Dear Faculty of Arts, 

It’s a Really Big Show Tonight!  It’s the celebration of the return to campus and the first week of the fall 2021 semester! We’re delighted to share with you a few snapshots of the real, live KPU and Surrey campus! On Tuesday, Dean Diane Purvey and Divisional Business Manager Christy Jahn warmly greeted staff who were back in the Dean’s office, as well as students and faculty who dropped by to say hello. During this long interval of Covid, many faculty and staff haven’t met each other in person previously, despite having worked together remotely for many, many months.  What a fabulous way to begin the 2021 academic year by connecting with new yet familiar colleagues all over again! 

Back Row (left to right): Dean Diane Purvey, Damaris Gugliotti, Ankita Verma 
Front Row (left to right): Samantha Dutton-Jones, Muhammad Ali, Natashia Olson, Rachel Chan 

Yes, the campus feels uncanny in its familiarity yet new Covid-reality. One of the unexpected highlights is the new Espresso Machine in Grassroots. It has been met with enthusiastic “thumbs up.” Reports are that ‘Travel Mug’ Nixon was also reasonably pleased.  

We asked Associate Dean Greg Millard, during an in-person special guest appearance, if it felt strange to be back on campus; he replied: “It feels AWESOME.”  

Aaaand now, these important messages…. 

INFORMATION ITEM  

Between Two Ferns? – changes coming to office space: Arts is a growing Faculty – but unfortunately office space has not increased as new faculty members have joined us. This puts office space at something of a premium, especially on Surrey campus. We appreciate the importance of having a ‘home’ on campus – but are also aware that, at present, office space is not equitably distributed between departments and faculty members. Some faculty members have large offices, for example, while others share the same amount of space with three other colleagues. Knowing the importance Arts places upon fairness and equity, we will be opening a dialogue with chairs and departments in the coming months regarding changes to the distribution of office space. We recognize that this can be a touchy subject and appreciate your patience as we work toward the most equitable solutions possible. 

KUDOS & CONGRATS! 

Heeeeeeeere’s John E.! GEOG Chair John E. Martin has just published “The Hydrologic Classification of Dilute Lakes” in the major peer-reviewed journal The Canadian Geographer.Congratulations on this outstanding work, John!  

Real Time with Cory Pederson: Did you catch “Let’s Talk About Sex,” the latest iteration of the Faculty Voices series featuring PSYC superstar Cory Pederson’s path-breaking work through the ORGASM lab? We are gradually assembling a public-facing resource celebrating the remarkable scholarly achievements of faculty in Arts. For the segment on Cory, and previous Faculty Voices installments, click here. 

UPCOMING EVENTS 

First Talk: The first event in the 2021-22 KPU Indigenous Dialogue Series will feature Len Pierre (Pul-ee-qwe-luck), Special Advisor, Indigenous Leadership, Innovation, and Partnerships at KPU. You will remember Len Pierre from his excellent presentation at the Fall AGM! Len is Coast Salish from Katzie First Nation, and will share his reflections on “Reconciliation with Radical Thought, Action, and Heart” on Wednesday, September 29, 2021 (12:00 PM – 1:30 PM – Zoom Webinar). Please register at https://www.kpu.ca/indigenous/dialogue-series

Len is an educator, TEDx Speaker, Knowledge Keeper, and cultural practitioner who specializes in Decolonial, Reconciliatory, and Indigeneity work with organizations. With a background in adult education and Indigenous methodology, Len aims to decolonize and transform corporate systems, approaches, policies, and curriculum content in any professional discipline. Len will talk about how reconciliation can move from ‘knowing’ to ‘doing’ in higher education. Len says, “We have everything we need for the journey ahead. There are countless documents, research, and literature led by Indigenous peoples that give us the blueprint to build reconciliation into our practices, policies, principles, and physical places.” Len will guide us through reconciliation strategies, ethics, dilemmas, pitfalls, and leave the floor open for dialogue. 

And Now Over to You, Billeh! Creative Writing Instructor Billeh Nickerson will be discussing and reading from his recently-released book of poetry, Duct-Taped Roses! Join us on Tuesday, Sept. 21 from 4pm – 5:20pm on Zoom for a reading and conversation around the book. E-mail anne.lin@kpu.ca to receive the link to the event. 

Tonight’s FINA Top-Ten List: Fine Arts’ Ying-Yueh Chuang and Instructional Associate Heather Lippold both have work up for bidding through the North-West Ceramics Foundation’s That Pottery Thing Online Auction, joining over 55 B.C. ceramic artists auctioning their work in support of ceramics arts programs in B.C. If you are interested in owning a fabulous piece of work, while supporting a great cause, then check out the items on auction HERE; bidding is open until 7pm September 30, 2021. Bidding is free, but you must register to bid. Register HERE.  Starting at 6:30 pm September 30, there will be a LIVE ZOOM featuring presentations about NWCF projects, views of the auction items, a special display of Jinny Whitehead’s work, door prizes, and the presentation of the NWCF Mayer Wosk Award of Excellence. Register NOW for the ZoomHERE And for questions, contact debraesloan@gmail.com 
 

And that’s the kind of week it’s been…. We wish you an excellent term ahead. Thank you and good night! 

Diane, Wade, Greg, and Shelley