Dear faculty, staff and graduate students,
Thank you to those who attended Faculty Council on November 26 to pose your engaging questions and participate in a conversation with President Vivek Goel. He shared his thoughts on the opportunities in leading a university without a medical school, as well as those on experiential learning, an update on the implementation of the recommendations of the Health Initiative Task Force, advancement opportunities in the areas of health promotion and prevention of injury and disease, and how the University of Waterloo can change the way we think about "impact" in our annual performance reviews.
While anchored in the University's Strategic Plan, the President also described the "Futures Framework" as a way to integrate our priorities. He elaborated on the following six components of this futures framework: Digital, Health, Sustainable, Social, Humanities and Economic. I continue to represent the Faculty of Health in relation to the University's strategic plan and the futures framework by sharing our Faculty's strategic initiatives.
We will be posting our implementation steps online as soon as all of these initiatives are solidified, but in the meantime, we have already begun working on some. Specifically, Priority C in our Strategic Plan is about fostering a culture of health and well-being, with a goal to create an environment in which diversity and inclusion are the norm.
Currently, your chairs, director and I are engaged in the cluster hires focused on Black and Indigenous faculty. As well, we have appointed Professor Rhona Hanning to serve as our faculty's Implementation Lead to advance Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) – see the notice below. This role will include the alignment of EDI initiatives within our Faculty with recommendations of the President's Anti-Racism Taskforce, which will be shared in the New Year. Stay tuned; we’ll have more to announce regarding our implementation steps.
All the best,
Lili Liu
This month I Events I Tips and reminders
THIS MONTH
New Strategic Plan Implementation Lead to advance EDI
As part of the Faculty's Strategic Plan implementation, a one-year position has been created to lead the file on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI). Thank you to Rhona Hanning (School of Public Health Sciences) for taking on this role as of January. Among other things, the position will facilitate the implementation of Priority C (Goals 1 and 2), share knowledge and resources generated by the University. where relevant to the Faculty, and assist with education to faculty and staff regarding EDI. "I am excited to collaborate with the Departments/School and groups of students, staff and faculty within and beyond our Faculty to further our strategic plans and actions for greater equity, diversity and inclusion,” Hanning said.
Remote Teaching and Mentorship Awards created
To recognize the valuable contributions that faculty and staff made toward creating a supportive and engaging remote learning environment during the past year-and-a-half, the Faculty of Health Teaching Fellows created a one-time Remote Teaching and Mentorship Award. Congratulations to the following recipients:
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Recreation
and
Leisure
Studies
- Luke Potwarka (faculty)
- Sara Houston (staff)
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School
of
Public
Health
Sciences
- Narveen Jandu (faculty)
- Doris Makowich (staff)
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Kinesiology
and
Health
Sciences
- Chris Vigna (faculty)
- Justin Yates (staff)
Top-cited researchers in the world
Teaching Assistant Award winners
Congratulations to these three Teaching Assistant Award winners from spring 2021: Amber Gillespie (School of Public Health Sciences), Hannah Mueller (Recreation and Leisure Studies) and Amy Matharu (Recreation and Leisure Studies). Valued at $500 each, the award recognizes exceptional work by a teaching assistant in each of the three academic units. Look for nomination forms coming to your inbox in early December to nominate an outstanding TA for the fall term.
Picnic tables now permanent
Parking availability for return to campus
To make it easier for faculty and staff to move their equipment back to the office for January, parking will be free between December 20 and 23. You are encouraged to do this between these dates, rather than during the holidays.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Giving Tuesday: Today, November 30
Health Studies alumnus Krista McKerracher (BSc ’84) is challenging the Faculty of Health to increase overall participation and unlock up to an additional $10,000 in support of our new Student Experiential Learning Fund. When we reach 25 donors, we unlock $5,000 and at 50 donors, we unlock another $5,000. Please join the community to raise more than $10,000 for our students – any donation counts! Watch your email for updates on how to participate.
Virtual Games Night: December 1
Faculty and staff may join the Student Engagement team from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on December 1 for a fun, social event to de-stress with students, and celebrate the end of the term! To register for this event, please complete the Virtual Games Night form. Any questions can be directed to Josh Edmondstone.
Virtual Learning Strategy submission date: December 3
The Ontario government recently announced $8 million of Virtual Learning Strategy funding that builds on its previous $50 million investment. If you have a project idea related to digital content, please submit it to extendedlearning@uwaterloo.ca by December 3. For information and timelines, see the Campus Ontario orientation briefings and the VLS Technical Briefing presentation (PDF).
Getting started in LEARN: December 10 and 15
Instructors can get information about LEARN, our course management system for presenting course activities in on-campus and fully online courses, in a workshop that is offered on December 10 and December 15. You may also check out CTE’s events and workshops page and register for other workshops, including self-directed options such as the new Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) Methods course or the Supporting Student Mental Health course.
GRADflix deadline extended: December 14
GRADflix is a research communication initiative for graduate students – an opportunity for you to use digital narrative to explain a complex idea, develop an elevator pitch and have a chance to win a monetary prize. The deadline to register to participate is now December 14, and a drop-in feedback session will be held December 1 if you are ready to get feedback.
Deadline for two CRC positions: December 31
The Faculty is seeking two exceptional scholars and researchers to apply for a Tier 2 CIHR Canada Research Chair (CRC) and contribute to research excellence within the Department of Kinesiology and Health Sciences or the School of Public Health Sciences. This search is internal, so the candidates should already be regular faculty members at the rank of Assistant or Associate Professor within the Faculty of Health at Waterloo. Applications close on December 31.
TIPS AND REMINDERS
How to create captions for videos
To make your transcripts and captions accessible, please see the Centre for Teaching Excellence's tip sheet on creating transcripts and captions for videos. Please also share this resource with TAs and co-op students if they are doing this work. Contact Natalie Chow if you have any questions.
Sign up for new award and grant info database
Looking for award and grant information? Pivot-RP is a searchable database of research funding opportunities for Waterloo researchers. Faculty members are encouraged to set up an account so you can start searching for funding opportunities. Training videos can be found on the Pivot-RP YouTube channel, and three training workshops – one for faculty members and two for staff administrators – are scheduled throughout the winter term. For more information and to register for the training sessions, please visit the Pivot-RP training page.
Do you have a news item to share? Please email it to Eugenia Xenos Anderson.