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The focus of this month’s Faculty Insider is Community Engagement. This has and continues to be one of FAHS’ strengths. We have over 200 community partners with which our students, faculty, and staff interact on almost a daily basis. According to the 2011 NSSE Survey, our Faculty also has the highest number of students (74%) who report having done community service or volunteer work. Brock’s overall average is 62% and the Ontario average is 55%.
Our Faculty is clearly a leader in experiential learning and community engagement. And our timing could not be better. One of the key areas of strength identified in Brock’s Strategic Mandate Agreement with the Ontario Government is experiential learning. The feedback from the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities was that this is one of the core factors that differentiate us from other Ontario Universities.
Over the past month, I have had the opportunity to see our strengths in action. There have been a number of events that highlight our commitment to working with our community to help make the world a healthier place to live. Here are just a few of those examples.
Health Quality Symposium
The Second Annual Health Quality Symposium was held on April 2 at the White Oaks Conference Centre. Attendance increased by over 40% from last year to include over 250 healthcare leaders in Niagara. The I-EQUIP (Interprofessional Education for Quality Improvement Program) showcased how students have impacted health quality in practical healthcare settings. The program pairs Brock undergraduate health sciences students, McMaster medical students, with front-line healthcare staff to improve patient care. Student led I-EQUIP projects quickly became the talk of the symposium following poster breakout sessions featuring the collaborative projects. Thanks to the hard work of Madelyn Law, the program has tripled in scope in just one year and will seek to continue the momentum into next year.
Read more about this here:
https://www.brocku.ca/news/25725
Sport Management Alumni Day
The Department of Sport Management did their part to bring together the alumni community in the month of March. The 2nd Annual Sport Management Alumni Day was hosted on March 18th at Brock University. The event brought more than 30 SPMA graduates back to campus to share career advice and insights for current students looking to work in the sport industry after graduation. The full day of events was capped of with an Executive Panel featuring a lineup of well-established alumni – and a special panel introduction video by TSN host Michael Landsberg. (http://youtu.be/s4dWDsSwV7A)
Furthermore, the silent auction was supported by a number of organizations and helped raise over $600 for Brock’s Chapter of Right to Play. This event was well organized by a committee led by Shannon Kerwin. Thanks Shannon!
Read more about this here:
https://www.brocku.ca/news/25538
Knowledge Exchange Forum
This event hosted at Niagara Public Health on March 27th featured 16 research projects conducted by 22 fourth year students in the Department of Health Sciences. Under the supervision of Madelyn Law, students worked with mentors from Public Health to identify important issues and research topics. Topics included issues such as mental health, substance abuse, sexual health, care for the elderly and those with disabilities, tobacco use by minors, and many more. A number of the staff from public health commented to me regarding the number of high quality research projects and the importance of the partnership between Brock and Niagara Public Health.
Read more about this here:
http://www.brocku.ca/news/25765
Experiential Learning Reception
On March 21, 45 community partners joined members from across departments of the FAHS to celebrate the importance of community engagement and partnerships. President Lightstone provided opening remarks congratulating FAHS on the importance of working with members of our community and thanked our community partners for providing opportunities for our students to learn in real world settings. This was followed by a special presentation by marathon swimmer Vicki Keith who presented an inspiring keynote about the importance of setting lofty goals and the support of others to achieve these goals. A big thanks to all our experiential learning coordinators for helping to make this a very special event.
Read more about this event here:
https://www.brocku.ca/news/25628
Student-led Initiatives
Students from the Physical Education and Kinesiology (PEKN) Council raised over $600 for the Brock Niagara Penguins by “pieing” professors. All the money donated went directly to support athletes with a disability participate in wheelchair basketball, swimming, and bocce. Thanks to all the faculty members for “taking one for the team.”
Read more about this event here:
http://www.brocku.ca/brock-news/?p=26827
Working together on an intergenerational project, 45 Brock students were matched with 20 seniors in the Niagara community to better understand what makes a community age-friendly. The intergenerational project “Through Their Eyes”, examined the age-friendliness of a local neighbourhood. This course was led by Health Sciences Assistant Professor, Paula Gardner and supported by a Service-Learning Course Incentive Grant that helped enhance the service-learning components of the course.
Read more about this story here:
http://www.brocku.ca/news/25796
Students from the Department of Recreation and Leisure raised over $1,500 to help support summer camp opportunities delivered by the Niagara Resource Service for youth (The RAFT). In addition to raising funds, the students also generated resources that will be utilized during the summer camp.
Read more about this event here:
http://www.brocku.ca/news/25447
Faculty of Applied Health Sciences Graduate Student, Brittany Dunbar, won first prize in the OCUFA competition “We Teach Ontario”. Her video featured Professor Brian Roy who inspired her to continue with her research interest in muscle metabolism.
