Monday, November 17, 2025

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• Match in play: a game-changing investment for Warriors men’s hockey

• Waterloo celebrates International Education Week

• Lanterna Black Innovation Hub fosters pan-African innovation, entrepreneurship, and economic empowerment

• An update on winter cycling and campus bike racks
• PhD candidate named 2025 Emerging Scholar
• Winterfest artisan market coming up and other notes

Match in play: a game-changing investment for Warriors men’s hockey

Matt Onuska guards the net for the Waterloo Warriors.

By Claire Mastrangelo. This article was originally published on Waterloo News.

As a goaltender for the University of Waterloo Warriors men’s hockey team, Matt Onuska (BSc in progress) has felt the influence of top performers both on and off the ice.

Onuska joined the Warriors after a standout junior and OHL career that included one game as backup goalie for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Even with this experience, he wondered if he could excel in his sport and his studies in Health Sciences — until his teammates showed him it was possible. 

“We work as hard as we can at the rink, then we bring that team energy to school and other things,” he says. “It makes it seamless: you’re able to succeed in both.”

Last season, Onuska’s nation-best .941 save percentage and impressive 2.18 goals-against average earned him the title of U SPORTS goaltender of the year. With a 96.6 per cent average, he was named one of Waterloo’s top two student-athletes in 2024-25 and received the Totzke Trophy.

The team’s academic bench strength is equally impressive: together, they’ve achieved a cumulative average of 85 per cent — a new record for Warriors men’s hockey.

Motivational culture inspires landmark investment by former Warriors captain

That excellence is a hallmark of Waterloo student-athletes, and it’s one of the reasons why Blair McArthur (BASc ’85), a Civil Engineering alumnus, gives to the men’s hockey program. Recently, the former Warriors captain committed $500,000 to program activities and athletic financial awards, the largest gift to Athletics and Recreation to date. To rally support from other champions, McArthur has designated $460,000 — more than 90 per cent of his gift — to match contributions of $500 or more to selected program funds and athletic financial awards. 

“We’re truly grateful for Blair’s leadership within our alumni community and his landmark investment in the men’s hockey program,” says Roly Webster, Director of Athletics and Recreation. “Blair is a longtime champion of the Warriors. This gift demonstrates his steadfast commitment to the leaders of tomorrow while inspiring others to contribute to their future success.”

“The matching component of the gift shows that Blair believes in what we’re doing,” says men’s hockey coach Brian Bourque. “That’s as important as the gift itself, because Blair is so well respected. Our hope is that others will see this commitment, get excited and get involved. This is a great opportunity for donors to double their impact.”

The McArthur Family Media Box and the Leo & Blair McArthur Athletic Excellence Award are two examples of the family’s support for Warriors men’s hockey. 

“The University of Waterloo is stronger because of alumni like Blair, who understand how much we can achieve together,” says Nenone Donaldson, vice-president of advancement and external relations. “Over the years, Blair and his late father, Leo, have donated generously to the men’s hockey program. Blair’s matching gift will create even more opportunities for the Warriors to follow in their footsteps as business and community leaders.”

“The teamwork and discipline the Warriors learn will stay with them for the rest of their lives,” says McArthur, who is CEO of Miller Waste Systems. “The men’s hockey program will prepare them for leadership in their sport and their careers. I encourage the University community — especially men’s hockey alumni — to support the program. When we invest in these talented student-athletes, we all benefit.”

Learn more about the matching gift. 

Waterloo celebrates International Education Week

International Education Week 2025 is happening the week of November 17 to 21, and there are many events taking place across campus. International Education Week is an opportunity to celebrate the vast cultural diversity of our student community, while also encouraging and showcasing opportunities for intercultural learning, dialogue, and cultural exchange.

Lanterna Black Innovation Hub fosters pan-African innovation, entrepreneurship, and economic empowerment

This article is posted in support of International Education Week.

When people think of international education, they generally think of bilateral exchange programs, study abroad and international work terms. International Education can also look beyond these types of opportunities, and the Lanterna Black Innovation Hub (LBIH) is focused on building international education pipelines in the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem.

LBIH is partnering with Velocity, the Waterloo Black Studies Program, This Naija Girl Studios and Co-Creation Hub (CcHUB), a leading pan-African creative and innovation ecosystem enabler with a mission to accelerate the application of social capital and technology for economic prosperity across Africa, to develop entrepreneurial focused programming to seek out opportunities to focus on student start-ups and entrepreneurs. They are focused on creating meaningful connections for innovators in both Canada and Nigeria with mentors in the creative industries with the goal of embedding AI tools into the creative workflow and to train AI models in more culturally relevant ways. By fostering international connections between early innovators and start-ups, they are working to ensure future innovations are culturally relevant products as well as building more savvy innovators who can influence innovation and policy in international settings, strengthening competitiveness, impact and collaboration. During a visit to University of Waterloo by CcHUB managing director Ojoma Ochai, a lively session with African innovators on campus revealed the rich connections that already exist between UW and Africa, especially in the entrepreneurship realm.

