TIME: 4 months and counting.
DISTANCE: At least 2 meters apart.
AVERAGE PACE: One day at a time.
The COVID race appears to keep lengthening with unexpected turns and inclines, inclines that we hope will remain gentle and short-lived here in B.C. Even as we enter stage two of our progressive reopening, it feels at times as though we are running a marathon for which we have no sense of the route or finish line. On long runs, I turn the volume up on my music, settle into a steady pace, and delight in unexpected sightings, such as a coyote searching for his breakfast along the shoreline. Concentrating on the shorter distances directly ahead of me, rather than the multiple kilometers still waiting around the next bend, makes the run go by more smoothly.
Running on Schedule: With the aim of helping students to make informed choices about their course selection for the fall, senior leadership has asked the Dean’s office to compile a list of Fall courses that will be delivered entirely asynchronously. In other words, these are courses for which students will neither be expected nor required to be present online during any specific times throughout the semester including exams. Your department chairs will be reaching out to you for this information with a deadline to submit any courses that meet these criteria by Monday. We know this is a tight turnaround time and appreciate your cooperation. We are hoping to compile as accurate a list as possible given the short window, and we thank everyone for responding to this request for information.
Memory Jog: For courses that are being delivered fully online during the pandemic, the Moodle course shell can be a highly effective virtual classroom. Due to prescribed class size limits, however, the folks in IT are not able to combine Moodle course shells for different sections of the same course. As an alternative to recreating identical course resources and activities, instructors may replicate an existing Moodle course by first backing up and then restoring that Moodle course.
Up and Running: Last week University President Alan Davis announced that Dr. Asma Sayed (Department of English), whose teaching and scholarship include many aspects of antiracism, will lead a university-wide task force devoted to developing institutional supports and opportunities for teaching, research, and scholarship on racial equity, systemic oppression, and intersectional social justice. The group will look to share experiences, knowledge, research, creativity, and teaching resources relating to confronting racism and promoting intersectional social justice. The goal is to confirm the committee’s membership (including key faculty, staff, administrators, and students), to set up a web portal, and be fully functional by the Fall semester.
Fancy Footwork: “I skate just to skate.” Philosophy’s Colin Ruloff was recently featured in the reflective article “This Beautiful Frenzied Madness: Skating at Fifty” about his decades-long passion for vertical skateboarding or “vert.” A one-time competitive skateboarder, Colin recently rediscovered the sport and its transporting ability, taking him away from the humdrum of daily life.
Take the Money and Run: A one-time expense of up to $25 (tax included) is available to all employees to purchase a washable/re-wearable mask. Those wishing to be reimbursed for this expense will need to submit an expense report and a scan of all receipts to arts.funding@kpu.ca. The ORG code for this expense report is 2022. Please do not include any other purchases on this report. Queries can be directed to arts.funding@kpu.ca.
The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner: Fine Arts faculty member Kira Wu is part of an art exhibition entitled “Together Alone: A Community Reflects on Quarantine.” This exhibit at the Fort Gallery runs from July 17 to August 16, 2020. If you are in the Fraser Valley over the summer, drop by to view the show and support this artist collective and non-profit community organizations like the Fort Gallery, which are struggling to stay open during Covid.
Long Time Running: We know it’s been a long haul, and many of you have been hitting the wall, especially in this summer heat. Take heart, we are on the home stretch and the finish line is in reach!
As we continue to tackle the longer Covid marathon, take a moment this weekend to marvel at comet Neowise racing through the evening sky. Neowise was closest to the Earth (a mere 103 million kilometers away!!) this past Thursday and is just beginning to recede. Neowise won’t be running through our stretch of the universe for another 6,800 years.
Wishing you a slow, easy run in the sun this weekend,
Diane, Greg, Wade, and Shelley
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