Friday, March 9, 2018

The search is on for Waterloo's next Chancellor

A message from the Secretariat.

The University of Waterloo is looking for a chancellor (term 1 July 2018 to 30 June 2021) to succeed Mr. Tom Jenkins.

The chancellor is the ceremonial head of the University of Waterloo and awards all degrees at convocation ceremonies every June and October. The chancellor also addresses and inspires Waterloo’s graduands at these events.

The Chancellor Nominating Committee seeks nominations of individuals of outstanding calibre who will be strong champions for the University of Waterloo, all members of the University community, and the University’s academic and research mission.

Any member of the University community/alumni is invited to send nominations, accompanied by a résumé, if possible, by 20 March 2018 to Karen Jack, Secretary to the Chancellor Nominating Committee.

Bertoia extends contract as head football coach

This is an excerpt of an article that originally appeared on the Athletics and Recreation website.

The Department of Athletics and Recreation is thrilled to announce that Chris Bertoia has signed a long-term contract to remain the head coach of the Warriors football program. The contract signing was announced Friday night at the sixth annual Warriors Football Gala.

"We are very excited to have signed Chris to a long-term contract as head coach of our football program," said director of athletics and recreation, Roly Webster.

"Chris has worked tirelessly to build this program back to be a perennial contender in the always strong OUA conference. Chris, along with all of his staff, have set high expectations off the field over the past few seasons, and these collective efforts started to be reflected on the scoreboard in 2017. This program, under the leadership of Coach Bertoia, is on the path towards competing with the top programs in the country, while producing versatile young men who are high achievers, both academically and athletically."

It was a magical third season for Bertoia and his squad as the Warriors football program quickly became the story of the fall winning their first four games of the season, the first time the program has gone 4-0 since 1998.

"It was a tremendous season for our football program and this decision was a no brainer," said associate director, Brian Bourque. "Chris is a likeable, energetic, charismatic person and you can tell the student-athletes and members of the UWaterloo community have nothing but the upmost respect for him."

Bertoia picked up his first U SPORTS win on Sunday, August 27 in Windsor as his Warriors cruised past Windsor 54-33.

"It's just the start fellas," said Bertoia with his guys huddled around on Alumni Field in Windsor after the win.

Truer words haven't been spoken as Waterloo went on to win their next three, including a dominating 52-8 win over York, and one of the most thrilling comeback wins of the season on September 16 in Ottawa, as Waterloo rallied to beat the Carleton Ravens 45-43.

All of U SPORTS was watching and Chris Bertoia had his team rolling, including Waterloo's first national ranking since 2007, when U SPORTS put the Warriors as the No. 9 team in the country in the fourth national poll of the season.

Read the rest of the story on the Athletics website.

CataLight wins World's Challenge Challenge UWaterloo

By Hilary Hutchins.

This year's World's Challenge Challenge competition saw competitors addressing one of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and developing a possible solution to tackle the global problem. The issues at hand included clean water and sanitation, access to reliable and affordable electricity, and sustainable agriculture practices to help reduce hunger.

Teams came from diverse academic backgrounds, with representation from Science, Engineering, Math, Applied Health Sciences, Environment and Arts. Up for grabs was $1,000 for each member of the first place team and a spot in the International Round at Western University in June, where teams will compete for a share of $45,000.

The audience was full of students, faculty, and community members. Associate Vice-President, Waterloo International Ian Rowlands emceed the event, along with a panel of judges: Ida Kaastra-Mutoigo, Director of World Renew Canada, Tania Framst, Vice-President of Operations and Sales at Lucky Iron Fish, Jennifer King, Senior Project Manager at MEDA, and Paul Parker, Associate Dean of Strategic Initiatives in the University of Waterloo’s Faculty of Environment, who had the tough job of selecting the winners.

CataLight was awarded first place for their solution to Global Goal #6: access to clean water and sanitation for all. CataLight recently started working out of the Velocity Science discovery lab on-campus at the University of Waterloo to develop the science behind their water treatment technology.

