Friday, October 9, 2015

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• Waterloo, HKUST sign dual PhD degree program
• Why I co-chair the United Way campaign
• St. Paul’s welcomes refugee student from Congo
• Remembering Anne Minas
• Holiday openings and closings and other notes

Waterloo, HKUST sign dual PhD degree program

The University of Waterloo, Canada’s leading innovation university, and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, one of the world’s top engineering schools, will introduce dual doctoral degrees in engineering that will allow select students to simultaneously earn a PhD from each institution.

Feridun Hamdullahpur and Tony Chan, president of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), signed a memorandum of understanding establishing the new program at Waterloo on October 7. The partnership, that will begin next year, forges a powerful academic alliance between leading universities in Asia and North America.

“I am extremely proud to combine our innovation power to train the next generation of scholars and innovators,” said Hamdullahpur. “This PhD education partnership will allow doctoral candidates from top notch Engineering Faculties to build a foundation on which to establish further academic and research collaborations.”

Beginning in January 2016, students will have the opportunity to study under the guidance of engineering doctoral supervisors from both universities, spending approximately equal amounts of time at each campus.

“Waterloo Engineering is preparing PhD candidates for the future of research and development careers. Leading research intensive institutions and global industry labs want PhD graduates to have exposure to different cultures, the ability to adapt to global lab environments and practical experience on how research results could be implemented for the benefit of society,” said Pearl Sullivan, dean of the Faculty of Engineering. “This is one of Waterloo Engineering’s initiatives for evolving doctoral education to include translational skills that can expand career possibilities for graduates.”

Why I co-chair the United Way campaign

by James Skidmore.

Each Friday in October the Daily Bulletin will feature content from the university’s United Way campaign. Learn more about the campaign, how you can get involved and make a donation.

People here at the university, and at the United Way of Kitchener-Waterloo and Area, often thank me for the work I do as co-chair of our campus United Way campaign. I certainly appreciate the gratitude, but that’s not why I do it.

The United Way campaign helps educate our campus about needs in the greater community, and as an educator I can really get behind that. Supporting the United Way is part of our mission as a university to influence our society.

Another reason I help out is because I was brought up by wonderful parents who instilled in me the notion that volunteering in the community was part of living in a community. Service to others was instilled in me as a value to cherish and nurture, and so assisting an agency that is all about service to others seems like a no-brainer.

I also benefited from the United Way when I was a student. I come from a privileged background, but I had to work my way through university. Most of my summer jobs—working at the Saskatoon youth hostel; helping to resettle refugees—were funded by United Way grants. These jobs paid minimum wage ($4.25/hour at the time!), but they introduced me to parts of my community that I didn’t know, and showed me how much needed to be done to improve the lives of all residents.

 Finally, co-chairing the campaign allows me to work with an absolutely fantastic bunch of campus volunteers. They have their own reasons for volunteering, but I imagine they all want to do something to make our community better for everyone.

Read more on the United Way blog.

St. Paul’s welcomes refugee student from Congo

by St. Paul’s University College staff

Members of the local WUSC committee with Leonard Honore (bottom row, far right) and Liban Farah (top row, far left).

Among the many new students who started classes at UWaterloo this fall is Leonard Honore, a refugee student from the Democratic Republic of Congo who is living at St. Paul’s. He is being sponsored by the University of Waterloo’s and World University Services of Canada’s (WUSC) Student Refugee Program. 

All Waterloo students contribute to the program through a dollar-per-term levy administered by the Federation of Students. St. Paul's students also help cover the sponsored students' accommodation and meals through a volunteer student levy. 

The Student Refugee Program was initiated by WUSC in 1978 and is active on over 65 university and college campuses across Canada. The program has sponsored more than 1,500 refugees from 37 countries to complete their studies and become Canadian citizens. It is the only one of its kind to combine resettlement with higher education and student-to-student support. 

Here at UWaterloo, St. Paul’s was the first partner to offer housing and resources when WUSC was forming on campus. Since 2006, the University has sponsored 11 students. Waterloo International and the other Colleges are important sponsors of the program, providing residence, meals, academic and social programs, and community life for the students who live in residence for up to six terms. St. Paul’s also provides a resource staff member to assist the students.

To win sponsorship, students must have official refugee status and be academically eligible for admission to Waterloo. Once they arrive in Canada, the federal government grants them permanent resident status and they are eligible for Canadian citizenship within three years. 

The competition to get sponsorship for the Student Refugee Program is stiff. Leonard was not successful in his first two attempts, but his volunteer work at his refugee camp’s high school and adult education centre – along with his grades – helped him eventually achieve his goal.

