Friday, February 24, 2017

Waterloo student to shadow Right to Play's Kevin Frey

by Carrie Gilmour. This is an excerpt of an article originally published on the School of Accounting and Finance (SAF) website.

Today’s students are our leaders of tomorrow and Adnan Khan, a School of Accounting and Finance (SAF) student will be shadowing Kevin Frey, CEO of Right To Play International, as part of the CEOx1Day program. Organized by executive recruiting firm, Odgers Berndtson, the CEOx1Day program matches Canada’s top students with CEOs in key markets including Toronto, Ottawa, Edmonton, Calgary, Montreal and Vancouver.

Third and fourth year Canadian university or degree-granting college students can take their in-class learning and apply it to a real-world situation while gaining the tools and skills needed to start building their career. Twenty-one students will leverage their talents, as a way for the program to uncover some of Canada’s most promising future talent.

“I am beyond excited to meet and spend a day with Kevin Frey, one of Canada’s greatest leaders in the realm of social entrepreneurship,” says Adnan. “My personal goal is to improve the quality and accessibility of education for children across the world – learning from Kevin will undoubtedly help me bring this dream to fruition.”

“We are proud that Adnan has been selected for this prestigious ‎and worthwhile opportunity,” praises Tom Scott, SAF Director. “ The School of Accounting and Finance prides itself on providing an education that goes well beyond developing accounting and finance skills.”

Scott expressed his excitement for Right To Play International to have such an engaging student join them in their venture. “Adnan, with his interest in social entrepreneurship  ‎and his leadership abilities, is a great choice. It is a wonderful learning opportunity for him, and he in turn, will build on what he learns.”

Read the rest of the article on the School of Accounting and Finance website.

Water Institute partners with Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences

Yesterday, Waterloo’s Water Institute and the Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences (CRAES) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The MOU formalizes the commitment to continue collaboration between China’s largest environmental research institute and the Water Institute in water management research, education and training.

“This agreement brings two world-class institutions together to advance water research,” said Professor Roy Brouwer, executive director, the Water Institute. “Our researchers and students will work together to help solve wicked water problems for the benefit of both countries.” 

In 2013, the Water Institute was introduced to CRAES by Environment and Climate Change Canada under the auspices of the Canada-China Joint Committee on Environmental Co-operation (JCEC). The JCEC was established as the key collaborative mechanism under the Canada-China Environment Action Plan signed in 1999. 

Since 2014, the two organizations have convened several workshops to identify common areas of research interest. Particularly, they have focused on interdisciplinary opportunities where the fields of water science, engineering, economics and governance could play a combined role in addressing water priority issues.

“This is a valued partnership of two organizations that pursue excellence in teaching and research in the water sector,” said Brouwer. “We both seek out innovative, interdisciplinary solutions to global water challenges that have the potential to impact local environmental conditions and livelihoods and sustain water use and availability into the future.”

In May 2015, a delegation of 10 researchers from the Water Institute participated in the first Sino-Canadian Water Environment Workshop in Hangzhou, China with officials from Environment and Climate Change Canada and CRAES. After this meeting, Canada and China adopted the 2015-2017 China-Canada Bilateral Workplan which identified CRAES and the Water Institute as respective Chinese and Canadian lead contact agencies under the water management theme. The Water Institute was the only non-governmental organization identified as a lead contact in the workplan. The second Sino-Canadian Water Environment Workshop is tentatively scheduled for September 2017, in Ottawa.

About CRAES

CRAES was founded in 1978 and is affiliated with China’s Ministry of Environmental Protection. It is the largest and most comprehensive national non-profit institution conducting environmental research in China, with over 1000 staff members.

CRAES carries out innovative, scientific research on environmental protection with a focus on sustainable development at the core of its research. The organization has seven main areas of focus: atmospheric environment; cleaner production and circular economy; water environment; ecological environment; solid waste management and disposal; environmental safety; and climate change.

