Wednesday, November 13, 2024

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• Waterloo calling: Thanking our donors on National Philanthropy Day
• Inclusive Research GBA+ webinar coming up on December 9
• Warriors named to President's Academic Honour Roll
• National recognition for United College's incubators
• ENS test today and other notes

Waterloo calling: Thanking our donors on National Philanthropy Day

Salman Jivani, Associate Vice-President, Engagement and Nenone Donaldson, Vice-President, Advancement participate in the 2023 National Philanthropy Day Thank-a-Thon to recognize Waterloo donors.

A message from the Office of Advancement.

In a world where digital communications seem to be the norm, it’s nice to hear a human voice. Especially when that voice says, “Thank you.”

On Friday, the Office of Advancement holds its second annual National Philanthropy Day Thank-a-Thon, with staff and colleagues from across campus calling hundreds of individuals who recently made gifts to the University of Waterloo and its affiliated institutions. The goal is to share the impact of donors’ philanthropy person-to-person and let them know we appreciate their continued support.

National Philanthropy Day®, held annually on November 15, is an international celebration highlighting the power of charitable giving and volunteerism. Positive feedback from donors after the 2023 Thank-a-Thon encouraged organizers to repeat the event this year.

“On National Philanthropy Day, we want to thank our donors, regardless of giving level, and share how important their contributions are,” says Salman Jivani, Associate Vice-President, Engagement.

“Across our campuses, donors help fund everything from student awards to new facilities and research programs. Their generosity enables our students and researchers to tackle some of the world’s biggest challenges, and we want donors to know how grateful we are.”

Inclusive Research GBA+ webinar coming up on December 9

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

The Inclusive Research GBA+ Webinar is set for December 9.  Are you planning to attend?   

What is GBA+ Anyway?: An Introduction takes place on  Monday, December 9 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. 

Find more resources about incorporating GBA+ into research by visiting the Inclusive Research Resource Hub and using the GBA+ tag.

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.  

Hub highlight

Gender Equity In Research Toolkit by Royal Roads University

Resources  

• Inclusive Resource Hub; and 
• Our website. 

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

Warriors named to President's Academic Honour Roll

This article was originally published on the Athletics and Recreation website.

Yesterday, 444 student-athletes from the 36 Warriors varsity teams came together to commemorate their academic accomplishments. The event was hosted at Fed Hall, where the student-athletes were named to the 2023-24 President's Academic Honour Roll.

Student-athletes who have maintained an average of 80 per cent and above while competing for a varsity team are awarded this prestigious recognition. The University of Waterloo has one of the highest rates of Academic All-Canadian student-athletes in the country annually.

The 444 student-athletes honoured represents 56.13 per cent of the student-athlete population at UWaterloo. In addition, 29 of the 36 Warriors varsity teams have at least 50 per cent of their student-athletes represented on the Honour Roll.

Top academic student-athletes 

Out of all 444 student-athletes, four were recognized for their exceptional academic achievements. Adam Huras, a fourth-year Mechatronics Engineering student, earned the top male undergraduate award for his outstanding performance with a remarkable 98.2 per cent average. A dual-sport athlete, Huras serves as the captain of the Cross Country team and also competes on the Track & Field team. In her third academic year in the Science program, Nordic Ski team athlete Katie Sefton achieved an outstanding 95.5 per cent average, making her the top academic female athlete.

Huras and Sefton were among the recipients of the Fairfax Financial Award, along with Rebecca Brown, a Psychology student and member of the Figure Skating team, who earned her first nod for the Fairfax award with a 95 per cent average, in addition to being named one of the top four academic achievers. In recognition of his academic excellence, Matt Onuska, a Health Sciences student and a goalie for the Men's Hockey team, received the Fairfax Financial Award for his 96.6 per cent average.

Read the full roster of honour roll recipients

National recognition for United College's incubators

By Rebecca Wagner.

A catalyst for human growth and connection. Spearheading impactful local partnerships. Tackling pressing social and environmental challenges.  Community-supported innovation. Building diverse pathways for changemaking.   

These are among the qualities recognized by the Canadian Council for Small Business & Entrepreneurship (CCSBE) when United College was recently recognized with the inaugural “Award for Outstanding Contributions to Inclusive Venture Creation and Community Engagement” at the 42^nd Annual Conference for the CCSBE in Calgary that brought together hundreds of people dedicated to the advancement of small business and entrepreneurship.    

