Presidential Listening Tour

Since I began my listening tour in April, I have had the good fortune to meet with dozens of students, staff, and faculty in a number of different fora. Some of them asked to meet with me privately and in person. Others I met at visits to departments or Faculty meetings. I also held open sessions for students, faculty, and staff groups. Finally, over 150 comments were received to the online consultation portal.

This has been an enlightening and eye-opening process, and the purpose of this document is to provide a summary of some of the major themes that I heard, as well as to propose some ideas for moving forward. Through this process, two things became very clear to me.

First, Laurentian is full of students, staff, and faculty members who care deeply about this institution, its reputation, and its success. Our faculty and staff have an unflinching commitment to our students and their learning experience.

Second, I was often reminded that many at Laurentian are still living with the difficult memories of the insolvency experience, and that these are easily brought to the fore. Staff and faculty who were present in 2021 spoke about the lasting impact of Laurentian’s insolvency – its financial impact, in terms of sacrifices made and revenues lost, as well as its emotional legacy of anger, pain, and trauma. This was especially acute for faculty members, who felt that they were personally blamed for the insolvency, and expressed the need for an acknowledgement that this was untrue.

I heard on many occasions that the insolvency has also left a legacy of mistrust in leadership as a whole, and a feeling of disconnection between the faculty, staff, the administration, and the Board. None of these groups feels that others on campus know or appreciate what they do, nor do they know what others do or what their priorities are.

The insolvency experience thus remains part of daily life for many of our colleagues on campus, and we must recognize this in our interactions with them.

Further themes from the consultation are provided below, sorted by respondent group.

Consultation summary

Students

Students spoke about the impact of the strike on their semester, including receiving less feedback on their assignments and managing a compressed exam schedule. Some spoke about particular challenges with their programs, such as the sequence of courses, issues with course instructors, obstacles to finding placements, and delayed response times from units in answering their questions.

Students asked for more flexibility in course offerings, especially more summer courses and more online courses. Some suggested the creation of new programs, such as the return of the Bachelor of Indigenous Studies program or the creation of an online Accounting specialization in the Bachelor of Business Administration.

Students also made a number of suggestions to improve campus life. Many commented on deferred maintenance issues and requested new, improved food options on campus. Some highlighted differences in terms of the services and benefits offered by each of the student associations on campus. Responsiveness was an important theme here as well, with students finding it challenging at times to navigate the University’s array of student services and getting their questions answered as quickly as they would like.

Staff

There was some overlap in the comments from staff and faculty, as both groups share aspects of the employee experience. For example, both staff and faculty spoke about their desire to connect – to the institution, to the community, and to each other. Whether through interdisciplinary collaboration or social interaction, they want to strengthen the fabric of our campus and build a closer Laurentian community. For staff, this desire also extends to their way of working, looking for fewer silos between units. Staff and faculty also spoke about the desire for more opportunities to have their own work, and the work of their colleagues, recognized and celebrated. 

Staff asked for a better flow of information from the institution. This could include more frequent updates on key projects, such as new mental health initiatives or the recommendations of the January 27 Working Group, but also a renewal of key resources such as the online staff directory. Many staff commented on deferred maintenance issues or questioned requirements around staff presence on campus in a post-COVID environment.

Finally, staff asked for an enhanced employee onboarding process and emphasized the importance of a safe space in which they could share their ideas, such as through an employee engagement survey.

Faculty

Faculty spoke about the ongoing impact of insolvency and of the recent strike on them, including concerns about high workload and the effects of these events on mental health and on work-life balance. Many faculty members shared with me how they commit long hours to supporting our students, but have been struggling with larger class sizes and under-resourced academic programs. This has impeded the ability of some faculty members to engage fully with their research and innovation work. Faculty spoke about a desire for reduced workload and greater opportunities for course release. 

Related to our bilingual and tricultural mandate, Francophone and Indigenous faculty spoke about the importance of supporting programs in those areas, of hiring more qualified faculty, and of recognizing the increased service burden often placed upon these members of our community.

