I start with this assertion: The work of universities, especially the students we educate and the research we conduct, is critical to the social and economic health of Canada. 

The challenge for universities is to make sure that the academic programs we provide are constantly evolving to meet the current and future needs of our students and the public. Here is how we are changing the University of Calgary to make sure that our students receive a contemporary, relevant and useful education that prepares them for successful personal and professional lives and allows them to become contributing members and leaders of society: First, our academic programs are increasingly experiential based—our students learn by doing. We provide them with innumerable opportunities to learn by being involved in the community and mentored by community leaders. We facilitate these opportunities through financial support, opportunities for co-op education, internships, study abroad and, particularly, individualized research with leading scholars. 

Second, our programs are designed to foster the thinking, intellectual, adaptability, communication, teamwork and analytical skills that prepare our students to meet unknown challenges. This means an emphasis on active forms of learning such as inquiry- and problem-based modes of instruction. This also means we deliver a multi-disciplinary education in which students come to see, appreciate and solve problems from a variety of different perspectives. 

Earlier this year, the U of C put out a call to faculty, staff and students to help improve the quality of our learning environment. The response was inspiring, and this fall, the university will launch 26 new projects designed to increase student interaction and engage them in active and collaborative learning. The new projects include a science literacy course designed to give non-science students a baseline level of knowledge of the scientific concepts and processes required for personal decision-making, participation in civic and cultural affairs and economic productivity. 

Another project will offer students enrolled in introductory economics increased access to the university’s leading economic thinkers and their research. This focus on teaching and learning has one goal—student success. We know that throughout their lives, the students we graduate will encounter problems and issues that we cannot anticipate today. It is our role to ensure they have the tools to find the answers on their own. 

Outside of the classroom, we foster an environment—a community of scholars—that engages our students, complements and extends the classroom experience. Students from the Schulich School of Engineering, for example, apply their classroom knowledge to the real-life challenges of racing a solar car across the Australian outback. Graduate students from the Faculty of Environmental Design have just completed a 40th anniversary project with a local architect to overhaul 7,500 square metres of student spaces on campus. 

Several of our Faculty of Fine Arts dance students recently launched a pilot project in conjunction with the city’s Salvation Army where they are teaching creative movement and expression to preschoolers. Students tell us it’s this type of learning—learning that occurs well beyond the confines of a classroom—that cements their knowledge and helps them discover their career passions. 

Third, the University of Calgary is in the midst of one of the most ambitious capital plans you will find at any university. We are constructing new buildings and refurbishing old ones to ensure that our students work, study and play in contemporary, cutting-edge learning and recreational facilities. This revitalized physical infrastructure, which includes the new Taylor Family Digital Library, a downtown campus, and a world-leading experiential science facility, is designed to improve the learning and research opportunities for our students and researchers. 

We are not, nor have we ever been, a complacent university. We graduate students who go on to lead our communities and we conduct research that solves some of society’s most difficult challenges and problems. Universities that will be successful in the future—and that will be the most critical to the future of our nation—are those that are focused on the needs of students, are solution-oriented and community-based. This is the University of Calgary, and this is why we are not afraid to change. We embrace and welcome change, because it is at the heart of all we do for our students and our community. 

Welcome to the University of Calgary.

Harvey P. Weingarten
President and vice-chancellor
University of Calgary

>> Index