Monday, February 7, 2022

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• Special Research Talks event will feature Michaelle Jean
• Waterloo's Man with a Plan: Dennis Huber to retire in December
• Unmasking the face covering situation on campus
• Modified 2021 Staff Performance Summary form now available
• All systems go
• Notes as students return to campus

Special Research Talks event will feature Michaelle Jean

A message from the Office of Research.

Join us for a special edition of Research Talks, “Black History is World History: From Moment to Global Movement,” on Thursday, February 17 from 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Please register to receive a link to take part in this presentation and discussion featuring:

The Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, is Chancellor, St. Paul’s University College, University of Waterloo and former Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of Canada.

A struggle of epic proportions has been waged for centuries to resist and overcome the idea that a superior “race” should rule over the peoples and resources of the world. In a passionate talk informed by experience, The Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean will draw insights from this legacy to convene us all to action, in a global push for emancipation. 

Research Talks is supported by the Research Support Fund.

Waterloo's Man with a Plan: Dennis Huber to retire in December

Dennis Huber, the University of Waterloo’s longest-serving senior administrator, will retire on December 31, 2022 after a 36-year career.

President and Vice-Chancellor Vivek Goel made the announcement in a memo to employees circulated earlier this morning.

Dennis received an Honours BBA from Wilfrid Laurier University, completed the Industrial Engineering Program at Conestoga College, and is a Certified Management Accountant. Prior to coming to Waterloo, Dennis worked for several manufacturing firms located in southern Ontario.

Huber joined Plant Operations in 1986 as Manager of Systems and Records and later served as Director of Business Services. In 1996, he was appointed Associate Provost, General Services and Finance, with responsibilities that covered Plant Operations, financial services and budgets, purchasing and Central Stores. In January 2001, after an organizational review of the University’s leadership structure, his role was expanded and renamed to Vice-President, Administration and Finance.

“Dennis has served as Vice-President, Administration and Finance for more than two decades, a record-setting tenure as a senior leader at Waterloo, and as such he is an invaluable source of institutional memory and administrative continuity,” wrote Vivek Goel. “He is well-known across campus for his dedication to the University.”

Over the past 36 years since Dennis joined the University, Waterloo’s annual financial activity and its pension plan assets have increased more than four-fold; and the University has eliminated all externally financed debt.

He chaired the President's Advisory Committee on Design, which worked to maintain the highest standards in the University’s physical environment, with a focus on environmental responsibility, efficiency, and safety. During Huber’s tenure, the University’s facilities more than doubled in size, Waterloo acquired an additional 50 acres of land and buildings; and the institution opened four satellite campuses: The School of Architecture (2004), the School of Pharmacy (2009), the UAE campus (2009-2013) and the Stratford School of Interaction Design and Business (2010). Dennis championed two campus master planning exercises that led to the interconnection of most buildings within the Ring Road; successive improvements to outdoor spaces, and the development of the Research + Technology Park on the University’s north campus.

“Among his many admirable achievements is his ability to determine exactly how much paperwork one can keep atop their desk before exceeding its weight limit – anyone who has visited his office in Needles Hall can attest to this impressive feat,” President Goel writes.

As co-chair of the President’s Advisory Committee on Environmental Sustainability (PACES), Dennis helped accelerate the University’s commitments to environmentally sustainable campus operations.

“During his time at Waterloo, Dennis has worked closely with five University presidents—Douglas Wright, James Downey, David Johnston, Feridun Hamdullahpur, and myself,” President Vivek Goel writes. “I know that I speak for my predecessors when I thank Dennis for lending a hand to support the University’s ambitious visions and providing a much-needed voice of reason when executing those plans.”

The search process for Dennis’s successor will begin in March and will aim to conclude in early Fall.

“I know you’ll join me and the University’s senior leadership team in thanking Dennis for his long service to Waterloo and wishing him all the best in retirement,” President Goel’s memo concludes.

Unmasking the face covering situation on campus

The University has based its current approach for face-coverings on the latest guidance from the Public Health Agency of Canada and Public Health Ontario for general, non-healthcare settings. In response, Waterloo is providing access for face coverings at no cost to units for employees performing essential in-person work. 

As per the University's guidelines, non-medical mask/face coverings must be worn by all employees, students, visitors, and contractors in common use areas of University buildings. This includes corridors, lobbies, washrooms, elevators, classrooms, teaching laboratories and meeting rooms.

Where physical distancing is a challenge, an ASTM Level II medical mask is recommended. Layering a cloth mask over a medical/disposable mask also adds protection. See guidance provided by the Public Health Agency of Canada.

