The Daily Bulletin is published by Internal and Leadership Communications, part of University Communications
Contact us at bulletin@uwaterloo.ca
Submission guidelines
Get your flu vaccine at Campus Wellness starting October 30
A message from Campus Wellness, Health Services.
Seasonal influenza outbreaks occur in Canada from late Fall through the winter months. Campus Wellness, Health Services is pleased to offer the flu vaccine once again through appointment only for all UW Students (and student’s families if registered with the Family Health Clinic), Employees, Alumni and Retirees starting Monday, October 30.
Please call 519-888-4096 to make an appointment.
COVID-19 updated booster shots - these vaccines will be available at your family doctor’s office, pharmacies and Campus Wellness, Health Services in the coming weeks, so keep watching for more information.
Waterloo facilitates discussion on antagonism and intimidation in academia
By Bernice Ma. This is an excerpt of an article originally posted on Waterloo News.
New ideas, insights and discoveries are constantly being cultivated in higher education. While academic debate between opposing points of view is at the heart of the search for knowledge, professors and students may experience targeted attacks by those who feel threatened by their work and its impact on society.
On October 24, 2023, the University of Waterloo hosted “Antagonistic responses based on gender and race in the academy.” Organized jointly by the Faculty of Arts and the Office of Research, this is the first in a series of talks to facilitate discussion around the experiences of scholars who have faced oppositional responses grounded in extreme emotion rather than reasoned analysis.
As we have recently witnessed, scholarship related to social justice in all its dimensions is regularly targeted. Likewise, mistrust, suspicion and entrenched belief systems have repeatedly generated antagonistic responses to scientific and technological research, as many scholars of evolution, climate change and vaccine research can attest,” said Dr. Sheila Ager, dean of the Faculty of Arts.
The inaugural talk explored several important topics, such as gendered harassment and workplace threats of violence, anti-racist work by Black women, structural inequalities, ideological social injustices and maintaining respectful learning environments when differences of opinion arise.
Read the rest of the article on Waterloo News.
Waterloo's CRE-MSD driving policy change to prevent workplace injury
Dr. Joel Moody, chief prevention officer and assistant deputy minister for the Ontario Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development speaks while Dr. Jack Callaghan, CRE-MSD director looks on.
A message from the Faculty of Health.
Ergonomics can influence businesses’ bottom line with the prevention of injures, also impacting productivity, product quality and worker engagement. The Centre of Research Expertise for the Prevention of Musculoskeletal Disorders (CRE-MSD) kicked off Global Ergonomics Month with a conference on October 2 at full capacity with more than 240 people.
CRE-MSD is a network made up of dedicated researchers across Ontario. Through activities and resources such as free webinars, an annual conference, special lectures, position papers and the MSD Prevention Guideline for Ontario website, CRE-MSD translates research into practice to assist workplaces prevent musculoskeletal (MSD) injuries.
The conference, Ergonomics as a key component in business: Balancing business performance and worker well-being, focused on how MSD prevention activities impact overall system performance metrics, including productivity, quality of products and/or services, employee satisfaction and profits in addition to health and safety. The conference included both current research and industry-specific case study presentations highlighting the return on investing in MSD prevention activities.
Dr. Joel Moody, chief prevention officer and assistant deputy minister for the Ontario Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development (MLITSD), highlighted the importance of CRE-MSD’s work and the return on investment for MSD prevention and ergonomics interventions in workplaces in his remarks.
CRE-MSD also introduced the first Ontario ergonomics intervention cost-benefit calculator, which it had developed based on the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries calculator.
The research centre is based in the Faculty of Health’s Department of Kinesiology and Health Sciences. Funded by the MLITSD, it conducts and provides research grants for the prevention of work-related musculoskeletal disorders in areas such as the back, shoulder and wrist, among other body regions. These are the most common and costly workplace injuries. These injuries are preventable, yet MSDs continue to be the single largest contributor to lost time claims and costs in Ontario (and worldwide).
“This conference demonstrated the return on investment for employers in implementing effective ergonomic programs which ultimately puts employees’ well-being at the centre of their business culture and directly links to more successful business financial performance,” said CRE-MSD director and Kinesiology and Health Sciences professor Dr. Jack Callaghan. All the conference presentations are available online.
Registration open for 10th annual Eco Summit and other notes
The Office of Sustainability will be hosting the 10th annual Eco Summit at Federation Hall on Wednesday, November 22 and registration is now open. This annual event brings together the campus community as the sustainability office launches its annual sustainability report, to celebrate progress, build connections, and push to go further. This year’s event is centered around the theme of Accelerating Action.
Oh, and since we're on the subject of registrations, there's still time to register for the 10th Anniversary Celebration of the Collaborative Water Program, which will be held next Friday, November 3 in the Student Life Centre's Black & Gold Room. "It's time to celebrate 10 remarkable cohorts of CWP graduates from the most interdisciplinary water graduate program in Canada," says a note from the Collaborative Water Program. But you'd better hurry: registration closes today!
The Faculty of Science is opening its doors this weekend with the 2023 Gem and Mineral Show hosted by the Earth Sciences Museum on Friday, October 27 from 12 noon to 5:00 p.m., and Saturday, October 28 from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on the first and second floors of the EIT building. on Saturday, the Kids' Science Open House 2023 runs from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in STC and EIT. The open house boasts hundreds of different activities at various locations, guided by volunteers, chemistry demonstrations guaranteed to blow the roof off (figuratively speaking), and other hands-on science activities for kids.
See that girl, watch that scene, digging the dancing deans: Continuing their Halloween seasonal tradition of dressing up in themed costumes to raise money for the United Way, the University's six Deans put their best feet forward and led a flash mob dance party in the Board and Senate Chamber at Monday's meeting of Senate. There was no fear of being found without a soul for getting down on Monday, that's for sure.