Embracing a new vision for Waterloo Advancement

New vice-president describes alumni as "our most valued resource"

Joanne ShovellerIt was a great honour to join the University of Waterloo this January, beginning my new role as vice-president, advancement. Waterloo’s vibrancy, optimism and spirit of entrepreneurship create a fantastic energy that enables us to engage our 190,000 alumni in exciting ways.

With my work in alumni engagement and fundraising at Canadian and international post-secondary institutions over two and a half decades, I’ve had the privilege to work with committed alumni, generous donors and visionary leaders who support the cause of education and the influence it has on the world. It’s easy for me to envision how Waterloo’s future can be directly and positively affected by alumni and donors who want to help us take the next big steps in innovation; and I’m very excited by the potential.

However, to engage your support we need to deliver strategies and actions that focus on your needs and interests first. As alumni, you simply are our most valued resource. Your engagement with Waterloo should flourish wherever your strongest points of connection are: your faculty, college, varsity program or the University itself. We want to have engaging conversations with you to discover what you care about and what impact you want to make. By working together, we can forge a stronger, more vibrant Waterloo.

Feridun Hamdullahpur, Waterloo’s president and vice-chancellor, supports this vision. As he steps into his second term as president, he envisions a Waterloo just as creative, game-changing and economically significant as it was for the first 60 years — a Waterloo that will continue to shape Canada’s future.

Inspired by our six-decade history of influencing how people live, work, think, create and connect, our president believes we can have the biggest impact by focusing on a unique strategy he calls “I3 = impact.”

Internationalism will expand our reach in research, partnerships and recruitment; interdisciplinarity will encourage collaboration at the intersection of arts, science and technology to unlock the creativity of the entire University; and innovation is core to what we do — tackling new challenges using new approaches and new ways of thinking. Together, these will unleash the University’s immense talent and resources, advancing Canada’s economy and influencing the world.

This is our president’s call to action to you, our alumni. He challenges all of you to embrace this exciting cause and imagine how you can play a role in Waterloo’s ambitions for Canada and the world.

How does this help you?

You might be asking how the success of an internationally respected University where you studied five, 10 or maybe 50 years ago affects you today.

Having a Waterloo degree carries immense cachet; it says you are bright, hard-working and part of an innovation ecosystem that is propelling Canada forward. And it offers a potential network of 190,000 fellow alumni who are leading, engaging and connecting in their industries just like you.

Waterloo is also creating knowledge, technology and leadership that will improve your life at home, at work and in your community. We have emerged as an international leader in frontier disciplines that both disrupt and build economies. Our campuses are rife with creators, explorers and boundary-pushing thinkers who fuel discoveries in some of the most interesting areas of our time.

You can be part of this. As an alumnus, you have access to impressive research and thought leaders at Waterloo.

There are three important ways you can help Waterloo.

Engage with us. Attend events, read publications, follow us on social media and speak well of Waterloo in your networks.

Advise us. Let us know what you are thinking. Waterloo can thrive by harnessing alumni and donor insights, energy and passion. You can steer us towards new ways of operating by helping us imagine the possibilities rather than thinking about our constraints. Email me your thoughts at vpadvancement@uwaterloo.ca.

Invest in us. If you invest in today’s and tomorrow’s leaders, they will be able to do great things. Every donation signals a deep trust in the institution and helps Waterloo move forward on its mission to propel those who challenge, connect and propel our world. Our success can be your success.

Building on 60 years of accomplishments, Waterloo is looking to the future, exploring how we can make our biggest impact for Canadians. You can join us at this exciting time to guide, inform and transform the future with us.

Warmest regards,

Joanne


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