Thursday, June 5, 2025

Thursday, June 5, 2025

Editor:
Brandon Sweet
University Communications
bulletin@uwaterloo.ca

An update on the University Values

Waterloo's Values: Think Differently, Act with Purpose, and Work Together

By Michael Dorr and Melanie Will

When the Waterloo at 100 vision was published in 2023, “evolving our values” was identified as an immediate goal. From that point, we undertook a campus-wide initiative to update and articulate our core values. The result: at the University of Waterloo, we think differently, act with purpose, and work together. Combined with our values imperatives, our Values underpin and reflect what it means to be part of the University of Waterloo community.

The next important stage is to integrate our values into the incredible work that is taking place across our campuses. To help support this, we have updated the Values website with more information, resources and ways to engage.

The updated website includes several downloadable assets which help you to incorporate values into presentations, share via social media and in your spaces. Plus, information sessions and workshops are also available for teams. You can learn more about the consultation process and how we arrived at the values. Please peruse the website and reach out to the values working team with any queries.

“I am excited to see our values continue to come to life and drive the ambitious goals outlined in Waterloo at 100," says Vivek Goel, President and Vice-Chancellor. "These values are rooted in our community’s feedback and input – they reflect core truths about who we are and what we value. We now have a simple and memorable depiction of our values that will be effective at creating a common set of language and tools for us all.”

Students at the Capstone Symposium, photo courtesy of Futures Cities Institute

Students at the Capstone Symposium. Photo courtesy of Futures Cities Institute

Bringing these values to life requires much more than posters and decals; it requires everyone at Waterloo to model Thinking Differently, Acting with Purpose, and Working Together in our daily lives on campus. A fantastic and recent example of this is the Waterloo Capstone Symposium where the values were on display both physically (in the background) and throughout the collaborative, impactful and innovative ideas on display.

Lastly, a special thanks to the talented Creative Studio who designed the vibrant, creative, and impactful graphics.

Enabling pronouns in Teams and Outlook on the web

The pronoun interface in Microsoft 365.

A message from Information Systems & Technology (IST) and the Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism (EDI-R).

What is happening? As of Monday, June 2, University of Waterloo students and employees have the option to set or add pronouns (i.e., words we use to replace someone’s name in a sentence, such as “he”, “she”, or “they”) to their Microsoft 365 profile card (the card with your picture or initials in the circle). It may take up to 24 hours before this feature is visible on your Microsoft 365 profile card.

Which M365 services will display pronouns? When added, the pronouns will appear in Microsoft Teams and Outlook (web version) and are visible to members of the University community. Pronouns on the M365 profile card are not synced across any other University system and are not visible to individuals outside of the University.  

Important notes  

  • Use of this feature is optional. Whether or not to share or publicly display pronouns is always up to an individual. Pronouns should never be assigned by one person to another person.  

  • Pronouns can be added or removed at the individual’s discretion and can be set using the defaults provided or customized to reflect a preferred choice (up to 60 characters). 

Reporting inappropriate use of this feature 

Inappropriate behaviour involving the misuse of pronouns, such as repeated misgendering, mocking, or intentionally altering someone’s pronouns against their wishes, can be reported using the EDI-R Advocate tool. 

To set/add pronouns or learn more, please see: 

  • Pronouns FAQ page from the University’s Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion & Anti-Racism (EDI-R) 

Inuit Identity: Who Is Resilient Inuk

Vanessa Brousseau, also known as Resilient Inuk, stands on railroad tracks.

A message from the Libraries.

In honour of National Indigenous History Month and Indigenous Peoples Day, the UWaterloo Libraries present a hybrid event on the afternoon of June 19 exploring the key aspects of Inuit identity, including the structure and importance of Inuit family trees, the cultural significance of the ulu, and the lasting trauma caused by derogatory terms, tuberculosis treatment policies and forced relocations.

Vanessa Brousseau, also known as Resilient Inuk, will share both heartfelt storytelling and historical context to foster understanding and support reconciliation through education.

All are welcome and encouraged to attend. Registration is appreciated, particularly to facilitate online attendance. Full details are available on the Libraries website.

Link of the day

Marc Garneau, 1949 – 2025

When and where

The Campus Wellness Student Medical Clinic offers healthcare visits with Physicians and Nurse Practitioners to current undergraduate and graduate students. Services include: vaccinations, immunity testing, naturopathic services and more. Counselling Services offers appointments with counsellors in person as well as via phone and video. Students can book appointments for these services by calling Campus Wellness at 519-888-4096.

The privately-run Student Health Pharmacy (located in the lower level of the Student Life Centre) is now offering new COVID booster shots and flu shots. Covid booster shorts are available by appointment only – please call ext. 33784 or 519-746-4500. The Student Health Pharmacy’s summer hours are Monday to Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Naloxone kits are still available – pick them up in the pharmacy at no charge.

University of Waterloo Knowledge Mobilization Community of Practice, “Beyond Buzzwords: Rethinking Communications and Knowledge Mobilization at Waterloo to Enhance Research Impact,” Thursday, June 5, 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Contact Nadine Quehl to request a Teams invitation or for more information.

