Monday, October 4, 2021

Thrive Month kicks off October 18

A message from Campus Wellness.

Celebrate Thrive from October 18 to November 12 with a series of events focused on building a culture of wellbeing and normalizing mental health struggles for Waterloo students and employees (faculty, staff, CUPE). Kick-off the month by joining the Thrive Walk on campus, in your neighbourhood, or at home on October 18. Don’t forget to register, wear your Thrive t-shirt, and post a photo with #UWThriveWalk. If you need a t-shirt, you can request one through the Thrive t-shirt order form. Quantities are limited.

We hope to see you at our events throughout the month. If you would like to host an event as part of Thrive or become an ambassador to spread awareness and share mental health resources, partner with Thrive.

Thrive is a mindset that encourages one to flourish. The initiative aims to increase mental health literacy, build healthy habits and self-care skills, and create an inclusive and supportive campus environment. We encourage everyone to share responsibility for promoting mental wellbeing on campus and have open conversations about mental health challenges.

Library Week is up Schitt's Creek

A message from the Library.

You're simply the best.

Each year during Canadian Library Month, the Library takes time to give back to the students, faculty and staff that we serve daily. This year is a little different than in the past, with all activities happening virtually. 

From October 4 to 8, all University of Waterloo community members are invited to participate in Love that journey for you, UWaterloo! - a week filled with Schitt's Creek-themed activities, including: Twyla's mystery escape room: the case of the golden book, Johnny Rose's entrepreneurial workshop in partnership with Concept, Jocelyn Schitt's library bootcamp, Ted's virtual animal talks, Ray Butani's virtual green screen, and more.

Best wishes, warmest regards. 

University of Waterloo equity survey: a Q&A with Jermal Jones

This article was originally published in the Catalyst e-newsletter.

The University of Waterloo launched an equity survey in June 2021 to almost 50,000 students, and employees, with the intention to confidentially collect demographic data and better understand the composition of our community. This will be an ongoing initiative to ensure that the institution has an accurate picture of its community, even as new students and employees join the University. Summarized results will be produced by Institutional Analysis & Planning (IAP) and with feedback from members of the Equity Data Advisory group.

The Catalyst did a Q&A with Jermal Jones, manager, equity, human rights equity and inclusion, a member of the team spearheading the equity survey, to learn more about the initiative. 

Why do an equity survey?

An objective of the University's strategic plan is to improve the representation, participation, and engagement of equity-deserving groups within our community. Collecting equity data is important because it aids university leadership in taking concrete steps to identify and remove institutional barriers to equity. By participating, we are all contributing to Waterloo’s vision of a more equitable work and learning environment for all. 

How will the University use this information?

The survey results will be used to help the university, faculties, and academic support understand how to improve the representation of equity deserving groups, and to increase their participation in and benefits from the programs and services that are offered. The goal is to create a more equitable campus which includes spaces, programs, and supports for equity-deserving groups. 

Can you share any updates on preliminary statistics?

The best way to get an update on survey response rates is to check the recently launched Leader Board webpage. This tool showcases participation rates of the equity survey across campus. You can help increase your unit’s participation rates by completing the survey before Oct 31. For example, currently, Environment is the faculty to beat, among all faculty areas!

If I haven’t already, how can I complete the survey?

Students and employees who have not yet completed the survey receive a mid-month reminder to participate via email from UWaterloo Communications (msc-communications@uwaterloo.ca). 

Students and employees can search their Waterloo inbox for the subject line "Take Waterloo’s Equity Survey Today." In this email, they will find a participation link that is unique to them. Once completed, they will no longer receive reminders to participate. Students and employees can also locate a link to participate in the Learn and Workday alerts, available as of September 20.

A snapshot of participant data, from mid-June to Oct 31, will be included from the first round of data collection, expected to be released in late fall 2021. It’s very important that we have as high a participation rate across campus so that those reports reflect the makeup of our campus community. We are requesting that members of our community take five minutes to complete the survey, which will contribute towards creating an inclusive environment.

Where can I go to learn more? 

