Changing the calendar can mean changing the way you see your life. People setting exercise, nutrition, and mental health goals often need to look at things in a new light to motivate change and growth. Join a discussion with three UK experts who will share tips on:
Smart goal-setting
Avoiding comparisons with others
Cultivating well-being
Finding support in your community
Healthy eating made simple
Staying active at work and home
Interim A&S Dean Christian Brady will explore these topics focused on starting the new year with positivity and confidence with:
Shannon Sauer-Zavala, psychology professor in A&S
Carrie Davidson, exercise specialist and fitness facilities manager with UK Health and Wellness
Karen McNees, a registered dietitian with UK Health and Wellness
Join Kate Leger, professor in the A&S Department of Psychology, and Sharon Martin, staff psychologist at UK's Counseling Center, in conversation with A&S Interim Dean Christian Brady as they look at the impact of the pandemic on our emotions, especially during the upcoming holidays.
With COVID-19 continuing to affect our lives, this discussion will focus on why the pandemic has been so harmful to our emotional health and well-being and how many of our normal coping strategies are no longer possible. As many deal with multiple layers of grief this holiday season, we will look at strategies to reduce negative emotions and maintain happiness during these unusual times.
In conversation with A&S Dean Mark Kornbluh, Karen Petrone, professor of history and director of the newly launched College of Arts & Science’s Cooperative for the Humanities and Social Sciences, along with Kristin Monroe, associate professor of anthropology, will discuss the state and value of the humanities and social sciences in a time of crisis and social change.
Sue Roberts, associate provost for internationalization and professor of geography, will outline some of the ways COVID-19 has up-ended universities' global engagements. In conversation with Dean Mark Kornbluh, she will explore UK's exciting initiatives to reimagine internationalization and to connect UK students and faculty to the world outside the U.S. even though in person travel is on hold.
As a prelude to the Fall Semester, Associate Provost Kathi Kern and Dean Mark Kornbluh will discuss the challenges posed by teaching and learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Faculty and students alike worry about the logistics. How will we maintain a safe and healthy learning environment? How much of instruction will need to be moved online or “flipped”? How does technology enable or restrict us? How do we continue to foster strong student-teacher bonds at a distance? How do we build community in our current environment?
And while these questions are urgent for the particular moment, they also point to a lasting shift in how we go about our work as educators. Even after the pandemic subsides, we will likely find ourselves reflecting on the unexamined, yet sacred elements of what makes a college education. As disruptive as the pandemic has been, it has also ignited a climate of innovation. We are led to think anew about the journeys that our students take, how our research and disciplines best serve a diverse community of learners, how the wicked problems of the world defy institutional silos, and how we can best support individuals while also strengthening communities. Our lessons learned and enduring challenges from the past few months afford us a unique opportunity to anticipate these emergent paradigms for teaching and learning.
