Tuesday, April 18, 2023

Distinguished Teacher Award winners named

The winners of the Distinguished Teacher Award (DTA) and the Amit and Meena Chakma Award for Exceptional Teaching by a Student (AETS Award) were announced at yesterday's meeting of the University's Senate. Four instructors have been named recipients of the Distinguished Teacher Award for 2023:

Zara Rafferty

Zara Rafferty is a Continuing Lecturer in the Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies within the Faculty of Health. She is described as charismatic, passionate, and engaging. She builds great rapport with her students, evidenced by the number of students who stay after her lectures to greet and interact with her. One student says, “you can effortlessly see Zara’s charisma through her pedagogy; she communicates the subject matter with passion and transparency. Zara focuses on ensuring quality education is accessible to all students by completing many mental health-related training programs”. Zara dedicates time and effort into accommodating student needs and ensuring her courses are designed with inclusion in mind. One student describes how Zara creates a supportive classroom culture: “Zara’s impact on student learning is that she is personable, making her approachable when you have a question or a concern”. Zara makes an effort to promote engagement and deep learning through strategies such as gamification, simulation, case-based learning, and interactive prompts. Students offer glowing endorsements and a tremendous amount of affection when discussing her teaching: “Zara has shown me what passion for teaching really looks like and that when you love what you do you never work a day in your life”.

Nardine Nakhla

Nardine Nakhla is a Continuing Clinical Lecturer at the School of Pharmacy within the Faculty of Science. She is described by her students as energetic, positive and engaging. A former student of Nardine says, “Dr. Nakhla has a gift… she can explain even the most complicated topics in a very simple yet detailed manner”. Nardine is known to go above and beyond for her students, providing opportunities for extra practice and application of their knowledge. Some of her former students (who are now practicing pharmacists) will even review her lectures from time to time to refresh their memory on clinical topics. This demonstrates not only the quality of her course material, but also the effort that Nardine makes to keep her content relevant to real-world scenarios. Another student mentions how, “the energy and charisma that she brought to every class motivated myself and fellow classmates to be excited to learn and become excellent pharmacists”. Nardine is also very inclusive in her course delivery; she provides information in a variety of different formats such as lectures, infographics, articles, and textbooks, to accommodate diverse learning styles and needs. Nardine also regularly advocates for the importance of self-care, not only for patients, but for pharmacists and pharmacy students as well. One of Nardine’s former students says, “I can confidently say that my professional success can be directly linked to the shining example of female leadership that Dr. Nakhla demonstrated in her role as a professor at the University of Waterloo School of Pharmacy”.

Diana Skrzydlo

Diana Skrzydlo is the Director of the MActSc Program, the Math Teaching Fellow, and a Continuing Lecturer for the department of Statistics and Actuarial Science within the Faculty of Mathematics. She is described as an outstanding, dedicated, and passionate educator. Diana has demonstrated great effort in motivating her students and facilitating engagement. She puts a great deal of planning into her lectures and explains concepts with clarity. She presents material in a way that is understandable and flows well. If anyone ever feels lost, Diana does an excellent job answering any questions and clarifying concepts. One student indicated that there was a notoriously difficult course in their program, but with Diana as the instructor, the students were guided to success. As noted by a student, “I have had the great pleasure of having Diana both as an instructor and as a colleague; I have benefited tremendously in both respects from being taught by and working with an exemplary educator such as herself”. A past student from several years ago mentioned “Fifteen years later, I fondly remember her bubbly, cheerful personality, and her teaching style distinctly. From my perspective, Diana was one of the most engaging, most enthusiastic instructors I had during my time at UW”. Diana is notable for providing students with a comfortable learning environment: “Professor Skrzydlo also patiently answers students' questions with a very approachable and friendly manner, both during class and office hours”. Overall, Diana has had a lasting impact on her students, having dedicated admirable time and effort toward her students’ success.

