Fall events bring energy to campus

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 16/09/2023 (932 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

With the crunch of leaves and a chill in the breeze comes the annual hustle and bustle of students returning to campus. And boy, is it great to be back.

In my last column (remember June?) I looked forward to a summer of our campus buzzing — less so with our typical undergraduate and graduate classes and more so with our PENT students, air cadets and MiniU. Buzzing it was (and not just with our Bee U urban honeybee program, which doubled in size). I was thrilled to attend the Air Cadet graduation ceremony at the Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum in late August. Hosting the Air Cadets, who come from across Western Canada, is part of our commitment to community and outreach. Seeing the pride in their accomplishments was heart-swelling. I must confess, though, as president I not only saw talented teenagers — I also saw prospective BU students. Having spent the summer with us, it is only natural to welcome them back for the fall and winter, and I’m pleased that a fun summer at BU has indeed turned a few of them into future alumni.

There was a nice transition period between the departure of our summer cohorts and the arrival of our September students. Of course, not everyone rests during the transition. Our residence folks have only a short time to clean, paint and undertake minor wear and tear repairs before new students arrive. Food services gear up for the fall term. Counsellors and academic advisers and answering lots of questions and providing advice to first-time and returning students. The Students’ Union and Student Services were busy preparing for orientation.

And what an orientation it was. How appropriate that the new students’ first gathering was held in the Healthy Living Centre — in the circle of educational life, the same building where they will assemble when they convocate. The good vibrations that consumed our campus on orientation day were infectious. I had the opportunity to meet many new students during our barbecue lunch. Students were arriving from around the corner and around the world. Many faculty and staff told me that they haven’t had such an optimistic outlook for the term since before COVID-19. I couldn’t agree more.

The busy buzz continues. As you read this, Brandon University is celebrating our annual Homecoming. I am looking forward to our Homecoming Soirée this evening and seeing so many of our wonderful alumni. If you happen to be free this afternoon, we are hosting a free community talk on climate change and food security. Robert Saik from Saskatchewan will be giving the inaugural JRC Evans public lecture, thanks to support from members of the Class of ’59. It takes place in Lorne Watson Recital Hall in the Queen Elizabeth II building at 2 p.m.

In many ways, what happens on our campus reflects those challenges the larger community faces. For example, for the first time in memory, our residences are full and we have waiting lists. Partly, this is due to a multimillion-dollar renovation project to McMaster Hall that has taken 80 rooms out of commission for full updates. The upside is that our ancillary services are doing well and can financially contribute to our mandate to research and teach. On the downside, a wait list signals that there are students coming to our community with no place to affordably stay.

Another example is the renewal of our one-year business certificate. Thanks to hard work by our department of business and the acting dean of arts, this one-year program is “back in business,” so to speak, and filling up with students wishing to either top up their academic credentials or prepare themselves for a career in commerce. Offering a one-year program is something BU hasn’t done in a while and gives incoming students a new option beyond the traditional bachelor’s degrees. Best of all, graduates of the one-year certificate can easily ladder into a three- or four-year degree program. The renewal of this program helps meet the goals of our province and Westman to ensure our graduates can quickly enter the workforce and keep our economy strong.

On a side note, and speaking as a political scientist for a moment, when I arrived in Brandon in May 2019, I found out that I would not meet the residence requirement to vote in the upcoming provincial election. I was disappointed to break my 30-year streak of voting in every federal, provincial and municipal election. I am pleased to once again vote in a provincial election and intend to exercise this franchise. I urge everyone to do their civic duty and vote on Oct. 3 (although I may take advantage of convenient advance polling hosted on campus, Sept. 23–30).

Not sure which candidate deserves your support? Join us on Sept. 19 and Sept. 20 for a series of provincial election debates featuring candidates from Brandon East, Brandon West and Spruce Woods. We’re thrilled to once again partner with the Brandon Sun and WCG on this, following the amazing success of our municipal election debates last fall. This time, we’re also partnering with the Brandon Teachers’ Association. Once again, these debates will be hosted in the Lorne Watson Recital Hall.

Debates, advance polling, our business certificate, Homecoming, the Air Cadets, urban honeybees and Robert Saik all have one thing in common — Brandon University is here to meet our community’s needs, and the public is welcome to join us on campus anytime.