Dear colleagues,
For me, January is a turning point for a few reasons. Globally, vaccination for COVID-19 will ramp up, and leaders are working with public health advisors on policies for implementing vaccination programs based on vulnerabilities of segments of our populations.
There is a renewed sense of hope stemming from the inauguration of our American neighbour’s new president. Amanda Gorman’s delivery of The Hill We Climb made my heart swell with confidence in our students’ generation.
Now, I am more inspired than ever to engage in ways to create a more diverse and inclusive campus community. This month, the President’s Anti-Racism Taskforce (PART) officially launched its work with members named on its website. I am honoured to serve on the PART Executive Operations Committee with 12 other members, supported by five liaison members.
In addition, I am co-chair with Angeline Ram, a doctoral student, on the Safety (Code of Conduct) Working Group. This is one of five working groups, with a mandate to address safety for BIPOC members of campus. I also serve on the Campus Representation Implementation Team, one of four implementation teams, with a mandate to develop a plan on how to set targets related to representation and how they will be reached.
And I am not the only one. Other members of the Faculty of Health participate in the Community Collaborative, which identified the priorities of the task forces and implementation teams. I am also grateful to members of the Faculty who have been working to address equity, diversity and inclusion. For example, last month, I met with members of the SPHHS EDI working groups to learn about the progress they have made and how their recommendations can inform the work of PART.
I look forward collaborating with everyone on making a difference.
All the best,
Lili Liu
This month I Events I Tips and reminders
THIS MONTH
New funding for dementia projects
The federal government announced $4.8 million over four years of new funding for dementia projects this month, including two that involve researchers in the Faculty of Health and Research Institute for Aging. The projects, which total more than $2 million, are the Dementia Community Initiative (made up of the Dementia Knowledge Hub, led by Carrie McAiney and Laura Middleton, and the Dementia Surveillance System, led by George Heckman and Carrie McAiney), and Moving, Eating and Living Well, led by Laura Middleton and Heather Keller. The funding will help implement the government's national dementia strategy.
New remote teaching awards now available
The Facul
ty's Teaching Fellows have created a one-time Faculty of Health Remote Teaching and Mentorship Award to honour the valuable contributions that our faculty and staff have made toward creating an engaging remote learning environment during this past year. All Faculty of Health faculty and staff are eligible for nomination, and, unlike the Faculty of Health Teaching Award focused on the student experience, this award is peer-nominated and aims to recognize the behind-the-scenes work that sometimes goes unseen by students. Please send in the Remote Teaching Award nomination form by May 31.
AMTD Fellowship nominations are open
If you know of a high-caliber post-doc or final-year doctoral student from outside the university, consider inviting them to apply for the 2021 AMTD Waterloo Global Talent Postdoctoral Fellowship. It offers more than $82,000 in funding to entice new talent to the university, but candidates may only apply by invitation of a Waterloo researcher. This Fellowship was awarded for the first time last year, and we were excited to welcome a successful applicant to our Faculty: Oluwakemi Amodu.
University Teaching Awards open
There are two campus-wide teaching awards at the University of Waterloo: the Distinguished Teacher Award, given to exemplary instructors, and the Amit & Meena Chakma Award for Exceptional Teaching by a Student, open to all students who have a formal teaching role at the University. Visit the Centre for Teaching Excellence website for more information, or to nominate an outstanding teacher by February 5.
Virtual Kinesiology Lab Days continue this term
Recognizing the challenges that educators continue to face with ongoing COVID restrictions, the Virtual Kinesiology Lab Days that were offered last term will continue to be available to high school teachers until April 23. If you know teachers who can use this content, please ask them to register by April 16 on the Virtual Kinesiology Lab Days web page.
Karla Boluk heads tourism network
Karla Boluk (Recreation and Leisure Studies) has been appointed co-chair of the Tourism Education Futures Initiative, an international network of educators, researchers and community members who are pursuing a progressive approach to tourism education and research. Boluk is responsible for providing leadership for the network's main activities, including promoting the role of social enterprise and social entrepreneurs in tourism.
PhD student wins Concept funding
Margaret Mutumba, a PhD candidate in the School of Public Health and Health Systems, won third prize in a recent Velocity Concept Grad Fund competition for her work as founder of MedAtlas, an initiative focused on accessible fertility care in sub-Saharan Africa. The $5,000 grant will help commercialize this work and develop solutions to address inequitable access to fertility care. She hopes to travel to Uganda to develop a prototype and then begin the mobile health application on her return.
Master's student wins Cansbridge Fellowship
Kinesiology Master's student Cindy Wei won a Cansbridge Fellowship, which typically affords a small cohort of Canadian students the chance to go to Asia for a summer internship and attend a Silicon Valley week-long conference. The program has been modified because of COVID, but Wei will still be part of the Fellowship Network, allowing her to continue to develop her leadership skills and meet other high achievers. She works with Heather Keller's Nutrition and Aging Lab.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Please note that all in-person events have been cancelled or postponed until further notice.
Grade 10 Family Night: February 18
Grade 10 students and their supporters are invited to attend our virtual Grade 10 Family Night information session to learn more about applying to university and what they can do now to prepare. Even though it may seem a little early to be talking to students about their plans, they will soon be selecting courses for Grade 11, which will greatly influence their pre-requisites for university. Please share with your friends who have students in this age group: February 18 from 6 - 7:30 p.m. on Teams Live Events.
Save the date: March 24-25
The Waterloo Conference on Aging, COVID-19 and the Adoption of Health Technology will take place over two days, with Hallman Lecture Panels on March 24 and the William Forbes Lecture on March 25. This unique event is sponsored by the School of Public Health and Health Systems, the Network for Aging Research and the Centre for Bioengineering and Biotechnology, with support from the Office of Research. Details will follow in the coming weeks.
TIPS AND REMINDERS
Faculty of Health website now live
T
he renamed Faculty of Health website is now live. Redirects have been produced so that old Applied Health Sciences (AHS) links still lead to the right pages. We will be contacting department/school website editors to assist with updating AHS references on those sites, but if you are responsible for other websites that have AHS references or links leading to AHS, please update them at your convenience. Historic references to AHS have been retained, and pages aimed at future undergraduate students will continue with the AHS name until the end of this recruitment period. Thanks to Michelle Douglas-Mills, Connie Zhang and Cassie Bechard for their work on this project.
Beyond the Bulletin with Dean Lili Liu
The Daily Bulletin's podcast, Beyond the Bulletin, featured Dean Lili Liu earlier this month, talking about the Faculty's name change, its future and more. Take a listen if you have the chance!
Indigenous Canada course at Alberta
Want to know more about issues facing Indigenous peoples and settlers today? The University of Alberta's Indigenous Canada course is a Massive Online Open Course (MOOC) that takes a historical perspective on Indigenous-settler relations over 12 lessons, and it's free.
Do you have a news item to share? Please email it to Eugenia Xenos Anderson.