Friday, October 28, 2011

Save the Date for Departmental Events

*SAVE THE DATE*

November 18th - Civil Dinner
December 7th – Departmental Holiday/Christmas Party
January 12th – CSCE/CIV/MIN Career Fair
February 10th – CIV/MIN/GEO Alumni Dinner

Research ethics workshops for social sciences, humanities, and education

I am pleased to announce this year's research ethics workshops for social sciences and humanities research involving human participants. Please see the attached memorandum and flyer for more information. I would appreciate it if you would forward the memo as soon as possible to all graduate students, faculty members, and staff in your department.

Sincerely,

Dean
--
Dean Sharpe, Ph.D.
Research Ethics Board Manager--Social Sciences and Humanities
Office of Research Ethics, University of Toronto
McMurrich Building, Second Floor
12 Queen's Park Crescent West
Toronto, ON, M5S 1S8
Tel. 416-978-5585
Fax. 416-946-5763

http://www.research.utoronto.ca/for-researchers-administrators/ethics/

----attached----


MEMORANDUM


MEMORANDUM
DATE: October 27, 2011
TO: Chairs & Graduate Program Directors—Social Sciences & Humanities: Please forward to faculty, graduate students and staff in your unit, and post flyer.
FROM: Dean Sharpe, Research Ethics Board Manager—Social Sciences & Humanities
RE: Research Ethics in the Social Sciences & Humanities—Workshops 2011-2012

Please forward immediately to all faculty and grad students in your department, and post flyer.

The Office of Research Ethics is pleased to announce the following workshops to address all types of research involving human participants in the social sciences, humanities, and education:

Fall 2011:
Date Time
Social Sciences & Humanities Tuesday, November 22 2pm - 4pm
Social Sciences & Humanities Wednesday, November 23 10am - 12pm
Education Wednesday, November 30 2pm - 4pm

Winter 2012:
Date Time
Social Sciences & Humanities Wednesday, February 15 2pm – 4pm
Social Sciences & Humanities Wednesday, February 22 10am - 12pm
Education Thursday, February 23 2pm - 4pm

Location: All workshops will be in the McMurrich Building, Rm. 107 (12 Queen’s Park Crescent W.)

Faculty members, graduate students, and staff are invited to attend. Workshops will include a presentation with opportunities for questions and discussion. Topics will include:
• history and principles behind research ethics review
• procedures under Tri-council policy statement: Ethical conduct for research involving humans
• UT’s risk matrix for assessing participant vulnerability and research risk
• free & informed consent, privacy & confidentiality, conflict of interest, inclusion/exclusion criteria
• questions and discussion relating to specific projects and methods
Enrollment for each workshop is limited to 25 people. Light refreshments will be served.

Please register at:
http://link.library.utoronto.ca/course_registration/course_signup.cfm?affiliation=ethics
The research ethics workshops are eligible for credit in the School of Graduate Studies Graduate Professional Skills (GPS) Program. To register, and for more information on GPS please visit:
http://www.sgs.utoronto.ca/informationfor/students/profdev/gps.htm

For further information, please contact dean.sharpe@utoronto.ca

I am also available to speak in research seminars, by invitation: please contact me if interested.

If you are not the correct recipient for this notice, please let me know.

2011 Environmental Compliance Essentials Conference - November 14-16, 2011

*The 6th Annual Environmental Compliance Essentials Conference November 14-16, 2011, Mississauga Grand Banquet and Convention Centre*

Envirogate Event Management Inc.
- in association with Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine and Canadian Environmental Regulation & Compliance News
- is pleased to present the *Environmental Compliance Essentials Conference*, November 14-16, 2011, in Mississauga, Ontario.

This series of three one-day courses is indispensable for:

• Seasoned professionals who seek to refresh their knowledge of current and future compliance responsibilities; • Those who are new to environmental responsibilities and who seek a comprehensive overview of key elements of the legislation; • Municipalities, lawyers and developers involved in the sale and leasing of land; and, • Companies that recognize the need to maintain environmental compliance.

This year, we once again feature fully-updated versions of our top courses of 2011:
*Environmental
Regulation and Compliance 2011 - November 14 Demonstrating and Documenting Environmental Due Diligence - November
15
Environmental Approvals Modernization: The New Rules - November 16 *

Readers of ReNew will be particularly
interested in our one-day Environmental Due Diligence session which features presentations on:
• Environmental due diligence in the acquisition and sale of contaminated (and potentially contaminated) assets; • Working with environmental consultants; • Dealing with mould, asbestos and other EHS issues; and • Environmental provisions in commercial leases.

In addition to alerting you to all the new developments in these important areas, these courses present an outstanding opportunity to invest in your career through the provision of Continuing Education/IEU credits, a certificate of attendance, and free presentation and reference materials.

To register, or to download the complete conference program, click on:
http://lists.renewcanada.net/lt.php?id=NkgNA1EIAlwHTAYFXRgJW1AGUQ%3D%3D
. For further information, visit www.envirogate.ca
, or contact
Judy Earl at (416) 920-0768, E-mail: judy@templegateinfo.com

Water Institute Seminar - Lloyd Treinish - Nov 1, 2011

The Water Institute is pleased to host a seminar by Dr. Lloyd A. Treinish titled:

Coupled environmental modelling for business decision making

Lloyd A. Treinish
Senior Technical Staff Member
Chief Scientist – IBM Deep Thunder Project
Smarter Planet – Industry Solutions
IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center

Tuesday November 1, 2011
Centre for Environmental and Information Technology, Room 3142
1:30 pm

All are welcome.

Thank you.

Mary Anne Hardy
The Water Institute
University of Waterloo
519.888.4567 ext. 32658
mahardy@uwaterloo.ca
water.uwaterloo.ca

---- ABSTRACT ----

Water Institute Seminar

Tuesday, November 1, 2011, 1:30 pm
Centre for Environmental and
Information Technology (CEIT), Room 3142
University of Waterloo


Coupled Environmental Modelling for Business Decision Making

Dr. Lloyd Treinish

IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center
Yorktown Heights, NY 10598
lloydt@us.ibm.com

The operation of any city, county or state is dependent to a significant degree upon weather conditions, especially with regard to relative extremes in wind, precipitation or temperature. For example, with precipitation events, local topography and weather conditions influence water runoff and infiltration, which directly affect flooding as well as drinking water quality and availability. The operation of the distribution system of an electric utility, particularly with an overhead infrastructure, can be highly sensitive to local weather conditions, including disruption by strong winds. The impact of such events creates issues of public safety for both citizens and first responders. Therefore, the availability of highly localized weather model predictions focused on municipal public safety operations has the potential to mitigate the impact of severe weather on citizens and local infrastructure. Typically, information at such a scale is simply not available. Hence, what optimization that is applied to these processes to enable proactive efforts utilizes either historical weather data as a predictor of trends or the results of synoptic-scale weather models. Neither source of information is appropriately matched to the temporal or spatial scale of many such operations. While near-real-time assessment of observations of current weather conditions may have the appropriate geographic locality, but by its very nature is only directly suitable for reactive response.