Faculty asked for enhanced services, such as more support for intellectual property, copyright, and patent issues, and audio-visual support for instructors teaching in the evenings. They also spoke about the importance of administrative assistance in their departments and highlighted some of the challenges associated with the changes in this area that took place following insolvency. Finally, faculty spoke about the importance of having voting faculty representation on the Board of Governors, and of the visibility of Governors in the University community. 

Other

The survey was also open to alumni and to members of the general public. While these comments were important and valuable, they were too few in number to generalize themes. The one exception to this was an organized, public campaign to encourage the University to preserve its campus greenspace. 

Action Plan

In response to what I have heard during the listening tour, I will undertake the following actions:

1. Via the Provost & Vice-President, Academic, I will initiate a conversation with the Deans, and eventually with Senate, about how we might provide more flexible learning opportunities for students, especially online offerings and summer courses. I hope to understand the obstacles that currently exist to doing so and consider how we might alleviate them.
2. Via the Provost & Vice-President, Academic, I will discuss with the appropriate Deans how we might address the challenges facing our students regarding placements, including those in Nursing and Education, in recognition and consideration of the broader context.
3. I will discuss with the relevant administrative units how we might expedite the process of responding to student questions. I am especially curious to consider solutions that might exist within the scope of the existing Transformation program.
4. Working with HR, Laurentian will launch a new employee engagement survey to touch base regularly with staff and faculty about their perceptions of their employment and the challenges they are facing.
5. Within the scope of the existing Transformation program, HR will also examine ways to enhance onboarding for staff. The Provost & Vice-President, Academic and the Associate Vice-President, Faculty Support will work with the Deans to consider the same on the faculty side.
6. HR, IT, and Communications will examine options to upgrade and update the existing staff directory on the website.
7. Laurentian will introduce new ways to recognize the achievements of faculty and staff.
8. Laurentian will re-introduce the service awards celebrating milestones related to length of employment, including retirements.
9. Working with the Provost & Vice-President, Academic and the Vice-President, Research, I will explore how we might better employ and fund existing provisions under the Collective Agreement that provide for teaching release for faculty shouldering exceptional research or service obligations.
10. Laurentian will conclude the process currently underway to examine the introduction of a faculty voting seat on the Board of Governors.
11. Laurentian will introduce new online resources to share information about the University’s finances and the complex financial environment in which it operates. We will also communicate more regularly about key changes affecting this topic.
12. Working with the Provost & Vice-President, Academic, and the Deans, I will initiate a conversation about how the new post-CCAA structure has impacted administrative support in academic departments and how concerns in this area might be addressed.
13. Working with the University Secretariat, I will explore ways to enhance the visibility of members of the Board of Governors on campus, as well as my own visibility and that of the Vice-Presidents. In the first case, this might include more regular interactions with Senate and at campus events. In the second case, this might include regular breakfasts with the President, as well as visits to departments and to Faculty Councils.
14. I will launch a new President’s Advisory Committee on Campus Culture and Climate, with representation from faculty, staff, and students, to meet regularly with me and provide feedback about what is working well and what needs improvement on campus.
     

This is not a comprehensive list, but a starting point to which I hope to add as we advance as an institution. I intend to begin these steps in the next year, with the intention of regularly reporting back to the University community on progress. Where appropriate, I will begin by exploring the issues raised further in order to better understand them, before determining an appropriate path forward.

In some cases, the issues raised are systemic or cultural issues at Laurentian that date back well before my arrival, and even before the insolvency. I would ask for your patience, and progress may need to be incremental. I would also ask for your cooperation, and a mutual recognition that enhancing the campus culture and climate is a collective responsibility in which we all have a role to play. Furthermore, the solutions proposed will need to be within the University’s means and respectful of the need for long-term financial sustainability. 

Conclusion

I invite your comments on the summary and the proposed action plan to president@laurentian.ca. 

Sincerely,

Lynn Wells

President & Vice-Chancellor