Wednesday, January 31, 2018

The strength and courage of our international students

This is the latest post on President Feridun Hamdullahpur's blog.

As I started to think about the Winter Olympics coming up, I was immediately reminded of a long overdue conversation with our community of international students here at the University of Waterloo.

It takes courage

Like many universities across Canada and around the world, our student community has a longstanding international representation. I have a tremendous amount of respect and admiration for the determination and perseverance of our international students. It takes courage to leave one’s comfort zone of what and who they know in search of the best educational experience possible in another country.

I also want to congratulate our international students for making the brave decision to leave their home not only for a new school but a new country, culture and community. It is a tremendous decision not everyone is brave enough to take in the name of receiving a world-class education.

Turning challenges into benefits

When our international students come to campus they are faced with tackling many challenges our domestic students do not. These challenges range from big and small, but all are important. From food to language, some students face a learning curve that takes considerable effort to adjust. And, most come to Waterloo with no social group or support network before setting foot on campus.

While these challenges can be daunting, international students can benefit greatly from being part of a new culture, new environment and building an expanded network of friends from around the world. In today’s economy and job market, having global experience is invaluable to employers and also offers students new perspectives on challenges they may face in their lives.

Being a welcoming community

Our university may not be 100 per cent in tune with every need and challenge you, our international students, face during your time on campus, but I do hope that you are receiving the top-tier education that you were searching for.

To all of our international students, know that no matter what you do after you graduate, you are a lifetime member of our family. The relationships you will build and the experiences you will have are part of our institution’s life as much as it is yours. I also encourage all of our students to welcome their international peers into the Waterloo and Canadian community with the openness and kindness that we are known for around the world. 

We need new, innovative ideas on how we can better engage and help all of our students, but in particular, our international students succeed academically and socially. I encourage you to join me in building a list of ideas because we are stronger together.

I finally, want to say thank you to all of our international students for choosing to make the University of Waterloo your home away from home as you pursue your passions and an outstanding education.

On Bell Let's Talk Day, start a conversation on mental health

A message from Occupational Health.

One in five Canadians suffers from mental illness in their lifetime. People with mental illness, just like any physical illness, require help. However, because of stigma associated with mental health, nearly two-thirds of those with a mental illness cannot seek the help they need.

Today is Bell Let’s Talk Day, and its goal is to end stigma and start conversations about mental illness. For every text message sent by Bell Canada, Bell Aliant and Bell MTS customers, Bell will donate 5¢ towards mental health initiatives. The Let’s Talk initiative describes “5 simple ways to end stigma” that you can be a part of everyday:

1. Language Matters: be mindful of the words you use. Words like “crazy” and “mental” make it harder for people to feel safe and supported.
2. Educate Yourself: read about facts and myths, and actively educate yourself and others on stigma.
3. Be Kind: don’t tell a person who is struggling to “get over it”. Instead be kind and offer your support by saying “I’m sorry you aren’t feeling well”.
4. Listen and Ask: ask if you notice someone is behaving unlike themselves. Ask how you can help.
5. Talk About It: encourage open conversation about mental illness. Talking about it lets people know that you are there to promote mental health.

Ending stigma around mental illness starts with you. Educating yourself is a key element in reducing the stigma around mental illness. The language we use and our behaviour towards our colleagues has an impact on the wellbeing of those around us.

There are many resources available to those wanting to learn more about mental health- either accessing resources to help with a mental illness, or accessing programs to educate yourself and others about it. The Employee Family Assistance Program (EAP) can be confidentially accessed at homeweb.ca or at 1-800-663-1142.

If you want to learn more about mental health, what resources you can use as an employee, or what programs are offered to promote mental health in your department, please contact Linda Brogden (extension 36264; lbrogden@uwaterloo.ca) or Karen Parkinson (extension 30338; kparkinson@uwaterloo.ca) at Occupational Health.

Nick Manning named Associate Vice-President, Communications

"I am very pleased to announce that Nick Manning will return to the University of Waterloo as Associate Vice-President, Communications effective March 1, 2018," wrote Vice-President, University Relations Sandra Banks in a memo circulated to University Relations staff yesterday.

