A Letter from Dr. Karen Riley
Good morning, colleagues,
Welcome to the latest edition of the Provost’s Digest. I hope that you are finding the updates helpful and informative. There is certainly a lot going on around here! I continue to be impressed with the way our faculty and staff are engaging with students both inside and outside the classroom.
The recent news about suicides on college campuses is very concerning and we know that mental health challenges and wellness must be a priority for our campus. Those of us working in higher education are often so busy caring for others — our students, our children, our parents, etc. — that we neglect caring for ourselves. Let us help one another to practice self-care, seek help when we need it, and continue to keep an eye out for each other. Please share those practices and activities that are rejuvenating for you and/or your team. Demonstrating grace and gratitude towards one another is a great place to start. It is beautiful outside so a walking meeting might be another great strategy. This is also a tough time for students, so the more we can do to support them the better. Thank you all again for all of your efforts. We are indeed fortunate to have such a caring community.
I want to offer my gratitude to our colleagues in the Office of Diversity, Engagement and Inclusive Excellence, University Ministry and the Office of Mission for their work on the vigil for Indigenous children that was held outside the student center on October 6. It was powerful and sobering, and the stories shared remind us that there is a great deal of work ahead to both acknowledge and reconcile the past. I also want to thank those that continue to attend and facilitate the Good Trouble Conversations. A special thanks to the members of the President’s Council on Race and Justice for last week’s discussions.
This week marks the beginning of 8W2 — which means new students for many of our faculty, and a busy time for many of our staff. Thank you for all you are doing to recruit new students, welcome them to Regis, and help them progress toward graduation. Our individual and collective efforts are our brand and reflect our stated and lived values.
Be sure to check out all of the updates this week. There are many things to celebrate. The faculty video is inspiring and there is a great story about one of our Chemistry faculty member’s very close connection to the Nobel Prize! #scholarlyexcellence.
We continue to get questions regarding COVID restrictions and vaccination rates. You can find that information at the top of the Regis website. Thanks to the efforts of our entire community we are moving in a positive direction!
Lastly, as promised, I am including a survey where you can anonymously provide feedback about the work of the Provost’s office — myself and/or my team (Dr. Karen Riley, Provost, Dr. Nicki Gonzales, Vice-Provost of Diversity; Dr. Heidi Blair, Director of Instructional Design & Technology, Mr. Michael Cahill, Associate Provost; Ms. Kristi Gonsalves-McCabe, Chief of Staff; and Ms. Sandy Wojciehoski, Assistant to the Provost). The survey is simple: what is working, what isn’t working, and what changes would you like to see implemented. I hope you will take a few minutes to provide your thoughts. As we discussed in the recent town halls, we will be doing this on a regular basis. We will refine the surveys to more targeted areas as we learn more from our community. Please visit here to take the survey:
https://regisu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3F901QiG8aXqLEa
Thank you,
Karen Riley, Provost