Recap: Fall 2024 Faculty and Staff Town Hall

With a new academic year in full swing, more than 500 faculty and staff members tuned in to the October 1 town hall to hear from senior leadership about the university’s priorities.

President Joy Johnson, Provost and VP Academic Dilson Rassier, VP Finance & Administration Martin Pochurko and VP People, Equity and Inclusion Yabome Gilpin-Jackson were in attendance to answer questions and discuss SFU's direction for 2024-2025 and beyond. A brief update on progress made towards the university’s strategic plan was also shared. The event was moderated by SFU Public Square Executive Director Janet Webber.

A territorial acknowledgement was provided by VP Yabome Gilpin-Jackson including a reflection on National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, which was commemorated by the university community on September 30. 

A Q&A session followed the updates from senior leadership team. Key areas of interest to the community included clarification on the university’s budget and financial priorities, position on statements and continued support for equity, diversity and inclusion initiatives. Questions were also asked regarding planned consultation on responsible investment and expectations and recommendations on managing organizational changes. See below for information shared in response to questions asked during the session. 

Federal changes

• The new changes limiting the availability of graduate student visas and spousal visas set by the federal government may require adjustments to how we address our budget. It will take approximately six weeks for us to hear back from the government and understand how these changes will affect SFU.

Budget

• We are in a more favourable financial environment than last year; however, our domestic and international student enrolment numbers are still trending downward. 
• We continue to ask all to reduce expenses where possible. It will be important for all departments to continue to look for innovative and efficient ways to achieve our shared goals.
• The administrative hiring freeze helped to reduce the budget deficit last year and this hiring freeze will continue. It’s important that we continue to be diligent and selective about hiring. Roles deemed to be essential will be approved to post, and there are still roles being approved each month. 
• Other factors that impacted our budget last year such as pension costs and divestment from fossil fuels are not expected to negatively impact this year’s budget. 
• We have a robust domestic and international student enrolment marketing strategy that is underway. This initiative is led by the SFU communications and marketing team.  A recently launched campaign will circulate domestically and internationally until mid-December.
• Recent changes were made regarding reimbursements for internal meetings. While we need to continue to manage our finances responsibly, leadership has recognized that some of the changes need to be revisited to determine if further clarifications or adjustments are needed. 
• SFU leadership recognizes that teams across the organization are adapting to new processes and workload has been a concern. We remind leaders to flag any areas of concern with your HR Specialist or Strategic Business Partner so that we know where the gaps are and where you need support. People Strategies is also launching workshops for leaders this fall to help them navigate and support their teams through change.
• The budget info session will take place in November and we encourage you to attend to understand how to best engage with your budget teams within your departments and faculties. 

Update: the annual budget information session is now confirmed for November 18, 9-10 a.m. More information and a registration link will be shared soon.

Institutional statements

• As shared in a message to the community by President Joy Johnson in early September, SFU's senior leadership team has come to the conclusion that statements from university administration must be used in a very considered way.
• This does not reflect a change in SFU’s strategy or values. Our values as a university are clearly outlined in What’s Next, and include both academic freedom and critical thinking, and equity and belonging. These values are not mutually exclusive. They support and hold each other up. 
• We will continue to live by those values while creating space for open and respectful dialogue on our campuses. 
• We have a responsibility as a university to protect the principles of academic freedom that allow the community to pursue ideas, advance knowledge and change the world. Academic freedom is provided for in Article 12 of the SFUFA collective agreement, as well as Article 12 of the TSSU collective agreement. 
• This does not change SFU’s commitment to creating a diverse, equitable and inclusive community where all feel welcome, safe, accepted and appreciated in learning, teaching, research and work. That work, as outlined in our Equity Compass and other institutional strategic plans, is a priority and continues to move forward at SFU.
• The university must be "non-sectarian and non-political in principle", this requirement and language is outlined in the University Act of B.C., s. 66(1).

Divestment and responsible investment

• Earlier this year, the Board of Governors shared that we are preparing a consultation to hear from the community on improvements to our investments that may require changes to the current Responsible Investment Policy. 
• We are developing materials for this consultation, including resources for the community about SFU’s governance, policies and approach to responsible investments and expect the consultation to launch by the end of year. 

Safety on campus

• Our safety and risk services team recognizes the challenging environment that surrounds our Vancouver campus buildings. Regular safety meetings are being held at the Vancouver campus each term. In addition, our Campus Safety team is partnering with VPD and Vancouver Downtown BIA to develop and implement safety strategies around all our buildings in the downtown core. 
• On Burnaby campus, it was reported that a faculty member had their office vandalized. In accordance with our regular safety protocols, the Campus Safety Team is working directly with the affected individual. HR and Faculty Relations is also providing direct support. 
• Please reach out to safe@sfu.ca if you have any questions or concerns about safety on campus.  

Websurvey voting incident

• Earlier this summer, SFUFA held an online vote and IT Services was informed about a voting irregularity. 
• ITS and InfoSec investigated the report of suspicious activity to understand and address any system vulnerabilities. As this was a SFUFA survey, SFU leadership shared a summary of findings with SFUFA. In response to follow-up questions raised, leadership confirmed from the investigation that: 
  • There was no access to data within the system, so no personal information was compromised and identification of voters was not possible.
  • The breach was not possible via the user interface, it required very specialized knowledge of software systems.
  • It is inconclusive who is responsible.
• The SFU WebSurvey application was retired this summer as originally planned. Given that a replacement tool has been implemented, and the identity of the responsible individual(s) could not be confirmed, this incident is now considered closed. No further actions are required at this time.

International strategy

• Earlier this year, as part of our work to establish a sustainable operating model, SFU International was moved to the Office of the Provost and Vice-President, Academic. The university is in the process of broadening the scope of international activities through a cohesive and coordinated strategy. The strategy will encompass all international activity including strategic collaborations, research partnerships, advancement and alumni engagement, student mobility and supports, as well as international student recruitment and retention, ensuring alignment with SFU’s academic mission and research strategic plan. 
• Our new integrated approach to International is already improving alignment among teams involved in international activities and uncovering potential opportunities for SFU students, researchers and scholars. 
• Thank you to those already involved in the great work underway. 

The high level of engagement and participation was greatly appreciated by executives. The town hall will be hosted once in the fall and once in the spring to provide faculty and staff with an opportunity to connect with the executive team. The next town hall will be held in early 2025.