLinq will be completely closing off access between the ring road and the east campus lands at the controlled access gate to parking lot B.

There will be no vehicular or pedestrian access for a few days while they relocate existing rail services. 

GrandLinq will have signage directing pedestrians to walk around to the south side of Engineering 5 to cross the ring road, and construction fencing will be put up on the west side.

Once this work is done there will continue to be restrictions on vehicle access until the new crossing gates are installed, but pedestrian access should be be maintained. Check the ION-related travel disruption page for more details.

CECA attends the Global Petroleum Show

by Clare Flood.

Co-operative Education & Career Action (CECA) prioritizes gaining and retaining employment opportunities for Waterloo students and alumni. To support this initiative, CECA participates in a wide range of exhibits, trade shows and conferences that represent a variety of industries and geographical areas.

In early June, the 3-day Global Petroleum Show, hosting 95 countries, 63,000 attendees, and more than 2,000 exhibitors, was held in Calgary. Three CECA staff members were in attendance: Ross Johnston, director of Employment Relations, and two members of the West Team, Account Manager Melissa Plouffe, and Student Advisor Cynthia McClare.

“The show hosted several potential Waterloo [student] employers,” says Johnston. “We connected with existing employers and also approached new organizations interested in hiring our students.”

A growing network of Waterloo alumni reside in the Alberta region, and several stopped by the CECA booth to chat with staff. Johnston, Plouffe and McClare visited indoor and outdoor exhibitors to talk with employers. They also had a significant amount of traffic at their booth. Employers were most interested in hiring Mechanical, Chemical and Management Engineering students, in either co-op, full-time (alumni), or graduate positions.

“We talked to several senior executives – folks who are key decision makers at their companies,” says Johnston. These kinds of contacts give CECA a better understanding of whether organizations have the capacity to hire students due to their knowledge of factors such as budgets, staffing resources, etc.

Johnston, Plouffe and McClare all agree this event is a valuable resource for finding employers to support Waterloo’s co-op program and recommends CECA return for the 2016 show.

Recycling Week and other notes

We're halfway through Recycling Week, a week of environmentally-friendly events being held through the University campus and organized by the Sustainable Campus Initiative (SCI).

The week began Monday with ECOFest in the Student Life Centre Great Hall, followed by the launch of the Recycling Station in the Student Life Centre's atrium - a grand reveal of a new recycling facility for electronic waste.

Today is the Campus Clean-Up and Recycling Week Bonfire held in partnership with the Environmental Student Society. The Clean-Up runs from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., and is followed by a bonfire at Laurel Creek's fire pit outside EV3 at 7:00 p.m. (One hopes items collected during the former event aren't being used as fuel for the latter event)

On Thursday is the Fair Trade Hazelnut Workshop in the Student Life Centre's multipurpose room at 4:00 p.m. followed by SCI Talks from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

On Friday, June 26 there is a movie marathon in the Student Life Centre's Great Hall from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. that includes "some of your favourite environmentally-themed films." Free drinks and popcorn will be provided.

Library website testers wanted: "Help us design a more functional and useful website that meets your research and service needs!" says a note from the Library. "You could win one of four $50 gift cards for Retail Services. The online test should take 5 to 10 minutes to complete. This test is task-based and involves screenshot clicking. Your visual responses will help us improve the effectiveness of our website."

The testing period runs from Tuesday, June 23 to Monday, July 6.

Human Resources is reporting that retiree Kenneth Golem died May 5. Ken began working at the University of Waterloo in February 1963. He held the position of Mechanic I in Plant Operations, and retired in July 1996 under the Special Early Retirement Program (SERP). He is survived by his wife, Anne.

Employers on campus next week hosting employer information sessions include Spin Master Ltd. Visit the information session calendar for more information.