January 2019
Bob Taylor organized a Zoom conference with Dean Mary Wells to discuss some of the challenges that the University was facing with the challenges of Covid and remote classes.
WATERLOO ENGINEERING “MEET THE DEAN” ROUNDTABLE
CLASS OF 1970 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING ALUMNI
Event Description & Key Details
Date: Thursday, January 28th, 2021
Time: 2.00 – 3.00 PM
Location: Zoom link:
The purpose of this roundtable is to introduce Dean Wells, allow her to connect with some of our most engaged and supportive alumni from the Class of 1970 Chemical Engineering and seek their unique perspectives as she formulates her vision for the Faculty of Engineering. Participants are encouraged to share their candid insights on how the Faculty has been doing, what we can do better, and what they would like to see the Faculty focus on in the months/years ahead.
Attendees
Host: Bob Taylor
Guest Speaker: Dean Mary Wells. Bio: https://uwaterloo.ca/engineering/about/dean-engineering
Guest: Rheina Agullana – 2020 Recipient of Class Scholarship (Not confirmed yet)
Support: Prachi Surti
Here is a summary of our Zoom call with Mary Wells, UofW, Dean of Engineering and our scholarship student, Angela Agullana. Suffice it to say that the university is facing major challenges trying to manage a teaching and research program in the COVID-19 environment.
Dean Wells outlined a few priority areas including a focus on interdisciplinary training that reflects the needs in today’s work environment. In this regard, she is particularly interested in exploring the benefits of combining engineering and business degrees. She also commented that she sees engineering as an excellent technical base for building any career as exemplified by our class. Finally, she noted that the University of Waterloo now ranks within the top 60 universities in the world - a significant feat for a publicly funded university!
Angela Agullana, a 1B, Chemical Engineering student, thanked us profusely for the scholarship we have funded. It helped her immensely in meeting her university expenses. She reports that she is adapting well to university life, although limited by COVID-19 restrictions.
Angela made a specific request for our assistance to help her find a job for her first work term which starts in May. Even though most of us are retired and are losing touch with former colleagues in the working world, perhaps you might know someone who knows someone who would be in a position to hire a keen young engineering student. Her resume is attached - please pass it on!
Other hi-lights
Russ Dickinson, who lives in South Carolina, mentioned that he had a Friday, 10:30 tee-off time for a round of golf - not to be bitter but we hope it rains!!
Our next class Zoom call is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, February 24, at noon. We will provide more details as the date approaches.
The Zoomers: (Starting at top LtoR)
Vic, Russ, Al, Bob, Miles, Dean Mary Wells, Paul, Dave, Tom, Doug, Prachi, Director, Development & Alumni Affairs, & Angela, Chem Eng 1B
