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Centennial speech by incoming AUCC chair Stephen Toope highlights universities’ role in meeting needs of Canadians

MONTREAL – Canada’s universities are making new commitments to meet the needs of Canada and Canadians in an increasingly complex world. At the centennial meetings of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada today in Montreal, Stephen Toope, president of the University of British Columbia and new chair of AUCC, made the commitments on behalf of Canada’s universities as they embark on their second century of collaboration through AUCC.

The five commitments reflect the priority university leaders are placing on learning experiences that are research-enriched, globally engaged and community-focused. “We live in a time when knowledge alone is not enough…The world we live in is simply changing too fast,” Prof. Toope said to an audience of more than 100 university presidents and thought leaders from across Canada. “Today, economic, social and personal fulfillment depends less upon what we know and more upon what we are capable of learning, and the degree to which we are able to respond to change around us.”

The commitments were developed by university presidents over the past year in a series of discussions about the ongoing and emerging needs Canada’s universities must address. Based as well on a series of conversations with Canadians from across the country, the commitments are:

• To broaden the view of education, and to invite and lead a cross-Canada conversation about the entire education system;
• To innovate in learning and enhance university students’ learning experience to ensure it is research-enriched and globally engaged;
• To ensure that every student is fully equipped to play a role in a larger world and new kind of Canada;
• To concentrate the world’s best minds on the world’s toughest problems, with a commitment to continued growth of graduate students and robust research; and
• To cultivate engagement and reach beyond institutions to create alliances, partnerships and initiatives of shared purpose.

If the watchword of the 20th century was “security,” Prof. Toope said the watchword of the 21st century is “resilience” – with universities uniquely positioned to produce global citizens prepared to thrive in ever-changing conditions.

“Canadian higher education is not a one-size-fits-all proposition,” Prof. Toope said, noting that each member of AUCC will find its own way to fulfill the commitments.

Ninety-five institutions are members of AUCC, and there are “at least 95 different ways that our members are responding to the needs of Canadians,” he added. “That is evidence of the resilience that has kept universities useful and relevant through times of change.”

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Read Prof. Toope’s speech.

For interview opportunities, contact:

Helen Murphy
Communications Manager
Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada
hmurphy@aucc.ca
613-563-1236 ext. 238
613-608-8749 (cell)

MONTREAL – Canada’s universities launched the first in a series of dialogues on challenging issues facing the country with a wide-ranging and thought-provoking discussion on transforming Canada’s healthcare system. Smart Healthcare: The role of Canada’s universities in addressing our healthcare challenges, a panel moderated by Dr. Guy Breton, rector, Université de Montréal, was a highlight event of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada’s centennial meetings in Montreal today.

The panel discussion was the first in a series called Leading Change Dialogues, which will look at how universities can bring their resources – students, faculty, ideas and cutting-edge knowledge – to benefit Canada and Canadians.

Dr. Breton noted that all sectors of society are concerned about Canada’s healthcare challenges and many are looking to Canada’s universities for solutions. “We will need to be more active as universities…to show new evidence, teach new practices and dare to influence public policies.”

The Smart Healthcare dialogue featured participation by an audience including many of Canada’s university presidents and invited healthcare stakeholders. They were joined by an interactive webcast audience that posed a variety of questions related to funding and delivery models.

In response to a question about what Canada’s universities can learn about what’s happening in healthcare systems around the world, panelist Andre Picard, Globe and Mail health columnist, suggested that we look beyond the Western world, to developing countries “where they’re forced to do stuff with no money. There are some really innovative things happening there…They show us the importance of primary care and not all the bells and whistles…And that’s part of the role of universities, to bring that international knowledge” to help in addressing Canada’s challenges.

In addition to Mr. Picard, the panelists were: Janice MacKinnon, Professor, School of Health, University of Saskatchewan; Jean-Louis Denis, Canada Research Chair in Governance and Transformation of Health Organizations and Systems, École nationale d’administration publique; and Arthur Porter, Director General and CEO, McGill University Health Centre.

“Canada’s universities are very engaged and serious about leveraging their talent pool and research capacity to help achieve sustainable healthcare of the highest quality in Canada,” says Paul Davidson, president of AUCC. “This was a very open and meaningful discussion about how we can achieve that through universities, governments, the private sector and communities working together toward a common vision that will impact the lives of all Canadians.”

The archived webcast of Smart Healthcare is available online at www.aucc.ca/healthcare.

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Media Contact:

Helen Murphy
Communications Manager
Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada
hmurphy@aucc.ca
613-608-8749 (cell)

MONTREAL – Stephen Toope, president and vice-chancellor of The University of British Columbia, began a two-year term as chair of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada’s board of directors today at AUCC’s membership meeting in Montreal.

Prof. Toope, a Montreal native, was named president and vice-chancellor of UBC in 2006, and began his second five-year term in July 2011. He has been instrumental in expanding the institution’s role as a living laboratory in sustainability, deepening its international engagement and advancing student learning.

As an international law scholar, Prof. Toope represented Western Europe and North America on the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances from 2002 to 2007. Prior to joining UBC, he was president of the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation. From 1994-1999, Prof. Toope served as the youngest dean in the history of McGill University’s faculty of law.

“It is a privilege for me to serve in this role,” said Prof. Toope.  “Every member of the AUCC brings different qualities, but we share a common commitment to helping Canada meet the challenges of our world.  I look forward to working with members to strengthen support for education, research and service to our communities.”

