President's report - November Board meeting

As we move through the fall term, the executive team is thinking carefully about university priorities and the alignment of resources. This is especially important given the current headwinds facing SFU and post-secondary institutions across the country, including the economic climate.

At a recent executive team retreat, we discussed a number of operational priorities that we want to focus on in the coming months, including enhancing SFU’s reputational excellence, exploring avenues for revenue generation and moving forward the School of Medicine. While there has been much to celebrate at SFU as of late—including once again being named the #1 comprehensive university in the country by Maclean’s—we also acknowledged that it has been a demanding year for the university community, with a lot of change occurring in a compressed period of time. We are carefully monitoring culture across the university and providing support where needed, with the hope of bringing people along as we co-create and define what’s next for our university and community.

Administrative updates

Leadership renewal

The new Dean of Libraries and University Librarian, Gohar Ashoughian, began on November 15. Thank you once again to Mark Jordan for his work as Dean pro tem and for ensuring continuity in leadership. 

There are many senior leader searches underway at SFU. Here is a summary of progress towards each:

• The search committee for a new Vice-Provost and Associate Vice-President, Students is reviewing candidate applications and aiming to have a replacement hired before Dr. Rummana Khan Hemani’s retirement in the spring.
• The search committee has been confirmed and recruitment has begun for the next Dean, Beedie School of Business. Dr. Carolyn Egri continues to provide pro tem leadership while this search is conducted.
• The search for a new Dean, Faculty of Environment has commenced and the committee is working to finalize the candidate profile.
• An announcement was recently made to initiate the renewal process for the Dean, Faculty of Communication, Art and Technology. This search will start in January prior to Dr. Carman Neustaedter’s term ending in summer 2025.
• The search for an Associate Vice-President, Learning and Teaching has been announced and is expected to start early in the new year. Dr. Paul Kingsbury will provide pro tem leadership in the AVPLT portfolio through summer 2025.
• The search for a new Dean, Faculty of Health Sciences has been announced and will commence shortly. Dr. Jeremy Snyder is providing pro tem leadership in FHS.

Enrolments and recruitment

As noted in the September Board report, the university is confronting a structural negative shift in international undergraduate enrolment prospects. Reduced immigration targets negatively affect the enrolment outlook directly by dampening international student demand, and indirectly by reducing the high school leaving population. The changes that the Government of Canada has made to the international student program have been far-reaching and have created unintended consequences.

Our enrolment plan for 2024/25 targeted 18,335 co-op and non-co-op undergraduate domestic PFTEs. This would have been 5% above the Ministry-funded program FTE of 17,464, which includes 175 new tech seats for 2024/25. At this time, we anticipate exceeding the ministry funded target for undergraduate seats by 11%.

The Senate-approved international undergraduate FTE target (excluding co-op) for 2024/25 is 4,000, which equates to 19% of all undergraduate FTEs (relative to our long-range target of 25%). We are now projecting a significantly lower international undergraduate PFTE of 3,562, which represents 15% of all undergraduates.

Projected graduate enrolments in 2024/25 are also projected to be slightly below target. The net result is a projected shortfall relative to budget in tuition revenue of approximately $7.4M.

We have, and will continue, to respond to international student enrolment and retention challenges with investments in several initiatives. The Student Services recruitment team has been implementing a new international recruitment strategy by traveling to key markets, including Southeast Asia, China, the Middle East, the U.S. and Mexico. These efforts aim to engage with prospective students, Educational Agents and other stakeholders, developing relationships and building market presence. 

During this fall term recruitment cycle, the Student Services recruitment team and faculty recruitment staff are also collaborating on domestic recruitment in the Lower Mainland. This includes attending fairs and events and meeting with prospective high school students in support of the university's enrolment goals. This approach is a first for this cross functional team, and since the start of September, there have already been 185 school visits.

The anticipated impacts of the investments in international recruitment may not be realized for a few years as it will take time for initiatives to mature in the new markets SFU is pursuing.

Advancing strategic priorities

There is work occurring across the university to advance the What’s Next strategic priorities. Several key examples are highlighted below.

