Tuesday, December 12, 2023

Dr. Bessma Momani named Associate Vice-President, International

"I am pleased to announce that Dr. Bessma Momani has been appointed Associate Vice-President, International, for a five-year term, effective January 1, 2024," wrote Vice-President, Research and International Charmaine B. Dean in an email circulated to employees yesterday. "Having already served as Waterloo’s Interim Assistant Vice-President, International Relations; Interim Associate Vice-President, Interdisciplinary and Sponsored Research; and Assistant-Vice President, Research and International, Dr. Momani is well positioned to take on this demanding role."

Dr. Momani is a Full Professor in the Department of Political Science. She is also a senior fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation and non-resident fellow at the Arab Gulf States’ Institute in Washington, DC, and a Fulbright Scholar. Additionally, she is a Governor on the board of the International Development Research Centre.

"Dr. Momani’s vision for the role has a focus on collaboration across the six Faculties, Graduate Studies, and the Registrar’s Office to continuously raise the University of Waterloo’s prominent global profile that attracts talented international faculty, and undergraduate and graduate students; to support broader University efforts to cultivate global and intercultural fluency among our diverse student community; to ensure students experience safe and meaningful mobility, and to support international training and research collaborations with global partners to address the world’s most pressing challenges," Dean's memo continues. "Dr. Momani’s approach to leadership values collaboration and flexibility to enable high levels of team engagement, creativity, and productivity. She aims to work closely with key stakeholders to achieve mutually beneficial goals and empower the community to excel in their work."

"An award-winning and longtime researcher in international affairs, the global economy, and Canadian public policy, Dr. Momani brings a truly global perspective to the role," Dean writes. "I am fully confident that the University and Waterloo International will benefit greatly from her passion, dedication, and strong strategic leadership. Please join me in congratulating Dr. Momani."

Dr. Momani will succeed Dr. Ian Rowlands, who has served in the role since 2016.

Celebrating champions of sustainable aeronautics

A message from the Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Aeronautics. 

The Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Aeronautics (WISA) has released its 2022-23 Annual Report, which celebrates champions of sustainability across the air transport sector.  

You’re invited to explore milestones, insights and top stories from the past year: 

• Discover our impact by the numbers with our latest key metrics; 

• Hear from research and industry leaders in the WISA community; and

• Meet talented students from our Collaborative Aeronautics Program. 

To learn more about WISA’s advances in social, environmental and economic sustainability, view the annual report today.   

Waterloo tackles antagonism in academia one subject at a time

By Darren McAlmont. This is an excerpt of an article that originally ran on Waterloo News.

Waterloo researchers are renowned for transforming societies, economies, technologies, sustainability and health for humanity to thrive in our complex future. However, scholars in many fields have experienced hostile responses to their work. This is particularly true for those whose focus is on social justice scholarship that focuses on discrimination based on gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity and religion. Also impacted are science and technology research; health and vaccine research, and environment, sustainability and climate change research.

On November 29, 2023, the Faculty of Arts in collaboration with the Office of Research hosted the second of four panel discussions of the series, "Antagonism and Intimidation in Academia." Professor Suzan Ilcan, University Research Chair and advisor on interdisciplinary research, is the lead organizer of the panel series.

In his opening remarks, Chris Houser, dean, Faculty of Science, reflected on encountering antagonism very early on in his career as a coastal scientist to the point where it became difficult to give public talks and still secure state funding for research related to climate change and sea level rise.

"At a previous institution, I had to have a trigger warning in my class because I was going to teach the course from a scientific perspective. Those who needed the warning are most likely the anti-science antagonists of today," he recalled. "It is for this reason that this series is so important."

Dr. Charmaine B. Dean, vice-president, Research and International also pointed out the hostility faced by many science and technology scholars for the purpose of silencing them. "During the pandemic we saw a troubling backlash against scientific expertise. With the rise of generative AI, questions are also being raised about the impact of fast-moving technological advancements on society," she said. "The panel discussed this climate of anxiety and mistrust, the effects of social media, and how critical it is to foster inclusive and respectful discourse."

Read the rest of the article on Waterloo News.

Waterloo Centre for German Studies announces book prize shortlist

A message from the Waterloo Centre for German Studies (WCGS).

The Waterloo Centre for German Studies (WCGS) is pleased to announce the shortlist for its annual Book Prize.  

Established in 2017, the WCGS Book Prize recognizes first-time authors whose scholarly work contributes substantially to our understanding of any aspect of German-speaking society. The prize foregrounds good writing, scholarly relevance, originality, and the ability to reach audiences beyond the academic sphere.   

The quality of all the books nominated for the prize made the job of the jury especially difficult this year. Six books have been selected for the shortlist, and they are but a small sample of the breadth of research in German studies, representing diverse disciplines such as literary studies, history, visual studies, and media studies. 

This year’s shortlist, celebrating books published in 2022, can be found on the book prize website.