Friday, August 29, 2025

A message from Vivek Goel, President and Vice-Chancellor.

There’s nothing quite like anticipating the energy on campus in September. Friends, classmates and colleagues catching up and swapping stories from vacation and co-op placements in hallways and over coffee. New students meeting friends they’ll have for the rest of their lives.

For hundreds of new students, this marks their first weeks away from home. I’d like to thank everyone who has volunteered to welcome our new Warriors this week and over the weekend. If you’ve helped out in previous years, you know it can be a fun and rewarding experience. Students and their families arrive full of excitement, but also a little nervous and overwhelmed. A warm smile from our volunteers makes all the difference.

I look forward to connecting with the community this fall term as our campuses bustle again with activity.

Financial sustainability

Our work continues towards returning the University to a balanced budget. Many teams across the institution are involved in the various activities, including the functional reviews, Academic Innovation Working Group, Innovation Action Group and UniForum benchmarking. The outcomes of the reviews and working groups will take some time to implement, but the teams are working hard to pull together information that will inform budget planning for the next year.

I understand that these circumstances may cause anxiety and uncertainty. We will continue to keep the community updated on progress, and I encourage you to reach out to your leaders with specific questions about your unit.

Campus updates

Our new Campus Plan continues to take shape through surveys, open houses and your feedback—helping us design spaces that are sustainable, accessible and inspiring.

Take, for instance, the Two Row Path, formerly Main Path. Renamed in spring 2025 to honour the Haudenosaunee Two Row Wampum, plans are underway to plant a significant number of regional tree species along it to support the local ecosystem, offer natural carbon cycle-friendly cooling and serve as a living laboratory for research.

Upcoming September celebrations

It's now been three years since September of 2022 when we committed to decolonization, Indigenization, and reconciliation.

September 27 is the Gidinawendamin/Ska’nikú•lát 22^nd annual Pow Wow. It’s a celebration of Indigenous cultures through song, dance, art, and food. A few days later our community will mark the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on September 30 and renew our commitment.

I encourage you to attend one or both of these events. By being together we can create a positive space to listen, to learn, and to honour these commitments as a community.

Be You Campaign

As we know, student life comes with both its rewards and challenges. This is why we’ve launched the Be You initiative. Led by our Campus Wellness team, Be You celebrates every student’s individuality and well-being—helping Warriors take pride in their progress, show kindness to others and embrace their authentic selves.

Students can get involved through Be You programs and events. Staff and faculty can get involved with the Be You Mental Health Campaign by sharing toolkit resources, partnering on events, and learning how to support student well-being in ways that reflect the diversity of our Waterloo community.
 
Fall is a season of possibility. Let’s make the most of it — together.

Remembering Carrie Jenks

Waterloo staff member Carrie Jenks passed away on August 21, 2025.

Carrie Jenks joined the University in March 2021 as Executive Assistant to the Vice-President, University Relations. Previously, she worked as executive assistant to the President and Board Liaison at St. Joseph’s Health Centre and executive assistant to the Executive Director of Dufferin Child and Family Services.

During her time with University Relations, she provided support to the Vice-President’s office and is remembered by her colleagues as a collaborative team member.

In May 2023, Jenks joined the Office of the President as an Executive Assistant on temporary assignment and later transitioned to the role of Administrative Manager.

“Carrie was a bright and warm presence in our office who made everyone feel welcome,” wrote Andrea Kelman, Executive Director of the president’s office, in a memo sent to the University’s Executive Council last week. “She was so giving of her time and energy and went above and beyond her service to the team and the University.  Even though Carrie and her family live in Elora, she was the first to volunteer for convocation, September move-in and even last winter when students needed support at hotels.  She was a shining example of the Waterloo values. Our thoughts are with her husband Charlie, her daughter Avery and her son Calvin who works in IST.”