Online Workshop: Generative Artificial Intelligence and the Literature Review: A Workshop for Graduate Students, Thursday, June 5, 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., online.

Velocity Cornerstone, Thursday, June 5, 1:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., Engineering 7 1st floor Ideas Clinic.

Reunion 2025, Friday, June 6 and Saturday, June 7.

Embracing Aging as Culmination - Annual Spirituality & Aging Seminar, Friday, June 6, 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Conrad Grebel University College.

University Senate meeting, Monday, June 9, 3:30 p.m., NH 3407 and online via Zoom.

Convocation, Tuesday, June 10 to Saturday, June 14, Physical Activities Complex.

IBPOC Student Writing Cafés, Tuesday, June 10, 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., SCH 228F.

Rock Your Thesis 3: Revise and Submit, Wednesday, June 11, 1:00 p.m. Register on Portal.

Celebrating Pride: A Community Corner for 2SLGBTQIA+ Students, Staff, and Faculty, Wednesday, June 11, 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., Office of EDI-R, EC5 2nd floor.

North Campus community garden clean up, Thursday, June 12, 10:00 a.m. to 12 noon, Columbia Lake greenhouses.

UW Matthews Golf Classic - faculty and staff golf tournament, Monday, June 16.

Table Talk Series: Collecting and Understanding Queer, Trans and Non-Binary Data, Monday, June 16, 12 noon, - Office of EDI-R, EC5 2nd floor or online.

Menopause Café, Tuesday, June 17, 12 noon to 1:00 p.m., DC Fishbowl. No registration required.

An afternoon with Kai Potts, Wednesday, June 18, 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., SLC Black and Gold Room.

NEW - Enhancing Accessibility in Teaching and Learning Series: Student Experiences with Assistive Technology (CTE7040), Wednesday, June 18, 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m., online.

National Indigenous Peoples Day celebration, Thursday, June 19, 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., BMH Green.

Buckthorn pull, Thursday, June 19, 10:00 a.m. to 12 noon, meet between Village 1 South 3 building and the forest.

Juggling Institutional Priorities: Strategies for Instructors - Online (CTE7700), Thursday, June 19, 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., online.

PhD oral defences

Pure Mathematics. Sourabhashis Das, "On the distributions of prime divisor counting functions." Supervisors, Dr. Wentang Kuo, Dr. Yu-Ru Liu. Thesis available from MGO - mgo@uwaterloo.ca. Oral defence Wednesday, June 11, 9:30 a.m., MC 5417.

Applied Mathematics. Melissa Stadt, "Mathematical modeling of whole-body electrolyte homeostasis." Supervisor, Dr. Anita Layton. Thesis available from MGO - mgo@uwaterloo.ca. Oral defence Wednesday, June 11, 10:00 a.m., MC 6460.

School of Environment, Enterprise and Development. Leah Feor, “Evaluating municipal climate action: an analysis of performance measurement models, practices, and indicators.” Supervisor, Dr. Amelia Clarke. Available upon request from the Faculty of Environment, Administrator, Graduate Studies. Oral defence Wednesday, June 11, 9:00 a.m.

Psychology. Jessica Lee, "Boredom as a Motivator of Pain Infliction in Psychopathy." Supervisor, Dr. James Danckert. Available upon request from the Faculty of Arts, Graduate Studies and Research Officer. Oral defence Wednesday, June 11, 10:00 a.m., PAS 2464 and hybrid.

Upcoming service interruptions

Stay up to date on service interruptions, campus construction, and other operational changes on the Plant Operations website. Upcoming service interruptions include:

  • Village 1 localized steam shutdown, Monday, June 2 to Friday, June 13, 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., steam to the various portions of the building will be isolated at the beginning of each day, impacting equipment serviced downstream, including AHUs, space heating will still be available at wall radiators.

  • Optometry building heating pipe tie-in on 2nd floor, Thursday, June 5, 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., building heat will be off but hot water will remain unaffected.

  • Villages Road sidewalk repair, Friday, June 6 to June 18, the sidewalk along Villages Road (around V1 West section) will be closed for construction, pedestrians are advised to find alternate routes around the construction zone, the road to the V1 loading dock will remain open with minor bottlenecks where construction equipment is active, vehicles on the construction side of the road will be expected to yield to oncoming traffic. A contractor flag person will be on-site to coordinate traffic where required.

  • Energy Research Centre, Math 3, Burt Matthews Hall fire alarm testing, Friday, June 6, 6:30 a.m. to 8:15 a.m.

  • Minota Hagey, Mackenzie King Village, Ron Eydt Village fire alarm testing, Friday, June 6, 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.

  • Engineering 2 and 3, Davis Centre, Math & Computer fire alarm testing, Monday, June 9, 6:30 a.m. to 8:15 a.m.

  • Aberfoyle - Biorem fire alarm testing, Monday, June 9, 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

  • Fire Research Facility fire alarm testing, Monday, June 9, 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.

  • Physical Activities Complex, Student Life Centre, RAC 1 and 2, Federation Hall fire alarm testing, Tuesday, June 17, 6:30 a.m. to 8:15 a.m.