Library Update - Spring 2013
Library
- Association of Research Libraries (ARL) Library Leadership Fellows (RLLF) Program - The Library has been selected to co-sponsor ARL's 2013-2015 RLLF Program with the University of Guelph Library. The RLLF Program is an 18-month executive leadership fellowship designed and sponsored by ARL member libraries that helps develop future senior-level leaders in large research libraries.
- Strategic Library Review – The Library completed its Strategic Library Review in the fall, emerging with four strategic directions: 1) advancing research and scholarship, 2) enabling student success, 3) new skills for new times, 4) new spaces for new times.
- Report to Senate - University Librarian Mark Haslett delivered his annual report to senate in March, this year focusing on the Library's strategic directions and its "E's," "P's," and "C's."
- iThenticate Software - The Library, the Office of Academic Integrity, and Information Systems and Technology have collaborated to introduce iThenticate. It is a plagiarism-detection tool designed to help researchers ensure the originality of their written work. Provided by the company that created Turnitin, iThenticate checks documents against the same databases as Turnitin, but with a focus on meeting the needs of researchers.
- Staffing News -
- In April the Library said goodbye and "happy retirement" to Susan Mavor, Head of Special Collections, and Susan Routliffe, Associate University Library for Services & Resources. Combined, Mavor and Routliffe devoted 70 years to building and strengthening the Library's collections and services for the benefit of students, faculty, and researchers.
- The Library welcomes Annie Bélanger to the position of Associate University Librarian, Information Resources and Academic Success. Before assuming this role, Annie was the Head of Information Services and Resources in the Dana Porter Library, a position she held since arriving to the Library in 2008.
- Grand Opening of the James and Elise Devitt Study Room – The Library hosted Elise Devitt, her friends and family, and invited library staff for the grand opening of The James and Elise Devitt Study Room in December. The study room is part of a larger, continuing renovation of the 6th floor that was made possible through a transformational $100,000 gift from Elise Devitt in memory of her late husband, James Devitt.
- Regional Municipality of Waterloo Historical Map Project - Historical maps of the Regional Municipality of Waterloo from years 1815-1921 are now available on the Geospatial Centre's website.
- The Library's Pinterest Account - The Library is now on Pinterest, a social media website for creating and sharing photos via online pinboards. See the Library's social networking page to connect with the Library on Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, and YouTube.
University
- Draft Strategic Plan Now Available - A draft of the University of Waterloo's strategic plan for the remainder of the institution's sixth decade (2013-2017) is now available on the University's Strategic Plan website.
- Leadership Innovation Conference - Waterloo hosted Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne and BlackBerry Co-Founder Mike Lazaridis at the first Leadership Innovation Conference in April, which focused on the topic of building entrepreneurial ecosystems in Canada and around the world.
- Waterloo Featured in New York Times - Waterloo was featured in an New York Times article recently entitled "Once BlackBerry Focused, a Campus Widens its View."
- Nello Angerilli is Waterloo's new Associate Vice-President, International. Previously, Angerilli was the Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Student Services and International at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand and the Associate Vice President, Students and International, at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver.
- Chris Hadfield Downlink - The Waterloo community connected with Canadian Space Agency Astronaut Chris Hadfield in a live space-to-ground downlink in February. Hadfield was supporting University of Waterloo research during his mission and responded to questions from students during the downlink.
- Science Teaching Complex - Construction has started on a the Faculty of Science's new Science Teaching Complex. Made possible by a $10 million donation by BlackBerry co-founder Mike Lazaridis and his wife Ophelia, the five-storey, 120 000-square-foot building will be located in the heart of campus.
- New 3-D Print Centre Opens - A new 3D Print Centre opened in Waterloo's Engineering 5 building this February. The 3D Print Centre is the first facility of its kind at Waterloo, offering rapid prototyping and manufacturing services to our campus.
- Women in Engineering University Partnership - Waterloo is partnering with Hydro One in a program to increase enrolment and career opportunities for female students pursuing Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.
- Awards -
- University President Feridun Hamdullahpur was recently awarded a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, in recognition of his exceptional contributions to the province and country.
- Professor Paul Thagard of the Department of Philosophy has won the 2013 Killam Prize for humanities in recognition of his work to create computer models of human emotions and consciousness.
- Professor Kevin Resch of the Department of Physics and Astronomy and the Institute for Quantum Computing was awarded the E.W.R Steacie Memorial Fellowship from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). Resch is an experimental physicist working in quantum information science, in particular the development of quantum sources of light and interferometric sensors.
- Professor James Forrest of the Department of Physics and Astronomy has won Brockhouse Medal, along with a professor from McMaster University in recognition of their shared accomplishments in the field of soft condensed matter physics.
- Computer Science Professor Srinivasan Keshav was selected as a fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), in recognition of his contributions to computer communication networks and systems
Administrative Assistant
Last Updated: May 7, 2013
