Friday, September 14, 2012

SGS: Important Dates 2012-2013

M E M O R A N D U M

TO:                         Chairs/Directors/Graduate Coordinators/Graduate Administrators

Cc:                          Committee of Graduate Deans
                                School of Graduate Studies, Staff

FROM:                  Heather Kelly, Director of Student Services

DATE:                    September 11, 2012

RE:                          School of Graduate Studies (SGS) Important Dates 2012-2013  

Every year, SGS Student Services prepares an integrated list of important dates for your convenience which includes sessional dates from the academic calendar, governance meeting schedules (GEC, CSM, CPM)  as well as SGS Student Services dates & deadlines (award deadlines, workshops, meetings and brown bag lunches etc.), among others. Please find attached SGS Important Dates 2012-2013.

Please note that there are numerous other SGS events and deadlines that occur throughout the year and graduate units are informed of these through a variety of communications during the course of the academic year.

The graduate sessional dates are included but can also be referenced in the SGS 2012-2013 Calendar at:


Also, iCal users may download a .ics version of the Sessional Dates 2012-2013 by following the link above .
 
I hope that you will find this document useful.

Regards,

Heather

Heather Kelly
Director of Student Services
School of Graduate Studies
University of Toronto
63 St. George Street
Toronto, Ontario M5S 2Z9
Tel: 416-978-4350
Fax: 416-971-2864

Friday, September 7, 2012

Appointment of Chair First Year

MEMORANDUM                                                                                            2012/13 – 05                                                                                    

To:        Members of the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering

From:  Cristina Amon, Dean

Date:    September 7, 2012

Re:         Appointment of Chair First Year



Micah joined the Edward S. Rogers Sr. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering as a Lecturer in 2007 and was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2012.  He obtained his BASc, MASc and PhD in Electrical Engineering at the University of Toronto.

Micah has an outstanding teaching record and has been an innovator in the use of technology in his lectures.  He is currently pursuing research on implementing an inverted classroom model in a large second-year course in ECE.  He has been recognized with multiple teaching awards in ECE and was the recipient of the Early Career Teaching Award from the Faculty in 2012.

Please join me in congratulating Micah on his appointment and wishing him all the best in this endeavour. 

I extend my deep appreciation to the following members of the Advisory Committee in this search for their time and thoughtful input:

Professor Grant Allen, Chair, Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry
Professor Bryan Karney, Associate Dean, Cross-Disciplinary Programs
Professor Mark Kortschot, Chair, Division of Engineering Science
Professor Susan McCahan, Vice-Dean, Undergraduate
Ms. Barbara McCann, Registrar

I also wish to extend thanks on behalf of the Faculty to Professor Kim Pressnail who will continue in the role of Chair, First Year until October 31, 2012.

Presidential Search Committee

Memorandum to:    Governing Council
Members of the Academic Board
Members of the Business Board
Members of the University Affairs Board
Members of the College of Electors
Principals, Deans, Academic Directors, and Chairs
Professionals, Managers, and Confidential Staff
President, UTFA
Presidents of Employee Unions
Presidents of APUS, GSU, UTSU (SAC), UTMSU and SCSU

From:                       W. David Wilson
                                 Chair, Presidential Search Committee

Date:                        September 6, 2012

Re:                           Reminder re Presidential Search Committee
(a)   Invitation for Submissions on the Position Specification for the President
(b)   Listening Sessions
                                                                                                                                               

On July 19, 2012 a memorandum was sent inviting input and advice on a position specification and role profile for the new President of the University of Toronto.  In recognition of the fact that many faculty, staff and students would be away over the summer and, in order to afford them the opportunity to provide input to this process, we indicated that would send another communication in early September.  To this end, please see the information below.

Advice on Position Specification

At present, we are seeking your ideas on:

         the principal strengths upon which the University should build over the next five to ten years;
         the principal challenges that the University will face in that period;
         the implications of those strengths and challenges for the new President, in two senses:
-          the President's specific personal priorities in the near- and long-term, and
-          the specific priorities the President should ensure are achieved by others in the University community;
         the key strengths and characteristics the Committee should therefore be seeking in a new President.

