DR SJPS Solidarity Delegation Back Home: Welcome home to Dr. Bernie Hammond and his stalwart group of students who returned early Wednesday morning from the Dominican Republic. The group of sixteen students and three group leaders spent two weeks in the DR working with local NGO, Fundacion de accion comunitaria de Ocoa (FACO). As Bernie reports, "Each day was filled with activities, talks by representatives of the various organizations we visited, mini-lectures by me as occasions arose, observations, questions, sometimes back-breaking work, a 4 am long march to an altitude of 2,600 meters to watch the sunrise, and a daily de-brief for at least an hour every day." By all accounts a great success;
A new FOUNDATIONS in the humanities program for King's: On December 10th, Senate approved King's exciting new first-year, interdisciplinary program called Foundations, a series of intensive, related courses taught by faculty from the departments of History, Modern Languages and Philosophy & Religious Studies. The introduction of the program is the result of the determined leadership of Drs. Steve Lofts, Claudia Clausius, Rob Ventresca, Graham Broad, and Krista Lysack, along with the support and hard work of many others, including the members of EPC and the Deans. Qualified first-year students at King's will be admitted to the new program beginning September 2011;
TEAM CANADA 2011: Congratulations to the 5 King's students and recent alumni were selected to represent Canada at the World University Games in Urzurum, Turkey. Team Canada won the Bronze in Hockey, and our medalists are: Anthony Grieco, Kevin Baker, Keaton Turkiewicz, (all King's 2nd year students) and Yashar Farmanara and Scott Aarssen (completed 2 years at King's but now at Ivey). Also, Aaron Snow (2nd year) selected, but injured just prior to the tournament.
Did You Know?
Student Scholars: Meaghan Parry (King's 4th Year Honours SJPS & Economics student) will be presenting a paper at the Eastern Economic Association Conference in NYC entitled "Greasing or Sanding: The Effect of Corruption on Investment Rate", a paper co-written with a former King's professor, Dr. Anupam Das;
Greening King's:
The King's Solar Panel Installation is now operational & generating green energy and income for the College and you can monitor the performance of the panels on-line at http://kuc.solarvu.net (be sure to click on the LIVE header to see real-time performance). The system has been generating power since late December, but the monitoring software was only connected mid-February. It is also accessible through the King's web page at http://www.kings.uwo.ca/about-kings/greenkings-eco-initiative/;
Bottled Water in London City venues? Students and staff from King's s Development and Peace attended London City Council to support investment in publicly-owned water initiatives;
The Dean's Search: The formal search to appoint a successor to Dr. Des Dutrizac, (King's long-serving Academic Dean who retires from the position at the end of June) is progressing well. The Selection Committee, comprised of faculty and student representation and chaired by the Principal, was convened by College Council in the fall of 2010 and has been meeting regularly to review applications and interview candidates from across Canada. Finalists for the position will be on campus to meet with the King's community in the coming weeks and an appointment will be made following these campus meetings;
Queens of King's: As the weather improves (and I'm told it will) keep an eye out for King's own running team of women faculty who participate in road races to raise awareness and funds for educational charities in Latin America. If you would like to know more about the Queens of King's, talk to Dr. Renée Soulorde-La France, Chair of the Department of History and, by all appearances, la reine des reines;
King's has 15 partnerships with Ontario Catholic school boards and recently began working closely with the Thames Valley public school board. These important relationships provide benefit to King's on many, many levels and allow the College to serve as a resource to educators and students from across the province.
Recent school board partnership agreements have been signed with:
Algonquin and Lakeshore CDSB
Hamilton Wentworth CDSB
York CDSB
King's maintains 21 exchange partnerships with international post-secondary institutions. These partnerships open the door to student and faculty exchanges and research opportunities:
Recent agreements have been signed with:
Kwansei Gakuin, Kyoto, Japan
Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Ecuador
Recently, King's has hosted delegations from the following partners:
Social Work delegation from South China Agricultural University of China
Visiting business professors from Dongbei University and Chongqing University, China
Students are currently in residence from the Emerging Leaders Program (Latin America)
Upcoming Events
Catholic Students' Week: March 12th-20th marks the annual celebration on Canadian university campuses sponsored by the national office of Canadian Catholic Students' Association. For the many events planned for King's by our own Campus Ministry Team, visit http://www.kings.uwo.ca/campus-ministry-old/ ;
The King's Chamber Choir: Already making noises, the newly-formed King's Chamber Choir will perform its second concert entitled "Road to the Isles: A Celtic Choral Celebration". Special guests include local celebrities, Irish Stew. March 25th 8pm at Windermere on the Mount. Admission by donation to support the Sisters' of St. Joseph's work in Malawi.
Community Lenten Retreat: All members of the King's community are invited to participate in a spiritual retreat led by King's/St. Peter's alumnus, Most Reverend Gary Gordon, Bishop of Whitehorse. The retreat, Lent: A Springtime of Joy, will take place Sunday, March 13th, noon - 7Pm in the Vitali Lounge.
Lectures: A number of interesting lectures are scheduled in the coming weeks, notably those sponsored by the Philosophy & Religious Studies department and the Religious Life Lecture Series. The list is continually updated, so please consult the King's web site http://www.kings.uwo.ca/ . And I hope you were one of the fortunate to attend the wonderful talk by Dr. David Vine of American University on the topic of Diego Garcia, presented this week by the Political Science Club and the KUCSC.
