Friday, May 21, 2021

Waterloo Centre for German Studies announces diversity and inclusion grant winners

A message from the Waterloo Centre for German Studies.

The Waterloo Centre for German Studies is pleased to announce the recipients of its first-ever Diversity and Inclusion Grants. These grants have been created to support scholars and programs in their efforts to diversify German studies in Canada.

The recipients are:

• Maria Mayr (Workshop: Anti-Racist Pedagogies in the Language Classroom): A workshop focused on educating language instructors about anti-oppressive and anti-racist pedagogy in the language classroom. The workshop is organized by faculty members from Memorial University’s Modern Languages, Classics, and Linguistics departments as a response to the urgent need to self-critically re-examine the often-unconscious harmful premises and blind spots of language teaching philosophies and practices in the spirit of Truth and Reconciliation and Black Lives Matter.
• Angelica Fenner (East Germans: (Re)Claiming Black Identities Through Cultural Activism): In cooperation with the Black German Heritage and Research Association (BGHRA) and Rutgers University-Camden Department of Africana Studies, the Department of Germanic Languages & Literatures at the University of Toronto will host a virtual/online series of lectures fostering engagement with the field of Black German Studies.
• Elizabeth Nijdam (Indigenizing the Canadian German Studies Curriculum): This event series and curricular development project will assist the German program at the University of British Columbia in meeting the goals of UBC’s Indigenous Stratgic Plan by focusing on the intersection of German studies and Indigenous studies.
• Michael Boehringer (Dis/ability in German Culture): The project is organized around a graduate seminar at the University of Waterloo and aims to further current efforts to consider disability from a minority rather than a medical perspective. The course and associated events will explore both the theoretical underpinnings of critical disability studies and the representation of disability in German culture from the 19th to the 21st century, exposing continuities in the representation of disability and promoting more inclusive ways of living.
• John Plews (CSSG Content Diversification): The Canadian Summer School in Germany will expand its already diverse offerings to include experiential learning with a youth graffiti artist group, a webinar on a BLM exhibition in Kassel, a live-streamed walking tour of Afro-German life and history in Berlin, and three live-streamed/recorded walking tours of LGTBTIQ-Berlin, Turkish Berlin, and Jewish Berlin.

$12,000 in total has been awarded. The award holders will be making the results of their work public, and the Waterloo Centre for German Studies will publicize this information as it comes available. Please join us in congratulating these colleagues on the work they're doing to make German studies in Canada more inclusive.

Please visit the WCGS website for more information about the WCGS Diversity & Inclusion Grants.

Is this thing on? You bet it is

A message from Heather Mair, Tony Munro and Jim Frank, Co-Chairs of the Faculty, Staff and Retiree Giving Program

Voting is now open for the Waterloo Faculty, Staff and Retiree virtual talent showcase.

Vote for your favourite video before the contest closes at midnight on May 28. Winners will be announced May 31.

Driving Ontario's growth in virtual learning

By Janice Cooke. This article was originally published on Waterloo News.

The University of Waterloo has been awarded almost $1.5 million from the Ontario Ministry of Colleges and Universities (MCU) as part of their $50 million investment in virtual learning. Ontario’s Virtual Learning Strategy will expand the possibilities of traditional and life-long learning through the accelerated use of both online and hybrid learning.  

As Ontario’s postsecondary education sector rapidly transitioned to remote delivery in 2020, the need for virtual learning supports to enable access to high-quality learning quickly became apparent. Recognizing online learning within the University’s 2020-2025 strategic plan, Waterloo had 52,600+ online course enrolments in 2019/20 and more than 500 online courses available in its regular course catalogue. With this funding, more can be done; not only for Waterloo students but for instructors and students across the province. 

"Universities are being called to improve society and drive prosperity in a responsible way by challenging traditional models of education," says Feridun Hamdullahpur, University of Waterloo president and vice-chancellor. "As we’ve seen from the past year, online and virtual learning are key components in the future of education. Waterloo is committed to transforming how we teach and learn, and to educating global citizens who are able to thrive in an age of rapid change."

Through these awards, Waterloo can further share its extensive experience in online learning, explore new avenues for providing engaging learning opportunities and aid other institutions and community members. Come March 2022, 19 project proposals from 28 authors will be freely accessible through the University of Waterloo to any post-secondary institution in Ontario. 

