Thursday, March 24, 2016

An update on student e-mail domain changes

A message from Information Systems & Technology (IST).

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to ask questions and provide feedback/suggestions regarding the planned undergraduate student e-mail domain name change. Information Systems & Technology (IST) will be carefully reviewing these comments over the next week.

We recognize that students have become accustomed to their current address, have shared it widely with friends, colleagues, and employers, and have used it to register for a variety of services. The proposed 18 month grace period, where e-mail would be forwarded from existing @uwaterloo.ca student addresses to their new address, is a concern for many students. IST has flexibility in setting the length of this grace period. After considering your suggestions regarding the proposed timeline, reviewing our project plan, and consulting with service staff, we intend to extend the grace period as follows:

• All existing undergraduate students will continue to receive mail sent to their @uwaterloo.ca address throughout the duration of their undergraduate career, plus one year after the last day of the last academic term registered.
• Students beginning their undergraduate career in September 2017 will send and receive e-mail from the new domain name.

• All existing alumni will continue to receive mail sent to their @uwaterloo.ca address for a period of time yet to be determined, in consultation with Alumni Relations.

We understand that many students are interested in the motivation to move undergraduate e-mail to a different domain name, separate from University employees. Much of the concern expressed relates to the potential loss of affiliation to the University, currently provided by the uwaterloo.ca domain name. The use of a subdomain (e.g. @student.uwaterloo.ca) will maintain the University affiliation while allowing us to address the technical, security and performance concerns that exist. Additional information on the motivations behind this change will be provided in a future update.

The next important step in this process is selecting the name for the new domain. IST will continue to receive and consider your suggestions until March 29, at which point a short list of possible names will be put together and shared with the student community. We will then ask you to vote on the preferred domain name. Information on this process will be shared over the coming weeks.

We thank you again for being engaged in this process and look forward to working with you as we transition to the cloud based e-mail system.

Toronto Mayor John Tory visits Waterloo

John Tory, the mayor of Canada’s largest city, visited the University of Waterloo yesterday to view first-hand the university's contributions in driving the region's unique innovation ecosystem.

While on campus, Mayor Tory toured cutting-edge research labs and facilities at the Institute for Quantum Computing and experienced Waterloo’s world-class experiential education programs at the Sedra Student Design Centre.

“The University of Waterloo is a source of pride and a huge economic advantage,” said Mayor Tory.

Alongside Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic and Waterloo Mayor Dave Jaworsky, Tory toured the University as part of a one-day visit to the region to promote the economic potential of the Toronto-Waterloo innovation corridor.

Tory highlighted Toronto and Waterloo as the “undisputed centre of the knowledge-based economy” and stressed the importance of promoting alongside the world’s most successful innovation corridors: Silicon Valley, London – Cambridge (UK), and Tel Aviv – Haifa.

Mayor Tory made note of the more than “400,000 university and college students along the corridor who are ready to support the needs of the economy”, and referenced the potential contribution they will make to the future of the tech sector.    

The corridor – stretching from Toronto to Waterloo – connects over 200,000 employees and more than 15,000 tech companies, including 5,200 startups.

“We are capable, with everything we have in the corridor, of taking on the world,” said Mayor Tory. “We need to make sure smart people…stay here and grow here.”

Prior to his visit to campus, Mayor Tory participated in a roundtable discussion with local companies at Communitech, spoke to business and community leaders at an event hosted by the Greater Kitchener Waterloo Chamber of Commerce, and toured the new Google building in downtown Kitchener.

To see photos and other highlights, visit the event Storify. 

After the rain comes the Sunshine List

The University of Waterloo has released a list of the 1,294 employees who were paid more than $100,000 in 2015.

Public-sector employers in Ontario are required to publish the list every March since the Public Sector Salary Disclosure Act was passed in 1996. Other universities, school boards, hospitals, colleges, municipalities, and the government itself are making similar information for last year public this week.

The $100,000 list includes most of Waterloo's professors, and a number of staff members and senior administrators. It includes people employed by Renison University College, Conrad Grebel University College and St. Paul's University College as well as by the University of Waterloo itself. The list has grown by 6.15 per cent since 2014.

In addition to the salary, a figure is given for taxable benefits received by each individual, for such extras as employer-paid life insurance.

Last year's salary disclosure is also available online.

#AskAPharmacist - Pharmacy errors and pharmacists as vaccinators

This is the latest in a series of posts from the School of Pharmacy celebrating Pharmacist Awareness Month.

Wrong number of pills in your bottle? What happens when pharmacists make a mistake? Pharmacist Andrew Tolmie explains:

Can pharmacists give you vaccines? Dr. Kelly Grindrod answers on the #AskAPharmacist playlist.

