ARTS UPDATE – COMING TOGETHER AGAIN – OCTOBER 7th, 2022

Coming together again. In honour of this theme, we offer an image of a convivial get together courtesy of Renoir. Almost since the beginning of 2020, spending time together has been fraught with uncertainty. Now as the number of opportunities to interact with colleagues, friends, and students increases, there is both joy and trepidation. More events are face-to-face, but others continue to be offered in a hybrid or online format. We all have our own comfort level. Over the long weekend, enjoy spending time with family and friends. Take in a cultural or sporting event. Enjoy the good weather while it lasts. Or just relax.

Congratulations to Dr. Fiona Whittington-Walsh (SOCI): Encouraging more faculty across KPU to become involved with teaching designed to include students with intellectual, developmental and/or learning disabilities is Fiona’s goal. She has duly been named KPU’s Lead Advisor for Disability, Accessibility and Inclusion. In this role she will serve as KPU’s leading academic voice on disability, accessibility and inclusion. Much of her work will centre around the Including All Citizens Pathway (IACP) – a student-centred learning environment where everyone is included and valued equally. IACP offers for-credit fully inclusive academic courses that include students with intellectual, developmental and learning disabilities on par with their peers. It does not adapt or modify courses but transforms teaching using Universal Design for Learning principles to make each course fully accessible and inclusive. 

2022-23 Arts Speaker Series: The first event of the 2022-23 Arts Speaker Series begins on Wednesday October 12, from 1-2 pm, with Dr. Deepak Gupta’s “It’s Just Leadership”. Invitations have been sent out for this Microsoft Teams event. Check out the full schedule of talks here.

KPU at the 2022 Vancouver Writers Fest: A number of events featuring KPU folks are coming up!

  • KPU CRWR Alum Tawahum Bige performs at the KPU CRWR sponsored event Word! on Thursday, Oct. 20th at 10:15 AM. Link here. 
  • Associate Dean Billeh Nickerson hosts the Poetry Bash on Friday, Oct. 21st at 8:30 PM. Link Here.
  • CRWR Instructor Aislinn Hunter moderates two events: Fiction from Reality on Thursday, Oct. 20th at 6 PM, Link here
  • and Poems for the Twelfth Hour on Friday, Oct. 21st at 1 PM. Link here.

Meeting Up to Spill the Tea:Heather Ladd’s co-edited collection English Theatrical Anecdotes, 1660-1800, has just been published by University of Delaware Press. Co-edited with Leslie Ritchie, the volume explores role theatre gossip played in the construction of stage fame in England’s emergent celebrity culture. Contributors explore the entertaining, gossipy stories about theatre people in the Restoration period and 18th century, an important time in the history of stage celebrity in England. For more, see the spotlight on Heather’s achievement on the KPU page here. Way to go, Heather!

Cut To Fortress: Join Łutselkʼe Dene, Plains Cree poet/spoken word artist and KPU alum Tawahum Bige for a reading from their debut book of poetry, Cut to Fortress at 4pm on Thursday October 13th in Arbutus 1780 (the back of the KPU Library). This event is made possible by the support of English, Creative Writing, IDEA, and the nə́ c̓aʔmat ct project.

Political Science Talk – Reclaiming the Muslim Experience in Canada – Thursday, October 13th at 6 pm Fir 128: The Department of Political Science is proud to be hosting, as part of its Canadian Club Speakers Series, a public talk by Bassam Abun-Nadi onCanadian Muslim Identity on Thursday, October 13, 6pm, FIR 128.  Bassam Abun-Nadi is an educator, researcher, and community activist currently serving as Director of Curriculum Development for RECLAIM, where he leads a team that works to accurately express the Muslim experience and bring that experience into the classroom. He is also the host of the podcast Preoccupation: A Not-So-Brief History of Palestine. Bassam has a B.A in Political Science (SFU, 2010) and completed his MEd (UBC, 2017) where he specialized in the impact of globalization upon education reforms in the Middle East. The event is open to all; no registration required. 

Retrospective note: Open House: A successful Open House was held on October 1st at the Surrey Campus. Over 1000 prospective students experienced the Open House, almost half in person. A few photos to show what you missed if you could not attend:

Important and helpful information – whether you are a new faculty member or one of long-standing, the following resources are invaluable. 

AIVs:  We’re entering a peak grading period (i.e., midterms and early-semester assignments). Unfortunately, this can also mean dealing with academic integrity violations (AIVs). We’ve assembled a one-page guide to help faculty cope with AIVs here. Please be sure to check that out. The same site also includes Kristie Dukewich’s classic video on strategies for avoiding integrity violations, as well as a presentation on ‘authentic assessment.’ Please report ALL violations. This is an obligation under Policy ST2 and is critical to KPU’s ability to uphold a culture of integrity. Reporting should be done through the reporting portal here. If you have a very complicated case and are not able to assemble all the relevant evidence, report it anyway. The Dean’s Office can further investigate challenging cases.  We know that wrestling with AIVs is no picnic, and we deeply appreciate everyone’s dedication and hard work on this front. Discussions continue at all levels of the University over ways to further assist students and faculty on this vitally important (and aggravating) file.  

Students in Distress: Peak grading periods can also mean peak stress for students. Please see the following link regarding students in distress. A further resource is the ‘Green Sheet’ (a PDF version is also attached to this email).  

Faculty Engagement Opportunity: KPU Employee Engagement is looking for Faculty members to join our Faculty Engagement Committee through an expression of interest. The goal of this committee is to enhance Faculty engagement and experience at KPU. This is a chance to play a key role furthering the cause of building a strong community at KPU. If you’re interested, please email ees@kpu.ca by October 31, 2022.

The Dean Team Beckons! The call is out for applications to the Associate Dean of Arts positions starting in January 2023! Have you ever considered academic leadership? If so, please give serious thought to this rare opportunity to serve colleagues and to help shape the future of our Faculty by joining the Dean Team. Click here for more info. 

Getting the Band Back Together: In our last Update we marked the first day of fall and polled folks on their favourite of seven classic versions of the jazz standard ‘Autumn Leaves.’ As you see from the results below, Edith Piaf is tied with Iggy Pop for first place. Mon Dieu!  

Wishing everyone a restful long weekend,

Shelley, Billeh, Greg, Wade, and Dana