Thursday, November 25, 2021

David Johnston to serve as Honorary Chair of the School of Optometry's fundraising campaign

The University of Waterloo’s School of Optometry & Vision Science (UWOVS) is announcing that The Right Honourable David Johnston, the 28^th Governor General of Canada and former UWaterloo president, will serve as Honorary Chair for the School’s $35-million campaign.

The campaign will support the School in its mission to address the growing national demand for eye care, to be at the forefront of vision-science research, and to deliver optometric education taught at North America’s highest scope of practice.

An artist's rendering of the proposed Waterloo Eye Institute.

A key mission of the Seeing Beyond campaign is to create the Waterloo Eye Institute (WEI), which would become Canada’s premier eye and vision-care centre. The WEI will harness innovative research and the expertise of the School’s faculty to deliver direct applications to patient care and help address the growing vision-care crisis.

“I believe in the power of collaboration, and I know that this remarkable community within the University will come together to make a world-class institute,” Johnston said. “We are barn-raisers here at Waterloo. We know how to help one another and do things so much larger than ourselves. That’s why I’m happy to make a personal contribution toward this important project.”

Located on Waterloo’s north campus, the WEI will include leading simulation technology to promote education, enhanced clinical facilities that support and expand primary and specialty care (like low vision rehabilitation, dry eye and myopia), two research centres in biomedical sciences and ocular imaging, and a state-of-the-art surgical centre. 

Johnston will lend his voice to the initiative as Canada faces a growing vision crisis. One in five Canadians are currently at risk of losing their sight due to eye diseases such as age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy.

For Johnston, his commitment to championing a world-class eye and vision-care centre at home is a personal passion after watching his mother struggle with vision loss for many years. “If she were here today, I know her vision would have been greatly enhanced if she’d had the chance to visit the WEI.” 

Johnston served as the fifth President of the University of Waterloo from 1999 to 2010 before becoming the Governor General of Canada. During his tenure as Waterloo’s President, Johnson oversaw the unprecedented growth of the institution’s global reputation, research capacity and leadership capabilities, paving the way for Waterloo’s emergence as a national leader in talent, ideas, and innovation.

For more information on the Seeing Beyond 2020 campaign, please visit https://uwaterloo.ca/seeing-beyond-2020/.

About the University of Waterloo’s School of Optometry & Vision Science

The University of Waterloo’s School of Optometry & Vision Science is a world-renowned centre for optometric education, vision science research and clinical care. As Canada’s only English-language Doctor of Optometry (OD) program, UWOVS graduates practice in communities across Canada, ensuring all patients receive the highest level of eye and vision care.

The SSO is Here to Help

A message from the Student Success Office.

The Student Success Office (SSO) has begun plans to welcome new and returning students for winter.  

For many new and upper year students, this January will be the first time they step foot on Waterloo’s main campus. To provide wayfinding support and a warm welcome, the SSO will offer a winter version of the Here to Help campaign. Starting January 5, volunteers will provide high-level information about services, directions to buildings, and more. Booths will be set up indoors in high-traffic areas of campus.  

You can support our students by wearing a Here to Help button or sticker. If you don’t have a sticker, you can pick up a sticker at a booth in January. Wearing the sticker signals that you’re more than just a friendly face – it shows that you are ready to share your knowledge of our campus and support new students in our community. 

On November 26, the SSO will launch a new session of the Grad Ready program. Created to provide a virtual introduction to graduate life, Grad Ready leverages resources from the Student Success Office, Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs, faculties and departments to provide the more than 600+ incoming graduate students with insider tips on campus, key services, and builds peer-to-peer connections through live sessions and message boards. 

To learn more about all new student transition activities, visit uwaterloo.ca/student-success-office-resources.

Purple4Prevention Consent Campaign begins today

A message from the Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Office (SVPRO).

Today marks the start of 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence (November 25 to December 10) and the first day of the Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Office’s (SVPRO) consent campaign, #Purple4Prevention. This campaign is a partnership with the Sexual Assault Support Centre of Waterloo Region (SASC), Conestoga College, and Wilfrid Laurier University to address sexual violence on campus.

SVPRO and SASC will be on campus today from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. in the Davis Centre (beside the Fishbowl and across from Tim Hortons) selling the custom purple tee shirts. A tee costs $0 - $10 sliding scale, pay what you can, with proceeds going to SASC. Where your tee shirt throughout 16 Days and also continue to show your solidarity during other important times of the year like Consent Week, which takes place in January each year, and Take Back the Night, a march of solidarity that occurs in the fall.

