Editor:
Brandon Sweet
University Communications
bulletin@uwaterloo.ca
Registration open for University of Waterloo Teaching & Learning Conference 2026
A message from the Integrated Teaching Support Unit.
Registration is now open for the 17th annual University of Waterloo Teaching and Learning Conference taking place on April 30, with a day of online workshops taking place on April 29. Last year saw over 550 faculty members, staff, and students gather to learn from and with one another around the theme of disruption and uncertainty across higher education.
Our 2026 conference theme is “The Human Factor: Shaping the Role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Higher Education.” We will focus on the role of AI in teaching and learning and our role in shaping its use in higher education; whether novices or experts, we have the power to shape AI’s role on our campus, by asking questions, sharing insights, and creating meaningful learning experiences. We ask: How best do we embed AI tools into our courses, and champion new approaches to teaching and assessments of learning to better address the learning needs of our students? When best do we prioritize foundational knowledge and skills versus higher-order learning outcomes? In what ways can we enhance student belonging and authentic emotional and intellectual connections? And how might we work together with AI to improve education? How do we maintain the integrity of assessments, given tools that can complete various assignments are almost undetectable? How do we continue championing accessibility, equity, diversity, and inclusion with Large Language Models (LLMs) that are biased and exclude important voices?
The registration deadline is Wednesday, April 15. Late registrations will be considered on a first-come, first-served basis until Friday, April 24.
Cast your ballot for the staff Board of Governors election
A message from the Secretariat.
Voting is now open! All eligible regular full-time staff will have received an email to cast your ballot through the Secretariat online voting system. The deadline for casting your online ballot is Tuesday, March 10 at 4:30 p.m.
All unionized staff should have received a paper ballot. The deadline to cast your paper ballot is Tuesday, March 17 at 4:30 p.m. Ballots received after this time will not be counted. Please ensure you return your ballot with adequate delivery time or hand-deliver to NH3060, Secretariat Office by the deadline.
For more details about candidates, please visit the Staff Election website.
If you have questions, please contact us at elections@uwaterloo.ca.
Velocity hosts International Women's Day event
Velocity is hosting Give to Rise: A Micro-Retreat and Skill Session on Thursday, March 5.
“Join Velocity for an International Women’s Day micro-retreat featuring guest-led micro-sessions with practical skills and real-life perspectives you can use right away,” says a note from Velocity. “Enjoy easy conversation over tea and plenty of space to connect with others without any pressure.”
"The evening will start by grounding us into the space with some breath work, and then you’ll move through four short micro‑sessions, each led by a different speaker offering a practical skill or perspective you can actually use," the message from Velocity continues. "Between sessions, there will be tea, easy conversation, and plenty of space to meet people without any pressure. Head out feeling grounded, recharged, and a little more equipped to take on the rest of the year."
The event takes place from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. in MC 2037.
Anti-Racism Reads tackles the algorithms of oppression
A message from the Libraries.
The Libraries are excited to introduce a new format for our next installment of Anti-Racism Reads: a six session, in-person book club designed to support deeper conversation and sustained engagement. This term, we'll be reading Safiya Umoja Noble’s book, Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism, examining how search engines and digital platforms reinforce racism and inequality.
Meeting every other week, this extended format encourages a slower, more reflective approach to Noble’s work. Together, we’ll explore how commercial search engines shape what we “know” about race, gender and difference, and how these systems reinforce long-standing forms of oppression.
Topics include:
- Algorithmic bias Representations of Black women and girls online
- Corporate control over information
- The responsibilities of libraries and educational institutions in resisting data discrimination
This small, conversation-based book club will meet bi-weekly for six sessions:
- March 5: Introduction and framing
- March 19: Chapter 1 - Google, libraries, platforms
- April 2: Chapter 2 - Misogynoir
- April 16: Chapter 3 - Neutrality myths
- April 30: Chapter 4 – 5 - Libraries, activism, policy interventions
- May 14: Chapter 6 and conclusion
Participants are encouraged to attend all sessions, as discussions are designed as a cumulative learning experience that relies on ongoing engagement.
Wednesday's notes
The Noon Hour Concert series continues with From Vienna to Seville today at 12 noon in the Conrad Grebel University College chapel. Musicians from the Magisterra soloists, led by Annette Barbara Vogel, are a crowd favourite with local audiences. This time they will be performing Beethoven's Opus 1 Trio and Turina's Trio no. 2.
Admission is free.
The next Fruit and Veg Market takes place today from 12 noon to 4:00 p.m. in the Student Life Centre Marketplace and on the 1st floor of Pearl Sullivan Engineering (formerly E7). As always, $10 will net you a bag of assorted produce while supplies last.
Culture Fest 2026 takes place on Thursday, March 5, in the Community Education Room at Conrad Grebel University College (Room 2202).
The event is a celebration of the work being done by undergraduate students from some of Waterloo's culture-focused courses and programs.
Employers hosting Employer Information Sessions this week and next week include GigsUp, PowerCo Canada, BMO Capital Markets, and Luminade. Register if you plan on attending through the Employer Information Sessions calendar on WaterlooWorks and check for any updates.
Link of the day
When and where
The Campus Wellness Student Medical Clinic offers healthcare visits with Physicians and Nurse Practitioners to current undergraduate and graduate students. Services include: vaccinations, immunity testing, naturopathic services and more. Counselling Services offers appointments with counsellors in person as well as via phone and video. Students can book appointments for these services by calling Campus Wellness at 519-888-4096.
The privately-run Student Health Pharmacy (located in the lower level of the Student Life Centre) is now offering new COVID booster shots and flu shots. Covid booster shots are available by appointment only – please call ext. 33784 or 519-746-4500. The Student Health Pharmacy’s summer hours are Monday to Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Naloxone kits are still available – pick them up in the pharmacy at no charge.
The Waterloo Eye Institute optometry clinics in Waterloo and downtown Kitchener offer comprehensive eye exams and eyewear, including glasses and contact lenses, with the Waterloo location offering various specialized services including urgent eye care. Discounts apply for University of Waterloo students and employees. The Waterloo Clinic is at a nearby interim location, 419C Phillip St, during construction at the School of Optometry and Vision Science. The Kitchener Clinic remains at the Health Sciences Campus, 10B Victoria St. S. Book online or by phone at 519-888-4062.
Warriors Winter Youth Camps, registration is now open for multi-sport and games, baseball, basketball, eSports, football and hockey camps for boys and girls ages 5 to 18. Register today!
SIGNAL Summit, Wednesday, March 4 to Friday, March 6,
Fruit and Veg Market, Wednesday, March 4, 12 noon to 4:00 p.m., Student Life Centre Marketplace, PSE 1st floor. $10 for a bag of assorted produce while supplies last.
NEW - Noon Hour Concert: From Vienna to Seville. Wednesday, March 4, 12 noon, Conrad Grebel Chapel. Free admission.
Into the Open: An exploration of education without paywalls, Wednesday, March 4, 10:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., SLC Black & Gold Room (SLC 2144).
Velocity presents Give to Rise: An International Women’s Day Micro-Retreat and Skill Session, Thursday, March 5, 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., MC 2037.
Culture Fest 2026, Thursday, March 5, 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., Conrad Grebel University College, Room 2202 (Community Education Room).
Provisional Lives exhibition opening reception, Thursday, March 5, 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., Riverside Gallery, School of Architecture, Cambridge.
Diefenbaker Lecture: “Swiss Postcolonial Literature? Reading Martin Dean’s Meine Väter (2003) through Trauma, Mutism, and Third Space” featuring Professor Priscilla Layne, University of North Caronlia at Chapel Hill, Thursday, March 5, 7:00 p.m., Balsillie School of International Affairs.
The Value Crisis & the Science of Happiness, Friday, March 6, 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., United College Alumni Hall. Register now.
International Women’s Day 6th Annual High Tea Social, presented by the Faculty of Science. Friday, March 6, 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., virtual discussion on Zoom. Register today.
Home Routes folk concert: Onna Lou and Keri Latimer, Friday, March 6, 7:00 p.m., Brubacher House - North Campus.
Jude Abu Zaineh artist talk and closing reception, Saturday, March 7, 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., University of Waterloo Art Gallery.
Agri-Food Innovation Challenge, Monday, March 9 to Friday, March 20.
Systematic and Scoping Reviews: Systematic Screening using Covidence and Zotero, Monday, March 9, 10:00 a.m. to 12 noon, online.
Agri-Food Innovation Challenge kick-off event, Monday, March 9, 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., South Campus Hall second floor cafeteria.
Unlock the Power of Linear Regression, Tuesday, March 10, 9:30 a.m. to 12 noon, DC 1568.
Faculty of Health International Women’s Day panel event, Tuesday, March 10, 12 noon to 1:00 p.m., online.
