We hardly dare to ask, but…was that sunshine we saw peeking over the rain-drenched battlements of July? Are we finally moving beyond that extended, soggy spring?!? Has calendarial theory merged with meteorological practice in a glorious praxis of sun, warmth, and languid living? Let’s hope.  

Summer will have its flies: The Student Support Program (SSP) has been launched. It offers a complete suite of counselling support for students, including free 24/7 online counselling in every common language and culture for all domestic and international students, and an app: https://www.kpu.ca/keepmesafe. Please highlight this service with students and consider linking it on your course home page. This promotional PDF may be helpful too.

Full many a flower: Arts had an impressive showing in the Convocation 2020 awards. Please join us in extending heartfelt congratulations to Sam Migliore from Anthropology (Professor Emeritus), Kent Mullinix from Sustainable Food Systems and Security (Distinguished Scholarship), Larissa Petrillo from Anthropology (Distinguished Teaching, Full-Time), and History’s Tracey Kinney (Distinguished Service, Faculty).  

Summer’s lease hath all too short a date:  Starting this week, Fall semester courses will be enabled in Moodle and begin populating. Please be on the lookout for your course section to be enabled soon. Those who have been working in a development site will be able to back up and restore their work onto their main course site by following these instructions:  Backing up a course – Restoring a course. If you have any questions about Moodle or if you require additional support, please submit a request through the new portal.  

Everybody into the Pool: KPU has a membership with the Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion, which entitles faculty and staff to a series of cost-free educational webinars every month: e.g., July  – The Struggle of the caregiver – Is your workplace supportive?; August 4 – Busting myths – Challenging the myth of meritocracy; and August 20 – Cultural Competence. Please consider giving them a look. 

Summer Reads: We are excited to announce two new book publications by Arts faculty! Kamala Nayar’s The Sikh View on Happiness: Guru Arjan’s Sukhmani, co-authored with Jaswinder Singh Sandhu, has been published with Bloomsbury Press. The book features a new translation of the celebrated Sikh text Sukhmani (‘Pearl of Happiness’) and offers the first in-depth analysis of it. Congratulations, Kamala, on this outstanding achievement. 

Meanwhile, Associate Dean Shelley Boyd and Dorothy Barenscott (FINA), just published Canadian Culinary Imaginations with McGill-Queen’s. This scrumptious edition completes a project begun with the 2016 conference of that title at KPU. The tome explores the food-related concepts, memories, emotions, cultures, practices, and tastes that make Canada unique. The cover features the art of KPU BFA alumnus Jay Cabalu. A hearty félicitations to Dorothy and Shelley! 

All our best for the lazy, hazy, crazy, mazy, plaguey days of summer ahead! 

Diane, Shelley, Wade, and Greg