Thursday, October 29, 2020

President's virtual town hall meeting set for today

President Feridun Hamdullahpur will host a Virtual President's Town Hall today at 1:30 p.m. through an interactive livestream.

To ensure that Waterloo continues its dedication to transparency during challenging times, the interactive town hall session will be open to the University of Waterloo community and beyond.

Just like regular President’s Town Hall meetings, President Hamdullahpur will deliver a presentation and then open the floor for a robust Q&A session. Vice-President, University Relations Sandra Banks will moderate the digital discussion.

Questions can be submitted in advance during registration, and the online meeting platform will also provide attendees with the opportunity to ask their questions during the interactive livestream.

There's still time to register and submit a question. Check out the livestream today at 1:30.

Michaelle Jean named Chancellor of St. Paul's University College

This article was originally published on the St. Paul's University College website.

St. Paul’s University College is very proud to announce the appointment of the Right Honorable Michaëlle Jean, 27th Governor General of Canada, as Chancellor, for a three-year term starting immediately.

“We are delighted to have someone of Mme. Jean’s talent and stature take on the role of Chancellor,” said Brad Siim, incoming Board Chair. “Her interests and values align beautifully with those of our College.”

Affiliated with the University of Waterloo, St. Paul’s University College is unique in offering programs in Indigenous Studies, International Development, Canadian Studies and Human Rights. The College is also home to the Waterloo Indigenous Student Center, the Student Refugee Program, and GreenHouse, a nationally-recognized social enterprise incubator. These are all areas which are dear to the Right Honorable Michaëlle Jean, that she will want to follow closely, promote and encourage, as she states in words that express her desire to get involved:

"I am particularly honored to be associated with the highly innovative, inspiring, creative and inclusive approach that sets St. Paul's University College apart and of which this institution and the University of Waterloo can be proud. I thank them for including me and I would like to give my full support to their influence. I look forward to being in contact with and alongside the teams as well as the students, to let myself be won over by their enthusiasm, their aspirations, their desire to surpass themselves in a spirit of achievement and excellence. "

Michaëlle Jean was born in 1957 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. She was eleven years old when Canada offered political asylum to her parents who were fleeing the repression of the dictatorial regime in their country of origin. Francophones, it is in Quebec that they settled. Her family experienced the ordeal of forced exile and, like all refugees, the immense challenge of rebuilding a life elsewhere, starting from scratch, gathering all their strength and their experiences, also motivated by the desire to contribute, as citizens and full citizens to the development of their host country.

Michaëlle Jean has never stopped wanting to serve Canada, by participating in the establishment of the largest network of shelters and emergency assistance for women and children victims of violence across Quebec and other provinces. Her brilliant career as a journalist and host of programs on Canadian public television was driven by her passion for promoting awareness of social and development issues in our country and in the world. In 2005, she was appointed Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of Canada, the first black woman to reach the highest constitutional office in our country and that she carried with extraordinary energy, for a five-year term.

When on January 12, 2010, her native country was devastated by a terrible earthquake, the United Nations called on the Right Honorable Michaëlle Jean to be UNESCO Special Envoy to support the reconstruction efforts of Haiti with the financial support of Canada. Then, in 2014, she was the first woman elected to head the International Organization of La Francophonie, which brings together 88 states and governments on 5 continents. She is familiar with the role of Chancellor, having previously held that office at the University of Ottawa. Together with her husband, filmmaker Jean-Daniel Lafond, she co-founded and co-chairs the Fondation Michaëlle Jean Foundation, whose programs support, through art and culture, civic initiatives alongside some of the most vulnerable and disenfranchised young people in Canada. 

St. Paul’s Principal Richard Myers expresses confidence that Chancellor Michaelle Jean will be a powerful champion for the values and priorities of the College and an inspiration to its students and staff. “And given her combination of intellect, experience and passion, we fully expect her to push us!” says Myers.

Michaëlle Jean succeeds Jean Paul Gladu, former President of the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business, who served as Chancellor from 2017 to 2020. They spoke at length about the development of the new program focused on Indigenous entrepreneurship at St. Paul's that Mr. Gladu strongly supported.

St Paul's University College plans to formally welcome the Right Honorable Michaëlle Jean in a virtual installation ceremony to be held at the end of November. Principal Richard Myers believes that the virtual format will have the advantage of making this solemn moment even more accessible to friends of the College across Canada. Full details will be made public by the end of October.

Two-factor authentication (2FA) postponed until November 17

A message from Information Systems & Technology (IST)

The implementation of mandatory two-factor authentication (2FA) has been postponed until November 17, 2020. You have three weeks left to enrol your mobile device with Duo Security. If you do not enrol your device with Duo Security by November 17, you will not be able to access 2FA supported systems, including Quest, LEARN, Office 365, and Workday.

Ensure you’re ready for November 17

• Enrol your mobile device in the Duo Mobile App
• Add a second and/or backup device should you lose/forget your primary device
• Learn how to generate backup, single-use authentication codes
• Learn more about other second-factor options
• Review 2FA FAQ’s and learn more about this change
• When logging in to a supported system, select the Remember me for 30 days option to reduce the number of authentication prompts received for that system
• Employees who would prefer to use a token authenticator should complete the 2FA Token Request form

 2FA resources

• Visit the University’s 2FA website
• Review 2FA support articles available in the IST Knowledge Base
• Contact your area 2FA Change Champion with questions/for support
• Contact the IST Service Desk, helpdesk@uwaterloo.ca, or submit a ticket to Request Tracker (RT)

Take the annual employee travel survey

A message from the Sustainability Office.

All employees and students are invited to participate in this year’s annual travel survey for the University, hosted through the Region of Waterloo’s TravelWise program.

Although getting to and from the campus looks dramatically different for many this year, the survey is an important tool to help both the University of Waterloo and our municipal partners understand how people are travelling to workplaces across the community – or not.

Information collected through the survey helps measure commuting patterns at Waterloo, and how various services and infrastructure can support commuting options on or off campus.

Whether you walk, cycle, drive, take transit, or work from home (before COVID-19 and now), your input is valuable.

The survey is available online until November 6, and there are gift card prize incentives available for participation. For any questions related to the survey, please contact the Sustainability Office (sustainability@uwaterloo.ca).