President Vianne Timmons and senior leaders will host a town hall for faculty and staff on Monday, Jan. 17, at 1 p.m.

The virtual session is an opportunity for senior leaders to check in with employees, many of whom are working remotely to start the Winter 2022 semester. This town hall will also include information about resources available to all employees.

Dr. Timmons will be joined by Dr. Florentine Strzelczyk, provost and vice-president (academic); Catharyn Andersen, vice-president (Indigenous); Dr. Neil Bose, vice-president (research); Lisa Browne, vice-president (advancement and external relations); Kent Decker, vice-president (administration and finance); Dr. Rob Shea, vice-president (Marine Institute); and Dr. Ian Sutherland, vice-president (Grenfell Campus) pro tempore.

All employees on all campuses are encouraged to attend.

Special guests

Dr. Rod Russell, professor of virology and immunology, Faculty of Medicine, will be giving an overview of the current phase of the COVID-19 pandemic and will be available to answer your questions.

Kerri Farrell, a representative from Life Works, formerly known as Morneau Shepell, will provide information about the type of resources and supports available through Memorial’s Employee Assistance Program (EAP). EAP provides more than emergency mental health support: There are also services like career counselling, health care advice, legal assistance and child and elder care resources. A short overview will be provided at the town hall.

How to join

Employees and retirees who would like to attend should visit this link to enrol in the course called Employee Town Hall.

The link, which requires your MUN login, will automatically enrol you and take you to the course within Brightspace. This can be done at any time between now and the start of the event.

On Monday, Jan. 17, return to Brightspace prior to the 1 p.m. start time to join the event.

There will be two options for joining the town hall: a WebEx link that will allow you to ask questions, participate in polling and join the conversation, or a view-only YouTube link for those who wish to watch the event but not actively participate.

Please note the WebEx event is limited to 1,000 participants. If that number is reached, all additional attendees will be directed to the YouTube view-only stream.

Multiple ways to participate

There are a number of ways to join the conversation.

Questions or comments for any panelist, including Dr. Russell, can be submitted in advance to president@mun.ca with the subject line “employee town hall,” or live during the event using the WebEx question and answer feature.

Attendees will also have the opportunity to appear on screen to share their perspective if they wish.

During the event, attendees can let the moderator know they’d like to speak and time permitting, their status will be changed from audience member to presenter while they speak to Dr. Timmons and other senior leaders.