Communications & Public Affairs

2006-08-28 10:38:23

UW actions will probe club, overseas placements

WATERLOO, Ont. (Aug. 28, 2006) -- The University of Waterloo today launched three initiatives related to the recent arrests of three UW graduates and one current student in connection with alleged support of Tamil Tiger terrorism activity.

1) UW, in full partnership with the UW Federation of Students, has engaged a national accounting firm to conduct a complete forensic audit of the Waterloo Tamil Students Association. The accountants will begin that process immediately.

WATSA is an official federation club representing Tamil students. It is one of 160 such student social and community clubs that operate under the umbrella of the Federation of Students throughout the academic year.

2) UW will also begin immediately to conduct its own thorough review of policies and procedures regarding overseas placements for students enrolled in UW's co-operative education program.

Waterloo is recognized as operating the world's largest and most successful co-op program, with over 3,600 active employers who hire more than 12,000 of our students enrolled in co-op studies.

While the vast majority of placements are with domestic companies or well-known firms in Canada and the U.S., a small number of UW students are also engaged in overseas development work in third-world countries, usually with well-known non-governmental organizations such as World Vision, Red Cross and so on. The review will determine if there are sufficient controls on foreign placements.

3) A small task group of senior UW officials is being created to facilitate and oversee these two important reviews.

"These are steps we believe will complement the ongoing police investigation with which we are also cooperating," said David Johnston, UW's president. "I believe our university and our students are among the best in the world, and our co-op program is a global leader. We need to do this to ensure that nothing, including the matters now under investigation, will diminish that good name and reputation.

"I also want to particularly commend our Federation of Students, and its president Michelle Zakrison, for fully engaging with us in this important activity."

The university will report publicly on its findings in both reviews and is committed to taking whatever due diligence is necessary to maintain the community's confidence in this tremendous institution, its outstanding students and its pioneering co-op program, Johnston concluded.

Resources

Contact:

Martin Van Nierop, director, UW communications & public affairs, 519-888-4881

Michael Strickland, assistant director, UW media relations, 519-888-4777

John Morris, UW media relations, 519-888-4435 or jmorris@uwaterloo.ca

University of Waterloo release no. 98

2006-08-28 10:38:23