Commitment ceremony signals new beginning for tribal peoples and University of Waterloo
This is an excerpt from an article originally published on Waterloo News.
The Indigenous Peoples of the University of Waterloo last Thursday asked Vivek Goel, President and Vice-Chancellor, for a full commitment to reconciliation, indigenization and decolonization at the institution.
Goel confirmed the university’s full commitment through a formal commitment ceremony.
“As an educational institution, the university plays a unique role in the work of truth and reconciliation,” he said. “We must ensure that indigenous knowledge and forms of knowledge are represented in our scholarship, our research and our teaching.”
Goel acknowledged that the indigenous peoples are the indigenous peoples of this country and continue to suffer devastating cultural losses and cultural divisions within Canadian society due to the systems established by colonialism.
Vivek Goel, President and Vice Chancellor of the University of Waterloo, receives the gift of an eagle feather from Myeengun Henry, Keeper of Indigenous Knowledge at Waterloo’s Faculty of Health.
He committed the university to promoting a better understanding of indigenous history, raising awareness of the damaging intergenerational effects of colonialism and the boarding school system, and taking responsibility for important components of the reconciliation process.
Goel was joined at the ceremony by Jean Becker, Associate Vice-President, Indigenous Relations at Waterloo.
“Reconciliation is more than just acknowledging past mistakes, it’s also about acknowledging the mistakes that still exist today,” said Becker. “Much more remains to be done to achieve truth and reconciliation. We need to go beyond words and take meaningful action, and that’s what we’re doing here at Waterloo.”
Myeengun Henry, a former Chief, Elder and Indigenous Knowledge Keeper who works with Waterloo’s health faculty, said the Indigenous Commitment Ceremony symbolized a fresh start towards a genuine understanding of Indigenous issues.
“I’m really proud of today,” said Henry. “It has given us an opportunity, perhaps for the first time in this country’s history on this scale, to change some of the horrifying past stories of boarding school, the ’60s scoop, missing and murdered women and the endangerment of our mother earth.”
Some of the participants at the morning sunrise ceremony.
The day’s events began with a sunrise ceremony attended by about 250 people. Later that morning, during a special Cedar Circle, more than 400 people from the Waterloo community witnessed Goel’s commitment to meaningful action on reconciliation at the university. Several faculty deans and other institutional leaders were present, as well as Catherine Fife, MPP of Waterloo.
The commitment was formalized by a whistling ceremony, after which Goel was given the name “Ogiima” (meaning leader) and presented with an eagle feather and two wampum belts as gifts. The belts are displayed in the Waterloo Senate and Executive Chamber.
The commitment ceremony ended with a round dance and a feast shared by all present.
Round dance after the commitment ceremony. Elder Henry said it was the “largest circular circle” he had seen on the Waterloo campus.
Read the rest of the article on Waterloo News.
This weekend: See you at Warrior Field
A message from the Office for Funding.
Dust off sher leather jacket and warm up sher cheering voice as Alumni Black and Gold Day returns to campus this Saturday, October 1, 2022. For the first time in two years we are gathering in personon for the warriors football match against the University of Toronto the university blues. Participants can enjoy the game in the comfort of the VIP tent, which features a BBQ buffet, paid bar, freebies and more.
Are you looking for more? From lectures to yoga, there are even more events to discover.
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Waterloo’s innovative first term offering, WE Accelerate, is now an ongoing option for students
By Matthew King.
Waterloo Experience (WE) Accelerate has been given the green light to continue indefinitely. The innovative work-integrated learning program offers students an alternative way to build skills and prepare for the future of work if they are struggling to find a traditional co-op job in their freshman semester. WE Accelerate is a work readiness program that offers in-demand skills co-developed with industry partners, real work project experience and career coaching throughout the term.
WE Accelerate was originally funded by internal university resources and a government grant in partnership with industry partners such as Deloitte, Desire2Learn, Manulife, Microsoft and with Waterloo’s Velocity program. Waterloo developed new employer relationships to offer students interdisciplinary, cross-cultural team experience projects. The WE Accelerate program provides students with peer-mentored career preparation programs that focus on competencies from the Future Ready Talent Framework (FRTF). Together, the skill development, project experience and career coaching meet the requirements for a flexible work semester and provide a strong foundation for students to successfully secure their next work semester.
