Congratulations to the new members of the Board of Directors from July 1, 2020, to June 30, 2022.*
- Director from Applied Health Sciences: Joel Dubin
- Director from Arts: Kate Lawson
- Director from Engineering: Alfred Yu
- Director from Environment: Peter Johnson
- Director from Math: Nomair Naeem
- Director from Science: Heidi Engelhardt
- Director-at-large: Narveen Jandu*
*The director-at-large term is July 1, 2020, to June 30, 2021.
Thank you to everyone who ran, nominated, or voted in this year's Board elections for your participation in a democratic process that strengthens the Association.
Meet the new directors
Here are the candidate statements from the elected directors.
Applied Health Sciences: Joel Dubin
I am honoured to be running for the University of Waterloo’s FAUW Board, as the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences representative. I am coming up on 15 years at the university, with a joint appointment in the AHS and Math Faculties, and as a FAUW member, and I have appreciated the critical efforts that the FAUW Board has consistently made on behalf of its members. Now, I would like to do my part in this effort. Though I have not served on FAUW in any direct capacity, I pay close attention to FAUW announcements, attend meetings, vote in its elections, and actively support its mission. In addition, I am one of the university’s HeForShe Advocates, and certainly the pursuit of equity and equality is a common goal of FAUW and HeForShe. Also, I have extensive experience in dealing with consideration of ethical principles as a long-standing member of the university’s Human Research Ethics Committee. I look forward to working with my colleagues across the University of Waterloo on vital issues of concern to faculty members.
Arts: Kate Lawson
I would be honoured to serve as a Director (Arts) on the FAUW Board. If I am elected, I hope to work on issues such as the following:
- fairer evaluations of teaching (for bi-/annual faculty evaluations and promotion and tenure), including a decreased emphasis on student opinion surveys;
- addressing the effects on Arts, in particular, of the Waterloo Budget Model and the new provincial performance-based funding (SMA3);
- improved terms and conditions of employment for all FAUW members, but especially Lecturers.
I am also in favour of exploring the possible inclusion of sessional faculty within the FAUW membership. More generally, I support FAUW’s robust support for collegial governance and academic freedom, and I look forward to hearing from colleagues in Arts regarding subjects of concern.
I was Chair of the Department of English (2015-18) and have served FAUW in a number of capacities: Chair, general meetings (2015-18); member, Academic Freedom and Tenure Committee (2007-11); member, Board (2006-07); and member, Council of Representatives (2004-05). I have also served the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA)—the provincial body to which FAUW belongs—in a number of capacities: Chair of Board (2017-2020), President (2013-15), and Vice-President (2011-13).
Engineering: Alfred Yu
I am a Professor in the ECE department. I conduct research in the interdisciplinary field of biomedical ultrasonics (my lab's website: https://lit-mus.org). I teach a variety of courses in ECE and biomedical engineering. I serve as the Associate Editor-in-Chief of IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics. I also serve on the grant panels of major funding bodies in Canada and the US, including CIHR, NFRF, NSERC, and NIH.
I have been involved in FAUW for many years. I have been serving as the Chair of FAUW's Hagey Lecture Committee since 2017. Also, I am now an Interim Director (at-large) on the FAUW Board. I look forward to continue contributing to the FAUW Board.
As a FAUW Board Director, I am interested in strengthening our school's governance framework to foster a strong "research and educate" culture, which is after all supposed to be the unwavering mission of an academic. What our colleagues and students need is a conducive academic culture for them to learn, to grow, to achieve, and to become leaders in their field. We should institute fair policies that would promote the growth of members in the UW community and that would not disfavor the underprivileged ones.
Environment: Peter Johnson
I'm an Associate Professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Management. My research focuses on understanding how governments, citizens, and private companies share information through geospatial technology, including open data, social media, mobile devices, and the process of crowdsourcing.
I believe that a strong Faculty Association is a necessary component to the collegial governance model used at the University of Waterloo. FAUW's work is critical to supporting not only the daily functioning of campus, but also strategically shaping how different working groups interact to solve longstanding challenges and improve the working conditions for all.
In my leisure time, I enjoy mountain biking, drinking craft beer, and running around after my kids.
Math: Nomair Naeem
University of Waterloo has been my home since 2006 when I first joined as a PhD candidate in Computer Science. I have been a faculty member in the Department of Computer Science since 2014 and just recently became a continuing lecturer.
For the last few years, I have been focused on my teaching and advising responsibilities. While this has been extremely rewarding, recently I have felt that I can contribute more to my Faculty and the University. Serving as a Board Member with the Faculty Association seems the right kind of opportunity.
At the University of Waterloo, I have served in the Undergraduate Recruitment, Commons, Undergraduate Academic Plan, and Women in Computer Science committees. I am also currently on the Board of Directors for Bright Starts Cooperative (a.k.a the University daycare). I am also active in my neighbourhood's Home Association and my son's school. Previously, I volunteered for Habitat for Humanity as a construction crew member.
I am eager to learn about the inner workings of our association and am looking forward to contribute in any way I can. I am requesting to be given the opportunity to represent the Faculty as a Board Member in FAUW.
Science: Heidi Engelhardt
I have served two 2-year terms as an ‘at large’ member of the FAUW Board (2015-2019). I also served as the first chair of the Lecturers Committee starting at its inception in 2015. As a Biology lecturer teaching 2,000+ students per year. I have a strong interest in course and program delivery, and the people delivering them. However, I have also held research-track positions at UW and elsewhere, and understand the pressures of competing for tricouncil funding while trying to balance one’s teaching and service loads. With the Lecturers Committee, I have presented at FAUW General Meetings and organized several town halls. I co-chaired the Academic Panel of the PAC-SMH; I have served on the Fall Break Working Group.
My primary motivation for first joining the Board was to ensure that the lab-based disciplines had a voice. Though interactions with faculty members across this diverse campus I gained an appreciation of what we do well in Science, and areas that could be improved. It has been my impression that Science faculty members have become more aware of how FAUW works to support them (or maybe that’s just me). This is a trend I would like to continue!
At-large: Narveen Jandu
I’m a faculty member with the School of Public Health and Health Studies (SPHHS) and a member of the FAUW Board of Directors, representing AHS. In prior academic positions, I had been a member of faculty senate, initiated a new faculty support group, participated in a peer lead pedagogy group and been involved with a research-writing group. As a member of FAUW, I look forward to incorporating past experiences into action-oriented resources for my colleagues, peers and others here at UWaterloo.