U of G News

ONLINE: Ecopsychology-Arboretum Workshop
2021-05-25 18:30 - 20:00 (America/Toronto) | ONLINE, Ontario, Canada
Ecopsychology is the area of study that explores the connective, holistic relationship of humans and the Earth. Amidst social distancing and physical isolation, the COVID-19 pandemic has invaded our lives in an unprecedented way. Experts have highlighted the complex toll this can take on our mental health. This programme is aimed at providing an experience where you will interact with an online community and share nature-based experiences to help bring hope, resilience, and positivity in your life right now. Participants will have the opportunity to engage in this eight-week course that explores hands-on components of Ecopsychology as well as some elements of Eco-Art Therapy. Participants will be introduced to some key concepts of Ecopsychology and then participate in some reflective and nature-connective activities. This course is completely conducive to all levels of social distancing and isolation.
Memona Hossain is a mother and wife. She is currently pursuing her PhD in Applied Ecopsychology program through Project Nature Connect, which is affiliated with Akamai University. Hossain has also completed her master’s in education at the University of Toronto and is working to complete her certification in art therapy. Hossain has been working in the field of mental health, addictions and developmental disabilities for over 15 years. She has taught ecopsychology at the University of Guelph Arboretum and Riverwood Conservancy. Hossain is involved in eco-diverse conversations, engaging with individuals and groups of diverse background as it pertains to climate action. She is currently involved in a global research project exploring women from around the world and their connection to the Earth and environmental activism.

ONLINE: Graduate Teaching Community - Teaching Dossier Writing Cafes
2021-05-26 09:30 - 11:00 | ONLINE, Ontario, Canada
Thinking of developing your own Teaching Philosophy Statement or Teaching Dossier? Feeling inspired to get started but haven’t found the time? The Teaching Dossier Writing Cafés are for you!
These sessions aim to provide a space for grad students to come together and work on developing their teaching dossiers, including their teaching philosophy statements. Using breakout rooms there will be space to either work quietly or to discuss your ideas with your peers. If you’re not sure where to get started, we will also provide some prompts to help you break down the dossier into smaller tasks.
There are three 1.5 hour sessions happening this summer. We hope that you will try to join as many as you can in order to foster a sense of community and to encourage accountability within the group. We look forward to seeing you there!

ONLINE: Library Workshop - Data Skills: Introduction to GIS Using ArcMap
2021-05-26 10:00 - 12:00 | ONLINE, Ontario, Canada
In this workshop we will learn how to navigate ArcMap, kinds of GIS data, how to add data to a map, basic symbology and labelling, how to filter data and how to create a finished map.
ArcGIS is a Geographic Information System (GIS); a software program for working with maps and geographic data. ArcMap is the desktop mapping software of ArcGIS. Although similar in some ways to online mapping sites, ArcGIS has greater analytical capabilities and allows you more input and control over your map.

ONLINE: Better Sleep Program
2021-05-26 12:00 - 13:00 | ONLINE, Ontario, Canada
Learn how to decrease insomnia, fall asleep (or back to sleep) more easily, and get more energy from sleep, using proven, drug-free strategies.
This five session skills program with Kathy Somers of the Stress Management and High Performance Clinic is an online, on-demand program with lifetime access to the lessons.
Your link will be e-mailed to you upon registration in the program. Register online.

ONLINE: Brain Food Live - Gathering the Literature
2021-05-26 13:00 - 14:30 | ONLINE, Ontario, Canada
This live, online workshop will help you make the most of the library’s databases and other search tools for finding relevant information for your thesis or dissertation. This workshop is essential for developing efficient and effective strategies for reviewing the literature in your field of study.

ONLINE: 2021 ICCI Cancer Research Symposium
2021-05-27 09:00 - 15:00 | ONLINE, Ontario, Canada
The annual ICCI Cancer Research Symposium is a free all-day event that highlights the cancer research taking place at the University of Guelph and from other nearby universities. The day consists of short talks from students and invited local speakers, poster presentations, and a keynote speaker to cap off an eventful day promising to demonstrate the wide variety and novelty of cancer research taking place at the University of Guelph.
Learn more and register online.

ONLINE: Brain Food Live - Outlining Your Thesis
2021-05-27 13:00 - 14:30 | ImprovLab, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
This live, online workshop will provide tools and templates to help you explore strategies for outlining your thesis, dissertation, or any large research project. Join us to learn more about an essential part of the thesis writing process.

