APRIL 2013 Inside NEWS
What’s new and notable at Laurier
Nominations open for Employee Achievement Awards Nominations are now being accepted for the 2013 Employee Achievement Awards. The awards are based on Laurier’s Employee Success Factors, and nominations are now being accepted for a variety of categories. Staff, faculty and students are encouraged to submit nominations, which will be accepted until May 3, 2013. A ceremony and reception will be held on September 26, 2013 to celebrate all award winners and long-service employees. More information and nomination forms can be found at www.wlu.ca/achievementawards.
Laurier receives funding for Industry Internship Program Laurier will receive $216,842 from the Government of Canada to launch a project that will provide 20 recent graduates and graduate students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics programs with paid internships. The investment comes from FedDev Ontario’s Graduate Enterprise Internship program (GEI). The program provides funding for small- and mediumsized enterprises and postsecondary institutions to develop internship opportunities for recent graduates and graduate students to help develop their business and management skills. The funding will help Laurier
launch its Laurier-Industry Internship Program, which will focus on bringing students and companies together for six-month internships. The university is in the process of contacting businesses in southern Ontario and students in Laurier science programs to encourage their involvement.
Procter & Gamble Inc. supports business and sustainability education at Laurier Procter & Gamble Inc. has donated $250,000 to Laurier’s School of Business & Economics to integrate business theory and practice with global sustainability issues of human development and wellbeing. The gift will fund Laurier’s Centre for Business & Sustainability, which combines important topics of global sustainability — such as energy practice, water provision, food supply, and population growth — with management education and practice. In recognition of its gift, Laurier has named the centre the Procter & Gamble Centre for Business & Sustainability. Procter & Gamble has generously donated nearly $750,000 to Laurier. The funding will support the centre’s research, teaching, curriculum development and engagement with students, civil society and businesses, as well as student groups, speakers and conferences.
Laurier to offer interdisciplinary course on sustainability Laurier has approved a firstyear, interdisciplinary course on sustainability, which will be open to all undergraduate students and be taught by multiple professors in different faculties. The course will be offered in Winter 2014. While Laurier offers other courses that tackle sustainability issues, this new course, which will have both theoretical and practical components, is distinctive for not being grounded in any one particular discipline. The course is a collaborative effort between faculties and aims to give students a truly integrated education in the field. The complex nature of sustainability makes it ideally suited to advancing interdisciplinary studies at Laurier. “The course looks at an extremely important and existing issue in the world from many angles,” said Claire Bennett, Laurier’s sustainability coordinator. “Overall, we’re focusing on how sustainability plays a part in students’ daily lives and their working lives. This is their world they’re building.”
Master of Music Therapy program marks 10 years Laurier’s Faculty of Music celebrated 10 years of alumni and student excellence in its Music Therapy master’s program in early April, and also unveilled a Music Therapy Clinical Improvisational
Brantford building achieves LEED Silver certification
Lab — the first of its kind in Canada. The improvisation lab will enhance research, as well as teaching and learning in the undergraduate and graduate music therapy programs. “The lab enhances client and therapist sessions through the use of modern equipment and technology, furthering the research of clinical improvisation as a whole,” said Heidi Ahonen, a music professor and director of the Manfred and Penny Conrad Institute for Music Therapy Research. “Improvisation provides the opportunity for clients to
Update your expert profile with a new photo Laurier faculty members: Have you updated your Experts at Laurier profile recently? In the spirit of spring-cleaning, consider freshening up your web page and expert profile to ensure it is up-to-date. The Office of Communications, Public Affairs and Marketing will be offering two drop-in photography sessions at the end of April: one in Waterloo and one in Brantford. Faculty members may have professional headshots taken for uploading to their Experts at Laurier and web page profiles. An email will be sent in early April with details: keep your eye on your inbox for dates and times! Experts at Laurier is a website that allows the media to search for experts by area of expertise, name or faculty. Being a Laurier expert is a great way to gain exposure and recognition for your research. By updating your Experts at Laurier information, you are offering to consider interview requests from the media — a telephone interview for radio or print stories, or on-camera interviews for television coverage. If you are not yet a Laurier expert, creating a profile is an easy process. Visit wlu.ca/experts for more information. For questions or assistance, email Mallory O’Brien at mobrien@wlu.ca.
Laurier gets new Canada Research Chair By Elin Edwards
By Kevin Klein The Research and Academic Centre (BRAC) West Building on Laurier’s Brantford campus has been awarded LEED Silver certification by the Canada Green Building Council. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a third-party certification program and an internationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings. The BRAC West building has been designed to consume 33 per cent less energy than a comparable
industry standard building. Sustainable features of the BRAC West building include: low-flow water fixtures; high-efficiency glass; no-irrigation vegetation; natural daylighting with super energy efficient light fixtures; bike storage; elimination of refrigerant coolant HCFC’s; regional and recycled materials; reduced parking and hard surfaces; solar reflecting roof; and construction waste diversion. “We are very pleased to have achieved the Silver certification level with Laurier’s first LEED building, and to have been awarded all 35 of the certification points
that were targeted,” said Gary Nower, associate vice-president: physical resources. “Certification requires a team effort from design through construction, and we like to recognize the contributions of MMMC Architects and the design consultant team, as well as D. Grant Construction in achieving this milestone for Laurier.” The BRAC East Building LEED certification application is currently under review, and the upcoming Global Innovation Exchange Building at the Waterloo campus will also be applying for certification at the completion of construction.
The Research and Academic Centre (BRAC) East and West Buildings on Laurier’s Brantford campus. The BRAC West Building is now certified LEED Silver and the East Building’s certification is currently under review.
express themselves through sound.” The Faculty of Music celebrated the Music Therapy master program’s 10th anniversary with student performances, keynote speakers and a reception. Over the past 10 years, graduates of the program have developed into a community of music therapists practising musiccentred psychotherapy. Students gain practical experience working with clients through community practicum placements and in the faculty’s on-site clinic. Laurier has the longest running Master of Music Therapy program in Canada.
Laurier is pleased to announce the appointment of Jörg Broschek to the position of Canada Research Chair in Comparative Federalism and Multilevel Governance. Canada Research Chair appointments across Canada were officially announced by the Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State (Science and Technology) at Western University in March. Broschek is coming to Laurier from the Institute of Political Science at the Technische Universität Darmstadt in Germany where he specialized in comparative politics. In his doctoral dissertation, he examined dynamic patterns of federalism in Canada from a comparative perspective. At Laurier, Broschek’s research will compare the institutional architecture, the historical evolution, and the democratic performance of multilevel governance in Europe and North America. To this end, Broschek plans to develop an innovative analytical framework that builds on and further extends his previous work in the field of comparative federalism. “Based on my experience as a German political scientist with a European background who has specialized in Canadian politics, I
hope that the research I am undertaking will substantially contribute to the role of Canadian political science in the study of comparative politics,” said Broschek. Broschek will begin his appointment on July 1, 2013. In addition to his Canada Research Chair appointment, he will be joining Laurier’s Political Science Department as an associate professor. “We welcome Dr. Broschek as he joins the growing interdisciplinary group of scholars at Laurier interested in federalism and multilevel governance,” said Abby Goodrum, vice-president: research. “His research will contribute to Laurier’s deep commitment to discovery and innovation, global citizenship, and civic engagement by addressing a topic that is of deep concern to students, policymakers and academics around the world.” With Broschek’s appointment, Laurier will have nine Canada Research Chairs in disciplines ranging from International Human Rights to Forests and Global Change. 3