Friday, February 8, 2019

Women's volleyball team on 14-game hot streak

This article was originally published on the Athletics website.

Women's volleyball finished off their five game home stand in style winning their 14^th straight to improve to a perfect 14-0 on the season. Samantha Warner led the way up the middle with a game high 19 kills in the win.

The No. 5 team in the country and first overall seeded team in the province bent but did not break as they defeated the McMaster Marauders in four sets (25-19, 23-25, 25-13, 25-20) to continue an astonishing streak.

"We're all working collectively as a group and the results are showing," said head coach Richard Eddy. "Tonight was another example of us having to fight through adversity with a lull in the second set but we bounced back in the third and rode the momentum to the finish line."

Waterloo really put the throttle down in the third set winning it 25-13 as Warner and Ella Stewart went to work with some emphatic kills. Stewart was extremely efficient in her attack nine kills on just 14 attempts for a .643 kill percentage. 

Setting up the Warriors was Claire Gagne who added to her season total with 48 more assists tonight giving her 426 on the season, the fifth most in the OUA.

Claire Mackenzie and Sarah Glynn were big parts in the outside attack with 15 and 11 kills respectively.

Defensively, Waterloo put on a clinic as four different Warriors hit double digits in digs. Sarah Remedios led the way with 16 while Brooklyn Gallant, Glynn and Mackenzie each had 12.

The 14-0 Warriors will now prepare for their biggest tilt of the year this Friday in Toronto against the defending national champions, Ryerson Rams (12-2). Be sure to check out the bus trip details for this match and head down to Toronto to cheer on your No. 5 Warriors!

Executive actions at Davos and beyond

University of Waterloo Chancellor Dominic Barton and President Feridun Hamdullahpur at Davos.

It’s Friday, February 8. Do you know what your president is up to?

President Hamdullahpur has had busy start to 2019 on and off campus. Here is a non-exhaustive list of the President’s recent activities and a look ahead at what's on his calendar.

The President traveled to Toronto on January 15 to attend the John H. McArthur Distinguished Fellowship Lecture with keynote speaker Michael Bloomberg, former Mayor of New York City and Founder and CEO of Bloomberg L.P.  

On January 16, President Hamdullahpur, Vice-President of University Relations Sandra Banks and Diana Parry, Associate Vice-President of Human Rights, Equity and Inclusion were invited to the Six Nations by Chief Ava Hill. They had a productive and engaging conversation with Chief Hill, Six Nations Polytechnic President, Rebecca Jamieson and other members of the Six Nations and Six Nations Polytechnic as they listened to concerns and challenges faced by Indigenous students and how Waterloo can establish long-term, respectful results-oriented relationships with the Six Nations Indigenous community.

President Hamdullahpur became the first University of Waterloo president to take part in the World Economic Forum that took place in Davos, Switzerland from January 22-24. The President took the rare opportunity to meet with business and government leaders from around the world to listen and see how Waterloo can help meet their more pressing issues through our groundbreaking research and educating the leaders of tomorrow.

The President was on hand for the official brand relaunch of Print+Retail Services in South Campus Hall on January 28, offering congratulatory remarks for all of the staff and supporters who made this evolution possible.

The new Student Services Centre, or The Centre, in Needles Hall was packed for its Grand Opening on January 30. The President addressed those in attendance and remarked on the importance of The Centre and how it will enhance the student experience for all of our students on campus.

Later that evening the first President’s Lecture of 2019 took place as the President welcomed Waterloo’s first Nobel Laureate, Professor Donna Strickland, to give her Nobel lecture before a capacity crowd in the Humanities Theatre who fought the bitter cold to listen to one of Canada’s most distinguished scientists.

On Tuesday, February 5 the President hosted the University Board of Governors meeting to discuss a range of developments and future decisions for Waterloo.

As the Ontario post-secondary sector continues to adapt to the new government landscape the President traveled to Toronto on February 7 to represent the University of Waterloo at the Council of Ontario Universities joint meeting and round table discussion of Executive Heads.  

What’s next on the President’s schedule?

The President will help welcome and honour four distinguished University of Waterloo alumni for the Science Alumni Awards Reception on February 8.

The President will meet with the University of Waterloo Alumni Council on February 13 and will get the valued perspectives of our alumni representatives on past and upcoming activities at the University.

Later that day President Hamdullahpur has been invited to deliver a special lecture for the Masters of Public Service class on how a university acts as a vehicle and mechanism for public policy in the community.

On February 18 the President will be hosting a special Waterloo Innovation Summit Speakers Series event in the United Kingdom with our chancellor Dominic Barton and number of business leaders, government representatives and UK-based Waterloo alumni.

Graduating engineers called to the profession this weekend

by Anne Galang.

Graduating engineering students will take an important symbolic step towards becoming full-fledged engineers this weekend. Students completing a Bachelor of Applied Science or Bachelor of Software Engineering program will participate in the Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer, also known as the “Iron Ring Ceremony” as students will put on the Iron Ring, the symbol of an engineer's professional commitment, for the first time.

Five such ceremonies will take place on Saturday, February 9 in the Theatre of the Arts to accommodate the 1,359 candidates expected this year. In preparation for this event, graduating students have been busy making arrangements, attending introductory talks and participating in ring fittings.

To stage the ceremony, the Faculty of Engineering works with an independent agency, Camp 15 of the Corporation of the Seven Wardens. The Ritual is a tradition unique to Canadian engineers, developed in 1922 by Herbert Haultain, an engineering professor from the University of Toronto, and British author Rudyard Kipling. Today, the Corporation’s 27 “camps” administer the Ritual across Canada.

During the Ritual, candidates are “wedded to cold iron,” according to a note from Camp 15, referring to the rings presented to candidates. Most other details of the Ritual are kept secret and known only to those who have taken the taken the obligation themselves. Candidates may only bring one guest, who must be an obligated (ringed) engineer. No cameras or recording devices are permitted.

While the solemn ceremony doesn’t confer official professional status or designation to the soon-to-be engineers (nor does the ring provide its wearer superpowers), the tradition is meant to convey the significance of the engineer’s responsibility to society and remind the experienced engineers of their role in welcoming and supporting those new to the profession. The iron ring is meant to be worn on the little finger of the engineer’s working hand and serves as a reminder of the obligations and ethics associated with the engineering profession.

After the ceremony comes the Iron Ring Stag, held by the Waterloo Engineering Society. Only graduating students with iron rings are allowed to attend, and there is a strictly-enforced all-black dress code. Amid the merriment, The Tool, mascot of Waterloo engineers, will be introduced — and the newly ringed ones permitted to touch its metal surface for the first time.