Fall 2020| Issue #14

Welcome back!

Oki. On behalf of the Dean’s Office, it is an honour to welcome our new and returning faculty and staff to the Fall 2020 semester. We have been humbled by the dedication, hard work and versatility you have shown as we prepare our students for primarily online delivery this semester. We have been equally impressed by how many have maintained research activity, as well as graduate student, independent and applied studies this summer either at home or on-site, in adherence to COVID-19 health and safety guidelines. We recognize that this has not been an easy time for anyone, and that some have been more burdened by the present situation than others. We are proud that the Faculty of Arts & Science has risen to the occasion, supported one another and continues to provide our students with the best possible experience.

A Safe and Productive Fall Semester
The Relaunch Coordination Committee has listened to the perspectives of faculty, staff, and students and is helping those who need to work from campus to do so safely, while those of us who can work from home continue to do so this Fall. If you haven’t done so already, please download and make use of the great, new uLethbridge Safe app.  Designed to keep everyone safe on campus, it includes a daily health check to protect students and employees from COVID-19, and provides health resources, a Mobile Blue Light option to contact Campus Safety from anywhere on campus, safe walk requests, emergency plans, mobile incident reporting and more. I would like to thank Campus Safety and the entire Relaunch Coordination Committee, including Associate Dean Jennifer Copeland and Director of Science Operations Tony Montina, for their hard work.

This summer saw our highest enrolment on record, as we offered more than the usual number of online courses in SSI, SSII and SSII/III. This was a plan that was made before the pandemic, following strong enrolment in our expanded online offerings in 2019.  Thanks to the great efforts of our faculty and staff, we have contained the expected impact of the pandemic on new high school registrants, so that our total enrolments have remained stable. Overall, enrolment at the University is up 0.4% compared to last year, but undergraduate student enrolment is down 0.9% and student credit hours are down 1.3%. Graduate student enrolment is up 17.6% and Indigenous student enrolment is up 6.3%, but the number of new high school students beginning programs at the U of L is down 9.2%. Undergraduate Arts and Science credit hours are down slightly from Fall 2019, by 0.5%. This underscores the importance of our recruitment and applicant-to-registrant recruitment efforts. We are thankful for your participation in the virtual New Student Orientation last week, and we look forward to your involvement at Open House on September 26.

2020-2021 Priorities
Our top priority is the safety and well-being of our students, faculty and staff during the current public health challenge and we always value the student experience and the workplace environment. We will maintain a dialogue about how to promote a positive experience for everyone in the virtual classroom and meeting spaces, being especially mindful to set a culture of accommodation for those for whom the home environment may be a less than ideal workspace. Associate Dean Harold Jansen will continue to provide updates and advice, in consultation with the Teaching Centre, on how to ensure a positive student learning experience with remote delivery.  

We also find ourselves faced with by far the most significant fiscal challenge in our university’s 53-year history, with annual decreases to the Provincial Operating Grant continuing to the tune of more than $20M over four years, coupled with reduced revenues from ancillary activities during the pandemic. Our Provost has set up a number of Task Forces that have been operating throughout the summer, to find ways to maintain the quality of our programming and research outcomes in the midst of the major budgetary reductions that began last year. Protecting the academic core of the institution has been a priority of the Faculties during this process, so that we stay true to our values and minimize any impact on the learning, research and creative outcomes for society.  It will not always be easy, but we will find a way to emerge from these challenges stronger than ever.

Your Dean’s Office team is an optimistic group. We understand that universities must continue to build and innovate, even during major challenges, to stay ahead of the competition and serve our students and society. No, it is not all doom and gloom. A number of initiatives are exciting us and we hope the same is true for you as we move them forward this academic year:

• Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism
  At this important moment in history, we are pleased to see the interest expressed by faculty members, staff, and students in advancing EDI initiatives at the University of Lethbridge and we will be seeking your input.  In this context, we are reaching out to ULFA’s GED Committee and to Human Resources, with a view to working collaboratively to achieve positive outcomes, such as clear and actionable policies and procedures related to EDI in hiring practices that begin before advertisements are made and extend through orientation, mentorship, and retention. The Faculty of Arts & Science will establish a Working Group focused on inclusive practices, and we will seek your expert input at DAC and Council, to determine how the committee will be staffed. We have an important societal duty as an academic institution to show leadership in issues of equity, diversity, and inclusion, and I look forward to working with you as we advance these important priorities. I also encourage you to sign up for one of Dr. Valerie Pruegger’s Faculty Workshops on Countering Bias and Supporting Equity in Academia, brought to you by the Provost’s Office, ULFA’s Gender, Equity and Diversity Committee, and Human Resources. Space is limited and priority will be given to Chairs and STP committee members.

