Wednesday, November 26, 2025

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• University leaders provide budget update
• Student voice helps shape the future of Waterloo’s campus

• Announcing the October 2025 LITE Grant recipients

• Velocity is building momentum for Waterloo startups
• Winter illness prevention
• Celebrating the career of Leslie Copp

University leaders provide budget update

Interim Vice-President, Academic and Provost Thomas Duever and Vice-President, Administration and Finance Jacinda Reitsma circulated a memo to University employees yesterday that provided an update on the institution's progress towards strengthening Waterloo’s long-term financial sustainability.

Part of the update deals with the University’s financial results. The vice-presidents note that the Board of Governors recently approved the University’s audited financial statements for the year ending April 30, 2025, and for the first time, the audited statements include additional commentary to help readers better understand the year-end financial picture.

On the issue of operating budget expense reductions, the vice-presidents note that the largest category of institutional spending remains salary and benefit costs. "We continue to focus on reducing expenses in a way that protects core academic and research activity, and seeks to limit the impact on our people," Duever and Reitsma write.

“Our voluntary retirement incentive programs in 2024 and 2025 were accepted by a total of 122 employees, including 75 faculty members, 29 staff, and 18 union staff,” the memo continues. “Those programs, together with the ongoing hiring freeze, are helping to generate meaningful long-term savings that contribute to reducing the structural operating deficit.”

“Since the start of 2025, fewer than 50 people have lost their positions as a result of budget reductions. In total (as of October 31, 2025), the University has eliminated 165 staff positions and 49 faculty positions, with most reductions achieved through voluntary programs, attrition, and the hiring freeze.”

"We recognize that these changes are difficult," the vice-presidents write. As we move forward, we remain committed to minimizing further layoffs by redeploying affected individuals to open positions, identifying efficiencies, streamlining processes, and exploring new sources of revenue."

Read the complete budget update.

Looking ahead, Duever and Reitsma note that a Budget Information Forum is planned for January 2026, where University leaders will share more details on progress towards meeting reduction targets for this year, and the state of the three-year budget plan.

"As we enter the second year of our three-year plan, our focus remains on achieving long-term balance while preserving the University’s academic and research excellence," Duever and Reitsma write. "The progress we are making positions us to make the thoughtful, data-informed decisions needed to strengthen our financial foundation. Considerable effort is being made in identifying new sustainable revenue streams, but we do expect to have to continue to find budget reductions as we enter year two of our three-year budget plan."

"Thank you for your continued commitment, collaboration, and creativity as we move through this important period of change together," the memo concludes.

Student voice helps shape the future of Waterloo’s campus

By Sam Toman.

Through surveys, open houses, and workshops, student’s employees have been contributing their perspectives on the new Campus Plan and how our shared spaces can evolve to support learning, research, and community life.

As part of Phase 2 engagement, thousands of community members completed the Campus Plan survey earlier this summer. Marianna Ratthé, a Health Sciences student, says contributing to the plan was about more than just doing her duty as a community member, it was about shaping the future of campus.

Take the Campus Plan Survey and see 3D illustrations of the future of campus

“I think it’s important for students to participate because it gives us a real opportunity to share our ideas and influence the kind of environment we want to learn and grow in,” says Ratthé. “By putting student voices at the forefront of change and innovation, the Campus Plan can reflect what matters most to us.”

For Marianna, ideas like enhancing green spaces and natural scenery are especially exciting. She imagines outdoor areas where students can study, spend time with friends, or even enjoy performances.

“If I could add one thing, it would be an outdoor amphitheater-style space,” she says. “It could host concerts, guest speakers, cultural events, or simply be a spot to relax during the day. A space like this would bring people together and celebrate the creativity we have at Waterloo.”

Marianna’s vision is one of many helping guide the plan. To learn more about the Campus Plan and upcoming opportunities to participate, visit the Community engagement page on the Campus Plan website. 

Announcing the October 2025 LITE Grant recipients

A message from the Centre for Teaching Excellence and the Office of the Associate Vice-President, Academic.

The Learning Innovation and Teaching Enhancement (LITE) Seed Grants support small-scale teaching and learning research projects with funding of up to $7,500.  Applications are due  on June 1 and October 1 of each year, and up to 9 grants are awarded each round.  

Since 2012, more than 200 LITE grant projects have been awarded to instructors and staff investigating innovative approaches to enhancing teaching and fostering deep student learning at the University of Waterloo. See the  CTE website  for more information about the LITE grants. 

