Reflections on the past four years as UCalgary's 14th Chancellor!

?Today is my last official day as the 14th Chancellor of the University of Calgary – a role I have held with pride the last four years.

?In the blink of an eye – I have gone from being installed as Chancellor, to becoming Chancellor Emerita…the former COVID chancellor…or, in the words of Monty Python, the Ex Chancellor!

?The last four years weren’t quite what I expected – but that’s true as much for me as it was for the UCalgary leadership team, and all the students, faculty and staff.?What began as a normal term – was distorted by COVID and the shift to a two-dimensional platform for teaching, learning and building community – and further exacerbated by severe funding cuts.?

Despite these very real challenges, there was no wavering from the core mission of UCalgary - to educate our students, equipping the next generation with the skills and knowledge required for the world of tomorrow.

?Equally important was the ongoing commitment of the University of Calgary Senate and our 62 Senators, to continue to amplify UCalgary in the community, which didn’t falter, despite the obstacles presented by COVID.

When the class of 2022 recently crossed the stage during convocation – I felt like I was graduating too. Whereas they graduated with degrees from their various faculties, I graduated with a degree in the University of Calgary – having had the privilege to learn many things about UCalgary.?

From the Haskayne School of Business to the Cumming School of Medicine, from the Schulich School of Engineering to the Faculty of Kinesiology, I learned about the amazing research that has vaulted UCalgary into the top five of the U15 universities across Canada – the youngest university to achieve that rank. ?I learned – and witnessed - the unwavering dedication of the faculty and staff – to make sure no student was left behind and was able to achieve their educational goals. I saw firsthand the commitment of UCalgary to Reconciliation with our Indigenous Peoples embodied by ii’taa’poh’to’p and I learned about all the amazing philanthropy that supports everything from bursaries, to research and scholarships.

My decision to apply for the role as Chancellor was grounded in my passion for education and the role it has played in my life. Education was the platform from which my parents built lives for themselves, my brother and me, when they came to Canada after World War II. I saw the power of education, through my parents.?

Theirs wasn’t a path of business – it was about a commitment to educating the next generation. For my dad it was at the Edmonton Talmud Torah and for my mom it was at the University of Alberta.?My brother has followed the academic path and is an Engineering professor at UBC.?

?I applied because I believe in the inimitable power of education. ?

I know it is the path forward for an inclusive and compassionate world, for ensuring that we can sustain our democratic institutions and maintain our civil society.?

I hold that to be true – even though there are others who struggle to see the value of a post-secondary education and don’t understand that it is both a means in itself, AND a means to an end. ??

A sound education is how we gain the tools to help uncover solutions to the world’s grand challenges. ?We were witness to a COVID 19 vaccine developed in record time – within a year – using the power of research, science and collaboration – around the world. That’s why science matters, basic research matters and research universities – like UCalgary – matter.

There are other examples too.?

From the importance of increasing productivity to ensure long term economic growth, to addressing food insecurity and climate change. From finding cures for chronic diseases and developing new precision health treatments, to the development of public policy informed by sound, multi-disciplinary research – education – and curiosity – underpin all of this.

Education is what gives every one of us, no matter where we come from, opportunity. Opportunity to succeed, to grow, to contribute.?To leave the world a better place than how we found it, for the benefit of our families and the broader community.

I applied because I wanted to interact with UCalgary’s students on a regular basis, to hear about their hopes and dreams, their stories – their challenges and understand how they see the future.

I applied because l wanted to connect the town to the gown – in every quadrant of the city…I wanted every Calgarian to feel ownership of the University of Calgary. ?

Journalists are story tellers. And the story that I wanted to tell – was about UCalgary, and its impact in the community and the world.?

COVID narrowed the options available to do this and yet we found new ways to tell the UCalgary stories to the community.?Through webinars and podcasts, lectures and other events, we engaged Calgarians and many others around the world.

And even though we were faced with the many challenges presented by COVID, UCalgary, started things.

Many things!?

Whether it was the UCeed family of venture funds, aimed at supporting critical areas of research that show opportunity for commercial application, including social enterprise - the $1.7 billion in value generated by the Creative Destruction Labs Rockies at the Haskayne School of Business in the four years that it has been in existence, or the fact this university played a critical role in Canada in the fight against COVID 19, we lived up to our commitment to entrepreneurial thinking – and doing.?

But what’s happened at UCalgary during COVID – and continues - is reinforcement of why education is critical to our collective future. We must defend it, support it, amplify it and ensure it is not compromised by ideology that seeks to diminish its importance and potential.?

Education represents our future – as it has for hundreds of years.

And today – as we fight the battle of disinformation, as we see how our democracies are at risk of being undermined – we are reminded of the importance of education to our collective future. To our ability to continue to live in a just and equitable society. To dispel the lies and the distorted representation of facts…we need critical thinking in order to do that. Now more than ever.

?Over the last four years I have had a front row seat – and witnessed the commitment of UCalgary’s leadership team to navigate both COVID and drastic budget cuts, the determination of our faculty to ensure the success of our students and to their research and observed the resilience of the students as they navigated the obstacles presented by the pandemic. It has truly been inspiring.

Do I have regrets? Who doesn’t?

But for someone like myself, who grew up steeped in education by virtue of where I come from, the opportunity to serve as Chancellor of UCalgary has been meaningful in ways that defy description. I only wish my parents could have been here to see how the example they set for me – led to being chosen to represent the University of Calgary and be able to add another voice to the importance of education.

?It has truly been an honor – and the opportunity of a lifetime - to serve as the 14th Chancellor of UCalgary and I want to wish Jon Cornish all the best as he begins his term as the 15th Chancellor of UCalgary.