Tuesday, April 4, 2023

Campus Wayfinding Project provides community update

A message from the Campus Wayfinding Project.

As spring returns to campus you have likely noticed new wayfinding signage – the result of a large-scale Campus Wayfinding Project that began in 2018. The goal of the project has been to create a positive campus arrival and navigation experience with a focus on pedestrian, parking, residence and building signage.

Since that time, multiple campus stakeholders, in partnership with Entro Communications (a firm with global experience in wayfinding design) have worked over the course of three phases to develop a comprehensive wayfinding system that is now installed across the Waterloo campus. Additionally, an initial design for interior wayfinding has also been developed and piloted in select locations. The feedback has been extremely positive, and the results are thanks to tremendous efforts by colleagues from across Waterloo.

As these phases of work have been completed, new wayfinding needs and opportunities have been identified. As a result, a new phase of work (Phase 4) has been developed and approved. This phase will focus on enhancements to existing exterior wayfinding (e.g., additional signage types), the development and installation of exterior wayfinding signage on our campuses in Cambridge, Kitchener and Stratford, and the development of a comprehensive interior wayfinding system.

If you have questions or would like to learn more please visit the Campus Wayfinding Project website.  

Become a Convocation Ambassador today

A message from Community Relations and Events.

Want to be part of the most exciting time on campus and grow your UWaterloo network?

Join the growing group of convocation ambassadors who will bring this celebration to life.

Become an Ambassador!

With 14 ceremonies taking place from June 13 to 17, we need over 200 ambassadors to make it a success.

Staff, faculty and students are encouraged to get involved, and managers are encouraged to promote this opportunity to their teams; there are many different roles and shifts available, providing new professional development opportunities and the chance to grow your network across campus. Training and meals are provided.

Visit the convocation website to learn more about the roles and to sign up!

Athletics Awards Banquet is now back on track - literally

Athletes of the Year Trophies were presented to a pair of track and field stars: Immanuel Onyemah and Hannah Blair.

A message from Athletics and Recreation. This is an excerpt of an article originally published on the Athletics website.

The Department of Athletics and Recreation was thrilled to celebrate the 2022-23 Waterloo Warriors varsity season at their year-end Athletics Awards Banquet on Friday night at the St. George Banquet Hall. Over 600 student-athletes, support staff, and VIPs gathered to celebrate an outstanding season by the Warriors, marking the largest banquet gathering in the 61-year history of the celebratory event.

"It is always an incredible night to come together and celebrate as one large group, and for the first time in four years we could do so, without any restrictions," said Director of Athletics and Recreation Roly Webster.

"We were able to celebrate all the amazing achievements from the 2022-23 season which included many outstanding individual and team performances. We are so proud of all of our student-athletes, coaches, therapists, and support staff as they all represented the Warriors brand with passion and determination throughout the entire year."

As a kickoff to the event, Indigenous Knowledge Keeper, Elder Myeengun Henry and Associate Vice President of Indigenous Relations Jean Becker led the graduating student-athletes into the main hall with the Eagle Staff, an important element of the Indigenous relationship to Earth and those that have protected it. The Eagle Staff was just recently sworn into the University of Waterloo this past week at a Sunrise Ceremony, marking the Athletics Awards Banquet as one of the first events for it to be present.

The top prizes of the evening, the Athletes of the Year Trophies were presented to a pair of track and field stars: Hannah Blair and Immanuel Onyemah.

Blair was named the 2023 Marsden Trophy Winner as the female athlete of the year for the second straight season. Blair was unstoppable on the track and field scene once again, winning her third straight OUA gold medal in the pentathlon, breaking her own point total with 4,014 overall points. She then went on to win two national medals at the U SPORTS Championship, first a bronze in the pentathlon accumulating 3,954 points followed by a silver in the high jump with a leap of 1.73m. Blair was named a U SPORTS second-team all-Canadian as well as a OUA first-team all-star. Overall, she won five gold medals throughout the season at various OUA meets.

Onyemah collected the 2023 Totzke Trophy as the male athlete of the year after he solidified himself as one of the fastest sprinters in Canada. Onyemah repeated as the 60m OUA champion, winning gold in a time of 6.70s. He then went on to win the silver medal at the U SPORTS Championship, besting his OUA time with a clocking of 6.67s for a new lifetime best to earn the national silver medal. Onyemah was also an OUA first-team all-star and U SPORTS second-team all-Canadian and was undefeated in all four of his 60m races at OUA meets this season.

Winning the WUSA Rookie of the Year Awards was Kara Mark from women's hockey and James Arango from men's soccer.

Mark was stellar in her first season as netminder of the women's hockey program earning a spot on both the OUA and U SPORTS All-Rookie teams. After an injury to starting goaltender Mikayla Schnarr, Mark stepped up to be the number one goalie and was remarkable in doing so finishing fourth in OUA goals against average (1.69) and sixth in OUA save percentage (.933).

