President's report - September Board meeting

My favourite thing about September is the hearing the buzz and chatter of students returning to our campuses. I am looking forward to another exciting year at SFU!

I took time over the summer to reflect on my hopes for the year ahead. These continue to be challenging times in both the world and the post-secondary sector and we need to think carefully about where we want to invest our efforts as we enter the 2024/25 academic year.

Early in the term, I released a statement to the university community about the role of universities in polarized times. In these challenging times, I believe universities need to be a place for open dialogue and difficult conversations. I also believe that academic freedom is a cornerstone of our university, and it is important that we protect and defend it at SFU while also fulfilling our legal obligations to the B.C. University Act. Given important dialogue that has taken place over the past year regarding the role of universities, I have come to the conclusion that presidential statements must be used in a very considered way, which is why we have decided that senior leaders will no longer take public positions on topics unrelated to the business of the university. I want to be clear that this does not reflect a change in SFU’s strategy or values. Our values are clearly outlined in What’s Next, and include both academic freedom and critical thinking, and equity and belonging. We have made it clear that these values are not mutually exclusive—in fact, quite the opposite. They support and hold each other up. We will continue to live by those values and advance critical equity work at SFU while creating space for open and respectful dialogue on our campuses.

The School of Medicine continues to be a priority as we build a strong team and make progress towards accreditation. Government relations (GR) is another area of focus, especially in light of upcoming provincial and federal elections. We are in the process of developing a comprehensive GR strategy that advocates for SFU and the post-secondary sector at all levels of government. And finally, as with all universities in Canada, budget challenges are an area of concern. Restrictions from the federal government continue to have a chilling effect on enrollment and on the perception of Canada as a welcoming place for international students. Provost and vice-president academic Dilson Rassier and I are receiving regular updates on the budget to ensure that we are making decisions with the latest available data.

There is a lot of work ahead of us—but it is good, thoughtful, important work. I look forward to collaborating with the Board and our communities as we make steady progress towards bringing our vision, values and priorities to life.

Administrative updates

Leadership renewal

Martin Pochurko, Vice-President Finance and Administration (VPFA), has announced his decision to retire from SFU, effective February 7, 2025. We are grateful to Martin for his dedicated service to the university, including nine years as VPFA. A search for his replacement is underway, led by our partners at PFM Executive Search, and we intend to fill the role prior to Martin’s departure to ensure a careful transition. The Search Committee has been formed and has convened several times to date. We have also completed a community consultation and will share an amended position description soon.

We were excited to announce the founding dean of the School of Medicine in July. Dr. David Price will fully move into the dean role in January 2025 and will continue to help guide the establishment of the School as acting dean through the fall. We are also excited to share that Gohar Ashoughian has been appointed as the Dean of Libraries and University Librarian for a five-year term beginning November 15, 2024.

Unfortunately, the search committee for the Dean, Beedie School of Business search was unable to recommend a candidate. Dr. Carolyn Egri has agreed to stay on as dean pro tem while efforts recommence to recruit a dean for the longer term.

In addition, there are several senior leadership searches launching this fall. Dr. Rummana Khan Hemani, Vice Provost & Associate Vice-President, Students, has confirmed that she will retire in the spring and we have launched a search for her replacement. A search will begin shortly for the Dean, Faculty of Environment with Dr. Naomi Krogman’s term coming to an end in June 2025. We will also be proceeding with the search for an Associate Vice President, Learning & Teaching, with Dr. Paul Kingsbury providing pro tem leadership to the unit in the short term. Dr. Carman Neustadter’s term as Dean, Faculty of Communication, Art and Technology, will come to an end in summer 2025; planning is underway to launch the renewal process in the coming months.

Enrollments

As noted in the June 2024 Board report, the Senate-approved enrollment plan for 2024/25 is for co-op and non-co-op undergraduate domestic PFTEs enrolment to be 18,335. This would be 5% above the Ministry-funded program FTE of 17,464, which includes 175 new tech seats for 2024/25. The Senate-approved international 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%).

The preliminary registration data for new domestic students intending to start in fall 2024, as well as actual data for the summer 2024 semester, indicates that we are on track to meet the domestic target. However, as signaled in our June 2024 report, we face significant challenges to achieving the 2024/25 targets for international students and now expect a significant shortfall.

In summer 2024, 300 new domestic undergraduate students registered, 8.7% above the Senate target of 276. However, only 175 new international undergraduate students registered, 15.9% below the Senate target of 208. The net result was a shortfall relative to budget in summer tuition revenue of approximately $4.6M. Graduate enrollments in summer 2024 were also slightly down.

