Friday, April 8, 2016

Great place to study, great place to work

This is the latest in a series of #UWStratPlan stories that profile some of the initiatives that are part of the robust efforts to implement the Strategic Plan.

Among things that build a progressive workplace — professional development, flexible working arrangements, open-door management — it doesn’t hurt to also measure your organization’s performance and wellness against a trusted quality standard.

This was something the University of Waterloo Library discovered last year as it pursued bronze-level certification in the Excellence, Innovation and Wellness Standard developed by Excellence Canada, a non-profit national agency that assesses organizations against quality standards.

Now rolling out across campus, the initiative at Waterloo began as a pilot project in the library in early 2014. About 165 employees work primarily in four settings: the Dana Porter Library; the Davis Centre Library; the Witer Learning Resource Centre (at the School of Optometry and Vision Science) and the Musagetes Architecture Library (at the School of Architecture in Cambridge).

"We have a history of being proactive in introducing new initiatives that can then be rolled out across campus," University Librarian Mark Haslett says.

The library, he adds, took the lead to pilot the use of internet technology before the World Wide Web became commonplace, implementing one of the world’s first web-based online catalogues.

Read the rest of the article on the Strategic Plan website.

Gettin' sticky with it at the Elmira Maple Syrup Fest

​This is the latest in a series of #UWCommunity stories that feature Waterloo in the community.

Despite the cold weather, a group of University of Waterloo students travelled to Elmira in search of a delicious Canadian treat this past weekend at the annual Elmira Maple Syrup Festival on Saturday, April 2. Bringing Waterloo pride to the festival for the last six years, this year’s attending students were taken on their adventure by the Federation of Students' service, International and Canadian Student Network (ICSN).

“It's a great event for students because, first of all, there's lots of food! Pancakes, funnel cakes, large turkey drumsticks, schnitzels, and other street food options,” said ICSN volunteer Alicia Nguyen. “This is also an opportunity to de-stress with exams right around the corner. For the international students, it's a one-of-a-kind chance to learn about how maple syrup, which is iconic in Canadian culture, is made.”

Providing undergraduates with a bus ride to and from the festival, ICSN aims to create opportunities for both local and international students to get together and have fun not just on campus, but also throughout Waterloo region, building stronger student connections in our community. In an effort to increase the level of engagement for this outing, the service coordinators and volunteers collaborated with attendees to participate in the popular pancake flipping challenge.

“The group made it to the second round,” said Alicia, who is also a third-year international development major. “It was like a relay race in where each person needed to flip the pancake using different tools such as a flipper, a spatula, a plate and even a tennis racket! Whoever transferred the most pancakes into the large plate, won!”

For Alicia, the most memorable part of the day was getting to saw a log the old-fashioned way.

“I got to take the piece home with me,” she said. “You could also get the piece of log printed with the maple leaf on it!”

By offering our students a well-rounded and vibrant life experience beyond Ring Road, the University of Waterloo and its Federation of Students continue to enhance the makeup of our community. For anyone who missed this year's maple syrup festival trip with ICSN, please visit Feds.ca to stay in the loop with ongoing student events.

National Volunteer Week - share your stories

by Katie Parkes

April 10 to 16 is National Volunteer Week, an opportunity to celebrate and thank those in our University of Waterloo community who give back both within and beyond our campus.

As a caring, contributing member of our community, the University recognizes the importance of volunteerism and the power of our collective efforts. Volunteers are essential for communities to grow, innovate, and enhance creativity. Our students, faculty and staff improve and strengthen our community by dedicating their time and talent, helping to make our community a great place to live.

We invite you to join in the conversation next week by celebrating and recognizing individuals, groups, committees and clubs at Waterloo who actively make a difference through volunteering. Share your photos, comments, or words of thanks on Twitter and Instagram using #uwcommunity and #NVW2016.

Notes as exams begin

Feridun Hamdullahpur greets Finance Minister Bill Morneau as he arrives for an interactive student town hall on Thursday, April 7 in the Sedra Student Design Centre.

UW Fitness, located in the Manulife Wellness Centre and the Lyle Hallman Institute for Health Promotion, is offering small group personal training for Waterloo staff and faculty. These twice-per-week sessions include cardiovascular exercise, resistance/weight training, and flexibility exercises under the certified exercise physiologist in a private and encouraging environment right here on campus. To sign up for a 6 week session or for more information, please visit the UW Fitness website, call extension 36841, or send an e-mail to fitness@uwaterloo.ca. Spaces are limited, and the next session begins next week.

Online registration for the annual Matthews Golf Classic goes live on Monday, April 11 at 8:30 a.m. The Matthews Classic is a golf tournament held once a year in June and is open to all staff, faculty, students, retirees, alumni, contractors and invited guests. The event started in honour of Burt Matthews, President of the University of Waterloo from 1970 to 1981.

The tournament, scheduled for Monday, June 6, features a shotgun start at 1:00 pm. $70 will get you a round of golf, a shared cart, boxed lunch and a dinner, with $50 covering the golf, cart and lunch. Guests are welcome for the dinner portion of the event for $20.

Contact Sheila Hurley at sahurley@uwaterloo.ca for more details.

IST has announced that WCMS sites are being upgraded to version 1.12.4, with production site updates occuring on Monday, April 11 from 9:00 p.m. until 6:00 a.m. on Tuesday, April 12. Before the upgrade begins, please log out of your site and do not work on your site during this upgrade window. Sites will remain available to site visitors during the upgrade window. Please review the release notes for full details of the upgrade. Anyone with questions or concerns should send an e-mail to rt-ist-wcms@rt.uwaterloo.ca or the IST Service Desk, helpdesk@uwaterloo.ca, ext. 44357.