Wednesday, June 30, 2021

Reflections on the Hamdullahpur era

A message from Feridun Hamdullahpur.

As my time as president draws to a close at the end of the month, I want to thank this great community at the University of Waterloo: our students, faculty, staff, retirees and alumni, as well as all of our valued partners in the community and around the globe. 

What an honour it has been for me to hold the responsibility of leading this exceptional university. It is said that leadership is both a privilege and a burden. And while I took this incredible responsibility very seriously, I knew I was fortunate to be surrounded by such a capable and passionate community to support carrying out the University’s vision. 

The University of Waterloo has never had a one-dimensional vision or approach to how we operate. We have never favoured either teaching or research over the other– we know that we can excel in both, and offer our unique strengths of integrating experiential education, entrepreneurial culture, impact-driven research, and deep industry relationships.  

Equally important to our achievements in these areas was our unwavering focus on global and social values. This included establishing for the first time ever an Indigenization strategy, forming an anti-racism task force, making tremendous strides in gender equity, and building a university-wide student mental health framework. We demonstrated that within a culture of excellence, we must not lose sight of being a caring institution.  

And we do all this while investing in our students’ success and wellbeing. At Waterloo, we invest in our students so they can build a better future for Canada and the world. We know they will be the leaders of tomorrow. 

I was fortunate and delighted to have led Waterloo through two exciting strategic plans. As valuable as the resulting plan itself, was the tremendous participation and commitment from everyone in the collaborative process. The strategic plan was the entire University community’s plan. 

When I look at the University today, I see an institution transformed. In the most tangible sense, we have seen significant grown in our student, staff and faculty numbers, and expanded our campus infrastructure. We could not have done this without your conviction, participation and support. 

Over the past decade, our institution has also experienced an era of transformative entrepreneurship, expanded student development and support, and strengthened our global community.  

We have excelled in so many directions, from our teaching to our research and scholarship that continues to make an impact on the globe. We are an institution that highly values curiosity-based research and gives equal focus to translating that scholarship into commercialization and solutions for the general public good. 

Waterloo’s unique position in the world is far more visible, recognized and respected. Our ability to partner and network with likeminded institutions around the globe has become more prominent. Thank you. You have all helped propel the university into new frontiers. 

I am very proud to have taken over this institution from my mentor, great colleague and friend David Johnston. Together with my talented colleagues and senior team, we have worked hard to bring the University of Waterloo to new heights. And I hope that my successor, Vivek Goel, will do the same. I wish him all the best.  

I want to thank you all for your incredible trust in me and the support you have shown. We worked together to ensure the University was moving in the right direction and on track. Every day you are here contributing to the future of our country and the world. 

I would also like to specifically thank our students for inspiring me. Every day of my presidency, I was motivated by you—your dedication to your studies and your dreams for the future. Your motivation was my motivation. 

Again, I am so grateful for this chapter in my life. Leading this university has been an amazing dream come true. This is not goodbye, just “so long” from the Office of the President. I will always be part of the University of Waterloo community. I will always be a Warrior. 

A presidency in pictures

Many words have been written about the Hamdullahpur presidency over the past decade, and in the spirit of the old adage of a picture being worth a thousand words, the Daily Bulletin will close out Feridun's term of office by offering best wishes, and showing a selection of shots of the University's sixth president.

President Feridun Hamdullahpur in 2011.

Feridun meets with members of the Plant Operations night shift at a strategic plan mid-cycle review consultation session in 2011.

Feridun Hamdullahpur hands out cupcakes at the 28th annual University of Waterloo Canada Day celebrations at Columbia Lake on July 1, 2012.

Feridun Hamdullahpur and Rebecca Jamieson, president and CEO of Six Nations Polytechnic on the Six Nations of the Grand River, hold a traditional Wampum belt—known as a covenant chain—to mark the partnership between the two institutions in 2015.

Feridun wears an orange shirt for Mental Health Wellness Day in 2016.

Feridun serves up smiles to students at the President and Senior Staff Luncheon, held on the Davis Centre quad, in 2017.

