Wednesday, December 2, 2020

President's Community Impact Award winners named

By Natalie Quinlan.

The University of Waterloo is pleased to recognize four outstanding community members as recipients of this year’s President’s Community Impact Awards.

In its fourth year, the President’s Community Impact Awards were created to celebrate the rich connections between the University and Waterloo region communities.  

Ambika Opal (BASc ’17) and Paul Parker receive the Community Leader awards for their outstanding volunteerism and community outreach.

Community organizations Sanctuary Refugee Health Centre and KW Legacy Leaders receive the University Champion awards in recognition of their incredible partnerships with the University of Waterloo.

Meet each recipient:

Ambika Opal

Ambika Opal demonstrates her commitment to sustainability and social inclusion through avid volunteerism. She sits on the boards of the Social Development Centre Waterloo Region and REEP Green Solutions, and volunteers with newcomers at Reception House Waterloo Region. She is committed to youth engagement, coaching for several years with Special Olympics KW and the KW Sertoma Speed Skating Club, and she is a former facilitator of the Waterloo Riding Youth Council. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Ambika has sewed masks, supported remote learning for newcomer families and planned outdoor concerts for seniors.

Paul Parker

Twenty-one years ago, Faculty of Environment professor Paul Parker joined with three University of Waterloo colleagues and a local non-profit to create the Residential Energy Efficiency Project, now REEP Green Solutions. Their goal was to match academic research with practical action in the community, and Paul’s passion for climate action has led to tremendous impact. As a community advocate and champion of student engagement in the community, Paul’s commitment has included longstanding participation on the REEP board of directors, including five years as chair.

Sanctuary Refugee Health Centre

Since its beginnings in 2013, Sanctuary Refugee Health Centre (SRHC) has grown into a non-profit organization located in downtown Kitchener that cares for over 5,400 patients from 84 countries. They have initiated two substantial research partnerships with the University of Waterloo; a Department of Psychology study of the emotional well-being of refugee newcomers to Waterloo Region and a study of food and nutritional insecurity among refugee newcomers through the School of Public Health and Health Systems. At any time, close to 20 University students volunteer with the Centre.

KW Legacy Leaders

Co-founded by University of Waterloo alumni Mike Denomme and his late brother Brian, KW Legacy Leaders is a grassroots group of people who grew up in Waterloo Region and have an earnest desire to give back to their home community. Ten of the members are University of Waterloo alumni. Since 2016, the group has raised over $520,000 to support 55 student scholarships for incoming University students, the School of Pharmacy and St. Jerome’s University. Alongside the scholarship, students also gain access to KW Legacy’s network of mentors.

Congratulations to this year’s winners for their extraordinary work within the community.

Committee seeks consultation on pregnancy and parental leave policy

The Secretariat is reporting that in accordance with the provisions of Policy 1, a policy review committee was formed by the Faculty and Staff Relations Committees to undertake a review of Policy 14 - Pregnancy and Parental Leaves (including Adoption). The committee has completed its work and recommends a revised policy which is now offered to members of faculty and staff for comment.

A memorandum from the committee articulates the proposed changes, provides the rationale, and includes the proposed revised policy.

Faculty and staff are invited to participate in a virtual Q&A session with representatives from the committee :

• Thursday, December 3, 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.
• Friday, December 4, 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
• Tuesday, December 8, 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.

Please email the Secretariat to be invited to one of these sessions, which will be held via Teams.

Employees are also invited to offer feedback on the proposed new policy by December 18, 2020.

• Faculty are encouraged to contact FAUW;
• Staff are encouraged to contact the Staff Association; and
• Individuals may also provide feedback directly to the Secretariat.

The Faculty and Staff Relations Committees will consider feedback with a view to finalizing the policy for the approval process to begin in Winter 2021.

Centre for Career Action celebrates staff retirements

A message from the Centre for Career Action (CCA).

The Centre for Career Action (CCA) provides a space for students, postdocs, alumni and employees to learn about all things career and provides space to identify and navigate towards meaningful employment. CCA is made so special by all the people that work to support our clients. Something that brings our staff together is a widely felt value of seeing individuals succeed and pursue meaningful careers. After many years of service, two of our amazing staff members retired this summer. Annie, the warm and welcoming face at the front desk in client support, retired from the CCA in June after 20 years working at the University. Linda was a career advisor and, after 35 years of service to Co-op and Experiential Education (formerly CECA), retired in September. At CCA, people are at the centre of our work and we are immensely grateful for both Annie and Linda for their decades of dedication and commitment to the UWaterloo community.