ONLINE: Arboretum Workshop - Virtual Constellation "Walk"
2021-05-27 19:00 - 20:00 | ONLINE, Ontario, Canada
Learning the night sky is like getting to know a new neighborhood. At first, it may seem big and confusing, but as you strike out and become more and more familiar with prominent landmarks, the day comes when you realize that the neighborhood is no longer new. It’s home.
Join the Arboretum for monthly online sessions as we get to know the night sky a little better. Participants will be introduced to prominent stars and constellations, where to look for them and how the motions of planet Earth cause them to appear to shift from hour to hour and month to month. You will receive a downloadable star map to help you make your way through the stars. We’ll learn a half dozen or so constellations every month and you will be invited to discuss your observations with the group as we each get to know the neighborhood a little better.
Fee: $10 (plus HST) per person, per session.

ONLINE: Library Workshop - Data Skills: GIS 2 - Intermediate
2021-05-28 10:00 - 12:00 | ImprovLab, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
Join us for Data Skills: GIS 2 – Intermediate. This workshop is designed to support the development of your GIS skills using ArcGIS.
ArcGIS is a Geographic Information System (GIS); a software program for working with maps and geographic data. ArcGIS is available on all the library computers, also by download to the University community. Although similar in some ways to online mapping sites, ArcGIS has greater analytical capabilities and allows you more input and control over your map. In this workshop we’ll learn further GIS tools, work with tables and begin working with raster data.

ONLINE: Library Workshop - Brain Food Live: Paraphrasing and Summarizing
2021-05-28 13:00 - 14:30 | ImprovLab, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
This live, online workshop will provide strategies for avoiding plagiarism, paraphrasing sentences and short passages, and summarizing longer passages. Come to learn more about writing techniques for your thesis or dissertation.

ONLINE: Big Ideas in Improvisation - Fred Moten and Vijay Iyer in Conversation
2021-05-28 19:00 - 20:30 | ONLINE, Ontario, Canada
International Institute for Critical Studies in Improvisation (IICSI) and Musagetes are pleased to present the inaugural lecture of the Big Ideas in Improvisation series: an annual series showcasing provocative thinkers and creative practitioners.
This free, online event—co-presented by the ArtsEverywhere Festival—will feature poet, critic and theorist Fred Moten in conversation with composer, pianist and scholar Vijay Iyer, bringing these two artistic visionaries, social activists and MacArthur “Genius” award winners together for an evening of provocative and inspiring dialogue.
The event will take place Friday, May 28 at 7 p.m. (ET) via Zoom, and is free and open to all.
If you are interested in attending the event please register online at: https://uoguel.ph/bigideas2021.
A Zoom link will be sent out the day before the event.
This is the first event for Big Ideas in Improvisation, an annual series that will showcase provocative thinkers and creative practitioners in a public forum as they share ideas and insights about the power, expansive force and urgency of improvisation. These public lectures, aimed at a general audience, will encourage us to consider how the artistic practices of improvisation developed by creative practitioners can translate into broader spheres of influence and action. Improvisational practices can put pressure on unquestioned assumptions, help us discover new ways of being, and put into action potential solutions to some of our most pressing contemporary global challenges.
Described by The New York Times as a “social conscience, multimedia collaborator, system builder, rhapsodist, historical thinker and multicultural gateway,” Vijay Iyer has carved out a unique path as a shape-shifting presence in 21st century music. His musical language is grounded in the rhythmic traditions of South Asia and West Africa, the African American creative music movement of the 60s and 70s, and the lineage of composer-pianists from Duke Ellington to Alice Coltrane. He has received a Doris Duke Performing Artist Award, a United States Artist Fellowship and a Grammy nomination; released twenty-four albums, most recently Uneasy (ECM Records, 2021); received commissions from Brentano Quartet, Imani Winds, Bang on a Can All-Stars, The Silk Road Ensemble, and the LA Philharmonic; and has recently served as composer-in-residence at London’s Wigmore Hall and artist-in-residence at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. He is Franklin D. and Florence Rosenblatt Professor of the Arts at Harvard University.
Fred Moten is a cultural theorist and poet creating new conceptual spaces that accommodate emergent forms of Black cultural production, aesthetics and social life. A professor at the Tisch School of the Arts, NYU, he has spent the last thirty years crafting illuminating work focusing on social movement, aesthetic experiment and the poetics of Black study. He has expressed these ideas through Moved by the Motion, the Center for Convivial Research and Autonomy, and the Exodus Reading Group; via collaborations with Arika, Renee Gladman, Zun Lee, Jennie C. Jones, Renée Green, and George Lewis, among many others; and in a number of books, the latest of which, written with Stefano Harney, is All Incomplete (Minor Compositions/Autonomedia, 2021).

