After eight years of living in Canada, I still forget that Thanksgiving is an important weekend here. Perhaps this year, especially so. While there are many reasons to feel stress and anxiety, as I reflect on this past week, I’ve been trying to keep gratitude in mind.

Monday flew by as I engrossed myself in getting to the end of ‘my‘ (not ‘the‘) first revision of the Program Review Handbook. Doing so was a good reminder that Program Review plays a critical role in ensuring that the ‘how’ and the ‘what’ of all we do at College, best serves the needs and success of our students; and it involves all of us. I’m also reminded that it’s an ongoing process, rather like true learning (and painting the Forth Bridge – a reference likely only making sense to anyone who knows Scotland). A Program Review captures a moment in time. Creating and reviewing existing documentation for the process is and will continue to be, an ongoing process. My ideas for the website are growing like threads in a spider’s web and I need to take time to map them out more coherently. I’ve made a start, but next and as a priority, I need to figure out the story that goes along with the resources.

It was useful considering how the process connects with the Academic Division’s 10-Point Plan. I need to be able to understand and fully articulate those connections (now and as they develop), if I am to offer the best support for my colleagues going through PR.

Writing a summary of what I’ve achieved in September helped me reflect on how much I’ve done and how much more there is to do.

On Tuesday I tapped into my inherent optimism by applying for a couple of PD events and also a teaching opportunity in France. I realize it’s a long shot but I have to travel hopefully; even if only metaphorically. The teaching opportunity in France would be a wonderful way of connecting with peers in Europe and to find out first hand the opportunities and challenges of HE in that context. It seems another life-time since I was back teaching in the UK. I and the world have certainly changed since then.

The rest of the week I’ve been making sure to keep up to date with the planning of the BBA visit in November, working on the short guide for PR and getting back into work for Curriculum Committee. I’ve been reading about micro-credentials – both the opportunities and the challenges (greater access to education as long as we ensure that they do not add to existing inequalities), and keeping up to date with other news in the field of HE. As always, there’s lots going on. It’s thought provoking that the developments south of the border would likely have rendered the Brave Space Conservation last week on systemic racism a no-go, if this had been taking place in the States. All the more reason for these conversations to continue wherever they can.

Today I am grateful for: the opportunities to reconnect with colleagues across the College as we gear up for the External Review visit. I realize how much I’ve missed that. Life is beginning to feel slightly more normal (noting that ‘normal’ is a loaded word these days). I am grateful for having many different projects to work on that are all inter-connected. And most of all, I am so very appreciative of my colleagues.

Happy Thanksgiving!