Uphold Truth & Reconciliation

• SFU’s inaugural Indigenous Council meeting was held on November 29. This was a transitional meeting from the Aboriginal Steering Committee to the new Council. The process is focused on being inclusive of all, building on the current strengths of the Steering Committee and building roadmaps and strategy for the new Indigenous Strategic Plan.
• The Indigenous Council Office conducted an abridged version of RESPECT for SFU’s senior leadership team. The RESPECT program is designed to teach cultural safety and anti-racism for all employees at SFU, with a focus on the implications of such skills for engaging with Indigenous faculty, staff and students and engaging in Reconciliation as an institution.
• The Indigenous Welcoming Procedure project is in the final stages of draft procedure, which should be completed before the end of the year. The project Working Group (WG) is Indigenous-led, enabling the process of bringing this procedure forward to strive for a more nuanced and human-centered approach. The WG has devoted considerable time to finalizing the documents for review, with conversations around change management, alignment of IT systems and other equity data work ongoing. The WG is also working on a soft launch for the procedure that focuses on students first, which has resulted in planned meetings with the registrar, Graduate Studies and the School of Medicine.   
• The First Peoples’ Gathering House (FPGH) on Burnaby campus is tentatively scheduled to complete construction by April of 2025. A FPGH Operations Working Group has been struck by the Indigenous Council Office and Office for Aboriginal Peoples to develop an operations plan and budget, usage policies and guidelines and booking guidelines. This work is well on the way and conversations have been fruitful. Opening events and ceremonies for the FPGH are in the planning stage.
• The Indigenous naming process for Burnaby campus and Indigenous spaces is well underway. One of the Nations has provided draft names for consideration and discussion by the group and other Host Nations. The goal is to receive consensus around the names from the Host Nation experts. We are also working with Facilities Services around signage planning. This work has created more opportunities for the university to engage with Host Nations on language translation requests and further Indigenization.
• SFU was proud to present Judge Abby Abinanti, Chief Judge of the Yurok Tribe, with the Jack P. Blaney Award for Dialogue this November. Named after SFU president emeritus Jack Blaney, this award is presented to an individual who has demonstrated excellence in the use of dialogue to increase mutual understanding and advance complex public issues. While in Vancouver to receive the award, Judge Abinanti joined a panel of B.C. Indigenous Judges to discuss increasing the number of Indigenous judges appointed to provincial courts, visited Kwìkwèxwelhp Healing Village and spoke with Indigenous students, faculty and staff at the Indigenous Student Centre monthly lunch. This was a team effort organized collaboratively by SFU Public Square, Centre for Dialogue, Center for Restorative Justice and the Indigenous Executive Lead.

Engage in Global Challenges

• From November 7 to 9, SFU successfully hosted the Royal Society of Canada’s Celebration of Excellence & Engagement to celebrate achievements, discuss global challenges and welcome distinguished scholars to Vancouver. As part of the three-day event, SFU hosted a symposium on community-centred climate innovation: a community first approach to developing and implementing mitigation and adaptation technologies, policies and strategies, and a strategic research priority for SFU.
• SFU recently launched the Global Institute for Agritech (GIA), a multi-faculty research institute that aims to advance agritech research and facilitate collaboration with partners around the world. Consisting of 13 SFU researchers from across seven faculties and advisory council members from government, industry and the post-secondary sector, the GIA will tackle global agricultural challenges arising from climate change and find solutions to food security issues.
• The Centre for Dialogue team supported a cross-disciplinary Climate Innovation Workshop that brought 50 faculty members in conversation with each other, hosted a successful Climate Day that drew the climate action community into dialogue with SFU experts and is currently designing a cross-disciplinary AI Symposium for a wide range of SFU researchers as well as representatives from industry, government and civil society.
• VPRI Dugan O’Neil and AVPKMI Elicia Maine travelled to Ottawa to participate in the Canadian Science Policy Conference, where they connected with government, industry and academic leaders to advance SFU’s interests in science, innovation and policy. O’Neil hosted a panel on accelerating the National Quantum Strategy and supporting made-in-Canada technologies and Maine hosted a panel on advancing Canada’s Hydrogen Strategy through initiatives like the SFU Clean Hydrogen Hub.
• VPRI Dugan O’Neil, FENV Dean Naomi Krogman and faculty members from five faculties recently travelled to Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania to attend the first scientific conference of the Tanzanian consortium, which includes SFU, Aga Khan University, University of Dar Es Salaam, Sokoine University of Agriculture and the Nelson Mandela African Institute of Science and Technology. The members met and discussed opportunities to collaborate on joint research and educational initiatives and signed an MOU between SFU, the other university partners and the government of Tanzania. The SFU delegation then travelled to Arusha to visit the Arusha Climate and Environment Research Centre (ACER) to plan research and educational activities at the ACER site.

