September is always an exciting month across the four schools; with the start of a new academic year students return to campus, faculty are engaged in innovative course design, and staff deliver inclusive student support programs. The energy of the citizen towns within which we are located is buzzing with energy and excitement.
September was also a month of launches for signature consortium-led initiatives: we announced the fall season of the Maple League Book Club, the Fall Better Together professional development series, the new curricular course for the OLTC (Online Learning and Technology Consultants) program, the four innovative Maple League courses, and upwards of 18 CEWIL funded projects that focus on direct student benefit.
This month we also saw a flurry of activity as communities of practice that were dormant over the summer months began to meet again, while other groups who met frequently over the summer months have started to announce new joint projects, successfully funded grants, and other shared initiatives.
In the midst of this disruption, we’ve also returned this September to the fundamentals: we have come to appreciate, now more than ever, the value of face-to-face and immersive learning environments, the importance of peer-to-peer interactions amongst students, and the necessity of community-building and strong relationships to the citizen towns within which we are situated.
We’ve had a stark reminder to value our time together because we know this time is precious. Here is to celebrating – with caution and critical empathy – a return to campus that brings with it renewal, hope, and new lessons to learn.
~ Dr. Jessica Riddell, Executive Director, Maple League of Universities
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