Cheering on the Kingston Chestmates Dragon Boat Team today, competing this weekend in Vancouver, all the way from the waters of Lake Ontario! #ConcordPacificDragonBoatFestival #DragonBoatBC

Proud teaching and learning moment at #QueensU: Dr. Brian Frank of Smith Engineering has been awarded Engineers Canada’s 2025 Medal for Distinction in Engineering Education! engineerscanada.ca/awards2025/b... #EngineeringEducation #SmithEngineering

More about this #QueensU recruitment initiative for doctoral students who are reconsidering studying at a top US institution: www.queensu.ca/grad-postdoc...

Excited to be offering some welcoming remarks at the annual Showcase of Teaching and Learning. This 15th annual event is the official kickoff to #QueensU Teaching and Learning month! Special thanks to those presenting and to the CTL staff who organized this event.

Congratulations to this year's cohort of ten 3M National Teaching Fellows! The 3MNTF has been described as the "superbowl" (don't ask how the metaphor works) of teaching awards here in Canada. www.stlhe.ca/award_winner...

Cherry trees in flower on the #QueensU campus

Chimney Swifts have returned to Kingston—first day I’m hearing their chortling calls overhead.

I was a regular runner until 2017, then injured my ankle and stopped. Eight weeks ago, I started again with the goal of running 5km comfortably. Today, I finished the program and met my goal. Ran 6km. The next goal: stay injury-free and keep it going—5km, three times a week will make me happy!

Grateful to have taken a day for myself today, spending the morning in the glory of spring ephemerals and returning migrants (23 birds species) at Frontenac Provincial Park. ebird.org/checklist/S2...

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of joining teacher candidates from our Faculty of Education at Elbow Lake Environmental Education Centre for the final class of their Environmental Education course. Excited to see how they’ll integrate what they’ve learned into their future classroom practice!

Val Plumwood would like a word… (Environmental philosopher Plumwood wrote the essay *Being Prey* that argues the embodiment of humans not as separate, but as part of the more-than-human world, subject to its dangers)

Trout Lilly and Bloodroot in flower; went looking for flowers yesterday without luck. That’s changed today! #SpringEphemerals

Local park dripping with White-throated Sparrows this afternoon. Some giving short versions of their “sweet Canada” song

Today's idle thought in #HigerEd: Fostering transparency, trust and literacy around a University's budget (not just balancing it) may be one of the most under-valued aspects of being a Provost? Best I've seen have taken the approach of an educator and looked to "teach" the University community.

Over many years, I had the opportunity to visit Whitehorse, Skagway, Haines Junction and Haines. As this article suggests, the connection between these Alaskan and Yukon communities can't be understated. thewalrus.ca/tariffs-are-...

"At least one Ontario university has already told professors it expects to move hundreds of spaces in arts programs to STEM as a result of the announcement." Anybody in #onPSE have the scoop on which university this was? www.thestar.com/politics/pro...

FOY Yellow-rumped Warbler, heard calling near Lake Ontario.

Cold water and warm air made for a misty scene on the St. Lawrence this afternoon—the view from the Brockville waterfront. Tool the quick trip downstream from Kingston to pick up a maple sap bucket, lid and spile for youngest’s school project.

19°C and flying insects are out (like midges). In my local park, two Ruby-crowned Kinglets are busy fly catching from the reaches of a soft maple. Quiet enough to hear their beaks snapping together as they catch their prey.

Bird highlights from the last 24 hours: #FOY Osprey, Tree Swallow and White-throated Sparrow.

Advance voting start today, and there’s already a line up at this Kingston and the Islands poll. Whether it’s today or April 28, get out and vote! #ItsOurVote #CdnPoli #Elxn45 #Elections101 #DemocracyChampions #VotingMatters #ReadyToVote

News of the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) advising against "non-essential" US travel is being quickly amplified across my feed…

Fascinating little case study how the planned use of AI at convocation (theoretically to correctly pronounce names) gets significant blow back because of the dehumanizing nature of what should be human celebration. #HigherEd

As the W25 exam period begins, I want to acknowledge the effort, focus, and resilience #QueensU students have shown this term. Wishing you clarity of thought and confidence in action over this final stretch of the term.

Spring continues—with Boreal Chorus Frogs now calling. These Chorus Frogs in the Kingston area are in their own geographically isolated population to the rest of the species in North America.

Had the pleasure of joining Mechmania to judge second year Smith Engineering students’ design & build culminating project this afternoon. Saw some amazing work! #QueensU #SmithEngineering

Thrilled to share that Dr. Sarah E. Eaton is keynoting #QueensU Teaching and Learning Month on May 29! She’ll explore how we can move from punishment to pro-active integrity—especially as AI reshapes higher ed. Details + RSVP: www.queensu.ca/ctl/teaching... #AcademicIntegrity #HigherEd

Looking forward to recognizing our #QueensU student athletes at this evening’s 2024 Colour Awards. A highlight will be presenting the Marion Ross and Jack Jarvis (Athlete of the Year) awards.

Get the pleasure of joining the #QueensU Department of Political Studies—and their annual recognition of teaching excellence. Thanks to the Department Student Council and the leadership in the Department of Political Studies for their work underpinning this recognition.

As Vice-Provost (Teaching and Learning), I’ve authored and shared an open letter with the #QueensU community explaining why Credit Standing (CR), rather than Grade Deferred (GD), is being recommended as a non-grade category in some disrupted courses.

Ramadan should matter to higher education. Includes a valuable set of resources shared on the @ntrepository.bsky.social wonkhe.com/blogs/ramada...

First day of Spring and the neighbourhood Merlins are back.

Beautiful last day of Winter, and it’s a sea of spike ball on Tindall Field. #QueensU #YGK

Noticed today: American Robins and Red-winged Blackbirds back in the neighbourhood after their winter absence.

Monday AM #QueensU #PSAC labour update: union members on strike #YGK

Sunday AM #QueensU #USW labour update: tentative agreement reached #YGK

Was asked to go out and purchase snacks for kids’ choral concert:

Nice to see your name and interview in The Chronicle, @arnkeeling.bsky.social www.chronicle.com/newsletter/l...

My feeling, as an academic who did some consulting for a University, now setting up a profile in a University's procurement portal.

Thank you, Dr. Abrams, for sharing your experience of personal loss on the tenure track.

📢 LAST WEEK TO APPLY FOR THIS! Don't miss out 👇👇👇

This is…interesting. While I wasn't the recipient, the following was forwarded to me: OpenAI seems to be cold calling Queen's students, offering a reduced price on ChatGPT Plus subscription. Not sure where they got their mailing list, either. Strikes me as as kind of…scummy?

With the eldest on BrockU campus today and tomorrow for the First Tech Challenge Ontario Provincial Championship.

Interview worth hearing for Ed’s reflections on the personal significance of birding—a centring connection to a world bigger than oneself. Enjoyed hearing Ed’s reflections; speaks to others’ experience with the act of birding that I’ve heard.

Voted! ❎ Number 566 in today’s advanced polls at this advance voting location. #onpoli #ontarioelection2025

A shame this kind of work isn’t valued more, no matter the political context: “Like many rangers, Mr. Barnes, 25, described the job as a labor of love, one chosen not for glamour or money but for a true passion for nature and a strong sense of stewardship.”

New paper in the Canadian Journal for #SoTL has a study with implications for large-classroom teaching: it’s subtle cues like eye contact and smiling that seem to boost student perceptions of teaching quality. Read more in the paper: ojs.lib.uwo.ca/index.php/cj...

Found this unexpected snowman this morning behind Mitchell Hall. #QueensU

Betty, having a meeting with herself this afternoon. #BTposse

Nearly a century ago, Land-Grant colleges in the U.S. required university educators to have professional training for teaching. The idea that faculty need preparation to teach shouldn't be seen as revolutionary—it’s foundational.