Arango was just as impressive in his first season with the men's soccer program, earning the OUA west rookie of the year award and was also a nominee for the U SPORTS rookie award. Arango finished second in OUA scoring with eight goals and six assists for 14 points and was a big part in Waterloo's playoff run which saw the black and gold upset the No. 1 York Lions to reach the OUA semifinals.

The Team of the Year Award was presented to women's basketball following their historic season where they went 17-5 to finish first in the OUA west. They then went on to upset the Ottawa Gee-Gees in the OUA quarter-finals with a dominating home court performance, ousting the Gee-Gees by a score of 66-56 to reach their first OUA semifinals since 1986. Following that victory, the Warriors were ranked eighth in the U SPORTS Playoff Power Rankings.

Doubling up on the hardware was women's basketball head coach Jessica Roque who was named the Imprint Coach of the Year. Roque and her staff changed the culture and dynamic of the women's basketball program and the results speak for themselves. Roque and her Warriors are just getting started.

The prestigious Shield of Excellence Award was presented to 10 graduating Warriors who excelled in the black and gold from day one.

Blair and Onyemah from track and field were both recipients of the award after capping off illustrious careers while Janelle Clarke also from track were awarded shields. Also earning the graduating award was Sarah Glynn from women's volleyball, Carley Olivier from women's hockey, Vanessa Hughes and Kaitlyn Overeem from women's basketball, Lukas Wormald from swimming, Jack Hinsperger from football, and Sebastian Guerrieri from men's soccer.

It was an outstanding evening celebrating memorable performances from the 2022-23 Warriors season.

Read the rest of the article on the Athletics and Recreation website.

Instructors invited to fill out Faculty Survey of Student Engagement before April 10

A message from Institutional Analysis and Planning (IAP).

On March 21, Faculty and Instructors received an invitation to participate in the Faculty Survey of Student Engagement (FSSE), addressed by Thomas F. Nelson Laird from the Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research <noreply@qualtrics-survey.com>. FSSE examines instructors’ perceptions and expectations regarding effective teaching practices and student engagement with their studies, instructors, and staff and is a complementary data source to the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE).

Instructional staff (Faculty, staff, and graduate students) who have taught at least one undergraduate course in 2022 have until April 10, 2023 to participate. The Survey is voluntary and confidential. Survey results shared with Waterloo do not include any identifiable data other than the Faculty dimension, so no individual instructor can be identified. Visit uwaterloo.ca/iap/nsse2023#FSSE2023 or email analysis@uwaterloo.ca for more information.

Board of Governors meeting today and other notes

The University's Board of Governors meets today at 1:30 p.m. in NH 3407. Among the agenda items:

• A motion to endorse the vision paper, Waterloo at 100;
• A motion to approve the amendments to Policy 3 - Sabbatical and Other Leaves for Faculty Members;
• A motion to delegate the Board's authority to approve the University’s audited financial statements for the fiscal year ended 30 April 2023 (the “Financial Statements”) to the Board Executive Committee;
• A motion to approve a $6.4M (25 per cent) increase to the project budget of the ESC renovations;
• A motion to approve the award of a stipulated-price contract (CCDC2) to Harbridge & Cross Limited in the amount of $23,005,000.00 (excluding HST);
• A motion to approve amendments to the Statement of Investment Policies and Procedures for the University of Waterloo Endowment;
• A motion to approve the 2023/24 Operating Budget;
• A motion to approve the amendments to the Responsible Investment Policy (RIP);
• A motion to approve amendments to the terms of reference for the Building & Properties Committee;
• A motion to approve the amendment to the terms of reference for the Finance & Investment Committee, the Pension & Benefits Committee and the Pension Investment Committee;
• A motion to approve the amendments to the Statement of Investment Policies and Procedures (SIPP), and Fund Implementation Procedures (FIP); and
• A motion to approve sabbatical and administrative leaves.

The full agenda can be found on the Secretariat's website.

This meeting marks the conclusion of Board Chair Cindy Forbes's term of office. A respected financial executive and Waterloo alumna, Forbes was named chair of the University's Board of Governors in 2017, and was reappointed in 2020. Forbes first joined the University's Board as a governor in 2012 and has served four terms.

Governors will be attending a luncheon prior to the Board meeting to reflect on the University's governance year, thank outgoing governors, including outgoing Board Chair Forbes.

Speaking of the Board of Governors, we have the following update from the Secretariat regarding voting on the staff representative on the Board of Governors:

"Due to unforeseen circumstances we had to postpone the paper ballot part of the election," says the note from the Secretariat. "The ballots went out on Monday 2 April 2023 and are supposed to be returned until 17 April 2023. We expect to announce the results late on that day, or first thing on Tuesday, 18 April 2023."

Today, Waterloo International hosts Dr. Klaus Rümmele, Head of International Affairs Business Unit, from one of Waterloo's partner universities, the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). 

During his presentation, Dr. Rümmele will provide a brief introduction to KIT. 

The format will be a presentation of approximately 20 minutes followed by 40 minutes of Q-and-A and informal discussion. The event takes place at 10:00 a.m. this morning in the GEDI Boardroom on the second floor of EC5.