Current state-of-the-art numerical weather prediction (NWP) codes operating a the meso-gamma scale have been shown to have reasonable skill in being above to predict specific events or combination of weather conditions with sufficient spatial and temporal precision to address this scale mismatch. For example, we have been using the WRF-ARW (version 3.1.1) community NWP model to produce operational 84-hour forecasts for the New York City metropolitan area since early 2009, which are updated every twelve hours. It operates in a nested configuration, with the highest resolution at two km, utilizing 42 vertical levels. The configuration also includes parameterization and selection of physics options appropriate for the range of geography within the domain from highly urbanized to rural. This includes WSM-6 microphysics (includes explicit ice, snow and graupel), Yonsei University non-local-K scheme with explicit entrainment layer and parabolic K profile in the unstable mixed layer for the planetary boundary layer, Noah land-surface modeling with soil temperature and moisture in four layers, fractional snow cover and frozen soil physics, Grell-Devenyi ensemble cumulus parameterization, and the 3-category urban canopy model with surface effects for roofs, walls, and streets.

However, such a model-based weather forecast is only a prerequisite to the aforementioned optimization of weather-sensitive business operations. Based upon analysis of historical damage events and anecdotal evidence in the region, it is clear, for example, that storm-driven disruptions of the overhead electric distribution network (e.g., poles and wires) are caused by physical interaction of the atmosphere directly with that infrastructure or indirectly via nearby trees. However, reliable modelling with sufficient throughput for operational utilization of such interaction is neither tractable from a computational perspective nor verifiable from observations. Given that and the relative uncertainty in the processes and data, we approached the outage prediction from a stochastic perspective. Historical observations from a local, relatively dense mesonet operated by Earth Networks were analyzed along with data from a local electric utility concerning the characteristics of outage-related infrastructure damage from weather events, as well as the information about the distribution network and local environmental conditions. Data from this mesonet are also utilized to validate and improve the results of the WRF configuration. A Quasi-Poisson model was developed to statistically upscale the results of each WRF execution to irregularly shaped substation areas within the utility’s service territory. This has enabled the generation of forecasts of the number of jobs to be dispatched to repair storm-induced outages in each area. This approach also incorporates uncertainties in both the weather and outage data. Therefore, the model provides probabilities of outage restoration jobs per substation, which is associated with visualizations that explicitly depict the uncertainty. Based upon the analysis of the historical data, one of the key linkages between damage and severe storms is the magnitude of wind gusts. However, as is typical for NWP codes, WRF-ARW does not produce a direct representation of gusts. Therefore, a post-processing model was developed using a Bayesian hierarchical approach. It links the physical model outputs with real observations to create a calibrated, statistical representation of gusts. This model post-processes the sustained wind forecast on the topologically regular output generated by WRF based on the gust observations from the mesonet over time. It is used as one of the inputs to the storm impact for each substation area.

A prerequisite for a similar notion of a damage model for impacts due to flooding events requires an intermediate step. For example, the city of Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil, often faces the consequences of intense rainfall, which include landslides and flooding. In early April 2010, the city endured one of the worst torrential rainstorms in decades. At least 110 people were killed and tens of thousands lost their homes. To assist in planning for such events in the future, the city's leaders have enabled sophisticated capabilities for the coordinated management of disasters, emergencies, or planned events of importance. As part of that effort, the integration of advances in hydro-meteorological research is a key prerequisite. Given the geography of the city, such capabilities have significant challenges. In addition to its near-tropical setting along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean and the western portion of Guanabara Bay, there are regions where the terrain has a high aspect ratio, related to the Sierra do Mar mountains. Although sea breezes moderate the temperatures along the coast, especially during the summer, cold fronts from the Antarctic can lead to rapid changes in local weather. Of particular concern is the rainy summer season from December to March, during which O(100mm/day) precipitation events occur. Given the complex terrain and surface characteristics, significant flooding becomes likely during this period. Therefore, we have adapted WRF-ARW version 3.2.1 for use in the Rio de Janeiro area. An operational configuration was developed by retrospective analysis of recent significant precipitation events and compared against data from a network of 32 rain gauges operated by the city government during that period. Those results coupled with throughput considerations for availability of data for initial and boundary conditions as well as computational resources led to a configuration of four two-way nests focused on the Rio de Janeiro metropolitan area at 1km horizontal resolution. To address the influence of the complex terrain, 65 vertical levels were established with typically the lowest 15 or so being within the planetary boundary layer. The model orography was developed from altimetry data at 90m resolution available from the NASA Shuttle Radar Topography Mission. Data at 0.5 degree resolution from the NOAA Global Forecasting System are used for initial conditions and lateral boundaries. The configuration also has parameterization and selection of physics options appropriate for the range of geography in the region. It included the use of a sophisticated, double-moment, 6-class, explicit cloud microphysics scheme. This configuration was placed into operations in May 2011, producing 48-hour forecasts every 12 hours. The results of each model-based forecast are provided to the Government of Rio de Janeiro via a web portal in their integrated command center, which has been dubbed in Portuguese as Previsão Meteorológica de Alta Resolução (High-Resolution Weather Forecast) or PMAR. It includes HDTV-resolution animations of various two- and three-dimensional visualizations of key weather variables, specialized meteograms at locations of key landmarks, weather stations, etc. within the city and detailed tables of weather data at those locations. All of the web-based content contains information every 10 minutes of forecast time for each 48-hour model run. The visualizations are customized to the model configuration and the requirements of the end users, and incorporate data from the city’s geographic information system.

To further enable a prediction and warning system for weather impacts due to flooding, we have developed a hydrological model that operates at an urban scale. It employs a GIS-based unstructured two-dimensional mesh capable of capturing local terrain effects and simulating surface flow and water accumulation using a locally conservative approach. It is extended and simplified by employing one-dimensional mesh elements for street-level resolution that yields a reduction in computational cost without any loss of generality. The model is coupled to the aforementioned meteorological model or uses calibrated precipitation estimates derived from observing systems.

