Dear faculty, staff and graduate students,
Despite the very warm weather, it is time to start gearing up for school. Throughout the province, not all campus activities will be in person; nevertheless, the majority of students are preparing to live closer to their campus. In a recent Faculty survey conducted by our student relations officer, 312 undergraduate students from all years responded and 61 per cent indicated they are planning to live near the University of Waterloo campus, with another 8 per cent saying 'maybe.'
We are all working toward creating a safe and welcoming return to campus environment for our community, such as it may be. This will include the buildings being open from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. during weekdays and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends, and showing proof of vaccination to be on campus (or, in a small number of exemption cases, a negative result of a rapid antigen test before coming to campus).
We are also preparing indoor spaces to allow in-person meetings between students and advisors in a safe manner, and from September 1 to October 30, we have rented 20 picnic tables to go on the BMH green to facilitate meetings or gatherings in small groups outside. The Dean's Office has also purchased face shields that will be distributed to faculty and staff offices by September 7. If you are a graduate student and can use one, please contact Sandy Heise (RLS), Denise Hay (KHS) or Carol West-Seebeck (SPHS).
Stay tuned for updated guidelines from the provincial government and public health.
Yours sincenrely,
Lili Liu
This month I Events I Tips and reminders
THIS MONTH
Ready to recruit fall 2022 undergraduate students
Over the summer, the undergraduate recruitment team has been preparing materials and events to recruit the students who will join us in September 2022. This fall, most activities will be virtual, including Ontario Universities’ Fair events on Saturday, September 25 and Tuesday, October 26, and the Waterloo Virtual Open House on Saturday, October 30. The Visitors Centre is scheduled to reopen at the end of September and will be offering both virtual campus tours and limited in-person campus tours, pending public health and safety guidelines. Waterloo Wednesdays — weekly webinars for prospective students — will continue this fall and will complement the virtual high school visits delivered by Marketing and Undergraduate Recruitment. For details, please contact Clare Stevens at the new recruitment email: health@uwaterloo.ca.
Graduate student survey results are in
This past June, the Faculty surveyed 260 graduate student alumni who graduated in 2020 to understand more about their career journey after graduation and find out what elements of their program worked well and less well for them one year after graduation. Although the sample size was not large (42 respondents), 97 per cent of them said their graduate student experience was valuable in preparing them for their career and 76 per cent said they are working in a position that is relevant to their degree. For more information about the survey and how grad students responded, please contact Jasmin English.
Health researchers awarded JELF funding
Three researchers in the Faculty of Health — Zahid Butt, Kaylena Ehgoetz Martens and Jason Au — received funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation’s John R. Evans Leaders Fund (JELF). The Fund helps exceptional researchers at universities across the country conduct leading-edge research by giving them the tools and equipment they need to become leaders in their field. There were a total of 21 recipients from the University.
Craig Janes receives support for Water Institute project
Craig Janes (School of Public Health Sciences), along with Water Institute colleague Jennifer Liu (Anthropology) and their research team, received a Canadian Institutes of Health Research project grant for "Impact of flooding on the accessibility and utilization of health services in Western Province, Zambia.” The award is worth more than $500,000 over three years.
MedAtlas wins Concept $5K Challenge
Margaret Mutumba, a graduate student in the School of Public Health Sciences, was the winner of the Spring Concept $5K Challenge for MedAtlas, a platform that aims to simplify health care in Africa using telemedicine solutions. Concept $5K is a funding competition for startups produced by the Velocity startup incubator.
Upcoming administrative changes and retirements
Craig Janes is returning from sabbatical as Director of the School of Public Health Sciences on September 1. Many thanks to Ellen MacEachen for her service as acting director this past year. We'd also like to recognize some faculty and one staff member as they head into retirement this month and next. As mentioned last month, Ron McCarville in Recreation and Leisure Studies is retiring August 31, as is Catherine Maine in the Dean's Office. Her role will be filled by Fiona McAlister — welcome! Susan Horton and Frank Arocha, faculty members in the School of Public Health Sciences, are retiring September 1. Congratulations and many thanks to the retirees for their significant contributions over the years — you will be missed.
Faculty receives accessibility certification
The Faculty's buildings have received an Accessibly Certification from the Rick Hansen Foundation, which raises awareness of accessibility issues and maintains a registry of accessible spaces. The scorecard included their proximity to public transit with accessible pathways, power door operators on all entrances, and well-lit corridors with stable, firm and slip-resistant flooring.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Orientation Week: August 30 - September 3
Orientation is completely virtual again this year. The Faculty's Orientation theme is “Elements,” with the four undergraduate programs (Kinesiology, Health Studies, Recreation and Leisure Studies and Public Health) coming together for the health and well-being of everyone. There will be a synchronous experience every day, as well as two virtual Outback Shack drop-in sessions, where students can have their questions answered. Please encourage any first-year students you interact with to attend. The event schedule can be found on Portal.
Here to Help: September 7 - 10
As part of the Here to Help Campaign for new students this year, the University is hosting five Here to Help ‘Ask Me Booths’ located around Ring Road, including one outside of the Health Expansion building. Booths will operate from 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. each day and will be staffed by the Student Success Office, WUSA and upper-year student volunteers. Staff and faculty who are on campus can visit the booths to pick up a sticker that indicates that they are knowledgeable, friendly and happy to help anyone on campus who might need some direction to buildings or services.
LEARN workshops for TAs: September 10 and 14
New TAs may be interested in registering for a LEARN for TAs session on Friday, September 10 (10 - 11:30 a.m.) or Tuesday, September 14 (1 - 2:30 p.m.). Please contact Natalie Chow for more information.
CTE workshops for instructors: September onwards
The Centre for Teaching Excellence (CTE) is offering workshops such as the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) Miniseries Getting Started in LEARN (for new instructors) and Thirty Minute Thursdays for PebblePad, as well as self-enrol classes such as Supporting Student Mental Health, Independent Remote Course Design Essentials (iReCoDE) and Independent Blended Course Design (iBlended). For updated information regarding plans and protocols in the fall, visit Keep Learning’s Fall 2021 webpage.
TIPS AND REMINDERS
Health Sciences coming in September 2022
In November 2020, Senate approved Health Sciences as the new name for the undergraduate Health Studies program, effective September 2022. All undergraduate recruitment materials, including future-students website content, have been updated to reflect the new program name. Please refer any current Health Studies students who are interested in the new name and who will still be enrolled in September 2022 to a video in the LEARN Health Student Community Group called 'New Health Sciences requirements.'
Do you have a news item to share? Please email it to Eugenia Xenos Anderson.