TRU Dean of Students

I’ve been at TRU for 8 months now, and I am still surprised at the diversity of the  population here. Unfortunately, I was unable to be here for International Week in early February, but I have the opportunity to see an international parade every day as I walk the halls and pathways of the campus. International students do account for a great part of this diversity, but our domestic students, staff and faculty also come from many backgrounds, reflecting the population of BC. I stopped by the Art Gallery last week and caught the tail end of the Globally Minded Campus exhibit. Various student, staff and faculty  groups around campus were given foam heads to decorate for this exhibit. Each creation was to answer the question “What does it mean to be a globally-minded campus?” The foam heads answered this question in intriguing ways.

And then there are our Aboriginal students. Did you know that there are almost as many Aboriginal students on campus as there are international students? If you have the opportunity to drop by Cplul’kw’ten, the Gathering Place, check out the services and activities that take place there. A couple of times, I’ve dropped by in the evening and come across a weekly drumming circle. Most of the time though I encounter students hard at work in the computer lab or deep in thought as they read on the couches. It’s a good home base for our students.

Our new Global Competency credential will be awarded to students who have developed the intercultural knowledge, beliefs and attitudes that result from language learning, study abroad, volunteering here and abroad, and participating in other activities on campus.

But does all of this diversity result in a tolerant campus? In recent days, I’ve learned of isolated incidents of graffiti containing racist and homophobic messages. Surely a university campus should be a place where this sort of discourse is not tolerated. This should be a place where we learn to deal with difference in an atmosphere of respect. This should be a safe place to work, study and live.

March 21 is Racism – Stop It! Day. We need to complement our celebration of our diversity with some important education about tolerance. I would appreciate comments and suggestions here that would contribution to a robust, educational experience for TRU students on that day and for the days that follow.

What if it was planned that way…?

The TRU Wellness Centre is proud to invite you all to attend a critically acclaimed one-woman show.

Dissolve
written and performed by Meghan Gardiner

Thursday, March 3
7:30 pm, FREE at the door
TRU Grand Hall, Campus Activity Centre
TRU Student Door Prize – $200 in CASH!!

Meghan is a Vancouver-based actress, singer and playwright, and has performed Dissolve at hundreds of universities across North America to rave reviews. The Vancouver Sun says…”her anger translates into energy and spot-on satire… Gardiner’s timing is sharp, her characters funny and recognizable, and (Dissolve is) overall a rewarding show.”

We hope to fill the Grand Hall with all of you, so please come out in support of this event and tell your all your friends! I have attached a poster (legal) so please print it off and post it outside your office or dorm room door! Don’t forget…the door prize for TRU students is $200!!

This event is being sponsored by the TRU Wellness Centre, TRU Counselling Department and the TRU Conference Centre.

Welcome to 2011 and new semester of studies here at TRU. A highlight of my week was the Tuesday morning breakfast event at which 24 students were awarded the first-year TRU certificate in personal leadership. It’s always great to recognize students as they reach a milestones in a given program. Most important to me that morning was the opportunity to speak to engaged students who are actively seeking opportunities to exercise their leadership skills here on campus and in the greater community.

Alana Frymire coordinates the program. If you wish to get involved as a student, or if you have leadership opportunities for our students, please contact her at 250.828.5171.

I was clicking around in the Maclean’s education site last night and discovered their YouTube Channel. It’s an interesting way to present a student panel, and it seems that we have a TRU student on board. Please check it out and provide some feedback.

There are so many wonderful discoveries that I’ve made in my travels around the TRU campus so far: the view from the 9th floor board room in the TRU Residence (New Res), the Horticulture gardens behind the Welcome Centre, the magnificent pines that were saved between Old Main and the Library, and the great coffee at Common Grounds in the Indy Centre to name a few.

But I must be honest: my heart is in my stomach, and the Culinary Arts Cafeteria has won me over. What an amazing opportunity to partake in students’ learning. Get over there and try it out Tuesdays through Fridays for breakfast and lunch.

During the lunch hour yesterday, I found myself cross-legged on the floor of the prayer room in the International Building. How I got there has been an interesting journey…

A couple of weeks ago, TRU hosted Michael Carroll for a couple of events on awareness meditation. Carroll is the author of Awake at Work and facilitates conversations in workplaces about how meditation and mindfulness can lead to a more positive work environment. And then, last week, our Wellness Centre hosted a conversation about spirituality in the workplace led by our colleagues David Lidster and Pat Neufeld.

All of this attention to what one might call the “softer” side of our workplace  gave me pause – and some space to ask some questions of myself. How do we model for our students an ability to see the sacred in our everyday interactions with each other? How do we work toward a respectful workplace where we are present with each other and not distracted by the business and press of modern life? And there were more specific questions I asked myself: How do I take care of myself at work? When do I stop and listen to that quiet voice that helps me figure out what to do next, where to place my attention and my energy?

