Tuesday, June 2, 2020

Waterloo stands together against racism

This is the latest post on President Hamdullahpur's blog.

Dear University of Waterloo Community,

Many of us have watched the news over the past week of the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the rise in protests across the world. I know some in our University community may have participated in protests to stand in solidarity against racism, violence and oppression.

I stand with you. I stand with your frustration. I stand with your anger. I stand with your sadness. And, I stand with your call for action.

Canada is a diverse country, but still racism, oppression and intolerance happen here, too often.

Despite progress that we have collectively made, Canada and the University of Waterloo are not immune from racism and the ills that stem from this toxic world view. I was saddened and shocked to hear that someone who once attended our University became part of the problem with a recent incident in New York City.

I said on April 2 – in the face of racist remarks made by individuals in our own community – that the University of Waterloo condemns racism in all its forms. We need to say this over and over again to show racists that we will not accept their hateful views. We need to show people who experience racism that we stand with them and will continue to do the hard work necessary to create positive change.

There is no room in our community for prejudice or hate of any kind. This is a University where we all belong.

We need to proactively find, prevent and remove barriers so everyone can achieve their full potential. We need to challenge privilege, decolonize and strive to create an equal, fair world for everyone.

As tensions continue to rise across North America, we must come together and show love and respect for one another. We need to reject hate and hostility. So, I encourage you to speak up, too.

Later this month we are hosting training sessions led by Kike Ojo-Thompson from the Kojo Institute, for leaders to reflect on our goals and commitments around anti-racism and equity. These training sessions will build capacity for our leaders to engage in necessary change around equity, anti-racism and anti-black racism. In fact, we are asking senior leaders to commit to specific goals around anti-racism which will be included in our institutional equity plan.

We are holding many more events throughout the month of June to promote equity and challenge oppression. We acknowledge that training is not enough but is necessary to build the foundation through which action can and must happen.

As ever, there is more we can and will do in the coming days, weeks and months to challenge racism and oppression in our society.

If you have experienced racism, hate or oppression in our community, there are people here at the University who can help. From the team in Human Rights, Equity and Inclusion to Campus Wellness and myself and my office. We are here for you.

Celebrate the 2019 Outstanding Performance Award recipients

The 2019 Outstanding Performance Award recipients have been named.

“I am very pleased to announce the award recipients for 2019, and would like to take this opportunity to congratulate them for their outstanding contributions to the University of Waterloo,” writes Vice-President, Academic & Provost Jim Rush.

“Effective May 1, 2005, in accordance with the 2003 Faculty Salary Settlement, the University of Waterloo established an Outstanding Performance Fund to reward faculty members for outstanding contribution in teaching and scholarship.”

The recipients are:

Applied Health Sciences: Michael Barnett-Cowan; Clark Dickerson; Heather Mair; Marina Mourtzakis; Elena Neiterman; Christopher Perlman; and Luke Potwarka.

Arts: Lois Andison; Janice Aurini; Emma Betz; Bruce Dadey; James Danckert; Robert Danisch; Vince Di Ruzza; Jay Dolmage; Geoffrey Fong; Ori Friedman; David Ha; Geoffrey Hayes; Heather Henderson; Deborah Kraft; Monica Leoni Lambeck; Elise Lepage; Ashley Rose Mehlenbacher; Robert Park; Guy Poirier; Neil Randall; Jessica Thompson; Cynthia Tremblay; John Turri; and Jennifer Whitson.

Engineering: Sibel Alumur Alev; Hassan Baaj; Chris Bachmann; William Bishop; David Brush; Zhongwei Chen; Michael Collins; Michael Fowler; Guang Gong; Carl Haas; Qi-Ming He; Igor Ivkovic; Hamid Jahed; Ning Jiang; Karim Karim; Raafat Mansour; Andrew Milne; Sean Peterson; Maya Przybylski; Roopa Reddy; Manoj Sachdev; James Tung; Thomas Willett; and Young Ki Yoon.

Environment: Derek Armitage; Sarah Burch; Jennifer Dean; Christine Dow; Bruce Frayne; Daniel Murray; and Maria Strack.

Mathematics: Richard Cook; Edward Dupont; Brian Forrest; Jordan Hamilton; Kathryn Hare; David Harmsworth; Mirabelle Huynh; Carrie Knoll; David Landriault; Edward Lank; Katherine Larson; Ondrej Lhotak; Tamer Ozsu; Luke Postle; Sivabal Sivaloganathan; Diana Skrzydlo; Peter van Beek; Troy Vasiga; and Henry Wolkowicz.

