Hi everyone,
Welcome to the first dean’s update of the 2018-19 academic year! I hope everyone had a restful summer, with plenty of opportunity to get away and not think about postsecondary education. The family and I spent a fabulous three weeks in the Maritimes in late July. I went there with just one goal in mind—to sit on a beach staring at the sea, with a beer in hand. Mission accomplished. I have to admit the beach was hard to leave, but it’s nice to be back, and I think I’ve adjusted to the reality that it is now fall in Yukon.
Now on to some updates from around the division:
Bachelor of Arts in Indigenous Governance
The IGD has launched! We welcomed 16 registrants into the program this fall, which is exciting given that our window for program promotion following ministerial approval in April was so short. The degree is the culmination of four years of development work and is the first undergraduate degree to be credentialed independently by a postsecondary institution north of 60 in Canada.
SOVA So Far
An exhibition of artwork by alumni of the Yukon School of Visual Arts is on now at the Yukon Arts Centre. The show, titled SOVA So Far, runs to October 13. It’s an impressive collection and a testament to the strength of the Foundation Year program provided by the School. Go check it out!
2 New Programs
1. Community Education and Training Certificate
The Community Education and Training (CET) certificate has been fully approved by Academic Council and the Board of Governors. The CET was developed with support from the eleV project and will provide education and training related to a range of frontline education workers in First Nation communities—Education and Training Officers, Education Support Workers, Community Education Liaison Coordinators, and Education Outreach Coordinators. The CET will be “soft” launching in January 2019.
2. Yukon First Nations Arts Certificate
The Yukon First Nations Arts certificate is an Adult Basic Education program combining new studio courses in a range of First Nations visual arts media with existing ABE literacy and numeracy courses. The program received Academic Council approval back in the spring, and I’m happy to announce that the program’s resource plan received approval from the Board of Governors last Friday afternoon. The program is slated to launch in the fall of 2019.
Congratulations Marilou!
Huge congrats to Marilou Aguillon (administrative assistant in Health, Education and Human Services) for earning her Canadian citizenship last week!
New Issue of the Northern Review
Issue 47 of the Northern Review is out! This issue is all about resource development in the North. You can check it out online at journals.sfu.ca/nr/index.php/nr/issue/view/47.
Climate Change Policy Program – Cancelled Intake
Back in the spring, I made the decision not to proceed with an intake for the Climate Change Policy post-degree certificate. By late June, we had not secured a sufficient number of applicants to run the courses. The program has not been discontinued, however! We will be doing an implementation review this fall, en route to an intake in 2019-20.
Outlook Calendar Use
A gentle reminder as we start up a new academic year to please use your Outlook calendar and, if you haven’t already done so, give our administrative assistants editor status on them, so meetings with students and other staff can be made, as needed. It’s important to block off those times of day when you know you aren’t available throughout the year, so appointments aren’t being added to your calendar which you have no way of attending.
Riffin’ with Richardson
I’ll be reviving my series of weekly half-hour chats with Applied Arts faculty and staff this fall. Look for an invite in a inbox near you!
Take care,
Andrew