Thursday, May 9, 2024

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• Dr. Alexie Tcheuyap named Dean of Arts
• Inclusive Research webinar on gender-based analysis coming up next week
• Senate considers divestment discussion at meeting
• Inter-Institutional Forum of the Scarborough Charter looks to build Black connections
• The science of happiness

Dr. Alexie Tcheuyap named Dean of Arts

Dr. Alexie Tcheuyap will join the University of Waterloo as Dean of the  Faculty of Arts  for a five-year term commencing July 1, 2024. 

The appointment was strongly supported by faculty and staff and has been approved by the University’s Board of Governors and Senate.  

“With many years of experience in relevant academic leadership positions, Professor Tcheuyap is well-equipped to lead this Faculty during this time of organizational and strategic opportunities and beyond,”  said James Rush, Vice-President, Academic and Provost, who chaired the nominating committee. “His input as a senior member of the University administration will be highly valued, given his comprehensive understanding of higher education in Canada acquired at every level, his experience across disciplines in issues of change management, and his leadership as a champion of equity, diversity, inclusion, and anti-racism.” 

Dr. Tcheuyap completed his BA in Bilingual Studies and his Maîtrise and Doctorat de Troisième Cycle in African Literature at the University of Yaoundé and earned his PhD in French Literature from Queen’s University. He served as an Assistant Professor from 2000 to 2003 and an Associate Professor from 2003 to 2006 at the University of Calgary before joining the University of Toronto as an Associate Professor with Tenure in 2006. He was promoted to Full Professor in 2012. Amongst his many grants, awards, and honours, he was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 2021. He is currently Associate Vice-President and Vice-Provost of International Student Experience at the University of Toronto, an appointment he has held since 2021. His previous academic leadership roles at the University of Toronto included Vice-Dean, Academic Life and Equity, Faculty of Arts and Sciences (2019-2021); Chair, Department of French (2017-2019); and Associate Chair, Undergraduate Studies, Department of French (2016-2017). 

“I am excited to be joining the University of Waterloo and by the opportunity to advance the implementation of the Faculty of Arts’ strategic priorities while ensuring that inclusive excellence principles, collaboration, collegiality, respect and tolerance remain central,” Dr. Tcheuyap said. 

Dr. Tcheuyap succeeds Dr. Sheila Ager, who has served as Dean since July 2019. 

Inclusive Research webinar on gender-based analysis coming up next week

A message from the Office of the Vice-President, Research and International.

The Inclusive Research May Webinar is set for May 16. Are you planning to attend?  

What is GBA+ Anyway?: An Introduction takes place on May 16, from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Gender-Based Analysis Plus (GBA+) is an important tool for embedding equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) in every stage of research from design to sharing results and other outputs. But what is it, and how is it done? 

This presentation will go over the basics of GBA+ including examples that highlight its usefulness, steps researchers can take, and questions they can ask themselves to start the GBA+ analysis of their research. Please register to receive the Zoom link to participate.

Inclusive Research Resource Hub 

The Hub is a resource library of important documents focused on EDI to support the UWaterloo community as they integrate EDI into their research designs and teams. The Hub was created as part of the Inclusive Research Team’s commitment to ongoing development and capacity building to support equitable and inclusive research practices.

This month’s feature highlights a resource from the Universite de Sherbrooke: An Introduction to GBA+, ADS+ and SGBA

Upcoming webinars

The Decolonial “R’s” of Research - June 11, 2024, 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m., virtual (Registration details coming soon)

Resources 

• Inclusive Resource Hub; and
• Our website.

For more information or questions, please reach out to research.equity@uwaterloo.ca or  Indigenous.Research@uwaterloo.cawith any questions.

Senate considers divestment discussion at meeting

Photograph by Dan Lauckner.

The University of Waterloo’s relationship with Israel was a key theme of Monday’s Senate meeting, on both sides of the Board and Senate chamber’s doors. 

Around 150 demonstrators gathered outside Needles Hall with demands for the University to sever its research partnership ties to Technion-Israel Institute of Technology and divest from weapons manufacturers that supply Israel with military equipment. 

With the Senate’s consent, President Goel provided a student leader, who was granted permission to address the April Senate meeting, to speak to the assembly on behalf of the demonstrating students.  

The student articulated the protester’s demands and submitted them in the form of two motions for Senate to consider, one calling for the University to sever ties with Technion and the other calling for a range of divestment measures. 

The motions were subsequently moved and seconded by Senators to consider as additions to the previously approved agenda. Members then debated whether or not to entertain the motions before voting on their substance. Ultimately, the motion to include the items failed, but members committed to further discussion and exploration of the issues. 

