Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Feridun Hamdullahpur appointed to second term

The Board of Governors has reappointed Feridun Hamdullahpur as president and vice-chancellor of the University of Waterloo for a second term, beginning July 1, 2017. He will serve in the role until June 30, 2021.

“I am delighted with this announcement,” said Chancellor Tom Jenkins. “Waterloo benefits greatly from Feridun’s strategic initiatives, wisdom and passion for all aspects of this University’s mandate. I look forward to working with him to support his efforts to achieve the ambitions and potential of this exceptional institution.”

Hamdullahpur was appointed president and vice-chancellor on March 11, 2011.

“The growth and success of the last five years under Feridun’s leadership has not just built the foundation for rapid progress, it has generated momentum that is moving us toward our ultimate goal – to be recognized and celebrated as one of the world’s top innovation universities,” said William Watson, chair of the board.

In his first term as president, Hamdullahpur initiated efforts to raise Waterloo’s international profile and enhanced the learning experience of students with a range of projects to expand social, study, dining and recreation spaces on campus. Hamdullahpur led the development and implementation of Waterloo’s Strategic Plan, through broad consultation, detailed planning and a robust accountability framework.

President Hamdullahpur has made significant progress in advancing the university’s reputation, both nationally and internationally.  He currently serves as chair of Canada’s U15 association of research intensive universities, and is one of only ten university presidents worldwide championing the UN Women’s HeForShe IMPACT 10x10x10 gender equity initiative.

“I am deeply honoured to be invited to serve a second term at the University of Waterloo and am grateful to have the opportunity to work with such a broad range of academic, administrative, student and community leaders as the University enters its 60th year,” said Feridun Hamdullahpur. “Building on the progress and momentum stemming from our current strategic plan, I am committed to building the future framework and support for the University of Waterloo to lead the world in innovation – in academics and teaching, experiential education, entrepreneurship and high impact research.”

Hamdullahpur’s reappointment is supported by a recommendation from a nominating committee and approved by the Board of Governors on the recommendation of the Senate. The committee consulted broadly with the university community, both internally and externally, and determined that there was widespread commitment to the president’s goals and support for his ambitions for the University.

Hamdullahpur is a professor of mechanical engineering and served as vice-president, academic and provost at Waterloo from 2009 to 2010. He previously served as provost and vice-president (academic) and as vice-president of research and international at Carleton University in Ottawa.

Waterloo Residences at capacity for Fall 2016

The first-year student residence application for fall 2016 is now closed, and Waterloo Residences, Renison, St. Jerome’s, and St. Paul’s University Colleges will be at capacity for the fall term. To assist with a higher volume of applications this year, the University Colleges have increased the number of first-year student beds they offer. St. Jerome’s University College has kindly halted the re-construction on their old residence building in order to provide an additional 70 beds.

Most incoming first-year students looking for residence accommodations for the coming school year have applied by the June 1, 2016 deadline, and are guaranteed a space in residence – either in one of the University Colleges that guarantee residence to first-year students (Renison, St. Jerome’s, and St. Paul’s), or in Waterloo Residences.

Students that missed the application deadline are encouraged to fill out the Waterloo Residences Vacancies Application, which opened on Tuesday, June 7 at 9 a.m. While completing this application does not guarantee a spot in residence, it does ensure that students are placed on a waiting list, so any spaces that do become available are offered to those students on a first-come, first-served basis.

Even if a student does not end up with a space in residence, they will still be able to find student housing within the Waterloo Region. We offer resources to help students find Off-Campus Housing – they can browse listings, or contact us directly at och@uwaterloo.ca with any questions.

Waterloo Residences and the federated and affiliated institutions work together to manage the first-year guarantee and place as many applicants as possible, as residence contributes significantly to the first-year experience, and helps foster academic success.

Bike Month passes the halfway mark

With June more than half over, there is still time to join the Bike Month activities! The University continues to rule the community leaderboard, and there is a tight race at the head of the Waterloo pack.  If you bike to campus, don’t forget to join the Bike Challenge to add your name to the leaderboard and the fantastic prize draw.  You can record your cycling trips back to June 1.

 A big thanks to the more than 100 students and employees who joined the bike breakfasts outside Dana Porter, and to King Street Cycles for providing free tune-ups. 

Waterloo shares the love at NACE

The University of Waterloo was in good company at the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) conference, with notable co-op employers such as Disney and Uber attending the event. Located in the windy city of Chicago, NACE occurred over the course of three days and saw Waterloo upholding its reputation as the global leader in co-operative education.

“There are a number of objectives we set for ourselves at this conference,” explained Kari Pasick Stewart, strategic communications manager at CECA. “Some of it is business development, like reaching out to potential new employers. Another is to engage with some current employers and build our relationships with them.”

Employers stopped by Waterloo’s booth to share their stories and enthusiasm for Waterloo students. “We have the best co-op experience, I would say, of any institution in the world with how equipped our students are when they graduate, and the strong contributions they make on their work terms,” said Brent Thornhill, communications specialist at CECA.

“There are hundreds and hundreds of different employers [at NACE]. Many of them are already working with Waterloo,” added Kari. “This gives us an opportunity to speak face-to-face with their recruiters and get insight on what they like about our program, what they like about our students, and also areas that we could improve.”

Established in 1956, NACE brings together college career services professionals, university and college recruiting professionals and business affiliates located throughout United States. A handful of Canadian universities and colleges also attend the yearly conference. For more information, check out Waterloo’s hand-picked stories on Storify, and NACE’s twitter feed @NACEorg.

Wednesday's notes

The Staff Relations Committee wants all staff to know that it has opened up the first portion of its meetings to members of the university community and regularly has agenda items of interest to staff members in all units of the university. At the meeting this Friday June 24 starting at 12:30 p.m. in NH 3318 there will be consultation on a draft new policy for the prevention of and response to sexual violence; revised terms of reference for the drafting committee for Policy 14 – Pregnancy and Parental Leaves; and an update on the development of the information management policy.

The third annual Fast-A-Thon will be taking place on Thursday, June 23.

"Fast-A-Thon is an occasion wherein students of all faiths on campus are invited to fast along with Muslims on the day of the 23rd of June during this - the blessed month of Ramadan," writes organizer Tarek Chammah.

This year, the Muslim Student Association (MSA) and Conrad Grebel University College are partnering to host the Fast-A-Thon together to build bridges between faith communities and showcase the plight of the homeless and impoverished in the KW area.

"Students fasting are asked to donate the money they saved on food that day to homeless shelters at the Fast-A-Thon evening event starting at 7:00 p.m. at the Conrad Grebel, which includes a free dinner as part of the program, as well as musical and spoken word performances, and engaging speakers." Those who have registered for the Fast-A-Thon will receive the final room location information in their confirmation emails.

"The day and evening program are meant to bring attention to the plight of the homeless and the hungry, who often have to "fast" though not by choice," says Chammah. "Ramadan is a special occasion when Muslims fast in part to experience what it feels like to go hungry and therefore emphasize with the poor, homeless, and those not well off like us."

For more information to register, visit the MSA Fast-A-Thon website.

The University of Waterloo Finance Association will be running a trading workshop on Thursday, July 23 at 6:00 p.m. in the M3 Finance lab. Participants will be using the Rotman Interactive Trader platform to host a challenge of 3 cases, each which will be run 4 times for a total of 12 simulations. Students will get the first half-hour to get familiar with the trading platform and learn the different order-types and strategies.

There are 22 spots available for paid-up UWFA members. Non-members can register for $10 at the door.