Tuesday, November 28, 2023

Ready, set, donate - it's Giving Tuesday today

A message from the Office of Advancement.

Giving Tuesday has arrived! All the action takes place on UWaterloo’s Giving Tuesday website, where you can make your gift and track the progress of each challenge. There are thousands of dollars in matching donations and top-ups to be unlocked for the many funds that support our UWaterloo community. Thank you for your generous support!

A new spin on sustainability - Waterloo launches Revolving Fund

A message from the Sustainability Office.

The Sustainability Office and Plant Operations are excited to announce the launch of a new Revolving Fund that will catalyze utility savings and greenhouse gas reductions.

As part of Waterloo’s climate action plan, Shift:Neutral, the creation of a revolving fund was recommended as an opportunity to drive investment into new energy and water savings projects that had competitive paybacks while reducing emissions. The fund has now launched and is open for expressions of interest. “Our team is looking forward to receiving applications from any staff or faculty member on campus,” says Stepanka Elias, Executive Director, Facilities.

“The Revolving Fund is meant to help members of the campus community integrate energy and water conservation into existing projects,” says Mat Thijssen, Director of Sustainability. “The intent is to make sure efficiency measures that generate both environmental and financial benefit don’t have up-front cost barriers to departments across the University.”

Revolving funds are common across many higher-education institutions and can catalyze new projects as well as shaping culture to support energy efficiency.

The fund is taking an initial round of applications, beginning this week, with expressions of interest due by December 8 and full applications due in early January. All staff and faculty are welcome to submit expressions of interest and applications, though the focus for the initial round of funding will be on faculty-led projects.

Plant Operations and the Sustainability Office can support eligible units in compiling information to complete the application.

For more details on the terms, conditions, timelines, and application instructions, visit the Revolving Fund webpage.

An update on the Waterloo Values initiative

A message from Melanie Will and Michael Dorr, Values Working Group team leads.

Earlier this year, the Waterloo at 100 vision outlined bold aspirations for our future. To realize this ambitious 35-year vision, we start by revisiting our values – this project’s goal is to catalyze a culture shift to work more collaboratively and promote a campus culture where all can thrive. Furthermore, revisiting our values will work to address President’s Anti-Racism Taskforce (PART) recommendations for stronger language relating to anti-racist and anti-oppression beliefs and principles.   

The process (so far) 

Earlier this year, we assembled a Values Working Group, reflecting a cross-section of campus stakeholders. Since the beginning of summer, the Values Working Group has met regularly.  The team’s diverse perspectives have been critical in informing and helping to shape this initiative.  In addition, an in-depth consultation plan has been developed to seek input from the Waterloo campus community. To date, we have received invaluable feedback. 

Looking ahead 

Over the coming months, consultations are planned for faculty members, students, staff and alumni. This December, focus groups (online and in-person) will be open for participation by all members of the community who wish to share their perspectives, opinions, and feedback. If you are interested in registering for one of these focus groups, please register here. 

In early 2024, an updated set of draft Waterloo Values will be shared with our community. We will also outline the next phases for this initiative, including an implementation plan for embedding values into everything that we do at Waterloo.

To close… 

Throughout consultations conducted to date, we have seen and heard a strong passion for Waterloo and what it means to study, teach, research, and work here. Thank you for those who have contributed so far, and for more information on this initiative, please visit the Waterloo Values website uwaterloo.ca/values. 

Recognizing excellence in online teaching

A message from the Office of the Associate Vice-President, Academic and the Centre for Extended Learning.

Every year the Office of the Associate Vice-President, Academic and the Centre for Extended Learning recognize the great work that Waterloo’s instructors are doing in the virtual classroom. Please help us identify these remarkable people by nominating an instructor or an online course author.

If you had an exceptional experience in a fully online course, consider nominating your instructor for the Online Teaching Award.

Students, teaching assistants, instructors, chairs, directors and deans can also submit nominations for the Online Course Design Award.

The University of Waterloo’s Online Teaching Awards recognize teaching and course design excellence in fully online undergraduate or graduate-level courses. Check out our previous award winners.

Nominations for this year’s awards, which include the Fall 2023, Winter 2024 and Spring 2024 terms, must be received by August 31, 2024.

Join the conversation at the operating budget town hall

Interested in hearing more about the current financial position of the University? Then tune in to this afternoon's operating budget town hall meeting.

The in-person event, which is at capacity, is being held in the Board and Senate Room in NH 3407 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. today, and the livestream link will be sent to registered attendees later today. Nearly 1,300 people have registered to view the event online. You can check out the livestream on MS Teams.

Delivering updates and sharing their perspectives will be Vivek Goel, President and Vice-Chancellor, and James Rush, Vice-President, Academic and Provost. Other senior University leaders will be on hand to answer questions and provide context as needed.

Remarks will be followed by a Q&A session that will include questions submitted in advance, questions asked from the floor, and questions asked by online livestream viewers. Moderating the Q&A session will be Nick Manning, Associate Vice-President, Communications.