By purchasing and wearing these t-shirts, it shows how many in our communities stand in solidarity on an issue that often feels very solitary and isolating. Wearing these shirts and sharing messages online also creates opportunity for discussion and learning about the role we all play in creating safer campuses and communities. 

Learn more about this initiative and other actions happening on campus during 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence.

Administrative leadership positions available

A message from the Associate Vice-President, Academic.

The Office of the Associate Vice-President, Academic is seeking expressions of interest in two leadership roles.

Director, Academic Leadership Program

The University of Waterloo is seeking a faculty member with a track record as a successful academic leader to be the next Director of the Academic Leadership Program (ALP). This role includes:

• Primary responsibility for the successful design and delivery of the ALP;
• Organizing training and information sessions (workshops, forums, etc.). These sessions have historically been organized for Department Chairs/School Directors but have recently expanded to occasionally include a broader audience, including Associate Deans and Associate Chairs/Directors.
• Being available for consultation with individual Chairs.

Reporting to the Associate Vice-President, Academic, the Director of the ALP works closely with the Director of Organizational and Human Development and receives input from senior academic leadership, including the Vice-President Academic & Provost.

The Director of the ALP will have an ongoing academic appointment at Waterloo and will continue to report to their Chair/Director for such matters as performance reviews. They will have control over and responsibility for the ALP budget and administrative support from the AVPA office for ALP activities. The role normally comes with a two-course teaching reduction. Length of term is negotiable.

Chair, Undergraduate Communications Requirement Group

We are also seeking a candidate to fill the role of Chair for the Undergraduate Communications Requirement Group (UCRG). The candidate will identify the value of and be acquainted with UCR programming in at least one part of the University and be able to work successfully with UCR contributors in various roles (instructors, associate deans, chairs).

Over the past several years, many faculty members and staff at Waterloo have contributed to the development of the Undergraduate Communications Outcomes Initiative. The University moved from a test-based assessment of “competency” (via the English Language Proficiency Exam) to a robust teaching regimen focused on student development. The results have won praise from many stakeholders, including students and co-op employers.

More recently, the University has taken steps to secure this new approach academically, administratively, and financially. These steps have been approved by the University’s senior academic leadership and endorsed by Senate. A key part of operationalizing this new framework is the Undergraduate Communications Requirement Group (UCRG).

The Associate Vice-President, Academic is seeking expressions of interest in serving as the inaugural chair of the UCR Group. This is an important role as the UCR Group develops its processes and details of the new framework are sorted out. The role will report to the AVPA and will involve occasionally providing updates to others in the academic leadership of the University.

The Chair of the UCRG will have an ongoing academic appointment at Waterloo and will continue to report to their Chair/Director for such matters as performance reviews. Length of term is negotiable. The role is anticipated to require more work in the first year of UCRG operation than in subsequent years. For the first year, the role will come with a two-course teaching reduction funded by the AVPA Office. This will be reviewed after the first year once the ongoing workload becomes clear.

If you are interested in either of these positions, please see this news item on the Associate Vice-President, Academic's website for position descriptions and for information on how to apply. The application deadline is Friday, December 10, 2021. 

Queries regarding this role can be directed to David DeVidi, Associate Vice-President, Academic, c/o Ruth Huard, rlhuard@uwaterloo.ca.

Remembering Nagula Sangary

This article was originally published on the Faculty of Engineering website.

Nagula Sangary, a researcher with the Centre for Intelligent Antenna and Radio Systems (CIARS) and an adjunct associate professor in electrical and computer engineering, died on Monday, November 15.

Sangary was involved in the forming of CIARS and was well known for bringing his broad industry experience to his research and student mentorship.

After completing his undergraduate studies in electrical engineering at Texas A&M University in 1988, he earned his master’s and doctoral degrees at McMaster University. Sangary also earned an MBA at University of Oxford.

He worked as a principal scientist/technical director at BlackBerry. As part of the company from its early startup days when it was known as Research In Motion, he was a member of the team that pioneered the concept of internal antenna and miniaturization of wireless handheld devices. 

Recently, he was the CEO and President of Prudential Technology, a consulting company working with firms in the wireless and IoT industries.

The Faculty is grateful for Sangary’s tremendous contributions to the launch of CIARS and his research efforts in advancing Canada’s capabilities in electromagnetic and wireless technologies and the corresponding applications in satellite communication and phased array antenna systems.