Keith Delaney

Keith Delaney is a Continuing Lecturer in the department of Earth and Environmental Sciences within the Faculty of Science. He is described as passionate, motivational, engaging, and encourages collaborative work. Of his teaching style, one student says, “He excels in relating his teachings to the real world, which I think is a great way to teach as it makes concepts not only more understandable but also easier to remember as there are real life examples to relate it to”. Another student mentions: “His enthusiasm and openness to help in those classes made the learning curve of entering a new field of science that much less intimidating”. Students enjoy his courses because of how engaging he makes them, noting: “He always makes the course content fun, interesting, and engaging on a daily basis which has helped form my new interest in earth science.” Keith’s pedagogical methods create a lasting influence on his students’ lives; many comment on Keith’s ability to build an excellent rapport with his students and that they get to know him very well, a rarity for a first-year course. A colleague sums up Keith’s teaching philosophy and methods by saying, “Keith is one of the most caring, accomplished, and productive instructors I have observed or worked with in my academic career. He works tirelessly to inspire and improve the learning experience for students”.

Since its inception in 1975, over 160 Distinguished Teacher Awards (DTAs) have been awarded to exemplary instructors at the University of Waterloo. The DTA is awarded annually.

Check out tomorrow's Daily Bulletin for the names and citations of the Amit and Meena Chakma Award for Exceptional Teaching by a Student (AETS) winners. 

Inclusive Physical Space Framework Survey closes on April 21

A message from Human Resources.

A reminder that Waterloo is conducting a survey of our physical campus environment – grounds, buildings, infrastructure, and experiences of the Waterloo community. The survey is closing on midnight on April 21, 2023.

We would like to understand your views on how you experience the UWaterloo campus and how we might improve its physical accessibility, how it can be designed to promote health and well-being, and how sustainable development continues on campus. You also have the opportunity to be included in a draw for $50.00 on a WatCard.

Your feedback will help to develop an Inclusive Physical Space Framework, a performance-based, open-resource document used to guide and empower post-secondary institutions to plan and build physical spaces on campus, address accessibility needs, environmental sustainability, and well-being.

If you have any questions about this project, please contact us at inclusive.space@uwaterloo.ca.

W Store ecommerce platform experiences security breach

A message from the University of Waterloo.

The University has experienced a security breach on the W Store ecommerce platform. 

We were notified of a potential payment card breach by University of Waterloo Special Constable Services on April 4 and began an investigation shortly after. The University disabled the W Store’s ecommerce platform and engaged a third-party cybersecurity firm to assist with the investigation. The breach was also reported to the University Privacy Officer and the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario (IPC).   

The W Store ecommerce platform will remain disabled until a thorough security review is completed.  

Those affected have been contacted directly, by email. In-store purchases were not affected by this breach. 

If you input any payment card information through the W Store ecommerce checkout process between January 17, 2023 and March 30, 2023, we strongly recommend that you contact your payment card company and bank to advise them of this breach, report suspicious transactions, and seek any additional guidance that they may have for you such as contacting 

Equifax 1-800-465-7166 or TransUnion 1-800-663-9980 for a credit report or placement of a fraud alert on your credit files. 

If you have questions, please contact wstore@uwaterloo.ca, the University Privacy Officer, or IPC complaints. 

Flying the environmentally friendly skies

By Sam Toman. This is an excerpt of an article originally published on Waterloo News.

For as long as she can remember University of Waterloo Aviation professor Suzanne Kearns dreamed of flying, and at the age of 15, she began training for a career as a pilot. On her 16^th birthday — the first day she could legally drive a car — she flew solo for the first time.   

If it could fly, Kearns was determined to master it.

At 17 she slept for months in a Toronto hangar just to get her helicopter license, becoming a wunderkind in her hometown of Wiarton, Ontario. The local paper joked, “Imagine that, flying helicopters and still wearing braces,” she says.  

Back then Kearns could never have imagined doubting her dream job. But as she, and the world, woke up to the fact that air transport is a key contributor to climate change, an unsettling truth began to sink in.   

“Given that relatively few people on Earth have the opportunity to fly, aviation’s outsized impact on the planet is unacceptable,” she says. “But, despite its drawbacks, I truly believe that aeronautics is a force for good. So, I have a new dream, and that’s to support aviation's movement towards sustainability.”  

In fall 2021 that new dream came one step closer with the launch of the Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Aeronautics (WISA), making Waterloo, and Canada, a pioneer in reforming an industry currently accounting for more than 2 per cent of global carbon emissions.   