Some of Waterloo’s funded projects include: 

• Creation of a graduate-level module on Indigenous health and social justice 

• Developing a Mental Health Literacy Course for Ontario Colleges and Universities 

• Developing a 360º virtual reality tour and simulations of a chemical processing plant 

• Helping the not-for-profit sector improve their volunteer management practices, standards and strategies 

• Reconceptualizing our Instructional Skills Workshop — an internationally recognized, peer-based, learner-centred teaching development program

"Waterloo has been a leader in online learning in Canada for many decades, providing high quality, engaging learning opportunities for our students," says Aldo Caputo, director, Centre for Extended Learning. "Now, thanks to this funding, we’ll be able to further enhance learning experiences for our students and share the outcomes of these projects with the entire Ontario higher education community."

For a full list of the 19 funded programs, visit the Centre for Extended Learning website. 

These projects are truly a great demonstration of collaboration, both across Waterloo faculties and Academic Support Units, and externally with more than 15 Ontario college and university partners. Waterloo will also be able to take advantage of the other funded projects to enhance our existing Waterloo resources. 

The number of online courses offered and registrations have been growing rapidly across Canada for many years, and many post-secondary institutions view online learning as strategically important.   

In 2017, well before the pandemic, it was estimated that in any semester, Canada had over 1.3 million online course registrations. Online learning offers students more flexibility in scheduling, greater access to a wide range of courses, and in some cases a better learning experience. There are benefits for students with accessibility needs as well as for working professionals who want to improve their circumstances.  Based on the growing number of enrolments, the ability to learn online is now an expectation of students and it is here to stay. 

Ontario’s Virtual Learning Strategy will enable Waterloo, and other universities and colleges to offer improved online experiences and help prepare students for a complex and rapidly changing world. 

You @ Waterloo Day and other notes

"Our final open house of the 2020/2021 recruitment cycle, called You @ Waterloo Day, will be held on Tuesday, May 25, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.," says a note from Marketing and Undergraduate Recruitment (MUR). "You @ Waterloo Day will allow admitted students from around the world to learn more about Waterloo’s varied programs and services, and to connect with professors, staff, students, and each other."

Attendees will have the chance to sit in on presentations, ask questions through live chat and video Q&A, watch videos, and download brochures. Read more about this exclusive event for admitted Waterloo students at https://uwaterloo.ca/future-students/you-waterloo-day.

Bruce Campbell, the University's Chief Information Officer, gave the Daily Bulletin a heads up about a copyright case involving York University that has made its way to the Supreme Court of Canada. York University, et al. v. Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency ("Access Copyright"), et al. will be heard by the court today. The court proceedings will be livestreamed.

Waterloo International is currently asking University of Waterloo members interested in submitting a proposal to the Universities Canada Global Skills Opportunity to confirm their intent to participate. Eligible UWaterloo members are asked to submit an expression of interest to Aisha Shibli, manager, international funding opportunities, by Tuesday, June 1 by 4:00 p.m. Additional details on this opportunity can be found on the Universities Canada website. Completed proposals must be submitted to Waterloo International for evaluation and ranking by 4:00 p.m. on June 21, 2021.

What's open and closed this long weekend

It's the Victoria Day long weekend, with a holiday Monday that is a federal statutory holiday and a day off in Ontario and several other provinces in Canada. The holiday began as a celebration to honor Queen Victoria (natch) whose birthday was May 24, 1819, and in 1901, the year of her death, the day was made a federal holiday. After Queen Elizabeth II's ascension to the throne in 1952, the holiday date was changed to the Monday that precedes May 25, and in 1957 Victoria Day was made the Queen's official birthday in Canada, even though her actual birthday is in April 21. The British, on the other hand, wait until the second Saturday in June to celebrate Queen Elizabeth's birthday. Don't ask me why.

And so, for once, the "May 2-4 long weekend," considered the unofficial start of the Canadian summer season, actually lines up with May 24. As always, even in a shutdown scenario, there will be service interruptions and reduced hours for some University operations to mark the occasion.

The Student Life Centre will be closed on Monday, May 24.

The Market at UWP will be open from 11:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Monday, May 24. Check the Food Services Locations and Hours page for more details.

The University Library chat and email reference service will be available from 12 noon to 6:00 p.m. on Monday, May 24. All Library locations remain closed except for book pickup services.

W Store will begin processing online orders and responding to inquires placed over the Victoria Day long weekend on Tuesday, May 25.

As always, even on holidays, the University police (ext. 22222, or 519-888-4911), and the central plant will monitor campus buildings (24-hour service and maintenance line, ext.33793).

The Daily Bulletin will return on Tuesday, May 25. Enjoy a relaxing long weekend, everyone.