It has been a privilege and pleasure to serve as Interim Dean for Applied Health Sciences this past year. I would like to express my gratitude to everyone who provided support during this time (whether in the Dean’s Office or in the academic units), including those who questioned, challenged, or changed my thinking along the way. It was an enriching experience that I will not soon forget. I look forward to the arrival of our new Dean, Lili Liu.
Wishing you all an enjoyable summer ‘break,’
Paul
Paul Stolee, PhD
Professor and Interim Dean
Faculty of Applied Health Sciences
AHS this month I Events I Tips for you
AHS THIS MONTH
First-year admission targets reached
Thank you to everyone who supported our undergraduate recruitment efforts over the past year. Your contributions were an important part of helping our new students decide that AHS was the right fit for them. As of the June 6 confirmation report, AHS has 643 new first-year students confirmed for September 2019 – 591 are domestic and 52 are international – placing us at 101 per cent of our target. In addition, we also have 36 upper-year transfer students confirmed for the fall. See how this breaks out for each of our undergraduate programs:
Renewed Canada Research Chairs
Congratulations to Jack Callaghan and Clark Dickerson, who were renewed as Canada Research Chairs this month. Callaghan is an NSERC Tier 1 Chair in Spine Biomechanics and Injury Prevention ($1.4 million over seven years), and Dickerson an NSERC Tier 2 Chair in Shoulder Mechanics ($500,000 over five years). There were a total of 14 UWaterloo researchers announced as new or renewing Canada Research Chairs.
2018 Outstanding Performance Award recipients
Vice-President, Academic, and Provost Jim Rush announced the 2018 Outstanding Performance Awards to reward faculty members for outstanding contributions to teaching and scholarship. Congratulations to the following AHS recipients: Jack Callaghan, David Hammond, John Hirdes, Heather Keller, Ellen MacEachen, Katie Misener, and Zara Rafferty.
New AHS HeForShe advocates
With Corey Johnson having finished his great work as AHS HeForShe advocate, we are pleased to name three new advocates (one from each unit) to succeed him, following the Teaching Fellows model: Jim Wallace (lead), Michael Barnett-Cowan and Luke Potwarka. Congratulations again to Corey for having been named a recipient of the Faculty Association’s Equity and Inclusivity Award, and thank you to the new advocates, who start their terms July 1.
Healthy Aging initiative signed with U.K.
Several AHS experts in aging were part of a broad initiative that will see Waterloo collaborate with England's Northern Health Science Alliance to engage in knowledge exchange, including on the challenge of data sharing. Called the "Canadian and Northern England Multi-organization Collaboration on Healthy Aging," the initiative also includes experts from the AGE-WELL Network of Centres of Excellence, the Centre for Aging and Brain Health Innovation, the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research, and McMaster and Simon Fraser universities.
Vanier Scholar 2019 competition launched
Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs (GSPA) strongly encourages departments to reach out to high-caliber students whom you are planning on admitting into your doctoral program in Spring 2020, Fall 2020 or Winter 2021, and invite them to apply for the Vanier scholarship. Doctoral students may express their interest in applying to their graduate officer or associate dean by August 2. More info on the GSPA website.
Remembering Beverly Brookes
Beverly Brookes was a staff member in AHS who worked for the Centre for Applied Health Research and the Murray Alzheimer Research and Education Program (MAREP). She passed away on June 14 at the age of 81. She is pictured here with Julie Cassaubon in 2007. Please see Bev's obituary.
UPCOMING EVENTS
AHS 101 Day: July 6
AHS 101 Day is a free event for new undergraduate AHS students to get familiar with the university and find their path to success for their first year at Waterloo. Both new student programming and family programming will be offered, and a variety of campus partners (AccessAbility Services, WatCard, Residence and more) will be open for visitors during the day. Any questions can be directed to Becca Lintaman.
Dean Lili Liu's first day: July 8
New Dean Lili Liu officially starts July 1, but because of prior commitments, she will be in the office as of July 8. During that time, Associate Dean of Research Rich Staines will serve as Acting Dean. Welcome, Lili!
SSHRC Grant Writing Sessions: July 16-August 13
If you are a faculty member looking to improve your SSHRC grant application, the Office of Research is holding sessions on creating compelling objectives, mastering methodologies, creating knockout knowledge mobilization plans and more. Please see the SSHRC Grant Writing Sessions web page for information and to register.
Decolonizing Studies: October 16
Save the date: The School of Public Health and Health Systems, Optometry, Pharmacy and Renison's School of Social Work invite you to participate in a joint workshop for faculty and staff on Indigenous cultural safety. The workshop focuses on Indigenous health as an example of where needs have gone unmet, and the idea is to have at least 10 participants per faculty. Space is limited, though. Register at decolonizing.eventbrite.ca.
TIPS FOR YOU
Get outdoors, but protect yourself
Because it's finally summer, here are some tips on how best to protect your skin from the sun's damaging rays. Enjoy the outdoors, but stay healthy.
Green travelling
It’s time for summer travels and vacations! Here is World Nomad's Top 10 Tips for Eco-friendly Travel to make your travel more environmentally friendly.
First-aid kits need to be checked
Just a reminder to please make sure that the first-aid kits in your areas are checked at least once per term. If you are responsible for one or more, check and sign off on the inventory of each kit, and top up supplies as needed. The kit should have a checklist to ensure the appropriate supplies are included. If you feel that you are in need of a first-aid kit in your area, please contact Emma Dare at ext. 36703.
Do you have a wellness tip or a news item to share? Please email it to Eugenia Xenos Anderson.