Wednesday, October 23, 2024

Three distinguished individuals to be honoured at Fall 2024 Convocation

This article was originally published on Waterloo News.

The University of Waterloo is pleased to recognize three esteemed individuals with honorary degrees at the Fall 2024 Convocation.

An honorary doctorate is the highest honour conferred by the University with each degree awarded to individuals who inspire and demonstrate exceptional service and leadership within their discipline. Each recipient of the award this year has made significant impact on a local and global scale through their personal and professional experiences.

"Our honorary doctorates are trendsetters, disruptors and innovators who inspire our graduates," says Dr. Vivek Goel, president and vice-chancellor of the University of Waterloo. "Their leadership and contributions in computing, mathematics, science, the humanities and environmental studies serve as motivation to our graduates as they strive to make a positive impact on the world."

Learn more about this year’s honorary doctorates and their accomplishments below.

Jim Estill (BASc ’80)

Jim Estill is the president and CEO of Danby Appliances, a role he has held since 2015. A successful entrepreneur and investor, he has backed more than 150 start-ups throughout his career. In 2015, Estill gained international recognition for sponsoring the resettlement of 50 Syrian refugee families in Canada. In honour of his philanthropic contributions, he was awarded the Order of Ontario in 2017 and the Order of Canada in 2018. Estill holds a BASc in Systems Design Engineering from the University of Waterloo and an honorary Doctorate of Laws from the University of Guelph.

Myeengun Henry

Elder Myeengun Henry joined the University of Waterloo in 2022 as Indigenous knowledge keeper in the Faculty of Health. He is former elected chief and band councillor for the Chippewas of the Thames First Nation. He served as manager of Indigenous services and educator of Indigenous studies at Conestoga College. Elder Henry conducts Indigenous ceremonies and teachings on campus. He is also a traditional medicine practitioner, environmental protectionist, Indigenous counsellor, Pow Wow co-ordinator and Indigenous advisor to the Ontario Provincial Police and Law Society of Ontario. Elder Henry works with compassion alongside the Office of Indigenous Relations toward reconciliation.

Mark Yantzi (BA ’69, MASc ’77)

Mark Yantzi is a pioneer in restorative justice and a leader in addressing conflict. He earned a BA in Sociology in 1969 and a MASc in Human Relations and Counselling in 1977, both from the University of Waterloo. As a parole officer in the 1970s, Yantzi implemented Canada’s first formal use of restorative justice in criminal sentencing. He founded and led community justice initiatives, developing programs to support victims and offenders. He served Waterloo as a city and regional councillor and was a mediator for Correctional Service of Canada. He is the author of Sexual Offending and Reconciliation and recipient of Conrad Grebel University College’s Distinguished Alumni Service Award.

Faculty of Mathematics to break ground on new Math 4 building next week

A message from the Faculty of Mathematics.

The Faculty of Mathematics will be celebrating the groundbreaking of Math 4 (M4), a five-storey, 120,000 square foot building that will serve as the heart of the math district on campus, connecting directly to Mathematics and Computing (MC), Mathematics 3 (M3), and the W.G. Davis Computer Research Centre (DC). M4 is possible through more than a decade of planning, saving and philanthropy.

“The construction of our new Math 4 building will bring a much-needed expansion of student spaces, classrooms, research labs and offices, as well as facilitating research and practice in more energy-efficient computing,” says Mark Giesbrecht, Dean of the Faculty of Mathematics. “We’re thrilled about the many ways that M4 is designed to accommodate students, empower research and drive innovation.”

The groundbreaking ceremony will take place Monday, October 28, in the DC Quad. Learn more about the new M4 building and the construction timeline on the Mathematics 4 webpage.

GreenShield+ application available today

A message from Human Resources.

A reminder that GreenShield new application, GreenShield+, launches for UWaterloo plan members today! The enhanced application will replace the existing application, GSC Everywhere, to support benefit inquiries-- including remaining balances, claims, and more.  GreenShield+ provides access to GreenShield’s digital health and benefits offerings in one place, delivering a personalized, engaging, and simplified experience.

Your member login remains the same, as does your member/benefit ID. GreenShield Benefit Booklets will continue to reference GSC Everywhere as the application until revised booklets are available in the new year.

The GreenShield+ App is available for download for Apple and Android today. Inquiries about the new application can be directed to GreenShield support.

Paging Dr. RIC - Research Impact Canada session tomorrow

The next in a series of Research Impact Canada “Dr. RIC” online sessions takes place Thursday, October 24 from 11:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

Tomorrow’s session features Fleur Macqueen Smith, manager of the nātawihowin and mamawiikikayaahk Research Networks (SK-NEIHR) at the University of Saskatchewan, who will present on connecting with NEIHRs nationally for Indigenous partnerships. The Saskatchewan NEIHR is a network of researchers, community organizations, community members, and students working in the areas of Indigenous health and wellness in Saskatchewan. 

