Fall Convocation 2020 will see the inaugural cohort of the Health and Physical Education Master of Education students graduate. Led by Elementary Education professors Doug Gleddie and Hayley Morrison and Secondary Education professor Lauren Sulz, the program is designed to allow teachers to pursue their master’s degree over two years through a combination of online courses and a two-week in-person component in each summer of the program.

This fall has looked very different from previous years in the Faculty of Education. To protect the health and safety of students and faculty, the vast majority of our courses are being delivered remotely this semester, while most staff provide support from their home offices.

School of Library and Information Studies (SLIS) alumna and former faculty member Heidi Julien says that a library and information studies degree is a passport. Looking at her CV, it would be easy to take Julien’s assertion literally.

The word “unprecedented” is getting a lot of use in 2020, as the coronavirus pandemic and its attendant effects continue to impact the entire globe. Counseling psychology doctoral student Larissa Brosinsky says there’s a secondary impact that likewise has no parallel: a “mental health pandemic” brought about by unrelieved worry, uncertainty and isolation as jurisdictions strive to bring the disease under control.

Congratulations to the following Education faculty members, staff and students who have achieved distinction and have recently been acknowledged for their impactful work, both within and beyond the academic community.

On June 30, her last day as Chair of the School of Library and Information Studies (SLIS), Toni Samek received a final piece of good news related to the role.

Elaine Simmt built a one-of-a-kind career, not unlike the woman herself.

While the Faculty Education is grateful that she spent a significant portion of her working life with us, we understand that her retirement, which commences on July 1, 2020, is more than well-earned.

I want to start by expressing my hope that everyone in our community is safe, healthy and finding time for self-care in our current circumstances. I also want to thank our incredible educators, administrators and staff across the education spectrum—including those here in the Faculty of Education—who have continued to support learners through the uncertainty and constraints imposed by this public health emergency.

If you’d like to spend time improving your professional skills this summer, the Faculty of Education has devised online learning experiences for school leaders committed to resilience, innovation and ensuring high-quality educational experiences for all students.

We saw it looming on the horizon for weeks in North America, as it shut down entire cities in China and proliferated rapidly through Europe. Then, suddenly, it was here. The global coronavirus pandemic became, seemingly overnight, a very local public health emergency across Alberta. We’re all still living through what came next: a major disruption in social functioning as schools, businesses, entire economic sectors shuttered in an effort to prevent a spike of infections that might overwhelm the healthcare system.