"We believe that everyone shares in the same basic human right to a standard for health and well-being and that without access to clean drinking water, this right cannot be met," said Ashley Keefner, co-founder of CataLight.

As part of the United Nations’ 6^th Sustainable Development Goal, CataLight has set a target to achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all by 2030.

"At CataLight, our goal is to provide people in developing communities with affordable safe drinking water, which will help to meet this target," said Keefner. "To achieve this goal, CataLight has developed an affordable and reusable point-of-use water treatment unit."

TABS won second place and a Kobo Aura eReader for each team member for their modified rainwater collection system, to be implemented in communities in the Mekong Delta in Vietnam.

Drops for Crops was awarded third place and a Fujifilm Instax camera for each team member for their specialized, low-waste irrigation system, designed for use initially in Tanzania.

Nutrition Month "myth vs. fact" for March 9

Here's the latest Nutrition Month "myth vs. fact" provided by Health Services Dietitian Sandra Ace:

Myth:  You can get all the Vitamin D you need from sunlight.

Fact:  Vitamin D is a nutrient that helps the body use calcium and phosphorous in order to build and maintain strong bones and teeth. It is a unique nutrient because it can be synthesized by the body during sun exposure or obtained by food sources. During the summer, exposing the skin to sunlight allows the body to make Vitamin D, but how much you make depends on many factors including cloud cover, time of day, skin pigmentation, and sunscreen use. During the fall, winter and even much of the spring, it is hard for Canadians to get Vitamin D through sun exposure.

Fatty fish like salmon and egg yolks are the main natural sources of Vitamin D in the Canadian diet. Because this important nutrient is not widely available in foods, cow's milk and margarine sold in Canada are fortified with Vitamin D. Canada’s Food Guide recommends that everyone over the age of 2 drink 500 mL (2 cups) of milk or Vitamin D-fortified milk alternatives such as soy beverage every day. Some calcium-fortified orange juices also have Vitamin D added. Cheese and yogurt may be vitamin D-fortified but usually don’t as contain as much vitamin D as milk.  Not all milk alternatives like soy or almond “milk” have added Vitamin D, so if you use these check the Nutrition Facts and choose one that does.

If you are over 50 years old, Health Canada recommends taking a daily vitamin D supplement of 400 IU in addition to eating foods that contain vitamin D. If you take a multivitamin, check the label; chances are it contains at least 400 IU of Vitamin D so you may not need to take an additional supplement. If you are 50 or under and you do not drink milk or fortified milk alternatives containing Vitamin D, speak to your health care provider about whether you need a supplement.

March Break Open House and other notes

Thousands of visitors are expected to visit and tour our campus tomorrow for the annual March Break Open House. The event is geared towards high school students, and their families, who have applied to Waterloo. It is a full-day program that is designed to answer the more detailed questions that future students may have now that they have applied or been admitted to Waterloo.

Attendees are invited to create a personalized schedule using an online tool for scheduling faculty and program-specific sessions as well as general information sessions about co-op, residence life, and financing. The Student Life Centre (SLC) will have booths featuring campus services, a clubs demo, and tours departing throughout the day. There will also be Residence tours including the University Colleges throughout the day.

Approximately 400 students gathered in the Arts Quad yesterday for a “Waterloo Walkout for Mental Health.” Attendees gave voice to a range of emotions and ideas on issues relating to mental health at the University and in the community at large, with senior University leaders there to listen. To keep the conversation going, register to attend the President’s Advisory Committee on Student Mental Health Forum on Wednesday, March 14 at Federation Hall, where the recommendations of the PAC-SMH report will be released.

Want a great lunch but don’t have the time? The Bombshelter Pub's express menu will get you fuelled up right and back to work in about 30 minutes. Your lunch is waiting for you at The Bombshelter Pub!