“Unlike the auto-industry, research being done around the globe on how we can reform the sustainability of the aeronautics sector is still an emerging area,” Kearns says.   

But what exactly is sustainable aeronautics?   

Social Sustainability 

“Sustainability goes beyond environmental considerations to include social and economic factors,” says Kearns, who first began exploring how sustainability-related to aviation several years ago when she created an Aviation Sustainability course in Waterloo’s Faculty of Environment.  

Social sustainability is possible when the aviation industry has a competent and efficient workforce – a challenge pre-pandemic as the sector was facing global shortages of pilots, air traffic controllers, and maintenance engineers. This shortage was exacerbated by the lack of diversity in the sector, with only about five per cent of pilots being female and fewer People-of-Colour.  

“I remember what it feels like to be the only woman in the classroom, and to feel like your dream profession doesn’t have a place for you,” Kearns says. “Supporting equity, diversity and a sense of belonging in the industry is a critical sustainability consideration, supporting the viability of the future workforce.”  

For Kearns, interdisciplinary collaboration is key to WISA “I have been continually inspired by the passion and talent of my academic colleagues, uniting across disciplines to identify impactful research.”  WISA-affiliated researchers include social scientists and psychologists working in tandem with its engineers, technologists and environmentalists.  

“Social sustainability also includes professional competency which supports safe and efficient operations,” she says. “Today, 70-80 per cent of aviation accidents are caused by human error. WISA’s psychologists, vision scientists and kinesiologists examine factors, such as eyesight, fatigue and decision-making to build a comprehensive foundation of interdisciplinary research with the goal of passenger safety.”  

WISA brings together close to 75 researchers from all six University faculties. Its advisory committee includes Chris Hadfield, decorated astronaut, author, and pilot and industry experts from organizations including Transport Canada, NAVBLUE, an Airbus company, and the National Research Council among others.  

WISA researchers are targeting outcomes that apply the latest technology and social science in ways that will have an impact on policy, manufacturing, and training.  

Read the rest of the article on Waterloo News

Tuesday's notes

The next entry in the Water Institute's WaterLeadership training series takes place today. Nancy Goucher, Knowledge Mobilization Specialist at the Water Institute, presents Impact Pathways: Strategies for promoting the uptake of water research.

"Increasingly, funders in Canada and more broadly expect research to be applied in a way that will promote social good, such as through policies, programs and processes," says the event abstract. "In this session, participants will learn how knowledge mobilization tools and strategies can be applied to promote the uptake of research outputs. There will be a specific focus on identifying various pathways for research uptake that researchers can identify to create effective knowledge mobilization plans."

This session is developed for researchers at any stage in their career who want to learn how to utilize impact pathways to promote research uptake. While researchers from any discipline are welcome, the presenter draws on stories and examples from water-related topics.

The event takes place at 12:30 p.m. today in DC 1304. Registration is required.

The Games Institute is hosting an online watch event on Wednesday entitled "The Changing Same: Blackness, Representation, and Video Games" that will feature Dr. Andre Brock from Georgia Tech.

The event, which is part of the ADE for Game Communities: Enculturating Anti-Racism, Decolonization, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (ADE) in Games Research and Creation bills itself as "a discussion of the promise and peril of POC video game character voice acting, focusing primarily on the connections of Black male anger and Black fatherhood in God of War through the voice work of TC Carson and Christopher Judge, contextualized against the audio Brownface of two voice POC women characters in Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves."

Dr. Brock is an associate professor at Georgia Tech that has expertise on racial representation in video games. His research focuses on the representations of black women and weblogs, whiteness, blackness, and digital techno culture. He is also well-known for his recent work on Black Twitter and has challenged social science and communication research to confront the ways in which the field has preserved a colour-blind perspective.

His book "Distributed Blackness: African American Cybercultures” highlights issues of race and ethnicity from contemporary digital culture, and discusses how blackness gets worked out in various technological domains. By creating important discourse on black relationships alongside technology, Dr. Brock brings about a sense of community in being black online in today’s age of social media and technology.

Registration is required.