Message from the President: What's Next for SFU

Over the past year, I have spent a lot of time asking the question: SFU, What’s Next? Through surveys, online platforms, round table conversations and more, our communities shared their thoughts on where we should go next as a university and how we want to get there.

Across all the feedback, we discovered an incredible amount of consistency. We heard that the university’s academic mission needs to be centered in everything we do. That we need to eliminate barriers and bureaucracy that keep faculty and staff from doing their best work. That we need to continue making progress towards lasting and meaningful Reconciliation.

We took time to think about how all of these elements could be thoughtfully incorporated into a university strategy. And after months of consultation and approval from both the Senate and Board of Governors, I am excited to share What’s Next: The SFU Strategy, the university’s guiding document for the years ahead.

The strategy establishes a shared vision, purpose and values for SFU, as well as four priorities that will form our framework for action moving forward: uphold truth and Reconciliation, engage in global challenges, make a difference for B.C. and transform the SFU experience.

I encourage you to read a summary on our website or read the full strategy for more information, and to think about ways that you can use the strategy in your day-to-day work moving forward.

We are living through a critical time in history. From a global pandemic and growing inequities to shifting geopolitics and the climate crisis, the challenges we face are complex and daunting. But since the beginning, SFU has always been a university that meets the moment we’re in—and with this strategy, we will do so again.

I encourage you to join myself and members of the executive at a faculty and staff town hall on March 23 to learn more about the strategy and how we’re moving forward with implementation, and ask any questions you might have.

And finally, I want to say: thank you. Through this process, I got to see just how much our community cares about each other, this institution and the world, and it was truly inspiring. We are lucky to have each of you at SFU. I am so grateful for your work, and so excited for what is ahead of us. Let’s do this—together.

Sincerely,

Joy Johnson
Pronouns: she, her, hers
President and Vice-Chancellor
Simon Fraser University