For now, he is completing two terms in the Bridge to Academic success program at Renison College and will then proceed to full-time study in Arts. The other new refugee student at UWaterloo this year is Liban Farah, who is staying at Conrad Grebel and is studying Applied Health Sciences. 

For more information about the Student Refugee Program, contact Gráinne Ryder, Student Refugee Program Staff Advisor, St. Paul’s University College, gryder@uwaterloo.ca, 519-885-1460, ext. 25201.

Remembering Anne Minas

Professor Emerita Anne Minas died last week at the age of 78.

A graduate of Harvard, Professor Minas joined the University of Waterloo in 1966 as a lecturer, becoming an assistant professor in 1967. She was named an associate professor in 1970. 

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A member of the Department of Philosophy, Minas's research specializations included the philosophy of language, metaphysics and social philosophy, including women and ecology. 

"Anne Minas made a lasting mark on the University of Waterloo with her endowment of the Humphrey Professorship in Feminist Philosophy," says a statement posted this week on the Department of Philosophy's website. "This professorship allows the department to bring distinguished feminist philosophers to the University of Waterloo for a term."

The professorship was established in memory of Minas's father and grandfather, Judge Churchill Humphrey (1885-1970) of the circuit court in Louisville, Kentucky, and his son, Judge Alex P. Humphrey (1911-1997), also of Louisville.

"Both personally and by endowing the Professorship, Anne Minas was part of a significant evolution in the Department. She was the first feminist philosopher in a department that now prides itself on having a range of excellent scholars doing specifically feminist work, and many others whose work is informed by and sympathetic to feminist scholarship. Thanks in part to her leadership and generosity in endowing the Humphrey Professorship, Waterloo’s Philosophy Department is now noted internationally for its excellent feminist philosophy. But Minas’s goals were larger. Christine Overall, the inaugural Humphrey Professor, describes the impact of the Humphrey professorship this way: “Dr. Minas had a deep commitment to supporting research and teaching in feminist philosophy. Her generosity in funding the Humphrey Professorship was a concrete expression of her dedication to ensuring that feminist philosophy would both survive and thrive in Canadian academia.”"

Minas retired in February 2002 and was later named Professor Emerita. 

Read the full tribute to Professor Minas on the Philosophy department's website.

Holiday openings and closings and other notes

Monday is the Thanksgiving holiday and so University offices and most services will be closed, and classes will not be held as turkey, or perhaps turkey substitutes, are consumed across the land. This weekend also marks the start of Oktoberfest, and is as good a time as any to remind folks that the annual Oktoberfest parade will try out its new post-LRT route on Monday.

To summarize:

The Physical Activities Complex and Columbia Icefield are open from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Saturday and are closed Sunday and Monday.

The Dana Porter and Davis Centre libraries will be open normal hours on Saturday and Sunday, and from noon to 6:00 p.m. on Monday.

All Retail Services stores and media.doc locations will be closed on Saturday and holiday Monday.

Most Food services outlets are closed, with the exception of Mudie's in Village 1, which has limited weekend hours. In addition, the Tim Hortons in the Student Life Centre will be closed on Saturday, Sunday, and Thanksgiving Monday. Browser's Café in the Dana Porter Library will be closed Saturday and Sunday as well as Monday.

As always, the university police (519-888-4911 or ext. 22222) will be at work, the Student Life Centre (519–888-4434) will be open, and the central plant will monitor campus buildings (for maintenance emergencies call extension 33793). The campus should be back to normal on Tuesday morning. Enjoy the long weekend!

Did you know that India has a National Ice Hockey Team? Well, now you know. The team trains on one of India's few hockey rinks, which are open only three months a year, and have recently traveled to Canada to play some friendly exhibition games with teams across the country to promote their team.

Where am I going with this? Well, due to budget issues, they were only able to bring 12 members of their roster to Canada, and held a tryout for Indo-Canadians from all over North America, adding 10 new faces, including recent Master of Public Health graduate Sundeep Banwatt, who appears on the far left of the above photo.

Tonight, in Brampton, the ECHL (East Coast Hockey League) affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens, the Brampton Beast, will be playing an international friendly game against India's team at the Powerade Centre at 7:15 p.m. A portion of the ticket proceeds will go towards supporting India's national team.

Communitech's Code to Win challenge takes place this weekend. "Open to select Canadian universities and colleges, players solve coding problems in their favourite language and ascend the scoreboard for speed and accuracy," says an explanatory note on the Communitech website. "The top ranked 50 are invited to Waterloo Region to solve a final written challenge where cash prizes and the opportunity to meet and interview with participating companies are up for grabs." The University of Waterloo is one of the event's sponsors.

ION construction continues over the long weekend. On or about Monday, October 12, the Ring Road pedestrian access path will be closed to pedestrians for approximately one week. Check the ION-related travel disruptions page for more information.