The Faculty of Arts and Science is set to unveil its first strategic plan.

The five-year plan clearly sets out articulated pathways to strengthen and expand the faculty's vision.

Development of the strategic plan began in the fall of 2018 and involved a series of consultations including online surveys, formal submissions from academic departments and student associations, as well as focus groups and town halls involving staff, undergraduate and graduate students, new faculty members, program coordinators and department heads, faculty board members, the Dean’s Council, and alumni.

Two working groups were also established – Strategic Planning and Equity Advisory – and were tasked with reviewing and synthesizing the wide-ranging submissions received through the consultation process.

“The process of creating the first strategic plan for the Faculty of Arts and Science was incredibly exciting and it was fantastic experience. There are many people who contributed to the plan’s creation and I would like to thank them all,” says Barbara Crow, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Science. “Thanks to their efforts and dedication, our faculty now has a clear vision and a set of principles, priorities, initiatives and metrics to guide us through the next five years.”

The strategic plan has four guiding principles:

• Equity, diversity, and inclusion including anti-racism, decolonization and Indigenous resurgence
• Excellence in teaching, research and service
• Transparency, accountability and fairness
• Continuous learning, professional development, and global engagement

Also set out as part of the strategic plan is the faculty’s vision of being a “thriving, equitable and inclusive scholarly community committed to innovative disciplinary and interdisciplinary research and teaching. Our goal is to inspire is to inspire curiosity and to collaboratively engage with multiple forms of knowledge that span local and global contexts.” 

Four strategic priorities – Strengthen our research prominence; Enrich the student experience; Support our people; Transform our spaces – were set out to support this vision. A total 50 measurable initiatives touching upon everything from experiential learning and collaborative research to digital infrastructure and wellness, have also been clearly outlined in the document.

The Strategic Plan is available online.