Friday, May 22, 2020

Pharmacy professor named Canadian Pharmacist of the Year

A message from the School of Pharmacy.

Kelly Grindrod never was your traditional neighbourhood pharmacist.

“I wear many hats - researcher, teacher, mentor, and pharmacist,” says the School of Pharmacy professor. “In a day, I go from seeing patients in the clinic, to writing a paper, to supervising graduate students, to managing a large group of pharmacy students in a professional practice lab. I have a lot of freedom to do what I want in my job, which means I spend a lot of time being creative and thinking outside the box.”

An educator and practicing pharmacist, Grindrod holds the OCP Professorship in Pharmacy Innovation for the University of Waterloo. The diversity of her roles and accomplishments led to her receiving the Pharmacist of the Year Award for 2020. This highest distinction for Canadian pharmacists is presented annually by the Canadian Pharmacists Association, the national advocacy body for pharmacy in Canada.

Read the full story on the School of Pharmacy website.

Waterloo Residences: open and ready to welcome students home

A message from Waterloo Residences.

With the announcement of a hybrid fall term of in-person and online classes, Waterloo Residences has seen an influx of questions about how this decision will affect operations for the fall. One key message to reinforce with students is yes, they are open. The first-year Residence Community Ranking Form deadline is fast approaching, and with the shift to offering single occupancy-only rooms in traditional residences, it is more important than ever that students apply before June 1.

For over 50 years, Waterloo Residences has been a trusted housing provider among students, faculties and staff, and the wider Waterloo community. They have continued to adapt while staying true to their guiding value to put students first in order to provide the best services, experiences, and spaces possible.

Residence Life staff have reimagined our student experience over the late winter and early spring terms. Aware that students may feel isolated and alone, they increased the frequency of online check-ins, virtual events and outings, and created a comprehensive digital resource library. This adaptative approach to intentionally building community will continue to inspire student engagement plans for the fall. As always, they will continue to offer 24-hour, 7 days week student support services as well.

Cleaning Services staff have always received an exceptionally high satisfaction rate among students. This can be attributed to staff’s determined investment: not only to surpass the highest standards of cleanliness, but to ensure students feel welcomed with compassion and kindness in these spaces. This approach informs the extensive safety protocols being implemented, which meet or exceed public health guidelines. These include enhanced controls such as plexiglass shields at our desks, increased disinfectant procedures, and virtual programming and support. They continue to look for ways to enhance protocols in response to the pandemic to keep students and staff safe.

Students are facing many decisions about adjusting their plans for the fall. In these uncertain times, there is one certainty: Waterloo Residences is uniquely positioned to provide unparalleled support to students in the coming term. Residence will always be the best place for students to academically succeed, create connections, and find the best resources needed. Together, staff and students will learn to thrive in difficult times and prevail with a Warrior spirit.

At this time, campus partners play a key role in increasing confidence that residence and the on campus experience is still a possibility. All key questions about the fall term for all student groups can be found on their staff and faculty webpage: https://uwaterloo.ca/housing/about/staff-and-faculty-guide

The student facing webpage is also available for reference and sharing: https://uwaterloo.ca/housing/fall-2020-information

Both will be updated frequently as new decisions and information become available. Additional questions can be forwarded to housing@uwaterloo.ca.

New features available in Microsoft Teams; scenes from campus

Microsoft Teams has added new features to improve app functionality and enhance user experience, according to an announcement from Information Systems and Technology (IST): 

• 3x3 video gallery - allows up to 9 users to display video simultaneously during meetings
• 'Raise hand' function - allows users to indicate when they want to speak without interrupting the meeting conversation
• Pop-out windows for chats and meetings - allows users to open separate windows for chats and meetings

Download the Teams app on desktop or mobile: https://teams.microsoft.com/downloads

For more information, visit the University's Microsoft Teams website.

In other campus news, Scott Pearson from the Student Life Centre notes that some of the construction cladding has been taken down inside the SLC, revealing the expanded food court eating area in the former courtyard:

And if a crane lifts an exhaust fan atop the Mike & Ophelia Lazaridis Quantum-Nano Centre and nobody's around to hear it, does it still make a sound? Photo from Stephen Briggs.

Joe Petrik from Computer Science snapped this photo of a pair of geese living large on the DC quad, unimpeded by pedestrian traffic.

You can't stop the Good Buddies of the University

"This is Sir Magnus," writes Jude Doble, associate director, communications in the Office of Advancement. "He’s barely eight weeks old so is quite unfamiliar with the rigours of working from home. Our saving grace is that he is a star napper, otherwise I’m not sure how productive we would be. #thatface"

"I’d like to introduce you to Zen," writes Kim Tremblay, graduate and research coordinator in the Faculty of Mathematics. "He’s a 165lb Great Dane that insists on using his “smaller bed”. This is the look I get when he hears the Teams App ringing before he jumps up to join in."

"I attach a photo I just took of my two Sheltie-Bichon cross dogs, Maddy (left in photo, 1 year old) and Molly (right in photo, 3 years old) on my couch," writes Professor J. David Spafford of the Department of Biology. "The dog on the left, Molly, watches TV and goes absolutely berserk when she sees that “LiMu Emu and Doug”, Liberty Mutual insurance ad on TV. It is quite something to be stuck in quarantine with a crazy dog who channels their guard duty instincts by images on a TV screen. Now, why my one female dog, “Molly” can watch and respond to TV and why my other female dog, Maddy, can’t see or respond to TV is beyond my comprehension as a neuroscience professor in the Department of Biology, at the University of Waterloo. It is the basis for a future Ph.D. Thesis for someone. The understanding of this canine behavior could unlock the golden secret of the universe...or, probably not, but it is worth passing along."