Winter Term to be blended

A message from Dr. David Malloy, King's Principal:

After much discussion with members of our community, King’s University College has come to the decision that our winter 2021 term will operate in the same manner as we are currently undertaking our fall term, as a blended campus. This decision is being made with the health and safety of our community at the forefront of our planning. A blended campus allows a variety of instructional delivery methods, the ability for King’s to offer on-campus housing and study spaces alongside a blend of in-person and virtual services to support academics and the student experience as best we can under the current conditions.

I am so thankful to the resiliency of everyone in the King’s community throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. The Moving Online Project (MOP) has been instrumental in ensuring a smooth transition to a mostly virtual campus. Thank you to everyone in the ITS department responsible for the set-up and continued maintenance of these systems. Thank you, as well, to the King’s faculty members for their quick adaptability and determination in putting these plans into place and to our students who likewise have adapted to what has been a new style of learning for many of them.

At the same time, everyone has been most appreciative of the hard work of the Physical Plant department who made changes to our campus to ensure social and physical distancing, and our Housekeeping staff who continue to clean the classrooms and offices, all to ensure the health and well-being of those on campus. I am thankful we have these teams working to take care of this place.

Obviously, King’s will operate differently for the remainder of the fall and into the winter semester than in the past. However, everyone at King’s has stepped up and taken the appropriate steps to care for our campus, our students and each other. Over the past months, I have been very happy to share reports on how members of the King’s community have worked, with health and safety top of mind, to provide the same world-class King’s experience, and I will continue to do so going forward. We have certainly seen the best of King’s, even under the current circumstances, and we should be proud of that.

We understand there will still be questions about such things as being tested for COVID, what departments and areas of operation are open and during what hours. We will do our best to answer those questions to reassure you that we are on the right track with our community’s best interest at the forefront of our efforts.

In this time of social distancing, however, there is a risk of disconnection. We must also take care of ourselves and each other. King’s continues to provide resources to ensure we take care of ourselves. These resources have always played a key role in ensuring the wellbeing of us all, and ensuring our own mental health and wellness is more important than ever.

The King Student Life Centre has always been a hub for social gathering at King's and remains so in a limited capacity, with study spaces, the Reflection Room, Games Room, King's Connection and King's University College Students' Council (KUCSC) offices open. Recently, however, it became a virtual centre for online gathering for students, faculty, and staff. Even though we are unable to gather on campus as we once did, we are still able to come together virtually, for events or as part of a club.

There have been bumps in the road, obstacles to overcome, but we should all take a moment this Thanksgiving to be thankful for the wonderful team effort that has been shown by all members of the King’s community to rise to the occasion to continue to take care of ourselves, take care of each other and take care of this place.