The Daily Bulletin is published by Internal and Leadership Communications, part of University Communications
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Submission guidelines
Hallman Lecture will talk COVID and Indigenous communities
A message from the School of Public Health and Health Systems.
Please join the School of Public Health and Health Systems for a Hallman lecture and panel discussion on COVID-19 and Indigenous communities on May 19, from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. with keynote speaker Perry Bellegarde, national chief of the Assembly of First Nations.
The pandemic has had devastating and unique impacts on First Nation communities, particularly with the loss of respected Elders and Knowledge Holders. These impacts have been experienced differently across jurisdictions within Canada and bring to light critical opportunities for learning and advocating for a wide diversity of First Nation families and communities.
This Hallman lecture will include a discussion of the COVID-19 response from the perspective of Bellegarde, followed by a panel discussion on other national as well as regional successes and challenges.
Please register for COVID-19 and Indigneous communities in advance.
Larry Smith stepping down as Problem Lab director
The iconic Larry Smith is ironically stepping away from a start-up. He is stepping away from his director role in The Problem Lab student innovation program. Smith founded The Problem Lab in 2018 and has served as its director ever since.
“Larry’s passion for economics and entrepreneurship has paved his long Waterloo career as being one of the University’s most sought-after instructors, guest speakers and leaders,” writes Chris Read, associate provost, students. “The Problem Lab, the first of its kind in Canada, has helped many student innovators learn how to examine a problem. Through Larry’s leadership, the Problem Lab has supported thousands of students and entrenched Waterloo’s reputation for being the home to the most creative, energetic and determined students in the world. This creation was born out of Larry’s passion to ensure our students were dreaming big, thinking big, and readied to make their impact.”
The Problem Lab helps students find and understand important problems—the critical, but often overlooked, first step of entrepreneurial innovation. The Problem Lab was established with $300,000 in seed funding from Mike Lazaridis and Doug Fregin, principals of Quantum Valley Investments® and founders of Blackberry.
Smith is a Waterloo alumnus, holding a BA and MA from the University as well as an honorary degree from Conestoga College. His specialty is in the economics of innovation and forecasting. He received the University of Waterloo’s Distinguished Teaching Award in 1993. Smith made a splash on the world stage when his 2011 Tedx talk, Why you will fail to have a great career, went viral with more than 7 million views to date. His book, No Fears, No Excuses: What You Need to Do to Have a Great Career, was published in 2016.
“Larry’s work with UWaterloo will continue in his ongoing appointments with the Conrad School of Entrepreneurship and Business and the Department of Economics as an Adjunct Associate Professor,” Read writes.
Smith wraps up his term as director of the Problem Lab on Friday, April 30.
Waterloo co-op leader set to present at WIL conference
A message from Co-operative and Experiential Education (CEE).
A key figure in University of Waterloo Co-operative and Experiential Education (CEE) is set to present at an international book launch conference this week.
Judene Pretti, director of the Waterloo Work-Learn Institute (WxL), will present a chapter of Applications of Work-Integrated Learning among Gen Z and Gen Y students as part of the Work Integrated Learning Among Gen Y and Z Conference on April 29. The chapter is written by Pretti and associate provost of CEE, Norah McRae.
Pretti and McRae’s chapter in the work-integrated learning (WIL) book includes a case study of Waterloo’s world-leading Co-operative Education program.
Read about the conference here.
Celebrating 25 years of tax research impact
This article was originally published on the School of Accounting and Finance website.
The Waterloo Centre for Taxation in a Global Economy (Tax Centre) has taken a significant role in advancing and supporting tax research and education, not only at the University of Waterloo, but across Canada. As the Tax Centre enters its 25th year, Ken Klassen (MAcc ’89), Director of the Tax Centre and professor with the School of Accounting and Finance (SAF), sits down for a conversation about the Tax Centre's accomplishments and the influence that it has had on the accounting profession and the SAF curriculum.
Recognizing the Tax Centre’s initiative to enhance research and teaching in tax, Ken has been involved with the Centre since its beginnings. Ken remembers, “I’ve always been involved and worked towards the betterment of the Centre because I think it’s a really important initiative, both for tax in Canada and as well as for the School.” Naturally, Ken agreed to take over as director of the Tax Centre when asked back in 2011.
Reflecting on the success of the past 25 years, one outstanding accomplishment that the Tax Centre has contributed to is the development of the Master of Taxation (MTax) program. Ken expresses the significance of the MTax program at University of Waterloo and in Canada, “we now have many, many alumni [who] are in all areas of tax practice and that impact cannot be understated”. The high employer demand for both MTax graduates and co-op students in the professional world highlights the impact that the program has made to the profession.