In both cases, in New York and Rio de Janerio, the coupled model approach has enabled prediction of storm impacts on local infrastructure as well as quantification of the uncertainty associated with such forecasts. We will discuss the approach and the background research effort, some specifics of how we brought these solutions into an operational phase, and lessons that were learned through the development and deployment. The work is on-going and the model results are being evaluated. We will present how the forecast information is being used and discuss the overall effectiveness of our approach for these and related applications as well as recommendations for future work.


--------------------------
Lloyd A. Treinish
Senior Technical Staff Member
Chief Scientist - Deep Thunder Project
Smarter Planet - Industry Solutions
IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center
1101 Kitchawan Road, Yorktown Heights, NY 10598

Make Take Our Grade 9 Kids to Work Day a Safe Day

To: PDAD&C
Professional and Managerial Staff

From: Angela Hildyard
Vice-President, Human Resources & Equity

Date: October 27, 2011

Re: Make Take Our Grade 9 Kids to Work Day a Safe Day

On Wednesday, November 2nd, thousands of Grade 9 students across Canada will be taking part in the National Take Our Kids to Work Day. While the University does not formally participate in this program, we are supportive of this initiative and are aware that a number of staff will bring their Grade 9 children to work on this day.

To ensure that students participating in the program have an experience that is both educational and safe, staff are reminded to discuss their involvement in this day with managers prior to November 2nd.

Managers should conduct a safety assessment of relevant work areas when considering requests from staff to bring their children to work.

Both managers and staff are asked to review the University’s Office of Environmental Health & Safety guidelines for job shadowing posted at www.ehs.utoronto.ca/resources/HSGuide.htm prior to bringing a Grade 9 student to the University. The EH&S guidelines provide important information for the safety of children who are visiting the University for formal job-shadowing events and other occasions.

For more information about this event and for possible workplace activity ideas for students, visit the national website www.takeourkidstowork.ca

Should you have any questions, or require further information about job-shadowing, please contact Rosie Parnass at rosie.parnass@utoronto.ca

Accommodation for Religious Observances - NEW update

To: PDAD&C

From: Jill Matus, Vice-Provost, Students

Cc: Professional/Managerial Staff

Date: October 25, 2011

Re: Reminder - Accommodation for Religious Observances

I am writing to remind you of the University's commitment and policy concerning accommodation for religious observances. As first noted in PDAD&C #16 (2007-08), this office has published a regularly updated web page as a ready reference on issues related to this topic:
http://www.viceprovoststudents.utoronto.ca/publicationsandpolicies/guidelines/religiousobservances.htm. The page provides guidelines, some example dates of relevance for the current and upcoming academic year, links to the University's Policy on Scheduling of Classes and Examinations and Other Accommodations for Religious Observances, and provides other advice on specific accommodation issues.

Please note that the obligation not to discriminate on the basis of religion ("creed") is a statutory duty arising from the Ontario Human Rights Code. It carries with it the obligation to accommodate religious requirements where doing so does not cause undue hardship to the University. For example, accommodation normally requires that scheduled graded term work or tests conflicting with religious requirements be adjusted by providing similar evaluation on alternate dates.

Students who will miss an examination due to a religious observance should not normally be charged an examination deferral fee. However, all other normal examination deferral procedures should apply. With respect to minimum advance notice, the Policy provides that "Students have a responsibility to alert members of the teaching staff in a timely fashion to upcoming religious observances and anticipated absences." Since students would normally be aware of upcoming religious observances as well as examination schedules in advance, a minimum of three weeks advance notice should be considered sufficient.

The dates listed on the web site are provided to assist instructors and those planning academic activities to anticipate when some students might choose to seek accommodations for religious observances. It is important to note that there are many holy days associated with various faiths and that the absence of such dates on this list should not be interpreted to mean that there should be no accommodation for students who observe those holy days. Also, some holy days are already captured by statutory holidays. Finally, some observances are based on an interpretation of the lunar calendar, or a faith practice, and thus may vary by one or two days depending upon the interpretation relevant to a student's faith tradition.

NEW THIS YEAR: Letters/documentation from faith leaders to support requests for accommodation should not be requested. The reasons for not requesting such letters are as follows: The practice of requiring some sort of faith leader substantiation for requests for accommodation implies a potential assessment of the sincerity of the religious practice. Not all faith traditions necessitate involvement in an organized faith community.

For those using a UTORexchange calendar, the dates for 2011-12 outlined in the table on the 'Accommodations for Religious Observances' web page have been automatically populated in your calendar in the same way as U of T holiday dates (statutory holidays, Presidential holidays, December/January closure). The 2012-13 dates will be populated in your calendar shortly. For other Microsoft Exchange users, please contact your network administrator if you wish to arrange to have these dates added to your calendar.

For assistance in interpreting the Policy and for support in the development of divisional or departmental procedures which are consistent with the Policy, please contact Jim Delaney, Director, Office of the Vice-Provost, Students at 416-978-4027 or jim.delaney@utoronto.ca.


For assistance in devising reasonable accommodations for religious observances and Holy Days, please contact the Multifaith Centre at 416-946-3144 or richard.chambers@utoronto.ca or the Anti-Racism and Cultural Diversity Office at 416-978-1259 or antiracism@utoronto.ca.

Advisory Search Committee for Dean of the Faculty of Dentistry

PDAD&C#21, 2011-12

To: Faculty, Staff and Students, Faculty of Dentistry
PDAD&C

From: Cheryl Misak, Vice-President and Provost

CC: President David Naylor
E-bulletin

Date: October 24, 2011

Re: Advisory Search Committee for Dean of the Faculty of Dentistry

As announced on September 16, 2011, Professor David Mock will complete his second term as Dean of the Faculty of Dentistry on June 30, 2012. Professor Mock is not eligible for re-appointment.

