Thursday, November 7, 2019

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• Waterloo goes for gold with Excellence Canada
• Take it to the bank with WUSA
• Registration open for sixth annual Eco Summit
• Artful dodges at UWAG

Waterloo goes for gold with Excellence Canada

President Feridun Hamdullahpur, Associate Provost, Human Resources Marilyn Thompson, and University of Waterloo representatives at the Excellence Canada summit.

The University of Waterloo has achieved Gold certification in Excellence Canada's Excellence, Innovation and Wellness (EIW) program, which recognizes the University for its exceptional organizational and workplace practices. Waterloo was officially awarded Gold at the Excellence Canada Summit, which took place on November 5 in Toronto.

While other Canadian universities have achieved department or unit-level certification, Waterloo is the first university to achieve certification across an entire post-secondary institution.

The University’s achievement is a result of the collective effort of many employees, including 20 Advisory Committee members, 50 Working Group members, and over 2,000 others who participated in focus groups, information sessions, department-level certifications, and surveys since the initiative began," wrote President Feridun Hamdullahpur in a memo circulated to faculty and staff on Wednesday.

The EIW program provides a framework for continuous improvement that emphasizes innovation and healthy workplace practices, with a focus in five key areas: leadership, planning, customers (service), people, and processes.

The University began its Excellence Canada journey in 2013 when it committed to the EIW Standard as a framework for organizational improvement. EIW certification was a key objective in the University’s 2013-2018 Strategic Plan under the Robust Employer-Employee Relationship theme. Following a successful pilot in the Library in 2014-15, seven departments attained EIW certification at the Bronze and/or Silver levels:

• Faculty of Applied Health Sciences (Bronze)
• Faculty of Mathematics (Bronze)
• Human Resources (Silver)
• Library (Bronze and Silver)
• Office of the President (Silver)
• Office of the Vice-President Academic and Provost (Silver)
• Organizational and Human Development (Silver)

To build upon the departmental successes, in 2017 Waterloo committed to integrating the Gold EIW Standard university-wide. Early in the initiative, working groups were formed for the five areas. These working groups identified Waterloo’s strengths and areas of opportunity and worked with individuals and groups across campus to close critical gaps. As the project neared completion, working groups prepared a written application documenting the University’s achievements and external reviewers conducted an onsite review to assess the University against the Standard.

Tangible results of this initiative include the creation of a Healthy Workplace Statement endorsed by the President, coordination of an annual “Keeping Well at Work Day” conference, development of a University-wide Service Promise, and development of a robust framework for continuous improvement at Waterloo.

"On behalf of the University I would like to convey my sincere thanks to the advisory and working group members, key driver area leads, and all those whose hard work has resulted in the achievement of this important milestone," the president's memo concludes.

For more information, visit the University's Excellence Canada website.

Take it to the bank with WUSA

A message from your Waterloo Undergraduate Student Association. 

This year, Student Food Bank is organizing our first ever Stock the Bank Challenge and we need your help!  

Stock the Bank is a giving campaign that challenges our UWaterloo community to raise donations for the Student Food Bank. Faculty, staff and students are encouraged to form teams and get creative on how to raise money and collect donations.  

The campaign runs from Monday, November 11 to Friday, November 29, with regular updates on social and emails to team captains on current standings. See where you rank against other teams and put that competitive streak to good use, for a good cause.

Form your on-campus team today, choose your captain, and sign up now. Credits will be awarded on a point system, with greater point values for items on our ‘needs list.’ For more on that and all the rest, check out our instructions.  

And finally, what’s a competition without a prize!? The team with the most points will win a $50 Sobey’s gift card, the never-before-seen Golden Can, and the prize that keeps on giving well after the competition closes – bragging rights!  

Registration open for sixth annual Eco Summit

Join the Sustainability Office and Sustainable Campus Initiative on November 20 for the sixth annual Eco Summit. This event brings together staff, students, faculty, and community partners to reflect on our campus sustainability progress, celebrate our successes, and build momentum for the year ahead. This year, attendees will come together around the theme of Building Hope to advance sustainability action.

The event will feature:

• Opening remarks from James Rush, VP Academic & Provost
• 2019 Sustainability Report highlights
• Case study presentations from student, staff, and faculty representatives
• Panel discussion with campus and community leaders
• Green Office awards, with special video message from President Feridun Hamdullahpur
• Light breakfast, lunch, and networking opportunities

The event takes place on Wednesday, November 20 from 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in Federation Hall, with breakfast and lunch provided. Registration is required. Please visit the registration page to RSVP, view the schedule, and learn more about the presenters and panelists.

All participating departments will receive a thank you at the end of the challenge. Winners will be announced at that time. 

Get your team together now, sign up, and share our event with your greatest competition.

Artful dodges at UWAG

The Fine Arts program is inviting members of the University community to the annual MFA Open Studios event taking place today from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. in East Campus Hall. Current MFA candidates include Brubey (Wanzhi) Hu, Tyler Matheson, Kayla Polan, Becca Wijshijer, Karice Mitchell, Carrie Perreault, Racquel Rowe, Maria Simmons, Sara Pearson, and Jordan Blackburn.

Open Studios is being held in conjunction with The University of Waterloo Art Gallery's opening reception of Robin Peck and Laura Marotta's exhibitions from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

In Gallery One, Crania represents Robin Peck’s on-going series of sculptures of the same title, a project now comprised of over sixty individual pieces. Recalling in scale and shape one of nature’s most basic volumes—the cranium—these works evolve out of a highly personal dialogue with the mundane, yet provocative and sometimes incompatible stuff the artist engages with in his daily studio activity. A single sculpture, for example, might contain a complete collection of such disparate materials as sandstone, plaster, aluminum, burlap, quartz, Hydrocal, rubber, Plexiglas, then more plaster, before being finished with a luminous patina of shellac and carnauba wax. Each unique sculpture tells a story about the artist’s process and presence, and assumes a poignant vulnerability in our seemingly dystopic, post-industrial present.

In Gallery Two, Laura Marotta's New Balance is a series of painted plywood tetrahedron sculptures that twist and turn and loop through space. These objects invite viewers to interact, to walk around and through compositions where negative space is as vital as the positive material form. Marotta generates grid systems that disrupt standard square and rectangular structures. Using modular building blocks, she constructs and assembles forms that zigzag back and forth, shaping volumes that are tilting and asymmetrical. These objects invite viewers to interact, to walk around and through compositions where negative space is as vital as the positive material form. While they reference public shelters, outdoor seating, or domestic objects like table tops, they also operate as architectural models; speculative plans and imaginative prompts that invite us to consider the potential of interacting—with each other and each form—on macro and miniature scales.