The Annual Tax Policy Symposium, composed of a tax policy discussion panel and a presentation session of current research papers, is another significant component that has continued to be successful to both researchers as well as practitioners. Through the Symposium, accounting, economics and law researchers in tax are brought together to discuss tax policy issues across Canada. It is important to tax practice to have a mix of researchers and tax practitioners at the annual symposium. “That integration of the 3 groups as well as engaging the tax policy makers has [had a] beneficial outcome for the tax policy discussion in Canada more broadly,” states Ken.
In support of moving the research environment forward within Canada, the Tax Centre has successfully added more PhD alumni to tax faculty compliments across the country. “We have the most researching tax faculty members of any university in Canada. We have the most publications that have come out of our group of any other group in Canada, and we have by far the most tax PhD students [who] have graduated over the years,” states Ken.
Additionally, the Tax Centre has a significant impact in the development of the tax curriculum and instruction, particularly across Ontario, but also more broadly across the country. Ken reflects that “we tend to not only develop new curriculum but then share [it] with other colleagues and other universities for the improvement of education throughout the province and throughout the country.”
Continuously evolving as a Centre
Although the pandemic has created many disruptions in the industry, the Tax Centre has been evolving and will continue to do so, with its activities changing over time to follow the dynamic nature of tax. “We wouldn’t be around for 25 years if we hadn’t done that,” expresses Ken of the reason why the Tax Centre has been successful.
The Tax Centre is developing and facilitating the interchange between tax researchers and tax policy makers and encouraging these interactions for the improvement of research and instruction in tax. Moving forward, Ken shares that the Tax Centre is also conducting “original research that contributes directly to tax policy issues,” specifically targeted at commenting on developing tax policy and tax administration in Canada.
The pandemic has also created opportunities for the Tax Centre to develop original research on the fiscal challenge that has been created due to the government’s response. Ken reflects that “they spent billions of dollars, and probably rightly so to keep the economy going and support people in this difficult time, but the next step is… what is the response going to be?”
Once Canada has significantly emerged from the pandemic, Ken is hopeful that the Tax Centre will continue to make meaningful contributions to the discussion.
Recognition for distinguished contribution
As the Director of the Tax Centre and professor at SAF, Ken is recognized for his excellence in scholarly achievement and has been awarded the 2021 Haim Falk Award for Distinguished Contribution to Accounting Thought. “His insights on tax issues are highly sought after, and valued, by academics (many wrote of how much they valued his discussant comments), tax professionals and government regulators”, commented by members of the Award Committee. The Haim Falk Award also credits Ken for his work to build engagement in the tax professional community through the annual symposium and by serving on student PhD committees at the School. Congratulations Ken Klassen for this outstanding achievement.
May is Sexual Violence Awareness Month
A message from Human Rights, Equity and Inclusion (HREI).
May is Sexual Violence Awareness month, and it provides the opportunity to not only increase awareness about sexual violence, but also to build and strengthen capacity to end sexual violence on our campuses and broader communities.
The Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Office, along with partners like Campus Wellness and the Sexual Assault Support Centre of Waterloo Region (SASC), has created opportunities this month for all campus community members to work individually and collectively to end sexual violence.
Please share these workshops, events, and resources widely within your networks. There is power in standing with survivors, and in normalizing important conversations about consent, healthy sexual relationships, being an upstander and ally, and supporting survivors in our lives.
Browse workshops, events and resources
Honk if you miss Waterloo and other notes
"Each year, W Store releases a goose-inspired collection to celebrate the University’s iconic geese during the beginning of nesting season in April," says a note from Print + Retail Solutions. "This year’s “Nesting Season” line reflects on our current campus reality, with most of the University community continuing to study and work remotely."
The “Honk If You Miss UWaterloo” collection allows University students, staff and faculty to take home a piece of campus life – goose included. The collection includes a tee shirt, mug and postcard alongside other goose-inspired campus favourites. The full collection is now available online at https://bit.ly/WStore-NestingSeason.
Flags on the University of Waterloo campus were lowered yesterday to mark the National Day of Mourning, which remembers workers who have died, been injured, or become ill from their job.
The University's flag-lowering guidelines state that campus flags are lowered "to mark the death of a national or provincial figure, or to join in national mourning, the University will lower its flags if the Government of Canada orders flags lowered on federal buildings throughout Canada or throughout Ontario."