In accordance with Section 60 of the Policy on Appointment of Academic Administrators, President David Naylor has appointed a committee to recommend the appointment of a Dean of the Faculty. The composition of the committee is as follows:

Prof. Cheryl Misak, Vice-President and Provost (chair) Mr. Amr Abouzeid, Student, Faculty of Dentistry Prof. Brian Corman, Dean, School of Graduate Studies and Vice-Provost, Graduate Education Prof Laura Dempster, Faculty of Dentistry Ms. Margaret Edghill, Registrar and Manager, Faculty of Dentistry Mr. Irwin Fefergrad, Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario Prof. Jim Lai, Faculty of Dentistry Ms. Flavia Lakschevitz, Student, Faculty of Dentistry Prof. Peter Lewis, Associate Vice-President, Research Prof. Stephen Matthews, Faculty of Medicine Prof. Chris McCulloch, Faculty of Dentistry Prof. Tara Moriarty, Faculty of Dentistry Dr. Richard Speers, Alumnus

The Advisory Committee for the search welcomes comments and nominations from interested persons. These should be sent to the attention of Sheree Drummond, Assistant Provost, by November 18, 2011; by mail (Room 225, Simcoe Hall) or by email to sheree.drummond@utoronto.ca.

Friday, October 21, 2011

Engineering Students' Food Drive

This year, the Engineering Society's Skule Community Outreach is entering a team into a competition called CANstruction. In this competition, teams fundraise to buy non-perishable foods to use in building a large, free-standing sculpture (10x10x8 feet). After the sculptures have been judged and awards given out, the food used to build the sculptures will be donated to the Daily Bread Food Bank. For more information about this competition, you can visit their website at http://www.canstructiontoronto.com/

In order to make our intended sculpture possible, we will need to fundraise for at least 4000 cans. Therefore, we would greatly appreciate any can donations that would bring us closer to our 4000 can goal. A box labelled "CANstruction" will be placed outside the Engineering Society office starting Monday, October 24th in the basement of Sanford Flemming to collect donated cans. A sketch of the sculpture we're hoping to build will also be attached to this box.

We need the cans before October 31, so donate as soon as possible and help us meet our goal!!

--
Nancy Ho
Community Outreach Director
University of Toronto Engineering Society
Tel: 647-867-4885

NRC Institute for Research in Construction - Building Information Modeling (BIM) Seminar

Building Information Modeling (BIM)
BUILDING SCIENCE INSIGHT 2011/12
A unique half-day learning and networking opportunity presented by the National Research Council of Canada

Building Science Insight is a national seminar series presented annually by the National Research Council of Canada Institute for Research in Construction (NRC-IRC) to provide construction professionals with practical information. Each seminar focuses on technical advances in building science on a specific topic and includes the results of NRC-IRC research. This year’s seminar will address how Building Information Modeling (BIM) is influencing practices in the construction sector. The following topics will be addressed, including two demonstrations:
• Status, relevance and context of BIM in the construction sector
• Considerations for transitioning to BIM in projects
• Demonstration 1: Illustrating the re-use and evolution of model information over the life cycle
• Demonstration 2: BIM - Introductory use and contributions
Speakers include NRC-IRC building science specialists Shafee Ahamed, John Dickinson, and Robert Canas.
Special thanks to the Canadian Construction Association and the Institute for BIM in Canada for their support with this event.
Locations and Dates (The venues shown below are subject to change.)

Toronto
Ryerson University - Architecture Building
325 Church Street, Toronto, ON, M5T 1R2
November 10, 2011

Ottawa
National Research Council of Canada
1200 Montreal Road, Bldg. M-50 Auditorium
Ottawa, ON, K1A 0R6
January 18, 2012


How to Register
To register, complete and mail in or fax the registration form. Please note your registration cannot be processed without payment. A confirmation will be provided upon receipt of payment by mail, e-mail or fax. Seating is limited and those who register in advance will be given priority.

Cancellation Notice
NRC reserves the right to cancel a seminar in any location in the event of insufficient attendance. In this case, a full refund will be given and every effort will be made to give registrants at least one week’s notice of cancellation.

Refunds
Registrants who wish to cancel will receive a refund (subject to a $50 administrative fee + tax) if their request is made in writing and received by our office at least five working days before the seminar date. Substitutions are permitted.

Registration Desk
The registration desk opens at 8:00 a.m. and the seminar will begin at 9:00 a.m.

For current information on Building Science Insight 2011/12 and details on registration, see bsi.gc.ca.

[PDADC-L] Ludwik and Estelle Jus Memorial Human Rights Prize

HR # 12, 2011-12

To: PDAD&C
Professional and Managerial Staff

Date: October 19, 2011

From: Angela Hildyard, Vice-President, Human Resources & Equity

Re: Ludwik and Estelle Jus Memorial Human Rights Prize:
Nominate a student, staff or faculty member before January 16

When we speak of human rights and of those experiencing discrimination, you would not be alone if your thoughts turned to those times and places where these struggles gripped the headlines.

In truth, ending discrimination requires ongoing commitment and universities are well positioned to play a unique role in this regard. Within the University of Toronto, we constantly strive to make our community an exemplary model of equity and diversity.

I am proud of the work we’ve achieved, and also pleased with the recognition we’ve received as one of Canada’s Top Diversity employers.

Nevertheless, much remains to be done and it is for this reason that we must acknowledge and celebrate those individuals in the U of T community who rise above and have made a lasting and positive contribution.

Nomination forms are now available for the Ludwik and Estelle Jus Memorial Human Rights Prize. I encourage you all to look at those students, staff or faculty in your divisions and put forth your nominations today. Award details, including selection criteria and the application form are now available. The deadline for nomination submissions is Monday, January 16, 2012 at 5 p.m.

Submissions are to be sent to the attention of Rosalyn Figov, Director, Operations & Finance, Office of the Vice-President, Human Resources & Equity at rosalyn.figov@utoronto.ca.

Should you have any questions about the award, or the submission process, please contact your HR Divisional Office. Please note that support in preparing nominations is available to Division Heads.

About the Award
The Ludwik and Estelle (Stella) Jus Memorial Human Rights Prize was established in 1995 in memory of two Polish educators who risked their lives during the Holocaust to save others. The award is presented to a faculty, staff or student member of the University who has made a positive and lasting contribution to education and action against discrimination, supporting the University’s mission to realize an exemplary degree of equity and diversity and to extend our knowledge as a consequence of our diversity.
The award recipient will receive a prize of up to $1500 and will be honoured at the Awards of Excellence ceremony.

Selection Criteria
In making its decision, the Selection Committee will take into account the number of areas in which the nominee rates among the following criteria (not listed in any order of priority or importance):
• Scholarly work, including individual publications, outstanding student work, including doctoral studies in relevant areas, or lifetime achievements. In particular, scholarly, academic or other work connected with the Holocaust will qualify for consideration.
• Organization of programs and other activities related to non-discrimination. Nominees who are not engaged in scholarly or academic work must have made a lasting contribution in ways that exceed their normal job requirements.

