Highlights: Fall 2021 campus-wide meeting

The Fall 2021 campus-wide meeting took place Friday, October 29 as a hybrid Zoom-in person event. Due to COVID-19, these meetings had been hosted virtually over the past year. Over 100 faculty and staff joined in person or by Zoom.

Here are some of the highlights and reports from the meeting:

• Executive Director's Report
• COVID-19 and Return to Campus
• Student Services at SFU Surrey: Welcome Centre, Centre for Accessible Learning exam space
• Ancillary Services Update: Document Solutions
• Remembering Tom Calvert, SIAT Professor Emeritus
• Joy Johnson: Update on presidential priorities
   

Executive Director's Report

Focused on:

• National Indigenous Peoples Day, June 2021
• National Day for Truth and Reconciliation ceremony in partnership with the Surrey Urban Indigenous Leadership Committee (SUILC) and the City of Surrey
• Ongoing work to with the q̓íc̓əy̓ (Katzie), Kwantlen and Semiahmoo First Nations and SUILC
• Plans for an Indigenous student space, welcome figures and public art at SFU Surrey campus
• Welcoming new staff from across the different faculties and departments
   

COVID-19 and Return to Campus

Melanie Brown (Director, Special Projects, Pandemic and Post-Pandemic Planning) reported SFU’s reopening and COVID safety planning has gone well. 60-70% of students, staff, and faculty are back in-person, COVID contraction and transmission has been minimal and there has been a high compliance to different safety measures (e.g., wearing masks in public spaces).

SFU has implemented a process for mandatory self-disclosure of vaccination process for all those who access our campuses, including students, faculty, staff and visitors. Along with this declaration, all members of the community must also submit proof of vaccination by this Friday, November 5. Step-by-step instructions and more information about this can be found on the SFU Return to Campus website.
 

Student Services at SFU Surrey: Welcome Centre, Centre for Accessible Learning exam space

Dina Shafey (Director, Student Services, Surrey Campus) provided an update on the new Welcome Centre. The Welcome Centre occupied the space that previously was the Bookstore.

The Surrey Welcome Centre will follow a similar model to Student Central at the Burnaby campus. Student Services staff will be present to answer questions and connect prospective students/families with university resources that will best help them. When tours resume, they will start out of the Welcome Centre.

There was also discussion around the need for a permanent exam space at SFU Surrey for students accessing the Centre for Accessible Learning (CAL) services. A classroom space has been identified with renovations forthcoming. In the interim, a plan is being developed to accommodate students.
 

Ancillary Services Update: Document Solutions

It was announced that Document Solutions (DocSol) will be returning to SFU Surrey.

A soft launch is scheduled for November 15 at three days a week (Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays). The aim is to have the space fully re-opened for January 2022.

Along with DocSol's return, there are also preliminary plans for training and tools around how to use and get the most out of WebCRD. Stay tuned for more information.
 

Remembering Tom Calvert, SIAT professor emeritus

SIAT's Desirée Nazareth shared news of Tom Calvert (SIAT professor emeritus) passing on September 28, 2021. Desirée shared her own memories of working with Tom. An In Memoriam can be found on the SIAT website here.
 

Joy Johnson: Update on Presidential Priorities

The meeting closed with a brief presentation from President Joy Johnson, who re-affirmed her three institutional priorities (reconciliation, student experience, and equity, diversity and inclusion) and strategic visioning/planning work to be conducted in the year ahead. You can learn more about these priorities as well as receive updates on the President's Office website.

President Johnson also helped Steve unveil a piece of art created by Isabelle Louie, a co-op student working with Surrey Campus Administration, that celebrates the resilience of the Surrey Campus Vibe during COVID-19. The art will now hang in the Campus Administration office, and all are invited to drop by the office to take a look and receive a small postcard version of the art as well.