With vestiges of the summer sun still shining through, and stunning cerulean skies still lingering, the fall term got underway this week with a wonderfully boisterous bang. Considering all that is going on, we have endeavored to keep our update short and sweet.

  • The Kick-Off:  The first talk in the annual Arts Speaker Series is next week. Asma Sayed, Dept. of English and Canada Research Chair in South Asian Literary and Cultural Studies, will co-present with Rahil Faruqi, KPU graduate, Philosophy, this coming Wednesday, Sept. 16th from 1:00 – 2:00 PM. Join us for their talk on “Confronting Racism: The Role of South Asian Radio in Canada.”  
  • Be a Mentor: Roughly 30 students have come to KPU after aging out of care. These students often have high attrition rates and may benefit from additional support. Arts has started a Faculty mentor program. To volunteer, contact Tracy.Sherlock@kpu.ca or Wade.Deisman@kpu.ca. 
  • Where is my Brown Bag? If you have a preliminary idea for a project and would like an opportunity to have an exploratory discussion with colleagues about it, the Brown Bag Lunch series is for you. Unlike the Arts Speaker Series, which typically involves mature research projects, the Brown Bag Lunch series is intended to provide a dialogical space so that faculty can discuss provisional ideas for projects, arguments in development, or research at its earliest stages, soliciting feedback from colleagues in a casual, exploratory milieu. If you have a project in development and are interested in participating, please e-mail greg.millard@kpu.ca.  
  • A ‘Moodle It Up!’ Festival of Links: Are your students struggling with any of the below?  You may want to cut and paste some of these links to add to your Moodle site: 
  • Learning to learn online – https://kpu.pressbooks.pub/learningtolearnonline/
  • Online Supports for Students  – https://www.kpu.ca/learningcentres/onlinelearning
  • Using e-mail and Moodle – https://wordpress.kpu.ca/onlinelearning/set-up-your-learning-technology/
  • Big Blue Button  – https://media.kpu.ca/media/Introduction+to+Big+Blue+Button+%28for+students%29/0_5chq2k19
  • Moodling Around  – https://www.kpu.ca/teaching-and-learning/technology/moodle/student
  • Student IT support – https://www.kpu.ca/it/studentsStudent IT support – https://www.kpu.ca/it/students

We have been on an incredible journey over these past six months. A trace record of where we have been together can be found here, in the archive of our previously posted updates on the Arts Blog. Looking back on these today, resilience, fortitude, and tremendous collegiality stand out abiding and guiding leitmotifs. We can all take solace, and feel proud, about the fact that we have not faltered in our commitment to our students, or to our calling as educators.  

Diane, Shelley, Greg, and Wade