Science: Anton Burkov; Laura Deakin; Keith Brian Delaney; Mario Gauthier; Michael Hudson; Lyndon Jones; Shamroze Khan; Juewen Liu; Robert Mann; Kirsten Muller; Nardine Nakhla; Mark Servos; Marlee Spafford; Heidi Swanson; and William Wong.

Master of Theological Studies students enjoy a flexible degree

By Elizabeth Robertson.

The part-time study option available through Conrad Grebel University College’s Master of Theological Studies (MTS) program at the University of Waterloo draws students from a variety of life stages and vocations. The MTS program supports individuals as they pursue questions of theology for personal enrichment or ministerial preparation. Among the program’s part-time students are many who hold a full-time job, including UWaterloo employees who are seizing the opportunity to further their education in a setting that accommodates their current lifestyle and schedule.

MTS student Shelly Jordan works full-time as a survey management associate with the International Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation Project in the Psychology Department at UWaterloo. She appreciated that the MTS program is quite different than her current work. “I like to have more than one thing going in my head at a given time.”

Sean Harris works at UWaterloo as a Technical Support Specialist with Print + Retail Solutions while also pursuing an MTS degree part-time. “Experiencing the campus community as both staff and student helps me appreciate the roles both play in our community. Work-life or study-life balance can be hard as either a student or a full-time employee, but as both it offers a unique challenge. At the same time, it is a rewarding experience,” said Sean.

For some students, the MTS program is a way to continue studying theology while already involved in ministry. “Attending part-time fits well with ordained ministry in my denomination,” said Mike Foulger, a retired UWaterloo Lab Instructor and Electronic Technologist from the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department. While in his first term in the program, he already saw the intersections between his work and the classroom. “The courses fit well with my ministry involvement and my strong desire for personal, intellectual, and spiritual growth,” he added.

Not only does Grebel provide an opportunity for full or part-time study, but the Master of Theological Studies degree itself can be obtained through three different paths: course-work, a thesis, or applied studies. Theological Studies at Grebel provides benefits of both a close-knit atmosphere in classes and community spaces, as well as the extensive resources available to UWaterloo students.

Board of Governors meets today; other notes

The University's Board of Governors will meet today at 1:30 p.m. online. Among the agenda items:

• A motion to approve a number of administrative appointments;
• A motion to approve incidental fees for the fall term;
• A motion to approve the Institute for Quantum Computing's annual report to the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Industry;
• A motion to approve the Institute for Quantum Computing's corporate plan for 2020-2021, to be submitted to the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Industry;
• A motion to approve the following name change: from “Waterloo Centre for the Advancement of Co-operative Education (WatCACE)” to “Work-Learn Institute (WxL).”

The Board will also receive a number of reports, and Norah McRae, the associate provost, co-operative and experiential education will deliver a presentation entitled "The Future of Talent & Current Challenges and Opportunities."

As part of the ongoing Healthy Warriors at Home initiative, Athletics and Recreation will be running Warriors Coaching Clinics every Wednesday from June 3 to July 15. These are free online sessions highlighting a wide range of topics featuring Warriors coaches and staff. Register in advance to receive the zoom link to the sessions.

The Writing and Communication Centre (WCC) is launching a series of online workshops. 

• Clarity in Scientific Writing;
• Design & deliver I: Structure and delivery;
• Design & deliver II: Slide design;
• Grammar Studio Workshop Series:
  • Grammar studio I: The most common grammar trouble spots
  • Grammar studio II: Sentence structure and punctuation
  • Grammar studio III: Clarity at the sentence level
• Say it in your own words: Paraphrase & summary for graduate students

You can self-register on LEARN to attend these workshops.

June's first batch of Good Buddies of the University

"Here is Princes, my Good Buddy," writes Professor Krista Fiolleau of the School of Accounting and Finance. "Princes is extremely interested in connecting with my students during online discussion sessions. Although not very talkative, he loves to take over screen time and sleep on the keyboard."

"I’ve really been enjoying seeing the Good Buddies every day, so I thought I’d send over a pic of my Rocky staring up at me with great vigilance (and a new rawhide) while I work in my dining-room office," writes Ingrid Cowan, associate vice-president, development and advancement strategy. "Rocky is a Morkie (Maltese-Yorkshire Terrier cross)."

"Attached is my good buddy for all day, everyday while working from home!" writes Alicia Li, financial officer for Concept and Velocity. "Hope you like Biubiu."

"Our six year old Ela is super company but wonders why I’m home so much and since I’m home, why I’m not constantly throwing the ball for her," writes Gail Spencer, executive manager for the University of Waterloo Staff Association (UWSA). "Portuguese water dogs need lots of exercise so mid-day ball throwing is a thing that gets me out of the office. She is also looking forward to a proper grooming (just like her owners)."