Image: Composite of “Kaleidoscope II / Starry Sky” by Jan Beckendorf is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0  and https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/39/R2-D2_Droid.png

THE FACULTY OF ARTS AGM!

The Faculty Awakens: On Wednesday, Sept. 1st, the Faculty of Arts held its Annual General Meeting with approximately 100 faculty and staff in attendance via MS Teams.  The morning began with the powerful greeting and remarks of Elder in Residence Lekeyten, followed by singing and drumming.

Here are some other highlights of the AGM:

The Faculty of Arts celebrated its first-ever Service Award recipient, Mike Larsen, for his tremendous dedication to KPU, the Faculty of Arts, and Criminology. As many colleagues expressed in their nomination letters, Mike is a true inspiration whose service contributions have been transformative both within and beyond KPU. Congratulations again, Mike! 

Mike went on to lead all AGM attendees in breakout-room discussions about the personal/professional development that comes through service. These groups also brainstormed on how to move towards more equitable distributions of service and accountability within departments.  

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Image: Lukas Denier https://unsplash.com/photos/YiXsjwJKXmo

The AGM also featured a presentation by Len Pierre, Special Advisor, Indigenous Leadership, Innovation and Partnerships. Len spoke about a number of initiatives under development at KPU, including the Indigenous Dialogue Series, the inclusion of the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ language on all campuses (through future audio files), and an expansion of the Elders program.  Len will be addressing the KPU community on September 29th to mark the National Truth and Reconciliation Day.  

During the Business Meeting, Dean Diane Purvey made a number of important announcements – the most significant one being that her 10-year term as Dean will be coming to an end in Summer 2022. Dean Purvey joined KPU in 2012, just as the new Faculty of Arts had been formed with the merging of the Humanities and the Social Sciences, and the impact of her nine years of leadership in unifying and moving the Faculty forward has been immense. Faculty and staff spontaneously expressed their appreciation and gratitude for her ongoing stewardship; as one attendee wrote: “Diane Purvey, you are irreplaceable!” We will all cherish this final year with Dean Purvey at the helm, drawing continuing strength and inspiration from her profound care for faculty, students, and staff, and her extraordinary leadership.   

Image: “Star Wars Appearances” by Olaf is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

 TEACHING RESOURCES 

The Pandemic Strikes Back: Please remember to consult Covid-related protocols for Return to Campus in the Faculty and Instructional Staff Handbook. They will help you to Bring Balance to The Force in managing Covid-related concerns in the face-to-face classroom.   

Image: “Jedi Master” by Kinchan1 is licensed under CC BY 2.0

These are the Resources You’re Looking For: Remember, you can find more resources than a Jawa Sandcrawler on the Arts Sharepoint site, under the “Resources for Faculty” tab. Please bookmark it for the upcoming semester! It’s a treasure-trove which includes materials on avoiding, and addressing, academic integrity violations, the all-important Faculty Handbook, the Achieving Academic Success pamphlet for international students, the Including All Citizens resource on inclusive pedagogy, forms of all kinds, and a bevy of other goodies.  

UPCOMING EVENTS 

This is the Way – Antiracist Teaching, Language, and Assessment (free online conference):  The inaugural Conference for Antiracist Teaching, Language, and Assessment, called ATLA 2021, promises to be “an opportunity for instructors across a variety of disciplines to meet, share ideas, and build antiracist approaches to teaching and learning.” This free digital conference will be held via Zoom in the Pacific time zone on Friday, September 17, and Friday, October 1. and will have asynchronous components between the scheduled days. The conference will be hosted by Oregon State University and keynote speakers include Vershawn Ashanti Young, Ana Milena Ribero, Victor Villanueva, and Asao B. Inoue.  Register for ATLA 2021. 

Image: Saksham Gangwar https://unsplash.com/photos/BVWD_zX6-Zk
 

As we enter the final weekend before the Fall semester, we would like to wish a Happy Rosh Hashanah to all those who celebrate! And looking forward to the start of the new term on Tuesday, Sept. 7, and the official return to campus, we close with this uplifting and heartfelt video by Gordon Cobb, which was shared at the close of the AGM. 

Always in Motion is the Future. Always in Motion is the Faculty of Arts! 

Diane, Wade, Shelley, and Greg 

man holding green and blue flashlights
Image: Tobias Cornille https://unsplash.com/photos/dV9ZfzLxaQ4

Banner image: “Revenge Of Return Of The Jedi” by JD Hancock is licensed under CC BY 2.0