Please explore the Equity Survey Information webpage.  You can also listen to episode 103 of the Beyond the Bulletin podcast, which will be available from Friday, September 24, 2021, at 8:00 a.m. A segment of that episode features Jermal Jones speaking with host Pamela Smyth about the equity survey. 

Designing homes that float

By Carol Truemner. This article originally appeared on Waterloo News.

A Waterloo School of Architecture professor’s amphibious house research in Vietnam is highlighted as a Global Best Practice project at Expo 2020 Dubai, which opened October 1 in the United Arab Emirates.

Elizabeth English’s award-winning work will be prominently showcased for the month of October in the world exposition's Opportunity Pavilion focused on addressing major global challenges and home to the United Nations Hub. 

Two videos produced by the BBC – How amphibious housing is transforming lives, narrated by English, and Keeping Our Heads Above Water – accompany the Waterloo exhibit.

Helping people stay in the communities they love

English, the founder and director of the Buoyant Foundation Project, a not-for-profit organization based in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, and Cambridge, Ontario, designs buoyant houses for flood-prone areas throughout the world, including south Louisiana, the Canadian north, Jamaica and Vietnam.

The project’s retrofitted structures float on the surface of rising floodwaters and then come to rest on the ground as the waters dissipate. The earth-friendly approach works in synchrony with natural flood cycles, rather than trying to control the forces of nature.

English’s work focuses on retrofitted houses rather than on new structures she feels should not be built in wetlands or on flood plains.

“We need to be supporting the communities of people who have been living in the same place for generations and, in some cases, hundreds of years,” she says. “They deserve to be able to stay in the place they love if they are able to stay there safely.”

Owned by a rice farmer in Vietnam, this retrofitted house shown on dry land will float to the surface of rising floodwaters. 

The Buoyant Foundation Project has designed several amphibious houses, built two prototypes and retrofitted four houses owned by rice farmers in Vietnam.

The houses in Vietnam were retrofitted with floatation devices, including bundled gasoline jugs used to displace water.

English’s amphibious house research is becoming significantly more important with the increase in flooding due to climate change or exacerbated by climate change.  Much of the flooding can also be attributed to human-made upriver development, she says.  

The Buoyant Foundation Project has been featured in publications such as the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and the New Yorker, and recognized with honours, including first place in the sustainable products category of the 2019 Architecture MasterPrize Product Design Award.

Three main themes

Postponed last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Expo 2020 Dubai runs until March 31, 2022.

More than 190 countries, including Canada, have pavilions at the world exposition, which has three core themes – opportunity, sustainability and mobility.

Due to the University of Waterloo’s current ban on international travel because of the coronavirus, English was not in Dubai for the opening of her exhibit.  She hopes to visit it in person whenever the University’s travel restrictions are lifted.      

Elizabeth English explains how amphibious housing can save communities in a 2019 TEDx Talk. 

Keeping Well at Work Daily Inspirations continue and other notes

Today's Daily Inspiration

Hydration is critical to good health

And dehydration can contribute to fatigue, headaches and dizziness. While individual fluid needs vary, most adults need about 2-3L of fluid a day. Keep water close to you all day – sip frequently or set reminders to help maximize hydration. Try jazzing up plain water with a slice of lemon, some fresh berries or cucumber and mint.

See all Daily Inspirations on the Keeping Well at Work conference site. Questions and contest entries can be sent to ohd@uwaterloo.ca or tweet @OHDuwaterloo.

The next University of Waterloo Staff Association (UWSA) Area Reps meeting, scheduled for Thursday, October 7, is a great opportunity for staff members to meet the candidates for the UWSA Board of Directors.

The meeting will be held on Thursday, October 7 at 12 noon on MS Teams and part of the agenda includes five-minute statements from each of the four candidates plus time for a Q&A.

"The purpose of the Area Reps committee is to exchange information about current issues facing staff at UWaterloo and to keep an open line of communication between the UWSA Board of Directors, Area Reps, and all staff in general," says a note from the UWSA. Staff are invited to attend, even if you're not an Area Rep yourself.

UWSA Board of Director election polls open on October 12 and close on October 21.