Tuesday, August 17, 2021

President, provost update campus on self-declarations

A message from Vivek Goel and James W.E. Rush.

As the fall term draws closer, we wanted to provide you with further context and details on our approach to prioritizing the health and safety of our campus community and our commitment to ensuring that as many of our community as possible are fully vaccinated. Achieving the highest rate of vaccination possible is our most important tool to overcome this pandemic.

Last week, we announced that, starting September 1, anyone who comes to our campuses will be required to declare their vaccination status, and those that do not report being vaccinated must undergo regular COVID testing. We want to assure you all that we will be diligent and responsive as we implement this plan, and wish to provide further details.

We are encouraged to see that several other Ontario institutions are adopting similar plans. Indeed, our sector has led the way in implementing vaccine mandates, that many other organizations are now adopting.  As always, our requirements may change moving forward in response to changes in the public health environment and further guidance from government and public health officials.

The process to declare your vaccination status will be mandatory for anyone coming on to campus. The University will require you to provide an attestation that the information you give is accurate and truthful to the best of your knowledge. For those who are not vaccinated or choose not to answer, you will be asked to provide an attestation that you will participate in the rapid antigen screening program which will allow you to come to our campuses.

We trust that our community members will act with integrity and honesty in completing these attestations. Along with many organizations, we continue to advocate for the provincial government to provide an easily accessible proof of vaccination system.  At this time, we plan to continue to rely on your self-declaration of vaccination status.  However, we will ask you to consent to providing proof of your vaccination or test result status at any time if it is required.

We are committed to keeping all information you provide completely confidential and will only publicly disclose aggregate information. In order to properly administer the program to attain maximum compliance, we will follow up with individuals who do not participate in the vaccination self-declaration, screening or testing processes. Failure to participate may result in changes in your access to our campuses.

Starting September 1, the declaration must be completed before coming on to campus. We are asking all members of the community to complete the declaration by October 1, regardless of whether you are coming on to campus. You can expect us to be in touch with you before the start of term to let you know how to complete your declaration.

In July we announced proof of vaccination requirements for students living in residence to mitigate the risk in these congregate living settings. We are making very good progress in securing documentation from students moving into our residences.

To further protect our community, we are also developing a framework to assess other high-risk activities that will require mandatory proof of vaccination. This program of mandatory vaccination will soon add our clinical programs and placements. We will share information on other high-risk activities in the coming weeks.

We are grateful for your understanding, patience and adaptability as we prepare for an important fall term ahead.

COVID-19 testing, rapid screening and vaccination is available through Campus Wellness for all University of Waterloo students, employees, postdocs and their family members.

Change is difficult and can create stresses on individuals. If you are suffering or need to talk, you can contact the Employee and Family Assistance Program provided by Homewood Health at 1-800-663-1142.

United Way Campaign issues call for volunteers

A message from the University of Waterloo United Way Campaign Committee.

Are you looking for a new and fun way to support your community? How about connecting and networking with amazing colleagues from across campus? Want to exercise your skills in creativity and planning? Or maybe you’re looking for a great way to enhance and amplify your performance evaluation?

These benefits, and more, await you as a volunteer with the United Way Ambassador Team. Be a part of an elite group of individuals from across campus who not only provide a great sense of pride and purpose within their own departments, but also work to strengthen our broader campus and Waterloo communities.

And let’s be honest, the success of our United Way Campaign wouldn’t be where it is today without these incredible and dedicated volunteers.

We’ll be launching our United Way Campaign on October 1 and we’re hoping to have as many volunteers for each department as possible. Are you the one to help us spread the message widely about campaign events and how to donate?

Join our team as an ambassador by heading to our website to learn more and complete the volunteer form. Not sure if your department is represented? You can find a list of current Ambassadors online.

We’re looking forward to this year’s team and another fun and exciting United Way Campaign for 2021.

Thank you.

