Thursday, October 16, 2025

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• Leading and Succeeding through Flexibility
• Waterloo Mayor visits planning course to talk about the city's growth
• Nominations now open for the Award of Excellence in Graduate Supervision
• Do you have a plan for your later years?
• Graham Seed Fund applications open and other notes

Leading and Succeeding through Flexibility

A message from Human Resources.

As our campus adopts new flexible and hybrid work guidelines, two upcoming workshops designed by HR's Organizational and Human Development team have been created to help managers and employees navigate this evolving work environment with confidence and connection.

Leading with Flexibility: Supporting Your Teams in a Flexible Work Environment (For managers and supervisors)

Managers play a key role in shaping a culture of flexibility grounded in trust, accountability, and inclusion. This two-hour, in-person session will help leaders balance operational needs while supporting individual and team success. Participants will explore strategies for addressing challenges like equity, performance, development, and shifting expectations, and leave with practical approaches to lead confidently in a flexible environment.

Succeeding with Flexibility: Navigating Our Flexible Work Environment (For all employees)

Flexibility works best when everyone contributes to building trust, communicating openly, and supporting one another. This two-hour, in-person session will provide strategies to maintain strong collaboration and well-being while adapting to changing ways of working. Participants will gain practical approaches to have effective conversations about flexibility and learn how to succeed in a culture that values both in-person connections and thoughtful flexibility.  

Learn more and register for these workshops and others on the HR Events Page.

Waterloo Mayor visits planning class to talk about the city's growth

Mayor Dorothy McCabe speaks to the students of PLAN 100. Photograph by Dr. Brian Doucet.

Dorothy McCabe, Mayor of Waterloo, visited campus last Wednesday morning to meet first year planning students. She was invited by Dr. Brian Doucet, associate professor in the School of Planning, and the instructor of PLAN 100, which provides an introductory look at cities and how they are shaped by the planning process.

Doucet invited the mayor because “it’s essential to build connections between what we learn in class and what is happening in our local community. A lot of our graduates will work for local planning offices and therefore giving them a window into this world is important, even in their first year.”

Mayor McCabe, Professor Brian Doucet and PLAN 100 students. Photograph by Anson Chan.

The mayor gave a presentation to the class of more than 250 students, where she talked about Waterloo’s place within a growing region. She explained how the city is trying to meet its future population growth targets without continuing to sprawl out, stressing the need for both more density, and a more walkable and bike-friendly city. McCabe told the students that “there are pockets of land all over our city where, with zoning changes and creativity, you can grow without having to push out of our existing boundaries. It’s better fiscally and environmentally to use what we have rather than building out.”

Affordable housing is a priority for McCabe, and she discussed details of a unique partnership between Waterloo, Habitat for Humanity and Build Now to develop city-owned land into 1,000 units of new affordable housing. The site at 2025 University Ave East was initially zoned for employment functions, but sat empty for more than 25 years. The city’s innovative approach means that this land will now be used to directly tackle the housing crisis.

As McCabe explained to the students: “We know there’s a need for more affordable and attainable housing. We took that seriously in Waterloo. When I was elected, I asked the city what lands we could use to contribute to this. It’s really important for myself and council that these units remain affordable in perpetuity.” Once developed, this will be North America’s largest affordable housing development.

McCabe also encouraged students to get involved in the community and directed them to the website engagewr, where community engagement and feedback can be provided on a range of local issues, policies and proposals. She also stressed the importance of such feedback opportunities especially given how new provincial rules are decreasing community consultation.

Students also had plenty of opportunity to ask questions to the mayor. These included issues of how co-op students can contribute to the city’s initiatives, how the city is making Waterloo more walkable, methods to preserve the natural environment in a context of rapid growth, and the unique challenges and opportunities of being a city with two universities and colleges. While McCabe noted some of the housing pressures that arise from having so many students, she was keen to stress the positives: “There’s a lot of big challenges in the world and chances are there’s an expert living in Waterloo studying them! There are lots of experts to draw on to support the city.”

It was the second year that she visited PLAN 100. “I hope we can continue to have the mayor involved in this class,” Doucet said, “her enthusiasm and energy inspires a lot of students and it’s important to get them excited and curious about the planning process in the first term of their program.”

Nominations now open for the Award of Excellence in Graduate Supervision

A message from Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs.

Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs, in collaboration with the Graduate Student Association, is now accepting nominations for the Award of Excellence in Graduate Supervision, which celebrates faculty who demonstrate outstanding mentorship, guidance, and support for graduate students.

Eligible nominees will have a demonstrated record of excellence in graduate supervision, including fostering student independence, promoting critical thinking and communication skills, supporting research dissemination, and providing a caring and inclusive environment where students can thrive.

Nominations must be initiated by a current or former graduate student and submitted by November 12.

Full eligibility details and nomination requirements are available on the Award of Excellence in Graduate Supervision web page.

Do you have a plan for your later years?

A message from the Office of Advancement.

November is Make a Will Month, a time to reflect on how we plan for the future. The University of Waterloo is contributing to this important conversation by exploring how healthy aging, capacity and care intersect.

On Wednesday, November 12 from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., we’ll host Plan Well to Live Well: Exploring the Intersection of Aging, Capacity and Care. This live Zoom event will feature Waterloo faculty and alumni experts offering insights on:

• research perspectives on living well with dementia
• practical legal guidance on capacity, decision-making and estate planning
• strategies for meaningful conversations with loved ones about your wishes
• a live Q&A to answer your questions

We hope you’ll join us for this thoughtful discussion. Register today.

Graham Seed Fund applications open and other notes

The Graham Seed Fund is opening its next call for proposals, with a new focus on building readiness for responsible AI in community care. This round’s theme invites researchers to explore how community and regional care organizations can prepare for the responsible adoption of AI through collaboration, capacity-building, and real-world impact.

"Join us on Friday, October 31, 2025, at 11:00 a.m. in EC5 1111 for the official launch event," says a note from the Centre for Bioengineering and Biotechnology (CBB). 'Hear more about the theme, engage in collaboration opportunities, and enjoy a networking lunch with members of the CareNext coalition and local health care partners. Learn how your research could help shape the future of AI in health care, and how to apply for up to $35,000 in funding."

Visit the Graham Seed Fund website to register.

Drop-in meditation sessions for students, faculty and staff will be running later this month on Tuesdays from 12:15 p.m. to 12:45 p.m. in HLTH EXP 1686. Sessions will run from October 28 to December 2. No experience necessary, no registration required. The sessions are facilitated by Sean Hayes (I checked, and it's not the actor from Will and Grace). For more information, contact Fiona McAllister at fmcalist@uwaterloo.ca.

Stock the Bank 2025 is coming – get ready to compete for a cause! "Stock the Bank, the University’s annual campus-wide food drive competition hosted by the WUSA Food Support Service (FSS), is back this November — and your department can make a big difference!" says a note from WUSA. "From November 1 to 30, departments will go head-to-head to donate the most food in support of FSS — a student-run food bank that provides emergency food hampers and essential non-perishables to students experiencing food insecurity."

Registration is currently open for the food drive. Participants can make an impact on student food insecurity by building a team and competing for the title of Stock the Bank Champion.

"Rally your team, get ready to give back, and help us Stock the Bank," says WUSA. "Because no Warrior should go hungry."

Learn more on the WUSA website.

Human Resources reports that the list of paid holidays recognized by the University for the 2026–27 academic year is now available on the Human Resources website. For full details, please refer to Policy 38.