The latest undergraduate enrollment data for fall indicates a continuation of this pattern. As of one week before the fall term, total AFTEs (including co-op) are 10,174.2, a decrease of 0.3% compared to the same point in the registration period last year. Funded AFTEs are 8,634.9, an increase of 2.3% from last year. Unfunded AFTEs—which include international students—are 1,539.3, a decrease of 12.7% from last year.

International student permit cap

There are now indications that universities across the country are confronting a structural negative shift in international undergraduate enrollment prospects. On September 18, the federal government announced a further 10% reduction of international student permits over the next two years. It was also announced that the international student cap is now inclusive of graduate and doctoral students. Provincial allocations related to the cap are still being determined, but we do know that 12% of permits will be reserved for master’s and doctoral students. Other changes include restrictions to post-graduation work permits and spousal work permits. Also, international students who are transferring between designated learning institutions from within Canada will need to apply for a new study permit and will be included in the cap. SFU and Universities Canada have been actively advocating against any further changes to the permit program, and we were disappointed to hear this news.

I was in Ottawa with Dugan O’Neil, vice-president research and international, when this change was announced. We were there to meet with federal representatives and advocate for SFU and the post-secondary sector. Overall, it was a highly successful trip. Over the course of three days, we had 26 meetings with a range of Members of Parliament, political staff, and senior bureaucrats from several federal offices, agencies and Ministries.

The topic of the cap came up at several of these meetings. It was clear to me that these changes are here to stay through 2026 and we must be very strategic in how we advocate as a university sector on this file. Through RUCBC and Universities Canada, we will be working with universities across the province and country on a coordinated approach in the months ahead.

I continue to believe that the cap itself—the actual number of permits allocated to SFU—is not our only issue when it comes to international enrolment. We are struggling more with a growing perception that Canada is now no longer open or welcoming to international students, which is simply not the case. We will continue to advocate with government at all levels to share the impact that SFU is having and the importance of post-secondary education and research in Canada.

We are also continuing to invest in initiatives to increase international student recruitment, enrollment and retention. These steps include hiring to support admissions processing, in-country representatives and staffing support for IRCC’s manual changes, recruitment trips, contracting IDP Connect as a foundational tactic for lead collection, virtual campus tours and funding and resources to support building markets and providing appropriate promotional assets. 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, although these responses are already leaving us better off than most other post-secondary institutions in B.C.

Labour relations

Earlier this year, the BC Labour Relations Board approved an application from the SFU Faculty Association to transfer 25 APSA members into SFUFA. The university and SFUFA are in the process of collective bargaining for these new members and hope to have an agreement by the end of September.

Research assistant bargaining with the TSSU is slated to begin in September, with Geoff Tierney working as our lead negotiator. Bargaining protocols have been finalized with TSSU. SFU and TSSU are also waiting decision from the BC Labour Relations Board around whether or not graduate student research assistants (whose duties are considered scholarship) should be considered employees of the university and members of TSSU. We anticipate receiving the decision in October.

APSA Basic Agreement Mediation took place in April 2024. Both the Board and APSA approved recommendations made by the mediator and, following ratification from APSA membership, the new agreement is now in place.

Advancing strategic priorities

There is work occurring across the university to advance the What’s Next strategic priorities, with key examples included below. At this Board meeting, Dilson also presented on our progress so far in developing the Academic Plan and how it will work with What’s Next to support the academic mission and our strategic priorities.

Uphold Truth and Reconciliation

• On September 30, SFU observed the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, also known as Orange Shirt Day. Events and educational initiatives were held across the university in support of the day, including our annual partnership with Skookum Surrey and the Surrey Urban Indigenous Leadership Committee to host an Orange Shirt Day event in Surrey.
• The Indigenous Welcoming Procedure Working Group has devoted considerable time to considering the feedback and language we use to describe the procedure, as well as the language the procedure will use to communicate with applicants and those tasked with upholding it. This attention to language comes from a deep sensitivity to the complex dynamics of identity, emotion, history, truth and knowledge that considerations of Indigenous identities can bring forth. If the procedure is to be a welcoming one, we need to strive to get the language and tone to a culturally appropriate place.
  • The Working Group (WG) is Indigenous-led, enabling the process of bringing this procedure forward to employ a more nuanced and human-centered approach. As a part of that practice, the WG is in the final stages of drafting the procedure, which should be completed in the fall/winter of 2024. In addition, the WG has been working with a business analyst to help with change management on the IT side. This implementation work is well underway and we will continue to update the Board and community as the process continues.
• The First Peoples Gathering House is tentatively scheduled to complete construction by March/April of 2025. A working group has been struck by the Indigenous Council Office and Office for Aboriginal Peoples to develop an operations plan and budget (governance), usage policies and guidelines and booking guidelines. 
• 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 to ensure that signage planning is underway. Once this is complete, the next phase of this work is to engage on the SFU Vancouver campus.