Tony Frost named AVP Marketing and Strategic Initiatives

Sandra Banks, vice-president, university relations, is pleased to announce that Tony Frost will join the University of Waterloo as associate vice-president, marketing & strategic initiatives effective March 27, 2017.

In his role, Tony will lead the development of marketing and brand strategies for the University and build relationships and networks across campus to continue to strengthen Waterloo’s global reputation. Working together with his team and campus partners, Tony will play an important role to help Waterloo achieve its ambitious goal of being recognized as one of the most innovative universities in the world.

Tony has over 30 years of experience in marketing in the public and private sectors, including the past 15 years in higher education. He comes to Waterloo from Fanshawe College where he was the executive director of reputation and brand management. Prior to Fanshawe, Tony was director of marketing and communications at Mount Allison University and, before that, associate director of marketing at Wilfrid Laurier University.

Tony has led comprehensive marketing strategies in the post-secondary sector, overseeing market research, brand architecture, policies and guidelines, text and visual creative, as well as the delivery of marketing campaigns.

He holds a bachelor of arts (Communication Studies, 2001) and master of arts (Communication Studies, 2010) from Wilfrid Laurier University. His Master’s thesis, nominated for a gold medal, was an analysis of consumption, identity and the branding of contemporary universities.

Please welcome Tony to the University of Waterloo.

Furries: inside the suit, they're just like you

A Renison University College professor has helped launch an initiative aimed at breaking down the stigma surrounding the furry fandom.

Professor Sharon Roberts is a part of the International Anthropomorphic Research Project (IARP). Roberts, an associate professor of Social Development Studies at Renison University College, launched the IARP’s FurScience.com site in April 2016 with her international team of researchers.

What is a furry, you might ask? You might have watched that episode of CSI several years ago that portrayed members of the fandom as a deviant fetish group who dress up in animal costumes, or have heard how furries occupy the bottom rung of the geek/nerd ladder.

But the truth is, according to the anti-stigma campaign launched in December 2016, they're just like you, except, well, furrier.

"The term furry describes a diverse community of fans, artists, writers, gamers, and role players," says the IARP website. "Most furries create for themselves an anthropomorphized animal character (fursona) with whom they identify and can function as an avatar within the community. Some furries wear elaborate costumes or paraphernalia such as animal ears or tails, or represent themselves as anthropomorphic animals in online communities."

“The IARP’s years of research indicate that the furry fandom has literally prevented some youth from committing suicide, and yet furries, when known about, occupy a disproportionately but ironically, socially acceptable stigmatized position in mainstream culture,” says the IARP website. “These inaccurate portrayals, combined with the public’s unfamiliarity with the fandom, make many furries (reasonably) fear discrimination and violence.”

The anti-stigma campaign video series is available to watch on the Furscience website.

“Despite a history of bullying and significant social stigma, our research shows that furries benefit from fandom participation and interaction with like-minded others in a recreational environment, which is associated with greater self-esteem and greater life satisfaction.”

The research the IARP, Roberts and her colleagues has been covered by media including the CBC, Vice, and The Boston Globe.

Friday's notes

Brian Reid, Lead Hand Mechanic in the University's vehicle shop will be retiring on Friday, March 3 after 45 years. His colleagues will be hosting a drop in farewell session at the auto shop on March 3 between 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. There will be snacks served with the “speeches” and ceremonial raising of the coveralls at 3:00 p.m. The retirement gala is taking place in GSC room 1122.

The next Waterloo local ACM-style programming contest will be held on Saturday, March 4 in MC 3003.

All members of the University community are invited to try their programming skills in Scheme, C, C++, Java, Pascal, Python, or Scala.

Full details and online registration information is available on the Waterloo ACM site.

The event runs from 10:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with the contest portion running from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. followed by pizza.

There will be a practice contest in the morning to allow contestants, especially those competing for the first time, to get their accounts set up and become familiar with the contest environment.

The Bombshelter Pub, located in the SLC is open for business. Hours of operation are from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.  Come by for lunch and enjoy some of the great tasting drinks.  Tables of 8 people can receive 2 free appetizers.