Tuesday, September 10, 2024

Meet Waterloo’s 2024 Schulich Leaders

The University of Waterloo is pleased to welcome 10 new Schulich Leader Scholars to campus. Through The Schulich Foundation, these prestigious entrance scholarships are awarded to 100 high school graduates enrolling in a science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) undergraduate program at 20 partner universities in Canada.

Each scholarship recipient receives between $100,000 and $120,000, which allows them to focus on their studies, knowing that their financial needs are covered.

“I am pleased to see another exceptional cohort of Schulich Leader scholars choose the University of Waterloo,” says Vivek Goel, president and vice-chancellor of the University of Waterloo. “We look forward to welcoming them to our community of curious, collaborative, innovative and entrepreneurial problem-solvers and leaders who seek to make the world a better place.”

Watch how five of our Schulich leaders plan to spend their time at Waterloo.

Read more about this year’s Schulich Leader Scholarship winners.

Walk this way: the annual March of 1,000 Umbrellas is back

A message from the University of Waterloo United Way Committee.

United Way Waterloo Region Communities is excited for the return of its annual March of 1,000 Umbrellas – a 3 km walk from Waterloo City Hall in Waterloo to Carl Zehr Square in Kitchener. This march kicks off their fundraising campaign and aligns with our deeply rooted values of community, philanthropy, and connection.

Join the Waterloo Crew

This year’s march will take place on Thursday, September 19 - and you’re invited! We’ll meet up at the Waterloo sign outside of the Arts Quad for a quick picture at 10:30 a.m. We’ll then depart campus at 10:45 a.m. from the Ring Road entrance to South Campus Hall (SCH) to join all participants at Waterloo City Hall at 11:30 a.m.

When we arrive at Carl Zehr Square at Kitchener City Hall, around 12:15 p.m., we’ll enjoy some entertainment and lunch.

Bring your own University of Waterloo branded umbrella or borrow one of ours! We hope to have enough for everyone. Help us fill the route with black and gold. Dress for the weather – we're walking with our umbrellas in rain or shine.

Once the festivities conclude, you are welcome to walk back to campus, or you can take the Ion light rail. It conveniently leaves from Kitchener City Hall and stops at our Waterloo campus!

Questions? Email united.way@uwaterloo.ca.

Why the United Way matters

“The United Way plays a vital role in the support of social services here in Waterloo Region,” says CEO Joan Fisk. “We are second only to government when it comes to funding community programs like family counselling services, after-school programs, and emergency food hampers.”

There is a great need in the community for the variety of organizations the United Way funds, with many people depending upon their programs for support with mental health issues, disabilities, poverty, and unemployment. The march demonstrates that there are people in this community who care deeply about all members of society and want to see the continuation of the good work the United Way does.

Fisk continues, “our community agencies have had to do more with less throughout the pandemic and the need is continuing to grow. We work with nearly 130 agencies, who combined, support almost 60,000 people across Waterloo Region every six months. Sadly, we are only able to address about 40 per cent of the funding requests we receive.

This is why the University of Waterloo United Way Campaign is so important. Fundraising efforts from staff and retirees allow us to help address the issues that our most vulnerable community members are facing; housing and homelessness, increasing food security, and advocating for mental health. This march is a fantastic way for the campus community to show its support.”

Promoting solidarity with the United Way is just one way you can become part of a community-wide movement to improve the lives of those who matter. Join the University of Waterloo’s team by registering for the Walk of 1,000 Umbrellas on September 19. We hope to see you there.

UW Art Gallery shows off two new exhibitions this fall

The University of Waterloo Art Gallery will be exhibiting the works of two artists this fall term: Sadko Hadžihasanović and Emily Neufeld. The exhibition runs from Thursday, September 12 to December 7. The opening reception is on Thursday, September 12 from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Sadko Hadžihasanović - War and Piece