We have agreed, as a Committee, that the position profile developed in 2004 could serve as a reference point for beginning the discussion.  The profile can be found at the following url:

Once we have compiled and synthesized the input we receive, we will then issue a formal call for nominations.

Listening Sessions

The Committee has arranged an extensive schedule of consultations which will include a listening session at each of the three campuses.  The dates and times for these are as follows:

St. George

Thursday, September 20, 2012
1:00 - 3:00 p.m.
Location:  Council Chamber
Simcoe Hall, 2nd Floor



Scarborough

Friday, September 21, 2012
1:00 - 3:00 p.m.
Location: Council Chamber, Room AA 160
Arts and Administration Building,

 


Mississauga

Monday, September 24, 2012
1:00 - 3:00 p.m.
Location:  Council Chamber, Room 3130
William G. Davis Building


The views of all members of the University community, as well as those beyond our community who are knowledgeable about and interested in the University of Toronto, are important to the success of the search.  We hope you will be able to join members of the Committee at the listening session planned for your campus or, if that is not possible, that you will be able to attend one of the other two listening sessions.

Submissions

Your views and those of your colleagues are critical to the Committee’s work and we look forward to hearing from you.  Please submit your suggestions in writing to:

Mr. W. David Wilson
Chair
Presidential Search Committee
Office of the Governing Council
Room 106, Simcoe Hall
University of Toronto
Toronto, ON  M5S 1A1

You may also provide your input by e-mail to presidentialsearch@utoronto.ca.  We would appreciate your submissions as soon as possible and before October 5, 2012.  Submissions will be treated as confidential to the Search Committee. 

Thank you very much for your contribution to this important process.

CSCE National Lecture Tour

NOTICE OF UPCOMING CSCE TORONTO SECTION SPECIAL EVENT

Dear Colleagues,
Canada's Infrastructure Report Card is the hot topic of the CSCE's National Lecture Tour this year.  A similar report has been published in the United States and now it Canada's turn to see how our infrastructure is performing! The CSCE Toronto Section will host this event at Ryerson University.  Following are the details.


SPEAKER: Dr. Guy FĂ©lio, Ph.D, P.Eng., Adjunct professor of civil engineering at Carleton University and President  of Infrastructure Strategies & Research Inc.


DATE: Thursday, September 20, 2012


LOCATION: Ryerson University Atrium, 3rd floor of the George Vari Engineering and Computing Centre, 245 Church St., Toronto ON M5B 1Z4


TIME: 6:00 - 7:00 pm Light Dinner, 7:00 Presentation


CSCE Student Members: $5.00
non-CSCE Students: $15.00
CSCE Members: $25
Non-CSCE Members: $35

Tickets are available in advance of the event only.  Seating is limited so be sure to reserve a seat ASAP using the following link.


Please forward this email to others you think might be interested in the event, whether or not they are a CSCE member.  Be sure to visit our new CSCE Toronto Section website to see other upcoming events @ www.cscetoronto.ca

All the best,

Cameron Blair
Chair, CSCE Toronto Section
Manager, Sustainable Building Services, Eastern Canada EllisDon Corporation
89 Queensway Avenue West, Suite 800
Mississauga, Ontario L5B 2V2
Ph: (905) 896-8900 Fax: (905) 803-6262
Direct Line: (905) 803-6357

UofT Science Engagement

Dear Colleagues,

Earlier this year, I was appointed as the President’s Senior Advisor on Science Engagement. In this role, I am working to raise awareness of the University's strengths in science teaching and research and to facilitate UofT scientists to engage effectively with the community at large. Together with colleagues across the three campuses, I will aim to inform the public about new discoveries and also to share the excitement and challenges of the scientific process, to inspire kids and to encourage innovation. Towards that end, I am also building partnerships with external organizations in the Greater Toronto Area and beyond for creating and delivering science outreach programs.

