Meet KPU: Shelley Boyd
Boyd was announced as the new Dean of the Faculty of Arts Aug. 1
Shelley Boyd was announced the new dean of the faculty of arts on Aug. 1. (Submitted)
Dr. Shelley Boyd was announced as the new dean of the faculty of arts at Kwantlen Polytechnic University on Aug. 1. She has been part of various departmental and faculty communities such as the Faculty of Humanities Curriculum Committee and the Faculty of Arts Research and Scholarship Committee.
Boyd has been an active part of the research and scholarly work at KPU. Her publications include her monograph Garden Plots: Canadian Women Writers and Their Literary Gardens, a journal article on an experiential learning assignment, which she co-authored with a KPU student, and an open access teaching resource on Chinese restaurant narratives in Canadian literature.
In a collaboration with the fine arts department in 2015, Boyd launched a student art exhibition which included the written and visual work of 80 KPU students as well as an international symposium on the topic of food in Canada. The symposium carved the way for a collection entitled Canadian Culinary Imaginations co-edited with Dr. Dorothy Barenscott, a Fine Arts faculty member and published by McGill-Queen’s University Press in 2020.
“The book is still in process. We’re at the copy-editing phase. But it’ll likely be out in the spring or summer of 2023,” Boyd says about her book Canadian Literary Fare coming out next year. “We look at a number of things, [like] Kraft Dinner. Canadians eat a lot of Kraft Dinner, but it’s trying to understand how food functions in literature.”
When did you join the KPU community, and why?
I joined KPU back in the fall of 2010. I was hired in the English department to teach Canadian literature, as well as first year English courses.
What is your favourite story of your time at KPU?
When I was a teacher in the English department, one of my students put on an event in the library called the 10-Lit Dinner Party where they all created plates based on food scenes and literature. It was a 24-hour exhibit that all the students put together. It was this really creative event and the students had a lot of fun with it. They often said they learned a lot about the text and literature that they wouldn’t have learned just by, say, writing a paper. It had sort of stretched their creativity. That was probably one of the most rewarding teaching experiences and memories ‘ve had.
What is something you’d like to say to people new to the community?
I would say that KPU, and the faculty of arts, are both a really exciting place to work and to learn and engage with — we have a wonderful sense of community. There are lots of opportunities for learning and connecting with others, and really encouraging students to embrace that community and all it has to offer.
For me, it’s going to be working hard to celebrate the community that we have in the faculty of arts, which is a huge strength. We’re a very tightly knit group, our small classrooms, our connections with students, really showcase that.
Students, through that community, get opportunities to engage with faculty members that they might not get otherwise at another institution. Something really important when you’re a student, and especially a new student, is to take advantage of everything the university has to offer. Especially in terms of being curious about things.
There are often many events being held on campus, guest lectures, conferences, and when you see any of those events or any courses that pique your interest, I say always to go for it — follow that curiosity and engage with the university community. That will be an inspiring journey for you as a student.
What are you working on right now?
One thing that I think is really exciting that I and the whole dean’s office is working on is a new series of programmes within the faculty of arts, called the entertainment arts programme. We have a series of programmes that are sort of starting. For instance, one in advanced game development, one in 3D animation and 3D modelling, and one in VFX or virtual production, as well as a certificate in foundation and entertainment art.
These are all exciting programmes that get you thinking about digital animation. So, gaming, movies and films, these programmes are just sort of getting up and running. It’s an exciting time in the faculty of arts with these new programmes starting along with new students and faculty, so lots of growth and transformation and really exciting things on the horizon.
What is something you’d like people to know about you?
I’m incredibly proud of the amazing faculty and students we have here. What I enjoy and love about being in my role is connecting with people and seeing what inspires them and that in turn makes me excited and wanting to help people move forward in meeting those dreams and goals.
