Colleagues,
As we settle into the rhythm of a new calendar year, we have much to look forward to in 2017— most notably, the beginning of our anniversary celebrations. Starting in May, we will kick off a year of celebrations to mark milestone anniversaries for the Faculty and each of our academic units.
These celebrations will span 12 months in order to include the 50th anniversaries of the Faculty, the Department of Kinesiology and the Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies and the 40th anniversary of the School of Public Health and Health Systems/Department of Health Studies and Gerontology.
More information will be communicated in the coming weeks as the steering committee finalizes some key components; but please hold Monday, May 8 in your calendars for a kick-off event.
In other news:
- Preliminary undergraduate university applicant/application data is now available. To some extent, the expected downward demographic impacts have been masked or muted by increasing annual participation rates of high school students seeking university admission, and by a greatly increased interest from non-Ontario secondary sources (mature students, students from other provinces, external transfers). In Ontario there was a 6.3% increase in total first choice, first-year applicants (secondary and non-secondary combined) and a 7% increase in overall first-year applications compared to 2016. In AHS, our application numbers remain very healthy with overall total applications in the Faculty up about 7% compared to 2016, with notable large increases in interest from international students.
- The Department of Kinesiology is partnering with the Ontario Science Centre for an exhibit called Biomechanics: The Machine Inside. From February 8 to May 7, the department will host a range of family-friendly activities ranging from EMG muscle car demonstrations to balance and sensorimotor challenges. A 20 per cent admission discount is available for all Waterloo faculty, staff and students. To purchase tickets ahead of time call 1-888-696-1110 and use the code 10510.
- The annual graduate student Symposium on Aging Research (SoAR) is scheduled for May 5 in the Davis Centre. In addition to a series of “rapid fire” presentations, the agenda includes a keynote address by Professor John Lewis from the School of Planning on age-friendly cities. Students are encouraged to submit their abstracts by March 1. Registration deadline is April 28.
- The deadline for faculty to complete the Electronic IP Disclosure Form has been extended to February 28, 2017. Completion of the form will take no longer than 10 minutes, and is required as per the requirements of Policy 73. For faculty members without IP/research commercialization information, the form can be completed in just a couple of minutes. If the questions don’t apply, simply select “None of the Above” and submit the form to meet the IP disclosure requirement.
- The AHS heat for the Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition will be held on February 13 at 3 p.m. in LHS 1621. All are encouraged to come out and support our graduate students and their research. Throughout the event, footage will be collected to produce a promotional video for use in graduate student recruitment. It would be great to have a big crowd to support this event.
- On February 1, the Faculty will host Professor Diane Phillips for a Hallman lecture titled: Fostering the conversation: creativity and innovation at the grassroots for the promotion of health and well-being at the University of Waterloo. Professor Phillips is a professor in the School of Management at the University of Canberra. The lecture begins at 2 p.m. in AHS 1686. All are invited to attend.
- I am pleased to announce the results of the RBC Undergraduate Fellowship Award competition. Congratulations are extended to Laura Middleton (KIN), Plinio Morita (SPHHS) and Tejal Patel (PHARM), who will each receive $10,000 in research funding. More information on the winners can be found in the RBC website news section.
Wishing everyone a wonderful month ahead,
Jim
James W.E. Rush, PhD
Professor and Dean
Faculty of Applied Health Sciences