Message from the president

Posted March 3, 2022

Transcript

Hello, everyone. Tim here.

I hope you all had a great Reading Week - either carving out time for some much needed rest and relaxation or getting caught up with work and study.

As the end of Reading Week aligned with the last phase of our gradual return to campus, it is important for me to check in and share more information on how we are moving forward.

All Winter 2022 courses originally scheduled for in-person instruction are now back on campus.

I can appreciate there may be some discomfort that comes with slowly returning to the way we once studied, taught and worked here on campus every day. After all, switching directions requires change, and change can be challenging even if it is towards a destination we very much want to get back to.

I consider March to be a month of transition as we all begin to settle into campus life… and I ask that we all commit to being patient with each other and ourselves.

We are making positive steps towards familiar territory but please know that we continue to monitor the current situation and will be ready to adapt as needed. Masks continue to be required for all indoor shared learning and common spaces until the end of the Winter semester. Also, it remains paramount to stay home if you test positive for COVID-19 or become sick with core symptoms.

We have come this far, with much success, because you have all remained flexible.

I am deeply thankful for all of you. Our efforts to plan and revise, while prioritizing health and safety would have been impossible without students and employees working with leaders along the way.

There is a lot we all gain by getting back to in-person activities and I have already caught myself in genuine moments of joy by seeing more students chatting in the hallways as they make their way to class and connecting with colleagues outside of email and online meetings.

And now, as we move ahead, I look forward to picking up work from where we left off on our Strategic Planning … . It has been a long couple of years and I am eager to get back to work in defining Mount Royal’s future.

I invite you to check out the Strategic Planning Framework, now online at mru.ca/Strategy.

Mount Royal is much more than walls and halls, we are a sum of inquisitive minds and beating hearts that energize this university. Please continue to look out for each other and respect different comfort levels as we transition back on campus.

Take care.