For the second part of the session, there will be an open discussion on how you and/or your institution/organization can plan an evaluation of the knowledge mobilization activities conducted in your department, unit, or ASU. Contact Nadine Quehl to request a Zoom invitation or for more information.

Research Impact Canada is a pan-Canadian network dedicated to maximizing the impact of research for the public good that will provide Waterloo students, staff and faculty members with resources and networks to enhance knowledge mobilization. These resources include a free 8-week online knowledge mobilization course offered in the summer.

Since Waterloo joined network in November 2023, community members have been active in mobilizing knowledge. For example, Nancy Goucher and Nadine Quehl recently co-presented at the Canadian Knowledge Mobilization Forum 2024 hosted by RIC on “Leveraging Communities of Practice for Knowledge Mobilization, Innovation and Learning.” 

School of Pharmacy graduate student Bincy Baby was also named a winner of one of the RIC Engaged Scholarship Awards for her project, “User Experience with Medication Adherence Technologies: Determining Usability by Capabilities in Older Adults.” Baby presented her project in this Research Impact Canada webinar starting at the 31:08 mark.

Previous Dr. RIC sessions serve as a monthly membership call for the Research Impact Canada community, where members are invited to discuss whatever is on their mind as it relates to knowledge mobilization.

And don’t forget about joining the University of Waterloo Knowledge Mobilization Community of Practice if that’s something that interests you. Contact Nadine Quehl for more details.

What Were You Wearing? Survivor Art Exhibit on display October 30 and 31

A message from the Sexual Violence Prevention & Response Office (SVPRO).

The Sexual Violence Prevention & Response Office (SVPRO) is once again bringing the What Were You Wearing? Survivor Art Exhibit to UWaterloo. The exhibit is based on student-survivor descriptions of the clothing they were wearing when they experienced sexual violence.

Although progress is being made, we live in a society that still wrongfully blames victims for the harm they experience. Sexual violence is normalized, minimized and silenced.

The myth that clothing causes sexual violence, along with many other myths, are used to blame survivors and justify the actions of those who cause harm. Survivors are never to blame. The intent of this exhibit is to bring awareness and attention to the pervasiveness of sexual violence and victim blaming, debunk harmful myths and provide education about preventing sexual violence and supporting survivors.

The “What Were You Wearing?” Art Exhibit was inspired by Dr. Mary Simmerling’s poem, What I was Wearing, and was created at the University of Arkansas in 2013 by Jen Brockman and Dr. Mary Wyandt-Hiebert.

Please visit our UWaterloo rendition of What Were You Wearing? and join us in building consent culture on our campus. You will find us in the SLC multi-purpose room on Wednesday, October 30 from 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and Thursday, October 31 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Everyone is welcome, and you can engage with the exhibit at your own pace.

Wednesday's notes

The Noon Hour Concert series has resumed after Reading Week and today's installment is Contemporary Australian Piano Four Hands Sonatas. No, you're not seeing double.

Pianists Ryan Baxter and Connor O'Kane will perform two Australian compositions for four-handed piano. The sonata for piano four hands as a genre is genuinely uncommon, making these two contemporary, Australian examples unique contributions to the piano repertoire.

The concert takes place today at 12 noon in Conrad Grebel University College's Chapel. Admission is free, so bring a friend, show up and give the performers four thumbs up!

The Statistical Consulting and Survey Research Unit is hosting a workshop today entitled "Conducting Surveys with Qualtrics" from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. in DC 1568. "Learn how to use Qualtrics to create and launch a survey," says a note from workshop organizers. "The goal of this workshop is to provide an overview of the whole process along with some hands-on exercises. The workshop will start with instruction on how to build a survey, then will cover getting it ready for the field, and finish with showing users how to distribute, monitor, and extract their data."

The staff association holds its Annual Meeting tomorrow from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. online and in PHY313. On the agenda will be the results of the recent UWSA election, the treasurer's report and 2023–24 financial statements, and a report of the UWSA president that includes discussion of the association's new logo.

The University of Waterloo Art Gallery (UWAG) is hosting an informal artist talk and tour of the exhibition War and Piece by artist Sadko Hadžihasanović moderated by curator Ivan Jurakic.

Hadžihasanović studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Sarajevo, Bosnia, and earned his MFA at the University of Belgrade, Yugoslavia, before emigrating to Canada in 1993. Since then, he has exhibited in numerous exhibitions in public galleries and artist-run spaces across Canada. His work is currently the focus of a concurrent retrospective War and Piece 1984-2024, at the Contemporary Gallery of Cultural Centre, Pančeva, Serbia. He is the recipient of multiple grants from the Toronto Arts Council, Ontario Arts Council, and Canada Council for the Arts.

The event takes place on Friday, October 25 at 1:00 p.m. at UWAG in East Campus Hall.

Employers hosting Employer Information Sessions this week include Mining Industry Information Session and Job Fair. Make sure to register through WaterlooWorks and check the calendar for any updates!