This week we completed lectures from our top three candidates for the position of Associate Dean Academic, Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy. Congratulations to our candidates who presented as part of the position competition process and thank you to those who tuned-in and participated. It’s wonderful to see so much interest in this key role. As a reminder, if you have feedback, please send to Tara Snyder at tara.snyder@utoronto.ca.
Restart Planning for Education and Research
We continue to plan for a safe and gradual return to approved functions and activities. Although the Government of Ontario’s recent announcement indicated research services as part of the next phase of re-opening, there is still work to be done to establish appropriate processes for our Faculty.
A reminder to all faculty members to please complete the Faculty Needs Assessment Survey and share your experiences with the transition to remote learning and thoughts relating to restarting research so that we can assess the needs of our Faculty and what additional resources are required for the upcoming academic year. Deadline for completion is Tuesday, May 19.
Yesterday’s Provost’s Digest message emphasized that, as an institution the University is following the advice of public health authorities as we develop a range of options in the face of incredible complexity and a constantly evolving situation. We are guided by a commitment to the health and safety of our community, to maintaining academic excellence, and to ensuring that our students feel a part of U of T’s caring community.
This afternoon the VPRI office has confirmed that there is no change to the status of on-campus research and so there will be no change to increase in-person research activity on May 19, 2020 beyond currently approved research programs. We will continue to work to develop our on-site processes to prepare for increasing on-site research activity.
Teams & Zoom Best Practices
As we continue to interact over virtual platforms including Zoom and Teams, it is important to be aware of best practices in order to maximize participation and impact while online with others in our professional virtual setting. If you choose to use virtual backgrounds, please ensure they are professional and appropriate for the context.
Reminder Upcoming Long Weekend
While our work and day-to-day lives have blended considerably as we work remotely, I encourage everyone to take this long weekend away from deliverables and deadlines.
I would like to thank our finance team and those involved in year-end closing. This is a tremendous amount of work even without working remotely. And a final thank you to those in our community who continue to work on the frontlines of care.