Tuesday, July 2, 2019

Senior administrators begin administrating

A number of senior administrators at the University took up positions as of July 1, 2019.

Lili Liu began her five-year term as Dean of Applied Health Sciences. Liu most recently served as the chair of the Department of Occupational Therapy at the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine. Liu is an occupational therapist and holds a Bachelor of Science, a Master of Science and a PhD, all from McGill University. Her research has focused on user adoption of technologies for rehabilitation assessments and interventions, as well as ways technologies can help older adults and family caregivers. She joined the University of Alberta in 1992, and recently completed her second five-year term as chair of the Department of Occupational Therapy in the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine. She has a long record of administrative service, including a one-year term as acting chair of the department, an 18-month term as associate chair, and six-year term as graduate program coordinator. Liu succeeds interim dean Paul Stolee, who was named to the position after Dean of AHS Jim Rush was appointed Vice-President, Academic & Provost in July 2018. Due to prior commitments, Professor Liu will arrive on campus on July 8.

Sheila Ager begins her five-year term as Dean of the Faculty of Arts. Ager joined Waterloo’s faculty in 1987 and is a full professor in the Department of Classical Studies, and most recently served as interim chair for the Department of Fine Arts. Ager is a scholar of Greek history, specializing in the Hellenistic Period. Ager’s record of service includes chairing the Department of Classical Studies from 2009 to 2017), acting as Associate Dean of Arts, Undergraduate Studies from 2001-07, two terms as a member of Senate, and one term as a member of the Board of Governors. She is currently Director of the Waterloo Institute for Hellenistic Studies and since 2016 has been Director of the University of Waterloo’s Academic Leadership Program. Ager takes on decanal duties from Professor Doug Peers.

David DeVidi begins his five-year term as Associate Vice-President, Academic. DeVidi joined Waterloo’s Department of Philosophy in 1994 as a postdoctoral fellow, and subsequently was hired as a faculty member in 1996. Professor DeVidi’s research focuses on logic, the philosophy of mathematics, and philosophy of disability. Earning his appointment as full professor in 2007, he has led or been involved with numerous departmental, Faculty, and University-level initiatives, and his service to the community has included a variety of roles: as department chair (2012-18), associate chair of graduate studies (2003-09), three terms as a member of Senate, two terms as a member of the Board of Governors, and a term as president of the faculty association. DeVidi is a winner of the University’s Award of Excellence for Graduate Supervision and the Equity and Inclusivity Award. DeVidi succeeds Professor Mario Coniglio in the role.

Susan Tighe begins a five-year term as Deputy Provost and Associate Vice-President, Integrated Planning and Budgeting. Professor Tighe has been a faculty member in Civil and Environmental Engineering since 2000 and is the Norman McLeod Chair in Sustainable Pavement Engineering. She is the Past President of the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering and also Fellow of the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering. Tighe served in this role in a previous 2-year term beginning in July 2017 and has made substantial progress on the implementation of the Waterloo Budget Model and university wide space planning activities.

Scott Kline will begin his appointment as interim president of St. Jerome’s University on July 1. Kline is currently serving as Vice President Academic and Dean at St. Jerome’s, and is an ethicist by training who joined St. Jerome’s in 2002 as a faculty member in the Department of Religious Studies with a joint appointment in Sexuality, Marriage, and Family Studies. He became Associate Dean in 2013 and Interim Vice President and Academic Dean in 2014. Kline took on the role of interim president after the departure of Katherine Bergman on June 30. 

In addition, Nancy Waite, Associate Director in the School of Pharmacy, will become the Director of the Academic Leadership Program. Waite joined the School of Pharmacy in 2012 and led the development of the wholly new Pharmacy co-op program. She has over 25 years of experience providing academic leadership in a number of institutions besides Waterloo, including the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy at University of Toronto, the Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences in Albany, New York, and the Pharmacy Department at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto. Her research interests are varied, with a strong focus on medication management and education, as well as pharmacy curriculum development, including mixed method experiential education. Waite succeeds professor Sheila Ager.

Have your say on the future of Canada Day

Well, that's that: with the fading of the last fireworks explosion above Columbia Lake yesterday, the end of an era has been marked. After 35 years, the University of Waterloo will no longer be organizing a Canada Day celebration at Columbia Lake fields.

But this is not the end of the community's celebration, not by a long shot. The City of Waterloo in partnership with EngageWR recently launched a survey that runs until July 15 asking members of the community to provide feedback and commentary on what the future of Canada Day celebrations in Waterloo could look like. Take a few minutes to fill out the survey and have your say.

Tuesday's notes

Oh deer: an adolescent deer appears to be stalking the wooded area near Conrad Grebel University College. Birgit G. Moscinski of Conrad Grebel snapped this pic of the deer, which has been spotted wading through the creek and munching on leaves close to the corner of University and Westmount. 

In case you were keeping track, there used to be two Tim Hortons locations in the Davis Centre, and now there are none. But don't worry, it's only temporary. Food Services has updated the information about the ongoing renovation in the Davis Centre, and here's how the cruller crumbles: the long-running Tim Hortons near the food court (now known as DC Bytes), which has been in operation for nearly 25 years, is being converted into a new beverage franchise, while the newer Tim Hortons location next to the Davis Centre Library is being converted into a full-service location. Food Services has more information on its blog.

The Office of the Registrar wants your feedback on the new look and feel of the Important Dates website. New features were recently added and we want to learn if these updates have been beneficial to you. Give your feedback here.