Read more about this story here:
http://www.brocku.ca/brock-news/?p=26852
Health Sciences student, Kaitlyn Kerridge took first prize in the Mental Health 2.0 competition for the development of the Cope Care Connect Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/copecareconnect). The provincial wide contest was focused on the use of social media to promote mental health.
Read more about this story here:
http://www.brocku.ca/brock-news/?p=27234
On Wednesday, March 26th, SPMA students hosted the first Break the Ice event featuring professors/ graduate students vs undergraduate students in a spirited ice hockey game. The event was used to raise awareness around the importance of Mental Health. Thanks to the efforts of all-stars such as FAHS’ own Mike Armstrong and … well, Mike Armstrong, the professors/graduate students came out ahead 9-8 after a shootout broke the tie. Other FAHS faculty/staff who participated included Brent Faught, Kevin Mongeon, Chris Chard, Joe Kenny, Paul Leblanc, Greig Inglis, and yours truly. When I asked my kids (who are “real” hockey players) what I did well during the game, they both replied “Well dad, you sat on the bench really well so that Mike could score all the goals for your team.”
Read more about this event here:
https://www.brocku.ca/news/25764
El Salvador Trip
As part of an ongoing research project, I went to El Salvador during the middle of the month. While I was there, I visited some of the schools in which our PEKN students had been involved over the past 4 years as part of an international course. What amazed me was the impact that our students continue to have on schools in El Salvador. For example, equipment that was purchased and donated to the schools by our students was not only still being used, but also shared with other schools in the community. Ideas and activities that our students had shared with teachers in El Salvador were being put in place on almost a regular basis. It was exciting to have an opportunity to witness first hand the impact of the work of our students long after they had have left.
These examples of FAHS’ commitment to community engagement are just a handful of activities that take place on a regular basis across our Faculty. Every day, our faculty, staff, and students have a positive impact on helping make our communities a healthier place to live.
Other Updates
Town Hall Meetings
A reminder regarding two important Town Hall Meetings
University Fiscal Situation Town Hall
Wednesday April 9 at 1 pm in the Sean O'Sullivan Theatre.
It will also be live-streamed for online viewing, via a link from the Brock home page. People will also be able to watch it in real-time in the David S. Howes Theatre. Following the meeting, the video file will be posted on the Brock website.
This meeting is a follow-up to Town Hall sessions last November which discussed the need to address Brock's multi-year pattern of recurring, and growing, operating budget deficits.
The April 9 meeting will provide an update on steps that have been taken so far to eliminate the University's funding gap, as well as an outlook of challenges that remain to be addressed in the months ahead. It will also include time for questions and comments from members of the audience.
Senate ad-hoc Committee on Academic Program Review and Prioritization
Tuesday April 15, 2014 at 1:30-3:00pm, or
Thursday April 17, 2014 at 12:30-2:00pm
Sean O'Sullivan Theatre
Senate Report
The Briefing Report from the March Senate and the President and Provost’s reports are located in the FAHS Communication folder on your BrockBox. Of significance for FAHS:
- Dr. Maureen Connelly has been appointed as the FAHS representative on the Academic Review Committee (ARC). Thanks Maureen for serving our Faculty on this important committee.
- Students entering the Nursing program must now have a minimum average of 75% for entrance into both the direct entry and collaborative programs.
New Graduate Programs
Later this month, the Academic Review Committee will review the Statement of Intents for two new graduate programs in Applied Health Sciences:
- Master of Public Health
- Master of Applied Kinesiology
Service-Learning Incentive Grant Information
Applications are now open for Service-Learning Course Incentive Grants, which are one-time grants of up to $1,500, specifically to support:
A.) Faculty and staff members in incorporating the service-learning approach into the course curriculum;
B.) Faculty members currently using service-learning as part of their courses to review, assess, and enhance service-learning/reflection activities so as to make closer links with their course content and outcomes;
C.) Faculty and staff members building partnerships to enhance the effectiveness of service-learning in the associated course(s).
Please review the grant opportunity and note that the deadline for all grant applications is Friday, April 25 for adjudication in early May. A Q&A session will be hosted on Thursday, April 10 from 12:00-1:00pm in TH253 for anyone wishing to learn more about the grant, ask questions and discuss any grant ideas you may have.
BrockBox Updates
The faculty now has access to laptops, projectors and other miscellaneous items available for loan. The list of these items can be found on BrockBox in the FAHS Communications Folder file titled Sign Out Status.xlsx. You can access BrockBox by accessing the following: https://your.brocku.ca/files/ or by logging into my.brocku.ca and clicking on My Work tab.
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