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A new chapter for UWaterloo alumni in Ottawa
A message from Advancement.
This spring, the University of Waterloo is expanding its global alumni network with the new Ottawa Alumni Chapter. UWaterloo chapters build community among local alumni, students and friends by bringing them together for a variety of programs and events. Led by alumni volunteers, chapters provide a wide variety of programming tailored to the culture in their local region — including mentorship programs, socials, networking events and family-friendly activities.
Celebrating the career of Donald Duff-McCracken
A message from Environment Technology & Instructional Support (ETIS).
Join us to celebrate the 25-year career of Don Duff-McCracken. We will be gathering at the Grad House on March 27 from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. to celebrate Don’s retirement and we encourage anyone who has known Don over the years to join us.
Before Don began working at the University, he was a student in the Faculty of Environment’s Man & Environment program (now SERS), the geography program, and then completed a master’s in fine arts. After graduation, he worked in the desktop publishing field before starting work at the University of Waterloo in the Mapping, Analysis, and Design department in the Faculty of Environment.
His career in MAD (now ETIS) began in 1998. Don has worn many hats over this time, including applying his passion for photography to operating many of our multimedia facilities, looking after our Mac teaching labs and providing Mac support to the faculty, managing many staff members, and eventually serving as the unit Director starting in 2019. Don was involved in several committees over his career and was great at building relationships across the University. He spent many years as the chair of the Web Advisory Committee (WAC) and has been an integral part of the University’s efforts to modernize its web presence over the last decade.
As the unit’s director, Don was responsible for shepherding the unit through the pandemic, he led our transition back to campus and carried us through a reorganization effort that left ETIS in a great position moving forward.
In his retirement, we expect Don will have no trouble staying busy with his garden, cycling, snowboarding, and skiing, and being allowed to use the toaster oven whenever he wants. We hope to see all who have known and worked with Don over the years at his retirement celebration on March 27.
New features and enhancements for Workday now online
A message from Human Resources.
Human Resources has announced that the spring 2024 updates for Workday were released on March 11, and you may notice some updates when you log in to Workday.
The Announcements section on the homepage will be more visible. Employees can now scroll through Announcements from left to right instead of from top to bottom; your Workday Inbox is now called “My Tasks” inbox, allowing for a more streamlined experience for users who have large amounts of action items within their inbox, and the new "Benefits and Pay Resources" Hub combines the previously separate "Pay" and "Benefits" apps into one section, making it easier for employees to find their pay and benefits information. Employees can find their pay slips, check their benefits enrollments, and change their payment choices all in one location.
As well, Waterloo employees can now access helpful Workday tools to assist with everyday tasks and access timely and useful information. The Workday app for your Microsoft Teams environment will allow you to access Workday data and self-service tasks (such as requesting vacation time, viewing your pay advice, and more) without having to leave Teams. You can find the Workday add-on under the App+ menu on Teams. To allow access to Workday features within Teams, you will need to log in with your Workday account using your WatIAM and Two-Factor Authentication. Workday Assistant is a digital assistant chatbot in Workday that lets you perform functions, such as vacation requests, viewing time off balances, reviewing training records, and more. As Workday Assistant is part of the Workday environment, it has access to information and features that the Workday app in Teams does not. Explore the functionality of each of these latest add-ons.
Both applications have been assessed and approved by Information Systems and Technology’s Information Security Services for campus use to ensure Workday Assistant and the Workday app for Teams meet our privacy and data security requirements.
Questions about this message or about the Workday applications can be directed to Workday issues on the Waterloo Jira Portal.
Experience the power of pharmacy during Pharmacy Appreciation Month
This is an excerpt of an article that originally appeared on the School of Pharmacy website.
The Canadian Pharmacists Association (CPhA) leads Pharmacy Appreciation Month (PAM), a national campaign, annually in March to celebrate pharmacy across Canada.
This year’s theme “Experience the power of pharmacy” recognizes the important contributions of pharmacy professionals. 2022 brought an expanded scope of practice to Ontario, empowering pharmacists to improve patient care through pharmacist-led prescribing.
Did you know?
- There are more than 46,000 pharmacists and 10,900 pharmacy technicians in Canada, working in over 11,700 pharmacies across the country
- Every week pharmacists see about 10 million patients across the country.
- Pharmacists are consistently ranked as one of the most trusted professions in Canada and
- Canadians see their pharmacist more often than any other health-care professional.
Here's what went down at the March 2024 senate meeting
A message from the Secretariat.
The University of Waterloo's Senate held its latest meeting on Monday, March 4.
The University's Senate is comprised of faculty, undergraduate and graduate students, alumni, governors, and administrative staff who are both elected and ex-officio members. This governing body of the institution is the highest authority on academic matters and meets regularly to discuss topics such as academic programs, educational policies, appointments, and other academic priorities.
At the March 4 meeting, the following items were approved:
- New specialization plans in systems design engineering, one new option plan in quantum engineering, and two new option plans in biology
- Inactivation of the International Studies in Engineering Option as well as the Society, Technology, and Values Option
- Amendments to Policy 3 – Sabbatical and Other Leaves for Faculty Members and cancellation of Policy 43 – Special Conditions for Employment for Deans, with further recommendation for final approval by the Board of Governors
- Committee appointments for the Distinguished Teacher Awards, and for the Amit & Meena Chakma Award for Exceptional Teaching by a Student
- Approval of one individual as a candidate to receive the honorary title Distinguished Professor Emeritus
- Revisions to academic regulations:
- Faculty of Engineering Dean’s Honour’s List
- Invalid credit combinations in for the Faculty of Environment’s Business Option and Sustainability Financial Management
Additionally, Senate received reports for information:
- Update on the 2023/24 annual operating budget of the University;
- Annual update presentations from the presidents of FAUW, WUSA, and GSA;
- Faculty update presentation – Arts; and
- Undergraduate and graduate admissions data, with projections for Fall 2024.
For more information
Visit the Senate website to find the meeting agenda and related materials for all recent Senate meetings, as well as dates for upcoming meetings. 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.
Friday's notes
The Warriors Women's Hockey Team's #GoldRush continues after their 6-1 win over the St. FX X-Women yesterday in the U SPORTS quarter-finals. The victorious Warriors are on their way to the semi-final game on Saturday versus the Concordia Stingers. The puck is set to drop at 6:00 p.m. (Eastern) tomorrow afternoon, and will be streamed live on CBC Sports and on the CBC Gem app.
Information Systems & Technology (IST) has published the latest entry in the Atlassian blog series. The article is entitled Unlocking Team Efficiency: Jira Service Management.