Feridun holds the #CountMeIn sign to show support for the UN Women HeForShe campaign in 2017.

Feridun speaks with student volunteers at the Ontario Universities Fair in October 2017.

Feridun speaks at the President's Town Hall Meeting in 2017, celebrating the University's 60th anniversary.

Feridun sits in the cab of a truck in San Francisco while visiting Velocity alumni Embark Trucks in 2019.

Feridun Hamdullahpur holds the University of Waterloo's mace at the 2021 convocation ceremonies.

The gates are beginning to lower on free parking across campus

Parking permit sales and automatic deductions have been frozen like the cars in this photo, but the thaw is beginning.

The free ride, or at least the free park, is coming to an end.

Parking Services is starting to transition back to paid and enforced parking. "We are planning on a phased approach to get individuals used to parking in their lot," Parking Services reports. "At this time there is no definitive date when parking fees will be implemented." 

On Monday, July 5 at 3:00 a.m., all parking gates will be lowered.

"All vehicles without permits or transponders for those gated lots will need to move their vehicle prior to this date and time," Parking Services states. "To access these lots after they are lowered, you need a valid permit and transponder for the specific lot registered to your name and account. No deductions will be taken at this time. All other ungated lots will remain available to use, free of charge at this time." 

The affected lots include:

• A (credit card access available);
• H (credit card access available);
• L;
• O (credit card access available);
• R (credit card access available after 4:00 p.m.); and
• T.

Signs will be placed at the entrance to lots to indicate transponder access only.

If you have any questions regarding this change or wish to register any vehicles acquired or changed in the past year, please contact Parking Services, whose hours are Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Official launch of the Canadian Lean Higher Education Network

A message from Human Resources.

The University of Regina’s and the University of Waterloo’s Lean/Continuous Improvement (CI) communities have launched the Lean HE Canada network to provide university and college Lean/CI practitioners and those interested with an opportunity to network and share best practices in the higher education sector to meet the demand of Lean/CI in Canada.

The Canadian network aligned with the goals of the Americas division will provide members opportunities to share best practices and emerging techniques that will support service improvement across their organization. The network is led jointly by the University of Waterloo and the University of Regina. The core objective of the Canadian network is to build a community of like-minded individuals to expand knowledge and tools of CI/lean across Canadian higher education institutions while building strong, collaborative relationships.

The inaugural meeting was held on June 7^, 2021 with presenters Kimberley Snage, Network Lead, University of Waterloo, Denise Junek, Director of Innovation - Facilities Management, University of Regina, and focused on how network membership would be established as well as future plans based on opportunity and growth, such as supporting mentorship opportunities for lean in Canada.

If you are interested or would like more information on the Canadian Lean Higher Education Network, please contact the network leads Kimberley Snage, Director HR Projects, Technology & Analytics, or Ray Konecsni, Director IS Client Services.

What's open and closed this long weekend

The University will be closed for Canada Day on Thursday, July 1, and because the holiday falls in the middle of the week (or close enough to it) there will be an extra day off on Friday, July 2.

Many, if not most, campus operations will be closed, or have modified operating hours, during the holiday long weekend.

• The Student Life Centre will be closed on Thursday, July 1 and will be open from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Friday, July 2. Most businesses within the SLC will be closed Friday, however, save for the Turnkey Desk and the CIBC branch.
• University Library locations are closed except for book pickup services. Virtual reference chat and email hours are available on Thursday, July 1 and Friday, July 2 from 12 noon to 6 p.m.
• All W Store and W Print locations will be closed on July 1 and July 2. The W Store and W Print teams will begin processing online orders and responding to inquires placed over the long weekend on Monday, July 5.
• Most Food Services locations are closed, anticipating a reopening in September 2021, with the exception of The Market at CMH, which will be open from Thursday, July 1 to Sunday, July 4 from 11:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
• Indoor Athletics facilities remain closed while Waterloo remains in Step 1 of the provincial reopening. Check the Athletics website for the status of outdoor programs.  

To all those who are celebrating, have a Happy Canada Day, and enjoy the extended long weekend however you can. The Daily Bulletin will return on Monday, July 5.