Articles from:March 2020

• Brock suspending face-to-face classes and moving toward alternative forms of delivery

  Monday, March 16, 2020 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE: 13 March 2020 – R0044

  Brock University is suspending face-to-face classes and exams for the rest of this academic term and is working on a plan to move to alternative forms of class and exam delivery, including online. The academic term is not at risk.

  In-person classes, labs, seminars and exams, as well as all online courses, will be suspended as of 5 p.m. on Friday, March 13.

  Faculty members will be asked for alternatives for course delivery, and the goal will be to resume virtual classes the week of Monday, March 23 for those instructors who are able to mount their classes in a virtual environment.

  The University will encourage faculty members to consider re-distributing the assessment for a course based on the material and work already completed.

  This decision provides time for faculty to move final exams to an alternative format, including take-home and virtual exams, which would run during the regularly scheduled exam period from April 6 to April 23.

  Instructors of Spring/Summer Term courses can begin planning for alternate modes of delivery prior to the start of classes on May 4, should they become necessary.

  The University campuses in St. Catharines and Hamilton will remain open and operational and staff are expected to attend work as scheduled. Researchers and grad students will have access to their labs. However, all members of the Brock community are encouraged to be mindful of health and well-being.

  Brock’s on-campus residences will remain open. Students who are able to head home are encouraged to do so, but will still be expected to continue their studies online on March 23 for the remainder of Winter Term if course instructors decide to require it.

  This follows an announcement on Thursday, March 12 that Brock was prohibiting all student, faculty and staff travel outside Canada that is not vital to the academic mission. This includes banning travel to academic conferences, meeting colleagues and collaborators, and attending professional development events and classes.

  The University is also updating and clarifying its travel cancellation policies.

  Where travel is allowed, Brock will continue to adhere to the travel advisories as issued by Global Affairs Canada.

  Additionally, the University has cancelled all discretionary events and programming not required for academic courses or credit through June 1. This includes events such as March Break tours and Spring Open House, and other non-academic events organized by or hosted at Brock, or events organized by Brock but held off-site such as Cuvée and the Brock Sports Athletic Banquet. Events organized or hosted at Brock by third parties are also cancelled. All recreational programs are also cancelled.

  University officials continue to closely monitor the situation locally, nationally and internationally. Brock staff are in regular contact with public health experts to ensure that we have current information about any risk levels in this community.

  To help inform our responses and actions in this rapidly changing environment, Brock takes direction from health officials at the Public Health Agency of Canada and Niagara Region Public Health.

  For more information on Brock University’s COVID-19 response, please visit our dedicated webpage brocku.ca/coronavirus that is updated regularly with the latest information available.

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

  * Dan Dakin, Manager Communications and Media Relations, Brock University [email protected], 905-688-5550 x5353 or 905-347-1970

  Brock University Marketing and Communications has a full-service studio where we can provide high definition video and broadcast-quality audio.

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  Categories: Media releases

• Brock and Niagara Parks expand partnership to study trail network

  Friday, March 13, 2020 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE: 12 March 2020 – R0042

  Brock University — Communications & Public Affairs

  A partnership built on the mutual goal of environmental stewardship is taking another step forward.

  Two years after signing an initial Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), the Niagara Parks Commission and Brock University signed an additional collaboration agreement on Thursday, March 12 at Niagara Parks’ public Commission Meeting that will help the Parks assess and sustainably grow its extensive trail network.

  To be known as the Trails Assets and Tourism Initiative, the new partnership involves Brock and Niagara Parks, along with the Ontario Trails Council.

  Trails are an important natural asset of Niagara Parks. From the world-renowned Niagara Glen, which houses some of the province’s most sensitive plant and animal species, to the Niagara River Recreation Trail, which provides 53 kilometres of paved trails along the Niagara River from Niagara-on-the-Lake to Fort Erie, trail networks allow guests to connect with nature, learn about the unique environment here in Niagara and embrace healthy physical activities.

  “Over the past few years, we have seen a huge growth in trail use and demand for trail and cycle tourism in Niagara Parks,” said Niagara Parks Chair Sandie Bellows. “This initiative will allow us to work together with our community partners to respond to that growth and demand while respecting our shared commitment to the environment.”

  The agreement will include a needs assessment to help Niagara Parks with the trails master planning process, as well as experiential education opportunities for Brock students and initiatives led by Brock faculty members and grad students. Annual public events are also being planned to help pass along the results of the partnership to the community.

  Ontario Trails Council (OTC), a not-for-profit organization that promotes the development, preservation, management and use of recreational trails in Ontario, will bring its expertise in managing and operating recreational trails to the project.

  “The Ontario Trails Council is very excited to be working with the Niagara Parks Commission and Brock University, two national leaders in outdoor recreation and conservation,” said Wayne Terryberry, President of the Ontario Trails Council. “These organizations have a very successful history of cooperation, and the OTC can add it’s trail management expertise in a joint effort to enhance and develop the trail economy and healthy active living in Niagara Parks and the Niagara Peninsula.”

  The Trails Assets and Tourism Initiative builds on both the current MOU between Niagara Parks and Brock University, as well as the recent initiative to establish a binational trail network within the Niagara River corridor. In an MOU signed in August 2019, Niagara Parks joined the Niagara River Greenway Commission and the Buffalo Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority to officially connect the recreational trail networks on both sides of the border.

  This second MOU between Niagara Parks and Brock University is also part of Brock’s ongoing commitment to being a good community partner. In the past two years, it has signed similar collaborative agreements with Niagara Health, the Town of Lincoln, Community Care of St. Catharines and Thorold, Niagara Folk Arts, Pathstone Mental Health and others.

  Brock Vice-President, Academic Greg Finn said the partnerships meet Brock’s Strategic Plan priorities of expanding research capacity, offering a transformational academic experience for students and enhancing the life and vitality of the local region and beyond.

  “These collaborations are not just photo opportunities — they make a difference to people and the planet every day,” said Finn. “We are particularly pleased that Brock and Niagara Parks are working together in an area that is crucial to us all — the sustainability of our environment.”

  The 2018 MOU between Brock and Niagara Parks has been an unquestionable success, with highlights noted in the infographic attached to this media release.

  Known as the Excellence in Environmental Stewardship Initiative, the partnership has allowed Niagara Parks to access Brock researchers to further improve its sustainability and environmental stewardship goals, while giving Brock faculty and students an iconic landscape to actively engage in sustainability science.

  “We had high hopes when entering into the MOU with Niagara Parks two years ago and those expectations have continually been exceeded,” said Ryan Plummer, Director and Professor of the Environmental Sustainability Research Centre. “We’ve had a vibrant and engaging partnership with meaningful impacts for both parties. It is exciting to see this second collaboration taking shape with a broader constellation of partners and I have every confidence it will be equally successful.”

   

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

  * Michelle Pressé, Brock University Communications, [email protected], 905-688-5550 x4420 or 905-246-1963 

  * Katy Wassenaar, Manager, Communications and Stakeholder Relations [email protected] 905-356-2241 x2224

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  Categories: Media releases