January: New Year, New Challenges
Fri. Jan. 21, 2022
Welcome to 2022! I am not sure about you, dear reader, but to quote Yogi Berra right now, “It's like déjà vu all over again”. The pandemic has brought us a new variant, and with it a grinding halt to what would have been a successful campus and office reopening in September of 2021.
If there is something about The University of Winnipeg community and the UWinnipeg Foundation team, it is that we are resilient and always continue to look forward, not backwards. We are more committed than ever to connect with members of our campus and surrounding community. We are dedicated to supporting students through the creation of new awards and working to generate more donations for existing ones.
As the Foundation moves into our 19th year of operations, working side-by-side is no longer the norm. Our office environment and safety protocols continue to evolve in keeping with the challenges associated with this fast-moving pandemic. Staggered office hours, and online meetings make the Foundation and our 9th-floor home in the Rice Centre a safer space to overlook the campus we serve.
For those of you looking to hear more from the University and our efforts to combat COVID-19 in 2022, I’ve added University President James Currie’s New Year’s address below:
“Dear Faculty and Staff,
Happy New Year! I hope you had a restful and safe holiday break.
I recognize that these are difficult times and that many of you or your family members and friends are grappling with illness. I hope the current wave of COVID passes quickly and that you are taking care of yourselves.
UWinnipeg’s winter term will begin on January 10 and will be delivered remotely until February 28. We will re-evaluate the remote status in the coming weeks and communicate by January 30 our plans for the remainder of Winter Term — based on the advice of public health officials and accounting for the prevalence and severity of the Omicron variant.
Important information for students:
As communicated on December 16, during remote status the UWinnipeg campus will be mostly closed. There are very few exceptions to this closure, as some classes and labs must be delivered in-person. Check WebAdvisor for the status of your course or lab. Please do not come to campus unless you absolutely need to.
The library facility will be closed. Access to the library’s digital resources remains unaffected, and staff are working remotely to deliver most services online. Student Services — including academic advising, awards and financial aid, counselling, and others — are supporting students remotely. No in-person appointments are being accepted, though services listed here can be arranged.
Campus Living will continue to support and reach out to students in residence. Please note that due to COVID safety protocols, food service from Diversity may change. Please contact the Campus Living Office for updates.
International, Immigrant, and Refugee Student Services (IIRSS) will reach out to International students who have just arrived or are arriving soon.
See our Remote Teaching, Learning, and Research Hub for advice, resources, and tips to adapt to remote learning and succeed in your studies at UWinnipeg.
Undergraduate students who wish to adjust their class schedules can contact Academic Advising to investigate available alternatives; graduate students can contact their Graduate Program Chair.
Important information for faculty and staff:
All employees should work from home unless required for essential campus operations. Faculty and staff should contact their department chair/Dean or supervisor to discuss campus access, if absolutely necessary.
Deans and unit heads will work with their teams to facilitate the remote delivery of ongoing operations and/or reassign duties as needed.
Researchers should continue their work remotely if possible and suspend all activities that are not in keeping with social distancing and cannot ensure the health and safety of research personnel and participants. See here for additional information related to alteration of research activity. The Research Office is available to provide guidance.
The Collegiate’s Dean, Dr. Kevin Clace, is communicating directly with his staff and students regarding operational changes.
I encourage you to stay connected with students, faculty and staff colleagues. Mental health is a serious issue and this wave of COVID has compounded the difficulty in dealing with health issues of all kinds. UWinnipeg has counselling resources available, although demand for these services has increased significantly. There are community supports that are available as well.
I would like to thank you for everything you have done over the past 20 months in support of our mission. I know that this has been difficult, but I am continually impressed with the resilience of our community.
If you haven’t already, we encourage you to get vaccinated against COVID-19. If you are double-vaccinated, please get your booster shot as soon as you become eligible.
Visit our website for regular updates to the UWinnipeg community.”
As difficult as the past couple of years have been, support for our students has never wavered. Throughout 2021, our donors regularly stepped up and gave generously to initiatives designed to help see UWinnipeg’s student body through this pandemic. Gifts to the Opportunity Fund and other priority funds will continue to play a major role in our institution’s awards program. If you are considering making a gift, please follow this link to our giving page.
Before I finish, I’d like to give a big thank you to all those who have supported the University and Foundation throughout this pandemic. Your generosity is greatly appreciated by our team! Stay safe!
Sincerely,
Javier Schwersensky