Monday, May 1, 2023

Murray Gamble named Chair of the Board of Governors

The University of Waterloo has appointed Murray Gamble (BASc ’85 Civil Engineering) as chair of the University of Waterloo’s Board of Governors. His term of office begins May 1, 2023 and will run for three years.

Gamble is the president of the C3 Group of Companies, an innovative engineering and advanced construction technology organization based in Waterloo Region. A graduate of the University of Waterloo, Murray has been an active entrepreneur in the region for over 35 years, founding a number of companies with his partner Cameron Wood. He is also an active Angel Investor, mentor and board member for several Ontario-based technology companies. Murray is the chair of the Waterloo Region Economic Development Corporation board and is past chair of Innovators Alliance (the association of the CEOs of Ontario’s high growth firms).

Gamble was first appointed to Waterloo’s Board of Governors in 2011 and then served as a board member for several terms (2011-2014, 2014-2017, 2018-2019 and 2019-2021). He was named vice-chair of the Board of Governors in 2019.

He has been a member of a number of board committees, including the Board Executive Committee, the Audit & Risk Committee (on which he served as co-chair), the Governance Committee and the Building & Properties Committee, which he served most recently as chair.

Gamble also served on the University’s Senate in 2016 and 2017.

Gamble has served on the boards of many community organizations including the KW Community Foundation, The Centre-in-the-Square, The KW Art Gallery and Waterloo Region Immigration Partnership Council. He was the 2013 recipient of the Waterloo Region Barnraiser of the Year Award for collaborative community leadership, as well as the 2017 recipient of the Michael R. Follet Community Leader of the Year Award from the KW Chamber of Commerce.

“The University of Waterloo is fortunate to have a distinguished alumnus and experienced entrepreneur in this vital institutional role,” said Vivek Goel, president and vice-chancellor. “Murray brings with him a familiarity with the University, deep community involvement, and years of experience serving on the Board of Governors, with a valuable skill set honed in Waterloo’s unique entrepreneurial ecosystem that will position Waterloo for future success.”

“I’m very pleased to take on this role at the University of Waterloo,” said Gamble.  “As a governor over the past decade, I have witnessed the University expand its academic programs, research capacity and industry and community partnerships, along with its impact on the Region of Waterloo. This is an exciting time and with the Waterloo at 100 vision in place, I look forward to championing the next evolution of Waterloo.”

Gamble succeeds Cindy Forbes, who served as board chair from May 1, 2017 to April 30, 2023.

May is Sexual Violence Awareness Month

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

May is Sexual Violence Awareness Month and the Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Office (SVPRO) will have booths set up across campus encouraging discussion, thought and questions about sexual violence.  SVPRO provides support to all members of the UWaterloo community—students, staff and faculty—who have experienced or been impacted by sexual violence.

Sexual violence is any non-consensual sexual act directed at a person’s sexuality, gender identity or gender expression and can be physical or psychological in nature. Examples of sexual violence include: sexual assault, sexual harassment in the workplace, online sexual harassment, stalking, sending nude pictures without consent and not taking no for an answer. Anyone can experience sexual violence, and everyone is impacted by the harm it causes.

Unfortunately, sexual violence is often normalized in our culture. As a community we can work together to change harmful social norms and challenge our current culture of sexual violence, allowing us to move into a culture of consent. Please consider joining them at one of their workshops or events to learn more.

SVPRO will be conducting virtual workshops about how to talk to children about consent, pornography and consent culture, and dating and neurodiversity. They are also collaborating with the Sexual Assault Support Centre of Waterloo Region, Wilfrid Laurier University and Conestoga College for an evening of discussion on creating a culture of consent in sports with former OHL and professional hockey player Brock McGillis.

For more information and to register please see the SVPRO events page.

Connect with SVPRO at: svpro@uwaterloo.ca.

Red Dress Day at Waterloo on Friday

A message from the Office of Indigenous Relations.

Red Dress Day, also known as the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls and Two-Spirit People (MMIWG2S), is observed on May 5. The day honours and brings awareness to the thousands of Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people who have been subject to disproportionate violence in Canada. MMIWG2S is a human rights crisis of gender-based and racialized violence in Canada.

On Friday, May 5, from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., please join us on the B.C. Matthews Hall (BMH) Green as Elder Myeengun Henry leads a ceremony of commemoration. This event is intended to provide a safe space for UWaterloo community members to gather in honour and remembrance of MMIWG2S people, acknowledge the families of lost and missing relatives, and raise awareness of this ongoing crisis in Canada.

Elder Henry is asking for a student volunteer to act as Firekeeper during this event. If interested, please email indigenousrelations@uwaterloo.ca.

To learn more about the event, please visit https://uwaterloo.ca/health/events/red-dress-day-0.

To learn more about MMIWG2S, please read: “Reclaiming Power and Place” The final report of the National inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous Women and girls.

CEL launches TA training for facilitating online courses

A message from the Centre for Extended Learning (CEL).

The Centre for Extended Learning (CEL) is hosting an online certificate course entitled Getting Ready to Facilitate Online Courses: TA Training – Spring 2023, which will run from Monday, May 29 until Friday June 23.

This 4-week, online certificate course is suitable for any current or future UWaterloo teaching assistant (TA) wishing tobuild skills and knowledge of best practices in facilitating fully online courses, says the course description. You will discover how to successfully contribute to the facilitation of an online course, foster student engagement, support student outcomes, and build a sense of community using various forms of interaction. Participants will also learn how to use LEARN LMS tools to create presence and connection, assess student learning and work effectively in their TA/Preceptor role.  

The format of the course is asynchronous (no live virtual sessions), however, participants are required toengage with the course content, interact with other participants, and complete activities each week by the scheduled deadlines. Participants should expect to spend about 4 hours per week on the course.

Register on GoSignMeUp. Course registration closes on Monday, May 22.

Grand River Transit strike and other notes

Members of the University of Waterloo campus community should be aware of a Grand River Transit labour disruption, as the union representing GRT and MobilityPlus operators, fleet mechanics and service attendants are in a legal strike position as of today.

"During a strike, buses will not operate," says a statement from Grand River Transit. "ION trains will continue to run."

Check grt.ca/updates for more information about the strike.

For those affected by the labour disruption, there are a number of campus transportation resources available, including:

• Commuting tools on the Sustainability website
• Parking Services carpooling information
• Student Life Centre commuting resources
• University of Waterloo Rideshare on Facebook

The University has access to free carpool matching software through its membership in the Region of Waterloo TravelWise program, which can help employees and students share rides to campus. Drivers and people seeking rides can use TravelWise to get matched. Click on these links to register:

• Register as an employee
• Register as a student

If you drive to campus, consider offering a ride to a peer or colleague.

The Writing and Communication Centre (WCC) has announced that applications are open for Speak Like a Scholar, a program "designed to help Master's and PhD students develop their voices as independent scholars and give effective academic presentations with confidence."

The program, which runs from June 15 to July 6, will offer instructional readings, discussion topics, and feedback addressing many aspects of giving oral presentations in an academic context, including:

• Drafting spoken versus written texts
• Performance strategies and mental skills for public presentations
• Cultural contexts and expectations for spoken communication
• Principles of visual aid design
• Responding to questions and formulating questions for fellow presenters

Applications close May 26. Interested graduate students can apply on the Speak Like a Scholar application site.