Dear Faculty of Arts,
With this, our last full week of the spring 2022 semester, and with this coming Monday as the final day of classes, the term is quickly drawing to its conclusion. Simultaneously, there are new beginnings with spring in full bloom and departments already planning in-person celebrations for their graduating students. Happily, amidst this sense of possibility, the cherry trees are in their full glory right now. If you’re lucky and have insider tips (many thanks, Dana!) or access the blossom-locator map, you can stumble upon a world of true goodness, and share in the delight of a haiku hedge, which is part of the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival.
The puck rushes
into the net on the street —
pink blossoms scatter
Vancouver Cherry Blossom Haiku, 2018
Goes out,
Comes back —
The love life of a cat
Kobayashi Issa, Japanese poet and Buddhist priest, Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival
Fine Arts in Bloom
BFA Grad Show – Tonight! If you are near the Surrey campus tonight, please drop by the BFA Grad Show “Untitled” in the Spruce Building. During the last two years, the BFA grads hosted their end-of-year exhibition entirely online. Tonight (Friday, April 8th) from 6:00 – 9:00 PM), you can take in the students’ art in person and share in the energy and excitement. If you are unable to attend, the exhibition can also be viewed online via this link. You can also access their Instagram page for the show here.
Joy Kogawa House: After many Covid-related delays, the collaboration between the students of Greg Chan (ENGL) and of Ying-Yueh Chuang (FINA – Ceramics) will be unveiled at the Joy Kogawa House on Sunday afternoon, April 10th from 2:00 – 5:00 PM. The exhibition features five ceramic pieces, each based on a symbol from Joy Kogawa’s novel Obasan, created by 5 KPU students. The opening will include a presentation and comments at 2pm by Greg Chan. There will be an Indigenous welcome, music, poetry, tours, and crafts for children. It is open to the public, with outdoor activities under way in the front yard. They will invite small groups of 6 to 10 visitors into the house for self-guided tours of the ceramics exhibit and other displays. They will check vaccine passports at each gate before entry to the historic site and ask folks to mask indoors. Historic Joy Kogawa House is located at 1450 West 64th Avenue, Vancouver.
End of Term Reminders and Deadlines
Spring Term Grade Submission Deadline: April 28th (11:59 PM): Please remember that grades for all students must be entered by April 28th (before midnight at the latest). Submit your final grades to the Office of the Registrar through the Online Self-Service (Faculty Grade Entry instructions attached). For more details, please see the Faculty Handbook. All students in a section must be graded by the grade submission deadline–do not leave a student’s grade blank. If you are going ahead with an Incomplete Grade Contract (IGC) for one of your students, be sure to submit the grade “I” for the student in the system. The “I” grade(s) must then be followed up with the IGC signed by you, the student, and the Dean/Designate. To request the Dean’s signature, please email the completed IGC to the Dean’s Office at Arts@kpu.ca.
Academic Integrity Survey: The Arts Academic Integrity Committee invites all Arts faculty to participate in their survey on academic integrity processes at KPU. It takes about 10 – 15 minutes and would be most helpful to the committee. The deadline is the end of the month, though earlier participation is encouraged. You can access the survey via this link: https://www.surveymonkey.ca/r/D8TKRHM
New Grade Entry application: The new application is now available in the Online Self-service. It provides enhanced functionality to faculty when entering final grades online. As noted in the Today announcement, both the “old” and the “new” versions of Faculty Grade entry remain active/usable, so if faculty need a bit of time to explore the new application and are not ready to use it this term, the old application is still live. Information and detailed instructions have been published in the Grade Reporting section of the Faculty and Instructional Staff Handbook. If faculty have questions, please direct them to the IT Service Desk for help/support.
Covid Updates
Masking, Testing Kits and Post-pandemic plans: Currently, KPU still requires mask wearing in indoor public areas of campus and recommends them in other areas, although there are exceptions, such as when delivering a lecture or presentation, or actively eating or drinking. Check out KPU’s guidelines for mask wearing for full details. After the Spring term ends on April 27, mask wearing at KPU will become a matter of personal preference, provided the provincial mask mandate remains optional in all indoor public settings. Rapid antigen testing kits are an optional means of assessing whether any symptoms employees have are COVID-19 related. KPU has these kits available for employees to collect now – don’t wait until you are sick. If you have COVID-19 symptoms, please stay home until you feel better or your period of self-isolation has ended. You can now collect two test kits per visit to a campus bookstore during opening hours at Langley, Tech, Surrey or Richmond, or the reception desk on the sixth floor at Civic Plaza.
Opportunities Abound
Teaching Through Research: The next iteration of the Arts Speaker series is fast approaching. Each Arts Speaker Series talk showcases innovative and original creative endeavors, research and scholarship activities, is one hour-long (30 minutes for presentation and the rest of the time for discussion/questions) and will either take place online or in a blended version. Proposals for the 2022-2023 Arts Speaker Series should be 250 words long and sent to Nancy Norman at: nancy.norman@kpu.ca
New CIM (Curriculum Inventory Management) Software to Support Course Outlines Coming this Spring! In May, KPU is implementing a new Curriculum Inventory Management software (CIM) to support KPU’s Course Outlines. The CIM-Courses application designed by Courseleaf, will replace the current SharePoint Course Outlines as the host of published course outlines (Course Outline Library) and for the development of new or revised outlines (Course Outline Development). CourseLeaf CIM will help you simplify the curriculum process, making it easy to regularly create relevant content. Through dynamic forms and an intelligent workflow, CIM keeps your processes moving forward with little or no intervention. This software also has been designed to integrate with the BANNER Course Catalog and the software hosting the University Calendar (Courseleaf CAT). Other software modules are planned which will support program development and course section scheduling. All active faculty members will automatically have access to the entire library of CIM-Courses for all Faculties and will log in using their KPU username and password. Non-faculty users who support curriculum workflows will also be provided access. Training in the new software will be provided to those with a role in the workflow through April, and to all users in May. Guides and tips-sheets will also be provided on a new SharePoint Site to be available when users are ready to work on course outlines using the new software. Please drop by our Curriculum Hub table on KPU Day to learn more!
