During the summer, as president of the University of Calgary I get an opportunity/obligation that is not shared by any other university president --  I get to participate in the Calgary Stampede.  Held every year for 10 days in early July, the Calgary Stampede attracts over a million people to an event that, for some, defines Calgary and its spirit. 

July 7, 2008

Planning Essential responsibilities of a university president, or any CEO, are development and modulation of the strategic plan, communication of the plan, aligning organization resources around the plan, and the effective execution and evaluation of the plan.

June 9, 2008

Around the middle of April, university people are often asked:  “So, what are you going to do over the summer?”   This question is motivated by a commonly-held belief that the work of the university shuts down for the months between the end of classes in May and the beginning of the new academic year in September.  Since this belief is tied to teaching responsibilities and, typically, university presidents do little if any teaching (a symptom of what is and what is not expected of university presidents), what we do from May-September is a source of wonder to many.

May 22, 2008

Gave a speech to a conference on sustainable cities about what the University of Calgary was doing to demonstrate its comprehensive and deep commitment to environmental responsibility and sustainability.  Presidents are often asked to speak publicly about the values and priorities of their universities.  If you’re interested, you can read the full speech at http://www.ucalgary.ca/president/activities/talks. While the talk emphasized success stories, I also pointed out that we still had a long way to go.  Here is the most poignant example I gave of this; I admit that it blew me away.

May 1, 2008

Well, it’s been a while since my last entry. No, I haven’t been on an extended vacation. Rather, since I last wrote, among other things, we have gone through a new federal budget and a provincial election, throne speech and budget; recruited and appointed two new vice-presidents; made significant progress on two big capital projects; finalized and received Board approval of the 2008-09 U of C budget and had a protest about credit cards. Here is the précis.