I decided to take advantage of what is already offered here on campus. One of our colleagues, Iris Rich McQuay of the COPE/MECA program, is guiding (facilitating? supporting? hosting?) some time in meditation on Mondays from 12:30 to 1:00 in the prayer room (IB 2059). Five of us spent some time together  this past Monday, looking for our sit bones, calming our monkey minds, breathing deeply. It was hard. Hard to stop thinking about what was coming up that afternoon. Hard to ignore the door opening and closing as our Muslim students went about their prayers. Hard to sit quietly and listen to what Iris referred to as the whispers of our heart. It’ll come. I suspect some times it will be easier than others. It’s the beginning that’s important.

From time to time, I will be posting profiles of students I’ve met in my travels around TRU. This is the first of those profiles.

Darren Nelson is one busy student! As a fourth-year biology major, he has a full program of study, including a directed study that is looking at the use of algae to sequester carbon dioxide in landfill sites. When he’s not working on his own academic pursuits, he supports other student on theirs. Darren is a Supplemental Learning leader, assisting students in BIOL 1110 as they review course lectures, learn to study effectively and prepare assignments. He also mentors a new Science student through the Transition Mentorship Program. One task he’s already helped his mentee get acquainted with the Library, showing the student how to access academic journal articles.

Darren’s day doesn’t stop when classes end. He’s a world-ranked curler, playing on a team that completes throughout the fall and winter. A competitive curler since the age of 11, he’s out on the sheets around Kamloops and at weekly practices in Vernon. He’s also an active member of BUGS and has participated in habitat restoration at MacArthur Island.

How does he manage to keep on top of his studies and remain so engaged outside of the classroom? Darren recommends a couple of things to new students. He uses the calendar on his iPhone to keep track of assignments and classes (though he acknowledges that an “old-fashioned” paper agenda works too!) He also suggests that students get to know their faculty. Go to their office hours and attend events that they organize.

It’s been a month since I last posted – a very busy month indeed. The start of a new academic year is always an intensely engaging time, but this year has been particularly busy for me as I learn more about TRU, the people here, and the ways that we do things.

While I’ve been figuring all of this out, talented and heroic people have been facing the “realest” of real-world problems: how to move 33 miners in Chile back to the surface after 68 days underground. As I sit this evening and watch the television footage of this event, I’ve been thinking about the interdisciplinarity of this process. Certainly, it is a feat of engineering, but it also is one that will draw on the fields of medicine, psychology, sociology, geology, philosophy, and literature as experts go through the next day and half dropping the “Fenix” capsule back and forth down a long earthen tube. These disciplines and more will inform the healing and restorative work that continues to take place after the glare of the television cameras fades.

At its best, a university provides a venue for students to learn how to get all these parts working together. At its best, a university is a place where students learn to respect others’ expertise and opinions. It should be a place where they learn to talk to each other across disciplinary divides and, as a result, solve problems in the best possible way.

Coincidentally, I spent a number of hours today talking with colleagues about the academic plan that is under development at TRU. While there were differences in the room about how to proceed, where to proceed, and when to proceed with the writing of this document that will guide decisions we make for a number of years, I think it’s fair to say that we were in violent agreement about one thing: that we seek to develop a plan that will ensure that our students are equipped to contribute to their communities in the future. Interestingly, none of us really talked about our actual disciplines. (In the room, I was joined by colleagues from the trades, English, nursing, law, education, sociology, tourism, biology, business…)

As I spend this evening reflecting on the morning’s conversation and watching the scene in Copiapo, Chile, it occurs to me that we are at our best when we come together from various points of view and work together toward building an elegant solution. Our students deserve these efforts. Though invisible to practically all of our students, they are efforts that create a model for the type of conversations that I’m sure have taken place around boardroom tables and at the top of mine shafts in Chile over the past two months. They are the types of conversations that I hope our students find themselves equipped to have as they leave TRU and (continue to) contribute to our communities.

I’ve written previously about the the annual Beloit College student mindset list, suggesting that it does not necessarily resonate for the student north of the border. Lo and behold, I learn this morning that UBC releases a Canadian list. Enjoy.

A recent story in the New York Times examined the findings of numerous research studies on learning, test performance, and retention of information. Much of this research shows that commonly held ideas about how, where, and when one best learns are based more on folk wisdom than on evidence. Indeed, the findings demonstrate that alternating study environments, mixing content, spacing study sessions, and self-testing work differently, and more effectively, than many of the student guides might lead us to believe. I encourage you to take a look at the article, click into the links to the articles, and think about some of your beliefs about how you learn new material and how you prepare for exams.