Tuesday, October 27, 2020

Shifting towards carbon neutral

A message from the Sustainability Office.

All members of the campus community are warmly invited to join an upcoming virtual town hall to launch Waterloo’s climate action plan, Shift: Neutral.

Although the COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated tremendous change and effort over the past months, climate change continues to accelerate around the world. Urgent action is needed to reverse course.

Shift: Neutral was developed over two years by the Climate and Energy Working Group of the President’s Advisory Committee on Environmental Sustainability, and is Waterloo’s first climate action plan. It provides a roadmap for Waterloo to minimize the greenhouse gas footprint of activities across the campus, with an aim to become carbon neutral by 2050.

The town hall will help formally initiate the plan among the broader campus community, and will feature:

• Introductory comments from President and Vice-Chancellor Feridun Hamdullahpur;
• Overview of Shift: Neutral from Sustainability Director Mat Thijssen; and
• Q&A session moderated by Dean of Environment Jean Andrey.

The event will take place on Microsoft Teams on Tuesday, November 10 from 1:30 p.m. to 3:00pm. Please visit the town hall webpage to RSVP and learn more.

Leaders in aging research renewed as Schlegel Research Chairs

A message from the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences.

Kinesiology Professor Heather Keller and George Heckman, a professor in the School of Public Health and Health Systems, are being renewed as Schlegel Research Chairs with the Research Institute for Aging (RIA).

Keller is chair of Nutrition and Aging, and Heckman is chair of Geriatric Medicine. The renewal of these appointments recognizes not only their academic achievements, but also their commitment to enhancing the quality of life and care of older adults.

Keller is both a researcher and registered dietitian, and her work focuses on improving older adults’ nutrition for optimal health. She also explores and advocates for the importance of food and mealtimes for overall well-being. She began her appointment in 2012 and is now renewed until 2026.

Heckman focuses on developing and evaluating new care approaches that put individuals and their families first while promoting integrated, proactive care and optimal use of health care resources, and he is a practicing geriatrician in the Waterloo region. He began his appointment is 2010; it is now extended to 2024.

Read more on the Applied Health Sciences website.

Innovative SARS CoV2 Screening Pilot Project at Conrad Grebel

By Abby Rudy-Froese.

Conrad Grebel University College has implemented many health and safety measures to ensure the wellness of everyone in the building during the current COVID-19 pandemic. One innovative measure is participation in a SARS CoV2 screening pilot project by EpiTOme Genetics – a lab that provides organizations with access to molecular techniques. EpiTOme, running an advanced Seegene Inc. PCR platform, is providing Grebel with regular SARS CoV2 screening for students and front-line staff.  The goal of the pilot project is to prove that organizations benefit from access to reliable molecular information in guiding their operations.

“We have been thrilled with a more than 90 percent participation rate of our students,” said Mary Brubaker-Zehr, Director of Students Services. After an initial screening in early September, participants were divided into 4 groups of 30 and each group is screened every two weeks. The sample collection is carried out by the participants and then delivered to a laboratory where the samples are tested. The results come back within hours, a fraction of the wait time provided by other facilities.

“Grebel has added a layer of security to my work week,” said Leanne MacKay Bain, the receptionist at Grebel, “I believe we are all more comfortable with the people we interact with daily because screening is happening regularly.”

Isobella McCloskey, a first-year resident said that Grebel’s participation in this project “reminds everyone, including myself, that we are each responsible for ourselves and share responsibility for others.” Participants are getting regular feedback on their status whether or not they have symptoms. Participants know they are not spreading SARS CoV2 around Grebel, campus, or elsewhere, and they are keeping others safe. In the same way, they will quickly know if they are positive, even if asymptomatic. The frequent screening and the fast result time decreases risk of participants spreading the virus elsewhere.

This pilot project also benefits the larger Waterloo community because Grebel participants are not backing up testing at other facilities. While University of Waterloo Health services is offering testing on campus, it is restricted to those with symptoms. 

“The safety of each person in the building is our top priority,” said President Marcus Shantz, “and knowing that everybody is being tested, regardless of symptoms, gives me peace of mind.”

Paul Penner, director of operations at Grebel, added, "the pilot project provides Grebel with an extra layer of security, in addition to the other measures we are taking, like masking and social distancing.”

New phishing scam teases COVID cash-in

An email purporting to provide COVID benefits to University students and employees is a phishing attempt, say Information Systems & Technology and UW Police Services.

The email was sent to University of Waterloo community members yesterday afternoon. If you have received this email, do not click any links and do not reply.

The email cites a COVID-19 giveaway and links to a form that asks for personal information, including names, phone numbers, and credit card numbers.

There are several methods you can use to detect whether or not an email is legitimate or a phishing attempt:

• Hover over links - the real link address will appear at the bottom of your web browser window.
• Look for typos - phishing emails often contain typos and bad grammar.  
• Verify with the real source - if you receive a suspicious email supposedly sent by your manager or another department, find their actual contact information and reach out to them directly.

Suspected fraud attempts should be reported to IST's Security Operations Centre at soc@uwaterloo.ca. Reports of successful fraud should be directed to UW Police Services at uwpolice@uwaterloo.ca.

For more information on how to protect yourself from this and other phishing attempts, visit IST's cyber awareness website.

Board of Governors meets today and other notes

The University's Board of Governors has its final meeting of 2020 this afternoon at 1:30 p.m. Among the agenda items:

• the Board will approve a general approach to incidental fee assessment for the winter 2021 term;
• the Board will engage in a discussion about divestment and carbon-neutral investment;
• a motion to approve the following name change: “Faculty of Applied Health Sciences” to “Faculty of Health” effective 1 January 2021;
• a motion from the Audit & Risk Committee to reappoint Ernst & Young as the University’s external auditors for the fiscal year ending 30 April 2021;
• a motion from the Finance & Investment Committee to approve amendments to the Statement of Investment Guidelines for the University of Waterloo Endowment Fund;
• a motion from the Pension & Benefits Committee to approve amendments to section 12.01 of the University of Waterloo Pension Plan; and
• a motion from the Pension & Benefits Committee to approve amendments to section 2.05 of the Statement of Investment Policies and Procedures.

Among the many presentations and reports that will be delivered at Board are presentations from the Waterloo Undergraduate Student Association (WUSA), an update on student mental health from Professor John Hirdes, an update on the University's climate action plan by Mat Thijssen, and an update on the co-operative and experiential education strategic plan by Norah McRae.

"As the month of October and the fall United Way Campaign wraps up, the Science Undergrad Office took one more opportunity to mark the event at our Monday Morning Meeting (affectionately called M3) by going red," writes Rebecca Gibbons on behalf of the SUO team.

Speaking of the United Way: "Are you feeling quizzical?" Asks the Library. "Do you know lots about general things? Join the Library on Wednesday October 28 at 12 noon for lunch hour trivia." 

"The prize is the coveted golden goose trophy," says the note from the Library. "You can play in teams of up to five people. Email your team members’ names and team name to s3martin@uwaterloo.ca. We suggest each player make a $5 donation to the United Way."

Protecting your online presence: "With most of us working, shopping, banking, sharing, and using social media online, it is important to stop and consider what personal information we are disclosing," says a note from Information Systems & Technology (IST). Two new IST blog posts offer a quick checklist of things to consider before sharing information online and describes how to stop prying eyes with Virtual Private Networks (VPNs).