As a tribute to Carrie, a University of Waterloo team will take part in the Waterloo Region Health Network’s Hike for Health on Sunday, September 21 at the Laurel Creek Conservation Area in Waterloo beginning at 10:00 a.m. You can register to join the “UWaterloo Friends in Memory of Carrie Jenks” team or donate on the Hike for Health website. Contact Kelly McManus, Associate Vice-President, Community Relations and Events for more information.

Flags on campus will be lowered on Friday, September 5 in Carrie’s memory.

What's open and closed on campus for Labour Day weekend

The time has come. Campus is about to emerge from late August's shadow of the valley as the Labour Day long weekend beckons. A final opportunity to catch one's breath and wring out just a few more moments of summer (although the weather has been unseasonably comfortable these last few days) before the fall term's hue and cry overwhelms the campus. Here are some operational highlights to consider this weekend:

The Physical Activities Complex (PAC) will be open Sunday, August 31 and Monday, September 1 from 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. and Columbia Icefield will be closed Sunday and Monday. The PAC and CIF fitness centres will be open Saturday, August 30 from 9:00 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.

The Dana Porter and Davis Centre Library locations will be open Saturday, August 30 and Sunday, August 31 from 12 noon to 5:00 p.m. but will be closed on Labour Day Monday. Check the Libraries' opening hours website for more details.

Most Food Services locations will be closed over the long weekend, with the exception of The Market at UWP, open Friday and Saturday, 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., Sunday, August 31, 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., and Monday, September 1, 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., Tim Hortons in the SLC, open Saturday, August 30 from 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Monday, September 1 from 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Mudie's in Village 1, open Saturday, August 30 from 8:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., Sunday, August 31 from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., and Monday, September 1 from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. and REVelation in Ron Eydt Village, open from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. Check Food Services' Locations and Hours page for more details.

The overlap of Campus move-in and Orientation with the long weekend does bring some operational changes in the opposite direction. For example, The Centre in Needles Hall will be open on Saturday, August 30 and Sunday, August 31 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. to support incoming students. However, The Centre will be closed on Monday, September 1 for Labour Day.

W Store in South Campus Hall will be open Saturday, August 30 and Sunday, August 31 from 12 noon to 4:00 p.m. but will be closed Monday, September 1. Check Print + Retail Solutions' locations and hours website for more details.

Campus move-in is ongoing from Thursday, August 28 to Sunday, August 31. Check CityNews Kitchener for local road closures to accommodate the off-campus arrival of thousands of students (and their stuff) as they prepare to go back to school. There will be closures on Lester Street and Seagram Drive as well as Regina Street a little further afield.

A long weekend's list of notes

TGIF, as they say, and allow me to add to that - TGIPD: Thank God it's Pay Day. Employees on the monthly payroll will rejoice as a five-week pay period comes to an end today. I don't know about you, but I was shaking the crumbs out of my toaster this week in search of sustenance. Check the pay dates website for details on biweekly and monthly pay dates so you can, unlike me, budget accordingly.

Waterloo staff member and author Mark Morton’s latest young adult novel, The Headmasters, is among five nominees for a Canadian Children’s Book Centre’s Award – the Arlene Barlin Award for Science Fiction and Fantasy.

The award jury had this to say about Morton’s novel: “A new science fiction novel that feels like it’s already a classic… Morton's The Headmasters invites the reader into a dystopian future that is rife with traditional science fiction world building. His work brings to light the challenges of control and the puzzles that come with trying to navigate a future when the past is lost to memory… This well-paced young adult novel captures the readers’ attention right from the beginning, engaging them in epic storytelling and reminding them that there is a time when it’s important to stand up and fight for what you believe in.” 

Morton, who works in the Centre for Teaching Excellence, has written four books and more than 50 articles for Gastronomica: A Journal of Food and Culture.

The winner will be announced in October at a ceremony in Toronto.

Information Systems & Technology (IST) has published the latest in the Atlassian blog series entitled Fall into Atlassian with Our 2025 Drop-In Sessions!

Enjoy your long weekend, everyone. The Daily Bulletin will return on Tuesday, September 2. See you in September!