[PDADC-L] 2012 President's Teaching Award Nominations

PDAD&C#20, 2011-12

To: PDAD&C

From: Cheryl Misak, Vice-President & Provost

Date: October 18, 2011

Re: President's Teaching Award Nominations (2012)

The University-wide President's Teaching Award recognizes sustained excellence in teaching, research in teaching, and the integration of teaching and research. We encourage nominations of colleagues whose achievements are truly outstanding for this very recognition by the University of Toronto.

President's Teaching Award winners receive an annual professional development allowance of $10,000 for five years. Recipients are also designated by the University as members of the Teaching Academy for a minimum period of five years; those wishing to continue participation in the Academy after this term may elect to do so. A complete list of Academy members can be found at: http://www.provost.utoronto.ca/Awards/presidentaward.htm

The Teaching Academy plays a prominent role in enhancing teaching and the profile of the University's commitment to teaching. Teaching Academy members meet regularly as a body to develop and lead initiatives to support and advance teaching in the University. They also offer advice to the Provost and the Director of the Centre for Teaching Support & Innovation (CTSI), assist in the assessment of teaching, and function as advocates for excellence in teaching within and without the University. Members of the Teaching Academy have also been asked to participate in a range of university events, including addressing Convocation, delivering public lectures, participating in conferences and new faculty orientations, and facilitating teaching and learning workshops.

The President's Teaching Award winners are determined by a selection committee chaired by the Provost. Nominations are solicited through the Deans of Faculties. The office of the Dean is responsible for the compilation of documentation but they may request assistance from the Centre for Teaching Support & Innovation. When preparing a nomination package, nominators should consult the Selection Procedures & Nomination Guidelines available on the President's Teaching Award webpage - http://www.provost.utoronto.ca/Awards/presidentaward.htm

The nomination deadline is 10 February 2012.

Enquiries regarding the President's Teaching Award and nomination procedures should be directed to Pam Gravestock, Associate Director, Centre for Teaching Support & Innovation (CTSI) at 416-946-8585 (t) or p.gravestock@utoronto.ca

Nominators may wish to attend a roundtable discussion hosted by the Centre for Teaching Support & Innovation: Preparing a Nomination Dossier for the President's Teaching Award on November 15th from 2pm - 4pm. To register, please visit: http://www.teaching.utoronto.ca/about_ctsi/servicesexpertise/ctsi-workshops/workshops.htm

[PDADC-L] Fall Convocation 2011 - Invitation to Participate in the Academic Procession

October 17, 2011

To: Principals, Deans, Academic Directors & Chairs
Professional and Managerial Staff
Professors Emeriti

From: Louis Charpentier
Secretary of the Governing Council

Re: Fall Convocation 2011 – Invitation To Participate in the Academic Procession
________________________________________

This year, there will be seven Convocation ceremonies running November 7 – 11, 2011. The dates and times are detailed in the Fall 2011 Convocation Schedule available on the Office of Convocation website at www.convocation.utoronto.ca. Please select the ‘Governors, Faculty, and Staff’) tab to find information relevant to the Academic Procession.

If you wish to join the procession, please complete the RSVP form on the Office of Convocation website by OCTOBER 26, 2011. When available, information on the honorary degree recipients and convocation speakers will also be included on the website.

The Academic Processions will assemble thirty minutes before the time of convocation in the COUNCIL CHAMBER, located on the second floor, Simcoe Hall, 27 King’s College Circle.

Gaspard & Sons, Ltd in collaboration with the Office of Convocation will provide the regalia rental service for faculty and staff. Hoods for University of Toronto degrees and black academic gowns will be available. They may be reserved using an on-line reservation system available on the website. Please note that the rental service will not provide hoods for degrees from other universities. You may, however, purchase a hood from your university if an order is placed with Gaspard & Sons in advance. The online rental service will be open from October 17 – October 26, 2011.

If you have any questions or have difficulty linking to the convocation website, please contact Terry Johnston at terry.johnston@utoronto.ca or call at (416) 978-6425.

Please distribute this memorandum to members of your division and encourage them to consider attending. Your participation enriches the ceremony itself and, more importantly, our students’ experience – and that of their families – on a very special day. In order to facilitate planning for the ceremonies, we would appreciate responses by OCTOBER 26, 2011.

We look forward to seeing you at convocation.

[PDADC-L] University of Toronto, CUPE Local 3261 Agreement Ratified

HR # 11, 2011-12

To: PDAD&C
Professional and Managerial Staff

Date: October 17, 2011

From: Angela Hildyard, Vice-President, Human Resources & Equity

RE: University of Toronto, CUPE Local 3261 Agreement Ratified

We are very pleased to announce that the tentative agreement reached between the University and CUPE Local 3261, which represents service workers including caretaking and grounds employees, on Thursday, September 29, 2011 has now been ratified by CUPE Local 3261 members.

Business Board will review the agreement when it meets on October 24, 2011, and any changes in respect of the University Pension Plan are subject to Business Board approval. The Memorandum of Settlement will be posted shortly on the Human Resources & Equity website.

[PDADC-L] Major Research Project Management Fund

PDAD&C#19, 2011-12

TO: Principals, Deans, Academic Directors & Chairs

FROM: Cheryl Misak, Vice-President and Provost
Paul Young, Vice-President Research

DATE: October 11, 2011

RE: Major Research Project Management Fund

We are pleased to announce the establishment of a new fund to encourage and support professional administrative management of major research initiatives at the University of Toronto.

The research funding environment is increasingly characterized by funding opportunities that involve large award amounts, matching requirements, multi-partner agreements and formidable reporting and audit provisions. The purpose of this fund is to reduce the administrative burden on Principle Investigators of managing large and complex research projects.

The Major Research Project Management Fund is an initiative of the Provost and will be available during the next two years (2011 to 2013). All requests to the Fund must be matched by a cash contribution from an academic department(s) and/or division(s).

To be eligible, the prime research initiative must be:
* a large, complex project with a budget of several hundred thousand dollars;
* led by a full-time tenured/tenure-stream faculty of the University of Toronto;
* funded via a tri-council, CRC-eligible program (1), particularly those that emphasize partnership with private and/or public sector organizations.