Annie Noori 

We are extremely grateful that Annie shared parts of her incredible life with us here in CCA. A world traveller, Annie moved from Iran to Canada in 1977 and completed a Masters of Education Administration from the University of Western Ontario. Upon moving to Waterloo six years later, she immediately became active in the community through volunteer work. Annie began working at UWaterloo in 2000, joining the CCA team in 2006, where her warm presence was witnessed and appreciated by staff and students over the next 14 years. 

Annie was dedicated to supporting our students and was an integral part of our client support team. She was kind and welcoming to everyone who visited the Centre for Career Action, whether they had questions, were looking for support, or needed help navigating campus. She always made people feel comfortable and ensured they had the best experience possible when visiting our centre. In addition to being part of the CCA family, Annie was also extremely engaged in the campus community and built connections and friendships wherever she went. 

Now that Annie has retired, she spends her time swimming, gardening, socializing and watching science and history documentaries.  We miss seeing Annie’s bright smile in the halls of the Tatham Centre, but we look forward to her visits and laughter once we are back on campus. 

Linda Davis 

Linda has been an invaluable member of the Co-op and Experiential Education (CEE) over the past 35 years. She started off as a Student Records Clerk in 1985 and since then has been in several different roles, including Assistant Director and Faculty Relations Manager within the Co-operative Education unit, and most recently as a Career Advisor with our undergraduate advising team. Linda made several contributions to both CEE and the University of Waterloo, including creating Waterloo’s first Career Fair in 1988, which in 1994 was replaced by the Partners 4 Employment (P4E) consortium that represents a collaboration between the Waterloo, Laurier, Guelph and Conestoga.

Throughout Linda’s time on-campus, she showed endless dedication and commitment to taking care of others, both staff and students. Her tremendous knowledge and her background in teaching positioned her well as a reliable and generous coach and mentor in guiding new staff and new managers alike. Linda has a strong work ethic. When she saw something that was needed to support students and teammates, she was always courageous in advocating for change.

Not only was Linda’s time with the University a meaningful career, it also contributed to her personal life. Linda met her partner, Scott, on his first day of work in 1987. They were married in 1991 and had their daughter, Sara, in 1994.  All are Waterloo alumni, with Linda and Sara having both graduated with B.A.’s in Fine Art. Linda’s legacy lives on through Sara, who continues to work at Waterloo today.

Linda is known for her grace and resolve when faced with challenges. All of us at CCA will remember Linda’s dedication to our collective goals with deep gratitude. Since retiring, the Waterloo Fine Arts alumnae has enjoyed finishing paintings started some years ago and experimenting sculpting with cement in her art studio.

United Way campaign returns for some risotto and other notes

"By popular demand, the United Way Campaign Committee will be hosting another Virtual Cooking Show before the holidays," says a note from the United Way Campaign Committee. "During the October 29 event, we had many enthusiastic staff and faculty attend the show hosted by Chef Mark Meinzinger. Together, we raised $600. On December 10, Chef Meinzinger will be teaching us how to cook butternut squash risotto from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. We will also be featuring celebrity chef, Jeff Casello, associate vice-president, graduate studies and postdoctoral affairs and our host Alice Raynard, co-chair of UWaterloo United Way."

To join this event:

1. Purchase and pick up a meal kit with Food Services at Federation Hall, which includes all the ingredients you need for the risotto, then join our MS Teams event
   1. Price: $20.00 (includes a non-receiptable $5 donation to United Way)
2. Or, purchase a ticket to ONLY join our MS Teams event, and we will send you a list of ingredients which you can purchase yourself
   1. Price: $10.00 (includes a non-receiptable $5 donation to United Way)

Register online. Once you register you will receive more details via email about when to pick up your ingredients as well as the link to join the event. If you have any questions, please e-mail united.way@uwaterloo.ca.

Here's what’s happening at the Centre for Career Action (CCA) this week: 

• Tuesday, December 8: Skill Development Plan for Graduate Students, (Graduate Students/Post-docs) 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon EST

See CCA’s full offerings of virtual programming online. Students can register on WaterlooWorks.  

CCA virtual drop-in advising hours for December are as follows: 

• Résumé, cover letter, and interview drop-ins for UG and Masters students are offered 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. EST, Monday to Friday;
• Career Consult and work search drop-ins for UG and Masters students are offered, 12:00 noon to 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 noon to 1:00 p.m. EST, Monday to Friday.

Students can book all virtual drop-ins through WaterlooWorks. Online registration begins daily at 8:00 a.m.