Wednesday, February 23, 2022

Spring 2011 to Fall 2016 courses to be removed from LEARN

A message from Information Systems & Technology (IST).

On Tuesday, March 15, courses from the Spring 2011 to Fall 2016 terms will be removed from LEARN. Community groups and Master courses will not be impacted. Instructors who wish to retain a local copy of their course content are encouraged to follow the Export course components instructions provided by D2L Brightspace.

Instructors who would prefer to transition their older teaching materials to Open Educational Resources (OER) as part of the course export process may contact Mike Chee, mchee@uwaterloo.ca, Open Education Librarian, for assistance.

Instructors will receive this message directly. An initial message about this work was shared with instructors at the start of the Fall 2021 term.

Black history at Waterloo in photos

This is an excerpt of an article originally published on Waterloo News.

Inspired by archival photos published with the October 2021 story, A brief history of Black experience at Waterloo, 1960s -1990s, Dr. Christopher Stuart Taylor, associate vice-president Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Anti-racism, had an idea. He wanted the images of Black faculty and students from our university’s past to be seen in large format in spaces around campus. Running with the idea, staff from the Library and Arts worked to surface more archival photos of Black faculty, students, and staff along with their histories. Information and reflections were also shared by other campus members. The result is a poster series marking Ujima Black History Month 2022.

Professor James Harris joined Renison College (now Renison University College), School of Social Work, as a part-time instructor in 1978 and became Associate Professor and Director of Social Work Studies in 1980. Dr. Harris wrote a chapter in Canadian Social Welfare – the first textbook based on Canada’s experiences with social welfare. In 1983 he developed the first social work distance education course at Waterloo, and in 1985 created a new course that combined religion and social work practice.

Professor Murchison Callender joined the School of Optometry and Vision Science in 1968, the first Black faculty member in optometry in Canada and possibly in North America. Dr. Callender was known as a wonderful teacher, especially dedicated to graduate students, and was an internationally respected expert in the rapidly growing field of contact lenses throughout the 1970s to the early 2000s when he retired. 

Professor Donald M. Amoroso (1926-1996) was born in Trinidad. He earned a BA and MA from the University of Toronto and completed his PhD in Clinical Psychology at the University of Waterloo. A member of the Kitchener-Waterloo branch of the John Howard Society and a consultant with Ontario’s correctional services, one of Dr. Amoroso’s areas of study was reactions to and attitudes about pornography.

Professor Karl M.H. Bennett specialized in economic development focused on trade policy and finance. He was chair of the Department of Economics from 1981 to 1987 and retired in 2002. During his tenure at Waterloo, he served on the Government of Canada Treasury Board in 1971 and 1982, the UN Caribbean Regional Integration Advisory Team in 1975, and the Ontario Premier’s Council on Economic Renewal from 1991 to 1995.

Engineering student Olatokunboh (Toks) Oshinowo (1939-2015) in 1966, reading an edition of The Enginews. Formerly of Nigeria, Oshinowo served as President of the University of Waterloo Engineering Society and co-founded the International Student Association. Drawn to Waterloo because of its co-op and chemical engineering programs, he came to Canada in 1962.

In a 1966 profile in the University of Waterloo Quarterly Report he had the following advice for students new to campus: “To know a country is to meet its people at all levels, and feeling at home and making friends depends on what you put into it.”

Students (left to right) Ekwele Lobe (Lobe) Nwalipenja, of Kumba, West Cameroon, Ronald S. Edari, of Kenya, Chukuma Nwachuku, of Nigeria, and Oluremi (O'Remi) Balogun, of Nigeria, posed with a globe to mark the launch of the 1966 fundraising campaign for the African Students Foundation, a private organization that raised tuition funds for students from Africa, like themselves, studying at schools in Canada.

Faye Blackwood photographed as Athlete of the Week in January 1980. She was inducted into Waterloo Warriors Hall of Fame in 2000.

A member of the Warrior Track team from 1976-1981, Blackwood graduated from Waterloo with a BSc Hons Kinesiology in 1981 and went on to a full career in athletics. Her achievements include 1986 Indoor and Outdoor National Champion in 60m and 100m hurdles, and coaching the Canadian Paralympic team for the Barcelona 1992 and Atlanta 1996 games.