More pharmacy questions and answers are coming next Tuesday.

Waterloo hosts exhibition of influential architects

An international exhibition featuring early formative works on paper by a generation of prominent architects — including Frank Gehry, Zaha Hadid and Rem Koolhaas — has its only Canadian showing at the University of Waterloo’s School of Architecture.

Drawing Ambience: Alvin Boyarsky and the Architectural Association is the first public exhibition of drawings from the private collection of Alvin Boyarsky, former and longtime director of the Architectural Association in London, and one of the most influential figures in 20th-century design education. The exhibit is open at the school’s Cambridge location through Sunday, April 10.

To further explore the impact of this exhibit, Representing Ambience Today: Tracing the Materiality of Virtual Objects Symposium, takes place on Saturday, April 2 at the Design at Riverside gallery in Cambridge. This symposium discusses the concept of ambience in architecture. Register online at the event website.

Professor Igor Marjanovic will deliver the keynote address. Marjanovic is chair of the undergraduate architecture program in the Sam Fox School at Washington University in St Louis, and recipient of a national Education Honor Award from the American Institute of Architects.

Long weekend closings and other notes

Tomorrow is Good Friday, a statutory holiday, and thus most of the University's services will be closed for the long weekend, while others will remain open. In particular:

The Athletics facilities in the PAC and CIF will be closed on Good Friday, will be open Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and closed on Sunday. In addition, there will be no "shoe tag" recreation classes from Friday to Sunday. Classes will resume on Monday, March 28. 

All Retail Services outlets will be closed on Good Friday.

Both Dana Porter and Davis Centre Libraries will be open on Good Friday from noon to 6:00 p.m. Check the Library's Hours page for detailed information on branch openings.

Most Food Services operations will be closed Friday, as they usually are for statutory holidays. Exceptions include REVelation in Ron Eydt Village, which will be open on Friday, March 25 and March 26 from 11:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., and Sunday, March 27 from 11:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., and Mudie's in Village 1, open from 8:00 a.m. to 12:30 a.m. on Friday, March 25. Check the Food Services Locations and Hours page for a full listing.

The Turnkey Desk in the Student Life Centre will be open for business all weekend.

As always, even on holidays, the university police (ext. 22222, or 519-888-4911), and the central plant will monitor campus buildings (24-hour service and maintenance line, ext.33793).

The Friday holiday means that today is a rare Thursday payday for University staff paid on the monthly calendar, so whether you are observing Easter or not, it's definitely a Good Friday.

As for next week:

Employers on campus next week hosting employer information sessions include the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board.

Retail Services is inviting members of the campus community to welcome Professor Stuart McGill on Tuesday, March 29 at 4:00 p.m. at the Bookstore for a presentation and book signing of his latest book, Back Mechanic.

Professor McGill, known as Waterloo’s “Dr Spine” on Waterloo’s YouTube, empowers the back pain su­fferer to become their own best advocate. Back Mechanic guides you through a self-assessment of your pain triggers, then shows you how to avoid these roadblocks to recovery. Professor McGill used his 30 years of research findings and clinical investigations to create this richly illustrated, evidence-based guide that has helped thousands reclaim their lives.

Register online to reserve a seat.

Here's the latest Nutrition Month "Myth vs. Fact" supplied by Health Services Nutritionist Sandra Ace:

Myth: Eating eggs is bad for cholesterol levels.

Fact: While I have written about eggs in previous years, I’m going to re-visit it, considering the upcoming Easter weekend, with its tradition of colouring eggs, as well the seemingly endless confusion this topic seems to cause. Recent research has shown that cholesterol in foods such as egg yolks has a much smaller effect on blood cholesterol than the type of fat in the diet. Saturated fats found in fatty cuts of meat and high fat dairy products and trans fats found in many processed foods have a greater impact on blood cholesterol and heart disease risk.

How many eggs is the right number? While eggs are an easy to prepare, economical and nutritious food, I still wouldn’t recommend going overboard with daily three egg omelets.  For adults without a history of heart disease or diabetes, evidence suggests that consuming one whole egg per day does not increase the risk of heart disease. Adults with high blood cholesterol, diabetes or heart disease should limit whole eggs to two per week or as advised by your healthcare provider. For additional recommendations on a heart healthy diet, visit the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada or get advice from a Registered Dietitian.

While we’re talking about eggs, I might as well dispel another myth: brown eggs are not more nutritious than white. They simply come from a different breed of chickens.

And, since it’s that time of year, it’s OK for most people to enjoy chocolate eggs in moderation, too!