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Vivek Goel will be Waterloo's seventh president and vice-chancellor
Vivek Goel, a distinguished scholar with extensive achievements in research, teaching and leadership across both public and private sectors, will become the seventh president and vice-chancellor of the University of Waterloo.
Goel, who begins his five-year term on July 1, 2021, is recognized in Canada and around the world as a leading public-health researcher, health-services evaluation expert, and champion for the use of research evidence in health policy making.
Goel has held several senior roles at the University of Toronto including Vice-President and Provost and most recently as Vice-President of Research and Innovation.
The public health physician currently serves as a scientific advisor on the federal government’s COVID-19 Immunity Task Force and was the founding president and CEO of Public Health Ontario.
“With decades of experience and expertise as a university leader and champion of research and innovation, Dr. Goel will further strengthen Waterloo’s contribution to academic excellence, co-operative education, interdisciplinarity, industry focused research and entrepreneurship,” said Cindy Forbes, Chair of the University of Waterloo’s Board of Governors.
“Current global challenges remind us of our responsibility to prepare students and citizens to confront the many other challenges ahead,” Goel said. “Research-intensive institutions like Waterloo will create the biggest change and best solutions for our future, whether it is tackling public-health challenges, the growing climate crisis, or spurring economic recovery and growth.”
“In Waterloo, I can see what a post-pandemic university looks like,” Goel said.
The appointment represents the culmination of an almost yearlong effort by a 19-member presidential nominating committee comprised of students, staff, faculty and board governors, in consultation with stakeholders across campus and the broader community.
“The Presidential Nominating Committee sought a candidate who was renowned for their experienced leadership and commitment to the success of our world-class faculty, staff, students and alumni,” Forbes said. “We looked for an individual who will actively engage to foster equity, diversity and inclusion as well as a deep sense of community across our campuses.”
“I look forward to working with Dr. Goel as he leads Waterloo on its transformational path and builds on the achievements of President Feridun Hamdullahpur.”
Hamdullahpur has served as president and vice chancellor of the University of Waterloo since 2010 and will continue through June 2021. He has elevated Waterloo’s international profile, placed exceptional focus on student experience and wellbeing and set the ambitious course for the University’s 2020-2025 strategic plan.
“Waterloo is a place where business, community and governmental leaders come together to seek today’s solutions to tomorrow’s problems. I am confident that under the leadership of Vivek Goel, our community will continue to flourish and drive even greater impact around the world,” Hamdullahpur said.
Goel obtained his medical degree from McGill University. He did his post-graduate medical training in community medicine at the University of Toronto, and obtained a master’s degree (MSc) in health administration from the University of Toronto and a master’s degree (MS) in biostatistics from Harvard University’s School of Public Health.
Goel also currently serves on the boards of the Vector Institute, TRIUMF—Canada’s particle accelerator—and the Canadian Institute for Health Information.
Co-operative and Experiential Education launches 2020-2025 Strategic Plan
A message from Co-operative and Experiential Education (CEE).
Co-operative and Experiential Education is very pleased to share the CEE Strategic Plan 2020-2025: Talent Development for a Complex Future. This plan highlights five goals that will inform direction, decision-making and activities at CEE collectively over the next five years. The goals are:
- Demonstrate global leadership
- Advance research for global impact
- Future-proof students
- Future-proof employers
- Future-proof ourselves
Norah McRae, associate provost of CEE, says that the plan was developed with much collaboration and input from across CEE, leveraging staff ideas, feedback, and vision for creation of the plan.
“Over the next five years, as our economy recovers from COVID-19, this plan will help us strive boldly for work-integrated learning experiences for 100 per cent of our students,” says McRae. “It will help us equip our grads to be skilled, resilient and future-ready to lead the way for full-scale economic growth and rejuvenation.”
It also ensures the CEE vision, mission, values and goals align with those of the University while they also uniquely embody the aspirations and culture within CEE.
You can read the report on the CEE associate provost website, or via the PDF version posted online.
Partnerships for Employment's first-ever virtual career fair in review
After 26 years of in-person career fairs, Partnerships for Employment (P4E), a partnership between the University of Waterloo, Wilfrid Laurier University, the University of Guelph and Conestoga College, held their first-ever virtual career fair on October 21. In doing so, P4E provided a virtual recruiting platform to connect students with employers across North America.
The virtual platform allowed students to research employers including the positions they are seeking talent for, prior to the live event. Students were able to personalize their profiles by adding their school and program details, as well as uploading their resumes, cover letters and portfolio samples.
“Our P4E Career Fair has always been such a positive space for students and employers to network and discuss job opportunities,” says Ross Johnston, executive director of Co-operative Education. “It’s exciting that we’ve been able to seamlessly transition the event to a digital landscape because it establishes a new and evolving way for students and employers to engage – and continues to enable them to strengthen their professional connections.”
On the day of the fair, almost 800 students logged on to the digital platform to connect with the 94 organizations who attended. Representatives from each company were eager to answer questions about their company’s culture, current job listings, and even provided tips for making your application stand out from the others.
P4E invites students and employers to attend their next virtual event, Job Fair, on February 2, 2021. For more information, please visit the Partners for Employment website.
Wednesday's notes
The Waterloo AI Institute is hosting a webinar on "Preparing Your Organization to Leverage AI at Scale" on Thursday, November 19. The webinar is targeted towards managers and executives. The session will be recorded and will be posted on the Waterloo.ai Youtube Channel for access to the AI/Machine Learning community at the University.
Waterloo.ai aims at providing practicing professionals with the opportunity to deepen their understanding and strategies in AI through intensive short courses with top instructors in the field, and to do so in a practical way so they can bring those skills back to their companies and put them to immediate use.
More details about the webinar series can be found on the registration website.
Here's what’s happening at the Centre for Career Action (CCA):
- Wednesday, November 18: Successfully Negotiating Job Offers, 3:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. EST
- Thursday, November 19:
- Master of Arts Co-op 101, (Graduate Students, [Masters Students]) 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. EST
- Getting a US Work Permit, 2:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. EST
- Monday, November 23:
- EDGE - Capstone - PART A, 2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. EST
- Career Spotlight: Management Consulting, 2:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. EST
See CCA’s offering of virtual programming online. Students can register on WaterlooWorks.
CCA virtual drop-in advising hours for November are as follows:
- Résumé, cover letter, and interview drop-ins for UG and Masters students are offered 9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. EST Monday to Friday as well as 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. EST Monday to Thursday.
- Career Consult and work search drop-ins for UG and Masters students are offered 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. and 12:00-1:00 p.m. EST, Monday to Friday
- Further Education drop-ins are offered: 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. EST Monday to Friday
- PhD and Postdoc drop-ins are offered: 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. EST, Monday to Friday
Students can book all virtual drop-ins through WaterlooWorks. Online registration begins at 8:00 a.m. daily.