The funding can be used to cover "administrative overhead" costs of major research initiatives, such as: budget/expense tracking, administrative management of sponsor reporting, coordination of project team meetings/presentations and/or the salary costs of a full/part-time professional project manager to perform such activities on behalf of the project; administrative support for proposal development may represent up to 10% of the total awarded from this fund.
The Provostial and matching contributions should be incorporated, to the fullest extent possible, into the research project budget as leveraging for external funds.

Requests are to be submitted to Scott Mabury Vice-Provost, Academic Operations as per the attached template. Decisions regarding allocations will be communicated to the division head under which the research project will be submitted, with a copy to the Principal Investigator and the Vice-President Research.

Any questions regarding the Major Research Project Management Fund should be directed to Catherine Gagne at catherine.gagne@utoronto.ca

(1) See http://www.chairs-chaires.gc.ca/program-programme/research_funding-financement_recherche-eng.aspx

Friday, October 14, 2011

LARAM-Asia Course 2011: Deadline approaching for applications

Application still open for:

LARAM-Asia Course 2011
21 November - 2 December 2011
University of Chengdu – CHINA

http://www.laram.unisa.it
http://www.laram.unisa.it/projects/laram_asia_course
http://www.laram.unisa.it/projects/laram_asia2011_application

LARAM is an International School on “LAndslide Risk Assessment and Mitigation” that was founded by the University of Salerno.
The School is aimed at PhD students from the following fields: Civil Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Engineering Geology or other related studies.
The Scientific Committee consists of international experts in the fields of Landslide Risk.

SPECIAL LARAM-Asia Course 2011
• The Class of LARAM-Asia Course 2011 will compise 30 selected PhD students
• Eligible students must be enrolled in a PhD programme in the field of: Civil Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Engineering Geology or a related field
• The 30 selected students will participate to the School free of charge (including full board accommodation)

APPLICATIONS
• Applications to theLARAM-Asia Course 2011 are open until 15th October 2011
• Web-page for application: http://www.laram.unisa.it/projects/laram_asia2011_application

Best regards,
LARAM Team

ICEE 2012: The 3rd International Conference on E-Business and E-Government

The 3rd International Conference on E-Business and E-Government (ICEE 2012) will be held from May 11th to 13th, 2012 in Shanghai, China. All accepted papers will be published by IEEE and indexed by Ei Compendex.

All papers accepted in ICEE 2011 have been indexed by Ei Compendex, two months after the conference.

Important Date: Submission Deadlines: Nov 18, 2011
Conference Date: May 11th to 13th, Shanghai, China
Website: www.icee-meeting.org/2012

The conference can be found in IEEE Conference List. Please CLICK HERE to check it.
The conference ID is: #19479

The technical areas to be covered in this conference include:
*E-Business and E-Commerce
*E-Government
*Engineering Management, Service Management & Knowledge Management
*Multimedia, Networking and Security (Key Enabling Technologies Supporting E-Business/Government)

Special Sessions: 1. The International workshop on Economics (IWE 2012)
2. The International workshop on Education Technology (IWET 2012)
3. The International Conference on Business, Engineering and Information Technology Management (BEIM 2012)

ICEE Organizing Committee
Miss CHEN
icee.conference@gmail.com
icee2012@126.com

[PDADC-L] Chancellor's Awards Call for Nominations

HR # 10, 2011-12

To: PDAD&C
Professional and Managerial Staff

Date: October 14, 2011

From: Angela Hildyard, Vice-President, Human Resources & Equity

RE: Chancellor's Awards Call for Nominations

Nomination forms are now available for the 2012 Chancellor's Awards, presented by the University of Toronto Alumni Association (UTAA). The Chancellor's Awards recognize administrative staff members for exceptional leadership in advancing the University's mission:

“The University of Toronto will continue to be distinguished by a research-intensive culture, the academic rigour of its educational offerings at all levels, and the excellence of its faculty, staff and students across three distinctive campuses and in many partner institutions.”

About the Awards

There are two awards of $1,000 each, which will be presented at the Awards of Excellence ceremony in the spring of 2012. All administrative staff members (union and non-union) are eligible for these awards.

The specific award categories are:

1. The Emerging Leader
This award will recognize a staff member who demonstrates significant potential to assume more senior leadership in the organization.

2. The Influential Leader
This award will recognize a staff member who has continually demonstrated innovative leadership to achieve outstanding contributions to the University by motivating and empowering others.

Nominees will be assessed on their ability to:
• Perform their job responsibilities to the highest possible level;
• Seek out opportunities for the acquisition of new job skills and education in order to assume positions of greater responsibility over the course of their careers;
• Engage in advancing the mission of the University; and,
• Foster relationships based on mutual respect with colleagues, staff, students, and academic and senior administrative staff in the fulfillment of each other's objectives.

Why nominate someone?

I strongly encourage all of you to identify and nominate candidates from within your Divisions for these awards. The awards are an excellent way to acknowledge the vital role our administrative staff plays in supporting the work of the University.

The nomination process also provides an opportunity for you and for the University to identify and recognize staff with the potential to fill key leadership roles at U of T in the future.

For more information; submission deadline

Support in preparing nominations is available to Division Heads through their divisional HR Offices.
Complete award information including details on how to submit nominations, are available here: http://my.alumni.utoronto.ca/s/731/index_clean.aspx?sid=731&gid=1&pgid=2659

The application form is available here: http://my.alumni.utoronto.ca/s/731/images/editor_documents/AWEX/2012/chancellors.pdf.

If you have any questions, please contact your HR Divisional Office. The deadline for nomination submissions is Monday, January 16, 2012 at 5 p.m.

[PDADC-L] Awards of Excellence (AWEX) Nominations

I would strongly encourage you to nominate worthy students, staff and faculty for these important U of T awards.

Cheryl Misak
Vice-President and Provost

---- attached ----

October, 2011

MEMORANDUM

To: Principals, Deans, Academic Directors and Chairs
Registrars, Alumni Development Officers and Senior Development Officers

From: Barbara Dick, Assistant Vice-President, Alumni Relations

Re: 2012 Awards of Excellence

The University of Toronto Alumni Association (UTAA) is accepting nominations and applications for the 2012 Awards of Excellence. This annual program recognizes and celebrates exemplary members of the university community.

The program includes the following faculty awards: the Carolyn Tuohy Award in Public Policy, the Faculty Award, the Northrop Frye Award and the Vivek Goel Faculty Citizenship Award.

