Thursday, November 23, 2017

Delegation visits Hong Kong this week

Representatives from the University of Waterloo are visiting Hong Kong this week to engage with alumni, government and university partners about potential opportunities and to celebrate the University’s success.

The delegation includes President Feridun Hamdullahpur, Vice-President, Advancement Joanne Shoveller, Vice-President, University Research Charmaine Dean, the deans of all six Faculties, and Associate Vice-President, International Ian Rowlands, and many others.

The delegation’s journey will involve connecting and building relationships with Waterloo alumni overseas and exploring new opportunities for research partnerships. Events include speaking engagements, meetings with universities, and alumni receptions.

Today's highlights include a special event with several Velocity student teams participating in a pitch event at Cyberport. The Velocity Demo Day sees 6 Velocity teams pitching to investors from Hong Kong and surrounding regions. Velocity will have a continuing presence in the Hong Kong Foundation office for student teams that travel to Hong Kong in the future.

Follow along on social media with the hashtag #UWaterlooAsia.

Voting opens for Senate by-elections

The Secretariat has organized two by-elections to fill vacancies on Senate: 

• One faculty-at-large representative, term to 30 April 2020
• One graduate student representative, term to 30 April 2018

Electronic by-elections for each constituency opened today at 8:30 a.m.

The following candidates will contest the seats. Check their candidate statements for more information:

Faculty-at-Large Representative (candidates' statements)

• Mathieu Doucet, philosophy
• Paul A.S. Ward, electrical & computer engineering

Graduate Student Representative (candidates' statements)

• Mei Lin Chen, systems design engineering
• Matthew Eliot, applied mathematics
• Samantha Hossack, history
• Sileola Ogunlaja, chemical engineering
• Chris Wass, philosophy

Refer to Senate Bylaw 3 for more information on nominations and elections. Any questions relating to the by-elections should be directed to Emily Schroeder, extension 32749.

Excellence Canada open session this afternoon

The Excellence Canada Advisory Committee is holding its last open session from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. in EC5-1111 this afternoon to report back on findings from the campus-wide survey and focus groups that were conducted during the summer months. Over 1,600 employees responded to the survey in May and 200 employees participated in focus groups held from June to September.

The survey and focus groups were conducted with employees to gain a greater understanding of the University’s current state against Excellence Canada’s Excellence, Innovation and Wellness (EIW) Standard. Findings from these preliminary assessment activities will inform an initial scoring of the University against the EIW Standard and will be used by the Excellence Canada Advisory Committee to understand the University’s strengths and areas of opportunity to enable them to advise on priorities during action planning and implementation.

The University of Waterloo has committed to integrating the EIW Standard at the “Going for Gold” level for the University as a whole, as a framework for promoting continual organizational improvement. This initiative will enable the University to develop a broad framework and supporting initiatives to benefit the entire University community, align with Excellence Canada’s EIW Standard at the “Going for Gold” level, and support the University’s Strategic Plan, in particular, the Robust Employer-Employee Relationship theme.

For more information, contact any member of the University’s Excellence Canada Advisory Committee.

Remembering retirees and other notes

Human Resources is reporting that retired professor Neil Hultin died on November 21. Hultin joined the English department in July 1969 as an assistant professor, was named associate professor in July 1970 and received tenure in April 1972.

Hultin's research foci included linguistics, folklore, medical history, and Old and Middle English. Hultin co-authored Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland and many other publications.

Hultin retired in September 1996 under the Special Early Retirement Program.

A celebration of Hultin's life will take place on Saturday, November 25 in the Fireside Room of the Erb & Good Family Funeral Home in Waterloo.

He is survived by his spouse Beryl, also a Waterloo retiree. 

Human Resources has also reported that retiree Reginald Grainger died on November 13. Grainger started at Waterloo in July 1965 and retired in March 1991 as Technologist Level III in Civil Engineering. He is survived by his spouse Barbara.

Conrad Grebel University College is taking students and other attendees to an event at Six Nations of the Grand River today as part of the University's 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence campaign. Walking With Our Sisters is a massive commemorative art installation comprised of 1,763+ pairs of moccasin vamps (tops) plus 108 pairs of children’s vamps created and donated to draw attention to the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. The installation has been on tour since 2013 and was most recently on display in Toronto. The bus will leave Conrad Grebel at 4:30 p.m. Please register to join the bus trip to Six Nations.

The Department of Studies in Islam at Renison University College is hosting an event this evening promoting greater cultural understanding and awareness. Arab Culture in Diaspora is a celebration of Arab art and culture through theatre, poetry, and traditional music. 

Members of the University community are invited to join Arab-Canadian artists from Syria, Jordan and Iraq as they present vivid representations of Arab culture and identity in a Canadian context as part of the free community event at East Campus Hall tonight.

The free event takes place at 7:00 p.m. at the University of Waterloo Art Gallery (UWAG). Stick around after the show to enjoy refreshments and to meet the artists.

The Engineering Undergraduate Office's move from Carl Pollock Hall to Engineering 2 will take place tomorrow and Friday, November 25. The office will close at noon on November 24 to help facilitate the move. Happy trails!