Monday, April 22, 2024

VR for Workplace Wellness initiative offers an escape from reality

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A message from the University of Waterloo Staff Association (UWSA).

Research has repeatedly demonstrated that spending time in nature can positively impact our personal wellbeing. While we don’t always have easy access to natural spaces, recent research is demonstrating that even encountering nature using immersive virtual reality can have similar positive effects! These effects include facilitating recovery of depleted emotional capacity and even boosting creativity. In a 2022 study, workers in a high stress work environment who took a short nature break (less than 30 minutes) using the Nature Treks VR app, reported significantly increased feelings of happiness and relaxation, as well as significantly decreased feelings of sadness, anger, and anxiety. The experience was also associated with a significant reduction in heart rate.

The Conflict Management and Human Rights Office (CMAHRO), with support from the Staff Enhancement Fund (SEF), is bringing these benefits to Waterloo staff with the VR for Workplace Wellness initiative. This initiative has placed three Meta Quest 2 head-mounted displays (HMDs) in each of the Dana Porter and Davis Centre libraries. The headsets have been preloaded with the Nature Treks VR app and are available for all University of Waterloo staff (part-time, full-time, casual, and student staff) to sign out for one-hour intervals at the circulation desk. Nature Treks VR allows you to explore a wide variety of natural settings including tropical beaches, green fields, underwater oceans, and outer space. Within these spaces you can interact with more than 60 different animals, and change the weather and time of day.

Visit the VR for Workplace Wellness webpage for more information about this initiative including some “Getting Started” resources. Questions can be directed to Lynn Long (l3long@waterloo.ca), Senior Education Specialist in the Conflict Management and Human Rights Office. Thanks to Lynn Long and Gillian Dabrowski for their work setting up this program!

Visit the Staff Enhancement Fund webpage for information about submitting your own proposal for funding to support Healthy Workplace Initiatives or Engagement and Leadership Development.

National student services organization recognizes Jazz Fitzgerald with Excellence in Inclusion award

A message from the Student Success Office (SSO).

Jazz Fitzgerald, manager, student equity and community in the Student Success Office (SSO) is the 2024 recipient of the Canadian Association of University Student Services (CACUSS) Excellence in Inclusion award.

The award recognizes the significant contributions and impacts student affairs professionals make in advancing equity, diversity, and inclusion work on their campuses and in breaking barriers for equity-seeking students and staff.

Jazz’s equity work is intrinsically linked to their identity and lived experiences. Their professional practice began in 2017 while they were an international student at the University of Colorado-Denver. There, Jazz’s work spanned student mental health, advocacy for undocumented students, and creating safer spaces through the University’s first LGBTQ+ interfaith conference, ‘You are Welcome Here.’

Jazz’s life and career were uprooted in 2020 when immigration issues forced them to leave the United States, despite spending most of their life in the country. “I knew that, in coming home to the country where I was born and hold citizenship, I had the opportunity to not only recognize but utilize the privilege of citizenship for the betterment of the students I'd be working with” they shared. “It had been over 20 years since I lived in Canada, so I wanted to try my best to get connected to universities right away. Soon after coming home, I had the chance to share my story and what I wanted to bring to the University of Waterloo."

In 2021 Jazz joined the SSO as a student equity specialist. During this time, they developed and delivered a series of workshops for staff, faculty, and student leaders. They provided crucial consultation services for units and faculties looking to implement meaningful culture change and lent their perspective to numerous campus committees and equity-driven projects.

Within the SSO, Jazz took on a pivotal leadership role on SAARI, a multi-department initiative that focuses on anti-racist culture change.

“Jazz demonstrates a unique ability to meet individuals where they are,” said Pam Charbonneau, SSO director. “They invite curiosity about unchallenged beliefs and encourage discomfort in considering change. Jazz’s influence on staff across the office has led to a more inclusive and compassionate workplace. Staff, regardless of their job titles, now understand that it’s not just folks with ‘equity’ in their title or job description who are responsible for enacting transformative change.” 

In 2022 Jazz joined the SSO’s management team and absorbed student leadership and development programming into their portfolio. To support this work, Jazz and their co-applicants secured a $340,000 Ontario Post-secondary Access and Inclusion Program (OPAIP) grant from the Ministry of Colleges and Universities to enhance the retention and experience of Black, Indigenous, racialized, 2SLGBTQ+ and other historically underrepresented students at Waterloo. The funds have been used to launch The Connection Collective, a peer support program that offers a “one-to-many" mentorship model grounded in community-building and decolonial principles.

These, and many more of Jazz’s accomplishments will be recognized during CACUSS’ virtual award ceremony on Thursday, April 25 at 6:00 p.m. All are welcome to register.

Join the CBB's Clinical Council

A message from the Centre for Bioengineering and Biotechnology (CBB).

Join the Centre for Bioengineering and Biotechnology’s (CBB) exciting new initiative, the Clinical Council! We're thrilled to announce that applications are now open for our upcoming first round of Engagement Sessions happening in May and June.

The Clinical Council aims to connect healthcare practitioners with researchers, fostering collaboration to tackle urgent health challenges.

Our Engagement Sessions offer the chance for face-to-face discussions with Clinical Council members. Participants can explore project ideas, forge partnerships, and gain expert clinical insights and feedback.

We welcome faculty, staff, graduate students, and post-doctoral fellows to participate. Please spread the word to anyone who might be interested!

To apply for the upcoming Engagement Session, visit our website. Applications are due by May 14.

Operating Budget town hall tomorrow, MOOSE study, and other notes

The Operating Budget Town Hall will take place on Tuesday, April 23 from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. At the town hall meeting, attendees (in-person and virtual alike) will hear more about the constraints of the University's current financial position, and the measures recently considered by the University's Board of Governors last week after the approval of the 2024/2025 Operating Budget. A Q&A will follow. Watch for the livestream viewing link.

MOOSE Study: Seeking participants to test 3 contact lenses to assess ocular response: "Myopia control contact lenses are designed to slow down the progression of nearsightedness over time; however, little is known about short-term changes on the eye," says a note from CORE. "CORE’s research team aims to determine how soft myopia control lenses affect the layer in the back of the eye after 2 hours of lens wear. We are seeking soft lens wearers, aged 17 to 25, to test 3 types of contact lenses for a new 2-week study. All study lenses are commercially available in Canada and will only be worn during studyvisits (no lenses will be dispensed)."

Participants will be asked to attend 4 study visits over 4 days within a 2-week timeline.

• Remuneration = $250
• Total time = 12.5 hours

Parking tokens will be provided as required. Visits will include standard clinical procedures that one might encounter in an eye exam. For more information, visit the CORE website.

To be eligible for any research studies at CORE, potential participants must have an active participant profile registered in CORE's volunteer database.

• To create a participant profile, visit the Pre-screen website
• I am already registered with CORE and would like to participate

If you fit the requirements and are interested in participating, please email COREstudies@uwaterloo.ca and refer to Study ID: MOOSE. CORE will review your profile and contact you by email with more information. All studies conducted at CORE have been reviewed and received ethics clearance through a University of Waterloo Research Ethics Board.

Finally, it's Earth Day today, and the Sustainability Office is inviting you to join their annual campus clean-up, happening today from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. You can join as an individual or a team to help tackle litter ‘hot spots’ on and around main campus. Bags, gloves, and light refreshments will be provided. Supplies can be picked up anytime between 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. at the DC Green. To learn more and register, please visit the Earth Day Campus Clean-Up event page.