Prof. Toope succeeds outgoing AUCC chair Michel Belley, rector of the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, who has been chair since 2009.

Also announced today was the appointment of Elizabeth Cannon, president of the University of Calgary, as regional director for the West for a two-year term, and of Yves Beauchamp, director general of the École de technologie supérieure, as regional director for Québec, also for a two-year term. Dr. Beauchamp has filled this role on AUCC’s board since January 2011.

AUCC’s membership is made up of university presidents, rectors and principals representing the interests of their 95 institutions across the country. Twelve members serve on the board of directors, along with the Association’s president Paul Davidson.

AUCC is the voice of Canada’s universities both at home and abroad.

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For more information:

Helen Murphy
AUCC Communications Manager
hmurphy@aucc.ca
Cell: 613-608-8749

MONTREAL – Canada’s universities have adopted a new Statement on Academic Freedom that clarifies the importance and definition of academic freedom on campuses across Canada. The new Statement on Academic Freedom was accepted unanimously by university presidents at the centennial meetings of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada today in Montreal. It replaces the statement members had agreed to in 1988.

Affirmation of this statement by institutions is expected to become part of AUCC’s criteria for membership.

The new statement is as follows:

Statement on Academic Freedom

What is academic freedom?

Academic freedom is the freedom to teach and conduct research in an academic environment. Academic freedom is fundamental to the mandate of universities to pursue truth, educate students and disseminate knowledge and understanding.

In teaching, academic freedom is fundamental to the protection of the rights of the teacher to teach and of the student to learn. In research and scholarship, it is critical to advancing knowledge. Academic freedom includes the right to freely communicate knowledge and the results of research and scholarship.

Unlike the broader concept of freedom of speech, academic freedom must be based on institutional integrity, rigorous standards for enquiry and institutional autonomy, which allows universities to set their research and educational priorities.

Why is academic freedom important to Canada?

Academic freedom does not exist for its own sake, but rather for important social purposes. Academic freedom is essential to the role of universities in a democratic society. Universities are committed to the pursuit of truth and its communication to others, including students and the broader community. To do this, faculty must be free to take intellectual risks and tackle controversial subjects in their teaching, research and scholarship.

For Canadians, it is important to know that views expressed by faculty are based on solid research, data and evidence, and that universities are autonomous and responsible institutions committed to the principles of integrity.

The responsibilities of academic freedom

Evidence and truth are the guiding principles for universities and the community of scholars that make up their faculty and students. Thus, academic freedom must be based on reasoned discourse, rigorous extensive research and scholarship, and peer review.

Academic freedom is constrained by the professional standards of the relevant discipline and the responsibility of the institution to organize its academic mission. The insistence on professional standards speaks to the rigor of the enquiry and not to its outcome.

The constraint of institutional requirements recognizes simply that the academic mission, like other work, has to be organized according to institutional needs. This includes the institution’s responsibility to select and appoint faculty and staff, to admit and discipline students, to establish and control curriculum, to make organizational arrangements for the conduct of academic work, to certify completion of a program and to grant degrees.

Roles and responsibilities

University leadership: It is a major responsibility of university governing bodies and senior officers to protect and promote academic freedom. This includes ensuring that funding and other partnerships do not interfere with autonomy in deciding what is studied and how. Canada’s university presidents must play a leadership role in communicating the values around academic freedom to internal and external stakeholders. The university must also defend academic freedom against interpretations that are excessive or too loose, and the claims that may spring from such definitions.

To ensure and protect academic freedom, universities must be autonomous, with their governing bodies committed to integrity and free to act in the institution’s best interests.

Universities must also ensure that the rights and freedoms of others are respected, and that academic freedom is exercised in a reasonable and responsible manner.

Faculty: Faculty must be committed to the highest ethical standards in their teaching and research. They must be free to examine data, question assumptions and be guided by evidence.

Faculty have an equal responsibility to submit their knowledge and claims to rigorous and public review by peers who are experts in the subject matter under consideration and to ground their arguments in the best available evidence.

Faculty members and university leaders have an obligation to ensure that students’ human rights are respected and that they are encouraged to pursue their education according to the principles of academic freedom.

Faculty also share with university leadership the responsibility of ensuring that pressures from funding and other types of partnerships do not unduly influence the intellectual work of the university.

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Media Contact:

Helen Murphy
Communications Manager
Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada
hmurphy@aucc.ca
Cell: 613-608-8749

This letter to the editor was submitted to the Globe and Mail.

by Paul Davidson
President, Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada

Jeffrey Simpson’s column of October 21, 2011 points out that there is a need for greater focus on the quality of undergraduate education in Canada. This is a priority area for Canada’s university leaders in 2011 and will remain so in the years ahead. With enrolments climbing, universities are challenged to maintain the high quality of education for which our country is renowned.

University leaders are committed to research-enriched, globally engaged learning experiences in a culture of innovation. This requires us to look for new ways to enhance the links between research and learning, especially at the undergraduate level.

Those links come in many different ways: for example, through community engagement, hands-on research, or international study experiences – all activities that give our graduates the critical skills they need to meet the challenges of our quickly-changing world.

Canada’s universities are producing graduates who are critical thinkers, scientifically and culturally literate, who are able to assess evidence, connect the dots and communicate with clarity. Our continuing efforts to improve the undergraduate experience and address the needs of Canadians is the way forward.