Make a Difference for B.C.

• In October, I delivered my annual address to the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade, themed around how SFU is making a difference for B.C. and driving the economy through our partnerships, which provide local businesses with access to expertise, infrastructure and resources. It was a highly successful event with more than 200 business and industry leaders in attendance, and I look forward to continuing this discussion with industry and government.
• Government relations (GR) continues to be a priority for the executive team. We have a government relations strategy in development and Trevor Boudreau, former director of GR at YVR, has been hired to lead those efforts at the university moving forward. Following the results of the provincial election, SFU reached out to offer meetings and times to connect with local MLAs and key members of official opposition, as well as our new Minister of Post-Secondary and Future Skills, the Honourable Anne Kang, and Deputy Minister, Trevor Hughes. We have also doubled our number of interactions with the federal government this year as compared to last year and will continue to advocate for the post-secondary sector and SFU at all levels of government.
• I recently travelled to Ottawa for the annual Universities Canada membership meeting, during which I was honoured to be officially appointed vice-chair of the Universities Canada Board of Directors. Once my one-year term as vice-chair is complete, I will be appointed as board chair. I’m honoured to be trusted with this position during a turbulent time for Canadian universities and look forward to working with Universities Canada and the Board to improve our advocacy with the federal government. I am also thinking about how I can boost SFU’s profile and visibility in this role.
• The School of Medicine held a curriculum retreat on October 7 and 8 to continue shaping its Undergraduate Medical Education program with participation from advisors and consultants from SFU, UBC, Western University, McMaster University and Washington State University. The retreat discussed underlying themes and pillars, principles and framework for competencies and milestones, approaches to curriculum development and a program timeline.
  • The School has outlined the accreditation roadmap and timeline for its Post-Graduate Medical Education (PGME) program. We aim to submit our institutional accreditation application to the Canadian Residency Accreditation Consortium in early 2025, following which we will focus on meeting deadlines from the College of Family Physicians of Canada to achieve accreditation for the Family Medicine Residency Program.
  • The functional programs for the School’s interim learning spaces and future permanent campus are complete, detailing overall space objectives and the specific needs of future students, faculty and staff. The selection of the architectural firm for the interim campus is in its final stages, with the renovation expected to be finished by summer 2026.
  • The School is currently recruiting an Associate Director, Indigenous Perspectives, Associate Dean, Indigenous Health and Associate Dean, Research.
• SFU hosted Minister of Emergency Preparedness and Minister responsible for the Pacific Economic Development Agency of Canada, Harjit Sajjan, for an announcement to launch the Regional Artificial Intelligence Initiative to support AI innovation and adoption in B.C. This event included a tour of the SFU Big Data Hub, showcasing SFU’s multidisciplinary expertise in AI.
• The teams in the Community Engagement and Dialogue unit are increasingly looked to as expert conveners for the province's most critical conversations. This fall, Centre for Dialogue Indigenous Fellow Ginger Gosnell Myers was one of three non-partisan panelists on the CBC coverage of election night in B.C., Fellow Leanne Sawatzky was chosen to moderate Metro Vancouver's series of panels on climate action and public health and Executive Director Aftab Erfan was the keynote speaker at the Local Government Management Association and First Nations Public Service Secretariat collaboration workshop in Campbell River. In addition, SFU Public Square was contacted by Science World to support on an event centered on misinformation and the public health emergency due to increased drug poisonings, moderated by CBC's Stephen Quinn and featuring SFU faculty member Bohdan Nosyk and student Chloe Goodison. This sold-out event was just one example of how SFU makes a difference for B.C. through knowledge mobilization and community engagement.
• For the fourteenth year, SFU's Vancity Office of Community Engagement partnered with the Heart of the City Festival to offer free public talks, film screenings and dance performances at SFU's Goldcorp Centre for the Arts. SFU participants included the Carnegie Dance troupe, School for Contemporary Arts faculty member Justine Chambers and Dr. Nicholas Blomley, SFU geography professor, who presented the Warren Gill Lecture on October 30.

