Monday, March 14, 2016

Employment equity re-survey update

A message from Human Resources.

This is a reminder that the University is re-surveying all existing employees, in order to maintain compliance with the federal Employment Equity Act and the Federal Contractors Program. More information can be found on the Human Resources website.

All full-time regular Faculty, Staff and CUPE members are reminded to please complete the survey by logging into myHRinfo and their logins will be directed to the questionnaire until it is either completed or acknowledged. All other employees can complete the survey by logging into myHRinfo and navigating to Self Service > Employment Equity Survey > Submit Survey.  

The current participation rate by the campus community is at 39 per cent.

UpStart Festival lets student-written dramas take centre stage

The 2016 edition of the UpStart Festival of Innovative Theatre, which showcases plays written, directed, and designed by students, takes place from Wednesday, March 16 to Saturday, March 19 at 7:30 p.m.

UpStart is the University of Waterloo's bi-annual one-act play festival, and features three news scripts written, developed, directed and designed by Theatre and Performance students working under faculty supervision.

Featured works this year include:

The Rocket Man - Adapted from Ray Bradbury's short story of the same title, The Rocket Man delivers a view on family life in a world where space travel is common and homes automatically clean themselves.  The family of a “rocket man” anxiously awaits his arrival from the latest dangerous, glamorous mission, knowing that when he does return nothing will ever be the same.  Kelly Hornung’s stage adaptation brings the dazzling, romantic world of Bradbury's imagination to life, along with his vivid characters and the terrible lessons they must learn.

Out of the Box - Imagination can take us on far-off adventures through time and space, or hold us captive with painful memories. Out of the Box is the story of children’s author Avery Corwin, the writer's block he suffers as he tries to complete his best-selling book series, and questions of what happens to the imagination when we are forced to grow up.

Phone Book - A young man feels his life is far too predictable, so he decides the only logical course of action is to call ten strangers from a payphone in the hope that he might break from his script. Phone Book is a one-man show that explores the repetitive nature of our day-to-day lives.

All performances will take place in the Theatre of the Arts in the Modern Languages Building. General admission is $17, with students and seniors paying $13. The box office can be reached at 519-888-4908.

Photographs taken by Jessica Blondin.

R+T Park commits to greenhouse gas reduction

The David Johnston Research + Technology Park and its tenants have committed to a Greenhouse Gas Reduction Target through Sustainable Waterloo Region’s Regional Carbon Initiative (RCI). With a goal of a 40 per cent reduction in greenhouse gasses per capita by 2024, the companies in the R+T Park are actively working to successfully achieve their target result.

“SAP’s local involvement will help towards reaching SAP’s global goal to reduce the net greenhouse gas emissions from our operations to levels of the year 2000 by 2020,” says Bobbilynn Keating, Facilities Specialist, SAP. 

Working since May 2015, members of the R+T Park’s “Green Team”, which is made up of representatives from all the park's buildings, are a part of this initiative, which is building a closer dynamic among the businesses within the R+T Park community.

“The reduction target for the park aligns with our core corporate values,” says Adrian Conrad, COO, Cora Group Inc. “and the recognition we’ve received as a leader in the region for our commitment to sustainability and leading edge building practices.”  

The Green Team is receiving support from Sustainable Waterloo Region (SWR) through the RCI to complete an accurate baseline assessment, help set a target, and ensure that the desired target is achievable.

Pi Day celebrations and other notes

For those of you of a mathematical bent, the 14^th of March holds a special significance - it's Pi Day. Apparently this year's date—03/14/16—is the roundest Pi Day that will appear on this century's calendar. So...hooray?

The Mathematics Society will be holding its annual celebration today starting at 1:59 p.m. on the third floor of the Math and Computer Building.

There will be a recitation contest, wherein participants memorize the digits of Pi up to 1,000 and beyond, a countdown, and math novelty sales. And yes, there will be free pie provided.

The recitation contest takes place at 2:30 p.m. in the Comfy Lounge. Fittingly, the first prize is $314.15.

Human Resources is reporting that retiree Viorel Graore died March 5. Graore began his employment at Waterloo in August 1979 as a Custodian in Plant Operations. He retired in September 1990. He was predeceased by his wife, Saveta, in 2012.

Here's the latest Nutrition Month "Myth vs. Fact" provided by Health Services Nutritionist Sandra Ace:

Myth:  Hot foods should be cooled at room temperature before they are refrigerated.

Fact:  You don’t need to cool hot foods before you refrigerate them. If food is very hot you may wish to let it cool for a few minutes, however this should not exceed ½ hour. Refrigerate hot food in shallow containers, uncovered, so that it cools quickly; this minimizes the chance of bacterial growth. After food cools to 4^o C or lower you can cover it or repackage into other storage containers to store in the fridge or freezer. Chilling cooked food or leftovers promptly helps to reduce your risk of food borne illness. Cooked foods left at room temperature more than 2 hours should be discarded.