Borrowing from the title of Leo Tolstoy’s historical chronicle of the Napoleonic Wars and the 1812 invasion of Russia, Sadko Hadžihasanović’s War and Piece is a similarly fragmented view of his homeland in the wake of war. Following the break-up of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s; Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina engaged in a bitter civil war prompted by the collapse of the Soviet Union. Drawing on his own experiences and observations as an émigré from Bosnia during this period, Hadžihasanović’s paintings contrast idyllic Arcadian depictions of daily life in this still largely rural region, with the presence of United Nations peacekeepers and an abundance of firearms: ‘piece’ being American slang for a handgun. From the artist’s point of view, the domestic is never far removed from the martial. Portraits of friends and townspeople are shown posing with long guns. Unarmed soldiers are depicted relaxing while gathering to eat. Masterful paintings on copper capture bathers idling along the banks of the river Una. The uneasy tensions and contradictions depicted are perhaps best illustrated by the artist’s short hand-drawn animations, including Kids with Guns, named after a song by the pop band Gorillaz, in which children play war but it is not entirely clear whether they carry handguns or water pistols. Hadžihasanović’s work is at once a love letter to his homeland and a sobering reflection on the curious nature of postwar peace in the region.

Sadko Hadžihasanović studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Sarajevo, Bosnia, and earned his MFA at the University of Belgrade, Yugoslavia, before emigrating to Canada in 1993. Since then, he has exhibited in numerous exhibitions in public galleries and artist-run spaces across Canada. His work is currently the focus of a concurrent retrospective War and Piece 1984-2024, at the Contemporary Gallery of Cultural Centre, Pančeva, Serbia. He is the recipient of multiple visual arts grants from the Toronto Arts Council, Ontario Arts Council, and Canada Council for the Arts. 

Emily Neufeld - Prairie Invasions: A Homecoming

The work in Prairie Invasions: A Homecoming interlaces abandoned farmhouses with the history of their inhabitants and creates a moment of pause and empathy for the lives that took place in these specific sites, but also for the land that the houses are built upon. Humans are changing our landscape at an increasingly rapid rate. On Turtle Island specifically, the relatively recent colonial occupation has left tremendous impacts on people, communities, languages and cultures, as well as homes, gardens, forests, plains and fields. The multitude of settlers that now live here brought a world of flora and fauna to this place. Some of them are invasive species, while others have naturalized and are beneficial contributors to the communities that are already here. Prairie Invasions asks viewers to consider how each of us participates in the multiple communities we are a part of, both human and non-human alike. Can we learn from the dandelion and enrich the ecosystems we are part of?

Prairie Invasions: A Homecoming is co-presented with the Durham Art Gallery. The exhibition will be on display concurrently in Durham, Ontario from September 7 to November 17. 

Emily Neufeld received her BFA from Emily Carr University of Art + Design in 2013. Recent solo exhibitions include Prairie Invasions: A Hymn (2022, Southern Alberta Art Gallery, AB), Before Demolition: Tides (2019, Eyelevel Gallery, NS), Motherlands (The Pole, Den Haag, ND), and Before Demolition (2017, Burrard Arts Foundation, BC). The artist participates in community sharing gardens, and sees soil and labour as fundamental to her research process.

Every Mile Matters at Ride for Refuge

By Rebecca Wagner.

Walk and bike with United College and Reception House on Saturday, October 5 in support of people seeking safety and hope in Waterloo Region. For the second year in a row, United College is hosting Reception House’s signature annual fundraising event, Ride for Refuge, which raises funds to support the resettlement of refugees in the community.     

What: 2.5/5km walk + 10/20km bike routes. There is a rest stop halfway through the route with drinks and snacks. This is a family-friendly event open to the entire Waterloo Region community. 

When: Saturday, October 5. Registration begins at 10:00 a.m. with a lunch/reception starting at 12 noon.

Where: The walk and bike routes start and end at United College (190 Westmount Road).  The routes will include Ring Road and Research + Technology Park.    

Why: All proceeds from the event will go towards Reception House’s Refugee Health Fund; supporting refugees with health care needs that are not covered by the province.      

How can you help?  

• Sign up as a walker/biker participant. You can join the United College team or create your own team in support of “Waterloo Westmount – Reception House Waterloo Region.”     
• Sign up as a day-of event volunteer (Please select “Waterloo Westmount – Reception House Waterloo Region” as your location).   
• Donate to the United College team

Learn more about this cross-country movement and please direct any questions to Rebecca Wagner at rwagner@uwaterloo.ca.  We look forward to seeing the University of Waterloo community on October 5 as we walk and bike in support of refugees.