News

The first virtual Eco Summit, gone remote due to the COVID-19 pandemic, was held on Thursday November 26, 2020.  The SDS department was awarded a Bronze Certification at the summit for their work within UW's Green Office program.

SDS joined the program in February 2020 and wish to thank the faculty and staff for their hard work (and green thumbs) that led to certification in only a few months!

Congratulations are also in order to Renison's other Green Office units: the School of Social Work for their Bronze Certification and the English Language Institute for their Silver Certification.

Visit UW Sustainability to learn more about the Green Office program and other sustainable initiatives underway at the university. 

Dr. Robert Case was recently interviewed by The Record and The Star on his view of global water giant Nestlé selling their Canadian "Pure Life" bottle business to local Ontario company Ice River Springs.

Social Development Studies students are driven to help others and promote positive change within their communities. During a time of increased uncertainty, isolation and concern for loved ones, many students are tackling these new challenges with strength and resilience. 

We'd like to highlight two outstanding SDS alumni, in their efforts to both inform and serve their communities during this pandemic.

SDS Academic Advisor Jennifer Andrews-Coffey was recently showcased in Campus Wellness for her role in launching the "SDS Buddies" program.

The 2019-2020 pilot program was designed to help students transition to university by facilitating connection between new and current students in Social Development Studies. Recruitment of volunteer "Mentor Buddies" ran in Spring 2019 and they were hand-matched with incoming students across a variety of characteristics.

Congratulations to SDS minor student Leah Wouda (above, left) and her team at SheCycle! Their project won the $30,000 top prize in the "World's Challenge Challenge" competition, held this summer at Western University (London, ON).

Congratulations to the following SDS Students, who received prestigious awards during the Spring 2019 Convocation Ceremony. 

Zoe Dunbar - Board of Governors Medal for Academic Achievement

There are so many people working to make Waterloo a more inclusive place that the Faculty Association’s Equity Committee presented four Equity and Inclusivity Awards this year instead of one.

“We found that we had to break the tradition of selecting only one winner,” said Faculty Association president Bryan Tolson on behalf of Equity Committee chair Weizhen Dong at a reception on April 18. There were simply too many nominees whose “actions have made our community a better place.”