ONLINE: Library Workshop - Data Skills: Introduction to Text Analysis - Counting and Context
2021-05-31 10:00 - 12:00 | ImprovLab, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
Are you interested in uncovering patterns across vast amounts of textual information? This workshop will introduce distant reading techniques that address word count and location.
Attendees will get hands-on experience exploring entry level tools such as Google Ngram, Voyant and AntConc.  By the end of this workshop you will be able to complete basic word count and location techniques in the various tools presented, conduct normalization tasks in the tools that allow for it, and explore your data with visualizations.

ONLINE: Thriving in Action - Finding Balance
2021-06-01 13:00 - 14:20 | ONLINE, Ontario, Canada
How do we find a balance between being a student, a worker, a friend, a family member? How do we find joy in our many roles? In this Thriving in Action session, we will explore how we can integrate the many facets of our lives together. We will identify the habits that help us thrive and learn strategies to help us build new habits
Thriving in Action, is a new online program at the University of Guelph. Thriving in Action will help you move from languishing to flourishing throughout your time in university. Build motivation, optimism and resilience, and learn how to integrate those skills into your work as a student. In each workshop, you will learn and practice both wellness and learning strategies that will help you be the student you want to be.

ONLINE: Stress Less for Tests
2021-06-01 17:30 - 18:30 | ONLINE, Ontario, Canada
Learn practical skills to decrease test anxiety and enhance energy and performance during the semester.
This three-hour program with Kathy Somers of the Stress Management and High Performance Clinic is an online, on-demand program with lifetime access to the lessons. You can begin today!
Your link will be e-mailed to you upon registration in the program. Register online.

ONLINE: GIER Annual Symposium
2021-06-02 | ONLINE, Ontario, Canada
The Guelph Institute for Environmental Research (GIER) is hosting its first annual symposium!
To adapt to the circumstances and provide as much flexibility as possible, we have planned virtual live events (June 2 and 3) as well as curating asynchronous content that people can check out in their own time (and that we will be tweeting about on June 4 from @GIER_UofG). All these activities explore the work of GIER and GIER affiliates on many dimensions of the environment.
EVERYONE IS WELCOME TO ATTEND. ALL EVENTS ARE FREE!
You can find more information here: https://sites.uoguelph.ca/gier/symposium/
Any questions or comments, please email us at info.gier@uoguelph.ca.

ONLINE: Library Workshop - Data Skills: Introduction to Text Analysis - Natural Language Processing
2021-06-02 09:00 - 12:00 | ONLINE, Ontario, Canada
Are you interested in uncovering patterns across vast amounts of textual information? This workshop will introduce more complex concepts such as named entity recognition, sentiment analysis and topic modelling.  Participants will explore tools such as NER, Exploratory.io and Topic Modelling Tool.
By the end of this workshop you will be able to complete basic word count and location techniques in the various tools, conduct normalization tasks in the tools that allow for it, and explore your data with visualizations.

ONLINE: Game-changing Announcement
2021-06-03 15:00 - 16:00 | ONLINE, Ontario, Canada
Please join us on June 3 to learn how a game-changing donation to the University of Guelph will ensure the world has access to safe drinking water, which is essential to human and ecological health.
Learn more online.

ONLINE: Library Workshop - Data Skills: Tableau
2021-06-04 09:00 - 12:00 | ONLINE, Ontario, Canada
A picture is worth a thousand words! Especially when you don’t have to read the thousand words it would take to explain the patterns and trends in your data. There are many reasons why information is easier to explain, explore, and convince in a visual format. This session will provide you with some basic skills to make your data come to life using Tableau.

