2021 Statements

SFU will begin the spring term with a temporary, two-week shift to remote learning and teaching for lectures and seminars. These temporary measures will be in effect January 10 – 24.

I’m finding it difficult to come up with a few short sentences to sum up the extraordinary year we’ve had together.

Earlier this year, a group of community members from across the university was brought together to provide recommendations for how we can have a meaningful conversation with the SFU community about personal safety on our campuses.

University takes the next step in multi-year carbon reduction strategy.

These past weeks have been a whirlwind of activity! It is invigorating to see our campuses once again bustling with life and energy.

This week, we are launching Inclusion benefits us all: a collection of tools, resources and actions each of us can take to ensure that others feel safe, welcome and included at SFU.

SFU and the Simon Fraser Student Society (SFSS) are united in a shared commitment to take action regarding the climate crisis. Student advocates have been a critical part of informing and influencing the actions of the university throughout our history, and together we celebrate significant achievements.

September 30th this year marks the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, also known as Orange Shirt Day. It is a time for reflection and a time to come together in the spirit of reconciliation, and to honour those who have been impacted by Canada’s residential school system.

This past May, I responded to the leaders of the Contract Workers Justice group about their call to transfer cleaning and food service staff to be employees of SFU. In the letter that followed our meeting, we committed to begin work on a case for change in the Fall of 2021, with more information about the university’s financial outlook.

As we return to campus this week, whether you’re reacquainting yourself with favourite spots or meeting colleagues in person for the first time, welcome back!

As we approach the beginning of the fall term, we continue to prepare our campuses for the return of students, faculty and staff.

Thank you all for your patience. There are many moving pieces regarding our return to campus. I am heartened by the public health announcements of the past week and am confident we are taking the necessary steps to make our campuses safe.

New measures announced today contribute significantly to our layers of protection. I am grateful to each of you for doing your part to keep one another safe as we return to in-person experiences over the next couple of weeks.

Today the Provincial Health Officer announced the BC Vaccine Card, which will be implemented beginning September 13 for discretionary activities and events during this period of high risk.

As president of SFU, I am proud of the diversity of our community. Our students, faculty and staff come from countries around the world, and they bring important knowledge and ideas with them. Indeed, a research university cannot flourish without global knowledge and ideas.

Thank you for your letter and for raising your concerns and suggestions. These issues are also on my mind, and I value the opportunity to hear from you and share some of my perspectives as well.

I am pleased to announce that Dr. June Francis will serve as the Special Advisor to the President on Anti-Racism effective June 1 – December 31, 2021.

Today, for the second time in as many months, we are hearing more sad and disturbing news of the discovery of additional unmarked graves, with 751 Indigenous children and adults found by the Cowessess First Nation at the former Marieval Indian Residential School.

Join me as we visit some of my favourite spots on campus and say thank you to members of our community who have been supporting students, staff and faculty through the pandemic.

Over the past week, our communities have grieved the discovery of the 215 children who died at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School. And while we continue to grieve and stand in solidarity with Indigenous communities, this is also a time to commit to concrete action.

As we continue to grieve the enormous loss discovered at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School, and reflect on the lasting devastation caused by residential schools, I am holding Indigenous students, faculty, staff and community members in my thoughts.

Like many of you, I have spent much of my time over the past month thinking about and planning for our return to campus in September.

As a university deeply committed to engaging the communities we serve, SFU is uniquely positioned to help in this larger effort of pandemic recovery. We have to build back better to create a more prosperous, resilient and inclusive future.

SFU has consistently raised concerns over the TransMountain Expansion Project specific to the tank farm and the risk it poses to our community. In my role as the new president of SFU I would like to reiterate that the University remains opposed to anything that increases the risk to our community.

As the days get longer and warmer, I am feeling positive about the future. Teams across the university are working hard to coordinate a safe return to our campuses in September. I know our community will address this new challenge with the same innovative spirit, passion and determination that we have shown over the past year.

In December I commissioned an external review of the events that occurred the evening of December 11 on Burnaby campus, which led to an RCMP response. I know that many members of our community have been seeking to understand what occurred in greater detail. The review has been completed and the summary is available to the SFU community.

This month we mark the anniversary of the most difficult year in recent memory. These past 12 months we’ve been compelled to learn some powerful lessons while continually innovating. Looking back on the monumental efforts put forth by all of us in the most challenging of circumstances, I’m filled with pride and gratitude.

Public transit makes life better for the whole community. Transit connects people to work, to school and to each other. It moves more people, more quickly than cars. It reduces congestion, sprawl and air pollution.

I’ve just wrapped up a series of internal engagement meetings–over 40 in all–with groups across the university, to get to know you and share my priorities. I’m grateful to everyone who participated and for your thoughtful comments and questions.

Universities and the academic community are uniquely positioned to play an important role in a just recovery. By leveraging our resources and human capital, we have an opportunity to affect transformative change, and build a more caring and humane society emerging from this crisis.

February is Black History Month, a time to honour the extraordinary contributions of Black Canadians and a time to recommit to the work of dismantling anti-Black racism.

On behalf of all of us at SFU, I am pleased to welcome you to the next stage of your academic journey. I hope you and your loved ones had a wonderful, warm and safe holiday season, and that you took time to rest and relax.

An unsettling event involving a Black SFU alumnus, campus security and the RCMP occurred in the Burnaby campus dining hall recently, and is raising important questions about our processes and protocols.