Fall Faculty Seminar – Starting the Academic Year in a Good Way

After acknowledging the Seminar was in Treaty 4 territory, Dean Jennifer Tupper welcomed back faculty and staff. Photo credit: Shuana Niessen

The faculty and staff of the Faculty of Education came together on August 29 for their Annual Fall Faculty Seminar. New faculty and staff were introduced and the past year’s achievements were recognized and celebrated.

One fun tradition in the Faculty is the “Dead Balloon Award,” which is awarded to faculty who achieve their Ph.D. This year’s recipients are Dr. Christine Massing, Dr. Jenn De Lugt, and Dr. Gale Russell. They will share this award, but they won’t hold on to it long, since new faculty Sara Schroeder, Heather Phipps and Jöel Thibeault are close to their defence dates.

Dean Jennifer Tupper presents Drs. Christine Massing, Jenn De Lugt, and Gale Russell with the Dead Balloon award.

The morning also included the Blanket Exercise, which began with a prayer by Elder Noel Starblanket. Dr. Michael Cappello was the Narrator, a UR S.T.A.R.S. representative assisted with the exercise, and Dr. Shauneen Pete played the role of the European.

The group produced a Shared Responsibility Tree: Branches of Reconciliation in response to the Blanket Exercise and the NCTR’s Calls to Action.

After the Blanket Exercise, faculty and staff had opportunity to express their thoughts and emotions regarding the exercise and the Calls to Action from the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation. Dr. Jolee Sasakamoose led the group in an Indigenous Expressive Art Therapy activity, which is a therapeutic and reconciliatory approach that has developed in response to the groundwork laid by the First Nations communities within Saskatchewan and through the spiritual guidance engaged with ceremonial practices and protocols.

After lunch, the faculty and staff enjoyed an afternoon of golf followed by a BBQ. (Below is a photo gallery of the day. Slide your cursor over the photo and click on the arrow to see the next photo)