Wednesday, July 6, 2016

Waterloo names among Order of Canada inductees

Two celebrated scholars from the University of Waterloo’s Department of History were among those most recently named to the Order of Canada.

His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, announced 113 new appointments to the Order of Canada, which has three levels: Companion, Officer and Member.

John English, distinguished professor emeritus, was promoted to Officer of the Order of Canada for his contributions as a historian, author and administrator whose contributions have increased our knowledge of Canada’s political heritage. English was named a Member of the Order of Canada in July 2000.

Jim Walker is an expert in human rights and race relations in Canada. He was named a Member of the Order of Canada for his influential scholarship that has shed light on the contributions of Black Canadians to the development of the country. Professor Walker created the first courses in African-Canadian history at any Canadian university.

"Jim Walker’s work examining the critical importance of human rights and racial equality is far-reaching and has the potential to make positive change around the world,’’ said Feridun Hamdullahpur, president and vice-chancellor of Waterloo. “John English is a recognized historian whose work both illuminates our past and informs our future. The University is pleased and proud to congratulate both of these professors from the Faculty of Arts on this honour."

Among other honours, English is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and was a Senior Killam Fellow. He has written several books, including biographies of Lester Pearson and Pierre Trudeau, and other works on Canada in the 20^th century. Walker is a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and a former Bora Laskin National Fellow in Human Rights Research. He has published several works relating to the historical development of human rights.

Both will receive their insignia at a ceremony at Rideau Hall within the next year.

Also among the inductees are Waterloo alumni Joe Mancini, who graduated with a BA in History from St. Jerome's University, and Stephanie Mancini, who graduated with a BA in Honours English Literature from St. Jerome's University. The Mancinis were both named Members of the Order of Canada "for their commitment to the homeless and marginalized of the Kitchener-Waterloo Region, notably for the creation of the Working Centre." The Working Centre was established in the spring of 1982 as a response to unemployment and poverty in downtown Kitchener.

The Order of Canada recognizes people in all sectors of Canadian society for outstanding achievement, dedication to the community and service to the country.

Learn how to speak startup with Miron Derchansky

An accomplished entrepreneur and strategist will be speaking at a Velocity Start event on Tuesday, July 12 in a language that many at Waterloo are becoming fluent in: startup.

Miron Derchansky's talk, "From bench to business: Why having a multi-billion-dollar idea is only 5 percent of becoming a successful business," will provide insight into his experiences developing a neuro-software startup, in the process successfully raising $5M from Canadian investors.

Derchansky is the head of LEO Innovation Lab Canada, an independent innovation hub that partners with startups to develop non-pharmaceutical solutions for people living with psoriasis, including apps, wearables and virtual reality. Prior to this, Derchansky took his discoveries from the bench and transformed them into a business by building his company, Neurochip Inc., as a PhD and MBA candidate.

This talk is completely free, and open for anyone to attend. Pizza will be served. Please register to save a spot in the audience.

The event takes place in the Velocity Start space on South Campus Hall's second floor.

Record number of co-op jobs filled in a spring term

by Andreea Perescu.

Break out the record books – 2,789 jobs were filled during main-round interviews in June, the highest number ever recorded for a fall work term! More than 16,000 individual student interviews took place during this time.

This comes after a record breaking spring term where 6,000 students were employed and the year-over-year employment rate rose 1.3 per cent to 96.3 per cent.

Cathy Richardson, service manager of operations with Co-operative Education & Career Action (CECA), shared her enthusiasm for busy days at the Tatham Centre. “I love the fast-paced, deadline driven part of my job, especially when we have a really good match – there’s nothing more rewarding than that,” said Cathy.

Thanks in part to the Interview Day Services (IDS) team, CECA’s record-setting interview cycle ran smoothly. “The greatest obstacle is managing expectations,” said Greg Mittler, assistant service manager at CECA. “We do our best to explain how the process works and make a seamless experience for employers and students alike.” 

Be the first to hear news like this from CECA through the @HireWaterloo Twitter account.

UW Police seeks help in identifying assault suspect

UW Police is currently assisting the Waterloo Regional Police Service (WRPS) Major Case Branch in identifying the suspect of multiple sexual assaults that occurred in the early morning on Friday, June 24 in an area near the main Waterloo campus. 

The statement from WRPS reads as follows:

"On June 24, 2016 at approximately 1:30 a.m., a 22 year old female was sexually assaulted by an unknown male while walking on Hazel Street, Waterloo. The male grabbed the female from behind and released his grip once a witness heard the female scream. The male was last seen running towards University Avenue. Approximately half an hour later, two females in their early 20’s were approached from behind and inappropriately touched while walking on Lester Street, Waterloo. There was a physical altercation and the male may have suffered an injury to his eye. In both incidents, the females were not injured. Police are investigating whether the two incidents are related. The suspect is described as male, black, in his 20s, short dark hair, 510", 170-180 pounds wearing a grey or cream coloured sweater and grey basketball shorts."

Anyone with information is asked to call the Waterloo Regional Police Service at (519) 653-7700 ext. 8347 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

Remembering Ruth Priddle and other notes

Human Resources has reported that Professor Emerita Ruth Priddle died June 8. Priddle began her career at the University in August 1964 as a Lecturer, teaching the historical foundations of dance. She was also responsible for the women's intramural and intercollegiate programs at Waterloo.

Priddle's research areas included dance and gymnastics. She danced professionally for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and the Canadian National Exhibition's grandstand show.

She was later named Associate Professor in the Dance department, which was part of the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences, and had received tenure in April 1969. She would later chair the department, first in 1978 and again in 1984, and earned a doctorate in developmental psychology and was the first member of the dance program to obtain a PhD. She founded the Carousel Dance Centre, which used dance to develop the learning of skills and fosters creative expression in children.

The Dance department was phased out in the spring of 1996.

Priddle retired under the Special Early Retirement Program in September 1996 along with her husband, Professor George Priddle, also a Waterloo faculty member. Priddle was predeceased by her husband George, who died in September 1998.

Human Resources has also reported that retiree Cyril Fitzgerald died June 9. Fitzgerald started working at Waterloo in October 1968 and retired as a library attendant in the Library in November 1984. He is survived by his wife Catherine Leone.

Tonight is the first of two Velocity Fund $5K qualifier events. Students will deliver pitches to a panel of experienced judges in QNC 0101 at 7:00 p.m. Register to attend and get free pizza.

The top 5 finalists from the qualifier events will move on to the Velocity Fund Finals event, which will be held in the Student Life Centre Great Hall on Thursday, July 21 at 11:00 a.m.