ONLINE: Be a Better Presenter - Strategies and Skills for Graduate Students
2021-06-07 13:00 - 16:00 | ONLINE, Ontario, Canada
Be a Better Presenter (formerly Presentation Bootcamp) is a half-day workshop for graduate students who would like to learn more about presentation skills and strategies to use in academic settings.
This workshop also features a series of hands-on sessions, including: voice and speech clarity, audience engagement, slide design, and thesis defenses and conference presentations.
Be a Better Presenter will be a synchronous online event and is open to all U of G graduate students (including post-docs).

Senate Meeting
2021-06-07 16:00 | TBD – Check meeting package
Senate meetings are open to the public. Please e-mail univsec@uoguelph.ca to register.
For more information about the agenda, location and timing of the meeting please visit the Secretariat’s Governance Portal to access the agenda package.
Agenda packages are published approximately one week in advance of the meeting.

ONLINE: Anxiety Skills and Strategies
2021-06-07 19:00 - 20:00 | ONLINE, Ontario, Canada
Learn powerful strategies, new tips and information on how to respond and calm down the uncomfortable sensations of anxiety. A variety of long and short self-calming strategies are introduced, along with behaviours that can help prevent escalation of anxiety.
This three-session skills program with Kathy Somers of the Stress Management and High Performance Clinic meets online. The program runs on Mondays for three weeks. Sessions begin June 7.
Your link will be e-mailed to you upon registration in the program. Register online.

ONLINE: Thriving in Action - Mindfulness and the Present Moment
2021-06-08 13:00 - 14:20 | ImprovLab, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
Join us for Thriving in Action: Mindfulness and the Present Moment. Explore how to be in and make the most of the present moment. Learn how to plan and become more attentive, all from a mindful approach. Presentness can help to see things more clearly, gain perspective, feel grounded, and excel. The art of attentiveness can help you to pay attention to yourself and what is around you and can be directly transferred to becoming a thriving student. Presentness and Attentiveness will be explored along with academic strategies for planning and notetaking.
Thriving in Action is a new online program at the University of Guelph. Thriving in Action will help you move from languishing to flourishing throughout your time in university. Build motivation, optimism and resilience, and learn how to integrate those skills into your work as a student. In each workshop, you will learn and practice both wellness and learning strategies that will help you be the student you want to be.

ONLINE: Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Journal Club
2021-06-10 09:00 - 10:00 | ONLINE, Ontario, Canada
Join us for our online Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) journal clubs, where we discuss a recent teaching publication. If you missed previous meetings, do not worry! This is an open environment designed for grad students, post docs or anyone else interested in teaching and learning. It provides an opportunity to network with your peers and learn more about education research.
Once registered, we will send an email with the paper in advance and it will also be posted on the EventBrite page once available. Please read the paper and bring any questions, comments or critiques with you.
Intended Learning Outcomes
By the end of this journal club, successful participants should be able to:

Discuss and critically analyze the methodology, results and significance of a publication from the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL)
Identify strategies to incorporate the SoTL research findings into your own teaching practice.

We’re excited to see you all there!

ONLINE: LGBTQ2IA+ Identity and Employment Workshop
2021-06-10 15:30 - 16:30 | ONLINE, Ontario, Canada
This workshop will provide an overview of employment issues as they relate to LGBTQ2IA+ students including: employment rights, harassment and discrimination, disclosure of identity, and responding to inappropriate interview questions.
This meeting will be conducted online using MS Teams. An email link will be sent to you at least 30 minutes before the workshop begins. Registration deadline is 2:30 p.m. on June 10.

ONLINE: Thriving in Action - Coping with Difficulties
2021-06-15 13:00 - 14:20 | ONLINE, Ontario, Canada
Difficulties are a normal part of life that we all experience. But that doesn’t mean that they are easy to deal with! In this final Thriving in Action Session we will talk about how to cope with difficulties. You will develop skills in resilience and self-compassion and reframe your thinking to learn from difficult situations.
Thriving in Action is a new online program at the University of Guelph. Thriving in Action will help you move from languishing to flourishing throughout your time in university. Build motivation, optimism and resilience, and learn how to integrate those skills into your work as a student. In each workshop, you will learn and practice both wellness and learning strategies that will help you be the student you want to be.