Since January 1, Central Stores has already distributed 40,000 masks to units on campus for employees. Starting Monday, the University will start distributing masks to students coming to campus for free. Currently, the University has 5,000 packages to distribute. Each package contains one cloth mask and four PM2.5 filters. Students can collect one package each while supplies last from one of many campus locations, including:

• Front desks in Campus  Housing;
• Turnkey desk in SLC and DC;
• Grad House; 
• Library; 
• Recreation Facilities; 
• The Centre; 
• Greeters around campus at various locations;  
• and satellite campuses. 

In general, masks should fit well and have multiple layers, including at least two layers of breathable, tightly woven fabric such as cotton and an effective middle filter layer.

Modified 2021 Staff Performance Summary form now available

A message from Human Resources.

In December, you received a memo from James Rush, Vice-President, Academic & Provost announcing the changes to a more flexible performance appraisal process again this year. Staff employees can choose from one of two options for performance documentation for 2021:

• Completion of the standardStaff Confidential Appraisal form, or
• Completion of a new modified 2021 Staff Performance Summary form

Staff employees will notify managers of their preference for performance documentation. As well, the deadline for finalizing performance documentation, and for ratings to be submitted to Human Resources, has been extended to March 22nd.    

Learn more about the flexible staff performance appraisal process for 2021.

All systems go

By Brian Caldwell. This article was originally published on Waterloo News.

Perseverance is paying off for two Waterloo Engineering graduates who co-founded an ambitious medical hardware company.

Five years after launching Vena Medical to commercialize their fourth-year design project, Michael Phillips and Phil Cooper announced their first government approval this week for a device to remove blood clots from the brains of stroke patients.

 “We couldn’t be more excited that our first regulatory success is right here in Canada, and this means the first patients in the world to benefit from our technology are going to be Canadian,” Phillips, the chief executive officer, said in a media release.

Michael Phillips, left, and Phil Cooper of Vena Medical during their early days at Velocity.

Phillips and Cooper were classmates in the mechanical engineering program when they were inspired at an on-campus talk by celebrated alumnus and venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya to tackle the much harder of two ideas they had for their Capstone Design project.

Six months later, working out of the Velocity incubator at the University of Waterloo, they won $50,000 in backing from Palihapitiya and his former wife, Brigette Lau, also a Waterloo alumnus, to pursue commercialization after graduation in 2017.

“We have a long way to go, but we’re still excited about it,” Cooper said at the time.

Now based out of the Medical Innovation Exchange in Kitchener, Vena celebrated a key milestone this week after earning Health Canada approval for a device that combines a balloon guide catheter and a distal access catheter used in thrombectomy to remove blood clots in the brain.

Going from start-up to scale-up

The inflatable balloon temporarily restricts blood flow while surgeons use tools to remove the clot, increasing the chances of success on the first attempt. Advantages over existing, separate devices include better patient outcomes and reduced costs.

“Obtaining important regulatory clearances like this one, coupled with the expansion of our team through key senior hires, is allowing us to transition from a start-up to a scale-up,” Cooper said.

Phillips and Cooper, president of the seven-person startup, expect to work towards U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval later this year. With its Canadian licence in hand, Vena is initially collaborating with hospitals in Ontario with a goal of starting a pilot project to use the device in operating rooms.

The Vena Balloon Distal Access Catheter, as it is called, developed out of the company’s flagship product, a tiny camera – billed as the world’s smallest – to allow doctors to see inside veins and arteries during stroke surgery.

Notes as students return to campus

Starting today, students will be returning to campus in greater numbers as most classes, tutorials and lectures feature in-person experiences.

To provide support and a warm welcome, students can find volunteers from the Student Success Office each day from February 7 through 11, in high traffic outdoor areas around Ring Road, including:  

• In front of SCH;  
• In front of BMH;  
• In front of DC, near the bus stops;  
• In front of the SLC; and  
• Between MC, QNC and B1, in the Peter Russel Rock Garden.

Several Food Services locations will also be open for business, including:

• Tim Hortons SLC: 7:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.;
• Tim Hortons DC: 8:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.;
• Subway: 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.;
• Quesada: 11:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.;
• Teriyaki Experience: 11:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.;
• Jugo Juice SLC/PAC: 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.;
• Starbucks STC: 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.; and
• The University Club (pick-up & delivery): 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

The Library has announced that it will be expanding in-person services and hours starting today.

The COVID-19 website now has a comprehensive list of classes that are staying online until February 28.

More information about what's open on campus can be found on the COVID-19 website.