GIS Speed Run: Creating Map Layouts, Tuesday, March 10, 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., online.
NEW - Chemistry Seminar Series, “From accidental to intelligent: easy-to-build complex chemical systems that sense proteins, tissue samples, and illicit drugs,” featuring Dr. Fraser Hof, Professor, Department of Chemistry, University of Victoria, Tuesday, March 10, 11:00 a.m., C2-361.
NEW - Menopause documentary screening: The [M] Factor: Before The Pause (Perimenopause), Wednesday, March 11, 11:45 a.m. to 1:45 p.m., DC 1302. Register on Eventbrite.
Master of Taxation Virtual Information Session, Wednesday, March 11, 12 noon.
WICI Talk - "Systems Mediation" with Dr. Maryam Mohiuddin Ahmed, Wednesday, March 11, 2:00 p.m., M3 3127.
Science in the City - Health Futures, Wednesday, March 11, 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., Velocity Innovation Arena.
Lectures in Catholic Experience presents Micah True, “Anne of Austria's Surgeon: François Gendron, the 17th-century Jesuit Mission to the Wendat, and the History of Medicine,” Thursday, March 12, 7:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., St. Jerome’s University.
43rd MacKinnon Dinner, Friday, March 13, 6:00 p.m., St. Jerome’s University atrium.
NEW - 5 Poets Breaking into Song (#21): Black Magic Friday the 13th in the Great Middle East/Mediterranean North, Friday, March 13, 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., Notre Dame Chapel, St. Jerome's University.
NEW - PAIR Speculative Futures Visiting Writer Series: Storytelling & Social Justice, Monday, March 16, 11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m., online.
NEW - PAIR Speculative Futures Visiting Writer Series: Storytelling & Social Justice (cont’d). Monday, March 16, 6:30pm to 8:00pm, online.
NEW - Anti-Racism Reads Series: Algorithms of Oppression, Thursday, March 19, 12 noon to 1:00 p.m., Dana Porter Library Room 338.
Positions available
This week's list from the human resources department is viewable through the Careers website or through Workday's new recruitment module. To access Workday Recruiting, login to Workday, and navigate to the Jobs Hub from the left side menu.
- Job ID# 2026-00278 - Financial Coordinator - Faculty of Mathematics - Statistics and Actuarial Science – Finance, USG 5-7
- Job ID# 2026-00277 - Vision Rehabilitation Therapist - Faculty of Science - School of Optometry and Vision Science - Centre for Sight Enhancement Administration, USG 7
- Job ID# 2026-00275 - Admissions Coordinator - Supervisory Organization - Office of the Registrar - Admissions Operations, USG 5-7
- Job ID# 2026-00282 - Student Affairs and Admissions Coordinator - Faculty of Science - School of Optometry and Vision Science - Administrative Support, USG 6
- Job ID# 2026-00268 - Admissions Officer - Office of the Registrar, USG 8
- Job ID# 2026-00264 - Director, Faculty Financial Operations - Faculty of Science - Dean of Science Office, USG 15
- Job ID# 2026-00257 – Analyst - Co-operative and Experiential Education, USG 11
- Job ID# 2026-00253 - Graduate and Admissions Coordinator - Faculty of Mathematics - Applied Mathematics, USG 6
- Job ID# 2026-00244 - Stationary Engineer Third Class – Facilities, CUPE
Secondments and internal temporary opportunities
- Job ID# 2026-00229 - Manager, Residence Life - Campus Housing, USG 11
Affiliated and Federated Institutions of Waterloo opportunities
Visit the Affiliated and Federated Institutions current opportunities page
Upcoming service interruptions
Stay up to date on service interruptions, campus construction, and other operational changes on the Plant Operations website. Upcoming service interruptions include:
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School of Pharmacy, Integrated Health Building, Innovation Arena (OSC) fire alarm testing, Wednesday, March 4, 6:30 a.m. to 8:15 a.m.
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University Club, Bauer Warehouse, Avril fire alarm testing, Wednesday, March 4, 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
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Energy Research Centre, Math 3, Burt Matthews Hall fire alarm testing, Friday, March 6, 6:30 a.m. to 8:15 a.m.
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Minota Hagey, Mackenzie King Village, Ron Edyt Village fire alarm testing, Friday, March 6, 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.
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Biology 2 electrical panel shutdown, Sunday, March 8, 7:00 a.m. to 12 noon, several rooms and corridors affected,
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Modern Languages fire alarm device verification, Monday, March 9, 6:00 a.m.