Wednesday, October 29, 2025

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• Arts receives final approval to reorganize into six schools
• Building a culture of care and belonging with active bystander training
• There's still time to contribute to the United Way
• Welcome back to Cyber Awareness Month with The Goose & Friends – Week Five
• Register for Stock the Bank 2025 and other notes

Arts receives final approval to reorganize into six schools

This article was originally published on the Faculty of Arts website.

The Faculty of Arts reorganization proposal received final approval from the Board of Governors, and the transition period officially begins.

The new structure will see the Faculty’s current 15 departments and two schools reorganized into six schools. Board approval comes after a two-year development process, including extensive consultations with all stakeholders.

“The proposal is the culmination of years of effort, consultation and discernment, and it is the fulfillment of aspirations that have been in every Faculty strategy document going back more than a decade,” says Alexie Tcheuyap, Dean of Arts. “I am grateful for all the efforts of the department chairs, the Reorganization Working Group, our staff and faculty leadership, and the many others in the Faculty of Arts and beyond who have contributed to developing this proposal.”

Why is Arts reorganizing?

Reorganization was formally identified as a goal in the 2014-19 Arts Strategic plan and in current strategic plans with the goal of organizing into fewer, larger academic units to improve administrative and operational efficiencies.

In addition, the reorganization positions the Faculty for resilience and renewal across its academic programming and research. It will enable better opportunities for interdisciplinary collaborations to support new programming, research and partnerships that respond to evolving educational, societal and economic priorities.

Now that reorganization has final approval, Arts is in a transition period  (running fall 2025 to spring 2026) to establish school governance processes, administrative leadership and staffing roles for the two new schools.

The new six-school structure

In the new structure, 13 of the 15 current departments will form two new schools:

The School of Critical and Creative Humanities (provisional name) composed of the current departments of Communication Arts, English Language & Literature, Fine Arts, French Studies, Germanic & Slavic Studies, Spanish & Latin American Studies

The School of Social, Political and Historical Research (provisional name) composed of the current departments of Anthropology, Classical Studies, History, Philosophy, Political Science, Religious Studies, Sociology & Legal Studies.

The departments of Economics and Psychology will be renamed respectively to the School of Economics and the School of Psychology. And the existing School of Accounting and Finance and Stratford School of Interaction Design & Business will be unchanged.

What is changing – and what isn’t

The reorganization does not involve cutting programs or employees. All current scholarly disciplines and programs have a place in the new structure, and students will continue to choose from the same set of majors, minors, and diplomas or graduate program options. The schools structure is designed for agility to support new and responsive Arts programming, research and partnership opportunities.

In addition, the new schools include roles to accommodate all current full-time staff, with standardized and equitable job descriptions that offer the opportunity for specialization and career development.

“The new structure will better support teaching, research and capacity building to seize new and emerging opportunities in the future,” says Tcheuyap. “With improved administration and operations, Arts will be well positioned for increased collaboration, flexibility and resilience as it continues to deliver world-class academic programs and research that drive economic and social prosperity.”

Want to know more? Read more about the Faculty of Arts Reorganization

Building a culture of care and belonging with active bystander training

A message from the Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism (EDI-R).

Sometimes it’s a comment that crosses a line, a gesture that dismisses someone’s experience, or a moment in class when silence feels heavier than words. We’ve all witnessed situations that don’t feel right — and in those moments, it’s not always easy to know what to do.

That’s where the Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism (EDI-R) and the Sexual Violence Prevention & Response Office (SVPRO) can help. Both have seen how important and powerful it can be when someone chooses to speak up. Even a small action can interrupt harm, offer support, and reinforce shared values of respect, care, and belonging.

To help staff and faculty feel more confident in taking action, these offices have collaborated to develop Bystander Intervention Training for Faculty and Staff — an in-person training that will help participants move from passive bystanders to active bystanders.

This collaboration reflects a shared commitment to creating a safer, more caring campus community. Through the training, staff and faculty will learn to recognize their own barriers to intervening, develop the confidence to act safely and effectively, and respond when they witness harmful or potentially harmful behaviour — including racism, sexual violence, discrimination, or harassment.

Using an equity-focused lens, the training invites participants to:

• Understand and define microaggressions, harassment, and harm
• Recognize the complex roots of normalized oppressions
• Learn how to safely and effectively apply the **5D Active Bystander Model**
• Recognize that everyone has a role in creating a safe and anti-oppressive campus

Together, we can continue to build a culture rooted in consent, care, belonging, and respect — one where everyone feels empowered to act when something doesn’t sit right.

Register today.

