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Waterloo hosts conference on promoting trust and understanding
This is an excerpt of an article originally published on Waterloo News.
Waterloo researchers are renowned for challenging perspectives in their pursuit of truth and to produce knowledge that leads to transformative solutions for humanity to thrive in a complex future.
Although universities are environments where new ideas and discoveries are cultivated, and a space for curiosity to flourish, researchers in many fields also experience hostile responses to their work.
On June 28, 2023, members of the Waterloo community experienced a hate-motivated attack in a gender and social justice class. The horrific impact of the attack is expected to linger for some time, which prompted members of the University community to ask: “Why is this happening and what can we do about it?”
This question led to a collaboration between the Office of Research, the Faculty of Arts and the Provost Office to host a four-part speaker series titled Antagonism and Intimidation in Academia. The speaker series recently culminated with a two-day international conference that broadly focused on the subject of responding to antagonistic and intimidating reactions to academic research and pedagogy. More than 180 registrants and 48 local, national and international speakers participated in the event.
“Researchers need the freedom to investigate challenging ideas, push boundaries and question the status quo. This is how innovation happens,” said Dr. Charmaine Dean, Vice-President, Research and International, during her opening remarks. “Both the speaker series and international conference have offered the community important venues for exploring new approaches to building trust in the academy.”
Dr. Sheila Ager, dean of the Faculty of Arts, added that in the weeks following the attack, University-wide townhalls provided the opportunity to hear from students and researchers the lack of inclusion and antagonism they felt. “We all know that self-reflection is good for individuals and for institutions, but such reflection should ideally result in action,” she said. “The speaker series and this conference were inspired by what we heard, and we wanted you all to bring your scholarly expertise to these challenging and often frightening and painful questions.”
Read the full story on Waterloo News.
Senior administrators start administrating
Monday, July 1 marked the beginning of a number of senior leadership, academic, and administrative terms of office. Among the administrators taking up their mantles this month:
Dr. Jagdeep Singh Bachher began his three-year term as the University's 12th Chancellor on Monday, July 1. A triple alumnus of Waterloo, he earned a Bachelor of Applied Science, Mechanical Engineering in 1993, a Master of Applied Science, Management Sciences in 1994, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Management Sciences in 2000. Currently he serves as chief investment officer and vice president of investments at the 10-campus University of California, where he oversees an investment portfolio of $164 billion USD.
Dr. Bachher succeeds Dominic Barton, chair of Rio Tinto and chair of LeapFrog Investments, who served as Chancellor from 2018 to 2024.
Dr. Alexie Tcheuyap joined the University of Waterloo as Dean of the Faculty of Arts for a five-year term on July 1. 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).
Dr. Tcheuyap succeeds Dr. Sheila Ager, who held the deanship from 2019 to 2024.
Renison University College welcomed the Rev. Dr. Marc Jerry as its 12th president and vice-chancellor on Monday. Dr. Jerry arrives at Renison with 25 years of post-secondary teaching, research and administrative experience, most recently as president of Luther College, a federated college of the University of Regina. He holds two degrees in economics, specializing in econometrics and quantitative methods, as well as two graduate degrees in theology. In addition to his academic experience, Dr. Jerry has specialized not for profit board governance training through the Institute of Corporate Directors and holds the public sector governance designation through the Johnson Shoyama School of Governance at the University of Regina.
Dr. Jerry succeeds Dr. Wendy Fletcher, who served as Renison’s president from 2014 to 2024.
Dr. Justin Wan and Dr. Clarence Woudsma began a one-year term as Interim Co-Associate Vice-President, Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs.
Dr. Wan collaborated with different units and offices across campus in the creation of multiple new graduate programs, led initiatives to strengthen financial support for graduate students, and created opportunities for efficiencies within the Faculty of Math.
Dr. Woudsma led initiatives within the School of Planning that included several student-centred efforts in teaching innovation, the introduction of new graduate degrees, and significant revisions to all graduate degrees in the face of evolving accreditation standards. His work has resulted in the comprehensive integration of graduate students in all facets of the academic and professional community.
Before joining the GSPA, both Dr. Wan and Dr. Woudsma held various administrative roles with the Faculty of Math and the School of Planning, respectively. They succeed Dr. Jeff Casello, who served as Associate Vice-President, Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs from 2016 to 2024.
Take the Indigenous training strategy survey
A message from the Office of Indigenous Relations (OIR).
Calling all staff, faculty and students - we need your input! Please take a few minutes to complete a short survey to share your thoughts on Indigenous training needs and priorities to inform the development of a training strategy. Sisco & Associates Consulting Services Inc. has been hired by the Office of Indigenous Relations at the University of Waterloo to support this project. This survey is voluntary, anonymous and confidential. Your personal information will not be linked to your survey answers.
The survey closes July 19.