Remembering Registrar Trevor Boyes

C. Trevor Boyes, the University of Waterloo’s second, and longest-serving, Registrar, passed away on July 18, 2021.

Boyes joined the University in 1964 as Assistant Registrar, Admissions working with the University’s first Registrar, Alan Gordon. In December 1965 he was appointed Awards Officer for the Registrar’s Office, responsible for “coordinating the clerical functions and arrangements for the University’s student aid program. At the time, direct grants from the provincial and federal governments were converted into scholarships and were used to attract students from all provinces.

In October 1966, Al Gordon retired, and Boyes took on the mantle of University Registrar, a post he would hold for 30 years, guiding the development of Waterloo’s registrarial services through periods of rapid growth and technological change. His signature would appear on thousands of University diplomas, degrees and certificates, and he hooded countless graduands over the years as they crossed the stage during Convocation ceremonies.

“Co-op was the major attraction to many of the early students,” Boyes said in a 1996 interview with University historian Ken McLaughlin and David Biller published in The UW Gazette. “This led to a very diverse student body composed of very intelligent and innovative students. These students then attracted innovative faculty members, who in turn started the whole process over.”

For Boyes, one of the University's shrewdest recruitment moves was to appoint a full-time high school liaison officer, Steve Robinson. Robison had taken early retirement as the general secretary of the Ontario High School Teachers Federation. As such, he came to the job with a wide array of contacts and a great reputation throughout Ontario’s high schools. Boyes himself had been recruited to the University of Waterloo when he was a teacher at Orillia District Collegiate and Vocational Institute by Al Gordon, who had visited the area as part of the University’s high school liaison work, which in the mid-60s was a part of nearly every senior administrator’s job from President Hagey on down. Gordon soon persuaded Boyes to come to Waterloo and interview for a job in his office.

He served with distinction on a number of registrarial organizations, many of which he was instrumental in founding. He was a founding member (1964-1997) of the Ontario University Registrars’ Association, and served as its President (1974-1975 and 1995-1996). He was a member and/or Chair of various other organizations, including the Association of Registrars of Universities and Colleges of Canada (member; 1965-1997); Ontario Universities’ Council on Admissions (OUCA; member, from its inception to 1997; Chair; 1982-1984); OUCA Committee on Admissions Practices (Chair); Ontario Universities’ Application Centre Board of Management (now OUCA Advisory Board; member; Chair). He also served on various COU committees as well as committees associated with the management of the Ontario Universities’ Application Centre (OUAC).

Boyes was a much sought-after Chair and member of various internal University and external review committees, including the President’s Advisory Committee on Equal Rights (Chair; 1988-1990); external review of Brock University Registrar’s Office (1989); special review of the Registrar’s position, University of Western Ontario (1986); member, three-person team to review Registrar’s Office operations, Simon Fraser University (1975); Chair, Internal Review Committee for Purchasing Department, UW (1990); and independent reviewer of procedures of the International Qualifications Advisory Board of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (1993). From 1994 to 1996 he was a member of and Chair (1994-1995) of the UW Staff Relations Committee.

Boyes retired on July 1, 1996 under the University’s Special Early Retirement Program (SERP). He was named an Honorary Member of the University in October 1997. “Trevor Boyes’ distinguished leadership throughout his career at UW gained him the respect of colleagues both within and outside UW,” says his Honorary Member of the University citation.

In retirement, he remained active in the University of Waterloo Retirees Association (UWRA) and volunteered as Waterloo’s representative for the United Way campaign. He was involved in the planning process for the University’s 50^th anniversary in 2007. He was member and past-president of the Kitchener-Conestoga Probus Club and served for decades as an Elder at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Kitchener.

He is survived by his wife Mary-Jean, four children, and his grandchildren.

Uncharted podcast highlights a Writer with a capital 'W'

A message from the Office of Advancement.

Listen to the latest episode of Uncharted: Warriors in the World on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or Soundcloud.

Nadia Hohn (BA '01) is the author behind seven books for children. But until this year, she never believed that she could make a career in writing.In fact, she spent years feeling unsure of her career choices and searching for a new path. All the while, she was a passionate writer… but only in her free time.

Nadia joins the podcast to share how she eventually took the plunge into a writing career, and how it fits into her work as an advocate for diversity.

Read the show notes

Listen to this episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or Soundcloud.