Tuesday, April 7, 2020

Progress report on Multi-year Accessibility Plan

A message from the Accessibility Committee.

The Accessibility Committee has published the Multi-Year Accessibility Plan (MYAP): 2019 Progress Report update for the University community. This on-going initiative guides the strategies and actions to meet Waterloo’s commitment for creating an accessible environment under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) and within Policy 58: Accessibility.

The MYAP 2019 Progress Report includes an assessment of the status of each objective providing the community with a snapshot of Waterloo’s progress on each of the seven key themes: Policy and Procedures, Customer Service, Information and Communication, Design of Public Spaces, Employment, Education, and Training and Tools for Employees (including instructors). This update outlines the status of each theme identified within the initial report and the progress on relevant projects and initiatives that have occurred at Waterloo throughout 2019.

Waterloo has undertaken many initiatives this past year, covering broad areas to ensure we are addressing accessibility needs in many aspects.  As this report reflects the first year of implementation within the five-year plan, it should be understood that many objectives are only in the “Started” phase, and will move towards completion over time.

“As we highlight and celebrate our achievements over the past year, we will continue to build momentum and consider accessibility in everything that we do,” says Marilyn Thompson, Associate Provost of Human Resources.  “We will not be complacent in our efforts, and we recognize that this past year has been a catapult start to our journey of becoming an accessibility champion, and not the end of a goal achieved.”  

Waterloo is committed to fostering an accessible campus environment for persons with disabilities. Through the directives set by MYAP, members of the Waterloo community are encouraged to think strategically when planning by addressing barriers that might exist rather than retrofitting accessibility considerations in an end state.

You can view the Multi-Year Accessibility Plan online.  Should you have any questions about this update, please contact Joyce Barlow (ext. 40520).

Clairmont, Ternowski named 2020 Athletes of the Year

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

The Department of Athletics and Recreation celebrated the outstanding achievements of the 2019-20 Waterloo Warriors season virtually on Friday night. 
 
"It is unfortunate we could not all be together in the same room to celebrate all of our individual and collective accomplishments of the past year but I am glad we still had the opportunity to recognize all of our award nominees and winners over our social media platforms," said Roly Webster, director of athletics and recreation.

"It was an honour to watch all of our exceptional student-athletes perform this year and I am very pleased we were able to still celebrate them. We are no doubt in unprecedented times right now but it is incredibly uplifting to see the spirits of our student-athletes, staff and coaches who will once again galvanize our community when they are permitted to return to competition"

"I would also personally like to thank all of our graduating student-athletes for their commitment and efforts over their career as Warriors, and would encourage them to stay connected with our university, their team, and the Warrior family." 

The top awards of the 2019-20 season went to Taytum Clairmont of women's hockey and Tyler Ternowski of football.

Read the rest of the article on the Athletics and Recreation website.

Board of Governors will discuss presidential terms of endearment

The University's Board of Governors is taking its meetings online, with its April meeting scheduled for today at 1:30, the public portion of which is being broadcast on Microsoft Teams. Among the agenda items:

• A motion to approve a number of sabbatical and administrative leaves;
• The University will announce the three latest faculty members to receive the University Professor designation: Claudio Canizares of Electrical & Computer Engineering, Richard J. Cook of Statistics and Actuarial Science, and Lyndon Jones of Optometry & Vision Science;
• A motion to formally approve the name change of Waterloo Residences to "Campus Housing," based on the recommendation of Senate at its March 2020 meeting;
• A motion to approve the Vice-President, Administration & Finance's recommendation that incidental fees, assessed and collected during the spring term 2020 from full-time and part-time undergraduate and graduate students, be modified to reflect the on-line delivery method deployed for the term;
• A motion to delegate the Board's authority to approve the university’s audited financial statements for the fiscal year ended 30 April 2020 (the “Financial Statements”) to the Board Executive Committee;
• A motion to approve the 2020/21 Provisional Operating Budget, "recognizing that this budget establishes a reference point from which updates will be made as the emerging impacts of the evolving pandemic situation are measured"; and 
• A motion to endorse the recommendation of the Presidential Nominating Committee to appoint the next President of the University to a term of office of five years, renewable for five years, to a maximum of 10 years.

The current draft of Policy 50, President of the University, reads “…The term of office of the President of the University is normally six years, renewable for six years to a maximum of 12 years.” This decision to recommend that the next President serve a five-year term with the possibility of renewal, is the result of observations of the Presidential Nominating Committee members that "a total presidential term of 12 years may be too long for one person to fill the position of president in a rapidly changing world and university sector, and that in the normal course, a total term of 10 years is the most appropriate total maximum appointment length."

The committee also notes that the five-year term structure is in line with current practices at many of Waterloo’s comparator institutions.

The committee feels that the flexibility of the Policy 50 wording on term lengths is such that a formal review of the policy is not warranted at this time.

You want more Good Buddies of the University? You got 'em

"Office Assistant Rosie does not approve of recent cuts due to the Covid crisis," writes Chantal Wall of Co-operative and Experiential Education. "In related news, I will not be quitting my day job to become a dog groomer."

"Here's a picture of my girl totally irritated at having to dodge the power cord," writes Sharon Rumpel, associate director, parking, grounds and transportation.

"Here's a picture of Stoneleigh, my cuddly little cockapoo, helping me answer my Monday morning e-mails!" writes Jessica McCormick, immigration consultant in the Student Success Office. "She keeps me smiling amidst the stressful moments." 

"My new workmate, Sophie, is a bit of a bully," writes Debbie Knepper, executive officer in the Registrar's Office. "She passively aggressively stares and sighs at me when I am working, she then turns away when I address it-see exhibit 1 and 2. I feel likes she is constantly scrutinizing me, see exhibit 3-5.  She does a lot of napping and is highly unproductive. She also barks at me when she thinks I should be working beside her (something I might need to take up with HR?). She has however been great at encouraging lunch time and end of day walks. I think she was concerned about me as my first work from home day I logged only 236 steps on my Fitbit. I will acknowledge she has been helpful with my work-life balance!"

"My cat Kirkland keeps me company laying beside me all day and doesn’t move until the end of the work day. He makes sure there is some distance between us (keeping with the social distancing regulation), but keeps me so I am not alone," writes Jennifer Crane, examinations specialist at the Centre for Extended Learning.

"My dog Shasta ensures I get out for a walk and fresh air on my lunch break," Crane continues. "I made her sit before our walk for a picture and she was not happy; however, once we got moving she perked right back up."