Monday, September 21, 2020

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Marlee Spafford to serve as special advisor on student experience

“I am pleased to announce that Professor Marlee Spafford has accepted my request to serve as Special Advisor to the Provost on Student Experience, beginning September 1, 2020 for one year,” wrote James W.E. Rush, vice-president, academic & provost in a memo circulated to the University’s Executive Council last week.

“Marlee will report to me, and will work closely with Chris Read, associate provost, students, and other University stakeholders in the Faculties and Academic Support Units to help facilitate, coordinate, and monitor University of Waterloo student experience across portfolios,” Rush writes. “Her efforts will be informed by a variety of sources including: awareness of current status and practices; the recommendations from the April 2019 ‘Final report of the External Review of Student Experience at the University of Waterloo’; recent events and circumstances that have impacted student experience; and, the University’s Strategic Plan.”  

Spafford is a professor at the School of Optometry and Vision Science, and throughout her career has been devoted to providing and promoting high quality student education and experience. She has earned multiple awards for teaching excellence and has held various administrative posts, including: Associate Dean of Science, Undergraduate Studies (2013-2020), Interim Director, School of Vision Science (2011-2013), Associate Director, Academics & Research (2006-2011), Clinic Director (1997-2003), Electrodiagnostic Clinic Head (1990-2013), and Admissions Officer (1986-1997).

“Please join me in welcoming Marlee to this role and in supporting this initiative,” the provost’s memo concludes.

Documentary showcases how 'Music is Life' in a dementia-care centre

This article was originally published on the Applied Health Sciences website.

Most people have experienced the powerful emotions that music can elicit in the moment, and also how viscerally it can transport you to another time.

This emotional connection is particularly important for people living with dementia or Alzheimer’s, where research has shown that the brain areas tied to musical memory are untouched by the disease.

Highlighting this is a documentary with a Waterloo connection. Music is Life premieres on World Alzheimer’s Awareness Day (September 21) and showcases the benefits of musical engagement among a community living with dementia at the Dotsa Bitove Wellness Academy (DBWA) in Toronto.

“Music is a universal language that can move us physically, emotionally, relationally in ways that other things can’t,” says Sherry Dupuis, one of the researchers involved with the documentary and a professor in the Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies at the University of Waterloo. “It becomes even more important in the context of dementia because it can be one of the few ways that people with dementia can express themselves.

“Our connections to music remain even when the brain may be deteriorating, partly because it is embodied and connected to emotional memories.”

Dupuis is co-director of the Partnership in Dementia Care Alliance at the University and has more than 30 years of experience working with people with dementia and their care partners. She often uses participatory and arts-based research to promote culture change in dementia care.

Simon Law, a Grammy-winning songwriter, was there as part of the research project to assist persons living with dementia in writing and performing a song to show what music means in their lives today.

“The most prominent way that the arts are used in dementia care is as a therapy or intervention, often to ‘manage’ the misunderstood expressions of people living with dementia,” Dupuis says. “We didn’t want the DBWA to be about the disease and pathologizing people; we wanted it to be about supporting the humanity of people living with dementia through the arts.

“People with dementia in our research taught us how central music is in their lives; they see music as an essence of our humanity, a part of who they are.”

The DBWA was developed with a philosophy grounded in the research of relational caring being conducted by the team, which puts relationships and living life to the fullest at the core of dementia care and support.

“The DBWA recognizes the continued capacities for people with dementia to continue to learn, be in and contribute to relationships and views the arts as an important way to nurture relationships.”

Watch the live premiere on YouTube on September 21 at 7 p.m. ET, followed by a live Q and A.

Welcome to International Week 2020: Let's experience the world together

A message from Waterloo International.

Today is the first day of International Week 2020. International Week is a great opportunity to recognize and promote the value of international and intercultural experiences, collaboration abroad and the importance of internationalization on campus. 

At the University of Waterloo, International Week is one of the most colorful and exciting times on campus. Although only a few in-person events are taking place this year, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, an exciting series of virtual programs, activities and events have been planned by a variety of campus partners.

Through engagement, collaborations, debates, discussions and an array of activities for students, staff, and faculty International Week celebrates the positive impact that internationalization can have on education. From September 21 to 27, International Week activities will provide students, staff and faculty with opportunities to learn about other cultures and experience different perspectives. Students, faculty and staff are invited to join the celebration by attending this and the numerous other events being held this week.

Waterloo values its strong international outlook, presence, and engagement. One of the signature events being run as part of International Week is the virtual Presidential Chat: Reflecting on 10 years of Bordeaux-Waterloo Partnership. This virtual webinar is an opportunity to hear experiences from the University of Waterloo and the University of Bordeaux Presidents as they discuss the important 10-year partnership between both institutions, as well as the benefits of internationalization of research and strengthening global cooperation.

Check out the International Week events page and participate in one or more of the 40 plus events. From social media contests for awesome prizes to a trivia night, virtual concert and Pow Wow, there’s an activity for everyone.

Please let us know how you’re celebrating by sharing your activities on social media using the hashtag #IW2020. Look out for further articles this week that highlight ways in which Waterloo supports internationalization activities.

Thank you for supporting International Week events. We at Waterloo International look forward to our continued work together to promote internationalization at our campus and abroad.

Water Institute Conference looks at achieving sustainability in a post-COVID world

A message from the Water Institute.

Does the coronavirus pandemic doom the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)? Or does it present an opportunity to make significant progress against the SDGs? How can water research contribute?

Join the Water Institute from 8:00 to 9:30 a.m. EDT on September 29, September 30 and October 1 for Can we achieve the Sustainable Development Goals in a post-COVID world? A Water Institute Conference covering five continents over three days.

The virtual conference promises three days of interdisciplinary dialogue from leading water researchers around the globe who will be discussing their work in the context of the coronavirus pandemic and the SDGs.

This event will be hosted online through Zoom.

Senate meets today and other notes

The University's Senate meets today at 3:30 p.m. Among the agenda items:

• A motion to approve a convocation hood for the new Master of Pharmacy degree;
• a motion to approve a number of Senate and Board committee members;
• a motion to approve the creation of a diploma in English for multilingual speakers and inactivation of the existing certificate in English for multilingual speakers, effective 1 September 2021; and
• a motion that Senate recommend to the Board of Governors the following name change: “Faculty of Applied Health Sciences” to “Faculty of Health” effective 1 January 2021.

Vice-President, Research and International Charmaine Dean will provide Senate with report about the restarting of research on campus among other items.

Plant Operations is reporting that the Needles Hall elevator in the new addition section will be down for maintenance on Thursday, September 24 for approximately two hours in between 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Additionally, elevators in Engineering 6 will be down for two hours at a time on Thursday, September 24 between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.

The Interdisciplinary Centre on Climate Change (IC3) is hosting Global climate connections: How changes to our environment, food systems, and health will shape our future on Thursday, September 2 from 12 noon to 1:30 p.m.

The virtual event features a keynote by World Wildlife Fund Canada President and CEO Megan Leslie and panel discussion with the University of Waterloo's Zahid Butt and Goretty Dias. The panel speakers will share their expertise as they discuss climate change and its impact on the environment, food systems and health.