Editor's note: President Alastair Summerlee welcomes comments on his column at president@uoguelph.ca.
I have often talked about the importance of social engagement, both for our students, staff and faculty and for the general public. I firmly believe that a community that is actively involved in learning, in social issues, in debate and in collectively solving problems is fundamental to a civil and democratic society. Engagement and involvement also underpin innovation and invention on a university campus.
The last couple of weeks have provided some pivotal examples, including our students who spent Reading Week helping with hurricane relief efforts, working with homeless and at-risk youth and learning about native life; and the hugely successful inaugural President's Dialogue, a discussion of the changing role of media that drew an audience of more than 800 live and online.
At the same time, however, there was a painful reminder (in the form of a Globe and Mail editorial by Preston Manning) that, even at the highest levels of society, there is still much misunderstanding about the importance of universities and our significant roles not only in social engagement and alternative learning experiences but also in challenging our society. Archaic and, in my opinion, biased views such as Manning's are indicative of the challenges that remain in countering certain troubling myths about the role of universities in contemporary society.
I'll speak to his comments in a moment.
First, allow me to accentuate the positive. Traditionally, Reading Week is a time for students and faculty to take a much-needed break from scholarly activities. But more than 100 of our students spent the week doing volunteer work with Project Serve, and it provided them with some of their best educational lessons of the year.
About 40 students took a bus all the way to Hattiesburg, Miss., where they teamed with students from the University of Southern Mississippi to help with ongoing hurricane relief efforts. They also learned about the civil rights movement and Black History Month. Global TV did a feature story about the students before they left and even met them in Mississippi, highlighting their efforts in a national news report.
Meanwhile, some 30 students travelled to Pikangikum, Ont., a fly-in native reserve located in the middle of the Berens River. They spent the week learning about life in remote northern communities and about aboriginal issues, especially barriers to accessing education and health care, and volunteering in the community.
Another eight students went to Calgary to work with an agency that supports the needs of homeless and at-risk youth. They spent a night in the streets bringing food to homeless youth and talking to them about which resources they're accessing. Other students stayed in Guelph and teamed up with students from the University of Calgary to support and help local families in need.
These dedicated students came away with new knowledge about other people, cultures and traditions, and above all, they learned that making a difference in the lives of others is truly a life-changing experience. You can hear some of these students talk about their experiences March 13 at 5:30 p.m. in War Memorial Hall.
Also during Reading Week, the University held the inaugural President's Dialogue, which featured some of Canada's leading journalists, authors and media executives. I have long believed that society needs to be engaged in important issues and that universities have a key role to play by ensuring ongoing public debate on such issues. Starting the tradition of holding an annual dialogue seemed a perfect fit with this philosophy.
And the University and general community responded with enthusiasm. Nearly 400 people attended the dialogue in Rozanski Hall, some of them watching it live via the Internet in an overflow room. More than 400 others logged on from their offices, schools and homes to watch the proceedings on the Internet. They listened, learned and asked pressing questions.
The dialogue was the most recent in a series of events and symposia we've planned to engage the public in stimulating discussions on emerging global issues. In November, the University hosted a special forum on the state of public affairs in Canada. In January, we sponsored a public forum on BSE and bird flu with the Royal Society of Canada. In April, I will be hosting a national symposium on “Making Poverty History.” The objective is to mobilize some of the best minds in the country to discuss with the public issues that are of importance in a complex and integrated world.
I believe that helping to initiate such healthy debate, discussions and analysis is among the most integral roles of a university. But it appears not everyone agrees. Case in point: Manning's Feb. 21 column.
It started promisingly enough, focusing on the need to establish a positive working relationship between the Conservative government and the scientific community. But about halfway through the piece, he resorted to ill-informed and overly generalized attacks on the humanities and social and behavioural sciences.
His remarks, which were not in the least bit germane to the topic at hand, ruined a column that otherwise might have initiated a much-needed and long-overdue debate about a crucial matter — namely, the lack of understanding of science.
Characterizing the humanities and social sciences as fields dominated by anti-American leftists who are out to undermine the free market is utter nonsense and without merit. Such comments are also insulting to the scientific community for they clearly cast all scientists on the other side of the political divide, which is blatantly not true either.
As I said earlier, one of the most important purposes of any university is to promote critical thinking in all disciplines. Universities encourage students, faculty and staff — in a setting that allows complete academic freedom — to ponder and evaluate prevalent ideas and institutions, not just in Canada but also around the world. Such critical thinking involves questioning dominant orthodoxies.
This is not some impractical, anti-establishment, left-wing exercise in political correctness intended to unravel authority. Rather, it is the product of centuries of enlightened thinking that has formed the core of our modern democratic society.
A democratic society must have engaged citizens who are willing to challenge and improve the status quo. It is imperative not only for democracy's survival but also, more importantly, for its well-being.
Of course, the students who volunteered to work in Hattiesburg, Pikangikum, Calgary and Guelph are among the best and most hopeful examples of the noble potential of an engaged academic community. Their efforts also undermine Manning's narrow view of the humanities and social and behavioural sciences. For its part, the University of Guelph — and the entire Canadian academic community, for that matter — ought to play a central role in nurturing a just, peaceful and democratic Canada.
