Thursday, September 6, 2018

Strategic Plan consultations begin next week

Members of the University community have an opportunity to join the conversation and shape the University's future as the first round of Bridge to 2020 strategic plan consultations kick off next week.

During the consultation phase, there will be two types of consultation sessions facilitated by members of Institutional Analysis and Planning:

1. General consultations by different stakeholders (one for each Faculty, two for each stakeholder groups: undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, alumni and staff); and
2. Issue paper consultations, one for each issue paper area.

The President and Vice-President, Academic & Provost will attend each of the sessions.

Here are next week's consultation sessions:

• On Monday, September 10 at 10:30 a.m. the consultation sessions begin with a discussion on the issue of Undergraduate Learning. All are welcome. Register to attend.
• On Tuesday, September 11 at 2:00 p.m., join the conversation at the Learning Environment Strategic Plan consultation session. All are welcome. Register to attend.
• On Thursday, September 13 both consultation sessions have to do with graduate studies and graduate students.
  • At 2:00 p.m., all are welcome to the Graduate Studies issue discussion. Register to attend.
  • At 5:00 p.m., graduate students are invited to the graduate student consultation session. Register to attend.
• On Friday, September 14 at 10:30 a.m., University community members are invited to the Internationalization consultation session. All are welcome. Register to attend.

Know before you go: Before attending a consultation session, be sure to visit the Bridge to 2020 website, review the evidence, consider the consultation questions, and come ready to dive right in to a fruitful discussion with your colleagues and peers.

More information about the consultation phase of the University of Waterloo's Strategic Plan can be found on the Bridge to 2020 website.

New LaTeX and Rich Text tool for campus

A message from the Faculty of Mathematics.

The Faculty of Mathematics brings you a campus-wide software licence for Overleaf Pro+. The online LaTeX and Rich Text collaborative writing and publishing tool is available as of September 10, free of charge, for all faculty, staff, and graduate students.
    
Whether you’re working collaboratively or on your own, you’ll find the process of completing research papers and reports far easier with this new tool. You don’t need to install LaTeX on your device – which means you can edit your documents anywhere.

When you sign up for Overleaf you’ll get:

• 20 GB of cloud storage
• Private sharing
• Contribution tracking
• Version history

We are excited to announce this new math initiative,” said Stephen Vavasis, associate dean, computing. “We look forward to a broader uptake on campus, particularly in the Faculties of Mathematics, Engineering, and Science.”

Although not part of the new license, undergraduate students can sign up for free standard Overleaf accounts and can be added as co-authors to faculty, staff and grad projects developed under the Pro license. In this case, they should sign up using their edu.uwaterloo.ca email addresses.

“This way we can track interest among our undergraduates and we may be able to expand our site agreement in the future,” said Vavasis.

Remembering Alan Cairns

A message from the Faculty of Arts.

Alan Cairns, an adjunct professor in the Department of Political Science at Waterloo, passed away August 27 at the age of 88. A professor emeritus from the University of British Columbia, Cairns is best known for his contributions to scholarship on federalism and constitutional issues, as well as a deep interest in Indigenous issues. As a member of the Hawthorn Commission in the 1960s, he advocated for more autonomy for Indigenous peoples including the "citizens plus" status which First Nations used to oppose the federal government’s assimilation policies.  

A widely published and cited scholar, Cairns earned a number of accolades in his career, including four honorary degrees, the Molson Prize of the Canada Council and a Killam award. He was also a member of the Royal Society of Canada and an Officer of the Order of Canada. 

Cairns joined the Department of Political Science in 2000, and remained an active guest lecturer in upper year seminars, an examiner for MA defences, and a professor who consulted widely with students at all levels about their papers and projects.

Cairns is being commemorated not just as a leader in Canadian political thought, but for his unfailing kindness and mentorship of others. In a tribute to Alan Cairns, his colleague Emmett Macfarlane remembers him for his “infinite well of generosity and interest in supporting younger colleagues and students.”

Notes as lectures begin

Engineering Professor Kumaraswamy Ponnambalam snapped this shot of the snazzy new Waterloo Engineering logo on the snazzy new Engineering 7 building on the University's East Campus. Flanking Professor Ponnambalam are visiting professors Jamshid Mousavi from Iran on the left and Alcigeimes Celeste from Brazil on the right. Wait, if this is a mirror image, are the professors' positions reversed?

Classes begin today for new and returning students at the University of Waterloo.

Orientation, however, continues, with WaterlooFest, a joint effort between the University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University, taking place today from 4:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the Public Square in Uptown Waterloo. This is the second year that the event has taken place as part of Orientation.

Students will have the opportunity to explore Uptown Waterloo in a festival/market style event that includes food trucks, music, community groups, and select local businesses. This is a drop-in style event, and students are encouraged to walk or take GRT using their bus passes (WatCards). Orientation volunteers will be on hand at the bus stop located in front of the Davis Centre to direct students to the right route.

The School of Planning will welcome its 2018 incoming undergraduates at a Ceremony of Induction on Saturday, September 15, held from 9:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. in Environment 3. School of Planning graduates, family, friends, current students, faculty, and staff are all welcome.

The University Club has unveiled its new lunch menu that kicked off Wednesday.