In case you missed it: Fall 2020 Campus-wide meeting

On October 21, due to COVID-19, we hosted our semesterly Surrey campus-wide meeting over Zoom for the first time. It was great to see everyone virtually – at our peak, we had 95 SFU faculty and staff join us!

In case you missed the meeting (or parts of it), here are some highlights:

Greetings from President Johnson

On the day before her installation as SFU’s 10^th president, Joy Johnson joined our meeting to connect with and thank our campus community for the ongoing work to support students, research and community partnerships and engagements. She also outlined her priorities as president in the context of the Surrey campus, from supporting the needs of students to Indigenizing campuses and furthering equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI).

In Surrey, work is already underway to Indigenize our campus including the development of a dedicated space for Indigenous students on Galleria 5 and an Indigenous-influenced public art piece being designed and developed in the SRYE building. A campus anti-racism working group is also looking at how we can create a more inclusive campus community.

Research continues to thrive in Surrey—including advances in COVID-19-related research, noting the efforts of Mechatronic Systems Engineering professor Woo Soo Kim’s designs for a portable 3D ventilator to address future pandemic treatment.

President Johnson noted that expansion is an ongoing priority in Surrey. The SRYE building, which opened in Fall 2019, is just one piece of a growing Surrey campus in Centre Block (the area between SFU and Surrey City Hall). Efforts are continuing to advance proposed future growth in disciplines of health and creative technologies.

She also acknowledged our efforts to keep the Surrey vibe alive in the face of a pandemic, through our ongoing fire-and-poolside chats as well as our community outreach—retooling Science labs to produce hand sanitizer, donating campus furniture to local community agencies and supporting Orange shirt day with a physically distanced drumming ceremony.

Findings from the EDI Diversity Meter Report

Rosie Dhaliwal and Anisha Arora reported on this past Summer’s Diversity Meter Report. As mentioned above, this is top of mind for the university and I encourage you to take some time to read the report and get involved in the conversation. For more details about SFU’s EDI efforts, please visit SFU’s EDI website.

Surrey Campus & COVID-19 Updates

Mike Devolin (Associate Director, Facilities Services at SFU Surrey) updated us on our current health and safety protocols at the Surrey campus. Many people have been hard at work ensuring that the campus continues to run smoothly and safely for all of us.

I want to give a ‘shout-out’ to Facilities, the SFU Surrey Local Joint Health and Safety Committee and the COVID-19 Safety Ambassador Teams for their work. For more information and updates about COVID-19 at SFU Surrey, please check out our dedicated COVID-19 page on our website.

I also want to reiterate how proud I am of our Surrey campus community and all the hard work that everyone is doing to move SFU forward during these challenging times. As we go into the second half of the Fall semester, know that I am here to support you on the different initiatives and projects that your departments and faculties are engaged in.

I look forward to the day we can all be back together on campus, but until then, stay safe and continue to do great work!