ONLINE: COVID-19 Town Hall
2021-06-17 12:00 - 13:00 | ONLINE, Ontario, Canada
Stay up to date on the University’s plans to safely welcome students, faculty and staff back to campus by attending our second COVID-19 Town Hall on Thursday, June 17.
We will be joined by Dr. Matthew Tenenbaum, the Associate Medical Officer of Health with Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health.
We encourage you to submit your questions in advance. There will also be an opportunity to submit questions through Teams during the event. We understand family members of current and incoming students may have questions as well, and we welcome you to submit questions and attend the town hall, too.
Please join us on:
Thursday, June 17
Noon to 1 p.m.
Join online: Microsoft Teams Live
Submit questions in advance through: https://uoguel.ph/townhallquestions
Members of our executive team will be present to answer questions:

Dr. Gwen Chapman, provost and vice-president (academic)
Dr. Malcolm Campbell, vice-president (research)
Daniel Atlin, vice-president (external)
Sharmilla Rasheed, vice-president (finance and operations)

ONLINE: Alumni and Reunion Week 2021
2021-06-21 - 2021-06-27 | ImprovLab, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
Our biggest U of G alumni event – Alumni and Reunion Week – is back and has gone virtual!
Join us for a virtual celebration from June 21 – 27! While we can’t be together on campus this year, we have a great line-up of virtual class reunions, DIYs, professional development, contests and more.
ALUMNI WEEK HIGHLIGHTS
Monday, June 21, 2021
Connecting Community: In Conversation with Dr. Roberta Bondar
Tuesday, June 22, 2021
Alumni Trivia Night
Wednesday, June 23, 2021
Alumni Wine Tasting
Thursday, June 24, 2021
Craft Beer Happy Hour with Royal City Brewing
Friday, June 25, 2021
Three Cheers: A Celebration of Alumni Excellence
Learn more and register online!

ONLINE: Introduction to Digital Storytelling
2021-06-21 10:00 - 11:20 | ONLINE, Ontario, Canada
Want to learn how to integrate storytelling into your digital projects? Join us for our workshop, Introduction to Digital Storytelling, where you will learn more about the components, the elements and the benefits of digital storytelling.
By the end of this workshop, you’ll be able to: list the components of digital storytelling, identify how elements of storytelling create an effective story, and create meaning from different images and media.

ONLINE: Celebrate International Day of Yoga with U of G Yoga and Meditation Collective
2021-06-21 11:45 - 13:15 | ImprovLab, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
Celebrate UN International Day of Yoga – Monday, June 21 – Live music for harmony and peace
2021 UN Theme: Yoga for well-being
Everyone welcome: faculty, staff, students, alumni, retirees, visiting scholars! No experience required. Try not to eat two hours before the event. A sip or two of water or juice is okay.
Join Zoom Meeting. Meeting ID: 954 8412 8908
Take part in this fun online event with live music performed by a popular local artist. Learn and practice postures (Asana), breath control (Pranayama), yoga gestures (Mudra), chanting, meditation (singing bowl) and relaxation. Feel calm, peaceful, resilient, strong, flexible, relaxed and rejuvenated. With special guest Indira Naidoo-Harris, associate vice-president Diversity and Human Rights.
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the urgent need to address the mental health dimension of the pandemic, in addition to the physical health aspects. The message of Yoga in promoting both the physical and mental well-being of humanity has never been more relevant. The UN draft resolution 69/131 establishing the International Day of Yoga was endorsed by a record 175 member states.
U of G Yoga and Meditation Collective’s brand-new website will also be launched during the IDY celebrations to Improve Life – mental and physical health, and well-being – of all U of Guelph communities, campuses and beyond.
This event is brought to you by the U of G Yoga and Meditation Collective and sponsored by Wellness@Work, U of Guelph.
Join Online and celebrate with your own U of G Yoga and Meditation Collective.
“A yoga collective that cares about cultivating health and wellbeing on the diverse U of G campus and beyond. Our goal is to offer valuable tools for achieving a balanced state of mind and body.” – U of G Yoga and Meditation Collective – Steady Mind in a Dynamic World.

ONLINE: Library Workshop - Data Skills: Introduction to Text Analysis - Counting and Context
2021-06-22 10:00 - 12:00 | ImprovLab, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
Are you interested in uncovering patterns across vast amounts of textual information? In part one of this two part workshop, we’ll introduce distant reading techniques that address word count and location.
By attending you will get hands-on experience exploring entry level tools such as Google Ngram, Voyant and AntConc.
At the end of the workshop you will be able to complete basic word count and location techniques in the various tools, conduct normalization tasks in the tools that allow it, and explore your data with visualizations.
