Monday, April 29, 2024

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• Building community at United College with new outdoor amenities
• Celebrating a Chancellor's legacy
• CEL offers TA training for facilitating online courses
• Jaggaer eProcurement Project update

Building community at United College with new outdoor amenities

An artist’s rendition of new outdoor amenities on the United College green. 

By Rebecca Wagner.

Something exciting is about to happen across the creek. 

Beginning end-of May, ground will break for the construction of new outdoor amenities on the United College green.  This exciting project is expected to wrap up just in time to welcome students back to campus fall term.    

The new amenities are thanks in part to the generosity of United College staff, faculty, alumni, students, and friends, who recently contributed to a special 60^th anniversary fundraising campaign that well-exceeded its target. 

What will the new amenities include? 

• Outdoor pavilion with a fire pit and barbeque.    
• Basketball/pickleball court that transitions to a refrigerated ice rink in the winter.
• Protected bike storage shed. 

United College regularly hears from students about the importance of spaces for connection, particularly in the wake of the pandemic, where many incoming students have spent part of high school in relative isolation and are now entering university looking for community.  This project aims to help fill this gap. 

United looks forward to bringing the next generation of students together through new gathering spaces and hopes they will be a source of pride for students, alumni, and the broader University community. 

Celebrating a Chancellor's legacy

By Carrie Gabla. This article was originally published on the Office of Advancement website.

Against the elegant backdrop of the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) in Toronto, leaders from across the global business and education community gathered on April 25, 2024, to celebrate and reflect on Dominic Barton’s legacy as the University of Waterloo’s eleventh chancellor from 2018 to 2024.  

The event was a fundraiser for Indigenous Initiatives at UWaterloo, a cause Dominic has supported as part of his $1 million gift to the university. The Chancellor’s Celebration would not have been possible without the commitment of our generous sponsors, including Altas, CIBC, Rio TintoSun Life (silver level).   

More than 250 guests, including prominent figures from industry, business, government and academia, mingled with UWaterloo faculty, students and alumni. Their presence underscored the impact Dominic has made within the University community and worldwide.

Piya Chattopadhyay, host of CBC's Sunday Magazine and Master of Ceremonies for the evening, expertly guided the festivities. Speakers, including the Right Honorable David Johnston, former Governor General of Canada and UWaterloo’s fifth president, applauded Dominic's visionary leadership and ability to bring people together.  

They also highlighted his instrumental role in fostering collaboration between academia and industry, driving forward-thinking initiatives, and championing diversity and inclusion. 

Vivek Goel, UWaterloo’s president and vice-chancellor, said, “Dominic has an uncanny ability to bring people together to uncover solutions to difficult problems. Whether in industry or as a diplomat, his skill at opening doors and forging collaborations is unparalleled. For the past six years, Dominic has been a champion for what we do and who we are at the University of Waterloo. He has inspired and supported our students and our institution in immeasurable ways. I am grateful for his leadership, collaboration and friendship.” 

During convocation ceremonies this June, as thousands of new UWaterloo graduates cross the stage, Dominic will confer his last degree before he passes the torch to Dr. Jagdeep Singh Bachher (BASc ‘93, MASc ‘94, PhD ‘00). Dominic expressed his gratitude for the privilege of serving as chancellor. “I have loved every minute of it. The faculty, the ideas, the independence, the students, the innovation and the leadership with Feridun and Vivek — to this day I remain humbled by the opportunity this role has allowed me to play in such an exciting organization.”  

In addition to his role as UWaterloo chancellor, Dominic is Chair of Rio Tinto, Chair of LeapFrog Investments and a senior advisor and partner at Radical Ventures. He was formerly the Ambassador of Canada to the People’s Republic of China, and a senior partner at McKinsey & Company.  

Tune in to Global Futures in Focus, a newly released podcast hosted by Dominic Barton. 

CEL offers TA training for facilitating online courses

A message from the Centre for Extended Learning (CEL). 

The Centre for Extended Learning (CEL) is hosting an online certificate course entitled Getting Ready to Facilitate Online Courses: TA Training – Spring 2024, which will run from Monday, May 27 until Friday, June 21.

This 4-week, online certificate course is suitable for any current or future UWaterloo teaching assistant (TA) wishing to build skills and knowledge of best practices in facilitating fully online courses, says the course description. You will discover how to successfully contribute to the facilitation of an online course, foster student engagement, support student outcomes, and build a sense of community using various forms of interaction. Participants will also learn how to use LEARN LMS tools to create presence and connection, assess student learning and work effectively in their TA/Preceptor role.

Note: The format of the course is asynchronous (no live virtual sessions), however, participants are required to engage with the course content, interact with other participants, and complete activities each week by the scheduled deadlines. Participants should expect tospend about 4 hours per week on the course.

Register on GoSignMeUp. Course registration closes on Tuesday, May 21. 

Jaggaer eProcurement Project update

A message from Finance.

Further to our project announcement on January 12, 2024, the Jaggaer eProcurement implementation project is on track and well under way, with significant progress made across the various modules. Configuration for Contracts and Supplier Management areas are both progressing smoothly, setting the stage for a transformative shift in our Supplier management processes. The Supplier Enablement component of the project kicked off in March, where our initial list of suppliers were contacted to consent to set up integrations with the system, and this marks a crucial milestone in enhancing supplier relations and streamlining operations.  

With targeted go-live for the Fall term for the eProcurement module, anticipation is high! Among the big wins anticipated are streamlined supplier onboarding, bolstered by new functionality and supplier self-service, and improved user empowerment through enhanced shopping experiences. Additionally, the integration of punch-out and hosted catalogues promises will simplify purchasing for high-volume suppliers, reducing reliance on manual processes. 

The implementation also introduces electronic invoicing, poised to accelerate entry and approval processing and enhance visibility across transactions. Supplier self-service capabilities will also provide suppliers with transparency into the status of their invoices with us, reducing the requests to the University for updates. Overall, the Jaggaer implementation represents a significant leap forward in operational efficiency and promises to deliver tangible benefits to the University and stakeholders as a whole. 

As the project advances, project communications and change management plans are actively being developed to ensure a seamless transition. As part of our campus engagement, we are inviting you to help us name our platform! From Wat-Mart, to Warrior Marketplace, WatProcure, and WatShop, responses so far have been quite entertaining and creative to say the least. The Name our eProcure shop Qualtrics survey will be available until May 15, and if you haven’t done so already, we would love to hear from you.  

We will continue to share bi-monthly updates in the Daily Bulletin as well as on our Jaggaer Implementation website where milestones of the project will be posted.