Scholarships
Commemorating KPU student Brian Nadjiwon: The Department of Geography and the Environment is celebrating the life of KPU student Brian Nadjiwon by creating a scholarship in his honour to support Indigenous students. Hosted and administered by Engineers and Geoscientists British Columbia (EGBC) so it can reach a province-wide audience, the Brian Nadjiwon Scholarship will support Indigenous students studying geosciences at B.C. post-secondary institutions. The scholarship will accept its first applicants this fall.Nadjiwon had completed a Bachelor of Technology in information technology at KPU and was studying for a Bachelor of Arts in geography when he died in August 2020. While this scholarship commemorates Nadjiwon and his passion for geology, the aim of this scholarship is to increase representation of Indigenous people in the geosciences. Indigenous peoples are typically underrepresented in the geoscience and natural resource workforce, despite geoscience-related sectors frequently operating on unceded Indigenous lands. A member of the Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation, Nadjiwon moved to B.C. from the Toronto area. He had worked for Microsoft, IBM and the Federal Government’s CRA department where he helped install Canada’s first national computer network. “Soon after Brian passed, Leonora and the KPU geography department let me know that they wanted to create a scholarship in my brother’s memory,” says his brother Brent Nadjiwon. “I felt so honoured that they wanted to pay tribute to my brother in this way. Brian and I both had difficult lives and we only reconnected a few years ago before his passing. I was grateful to be able to spend those years with him and I happy that KPU is creating this scholarship to keep my brother’s memory alive.” Eligible students can visit the EGBC Brian Nadjiwon Scholarship web page for details on how to apply. Visit the fundraising page to make a financial contribution to the Brian Nadjiwon Scholarship. A tax receipt will be generated.
Kudos
Digging up the Past: Don’t miss the KPU community showcase feature on Anthropology department member Brian Pegg. In the interview Brian explores the importance of Indigenous history in the study of Canadian archaeology and describes the research program he has pursued in the Fraser Canyon, looking at Indigenous history based on physical evidence gathered with archaeological methods. He and his students have been looking at the role that Indigenous people played in the Fraser Canyon War which took place in 1858.
Folk Artist Des Raj Inspires MUSI 2020 & LANC 1870! During the Spring 2022 semester at KPU Langley Campus, a collaborative, interdisciplinary Artist Residency took place, co-sponsored by the Canada Research Chair (CRC) in South Asian Literary and Cultural Studies and funded by the President’s Diversity and Equity Committee (PDEC). The Residency featured renowned Punjabi folk artist Des Raj, and engaged students enrolled in MUSI 2020 “Global Drumming and Cultural Expression” and LANC 1870 “Introduction to Bhangra Dance” in an immersive, interactive series of workshops through which they explored aspects of South Asian music and dance.On Tuesday, students from LANC 1870 and MUSI 2020 gave their end-of-semester performance, showcasing the learning that took place in these two courses. It was an explosive and exhilarating show, masterfully MC’d by the mighty Gordon Cobb (MUSI), and building on foundations expertly laid by AD pro tem Danny Tones. Kudos to all concerned for this thrilling event!
KDOCS Movie Lounge + Social Justice Makers Lab Raise Funds for the Ukraine: Many thanks to the timely efforts of Greg Chan, Jennifer Hardwick, and local artist Eleanor Reardon (who donated hand-stitched Sunflower bookmarks for sale) for hosting the screenings of Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom on Thursday as well as the button-making. And big thanks to librarians Silvana Smith and Judy Johanson who partnered in the Richmond satellite pop-up. $800 in funds were raised for the Canadian Red Cross.
CRIM Practicum Students Present! Under the excellent guidance of CRIM faculty member Kristi Wijnsma, approximately 30 students – alongside faculty, staff, and community partners — enjoyed listening to the CRIM practicum students present on their experiences from this past semester. These transformative learning opportunities clearly transform students’ lives and career paths. Well done, Criminology!
Resources for Faculty, Students, and Staff
Faculty Handbook Reminder: We wanted to inform all new faculty members, as well as provide a reminder to continuing faculty, about the existence of the following two resources:
- Faculty and Instructional Staff Handbook can be found here: https://kpuemp.sharepoint.com/sites/fh/SitePages/Home.aspx
- More resources for Faculty can be found here: https://kpuemp.sharepoint.com/sites/arts/resourcesforfaculty/SitePages/Home.aspx
There will be no Arts Update next Friday, April 15. We always welcome your feedback, information items, and suggestions.
Lifted under blooms
Kindness our greatest measure
Fragile, together
Wishing you weekend blooming,
Greg, Wade, Danny, Billeh, and Shelley
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