The Daily Bulletin is published by Internal and Leadership Communications, part of University Communications
Contact us at bulletin@uwaterloo.ca
Submission guidelines
Acknowledging the trauma of Hagey Hall incident
A message from James W.E. Rush, Vice-President, Academic & Provost.
Yesterday our community was confronted by violence.
In a shocking attack at approximately 3:40 p.m., a member of our campus community stabbed a professor and two students with a knife in Hagey Hall. All three people were taken to hospital to be treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
Out of respect for their privacy we are not sharing more information about their identities. I acknowledge that many of you are aware of who is involved. If you know the individuals, be conscious of their need for care and support, as well as the trauma they are experiencing.
The suspect was arrested on campus shortly after the attack through swift collaboration between Waterloo Regional Police Service and the campus Special Constable Service. We are grateful to these first responders for their quick action and for the immediate help from the IMPACT mental health crisis team who were on hand to support the students in the class very soon after the incident.
Hagey Hall will be open today and all classes and other activities scheduled will proceed as planned.
We recognize that this event may require you to step away from your work or your studies temporarily. Please check in with your supervisor or professor, as appropriate, if you need some time to do this.
Addressing causes, and harms
The attack happened in a classroom during a lecture for Philosophy 202 – Gender Studies. Many news outlets and social media sources will share information on the events of Wednesday. I acknowledge that many people will speculate about the motivation for this attack; we must be patient and have confidence in the judicial process. I urge you to focus your energy on supporting one another during this very traumatic time.
In the coming days many of you will have questions about why this happened and about the University’s response. My commitment to you is that senior leaders will be as transparent as possible with the information we have.
I am aware that the emergency alert system, despite being tested earlier in the day, did not activate as quickly as we would all have expected. One of our priorities in assessing how we can better support you in future will be to look again at WatSAFE and our emergency notification systems to ensure we have processes that work as expected when we need them.
There is help available
We have all just experienced something traumatic. Please know that support is available. You can contact any of the following resources:
- Students: If you feel overwhelmed or anxious and need to talk to somebody, please contact Counselling Services at Campus Wellness: 519-888-4096.
- Employees: Our Employee and Family Assistance Program is available 24/7 for counselling, coaching and support. Call 1-800-663-1142 or visit Homeweb.ca.
These community supports are available as well:
- Here 24/7 - 1-844-437-3247 (available for immediate support)
- Grand River Hospital - 519-749-4300
- St. Mary's Hospital - 519-744-3311
- Good2Talk - 1-866-925-5454
- Crisis Services Canada - 1-833-456-4566 or by text 45645
- Empower Me (1-844-741-6389)
- MATES is a one-to-one peer support program that provides services to students who are experiencing personal or academic concerns or low-level mental health and wellness difficulties
- IMPACT (Integrated Mobile Police and Crisis Team) is a partnership between the UW Special Constable Service, Counselling Services, and the Canadian Mental Health Association. IMPACT workers provide Mental Health care in after-hours settings when counselling is unavailable. IMPACT workers are available by contacting the UWSCS at 519-888-4911. IMPACT Hours are 3 pm to 12 am Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
Please use these services if you need them, they are there for you.
Opportunity to gather
I plan to share details in the coming hours about an opportunity for the campus community to gather to start a process that will allow us to acknowledge the many harms that our community is experiencing right now. Please watch out for this information on the university’s social media channels and via email.
Thank you for the care and compassion you have already shown to each other. Don’t stop reaching out and connecting, we all need one another right now.
Human Resources issues annual pension statements
You will soon be receiving your annual pension statement for the period ending December 31st, 2022," says a message from Human Resources circulated to pension holders yesterday afternoon. "Included in the announcement are the instructions on how to access your 2022 statement on myPENSIONinfo. Retirees who haven’t reset their WatIam password will need to contact the IST Help Desk at helpdesk@uwaterloo.ca or 519-888-4567 ext. 44357 for assistance. A reminder that 2 Factor Authentication is required for access, as well.
Personal, spousal and/or beneficiary changes effective on or after May 1, 2023, in Workday have not been reflected in the 2022 annual statement. Updates or changes to your personal, spousal and/or beneficiary information can be done through Workday. Please refer to Workday User Guides or contact hrhelp@uwaterloo.ca should you require assistance with these Workday processes.
Ambitious student startups advance to Velocity's $5K semi-finals
A message from Velocity.
Twenty-five teams of innovative students are gearing up to pitch their high-potential business idea live at Velocity’s $5K semi-finals.
The Velocity $5K pitch competition takes place every term, providing a platform for early-stage student ventures to present their ideas live and vie for one of four $5,000 grants. This term saw applicants from all University of Waterloo faculties, from undergraduate students to PhD & beyond. Twenty-five teams were selected and will be pitching over the course of two semi-finals events on July 5 and 6 at QNC 0101, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.
Each semi-finalist team will have three minutes to pitch and captivate a panel of expert judges, convincing them of the potential and viability of their business idea.
The top 8 teams will progress to the Velocity $5K finals on July 19 at 12 noon at the Theatre for the Arts — a new venue for the Finals — where four winning teams will each receive $5,000 in grant funding to fuel the growth of their ambitious and innovative business ideas.
Check out the Velocity website for more information or to show your support live-in-person at the Velocity $5k pitch events.
A summary of Senate's June meeting
A message from the Secretariat.
The University of Waterloo's Senate met on Monday, June 19.
At the meeting, Senate approved the following items:
- Changing the name of the Department of Management Sciences to the Department of Management Science and Engineering;
- Principles and Guidelines for Digital Learning;
- Individuals to be added to the pool of honorands for recognition at future convocation ceremonies;
- Revisions to the graduate studies academic calendar (co-operative education section) to include Graduate Work-integrated Learning definitions and content; and
- Undergraduate academic regulations pertaining to (1) admissions, (2) admissions fraud, and (3) English language proficiency tests.
Additionally, Senate received updates on the following items:
- President’s Anti-Racism Task Force (PART);
- Digital Learning Strategy;
- Annual Advancement update;
- Annual Report on Teaching Assessment;
- Newly appointed University Research Chairs; and
- Online Senate Orientation Module.
For more information
The agenda and meeting materials for all recent Senate meetings, as well as dates for upcoming meetings, can be found online. The Secretariat will make Zoom links available to those wishing to attend meetings virtually.
If you have any questions, please contact the Secretariat at senate@uwaterloo.ca.
Thursday's notes
Muslims on the University's campus and indeed all over the world are in the midst of celebrating Eid Al-Adha, an Islamic religious festival that celebrates the Prophet Abraham's faithfulness to God and the end of the Hajj, the annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca. The holiday is marked by prayers and fellowship. Check the Waterloo Masjid website for more information. This year the festival runs from the evening of Wednesday, June 28 to Saturday, July 1.
"There's only one day until Speak Like a Scholar Week 2!" writes the Writing and Communication Centre (WCC). "This week we're working on planning the structure of your presentation!"
Meanwhile, something is brewing on the North Campus. "Save the Date!" says a note from the David Johnston Research + Technology Park. "The R+T Park Beer Garden is back!" The event will take place on Wednesday, July 12 from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at 375 Hagey Boulevard.