Monday, September 23, 2024

Faculty engagement sessions for Black and racialized faculty members coming up

A message from the Inclusive Research Team, Office of the Vice-President, Research and International.

The Office of the Vice-President of Research and International (OVPRI) is pleased to share an update on our President’s Anti-Racism Taskforce (PART) recommendations. The eight outstanding recommendations are led by the Inclusive Research team with the support of the OVPRI community: people from all over the OVPRI are participating in multiple working groups with the support of senior leadership. The working groups have been working hard, and we wanted to share some of this work with the Waterloo community.

Starting this fall, the OVPRI will host faculty engagement sessions for Black and racialized faculty in response to Recommendation 63: “Undertake a consultation process to learn about and address research barriers and particular needs of Black, Indigenous and other racialized researchers”. The findings from these engagements will be used to develop recommendations for building an inclusive and equitable research ecosystem at Waterloo.

The OVPRI has retained the services of Dr. Nicole Kaniki, Founder and Director of Senomi Solutions, an external, third-party consulting firm, to conduct the sessions. Dr. Kaniki is a research methodologist with equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) expertise skilled in strategic implementation of organizational EDI that is meaningful, intentional and sustainable. She also brings valuable experience in the development and implementation of strategic initiatives for Black scholars and researchers, including establishing and supporting the Black Research Network and the Black Founders Network at the University of Toronto in her former role as the director of equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in research and innovation as well as her own lived experience.

Please choose based on fit and availability:

• Virtual focus group for Black Faculty members only. Monday, October 28, 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Register (Microsoft Forms).
  • Note for Black faculty members: This is a dedicated space for discussing the Black faculty research experience. If you are unable to attend this session, please consider attending either session below.
• Virtual focus group for all Racialized faculty members. Tuesday, October 29, 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Register (Microsoft Forms).
• One-on-one/private sessions. Book using Dr. Kaniki’s Calendly. These sessions will be open between Monday, October 21 to Monday, November 11.
  • Note: Small group engagements are welcome. Please feel free to book with a colleague or two. Time slots are available 9am-9pm for your convenience. You can also book a one-on-one session/private session in addition to a focus group, if needed.

We look forward to continuing to share updates about all the OVPRI activities as we continue to improve the equity, diversity, and inclusion of the research ecosystem at Waterloo!

Training the next generation of scientists

By Sarah Fullerton. This is an excerpt of an article originally posted on Waterloo News.

The University of Waterloo is at the forefront of developing future-focused solutions by investing in experiential education and boundary-breaking research to lead innovation for real-world impact.

This summer, the Faculty of Science allocated more than $260,000 in new funding to support undergraduate research assistantships. This investment provides Science students with invaluable hands-on experience, enabling them to work closely with renowned researchers at Waterloo.

Waterloo’s research is dedicated to addressing the most complex challenges through applied research excellence. Through this initiative, undergraduate research assistants are gaining critical experience that tackle global issues. These range from investigating the role of mRNA processing in cell fate, tissue development, and disease, advancing our understanding of greenhouse gas emissions from restored wetlands, exploring innovative strategies to combat antibiotic resistance, and uncovering the processes behind planet formation and evolution. As an added benefit, students that work in research positions during their undergraduate degree are one step closer to earning an IDEAL Scholar medallion at graduation for fulfilling the Discovery category of the award.

“Participating in research equips students with the essential tools and critical thinking skills needed to excel after graduation,” says Chris Houser, dean of the Faculty of Science. “Science’s undergraduate research assistants will graduate with sought-after experience that will make them competitive candidates for graduate school or careers in their field.”

Learn how Science students are making a difference in research labs in our four departments.

Read the full story on Waterloo News.

Bringing new energy to a non-profit

A message from the Office of Advancement.

Hanna MacDonald’s latest co-op term saw her tackling some challenging social issues. Learn how donors made it possible for the Waterloo environment and business student to offer fresh perspectives to the work of a local social service agency.

Read Hanna’s story in the 2023-24 Report on Giving. 

