Monday, February 24, 2025

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• Reminder: inclusive research webinar coming up

• Ombudsperson joins Waterloo, opens office in SLC

• Q and A with the experts: The universe in motion
• Monday's notes

Reminder: inclusive research webinar coming up

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

What is GBA+ Anyway?: An Introduction takes place on Monday, March 24 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. Note that this is a link to a new registration page. The original registration pages are no longer available due to a technical problem. Anyone who has already registered must re-register. Our apologies for this inconvenience.

Hub feature

The Hub is a resource library of important documents focused on EDI and Indigenous research 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 is the GBA+ course offered by Women and Gender Equality Canada.

Upcoming webinars

• The Decolonial “R’s” of Research: Principled Approaches to Engaging Indigenous Communities, Monday, April 28, 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Please register

Resources 

• Inclusive Resource Hub;
• Inclusive Research website;

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

Ombudsperson joins Waterloo, opens office in SLC

Whitney Barrett has joined the University of Waterloo as its new Ombudsperson The establishment of the Office of the Ombudsperson (Ombuds Office) follows several years of advocacy from the undergraduate and graduate student associations on campus - WUSA and GSA. The office is jointly funded by the University and student fees approved through the Student Services Advisory Committee.

About the Ombuds Office

The Ombuds Office provides accessible, independent, impartial and confidential services through which students may receive guidance and advice about their university-related concerns and complaints regarding university policies, procedures, and decision-making structures. 

The Ombudsperson is an important resource to the community and supports students in understanding policies, procedures, and processes within the University, and in identifying opportunities for improvement. The Ombuds Office supplements – but does not replace – existing resources for formal conflict resolution.

The Ombuds Office is located on the 3^rd floor of the Student Life Centre and welcomes student visitors from all faculties and the affiliated and federated institutions of Waterloo to the Office. Students wishing to book time to meet with the Ombudsperson can email uwombuds@uwaterloo.ca to make an appointment.

About the Ombudsperson

Whitney Barrett joins Waterloo from Western University, where she served in the Office of the Ombudsperson since 2020 as Associate Ombudsperson, and more recently as Acting Ombudsperson. Prior to her work in the Office of the Ombudsperson, Whitney held progressive roles in Alumni Relations and the Faculty of Engineering at Western, including six years as the graduate program officer. 

Whitney is an active member of the Association of Canadian College and University Ombudspersons, California Caucus of College & University Ombuds, International Ombuds Association, and Forum of Canadian Ombudsman. She holds an MBA from James Cook University and is currently pursuing a M.Ed. from York University.

 Q and A with the experts: The universe in motion

By Sarah Fullerton. This article was originally published on Waterloo News.

Monday's notes

"The Winter 2025 Student Experience Survey is now open," says a note from the Statistical Consulting and Survey Research Unit. "Please check your @uwaterloo email or visit LEARN to see if you have been invited. 10,000 undergraduate students are invited, it could be you! Students who submit their responses will receive $5 on their WatCard."

The survey is open until March 14.

The Department of English Language and Literature, the Writing and Communication Centre, and Wilfrid Laurier University's Student Success Writing Services are hosting a public talk by Neisha-Anne Green entitled Recipes made Radical: Kitchentales of Survival and Resistance.

"The kitchen has long been a site of both nourishment and defiance —a space where survival, culture, and activism converge," says the talk's abstract. "This talk explores how food serves as a powerful tool of resistance, from the resourceful cooking of enslaved and oppressed peoples to the current and impending food injustice movements that call to questions folks understandings of a tariff and bird flu. Blending activism, and personal storytelling, Radical Recipes highlights the ways in which marginalized communities have used food to preserve identity, sustain resistance, and build collective power."

Neisha-Anne Green is the Senior Director of Academic Support at American University in Washington, DC, where she leads with a commitment to equity, inclusion, and transformative student support.

Update: Please note that this event has been postponed until further notice.

The talk takes place on Wednesday, February 26, from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. in the Student Life Centre's Black and Gold Room (SLC 2144). A reception will follow.

Register for the event on Portal.