The following projects will begin in January 2026: 

• Asking Better Questions: Integrating Generative AI into Collaborative Design Work - Karen Cochrane, Will Zhao, Terry O'Neill (Faculty of Arts)
• Implementing and Evaluating Instructor-Focused and Student-Focused Empathy Workshops for Empathy Skill Development - Jenny Howcroft, Kate Mercer (Faculty of Engineering) 
• Concept Co-Creation with GenAI: Evaluating the Effectiveness of Prompting and Ideation Training on Building Students' AI and Design Literacy - Robert Hunter, Jenny Howcroft, Moojan Ghafurian, Kate Sellen, Victoria Kerr (Faculty of Engineering) 
• Stitched Reflections: Using Embroidery as a Trauma-informed Reflective Approach to Teaching Political Conflicts in Architecture and Urbanism - Anwar Jaber (School of Architecture)
• A Comparison of Immediate Feedback in Group-Stage Testing - Tamara Maciel, Michael Bording-Jorgensen (Faculty of Health)
• Can a short module make a difference? Teaching the ethics and essentials of Generative AI in higher education - Michelle Ogrodnik, Kate Mercer, Daniel Opperwall (Faculty of Health)
• Student Experiences Using AI-Based Standardized Patients to Practice Health and Lifestyle Behaviour Change Consultation in Kinesiology Education - Emily McLaughlin (Faculty of Health)

Congratulations to all recipients!

Velocity is building momentum for Waterloo startups

This is an excerpt from an article originally published on Waterloo News.

Five startups have been awarded $10,000 Velocity Momentum Grants to help them take the next step in their entrepreneurial journey. The no-strings attached funding is intended to allow founders to focus on their business full-time after graduation. 

Velocity is the University of Waterloo’s centre of entrepreneurship and offers mentorship, funding and Canada’s largest tech-corridor network to help founders move ideas from the lab to market. 

Since 2008, Velocity has helped launch more than 500 startups that together exceed $40 billion in enterprise value. The companies receiving the funding offer solutions in health technology, artificial intelligence (AI) and safety monitoring. 

Congratulations to CogniHealth, Mandel Diagnostics, Foratus, Movarion, and Woodpeckr on securing the $10K Momentum Grants.

Read the full story.

Winter illness prevention

By Megan McGarry.

As winter approaches, seasonal illnesses and viruses will be more common. More time indoors, coupled with dry air and less vitamin D through sunlight means that illness prevention is essential.  

The University follows local public health guidelines to prevent the spread of communicable diseases. The illness prevention website is updated when there is new information to share on active communicable diseases, such as COVID-19, Measles, influenza, and norovirus. 

While guidance varies by disease, key measures for prevention include: 

• Stay home when you have these symptoms: Fever, chills, sore throat, vomiting, difficulty breathing, headache, body aches, fatigue, cough, diarrhea, etc.  

• Practice good hand hygiene: Wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.  

• Observe respiratory etiquette: Cover your mouth when you cough and sneeze. 

• Wear a well-fitting mask indoors: You can wear a well-fitting mask in indoor settings and follow the  Public Health Agency of Canada’s (PHAC) recommendations.  

• Get vaccinated: Vaccination remains the most effective protection, with COVID-19 and flu shots available through Campus Wellness. Call 519-888-4096 to book an appointment with Health Services. The School of Pharmacy provides  clear advice and FAQs on boosters. 

The campus environment is maintained  through frequent cleaning, hand sanitizing stations, and enhanced air filtration using MERV13 and HEPA filters. Learn more about illness prevention at Waterloo. 

Celebrating the career of Leslie Copp

A message from the Funding Agencies & Non-profit Sponsors team.

Let’s start with a giggle... this is how Leslie Copp’s team meetings always begin. She leads with a sense of humour, but seriously shows commitment, support, and advocacy for Office of Research staff, faculty members, and the University of Waterloo.

Leslie’s familiarity with awards started early. In its inaugural year (1980), she was the recipient of an Undergraduate Student Research Award (USRA). Her team, affectionately known as FANS (Funding Agencies & Non-profit Sponsors), champions the NSERC USRA program to this day.

In total, Leslie has worked in basic research and research administration for over 40 years. For 22 years, she was a basic science researcher in academia and industry, with expertise in pharmacy, biotech, and food science. She then moved from lab bench to desk, and it was a good jump. Leslie came to the University of Waterloo almost 22 years ago in February 2004, starting out as a research coordinator, moving through the ranks to associate director (2013) and on to director. Leslie originally held the health research portfolio, providing support and knowledge to researchers applying for CIHR, NIH, and non-profit funding, aiding with their submissions (cue Mission Impossible soundtrack) even seconds before the deadline. She has been a member of various UWaterloo and Tri-Agency committees over the years. A long-time Canadian Association of Research Administrators (CARA) member, her work was recognized with the CARA Research Management Excellence Award in 2023. This award is presented to “an exceptional research manager who has made outstanding contributions to the profession through innovation, creativity, hard work, and dedication.”

Leslie will retire December 31, 2025; it is well-deserved, but she will be sorely missed. Her importance to the Office of Research cannot be overstated.

Please join us in celebrating Leslie at her retirement open house. It will be held Friday, December 5, East Campus 5, Second Floor, Room 2301, from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.