Engage in Global Challenges

• From November 7 to 9, 2024, SFU is hosting the Royal Society of Canada’s Celebration of Excellence & Engagement, an opportunity to celebrate achievements, discuss global challenges and welcome distinguished scholars to Vancouver. As part of the three-day event, SFU is excited to host 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. 
• We are proud that SFU English professor Leith Davis, marine biologist Nicholas Dulvy and chemical biologist David Vocadlo have been named Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada—Canada’s highest academic honour—for their contributions to their fields. Congratulations also to Dean of Science and kinesiology professor Angela Brooks-Wilson for being elected as a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (CAHS), one of the highest honours for Canadian health scholars.
• SFU received $6.6M in federal support for two new hubs, the Climate-Smart Data Collaboration Centre and the Agricultural Genomics in Action Centre, funded through Genome Canada. An additional $9.2M was provided by provincial governments, businesses and research partners. The new centres will advance genomics-based agriculture and food system innovations to help Canadian agriculture industry innovate, cut its carbon footprint and boost sustainable food systems. 
• In September, the SFU Sustainability and Climate Office launched the “Countdown to 2030: Creating a Sustainable Future” event series campaign. The collaborative series aims to promote and highlight university-wide sustainability and climate action events in fall 2024 in the lead-up to the writing of SFU's institutional Sustainability and Climate Plan 2030. 2030 is a critical deadline for ramping up global efforts to address climate change and meeting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The campaign will amplify and promote special events including the Royal Society of Canada’s symposium on community-centred climate innovation, SFU's delegation to COP 29 and Vancouver Climate Day.
• SFU honoured five scholars as SFU Distinguished Professors in celebration of their outstanding performance, achievements and service to SFU and the world. Congratulations to Genevieve LeBaron, Daniel Leznoff, Anne Salomon, Glen Tibbits and Andrew Wister.

Make a Difference for B.C.

• On July 9, B.C. Premier David Eby joined us at SFU’s Surrey campus to announce nearly $61M in operational and capital funding for SFU’s School of Medicine (SoM). This includes funding for an interim space at SFU Surrey, which SFU will design, renovate and equip to accommodate classrooms, labs and faculty and staff office space.
  • The SoM has successfully completed the first major submission in the Committee on Accreditation of Canadian Medical Schools (CACMS) accreditation process with the submission of the Data Collection Instrument (DCI) and the Medical School Self-study, with the final DCI submission deadline occurring on September 15. The School now awaits CACMS’ review and decision on its eligibility for an accreditation site visit in spring 2025. If successful, this would be the final step towards achieving preliminary accreditation.
  • Following Dr. David J. Price's appointment as the SoM’s founding dean, Christine Burnell joined the School’s leadership team as Executive Director, Operations starting August 1. Prior to joining, she was Director, Operations and Administration with the Department of Family Medicine, College of Medicine at the University of Saskatchewan.
  • The SoM is working with Faculty Relations and SFU legal to develop a process for academic leadership appointments for the School. Recruitment for the following roles began in August: Senior Associate Dean, Education Programs; Associate Dean, Indigenous Health; Associate Dean, Accreditation; and Associate Dean, Research. Administrative staff positions have been created to support each of the key portfolios within the faculty, and the School is working closely with Human Resources to approve and fill these roles. Discussions have also begun with SFUFA regarding research faculty for the School.
• This summer, the Centre for Dialogue wrapped up two significant projects that use a novel democratic governance model to inform the creation of Official Community Plans for local governments. The Burnaby Community Assembly and the Gibsons Residents Assembly brought together, respectively, 40 and 25 randomly selected residents of each municipality, for in-depth deliberations over a period of multiple months and make recommendations to Mayors and Councils on key questions such as where new housing should be built.
• Each year SFU’s Community Engagement Initiative (CEI) offers small grants of up to $10,000 to SFU staff and faculty that fund community-engaged scholarship projects developed with community partners. Although this model is currently under revision, this year we received 47 proposals, the overall quality of which continues to demonstrate SFU’s deep commitment to partnering well with communities. $100,000 was distributed across 26 SFU-community teams. Twenty of these initiatives include work with Indigenous communities.

