Tuesday, February 6, 2018

Teferi Mergo named Fellow of global research network

Teferi Mergo, an assistant professor of Economics at St. Paul’s and the University of Waterloo Waterloo, was recently appointed a Fellow of the Global Labor Organization (GLO), a non-partisan, independent organization that serves as an international network and virtual platform for researchers and policy makers.

GLO Fellows are appointed by the executive board of the organization, based on merit, active collaboration, and quality contributions. “It is an honour to be a part of a research network that includes some of the prominent economists today,” said Mergo, who has been at St. Paul’s since July 2014.

“The network is a great platform for the production and dissemination of policy-relevant scientific knowledge, including – but not limited to – the implications of the constantly evolving global labour markets; the challenges we face today due to migration, refugees, and other demographic changes; and the nexus between globalization and economic outcomes,” he added.

Mergo studies the causal impacts of various policy interventions and institutions on development, with emphasis on the African continent. His work has been published in Science and World Development, and he currently teaches in the International Development program.

Giesbrecht will lead School of Computer Science to 2020

This article was originally posted on the School of Computer Science website.

Professor Mark Giesbrecht has been reappointed as Director of the David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science, a position he has held since July 2014.

“I am delighted to report that the results of the faculty and staff nomination ballots were overwhelmingly positive,” stated Professor Stephen Watt, Dean of the Faculty of Mathematics, in a memo announcing the reappointment. “This is an excellent outcome of our search, and I look forward to continuing to work with Professor Giesbrecht in the years ahead.

In addition to his leadership role at the School of Computer Science, Giesbrecht conducts research in computer algebra and symbolic computation. His work focuses on many aspects of computational mathematics, from the design and complexity of fundamental algorithms for algebras, matrices and polynomials, to symbolic-numeric methods, to high-performance software libraries for symbolic computation. He was named an ACM Distinguished Scientist in 2013.

Giesbrecht’s second term as director begins July 1, 2018 and ends June 30, 2020.

Board of Governors meets today; other notes

The University's Board of Governors has its first meeting of 2018 this afternoon in NH 3407 beginning at 1:30 p.m. Among the agenda items:

• The Board will consider a 1.6 percent increase to the Engineering Society (EngSoc) fee, which will rise to $16.15 per term from $15.90, effective Spring 2018;
• The Board will vote on a motion to increase Housing fees by 1.8 percent, effective Fall 2018;
• The Board will be asked to approve the University's Executive Compensation Program, subject to the program's approval by the Minister of Advanced Education and Skills Development, which is anticipated to be received within the next two months.

The public consultation period ended in late January, and the University’s final submission of the program has gone to the Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Development for final approval, along with a summary of feedback and description of the public consultation process itself. The consultation period did not result in any changes to the framework that the Board considered in November 2017.

• The Board will also consider motions to set the tuition fees for domestic students for 2019/2020 and international students for 2018/2019.
  • Generally, core programs for undergraduate students will rise by 3 percent, with professional programs rising up to 4.29% depending on the program.
  • Domestic graduate students will see increases of 1 percent in research master's and PhD programs, with specifically-identified master's and diplomas rising anywhere from 1 percent to 5 percent.
  • For international students, most undergraduate programs will increase by 8.5 percent in year one with 5 percent increases in years 2 to 4, with several exceptions, and research master and PhD programs rising 3 percent and specifically-identified Master and diploma programs varying in increase from 3 to 15 percent.
• The Board will vote on a motion to increase the Co-op fee, effective Spring 2018, by 2.8 percent in undergraduate and graduate co-op programs, which means the fee would rise from $709 a term to $729 a term.

In addition to the action items and committee information items, the Board will also receive a presentation by Associate Vice-President, Academic Mario Coniglio and Centre for Teaching Excellence Director Donna Ellis on New Teaching and Learning Technologies.

The HeForshe Ideathon took place on Tuesday, January 23 and provided an opportunity for students to come together to share and create innovative solutions to end gender-based violence on campus. Check out the video highlights from the event.

Check out more details about the ideathon on Waterloo Stories.

Human Resources is reporting that retiree Jovakin Grzinic died on January 25. Grzinic began working at the University in February 1984 as a custodian in Plant Operations and retired in July 1996 under the Special Early Retirement Program (SERP). He is survived by his spouse  Katarina Malecic.