Faculty, staff can vote for reps on Presidential committee

Voting has begun for the faculty and staff representatives on the Presidential Nominating Committee.

According to Policy 50 – The President of the University, there are two faculty spaces and one staff space to be filled.

Regular faculty are eligible to vote for the two faculty representatives, and regular staff are eligible to vote for the staff representative.

Voters using the electronic ballot can use thier WatIAM userid and password and can vote from any computer on or off campus from 8:30 a.m. on Monday, January 18 to 4:30 p.m. on Friday, January 22.

More information on the election, and the candidates’ statements, are available on the Secretariat & Office of General Counsel’s Nominations and Elections website.

Generally speaking, once constituted the Presidential Nominating Committee's first charge, according to its terms of reference, is to solicit the opinion of the University community as a whole with respect to the reappointment of the incumbent. This includes members of the Board of Governors, the Vice-Presidents, the Deans, regular and non-regular faculty members, the President of the Faculty Association, the Federated & Affiliated Colleges, staff members, students and alumni.

"If the incumbent is not to be recommended for reappointment at the end of a first term, or if the incumbent is nearing the end of a second term, or if the incumbent has died, resigned or been removed, then the following procedure shall be followed: the committee will invite or arrange for nominations, by whatever means it considers appropriate, from any person or group; it will arrange to advertise the position in Canada; and it will establish criteria against which nominations and applications may be measured," says Policy 50.

Anyone with questions or concerns regarding the election can contact Emily Schroeder at extension 32749.

A memo from Vice-President, Academic & Provost Ian Orchard has informed campus about updates to the University's weather-related closing guidelines.

The University of Waterloo’s weather closing guidelines have been updated after consultation with campus stakeholders.

"The University recognizes that in the event of severe weather, the circumstances of individual students, faculty and staff will vary widely even as institutional decisions are made to close or remain open," the provost writes. "In light of this, we have made a number of new clarifications to the guidelines, particularly in situations when the University may stay open in severe weather, and in the event that classes are cancelled without the total closure of the University."

In the event of severe weather, all members of the University community should consult the University’s homepage and Twitter channel, check the WatSAFE app, tune in to a local radio station, check local media websites or call the University’s Infoline (1-866-470-0910) to learn whether or not the University has closed. The University also maintains a dedicated weather statement page with Environment Canada weather notices for the region and safety tips that will be updated in the event of severe weather.

"Those students, faculty and staff who judge that it may be unsafe to come to campus in the event of severe weather should discuss alternate arrangements with their instructor or supervisor," says the provost. "Faculty or instructors who are not able to reach campus to conduct their classes should inform their students as soon as possible by whatever means is appropriate, and teaching assistants who can’t make it to campus should notify their course instructors and endeavour, where possible, to find a suitable replacement and determine how to make up missed hours. Staff members should inform their manager or department head as soon as possible if they will not be present at work that day."

New to the guidelines are clarifying details around what happens when the University remains open but classes are cancelled:

"There may be occasions when the University remains open, but it is deemed appropriate to cancel classes as well as other scheduled meetings with students (laboratories, tutorials, tests, exams, etc.). The decision to remain open but cancel classes will be made by the provost, and in the event that classes are cancelled but the University remains open, no student will be academically penalized for being unable to get to campus."

The updated weather closing guidelines have received endorsement by the University’s Executive Council and supersede previous versions of the document.

Graduate r esearch travel assistantship has increased

"The Graduate Studies Office (GSO) and Graduate Studies Endowment Fund (GSEF) is pleased to share exciting news for graduate students who are planning conference travel in the 2016-2017 academic year," says a news item on the GSO website. "The Graduate Studies Research Travel Assistantship value is increasing to $500!"

The travel award supports University of Waterloo graduate students who present their research at professional conferences.

"This travel award increase is a result of additional financial resources that are currently available; it will support travel taking place during the spring 2016, fall 2016 and winter 2017 terms," says the GSO. "The Graduate Studies Research Travel Assistantship is funded by the GSO and by GSEF. Additional financial support may be provided by the graduate student’s supervisor, graduate program, department, school or Faculty."

For eligibility guidelines and application form, graduate students are encouraged to visit the Graduate Studies Research Travel Assistantship webpage or contact Vishal Soni in the GSO.

Complexity institute announces speaker series

The Waterloo Insititute for Complexity and Innovation (WICI) has announces its Winter and Spring 2016 Speaker Series, which kicks off on January 26 with Dr. Jane Heffernan's "Multi-Scale Modelling of Infectious Diseases."

Other featured speakers include Dr. Wendell Wallach, a Fulbright Research Chair at the University of Ottawa and scholar at Yale University's Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics; Dr. César Hidalgo, author of Why Information Grows and Leader of the Macro Connections Group at MIT; Dr. Tuomas Ylä-Anttila, Co-director of the Helsinki Research Group for Political Sociology; and Dr. Melanie Mitchell, Professor of Computer Science at Portland State University and author of Complexity: A Guided Tour.

WICI will also be co-hosting a symposium on human-environment systems in April along with the University of Guelph's School of Environmental Sciences.

The full roster of speakers includes:

Dr. Jane Heffernan , York University Research Chair, Dept. of Mathematics & Statistics, "Multi-scale modelling of infectious diseases," Tuesday, January 26, 2:00 p.m., DC 1302

Heffernan Dr. Wendell Wallach , Fulbright Research Chair, University of Ottawa, "A Dangerous Master: How to Keep Technology From Slipping Beyond Our Control," February 10, 2:00 p.m., MC 5501

Wallach Fulbright Dr. César A. Hidalgo, Leader, Macro Connections Group, The MIT Media Lab, "Why Information Grows," February 23, 2:00 p.m., DC 1302

César Dr. Tuomas Ylä-Anttila , Co-director, Helsinki Research Group for Political Sociology, "Comparing Climate Change Policy Networks," April 20, 2:00 p.m., DC 1302

Tuomas Ylä-Anttila Dr. Melanie Mitchell, Professor, Computer Science, Portland State University, "Using Analogy to Recognize Visual Situations," May 26, 2:00 p.m., DC 1302

SOS for Syria and other notes

The Renison University College community is coming together to raise $10,000 for refugees in Syria through the Mennonite Central Committee’s (MCC) S.O.S for Syria campaign. The money will provide more than 1,000 men, women, and children with urgently needed items like towels, bandages, soap, and shampoo. As part of the fundraising efforts, Renison is hosting an awareness event on Tuesday, February 2 from 6:00-7:30 pm in the Renison Atrium featuring several keynote speakers who will share their perspective on the refugee crisis.

English Language & Literature is hosting Professor Malea Powell of Michigan State University for a talk entitled “Stories as Maps in Indigenous Rhetorical Practice” on Friday, January 29 at 3:30 p.m. in PAS 2438.

Professor Powell directs the Rhetoric and Writing program at Michigan State, where she also teaches in the American Studies and American Indian Studies programs. Her research focuses on the rhetorics of survivance used by 19th-century American Indian intellectuals, and on the material cultural rhetorics of American Indian artists. Her talk at Waterloo will be drawn from her recent research using Sarah Winnemucca’s Life Among the Piutes as a map for a journey around Nevada and Oregon.

Human Resources is reporting that the following staff members will retire effective February 1, 2016: