News Articles
From the President
It's Been That Kind of Year
Editor's note: President Alastair Summerlee invites comments on his column at president@uoguelph.ca.
Last week, I watched as the tables and chairs used for final exams in the Athletics Centre were carted away, a telltale sign that the academic year has come to an end. For a moment, I wished I could be folded up and packed away for the summer like one of those tables — it's been that kind of school year.
I know I'm not alone in my weariness. It has been a tiring and sometimes tension-filled time for us all. The challenges culminated at the end of the semester with the University facing insurmountable budget challenges and our witnessing at arm's length the aftermath of the violent shooting rampage in Virginia.
Such a tragic and senseless loss of human life can make problems like budget constraints seem trivial and can lead to increased feelings of helplessness, especially in light of the media hype, political circus and finger pointing that often follow such tragedies. Here at Guelph, we chose to stay focused on commiserating with and helping the people who are grieving rather than get caught up in the hoopla.
Emotions are still so raw and the wounds so deep. We thought it best to provide support through letters and phone calls and to provide solidarity through a vigil and a moment of silence rather than talk about what we would do to prevent such a crisis here, although that will happen in due course.
Rest assured that we have procedures in place at Guelph to keep our students, faculty and staff as safe as humanly possible. But there's plenty of time for reflection on whether we're doing enough. It's crucial that we allow time for healing and then for a thorough investigation, so that any changes in our approaches are based on facts and on experience gained elsewhere.
We are not forgetting the anguish in Virginia, but for now, we are pressing on with issues of concern here at U of G and reflecting on the newly ended academic year, which has been filled with challenges and triumphs.
Last fall, we initiated the all-important but time-consuming integrated planning process in academic departments. This required us to stretch our minds to think about what we do and how we can do things differently, and we sought input from both faculty and staff.
We also welcomed significantly more students and new faculty to campus this year. The enrolment increase was due entirely to U of G remaining a popular choice among entering students, which is rewarding. But it did require us to do some creative adjustments to accommodate the demand for housing and courses, and everyone on campus had to step up and do their part.
And for several weeks now, the pressure gauge has been stuck on “high” as we've been dealing with the University's 2007/2008 Ministry of Colleges, Training and Universities preliminary budget. Based on current knowledge of enrolment, funding, tuition income and operational expenses, the University is projecting a structural budget deficit of $19.7 million, due mostly to issues around provincial pension requirements and uncertainty about federal and provincial funding.
This is a very serious situation. Although Guelph is certainly not alone in these budget woes and other issues, that isn't much of a comfort. Dealing with this will be an incredible challenge and will involve people in every area of the University. My hope is that we can find one-time solutions to close the gap, but we will have to deal with the structural problem for next year.
Despite or even because of these difficult challenges and the tragedy in Virginia, it is important to focus on the many positive things that have happened this year. I will highlight just a few here.
Recently we recognized 38 of our finest professors and librarians with 2006/2007 Distinguished Professor and Librarian Awards. The honours recognize faculty and librarians who have consistently demonstrated a commitment to teaching and research. The recipients were singled out for excellence by their colleagues, which was an obvious source of pride.
We also had a longtime faculty member, chemist Jacek Lipkowski, win a prestigious Killam Research Fellowship, which recognizes scholars engaged in research of outstanding merit. He was acknowledged for his groundbreaking work over the past 30 years. At the other end of the spectrum, two young professors won accolades for excellence in research this year. Integrative biology professors Ryan Gregory and Ryan Norris each received top early career awards in their field.
All of these faculty represent excellence right across the University.
It was also a stellar year for our students, who won numerous awards and accolades and spearheaded groundbreaking initiatives. For the first time in school history, both the women's and men's cross-country teams won gold medals at the national championships.
Students were also at the top of their game when it came to supporting local and national charities. Last month, Relay for Life raised more than $83,000 for the Canadian Cancer Society, the most money any university or college has ever collected. Students also set and broke records in the amount of food and money raised for local charities over the past year. They brought in more than $102,000 worth of food and donations through the “Trick or Eat” and “Skip a Meal” programs that are part of the national student-run charity Meal Exchange. The Guelph chapter is operated through the Central Student Association.
And most recently, U of G's undergraduate students set the stage for all other universities to follow when they committed more than $4.3 million to improve energy efficiency on campus. Their student-initiated referendum was recognized by the province, with Guelph's entire undergraduate population receiving a Certificate of Recognition from Ontario's chief energy conservation officer.
Once again, these student accomplishments leave me humbled, awed and brimming over with pride.
As a whole, the University community also achieved many successes. We raised more than $386,000 for the United Way this academic year, exceeding our goal by more than $16,000.
We were ranked Canada's No. 1 comprehensive University by Maclean's magazine and earned high marks for the undergraduate learning experience in national surveys published in separate issues of Maclean's and the Globe and Mail.
To date, we have also raised more than $60,000 as a community for the University's Masai Project by sponsoring fundraising events and selling the red and white beaded “Bracelets of Hope.” All the money is going to help fight AIDS and poverty in Africa as part of a larger $1-million city-wide initiative.
Remembering these many accomplishments and the challenges we faced this year gives us valuable insight as we move forward into the summer and to a new fall semester. It also helps put things in proper perspective as we reflect on the unimaginable grief and difficulties that lie ahead at Virginia Tech.