There's still time to contribute to the United Way

As the University’s 2025 United Way campaign draws to a close, we acknowledge everyone who has made a generous contribution through financial gifts and special events. This support makes a meaningful difference for our neighbours in Waterloo region – thank you!

There’s still time to contribute:

Donate now

A message from United Way Waterloo Region Communities:

Times are tough and getting tougher.

The rising cost of living is hitting families in Waterloo Region harder than ever. For many, rent consumes nearly their entire income, leaving little to nothing left for food.

This has led to an unprecedented strain on local food banks and other community supports.

Food insecurity is only part of our local picture. Financial stress is driving a greater need for mental health and addiction supports, services already stretched beyond capacity.

There is a way to help. YOU can make a real difference to change lives for the better. 

Our partners in the United Way Waterloo Region (WR) network are doing everything they can to help the most vulnerable in our community, but they cannot do it alone.

Our funded partners at Marillac Place are helping write stories of hope and transformation. When Sara arrived at Marillac Place, she was nervous and alone, seeking a better beginning for herself and the child she was expecting. Welcomed with kindness, she soon delivered her daughter, and with the support of staff and other women, gained parenting skills, accessed community resources, and found the confidence to return to school.

A donation to United Way WR will go towards a network of partners, helping our neighbours struggling with food insecurity, mental health issues, and addictions.

Here’s what some of our funded partners are seeing:

• Cambridge Food Bank reported a 30 per cent increase in visits between April–December 2024 compared to the same period the year before. At the same time, they saw fewer food and monetary donations, while the cost of purchasing food continued to climb.

• Wilmot Family Resource Centre distributed 3,600 hampers supporting more than 10,000 individuals, plus 84 anonymous hampers serving 174 clients. Families told them this support helped them avoid impossible choices between paying for food, rent, or medication. One client shared, “We wouldn’t be here at all without this help.”

• Camino Wellbeing + Mental Health shared that United Way funding has been critical in sustaining two of their most underfunded but essential programs: counselling and neighbourhood support. These services are increasingly important as stress, housing instability, and food insecurity continue to take a toll on mental health.

• Langs emphasized how vital United Way funding is to their work. Without it, vulnerable youth would have faced fewer mental health supports, limited recreational opportunities, and reduced access to safe spaces with caring mentors. United Way funding ensures these critical programs and supports remain available to the young people who need them most.

We know times are challenging for many of us right now, but your support can change the lives of families and children in our community.

By giving today, you are joining others in making sure that no one in Waterloo Region is left behind. Even a small donation can make a huge difference to someone in need.

Give today!

Welcome back to Cyber Awareness Month with The Goose & Friends – Week Five

A message from Information Systems & Technology (IST).

Last week, The Goose learned that keeping devices patched, protected, and backed up is essential to staying secure. This week, the Waterloo mascots return once more to show The Goose that bringing in new technologies — from smart devices to Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools — without asking questions can open the door to even bigger risks.  

Tip #5 — Ask, Assess, and Analyze Before Using New Technology. Smart tech, smart choices — when in doubt, ask the experts! 

Read more about assessing and analyzing new technology before using it.  

Attend one of our upcoming Cybersecurity information sessions

Visit the event page for more information and to register for these sessions.  

• October 30: Cybersecurity for students information session    

• October 31: Halloween Haunt cybersecurity close-out (PDAG seminar) 

Thanks for joining us this Cyber Awareness Month! We’d love your feedback to make next year even better.

Register for Stock the Bank 2025 and other notes

There's still time to register a team to compete in the Stock the Bank 2025 challenge! Organized by WUSA Food Support Service (FSS), Stock the Bank is the University's annual campus-wide food drive competition. From November 1 to November 30, departments and units will go head-to-head to donate the most food in support of the student-run food bank that provides emergency food hampers and essential non-perishables to students experiencing food insecurity.

To get involved and register a team, visit the Food Support Service website. Team registration closes on Friday, October 31. 

The Music department's Noon Hour Concert series returns today with Piano Music from Sea to Summit. Pianist Ryan Baxter will perform pieces with environmental themes, including Schumann’s Waldszenen, Debussy’s La Cathedrale engloutie and thepremiere of a new piece by Toronto composer Tyler Verlsuis, called THE EARTH.

The concert takes place today at 12 noon in the Conrad Grebel University College Chapel. Admission is free.

The W3+ group is hosting Yoga Nidra: Guided Relaxation for Better Sleep with Kimberley Luu today at 12 noon from 1:00 p.m. Register for the event on Portal. "W3+ (Waterloo Womxn + Nonbinary Wednesdays) is a community of womxn and nonbinary grad students, post-docs, staff, and faculty that meets on the last Wednesday of the month," says a note from W3+.