• School of Indigenous Studies
  The School of Indigenous Studies Planning committee is continuing its efforts toward completing a proposal to establish a School. Buoyed by the generous donation from the Mastercard Foundation, the rapid growth of the Indigenous Student Success Cohort (ISSC), and increasing enrolment of Indigenous students, the committee proposes an overarching network structure that builds connections among existing programs and experts across the institution. These include the Department of Indigenous Studies and other experts in the Faculty of Arts and Science, as well as the ISSC. It will also include the Indigenous Governance and Business Management, the Niitsitapi Teacher Education Program, the Bachelor of Fine Arts in Indigenous Art, and the Bachelor of Health Science in Aboriginal Health. Language revitalization was a recurrent theme of importance, so the committee also recommends a Centre for Language Sustainability that would fall within the School. Stay tuned for further information and consultation on this important initiative, which will continue to develop in consultation with Blackfoot and other Indigenous communities.

• Four-year Engineering Program
  Subsequent to the passage of curriculum at Faculty of Arts & Science Council, we are continuing to develop a four-year engineering program. Local industry and Advanced Education representatives have signaled particular interest in distinct programming that makes use of our institutional and regional expertise in Agriculture. The Engineering proposal development team is presently working on a streamed program in the field of Agricultural Infrastructure Engineering, which would be unique in the Province.

• Work-Integrated Learning
  The University of Lethbridge is unique in its ability to combine the principle of Liberal Education with experiential, hands-on and work-integrated learning. Our Co-operative Education program has been growing by leaps and bounds over the past few years. The COVID-19 pandemic has been a challenge, but we continue to highlight WIL as an important element of learning at the U of L through the consolidation of Faculty-specific co-operative education opportunities under the Career Bridge banner. An area of specific interest is the expansion of WIL opportunities for students in the Humanities and Social Sciences. Studies such as the 2018 Conference Board of Canada Employability Skills Study demonstrate that the transferable skills developed in these fields are in high demand by employers, but many students do not know how to demonstrate the value of their skills in the workplace context.
  
  Associate Dean Janay Nugent is working with the School of Liberal Education on an Early Career Success project for these students. Multiple initiatives are emerging under this umbrella, including a donor-sponsored, paid pilot student internship program and new programming such as an “Early Career Success: Humanities and Social Sciences” course launched this fall and taught by Dr. Chris Churchill. A combined seventy students in this course and Dr. Aaron Stout’s, “Why Humanities?: Applying the Humanities to the World” course are contributing to our local community through a southern Alberta “Hackathon”. With the help of Agility, class projects bring together students with local not-for-profit organizations and for-profit businesses to help them problem solve challenges brought about by COVID. WIL is also an important element of the Mastercard Foundation funding for Indigenous students. Keep watching as exciting new and expanded WIL initiatives are announced over the academic year.

• New Academic Programming
  We are always interested in hearing proposals for new courses and programs. This year, we are being encouraged to develop programs that offer alternative modes of delivery, such as online, intensive summer delivery, and those which hold the potential to generate revenue, a proportion of which we will be able to retain for further program development. We are currently working on programs in GIS, Data Science, Bioinformatics and Development Studies, as well as a one-year Certificate in Arts & Science with several stream options. We also have an exciting new graduate research opportunity in the field of sustainable agriculture that has received funding from the McCain Foundation. Please contact Associate Dean Jennifer Copeland if you have ideas for new, innovative programming.

• Faculty of Arts & Science Governance and Strategic Plan
  The time has come for the Faculty of Arts & Science to develop our own Strategic Plan that reflects our values and vision for the future. As a first step, we feel that we should establish a Governance Advisory Group, tasked with advising the Dean’s Office with advice on how to optimize the efficiency and effectiveness of our administration of programs, research goals, and student learning outcomes. It will also help us to represent you in governance discussions at the institutional level.