We are in the process of working with Strategic Communications to set up a web site for UofT Science Engagement. As we would like to reflect the full scope of outreach activities that are mounted by UofT academic units, I am writing to ask if you could send us information regarding any public events your unit is planning. These can include public lectures, exhibits, youth camps, hands-on activities, etc.  Ideally, we would like to include a link to your event on the main page of the Science Engagement web site in order to direct potential visitors to further information about your event.
Please send notice of events to ScienceEngagement@utoronto.ca

I would be more than happy to discuss ways we could work together on outreach activities. For example, in collaboration with the Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, this fall we are presenting a series of talks on "Exploring Evolution" at the Toronto Public Library; One other idea under development is a series of high-profile public events on campus, called Science Frontiers, with each focusing on a topic of broad/current interest and showcasing some of our top researchers.

Best,

Ray


____________________
Ray Jayawardhana  
Senior Advisor to the President on Science Engagement
University of Toronto
Sidney Smith Hall, Suite 2048
100 St George St.
Toronto, ON  M5S 3G3

Tel:  416.978.3515
Fax: 416.978.3887

Higher Goals for Higher Learning: 7th Annual University of Toronto Teaching & Learning Symposium, 5 November 2012

RE:       Call for Proposals - Higher Goals for Higher Learning: 7th Annual University of Toronto Teaching & Learning Symposium, 5 November 2012

In recent years, many Canadian and US institutions have emphasized curricular and co-curricular initiatives that aim to enhance student learning and overall engagement while meeting individual, institutional and societal goals for higher education. 

The aim of this year's Teaching and Learning Symposium is to explore how we reconcile and realize these goals within our context.

In particular, as University of Toronto instructors and administrators, what are our goals for higher education?  What are our students seeking from their educational experiences? What do the broader community and society expect from university graduates and higher education?  How do our educational priorities, pedagogical approaches, institutional initiatives, and policies reflect the range of goals for higher learning? Through concurrent sessions, posters, roundtable discussions and a keynote address we will explore these questions and issues.

This tri-campus event is intended to stimulate discussion and the sharing of practical, successful experiences around teaching and learning, aiming to enhance communications and build internal networks. It is a cross-divisional forum that allows faculty and staff to explore and share new instructional methods, to celebrate our commitment to teaching and learning, and to hear from this year's recipients of the President's Teaching Award.  The symposium will include a featured speaker, a special session featuring the 2012 President's Teaching Award recipients, concurrent sessions, roundtable discussions, and poster and resource sharing sessions.

SESSION PROPOSAL FORMATS:
We invite session proposals, from UofT faculty and staff, in one of the following formats that address the issues outlined above:

1.         Concurrent Sessions (50 minutes): Presentation of creative teaching approaches or strategies that have evidence of effectiveness as demonstrated through assessment, research or successful practice.  Please describe the methods you will use to foster interactivity among the participants and presenters.
2.         Poster Sessions: These sessions are designed to provide presenters and participants with a means of sharing information regarding learning and teaching, including research findings and innovative practices. Presenters should be prepared to deliver a brief one minute summary of their poster to symposium participants.
3.         Roundtable Discussions (50 minutes): These sessions engage a small group in facilitated conversation. Facilitators suggest a theme, a problem, or a solution related to the symposium focus. Rather than give a presentation, the facilitator may offer a brief summary of the discussion topic and participants exchange ideas around the table. (Registration for these sessions will be capped at 15.)

INSTRUCTIONS FOR SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS An online proposal submission form is available at:  http://www.teaching.utoronto.ca/about_ctsi/symposium/2012-submission.htm
Deadline for proposal submission is Friday, September 14th 2012.

Questions about the Symposium or regarding proposal submissions can be directed to: Thuy Huynh, Programs Coordinator, Centre for Teaching Support & Innovation at thuy.huynh@utoronto.ca or 416-946-3325.

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.