GreenHouse founding director, Tania Del Matto, was on hand to accept the award. “Receiving this award is a huge honour and re-energizes our continued work to foster a social impact community where ideas flourish and inclusive ventures thrive. This recognition celebrates the collective spirit of innovation, resilience, and commitment that defines GreenHouse and FlintHub, and it strengthens our dedication to real-world impact through strong community partnerships and collaborative efforts.”

Director of GreenHouse Tania Del Matto flanked by GreenHouse alumni, accepting the CCSBE award.

This high profile, national recognition, speaks to the impact of United College’s social impact and Indigenous entrepreneurship incubators locally, nationally, and globally. United by a shared commitment to making the world a better place, GreenHouse and FlintHub engage intergenerational participants from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds, building warm and enriching communities that bring students together to address community supported challenges.   

"Empowering Indigenous entrepreneurs, innovators, and changemakers is at the core of what we do at FlintHub,” says United College director of Indigenous entrepreneurship Ashley Richard. “We are honoured to collaborate with our friends at GreenHouse to amplify and uplift each other’s programs. This recognition is accepted with humility and a commitment to keep pushing for great inclusivity in entrepreneurship." 

Strong local partnerships and community engagement are key, as solutions that students bring forward to tackle real-world problems are much stronger when they collaborate with existing organizations and leaders. A recent partnership between GreenHouse and the City of Kitchener on the Youth Climate Action Fund and FlintHub’s work fostering academic partnerships with post-secondary institutions across the country for the recently launched Indigenous Entrepreneurship Diploma, are just two examples of the success of this model of deep community engagement.   

United College, through GreenHouse and FlintHub, has supported a diversity of talented students, participants, and community members on their social entrepreneurship journeys. These journeys have had, and will continue to have, profound ripple effects beyond the borders of the University of Waterloo campus community. 

In keeping with the spirit of thriving community partnerships, United College would love to extend a big thank you to neighbour and friend Conrad Grebel University College for the award nomination.

ENS test today and other notes

Today, the University will conduct a test of the Emergency Notification System (ENS) to ensure it can reach everyone on campus as quickly as possible in case of an emergency. Wherever you are, this test will deliver alerts directly to your phone, email, and more—as long as you have the Regroup Mobile app. This test will involve several notification methods, including:

• SMS/text messages;
• Email alerts;
• Desktop notifications; and
• the Regroup Mobile safety app.

Take a few minutes to download Regroup Mobile.

Conrad Grebel's Noon Hour Concert series continues today with Hearing the Desert, which features a world premiere – Kalahari Suite for cello, piano, and vocals, focused on Kalahari animals small and large – meerkat, African wild cat, cheetah, brown hyena, lioness and more – plus recent choral pieces, Desert Gloria and Desert Alleluia.  

“The desert always pulls me in due to its pristine starkness, relentless heat, its pains, and its exquisite beauty," says composer Carol Ann Weaver. "Finding the desert's song is an ongoing quest and passion. While in the Kalahari from October – December, 2023, this song came to me as an endless barrage of tunes and rhythms, forming the core of this concert.” she says.  

Weaver, as composer, pianist, and soundscape artist, will be joined by Ben Bolt-Martin, cellist, Mary-Catherine Pazzano, vocalist, and members of Grebel Chapel Choir conducted by Kate Steiner. The concert takes place at 12 noon in Conrad Grebel University College's Chapel. Admission is free.

As Taylor Swift prepares to descend on Toronto this week, campus is celebrating with The Eats Tour (UW Food Services Version), in Village 1 today from 12 noon to 2:00 p.m. There will be a Taylor Swift-inspired menu, and, most importantly, friendship bracelet making from 12 noon to 2:00 p.m.

Save the date for the UWRA holiday reception. "All UWaterloo retirees are invited to the UW Retirees Association Holiday Reception," says a note from the UWRA.. "Celebrate the season, meet members of the UWRA Board, see old friends, and make new friends in a safe social space on campus."

The reception takes place on Thursday, December 5, from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. in the BMH Health Expansion's 2nd floor lobby. For details and to register, visit the UWRA website.