Yulerette Gordon worked at the Library from 1966 to 1968, left to study library science at the University of Toronto, then returned to Waterloo in 1977 and remained here until her retirement in 2004. She held various positions including Assistant Head of Cataloguing and was an Applied Health Sciences Librarian when she retired.

Based on available information, Yuli (to those who knew her well) was the first and only full-time, permanent Black librarian to have worked at the University of Waterloo Library.

Nigerian engineering students (left to right) Adesanya (Ade) Akadri, Oluremi (O’Remi) Balogun, and Samuel Ilechukwu (1941-2013) chat with Douglas Wright, Dean of Engineering in 1961.

At the 1966 convocation (left to right) Douglas V. Gonder, honorary doctor of laws, Gen. A.G.L. McNaughton, honorary doctor of engineering,  Oluremi (O’Remi) Balogun, graduating engineer,  Dean Douglas Wright, and Chukuma Nwachuku, graduating engineer.

All archival photos courtesy of the University of Waterloo Library. Special Collections & Archives, Kitchener-Waterloo Record Photographic Negative Collection and University of Waterloo Archives, Graphic Services fonds.

Special thanks to Danielle Robichaud, Digital Archivist, Special Collections & Archives.

Learn more about Ujima Black History Month.

Come one, come all to the Together|Ensemble conference

A message from the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) Canada.

The University of Waterloo is hosting a major national conference on sustainability next week.

Together|Ensemble is Canada’s national conference devoted to tracking progress on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The conference represents an all-of-society approach to addressing Canada’s toughest sustainable development challenges, bringing together the private sector, academia, government, and civil society.

Progress on the SDGs requires unprecedented cross-sectoral collaboration and innovation that touches all aspects of Canadian society. By working together, we can put in place the transformations needed to achieve the ambitious agenda of the SDGs.

The University of Waterloo is proud to be the lead organizer for this national dialogue.

Together|Ensemble will take place virtually from March 2 to 4.

Register today for this free online event.

Two SJU students to join virtual meeting with the Pope; other notes

"St. Jerome’s University is pleased to support SJU students Brendan Whittle and Claudia Defazio, who will be representing Canada at Loyola University Chicago’s upcoming virtual meeting with Pope Francis," says a note from St. Jerome's University. “Building Bridges: A Synodal Encounter Between Pope Francis and University Students” takes place on February 24, 2022, and includes students from North, Central and South America. Register at: https://www.luc.edu/popefrancis/.

The Waterloo Artificial Intelligence Institute (Waterloo.AI) will be hosting a Co-Funding for AI Applied Research Projects virtual event on Thursday, February 24 from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. "Funding agencies Mitacs, NSERC and Ontario Centre of Innovation (OCI) will each present co-funding opportunities for AI Applied Research Projects," says a note from Waterloo.AI. "Key takeaways for both Industry and Academia are to understand each individual program and further opportunities for bundled matching."

Check out the Waterloo Artificial Intelligence Institute's website for more information.

Just a reminder that there will be booster clinics located in the Student Life Centre basement area, in the old W Store location today from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and on Thursday, February 24 from 1:30 p.m. to 3:45 p.m.

The booster clinics, operated by the Region of Waterloo Public Health and supported by Health Services, are available to anyone in the Waterloo community who meets the provincial eligibility requirements. No appointment is required.

In addition, Region of Waterloo Public Health has announced that they will be back for two more pop up COVID-19 vaccine clinics on February 28 and March 2:

•  Monday, February 28, 1:30 p.m. to 3:45 p.m.;
• Wednesday, March 2, 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

National Public Radio (NPR)’s podcast “Short Wave” recently featured an interview with Waterloo alumnus (and Canada's Drag Race contestant) Kyne Santos celebrating the beauty of math (and drag). 

The Advising Community of Practice has extended the call for proposal deadline for the 2022 Advisor Conference: Riding the Wave of Change. Submissions are open until Thursday, March 3. If you need assistance developing your proposal idea or contextualizing it within the framework of academic advising, please email success@uwaterloo.ca to connect with a member of the Professional Development working group.