“The WE Accelerate program was created specifically for those students who are attempting their freshman semester and have not been successful in that first collaboration. With WEA, they can continue to build in-demand skills and abilities,” said Norah McRae, Associate Provost, Co-operative and Experiential Education. “The goal is that the next run, they’ll be better prepared to secure a co-op semester.”
The Cooperative and Experiential Education team, in partnership with campus stakeholders and industry contributors, has now offered WE Accelerate for over a full calendar year (Spring 2021, Fall 2021, Winter 2022, Spring 2022). Not least thanks to the support of the vice deans of the dual study programs of the respective faculties:
- Lori Case;
- Leeann Ferries;
- Stefan Idziak;
- Christine Moresoli;
- Anindya Sen; and
- Johanna change.
“Since day one, the Associate Deans have been extremely supportive in creating this innovative offering that is a real differentiator for our students,” says McRae. “We can now offer an alternative to students who are threatened with unemployment. They can join their co-op cohort for the next round of work experience with similar skills and a sense of confidence.”
To date, nearly 1,000 students have gone through the Work Readiness Program, with 93.8% of them receiving a flexible work credit. WE Accelerate’s next offering launches September 26 with Microsoft Azure AI and digital bootcamp streams.
Waterloo Climate Institute unveils new logo
By Chantal Vallis. This article was originally published on the Waterloo Climate Institute website.
The Waterloo Climate Institute has ratified a new roadmap that will chart our course for the next five years. With this new direction, we are excited to introduce a new logo that reflects the Institute’s growth and communicates our shared strengths and goals.
The new logo is based on the concept of Vein; Portraying Waterloo as a central hub for research and innovation to accelerate the transition to a just, equitable, inclusive and low-carbon future. The core of the institute brings together basic and applied scientists with policy makers and practitioners on the front lines of climate change to achieve truly impactful outcomes for society, our economy and our environment – all represented by the logo elements, which combine into a single unite icon .
Going forward, the Institute’s mission will be to increase and improve the impact and excellence of innovative interdisciplinary research and education that enable businesses, governments and civil society to respond effectively to the climate crisis. To this end, we will continue to focus on the following core and cross-cutting themes, and also support research and inquiry that intersects with and spans these themes:
Core Research Topics:
Cross-cutting research topics:
- equity and justice;
- Guide; and
- Innovation.
Contact WCI for media inquiries to learn more about this or other climate change stories.
Join the Universal Design for Learning and Wellbeing Community of Practice
A message from Campus Wellness.
As an instructor, do you feel like another semester full of changes, unknowns, and stressors? You are not alone. The Wellness Collaborative, Center for Teaching Excellence, Center for Extended Learning, Student Success Office, AccessAbility Services, and other educators have come together to critically review how UDL can (and cannot) support holistic wellness in the learning environment. We invite you, educators and others who support the learning environment to join us in a Community of Practice (CoP). The CoP will meet three times during the fall semester, on Thursday afternoons from 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. (see below for specific dates).
- 09/29/2022 | UDL: what is it and why should I use it?
- October 27, 2022 | Utilizing UDL for Wellbeing in Learning Environments
- November 24, 2022 | UDL for Inclusive Education
More details on each session can be found on our website.
Sessions will include presentations, panel discussions, practical starting points and opportunities for discussion to ask questions, offer criticism or offer different perspectives. It’s important that we emphasize the community aspect – we want people to bring their own examples of how they are already using UDL or ideas that didn’t work as you intended, and we can work on them together what UDL can (or can’t) do. ) have to offer. Please join us wherever you are on your journey.
The CoP is hosted virtually via Microsoft Teams, and members can access resources and provide support asynchronously.
To participate in the CoP, please fill this out short Qualtrics survey.
Please note that you do not have to attend all three sessions to participate in the CoP, as our goal is to make this CoP accessible to anyone who is interested. We are looking forward to your contact.