Dr. Trevor Charles, Professor, Biology, Faculty of Science; Executive Director, LBIH is working to spearhead these and other similar opportunities for Waterloo students. He believes that “through these connections, and those involving the network of Black and African innovators on campus, a working relationship has formed between CcHUB and Black Studies that will result in students and faculty traveling to Nigeria for a two-week immersive innovation experience in Lagos, led by Black Studies director Dr. Laura Mae Lindo. This will be the first step in establishing a replicable model linking the humanities and the STEM fields through cross-continental experimentation and exchange about using AI that reflects diverse perspectives to drive inclusive prosperity. Plans are in the works to bring African innovators from CcHUB to UW for similar exchanges.

LBIH is dedicated to fostering Black innovation, entrepreneurship, and economic empowerment. It provides long-term support to Black professionals, entrepreneurs, and innovators by addressing systemic barriers through mentorship, skills development, and funding. Founded by University of Waterloo Biology professor Dr. Trevor Charles, LBIH hosts Fridays After 5 networking events in EC5, fostering discussions centred on the Black community and the Black experience in Waterloo Region. It is also partnered with University of Waterloo through Velocity with a focus on entrepreneurship, and is working with Greenhouse, Flint Hub, and Peace Incubator on social impact innovation.

An update on winter cycling and campus bike racks

A cyclist traverses a snowy campus path. Winter is coming, folks.

A message from Sustainable Transportation.

Winter is on its way, and we’re getting ready! As part of our ongoing efforts to support cycling year-round, we’ve been working with Grounds Services in Plant Operations to plan how bike racks will be handled during the snowy months.

In spring 2025, Sustainable Transportation worked with the Special Constable Service to begin executing our bike parking plan, which aims to improve bike security across campus and enhance end-of-trip cycling facilities. We reorganized bike racks into more secure and accessible locations and retired some older rack styles. Now in the second phase of the plan, we’re turning our attention to winter arrangements.

Here’s what to expect:

• Many racks will remain in place with snow cleared to keep them in service.
• Some racks will be temporarily moved to make room for snow-clearing equipment. Don’t worry – they’ll be back in the spring!
• Some racks will remain but won’t be maintained, so they may be harder to access after a snowfall.

The bike parking plan ensures that there are bike racks available for use near every building. Grounds staff work hard to keep campus safe and accessible during winter, and we appreciate your understanding as we balance snow removal needs with cycling access.

Thanks for riding with us – whatever the season. 

PhD candidate named 2025 Emerging Scholar

Karmvir K. Padda, a PhD candidate in Sociology, has been named one of the 2025 Emerging Scholars by the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation, an international award recognizing exceptional doctoral researchers studying issues of violence and extremism. Padda is the only Canadian recipient in this year’s global cohort.

Her research examines how gendered and ideological forms of violence are produced and circulated across digital platforms – from violent extremist manifestos and forums to manosphere podcasts. By combining computational and qualitative methods, she has developed transferable models for analyzing extremist discourse online, tools that reveal how misogyny and grievance-based ideologies circulate across digital spaces. Her work aims to inform prevention and policy responses to gender-based extremism.

Padda will defend her PhD on December 1 under the supervision of Dr. Owen Gallupe.

Winterfest artisan market coming up and other notes

"The 2025 UWSA Winterfest Artisan Market takes place on Thursday, November 27 from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Friday, November 28 from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the SLC Multipurpose Room," says a note from the staff association. "Explore a variety of handmade goods crafted by UW staff, students, and alumni, including soaps, candles, jewelry, greeting cards, plants, and more."

Every purchase supports UWSA Student Awards and the WUSA Food Support Service.

Visit the UWSA website for full vendor details.

The Tim Hortons Smile Cookie campaign kicks off today and runs from November 17 to 23 at all Tim Hortons locations across campus. 100 per cent of Holiday Smile Cookie proceeds are donated to local charities, community groups and Tim Hortons Foundation Camps.​

The Faculty of Engineering is inviting members of the University community to join them for a Research Colloquium featuring Professor Ruibing Wang PHD, FRSC, on Wednesday, November 19, from 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. in Pearl Sullivan Engineering (E7) 7th floor event space (room 7303). Dr. Wang's lecture is titled "Supramolecuarly Engineered Cells for Targeted Therapy."

Dr. Wang is a Full Professor of Supramolecular Biomaterials at the University of Macau.