"Nick will take on this important role overseeing the development and delivery of key university communications to internal and external audiences. As AVP Communications, Nick will have a mandate to accelerate connections and co-ordination across campus to ensure ongoing excellence and innovation in our communications. Nick will work with all team members in University Relations to deliver on our overarching goals to collaborate, integrate and demonstrate the impact of our work."

"Nick’s professional career spans both public and private sectors. He served in several senior communication roles at the Ministry of Defence in the United Kingdom, Research in Motion/Blackberry, and as Director of Media Relations and Issues Management at the University of Waterloo. He is currently the Chief Communications Officer at Waterloo Region District School Board. Nick is a graduate of the University of Central Lancashire, United Kingdom."

"I would also like to offer my thanks to the hiring committee which was comprised of Cathy Newell Kelly, Ian Rowlands, Ingrid Town, Kelly McManus and Becky Grant," Banks's memo concludes.

Bridges Lecture, Making Spaces, and other notes

The latest in the Bridges Lecture Series takes place tonight in St. Jerome's University's Vanstone Lecture Hall. "Polar Projections: Conceptualizing and Rendering Arctic Spaces" will see History professor Whitney Lackenbauer and Mathematics professor Ruxandra Moraru "explore how humans have sought to make the Arctic legible (to borrow the phrase of James C. Scott), from pre-contact Inuit understandings of space and time, through the practices and instruments of European maritime explorers, through the introduction of aviation and the refinement of Arctic air navigation, to the age of satellites."

By bringing history, geography, and geometry into dialogue, Professors Moraru and Lackenbauer will discuss how humans have measured, defined, and characterised space and time, and how mathematics continues to explain what is possible – and what is not.

The lecture gets started at 7:30 p.m. this evening. Check out the registration page for more information.

The February LGBTQ+ Making Spaces workshop takes place on  Wednesday, February 14 at 9:00 a.m. in NH 3318. Sponsored by the Equity Office, the Making Spaces program is a framework for creating affirming spaces on campus and fostering interpersonal relationships through education and training on aspects of social identity.

Community members partake in training and a registration process to become Space Makers, ambassadors of equity. The program launched as a pilot in fall 2016. Check the Making Spaces website to sign up for the winter 2018 workshops.

The Faculty of Mathematics is presenting a 2018 Learning How to Learn Seminar Series. "Enhance your performance and become a better learner by attending the Learning How to Learn 2018 seminar series," says a note from the faculty. "Each seminar is a chance to learn how to engage with course material at a university level and improve your thinking and learning skills."

There are a variety of sessions offered over the term:

• Grades versus Learning: Thursday, February 1
• Advanced Learning Strategies: Thursday, February 15
• Illusions of Competence: Thursday, March 8
• Getting Help: Thursday, March 22

All sessions are held on Thursdays from 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. in DC 1351. More information is available on the Mathematics website.

New members are invited to join the Weight Watchers At Work Series, which begins on February 21.  Contact tgneal@uwaterloo.ca for details. 

There are still spots available in the “Conversemos en español” (Let’s chat in Spanish) community workshop series. The workshops take place on Thursdays from January 18 to June 28 from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in the Community Room of the John M. Harper Branch of the Waterloo Public Library. Anyone with questions is encouraged to contact Regina Vera-Quinn at veraquin@uwaterloo.ca or ext. 33683.

Walter McCutchan is retiring. A retirement party will be held in Walter’s honour on Friday, March 9 at Fed Hall in the multipurpose room, from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. “We hope you can join us to celebrate with Walter and his loved ones,” says a note from IST. Speeches will begin approximately at 4:15 p.m. Please RSVP to Liz Doede by sending an email to edoede@uwaterloo.ca.

Employers on campus next week hosting employer information sessions include Rubrik Inc., Double Negative Canada Productions Ltd., Arista Networks, DHL Supply Chain, Credit Karma, CGI, Yelp, Zynga, A9, Mattamy Homes, and EY. Visit the employer information calendar for more details