Friday, May 26, 2023

Office of Research hosts presentation on First Nations data sovereignty

A message from the Office of Research.

As part of National Indigenous History Month, the Inclusive Research Team in the Office of Research is hosting a virtual presentation on the First Nations Principles of OCAP®, facilitated by Leslie MacGregor from the First Nations Information Governance Centre.

The presentation will take place on Tuesday, June 6 from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Please note it will not be recorded, but there will be future opportunities to participate in similar sessions. To learn more and register, please visit the registration page.

The First Nations principles of OCAP® establish how First Nations’ data and information will be collected, protected, used, or shared. Standing for ownership, control, access and possession, OCAP® is a tool to support strong information governance on the path to First Nations data sovereignty. Given the diversity within and across Nations, the principles will be expressed and asserted in line with a Nation’s respective world view, traditional knowledge, and protocols. For more information, please visit https://fnigc.ca/ocap-training/.

This session will be of interest to researchers and teams partnering with Indigenous communities, or those who are interested in learning more about Indigenous Data Sovereignty. Please feel free to share widely across your networks - everyone is welcome to attend!

For more information or questions, please reach out to Sara Anderson at sara.anderson@uwaterloo.ca.

Waterloo announces tuition waiver for students from two First Nations communities

Photograph of the Grand River by Robin Stadelbauer.

The University of Waterloo is offering a full tuition waiver to all qualifying students from two local First Nations communities.

The initiative covers current and incoming students who are members of the Six Nations of the Grand River and the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. Waterloo will also offer Ontario domestic tuition rates for Indigenous students from elsewhere in Canada and the United States and will continue to waive the application fee for applicants who identify as First Nations, Métis and Inuit. Students will need to meet admission requirements for a full-time undergraduate or graduate program at Waterloo to qualify for the waiver.

“This announcement is part of Waterloo’s efforts toward indigenization, decolonization and reconciliation, which are at the heart of the values guiding us as an institution of higher learning,” said Vivek Goel, president and vice-chancellor of Waterloo. “We hope that by reducing financial barriers for these students we will encourage them to participate in our innovative academic, entrepreneurship and co-op programs, which increases their future opportunities while strengthening communities and economies.”
 
Last fall, Waterloo hosted a commitment ceremony in which Goel acknowledged that Indigenous Peoples are the original inhabitants of this land who continue to suffer devastating loss and cultural disconnect in Canada as a result of colonialism. He committed the University to developing a better understanding of Indigenous history and the intergenerational trauma caused by colonialism and the systems it created—including the residential school system—while taking responsibility for critical components of the reconciliation process.  

“This landmark decision to increase access to education is in direct response to the findings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and its calls to action,” said Jean Becker, associate vice-president, Indigenous Relations at Waterloo. “I believe Waterloo is the first university in Canada to waive tuition in full for members of specific First Nations communities, and I hope this demonstrated leadership will inspire other post-secondary institutions to take similar action.”

The tuition waiver will be in effect at Waterloo in September 2023 and is open to students in any Faculty. For more information, applicants should visit the website.

Remembering Distinguished Professor Emerita Hannah Fournier

A message from the Department of French Studies.

On Saturday May 20, Hannah Fournier passed away at the age of 81. Colleagues, friends, and former students in the Department of French Studies will remember her as a talented administrator and a pioneering researcher in the field of Early Modern women’s writing and the digital humanities.

Hannah joined the Department of Classics and Romance Languages at the University of Waterloo as a part-time lecturer in 1966. She completed her Ph.D. at the University of Western Ontario in 1976 and then joined the newly formed department of French Studies as an Assistant Professor. A specialist in 16^th-century Renaissance and Reformation literature and in the history of French women writers, Hannah had a particular interest in the works of Marie de Gournay and Marguerite de Navarre and produced several critical editions of texts by female authors.

She is perhaps best known as a founding member, along with Jean-Philippe Beaulieu (University of Montreal) and Delbert Russell (Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Waterloo), of the MARGOT project which, in 1989, built a textual database of Latin and early French texts, using software developed at Waterloo for the computerization of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED). Using these tools, and with the help of graduate students, the group published several electronic editions of medieval texts and early modern works by women writers, creating the MARGOT website in the early 1990s. In 2008, in recognition of her important contributions to research, colleagues Guy Poirier, Christine McWebb, Delbert Russell and François Paré published a volume of essays in her honour: Dix ans de recherche sur les femmes écrivains de l’Ancien Régime : influences et confluences. Mélanges offerts à Hannah Fournier (Presses de l’Université Laval).

In addition to her work in the Department of French Studies where she served as chair from 2001 to 2003 and a term as Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies in the Faculty of Arts, Hannah was instrumental in the creation of the Women’s Studies program, for which she served as co-ordinator from 1981 to 1984. She was also a founding member and served on the board and as treasurer of the on-campus day-care centre Klemmer Farmhouse Co-op Nursery from 1972 to 1975. A generous colleague, Hannah mentored junior colleagues with grace and good humour.

Predeceased by her best friend Raymond Fournier (2022), Hannah is survived by her daughter Rachel (Robert) and grand-daughter Giselle.

Cremation has taken place and a memorial service will be held at St. Columba Anglican Church, 250 Lincoln Road, Waterloo on Saturday May 27, at 2:00 p.m. A reception will immediately follow in the church hall. In lieu of flowers, donations to Anselma House or your favourite charity would be appreciated and may be arranged through the Erb & Good Family Funeral Home.

You @ Waterloo Day; EV Challenge, and other places to be

It's that time of year again: You @ Waterloo Day will see campus taken over for a one-day open house for thousands of future students and their loved ones this weekend. The event takes place Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and more than 5,000 attendees are expected.

Attendees will be able to tour campus and residences, speak with students and professors about programs and co-op, learn about scholarships, and discover the many services that will support them when they arrive as undergraduates. There will be walking tours as well as hop-on, hop-off shuttle tours.

Also on Saturday, Waterloo is hosting the annual Electric Vehicle (EV) Challenge competition for high school students. The competition will be taking place on Saturday, May 27 with a rain date of Sunday, May 28. This challenge allows students to design, build and drive their own electric race cars in an endurance competition with both 12- and 14-volt car classes and several awards up for grabs.

Parking Services has notified all Q-Lot permit holders that the parking lot will be closed for the race on Saturday, May 27 (and possibly Sunday, May 28 if Saturday's race is rained out). "If you will be visiting the campus on May 27 or May 28, your monthly permit will allow you to park in any ungated visitor lot," says a note from Parking Services. "The next closest parking lot to Q would be N-Lot."

Looking ahead to next week, you can join the Sustainability Office and Grounds for one of two tree planting events to support biodiversity on campus. Employees are invited to help with prepping the site and planting a variety of trees and wildflowers, while learning more about the importance of supporting biodiversity and nature on campus and in our community. Employees can register on Eventbrite for the following two dates:

• May 30 (9:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.) - Main campus, along Laurel Creek (across from the PAC)
• May 31 (9:30 a.m. to 12 noon) - North campus, along Laurel Creek (slightly NW of Wes Graham Way)

"This is a great opportunity to get outside, contribute to campus naturalization efforts, and explore some of the beautiful green spaces Waterloo has to offer!" says a note from the Sustainability Office. "No tools or experience are required. More detailed information about meeting spots and exact planting location will be circulated closer to the event."