Transform the SFU Experience

• As departments, faculties and units across the university prepare to develop their 2025-26 budgets, SFU has developed educational resources, held a faculty and staff information session and consulted with student groups to support understanding of SFU’s budget process and support engagement within departments and units.
• SFU’s fall convocation was attended by more than 1,600 graduates and thousands of family members on October 10 and 11. This round of ceremonies, a new ticketing system for audience seating was successfully implemented to address issues of overcrowding and ensure the best possible experience for graduates and their guests. The Chancellor’s Dinner, held on October 10 at the Diamond Alumni Centre, celebrated four exceptional honorary degree recipients: Yi Cui, Esi Edugyan, Elio Luongo and Alexandra Newton.
• On September 12, the Chancellor and President’s Awards Dinner brought together more than 100 community members to celebrate award recipients Ratana and Arran Stephens (President’s Distinguished Community Leadership Award), Len Pierre (Chancellor’s Distinguished Service Award) and SFU student Abhishek Parmar (Chancellor’s Distinguished Service Award) at the Goldcorp Centre for the Arts.
• SFU’s inaugural Accessibility Plan was launched in October. Aligned with the Equity Compass and informed by the perspectives and needs of SFU students, faculty and staff with disabilities, the Accessibility Plan describes the changes needed to transition towards a more accessible university. Implementing and sustaining meaningful accessibility improvements is a long-term journey. This initial plan articulates the areas that require immediate attention, prioritizing actions with urgency, impact and feasibility in mind. The plan ensures compliance with the Accessible British Columbia Act and leaves space to respond to the standards the province will prescribe, beginning in the next 12 months.
• SFU’s People Strategies team continues to develop an employee well-being strategy, one of our commitments outlined in the People Plan. In September, Excellence Canada facilitated several Rapid Assessment focus group sessions that will help us achieve consensus about where we are today by benchmarking our work against the evidence-based Excellence Canada framework, Mental Health at Work. People Strategies will continue to develop the well-being strategy with inputs from Excellence Canada and evidence-based practices from the National Standards for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace and the Okanagan Charter.
• Modernizing the institution’s approach to leadership development is another key component of People Strategies’ People Plan work starting this fall. Support for leadership development was identified as a major need through the 2024 client needs assessment, both from a risk-based perspective and a talent retention perspective. Work in this area will include identification of best practices, key risk areas, focus groups, building a continuum from management fundamentals through to senior leadership development and alignment of all VPPEI offerings. 
• Led by myself, VPAAE Erin Morantz and Nicole Dorssers, Executive Director, Alumni Relations, SFU visited London in October and took part in a number of activities, which included sponsoring and hosting alumni at the 7th Canadian Joint Alumni Reception put on by the Canada-UK Chamber of Commerce. In addition to over 25 alumni hosted at the reception, AAE also hosted 11 alumni for lunch and dinner and held strategic meetings with donors, prospects and partners. 
• As part of our commitment to integrate progressive people practices, SFU leadership has welcomed transparent conversations with SFU faculty, staff and students on critical issues impacting SFU through a series of town halls. SFU Public Square’s Executive Director, Janet Webber, has been busy facilitating the Town Hall on Artificial Intelligence in Learning and Teaching on September 25, the Faculty & Staff Town Hall on Oct 1, the Budget Information Session on November 18 and the Town Hall on AI in SFU’s Operations and Administration on November 26.

Sincerely,

Joy Johnson
President & Vice-Chancellor
Simon Fraser University