Faculty, staff and students are eligible for the Joan E. Foley Quality of Student Experience Award and the Ludwik and Estelle Jus Memorial Human Rights Prize.

The Chancellor's Award is a staff award, and both the Adel Sedra Distinguished Graduate Award and the John H. Moss Scholarship are student awards.

Members of the university community are encouraged to nominate and support worthy candidates for these awards. Additional information is available at www.alumni.utoronto.ca/awardsofexcellence. Nomination and application forms are also available on this site. Deadlines are as follows:

 Nominations for the Carolyn Tuohy Award in Public Policy, the Faculty Award, the Northrop Frye Award, the Vivek Goel Faculty Citizenship Award and the Joan E. Foley Quality of Student Experience Award will be accepted until 5:00 pm on Friday, December 9, 2011.

 Nominations for the Chancellor’s Award and the Ludwik and Estelle Jus Memorial Human Rights Prize, will be accepted until 5:00 pm on Monday, January 16, 2012.

 Applications for the Adel Sedra Distinguished Graduate Award and the John H. Moss Scholarship will be accepted until 5:00 pm on Friday, December 9, 2011.

Please refer to the individual nomination and application forms on the Awards of Excellence website for relevant submission and contact information.

All recipients will be honoured at the Awards of Excellence ceremony on Tuesday, April 10, 2012.

For further information, please visit the website listed above, or contact Satpal McCaughey in University Advancement at 416.946.8668.

[PDADC-L] Unauthorized Message from an Investors Group

October 7, 2011

To: PDAD&C

Cc: Professional and Managerial Staff

Please circulate as appropriate

Re: Unauthorized message from an Investors Group

Dear Colleagues,

You may have received a message from an Investors Group representative inviting you to attend a free Wealth Management Seminar.

Please note that Investors Group is not one of the financial advisors agreed to by UTFA and the University, nor is this invitation being sent at the request of UTFA or the University. We have been in touch with the individual responsible and told him to him cease and desist from using our distribution list.


Sincerely,

Angela Hildyard
Vice-President, Human Resources & Equity

[PDADC-L] U of T selected as one of Canada's Top Employers for 2012

HR #8, 2011 – 2012
October 7, 2011

To: PDAD&C
Professional and Managerial Staff


From: Angela Hildyard, Vice-President, Human Resources & Equity

RE: U of T selected as one of Canada’s Top Employers for 2012

I am very pleased to announce that for the fifth time, the University of Toronto has been named one of the top 100 employers in Canada. Chosen annually by Mediacorp Canada Inc., the Canada’s Top 100 Employers competition identifies organizations across the country with exemplary workplace policies and practices.

Over 2,700 organizations were involved in the 2012 competition and were rated on their performance in eight key areas: (1) Physical Workplace; (2) Work and Social Atmosphere; (3) Health, Financial and Family Benefits; (4) Vacation and Time Off; (5) Employee Communications; (6) Performance Management; and (7) Training and Skills Development; and (8) Community Involvement.

The full list of the 2012 winners can be found online at www.CanadasTop100.com/national and is also published in a special editorial feature in today’s Globe and Mail.

Thanks to everyone for all the work you do towards creating a positive, meaningful and rewarding work environment. Please share this great news with your staff today.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.

[PDADC-L] Student Placements (unpaid) with the City of Toronto

PDAD&C #17, 2011-12

To: PDAD&C

From: Jill Matus, Vice-Provost, Students

Date: October 4, 2011

Re: Student Placements (unpaid) with the City of Toronto

Faculty members who have arranged placements (unpaid) for their students with the City of Toronto, with City Councillors, or City Councillor offices should be advised that the City now requires a signed agreement with the University and a separate schedule signed by the student. In addition, the University requires that students on unpaid placement receive information and fill out the appropriate forms for Workplace Safety and Insurance Board Coverage For Students on Unpaid Placements. In advance of any such placement, the organizing faculty member should contact Lisa Chambers, Director, Centre for Community Partnerships, and provide the student's name, program of study, the course attached to the placement and the name of the City office with which the student will be associated or the City Councillor to whom the student will be reporting. Please send this information to Lisa as soon as possible so she can coordinate the placements on behalf of the University. In the abs!
ence of the signed agreement between the University and the City, placements proceed without University or City sanction, a situation that incurs risk for all parties. Once we receive the information, we will make every attempt to expedite the agreements.

Please distribute this information to all faculty.

[PDADC-L] Nominations for the Advisory Committee for the Vice-President and Principal, UTSC

PDAD&C #16, 2011-12

To: Faculty, Staff, Students, and Alumni, University of Toronto Scarborough
PDAD&C
Governing Council
Academic Board
Business Board
University Affairs Board
Professional/Managerial Staff
President of UTFA
Presidents of Employee Unions
Presidents of APUS, GSU, SCSU, UTMSU and UTSU

From: David Naylor, President
Cheryl Misak, Vice-President and Provost

Date: October 3, 2011

Re: Nominations for the Advisory Committee for the Vice-President and Principal, University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC)

On June 30, 2012, Professor Franco J. Vaccarino will complete his first term as Vice-President and Principal of the University of Toronto Scarborough. Professor Vaccarino is eligible for re-appointment.

In accordance with Section 62 (b) of the Policy on Appointment of Academic Administrators, we are writing to call for nominations of individuals to serve on the advisory committee for the Vice-President and Principal.

The Policy on Appointment of Academic Administrators mandates the potential composition of the advisory committee as follows:

1. The President or representative (Chair); 2. The Vice-President and Provost or representative; 3. The Dean of the School of Graduate Studies or representative; 4. Three to five members of the teaching staff of the campus; 5. One to three students of the campus; 6. A librarian, where appropriate; 7. Two or three other qualified scholars from within or outside this University, but outside the campus; 8. In addition, the committee may include an alumnus/a, a member of the administrative staff, and a qualified individual from outside the University.

Nominations for the committee should be sent by October 21, 2011, via the Vice-President and Provost's web site online form at http://www.provost.utoronto.ca/committees/advisory/Nominations_for_the_Advisory_Committee_for_the_Vice-President_and_Principal__University_of_Toronto_Scarborough__UTSC_.htm

[PDADC-L] Tentative agreement reached between U of T, CUPE Local 3261 Full-time

HR #7, 2011-12
October 3, 2011
To: PDAD&C
Professional and Managerial Staff
From: Angela Hildyard
Vice-President, Human Resources & Equity
Re: Tentative agreement reached between U of T, CUPE Local 3261 Full-time

We are very pleased to be able to report that a tentative agreement was reached between the University and CUPE 3261 Full-time.
CUPE is planning to hold ratification meetings sometime next week. Details regarding the agreement will be communicated following ratification.

