Monday, February 25, 2019

President provides strategic plan update

This is the latest post on President Feridun Hamdullahpur's blog.

The development of the University’s 2020-2025 Strategic Plan continues and I am pleased to share the progress we’ve made following the completion of the consultation phase in the fall.

We heard from close to three thousand members of our University community and alumni here in Waterloo, across Canada and with alumni chapters around the world during the consultation phase. We heard about your passion and commitment to research excellence and your resolve to demonstrate impact around key global issues and problems. You told us about the need to build on our disciplinary strengths and your readiness to continue to explore and cross disciplinary boundaries. And, we heard bold ideas for transforming learning, fostering inclusive communities and building on our strengths in experiential education and entrepreneurship.

Since December, we’ve been examining the unique concepts provided through the consultation process and using them to develop our strategic vision, values, goals and objectives. The Strategic Plan Advisory Committee (SPAC), composed of senior leadership and stakeholder representatives, is currently working to confirm the vision and values for the University and to develop and prioritize goals and objectives. These core components of the 2020-2025 Strategic Plan will continue to be refined during the winter and early spring to ensure they reflect the input of our entire community, and are both actionable and appropriate for the Waterloo community.

Once these are confirmed, we will begin to draft the 2020-2025 Strategic Plan. The draft plan will be reviewed by governance bodies and members of Waterloo’s leadership team including Faculty deans, Senate and external reviewers with ongoing input and guidance from the SPAC. Following this review process the plan will be presented to the Board of Governors for approval in October 2019.

Your continued interest has been and will continue to be integral to the development and implementation of the Strategic Plan. You can stay informed through the Strategic Plan Bridge to 2020 website.

The Strategic Plan 2020-2025 is vital to Waterloo’s future success. This strategic plan will truly be all of ours, because of your involvement and support.

Multi-year Accessibility Plan published

The Accessibility Committee has published the Multi-Year Accessibility Plan (MYAP) after engaging in consultation with the University community.

Building upon a commitment to promote equitable opportunities for all individuals, MYAP was created to enhance, formalize and make public many of our current and proposed accessibility practices. This on-going initiative guides the strategies and actions to meet Waterloo’s obligation for creating an accessible environment under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) and within Policy 58: Accessibility.

Incorporating feedback from campus and community members, the MYAP captures the University’s accessibility priorities in seven key areas: Policy and Procedures, Customer Service, Information and Communication, Design of Public Spaces, Employment, Education, and Training and Tools for Employees (including instructors).

This initial plan is for the 2018-2022 period and a progress report will be released on an annual basis.

Waterloo is committed to fostering an accessible campus environment for persons with disabilities. The initial and subsequent plans in the MYAP will set directives to support and encourage members of the Waterloo community to think strategically when planning by addressing barriers that might exist rather than retrofitting accessibility considerations in an end state.

You can view the Multi-Year Accessibility Plan online or contact Joyce Barlow (ext. 30520) to request a hard copy.

New Feds service will RAISE expectations

On Wednesday, February 27, the Federation of Students will officially launch its new student-run equity service: Racial Advocacy for Inclusion, Solidarity and Equity, or RAISE.

RAISE aims to address racism and xenophobia in the community and on campus through education and advocacy, peer-to-peer support, and community building. Students, staff, faculty, and community members, and members of the media are invited to attend RAISE’s launch event on Wednesday, February 27 from 5:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Federation Hall.

RAISE was formed in 2018 primarily by students belonging to the Black Association for Student Expression (UW BASE).

The service now has an executive team, coordinators, and a location in the Student Life Centre in the heart of campus. It offers a weekly Vibes night, office hours, and peer-to-peer counselling.

"The launch event will celebrate the student leaders who spoke out against issues of racism and xenophobia, who recognized a gap in services on campus and used that to create something positive that will benefit and support students," says the Feds' press release. "It will also encourage discussion on how the campus community can come together as a campus to take collective ownership in our efforts to dismantle systems of oppression – and how those systems prevent our students from fulfilling their full potential."

IT Network and Service Alerts tool now available

A message from Information Systems & Technology (IST).

Information Systems & Technology (IST) is excited to announce the recent launch of the updated Network and Service Alerts tool.

Now integrated with the IST WCMS website, it offers site visitors an easy way of discovering the status and uptime history of many of our IT systems and services. Visitors can quickly determine the status of a service using the visual indicators beside each listing, or use the Service Dashboard to:

• view an alphabetized service listing (and select one for specific alert and uptime data);
• view a table of past and upcoming alerts;
• filter alerts by date, service, or group; and
• report a problem, contact the IST Service Desk, and view all service uptimes.

To explore the Network and Service Alerts tool, please visit the IST website and expand the Services menu item.

Senate meets today and other notes

The University's senate has its meeting this afternoon at 3:30 p.m. in NH 3407. Among the agenda items:

• A motion to approve the inactivation of the Honours Co-operative Chemistry, Biobased Specialization in the Faculty of Science;
• minor plan and curricular modifications;
• Motions to approve members to the Distinguished Teacher Awards Committee and the Amit and Meena Chakma Awards for Exceptional Teaching by a Student Selection committee;
• A teaching presentation by Donna Ellis, director of the Centre for Teaching Excellence, entitled "The Future of the Classroom"; and
• a report by the University Appointments Review Committee.

This is a reminder that members of the Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science will be selling cupcakes in support of the K-W Humane Society as part of National Cupcake Day on the third floor of the MC building from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Get them while supplies last!