Transform the SFU Experience

• On July 12, B.C. Premier David Eby and Lisa Beare, Minister of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills, joined us at the Burnaby campus to announce $187.6M in funding for phase 3 of SFU’s housing master plan. The eight-storey residence will accommodate 445 upper-year students and a 160-space child care centre, slated to open in fall 2027.
• In July, we created a new portfolio at SFU, entitled “Community Engagement and Dialogue”. This portfolio consolidated six offices: the Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue, SFU Public Square, SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement, the Office of Community Engagement (including the SFU Surrey – TD Community Engagement Centre), SFU Galleries and the Goldcorp Centre for the Arts Production and Event Services. Located within the Provost’s office and led by executive director Aftab Erfan, the new portfolio combines the efforts and expertise of SFU’s community-engaged teams to strengthen connections between academics, partners and the public, and advance SFU’s role as a public convening space for exposure to and interrogation of big ideas.
  • In addition to this change, with Joanne Curry’s transition to the role of Special Advisor to the President on Government Relations, the Ceremonies & Events (C&E) team has returned to the Advancement and Alumni Engagement (AAE) portfolio. AAE and C&E look forward to working together and continuing to serve the SFU community.
• Student Services is launching a new physical campus tour model that employs co-op students to offer more tours at the Burnaby and Surrey campuses throughout the week and on Saturdays. The tour program will also assist prospective students and their guardians in using Education Planner BC, the platform for applying to SFU. This initiative is intended to help increase applications to SFU by supporting students through the beginning of their application process, as well as providing prospective students with a positive initial engagement with the university.
• This year, Welcome Month fully returned to a dynamic, in-person format. New incoming students registered for Welcome Day faster compared to previous years, signaling heightened engagement from the new cohort. We saw increased participation and representation in Welcome Month across all departments and campuses, and orientation/transition student leaders (HIVEs) are actively organizing more events to support new students, further improving the transition experience and fostering a welcoming environment.
• Beginning August 1, 2024, gender affirming care benefits have been made available to all SFU employees eligible for the Pacific Blue Cross Extended Health Care plan. Providing gender affirming care is an important step towards creating a more inclusive and supportive workplace for all employees, and we acknowledge and thank the members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community at SFU who provided guidance and advice throughout this process.
• Creation of the SFU Accessibility Plan is currently underway, with the first draft undergoing review and revisions. The plan will launch early fall 2024.
• SFU launched our Demographic and Diversity Data Survey in September. Data collected through this project will help provide information to meet our regulatory needs and institutional commitments, support equitable and accountable programs and service delivery and measure progress towards institutional priorities.
• Significant progress has been made towards building out an institutional program related to equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) and bias awareness training. Once complete, this Canvas course will provide foundational EDI education in support of committee decision making.
• Last year, the B.C. Office of the Human Rights Commissioner approved two Special Programs applications, allowing the university to conduct limited and preferential hiring of Black faculty and staff and Indigenous staff members. Work to implement the approved programs is well underway, including the development for processes for recruitment of identified groups. Work is also well underway to inform a retention plan built out of comprehensive onboarding and mentorship programs; this work will be reported back to the Commissioner as a requirement of the Special Programs.
• SFU has launched its university-wide initiative to develop an AI strategy. The strategy aims to leverage SFU strengths in advanced computing and big data to support use of AI in learning and teaching, research, operations and community engagement.
• On August 20, SFU Alumni welcomed back more than 140 alumni and special guests from SFU’s first 10 years to Burnaby campus. This included charter alumni, who are SFU’s first students and graduates, as well as donors and former staff who were part of SFU’s early years community. Alumni engaged with interactive activities, displays by SFU Archives, photos and videos from the early years and many lively conversations about their shared memories and SFU experiences.
• SFU’s Alumni Council is currently seeking nominations for key roles, including Alumni Council and Alumni Order in Council positions on the SFU Board of Governors. All nominees should bring their unique professional and lived experiences—and strong governance expertise—to serve in these dynamic volunteer roles. Key skillsets for the Alumni Order in Council positions on the SFU’s Board of Governors include Finance, Legal and Cyber Security expertise.

Joy Johnson
President & Vice-Chancellor
Simon Fraser University