Friday, April 24, 2020

Homewood Health partners with Wellness Together Canada program

A message from Marilyn Thompson, Associate Provost, Human Resources.

The entire leadership of the University recognizes the critical role you have all been playing ensuring our students and fellow employees adjust to a changing academic and work environment. We thank each one of you as we make this transition to remote operations. We know this has been a challenging time for many of you as you balance competing priorities and we want to highlight supports in place to assist you during this time.

Last week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the Wellness Together Canada program that will provide mental health and substance abuse support to all Canadians experiencing impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic. The initiative is funded by Health Canada and provides an online portal that allows Canadians to access self-assessments, self-directed mental health tools, peer support, and live counselling by various online means.

The University of Waterloo’s Employee & Family Assistance Program provider, Homewood Health, is one of the organizations participating in this initiative. Homewood Health, in partnership with Kids Help Phone and Stepped Care Solutions, will be contributing to the federal government’s supports for mental health. Homewood Health’s role in the partnership is to provide telephone triage services as well as free telephone and video counselling sessions to people in need from all across the country, 24 hours a day.

You do not have to be eligible to receive the Employee & Family Assistance Program in order to access these mental health services. If you need help and support, or just want to talk, you can access the Wellness Together Canada service at www.wellnesstogether.ca or by calling 1-866-585-0445.

Additionally, there will be no disruption in the services that Homewood Health offers to the University of Waterloo, with the exception of in-person counselling sessions, which have been put on hold during the pandemic. For those employees eligible for the Employee & Family Assistance Program, remember that support is available on the Homeweb website or by calling 1-800-663-1142. You can find out more about the Employee & Family Assistance Program online.

Bringing Waterloo to you (future student edition)

A message from Marketing and Undergraduate Recruitment.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on campus activities and undergraduate recruitment has been no exception. With the cancellation of on-campus events and tours, undergraduate recruitment colleagues from across campus have been working hard to create a new plan to engage applicants and admitted students – at a distance.  In a few short weeks the group has:

• Filmed and approved edits for 10+ hours of video
• Uploaded 30 + videos to a new YouTube playlist
• Booked 50+ webinars for admitted students
• Created the Bringing Waterloo to you website for on-demand content that can be viewed from the comfort of the couch
• Launched online chats

The work is not yet done, as staff are now actively promoting this information to prospective students through e-mail and social media, and making updates to information as the University continues to make decisions regarding the fall term.

If you’re in touch with a potential Waterloo student, please encourage them to visit the Bringing Waterloo to you website for tons of useful content. Students can also contact a university representative directly, or chat online with Visitors Centre staff Monday – Friday between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.

McRae, Pretti receive international co-op awards

Norah McRae, associate provost, co-operative experiential education, and Judene Pretti, director of the Waterloo Centre for the Advancement of Co-operative Education (WatCACE).

This is an exerpt of an article originally published on the Co-operative and Experiential Education website.

Norah McRae, Associate Provost for Co-operative and Experiential Education, and Judene Pretti, Director of the Waterloo Centre for the Advancement of Co-operative Education (WatCACE), have been recognized by Co-operative Education and Internship Association (CEIA) as 2020 award recipients. These awards are given out annually to recognize distinguished achievements and significant impact in the field of work-integrated learning.

McRae is awarded The Dean Herman Schneider Award for her significant and comprehensive record of contributions towards the advancement of the philosophy and practice of co-operative education. This award is presented annually to those who have demonstrated great success, typically spanning more than ten years, in the practice of co-operative education and internships.

McRae’s career in the field of work-integrated learning spans more than 20 years. Through her research on topics such as student engagement, community-engaged learning and intercultural competency development, her philosophy and leadership has strongly influenced experiential learning worldwide.

“It’s an honour to be recognized by CEIA because their association is instrumental in providing strong resources to support the field of co-operative education,” says McRae.

“I am also incredibly grateful for the academic institutions and global partners I’ve had the pleasure to work with through my career, striving to provide distinguished service, leadership and advancement to our global communities through quality work-integrated learning programs. Now, more than ever, our collective commitment to growth and excellence in this space enables us to equip and empower our stakeholders for a complex future.”

Alongside McRae, Pretti is awarded the Ralph W. Tyler Award for her outstanding and distinguished research and publication in the field of co-operative education and internships. This award is presented to those who lead research and publications highlighting new knowledge and understanding associated with experiential learning.

Pretti’s role within WatCACE involves building strong partnerships with key stakeholders in both national and international co-op and work-integrated learning communities. These relationships enable WatCACE to identify priority areas for research and discover findings that are then shared within the global work-integrated learning community.

“It’s very exciting to receive the Ralph W. Tyler Award from CEIA,” says Pretti. “Research and insights into work-integrated learning are imperative to the development of quality experiential programming. WatCACE is lucky to be one of few centres in the world dedicated to this type of work."

Read the rest of the article on the CEE website.

Concluding a week of celebrating volunteers

A message from the Office of Advancement.

National Volunteer Week is coming to a close and once again it’s truly inspiring to see the contribution and impact that our volunteers have on the university community.

The inspiring stories from across our campuses, faculties and affiliated and federated institutions, are a testament of how resilient our community is during difficult times. More than 1,100 volunteers supported Advancement initiatives, giving back more than 10,000 hours of their time. Thank you those who recognized their volunteers, both publicly and privately, as well as those who volunteer their time to give back to the greater community.

With just two days left, take a moment to visit the Office of Advancement LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook or Instagram (@uwaterlooalumni) as well as faculty social media channels to learn more about how volunteers are making a difference. Want to make a different through volunteering? Check out our available advancement volunteer opportunities.

So many Good Buddies of the University, so little time

"I'm training Ferrous to be my replacement, writes Lisa Umholtz, digital media specialist at WUSA.

"This is Bonnie, who sleeps under my chair while I work," writes Kristin Leis, undergraduate admissions officer in the Registrar's Office. "She reminds me to take breaks and to eat LOTS of carrots."

"This is Chief who is rather enjoying having me home all the time," writes Professor Kristine Dalton in the School of Optometry and Vision Science. "He’s quite a proper fellow so is very polite when reminding what project I need to tackle next."

"And this is Logan who is very good at reminding me when to stop for (his) dinner, or to go to bed if I stay up working too late," Dalton continues. "He’s also made it very clear that no matter how busy I may be, there’s always time for cuddles." 

"This is my cat Buck who keeps me company while I work at home (and keeps a close eye on the mouse!)," writes Lorraine Albrecht, administrative assistant in Earth and Environmental Sciences.

"Here are my good buddies (aka my supervisors for the time being) Bruce and Dodge," writes Ashley Kropf, who works in the Engineering Machine Shop.

"Attached are my two new supervisors," writes April Wettig, graduate administrative coordinator in Biology. "CJ is a 10 year-old Standard Poodle who will curl up and sleep behind my chair. Rascal is a 15 year old Bichon-Poo who takes his supervisory duties very seriously."

"This is my colleague Lucy who takes precious time out from her 23 hours a day of quality naptime to peek in and remind me that she’s keeping an eye on me!" writes Corrine Krauss, associate director, financial controls & systems in Finance.