[SGS] Gradschool e-News: October 2011

need-to-know

Is your course activity accurately recorded?
Is the record of your academic activity for the fall 2011 session accurate? Check your course enrolment now to avoid problems later. Adding a late courserequires special approval, so if you wish to do this, talk to your graduate administrator. The deadline to drop a course without academic penalty, or remove course activity you signed up for but did not attend, is October 31. Remember that the refund schedule differs from academic sessional dates posted in the SGS Calendar.

Candidacy notation extended to all doctoral students
Candidacy is a milestone of good academic standing for students pursuing doctoral studies. Candidacy was introduced in 2006 for PhD students. Effective September 2011, the requirements for Good Standing and Satisfactory Progress, including candidacy, have been extended to students entering flexible-time option PhD and professional doctoral programs. Flexible-time and professional doctoral students who started prior to September 2011 are not required to satisfy candidacy requirements, but are eligible to request a transcript notation of Candidacy Achieved if the requirements are satisfied within the specified candidacy timelines.

Graduating in November?
It's time to book your gown and hood, request guest tickets and RSVP your attendance. As of October 17, you can make all these arrangements and view the convocation ceremonies schedule on the Office of Convocation website. Fall 2011 Convocation ceremonies will be held in Convocation Hall November 7-11.

money matters

Change of status or international fees exemption
If your immigration status in Canada changes in the fall session, you may qualify for an international fees exemption. You have until November 1 to apply for an adjustment to domestic fees for the fall 2011 session. To qualify, you must document your status change or provide evidence of eligibility for Status in Canada exemption from international fees at the SGS student information desk at 63 St. George St.

Master's tuition fee bursary
The Master's Tuition fee bursaries are awarded to master's students in both course-work and research programs who have exceeded the time-limit for their program and still have a small amount of work outstanding, due to unanticipated delays beyond the student's control. Please note that students must submit their application once they have completed all outstanding degree requirements. The bursary, if awarded, is applied to the student's fees account reducing the cost of their final session tuition to that of part-time fees. Students cannot use this bursary in order to register.

Opportunities Database
Find out more about research opportunities, awards, committees and scholarships available to all U of T students through Ulife, a one-stop website listing. The Graduate Awards Office posts awards opportunities to help current and potential students find funding opportunities. The database is updated as award competitions open. Students are advised to check the database periodically for new opportunities.

SGS financial counselling service
SGS Financial Counsellors are trained to assist students in all aspects of financial management including planning a budget and debt load management. Don't let financial problems get out of control. Financial counselling can help relieve stress, resolve immediate financial problems and help you plan for the future. For more information or to schedule an appointment call the Graduate Awards Office (GAO) at 416-978-0808 or visit Funding Resources.

news

Student Feedback on the University's Grading Practices Policies
A working group has been established by the Provost’s Office to review, harmonize, and update the University’s Grading Practices Policy. To read more about the process and to review the draft policies, please consult the Office of the Vice-Provost, Academic website. Everyone in the university community is invited to respond with their feedback at grading.policy@utoronto.ca. Please respond by December 1.

Newsweek names U of T one of top three schools outside U.S.
The University of Toronto is one of the top three schools in the world outside the United States - behind only the University of Cambridge and University of Oxford - in one of the latest releases of the 2011 rankings season.

Get ready to vote: provincial election day is October 6
Residents of Ontario who are at least 18 years old and Canadian citizens can participate in the upcoming provincial election. If you are living away from home, you have the option of voting for a candidate in the electoral district where you are currently living, or in the district where you permanently live. Get more information on how to get on the voters list and advance polls on the Elections Ontario website.

awards & honours

Connaught International Scholarships winners 2011-12
SGS is proud to announce that ten outstanding new international students have been selected as the 2011-12 winners of the prestigious Connaught International Scholarships for doctoral stream students. Visit the news section of the SGS website to read more about some of the winners. Congratulations to all the winners.

upcoming events

Take 5
Life is busy, but that's all the more reason to take a break and think about five essential things you can do each day for your mental health: build community, stay active, try something new, explore what the campus and surroundings have to offer, and give back. Throughout October, Health & Wellness, in partnership with other programs and services across campus, will be working to raise awareness around the factors that promote and influence positive mental health. Take a break. Get involved. Get connected. Visit www.healthandwellness.utoronto.ca for details.

Getting through graduate work
The Office of English Language and Writing Support will be offering a series of free workshops this October on topics related to getting through your graduate work. No registration is required for these single-session workshops, but space is limited, so arrive early. Check the workshop schedule for topics, locations and times. And remember - registration for October courses starts October 11.

Bibliomania!
Get ready for Toronto's book buying event of the year! Thousands of books covering every subject imaginable will be available at very low prices at the annual University of Toronto Book Sales.
University College Book Sale
Trinity College Book Sale
St. Michael's College Book Sale

supports & resources

Connect with Gradlife
Gradlife connects you to upcoming student life workshops, social events, resources and other supports specifically for graduate students. Get connected and find community. And be sure to pick up Gradlife @ U of T, a guide that will help navigate your grad student experience with resources, student profiles, articles and more. You can also follow Gradlife on Twitter for daily news and updates relating to graduate life at U of T.

Accessibility Services supports success at university
Disabilities aren't always obvious. In fact, some of them aren't even permanent. All three U of T campuses have services devoted to making sure everyone has equal access to every aspect of university life. Regardless of whether your disability is visible or not, be sure to check in and register with the service on your campus. They can even help with temporary conditions such as broken bones or severe allergic reactions. Your accessibility service can arrange such accommodations as alternative test arrangements, adaptive equipment and technology and reading materials in alternate formats. For details visit the service on your campus:
Mississauga: AccessAbility Resource Centre
Scarborough: AccessAbility Services
St. George: Accessibility Services

Sexual and Gender Diversity Office
Whether you identify as LGBTQ or are questioning your gender identity, you can find support, community, advocacy and information at the Sexual and Gender Diversity Office (SGDO). The SGDO can help you grow into who you are.

Welcome to the CIV-MIN Blog

This is where we compile all the announcements, postings and non-urgent alerts that used to clog up your email inbox. Feel free to scroll through the latest postings organized by date below, or check our categorized listings on the right for the information you want.