For many, Monday’s ministerial announcement indicating we would begin returning to the classroom this fall could not have come sooner. And after Tuesday’s video message from Dr. Davis, there were palpable surges of elation and anticipation coursing through the KPU ether. However, the news also occasioned some entirely understandable expressions of worry and a few frissons of apprehension. While the dispossession associated with the pandemic has made many of us long for a resumption of some form of ‘normalcy,’ there are also uncertainties about the nature and pace of the return: the change, churn, and readjustment that it implies will surely be the source of some anxiety. Please do rest assured, in this context, that the return is being carefully planned, that we won’t be back in the fall unless it is safe; and, that exceptions will be made for those who are medically vulnerable. Please also know that discussions are underway in many quarters about the return, and do know that, as a leadership team, we will be working hard to consult with you and keep you informed, and to make sure you have the most updated information about how the ‘homecoming’ is being envisioned and how the planning process is progressing at KPU. And for those who wish to think in a larger way about the issues at hand, there have been some salutary and helpful online articles and discussions regarding the cognitive load and emotional challenges that will invariably arise as we contemplate a variety of post-pandemic scenarios.
TIME-SENSITIVE ITEMS
Bound for Recognition! Last call for the Dean of Arts Service Award! Presented annually to recognize outstanding service by faculty members in the Faculty of Arts, eligibility for the award is limited to faculty who teach primarily or exclusively in the Faculty of Arts. Nominations are open until March 15th. If you have a colleague who is a service gladiator or superstar, please consider putting their name forward.
Home is Where the Heart Is: The faculty employee engagement group is seeking additional members. The priorities and plans for the group can be viewed here. If you are interested in joining the group, please submit an expression of interest by email to ees@kpu.ca. In your email, please briefly outline your reasons for wanting to join a workgroup by March 26, 2021. Questions can be directed to ees@kpu.ca, or feel free to reach out directly to any of the workgroup chair Wade.Deisman@kpu.ca
PLAUDITS, PROPS, AND KUDOS
In the House of Commons: Kudos and plaudits go out to KPU student Tayler Glaspey, who spoke at Canada’s Feminist Response and Recovery Summit earlier this week. This two-day summit brought together politicians, experts, feminist leaders, and those with lived experiences to address the effects that COVID-19 has had on women in Canada. Tayler was a panelist with Minister Carla Qualtrough, the ED of Disabled Women’s Network of Canada, Deputy Minister Yazmine Laroche, disability activist Maayan Ziv, and was moderated by Senator Chantal Petitclerc. Tayler discussed what it has been like for female students with disabilities during the pandemic and what we need regarding recovery.
Home Run: In case you missed it – earlier this week we shared “Always Writing: Blogging and the Pandemic Diary” – the latest interview in the “Faculty Voices” series featuring a fascinating discussion with Journalism and Communications Studies faculty member Tracy Sherlock.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Sulu in the House! If you want to kick off your weekend with a bang, KDOCS opens tonight! Opening Night with Abby Ginzberg‘s And Then They Came for Us, featuring a Keynote Address with Diana Morita Cole and a live audience Q&A/panel discussion with Abby, Diana, George Takei, and Satsuki Ina! The event starts at 7 pm PST.
Hearth and Home: KPU’s Task Force on Anti-Racism is hosting a free workshop entitled “Anti-racism and Lessons from Liberation” – -an immersive and in-depth workshop that exposes our complicity in racist power structures that exist all around us. Presented by Udokam Iroegbu, the session will be held on March 24th between 2-4 PM. To register, please email tfa@kpu.ca with the subject line: “Please register me for the March 24th workshop with Udokam Iroegbu.” Please email as early as possible, but no later than March 22nd. A Zoom link will be forwarded to all registered participants 24 hours before the workshop.
The Speaker’s House: Arts Speaker Series: On Wednesday, March 17, from 1-2 pm, Ryan Higgitt (Dept. of Sociology) and Rebecca Yoshizawa (Dept. of Sociology) will be speaking on a Panel on Sociology Research at KPU. Please use the following link to join this Microsoft Teams event. We hope to see you there! Click here to join the meeting.
Last week we mentioned Lilach Marom (EDST) recently received funding from the President’s Diversity and Equity Committee to support the creation of a collection of “Indigenous Teaching Resources.” Please note that Rachel Chong, the Indigenous Resources Librarian, is also part of this project as Lilach’s collaborator. Congratulations to both Rachel and Lilach on receiving PDEC funding and on working on this important resource for faculty!
As always, we welcome your input on and suggestions for the “Arts Updates.” Over the past year, the aim of the Arts Updates has been to keep the Faculty of Arts informed and connected (and sometimes amused) on a regular basis. If you have any information about upcoming events in your departments, “shout-outs” to shed light on individual and/or team success stories, or requests for themes, we encourage you to send us an email. It is also noteworthy that these updates and a great deal of other useful and interesting content are housed on the Faculty of Arts Blog. If you haven’t had a chance to visit the blog, we highly recommend you check it out as we will continue growing this resource long after the pandemic is over.
It has been almost a full year since we made the pivot to remote delivery. To mark this anniversary and all that the Faculty of Arts’ community has faced, overcome, and accomplished, we are hosting a special “Coffee with Leadership” on March 19 from 11:00 – 12:00 PM. Please join us for a large Teams gathering. The gathering is intended to provide an opportunity for us to reflect together on our Covid experience and the great pivot to online. If you have memories from one year ago, photos from your pandemic experiences, a poem, song, visual artwork, etc., that you’d like to share, please let us know at wade.deisman@kpu.ca, shelley.body@kpu.ca, or greg.millard@kpu.ca. In the meantime, we wish you a wonderful weekend, and we hope that your dreams of the long journey home are every bit as magical as ours.
Diane, Greg, Shelley, and Wade
Comments by Wade Deisman