In response to the issues raised—and acknowledging the assembled demonstrators outside—Goel affirmed the University’s stance on protest and free expression.   

“We strongly support individual and group rights to freedom of expression, including the right to demonstrate or protest, and will preserve these freedoms in an environment that protects the enjoyment of the University campus and its facilities without undue interference with our core research and teaching activities,” he said.  

“We will not tolerate action that interferes with the rights of other members of the community or actions that represent a threat to health and safety. We have no tolerance for violence, any form of hateful or discriminatory expression or violations of the law or our policies. The freedoms to speak or express yourself and to examine, question, teach and learn are central to our purpose – and we have made it clear to the community that we all have a responsibility to uphold these freedoms and act with civility and respect.” 

Senators heard that between 2014 and 2022, there were 21 funded projects involving Waterloo and Technion in areas like quantum computing, nanotechnology and water research. The University has not funded new research projects with Technion since 2022. Since the Government of Canada currently advises to avoid non-essential travelto Israel, the ability for in-person exchanges is presently limited. 

On the issue of divestment, President Goel explained neither the University nor the pension fund have any direct investments in organizations that supply military equipment to Israel. The majority of the University’s investments are held in pooled funds.  

The University’s Responsible Investment Policy lays out the University’s approach to investing both the endowment and pension funds – including a commitment to using an ESG lens at every stage of investment decision making. Waterloo is a signatory to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI) which requires commitment to incorporating Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) issues into investment analysis and decision-making processes. As part of its selecting managers for its pooled fund investments, the fund managers are assessed on their integration of ESG factors.  

Moving forward, the University is continuing to consider the issues raised regarding investments at both the Finance & Investment committee and the Pension Investment committee of the Board of Governors. Both committees are already working to look again at reporting on investments and the ESG factors that fund managers consider. President Goel committed to providing an update on this work at the June Board meeting.  

President Goel also indicated to Senators that the institution would invest effort into consulting on and developing guidelines on institutional partnerships. This work will be informed by the outcomes of the Taskforce on Free Expression which is set to report in the coming months and the new institutional values, to be considered by the Board in June. 

Inter-Institutional Forum of the Scarborough Charter looks to build Black connections

The 2024 Inter-Institutional Forum of the Scarborough Charter on Anti-Black Racism and Black Inclusion in Canadian Higher Education, also known as Bridging Black: Building Black Connections for Black Flourishing, is taking place today and tomorrow at the University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University campuses. 

"For the 2024 Scarborough Charter Inter-Institutional Forum, we have chosen the theme - Bridging Black," say forum organizers. "Our intention is to bridge the gaps in both learning and action and to build better connections between the different stakeholders at higher education institutions - senior administration, faculty, staff, students, and neighbouring Black communities. Programming of the forum is built to prioritize, share, and legitimize the experiences and knowledges of Black people participating in the institution as well as the knowledges that have historically contributed to the flourishing of the academy. We hope that by providing the room for intentional idea exchange around the principles of the Scarborough Charter, leaders and participants can leave with more tools and reinvigorated spirits to follow through on redressing anti-Blackness in higher education."

The forum's keynote speaker is Dr. Debra Thompson, Associate Professor of Political Science and Canada Research Chair in Racial Inequality in Democratic Societies at McGill University. She is a leading scholar of the comparative politics of race and a member of the Royal Society of Canada’s College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists. Her research, teaching, and public scholarship seek to analyze the complex historic and contemporary relationships among race, the state, and inequality in Canada and other democratic societies. Her keynote address begins at noon and is entitled Blackness and Belonging in the Academy.

Day One of the forum takes place at Federation Hall, with tomorow's events taking place at Lazaridis Hall at Wilfrid Laurier University. Tonight following the forum's proceedings is a Black Connections Community Expo at the Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex's Community Pavilion from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

The full event program can be found on the Bridging Black website.

The science of happiness

This is an excerpt of an article published in the 2024 issue of Waterloo Magazine: Happiness.

Dr. Megan McCarthy (PhD ’16) designed the course, ARTS 140 The Science of Happiness, to challenge students to think about their understanding of happiness, to research and test various perspectives on happiness and critically evaluate claims about it.  

McCarthy has found that, because students often come from different backgrounds, they engage in rich comparative discussions with classmates about their own beliefs and how their experiences led to those beliefs. Through these interactions, the students become more accepting of different ways of looking at the subject. 

 Read how students learned test happiness-boosting claims, and developed their own practical methods to increase happiness in their community.