New Faculty Members
As we begin the new academic year, we would like to introduce you to our newest tenure-track or continuing faculty members who began this summer. We welcome Dr. Heather Stanley, Assistant Professor of History, Dr. David Hobbs, Assistant Professor of English, Dr. Chelsea Ekstrand, Assistant Professor of Neuroscience, and Dr. Tegan Barry, Instructor III in Biological Sciences. Dr. Anne Lasinsky, Instructor II in Kinesiology and Adriana Monteiro Lima, Instructor II in the Academic Writing Program have also joined us in term positions this summer. We similarly welcome the return of Dr. Karl Laderoute, Dr. Christopher Grignard, and Dr. Chris Churchill, who return to term positions as Instructor III in Philosophy, English and History, respectively.  Our agricultural expertise has also increased with the addition of three new scientists from the Government of Alberta.  Dr. Shelley Hoover (apiculture), Dr. Kim Stanford (beef cattle microbiology) and Dr. Michelle Konshuh (irrigation crop science) have joined us as Research Associates in the Department of Biological Sciences.

Retirements
I wish we could have been in-person this Spring semester to formally recognize the outstanding contributions of Prof. Catherine Kingfisher to the Department of Anthropology, the Faculty of Arts & Science and to the fields of happiness and wellbeing, power and inequality, neoliberalisms, globalization and government policy. Best wishes in your retirement! I would also like to thank Prof. Susan McDaniel for her work in the Department of Sociology and Prentice Institute for Global Population and Economy through the past decade.

As of this year, a number of faculty members are taking advantage of mutually-agreeable termination arrangements.  If you are thinking about the end of your University of Lethbridge career or plan to retire in the next three years but have some projects that you would like to complete first, let’s talk about your timeline. We are flexible and may be able to provide a favourable workload allocation in your final year to help you meet your goals.

Overcoming Adversity to Excel
The combined impacts of the sustained reduction in the Provincial Operating Grant and the COVID-19 pandemic have been very difficult for all of us to weather - and the fiscal challenges look as though they may remain challenging for the foreseeable future.  However, the talent of the faculty and staff in our Faculty never ceases to amaze me, and I have an incredible team with me in the Dean’s Office who have rolled up their sleeves to work with you to help us through this perfect storm.

As an institution, we must constantly innovate to keep ahead of the competition. We are outdoing our peers so far in managing through this crisis and I believe there is a lot that we can achieve, even at a time like this. While we address the financial difficulty with an emphasis on recruitment and other mechanisms of revenue generation, we can also develop innovative new curriculum and professional programs for our students, promote inclusive practices, enhance work-integrated learning opportunities and develop a Strategic Plan and governance model that ensures success across the Humanities, Social Sciences, and Sciences.

Best wishes for a healthy, productive, and enjoyable 2020-21 academic year.

Matthew G. Letts, Ph.D.
Dean, Faculty of Arts & Science

Fall 2020 Open House

Saturday, September 26, 2020
10AM - 1PM | Online Zoom

Fall Open House is coming up and we would like to thank everyone who has volunteered their time to this important event, we know that our weekends are valuable and busy! However, this particular recruitment activity has a very good record of attracting and retaining students, so your time here will be very well spent. The purpose of Open House is to introduce prospective students to the university and give them an idea of the people and activities that they might encounter. This is the largest prospective student event we host on campus and this is our time to shine! Open House is designed for current high school students, prospective graduate students and transfer students considering uLethbridge for Fall 2021.

We are still looking for faculty members who can host Open Office Hours during Open House. This is a great opportunity for prospective students to meet with the professors who will teach their classes, and ask the questions they need answered. If you are able to volunteer for any duration during Open House, contact Catharine Reader.

Public Professor Series

The PUBlic Professor Series is back for another season! The upcoming lectures are sure to be thought-provoking and encourage open conversation. No matter what, there will be something for everyone.

Join women and gender studies professor, Dr. Glenda Bonifacio, as she explores Communities and disasters: associative acts and total escape?

Thursday, September 24, 2020 - 7:00pm - 9:00pm

Event Location: COVID-19 has impacted the way we do everything, including the delivery of our events. The safety of our speakers and guests in attendance is of the utmost importance to us, and for that reason, this talk will be delivered LIVE ONLINE. Please register for this event at https://pps-bonifacio.eventbrite.ca. Registration is required as we need to provide you with secure access information prior to the start of the event. All registrants will receive access information one week before the event.

In the spirit of the PUBlic Professor Series, we encourage you to prepare appetizers and pour yourself a beverage of choice. Better yet, organize a watch party and invite people from your circle to watch with you. We may be at home, but we can still stay connected through our shared love of lifelong learning.

In support of our long time partners

Meet the remaining line-up: