If I had to choose a word to represent this past year, it would be ‘Health,’ which is fitting for a couple of reasons. Of course, the main event has been COVID-19, with its pivoting (also a potential word of the year), working remotely, distancing, closures, lockdowns and the devastating effects of the disease on the health of hundreds of thousands of Canadians and more than 100 million worldwide. For some, it has been a tougher year than any other in memory.
However, it has also been the ‘Year of Health’ for positive reasons. Our Faculty, after going through a consultative Strategic Planning process, acted on one of its key goals: to change the name of Applied Health Sciences to simply “Faculty of Health.” Already I see the advantages of such an action in how our stakeholders understand immediately what we are all about.
It is a simple change, one that on the face of it might even look superfluous. But it means that our mission is understood more clearly by more people: We are the people who study health in all its aspects, including the health sciences, kinesiology, public health, and the health and well-being inherent in recreation and leisure. For this reason, I embrace the Year of Health.
We also embrace it in this issue of the magazine that has been renamed Health Hub. You will find stories of alumni who have been steeped in the Year of Health for other reasons: whether it’s through opening parks up after the lockdowns, helping guide the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, helping Black Muslim girls find resources, ensuring the Canadian military stays healthy, or turning a hobby into a business – our alumni have been active all year.
We also take a look at some of the research that our own faculty members have been doing with regards to COVID and, of course, we present some upcoming events, as well as what your fellow alumni have been up to in Class Notes.
I hope you enjoy this issue. Ideally, by the next one in the fall, enough of us will have been vaccinated to turn a corner on this pandemic. For now, stay safe, keep well and please stay connected with us.
All the best,
Lili Liu
