Dear Faculty of Arts,
Amidst the usual chortling from the rest of Canada, a huge dump of snow pulverized the Lower Mainland on Tuesday. The next day, groggy citizens heard tales of people stuck for 11 hours on the Alex Fraser, KPU students bunking overnight on campus, trucks and buses in ditches, and a certain Dean of Arts forced to abandon her vehicle before walking 10 blocks through freezing winds to reach a Skytrain station and get home. Yikes! We hope that everyone has managed to come through safely and well. There was some good news this week, though: the canopy of snow is beautiful, and, of course, we’re at the end of classes for Fall 2022. (Well, almost; there’s still that lingering Monday). Jack Frost thus provided the exclamation point concluding another crazy, exhausting, exhilarating 13 weeks of teaching in our indefatigable Faculty of Arts.
INFORMATION ITEMS
Grading in a Winter Wonderland: Please keep in mind that all final grades and any Incomplete Grade Contracts must be submitted by December 20. This is a hard deadline, and any failure to meet it can bring harmful consequences to students, not to mention potentially drawing KPU to the attention of the Ministry for failing to discharge its duty to issue grades to students. So, if you’re concerned that delays in student submissions may hamper your ability to meet the deadline, please work on Incomplete Grade Contracts for those students and input an “I” grade by December 20th. Be sure to contact arts@kpu.ca if you need any information or guidance about the process for submitting Incomplete Grade Contracts. Because meeting the Registrar’s grade submission deadline is critical, you may be hearing from members of the Dean’s Office as we track the status of any outstanding course grades as we approach the December 20 deadline.
A Winter’s Fail? Well, maybe just an I-Grade: What if you’re submitting final grades, but have a student facing an unresolved Academic Integrity Violation case? Please submit an Incomplete Grade Contract without the student’s signature, and record their mark as an “I.” Their grade can be adjusted later via a Grade Reporting Form in the event that no integrity violation is found to have occurred.
Deck the Halls with Respectful Workplace Training: If you haven’t yet completed your annual Respectful Workplace Training, don’t forget to partake of this special (and mandatory!) seasonal treat. As a reminder, the link is here.
Jolly Good News: Arts recently welcomed Shannon Hecker to the new role of Arts Indigenous Liaison. The Liaison’s role includes facilitating and maintaining and deepening connections between Arts programs and local First Nations partners and communities; assisting programs with external-facing consultations relating to First Nations; and helping with internal consultation, dialogue, and initiatives relating to First Nations. We’re confident that Shannon can help to ease some of the burden of consultation currently borne by our Indigenous Studies faculty. If you have initiatives or questions pertinent to this role, please contact shannon.hecker@kpu.ca. Shannon, it’s great to have you as part of the Faculty of Arts!
A Blizzard of Opportunities: The Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute (SICI) has shared a Call for Applications for SHASTRI FACULTY TRAINING IN APPLIED EDUCATION (SFTAE) Project. The SFTAE Project is part of SICI Canada’s Short-term Outbound Mobility Program, Canadian Scholars to India (CSI). The CSI Program is supported by Global Affairs Canada, the Government of Canada. For more, see here.
KUDOS AND APPLAUSE
Let Us Know, Let Us Know, Let Us Know: The redoubtable Mike Larsen (CRIM) gave expert testimony to the House of Commons Information, Ethics and Privacy Committee last week. Mike did not mince words about Canada’s “dysfunctional” access-to-information regime; nor did he let the committee off the hook for the unconscionably short time frames experts were given to prepare. Mike’s testimony received national coverage via The Globe and Mail. Thanks, Mike, for speaking so powerfully on a matter of vital importance to the health of Canadian representative democracy.
Cool News from FINA: Fine Arts is pleased to announce that Wei Chen, a 4th year BFA student, has been shortlisted for the 2022 Philip B. Lind Emerging Artist Prize, dedicated to an emerging BC-based artist. Wei’s photo series will be part of the exhibition of finalists at the Polygon Gallery from December 10th to January 29th. The opening event is on Thursday, December 15 at 7PM. RSVP to the Opening celebration here. Congratulations to Wei, and to FINA, for this outstanding accomplishment! A sample of Wei’s work, “Hide and Seek #5,” is appended below.
The Most Wonderful ADBM of the Year: We’re pleased to announce that Nadine Siriban has been appointed Arts’s Interim Assistant Divisional Business Manager! Equally impressively, Nadine was one of the three civilian awardees recognized by the Philippine Marine Corps on Nov 7, 2022. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. personally bestowed the award. Nadine has spent 10 years engaging with and supporting the Philippine Marine Corps in various roles, including capacity-building trainings, writing speeches and articles, and editing various reports and Marine publications. Nadine, you are an outstanding representative of the wealth of talent within Arts! Congratulations!
The Woods are Lovely, Dark and Deep: In the latest edition of KPU Reads, Farhad Dastur (PSYC) shares with us his reflections on Grain of Truth: The Ancient Lessons of Craft by Ross Laird (CRWR). Ross’s poignant insights into the challenges and joys of woodworking are ably repaid by Farhad’s thoughtful review here. Kudos to both Ross and Farhad for sharing their passion for this ancient craft.
UPCOMING EVENTS
W/rapping a Holiday Gift: Join Indigenous Artist-in-Residence, Á’a:líya Warbus and Indigenous Writer-in-Residence Molly Cross-Blanchard, for their 2022 W/Rap Up Social celebrating Indigenous excellence, their contributions to KPU, and the end of the Fall semester. There will be presentations by Molly and Á’a:líya, live musical performances, special guests, poetry readings, and more! It all goes down on Monday, December 5, in Surrey’s Grassroots Lounge, with doors opening at 4:30 PM and events presentations running between 5-6 PM. Click here for further info.
Bearing Gifts, They Traverse Afar: The latest installment of the Arts Speaker Series brings us Dr. Conrad King (POLI), who will explore Future-Proofing Higher Education: Internationalization in Times of Uncertainty. According to UNESCO, there are over five million international students enrolled in tertiary education institutions around the globe. Conrad’s work evaluates the factors that international students consider when they decide to study abroad and make choices about study destinations. Join the discussion on Wednesday, December 7 (1:00-2:00) on MS Teams here. To register, email artsevents@kpu.ca
We the Secwepemc Say No Tmx Speaking Tour: Members of “We the Secwepemc Say No Tmx” will be sharing their accounts of criminalization by the Canadian government in their work to protect their traditional and unceded territory under threat of the TMX pipeline expansion. Members of the group were arrested while attempting to stop the drilling under salmon-bearing Thompson River in Tk’emlups te Secwepemc (Kamloops BC). The members of the group are facing criminal charges and have an upcoming court date in December. This event will be one stop of several on a speaking tour across BC to educate folks and garner allied support in their struggle for Indigenous sovereignty. There will be an opportunity to ask questions and to make donations towards the group’s legal fees. Light refreshments will be served; and folks are welcome and encouraged to bring food to share. This event takes place on Friday December 9th (4:00PM-630PM) Cedar – Room 1205 (A/B/C).
Like so much of the university, the Dean’s Office is short-staffed due to seasonal illnesses and running at about 50% capacity at the moment, so we can only plead for patience – especially for staff! – as we work to assist you in the remaining three weeks before break. Meanwhile, we wish everyone much warmth and laughter amidst the cold and snow. As Victor Hugo wrote, le rire, c’est le soleil, il chasse l’hiver du visage – laughter is the sun that chases winter from the human face. All out best for a wonderful, wintry weekend!
Shelley, Dana, Wade, Billeh, and Greg
Comments by Greg Millard