Tuesday, June 4, 2019

Join in and contribute to the Wellness Collaborative

All members of the campus community are invited to the formal launch of the University of Waterloo Wellness Collaborative on Tuesday, June 25 from 9:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at Federation Hall.

The Wellness Collaborative is the cross-campus partnership to move the Okanagan Charter and Healthy Workplace Statement into action.

At the event you will:

• hear about exciting initiatives from UBC Wellbeing resulting from the Okanagan Charter;
• learn about tangible ways you can impact wellness in your role or department;
• learn about the University of Waterloo Wellness Collaborative and how you can get involved, and
• connect with other partners across campus who are interested in wellness.

Registration is limited, so please get your tickets today. You can also visit the website to learn more about the Wellness Collaborative.

Bookmark this: changes coming to Library catalogue

This article was originally published on the Library's website.

In December 2019, the Library will be moving to a new library system. What does this mean for you?

• Modern, accessible library catalogue with one-stop searching across 14 university collections
• Streamlined library account processes, including WatIam authentication
• Better collection and fund management will improve our resource stewardship

Get a sneak peek of our new search page, to get an early look at what is to come. Try it out now and let us know what you think.

Why are we changing?

University of Waterloo Library is one of 14 members of the Ontario Council of University Libraries (OCUL) involved in the Collaborative Futures initiative. We are working together to create one integrated library system to support your academic research. 

Learn more about the project on the OCUL Collaborative Futures website.

What else is changing?

Our old catalogue, Trellis, will be decommissioned in December, 2019. If you are an active user of Trellis, please make sure you save any items or searches in your Trellis account by November 30, 2019.

Keep up to date with what's happening throughout the year on the Library's Collaborative Futures blog.

Board of Governors meets today and other notes

The University's Board of Governors will have its June meeting today at 1:30 p.m. in NH 3407.

The Board of Governors will approve changes to incidental fees at the University in a framework that takes into account the Ontario government's new policy on ancillary fees and makes a distinction between compulsory and optional student fees at Waterloo.

"The University, in consultation with student groups, reviewed all ancillary fees to classify each as compulsory or optional," says a note from Vice-President, Administration & Finance Dennis Huber. "All ancillary fees collected and retained by the University have been classified as compulsory fees and as such, the University is not expecting to experience a decrease in revenues resulting from the changes. Many of the student group fees that were compulsory will become fully or partially optional."

The new fee schedule is as follows:

• The Federation of Students fee will increase to $63.46 per term effective September 2019 and will be itemized as 5 optional fees totaling $20.10 and 4 compulsory fees totaling $43.36;
• The Federation of Students Administered fee will be itemized on the fee bill as 1 optional fee totaling $1.03 (the student refugee program fee) and 3 compulsory fees (health, dental, and U-Pass fees) totaling $219.30;
• A new optional Legal Service Plan fee will be set at $9.56 for regular students and $17.94 for co-op students per term effective September 2019;
• The optional Imprint Publications fee will be increased from $4.35 to $4.42 per term;
• The optional Engineering Society fee will rise from $16.40 to $16.75 per term;
• The optional Math Society fee will decrease from $12.50 to $12.25 per term;
• The Graduate Student Association fee will remain unchanged at $22.80 per term but will be itemized on the fee bill as 4 optional fees totaling $10.80 and 3 compulsory fees totaling $12.00;
• The GSA administered fee will be itemized  as 1 optional fee totaling $23.50 and 3 compulsory fees totaling $251.60;
• The compulsory GSA dental fee will be increased from $81.00 to $91.00; and
• The compulsory GSA Grand River Transit U-Pass fee will be increased from $93.91 to $98.60.

Other agenda items include:

• A motion to approve Sabbatical and Administrative Leaves;
• Motions to approve the annual report of the Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC), which will then be submitted to the Ministry of Innovation, Science, and Economic Development and to approve IQC's 2019-2020 corporate plan;
• A motion to approve Revisions to Policy 42 – Prevention of and Response to Sexual Violence; and
• reports from the President (including an update on the University's strategic plan), the Provost, the Vice-President, Advancement, and Board committees (with items for information).

"The Balinese Gamelan is meant to be heard outdoors," says a note from the Music department at Conrad Grebel University College, "so please join us at Waterloo Town Square for a terrific evening concert." The Balinese Gamelan Ensemble will be performing on Friday, June 14 at 7:00 p.m. at Waterloo Town Square. Admission is free.

The ensemble is directed by prominent gamelan composer I Dewa Made Suparta and Dr. Maisie Sum. Stick around after the concert for the opportunity to try out an instrument or two.

The rain location is Conrad Grebel's Great Hall, so please keep an eye on the music department's website should storms threaten the afternoon and evening of the concert.

Waterloo scientists will be taking to their soapboxes on Sunday, June 9 from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. in Victoria park to showcase science to the general public.

Soapbox Science Waterloo's mission is to help "eliminate gender inequality in science by raising the profile, and challenging the public’s view, of women and non-binary people in science. These interactive, engaging talks encourage everyone to learn more about science." 

The event is part of Waterloo's HeForShe initiative.