Brighter Days Ahead: King's Campus Updates

This message was sent out by the King's Principal, Dr. David Malloy to the King's community:

I am writing to you today with a renewed sense of optimism. I am usually a positive-minded person and today, with the sun shining, lilacs blooming and birds singing outside my window near campus, I can’t help but feel grateful for all the things I want to share with you here at King’s. However, that anecdote is not my sole basis for optimism.  

Ontario is now taking registrations for the COVID-19 vaccine for all adults who are 18 years and older. I encourage all who are eligible and willing to roll up your sleeve and to get that first dose. You can register here. This is an important step towards safety for all.

The province is also discussing how operations can begin to reopen more fully. While this is not a sign that we can relax all our precautions, such as mask wearing, social distancing, getting tested and isolating when ill, it is a plan for us to regain our lives outside of a largely virtual existence. 

I want to reassure you that King’s University College has plans in place to reopen our in-person experience on campus this fall. Please expect that a full reopening of campus is our Plan A and we are moving fully in that direction while respecting all public health guidelines as they unfold.  

• Our residences will operate with single rooms and with all COVID-19 health and safety protocols in operation. Our residence community did an exceptional job staying open and safe last year. 
• We will provide a sense of community, hospitality and welcome to our first year/first time students and returning students, ensuring that King’s is the place to be through on-campus events, workshops, tutorials, study spaces, library resources, and student supports such as counselling, the King’s Promise, KAMP, Peer Guide mentor programs and so much more. 
• King’s University College Students’ Council is actively planning to welcome students to campus with a full scope of programming including O-Week, the continued operation of 20+ clubs, special advocacy events and theme weeks that are meant to engage with campus and the broader community. 
• We will foster opportunities for students to connect with each other in-person and online so that our sense of belonging to the King’s community will be reignited with new energy. 
• We are creating and will provide campus programming that engages students with the King’s and broader Western/London community through experiential academic, co-curricular, and spiritual learning activities.  
• Our staff and faculty presence on-campus will ramp up, bringing back the vitality and energy that makes King’s a place for everyone to be together via in-person services and supports.

This fall, we plan to resume in-person classroom instruction with everyone wearing masks. What we do not know yet is if some of our programs will also have an aspect of virtual face-to-face and online. I suspect it will be a combination of all these options for the fall and likely a full return to in-person for January 2022. We will communicate updates as soon as they are available.  

I do want to add a special note to our international students. Please know we are here to support you with your travel and entrance to Canada plans. As well, once you do arrive, we have full supports here for you to transition to living and studying with us. 

Thank you for your patience and for your loyalty to King’s. We have come so far together and we are so very close to reopening our campus more fully.

At this time, I also want to extend my gratitude to our staff and faculty. I hope you get some rest as you enjoy an extra-long weekend. King’s administration will be closed on Friday, May 21, 2021 as an Appreciation Day for our employees. We will reopen on Tuesday, May 25, 2021 following the Victoria Day statutory holiday.  

As always, take care of yourself (by getting that vaccine!), take care of each other and we are so excited to be rejuvenating this place.  

Dave