Senate meets today and other notes

The University's Senate has its first meeting of the fall term today at 3:30 p.m. in NH 3407 and on Zoom. Among the agenda items:

• A motion to approve modifications to the Bachelor of Arts – Four-Year General and Bachelor of Arts– Honours in Anthropology, effective September 1, 2025;
• A motion to approve a departmental name change from Religious Studies to Religion, Culture, and Spirituality, a change that came out of a recent program review and is intended to more accurately reflect "the contemporary religious landscape."
• A motion to approve a departmental name change from Sexuality, Marriage and Family Studies to Sexualities, Relationships, and Families. Established in 1972 as a program for Catholic educators, Sexuality, Marriage and Family Studies (SMF) became a department at SJU in 2010 offering undergraduate degree-level programming that combines studies in sexuality, relationships, and family studies. The proposed change reflects the view that the current program name does not reflect the "diversity of lived experience in Canadian society." A 2018 program review found "discomfort only with the use of “marriage,” but not “sexuality” or “family.” As such, our recommendation would be to pluralize sexuality and family, and find an additional word to better reflect the vastness of the relationships studied and considered in the courses."
• A motion to delegate Senate's authority to the Senate Executive Committee for the approval of all Senate committee/council appointments pertaining to vacancies on those bodies, for the period from September 24, 2024 to October 14, 2024, with reporting of all such appointments to the Senate meeting on October 21, 2024.
• A motion to adopt the proposed Guidelines for Visitors to Senate Meetings, which will be presented at the meeting. "In March 2024, the Senate Executive Committee (SEC) discussed the need to establish general guidelines for visitors to Senate meetings, which would provide practical guidance to Senate and visitors to Senate with respect to representations, registration of delegations, expectations of decorum at meetings, etc." says the motion's summary. "Drawing from existing Senate governing documents and relevant University policies, and following a review of practices at comparator institutions and an iterative drafting process with feedback from SEC, the enclosed guidelines are brought forward to Senate for consideration and adoption." Included in the guidelines:
  • Visitors who wish to attend and observe proceedings of the open session of a Senate or Senate standing committee or council meeting are asked to register with the Secretariat in advance of the meeting.
  • Open session portions of regular meetings are normally also available for visitors to observe by electronic means. Recording or broadcasting of the meeting are not permitted. 
  • Members of the University community wishing to make representations to a meeting of Senate must file their request with the Secretariat, in writing, by noon on the day of the Senate Executive Committee meeting that precedes the scheduled regular meeting of Senate, as published on the Secretariat website, and include the nature of the proposed representation. Requests should specify how the subject of the proposed representation falls within the jurisdiction of Senate, and also shall include reference to other internal and/or governance bodies previously engaged in the matter, as appropriate.
  • Speakers are required to limit their remarks to five minutes.
  • All meeting participants shall avoid personal attacks or offensive references to any individual.
  • An individual or group may request to bring a representation to Senate on a given subject once in a Senate meeting cycle.

Senate will also hear a presentation on the Waterloo Accessible Education Project. In his report to Senate, Vice-President, Academic and Provost James Rush will announce the 2024 University Research Chairs. The full agenda and supporting documents can be found on the Secretariat's website.

WUSA is bringing in student mental health leadership organization Jack.org for a free mental health talk for students on how to be there for themselves and others. The event takes place on Wednesday September 25, in the SLC Black and Gold room from 12 noon to 1:30 p.m. Refreshments will be provided. Students can reserve their tickets on the WUSA website.

The School of Public Health Sciences and GreenHouse, the social impact incubator at United College are collaborating on Health and Climate Change Needs Finding sessions. These sessions explore the question "how might social prescription address health challenges in our community?" 

Health & Climate Change: Needs Finding, Friday, September 27, 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., Alumni Hall (UTD 201). Join HLTH 480 students to explore how climate change might impact health and wellbeing in Waterloo Region via small world café discussions. 

Health & Social Prescribing: Needs Finding, Monday, September 30, 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., United College GreenHouse (UTD 164.) Join HLTH 480 students to explore how the benefits, barriers, and opportunities for implementing social prescribing in Waterloo Region via small world café discussions. 

"These sessions are open to the public," says a note from the organizers. "We hope to cultivate a diversity of perspectives from people who can share their insights and ideas on social prescribing and health challenges in Waterloo Region. As an attendee, you will interact with students in the Public Health Sciences program who are working towards proposing solutions on this topic in their capstone course.