Fresh opportunities ahead for BU

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/01/2025 (250 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In many ways, 2024 was a tough year for post-secondary education across the country, and Brandon University was not immune. But it was nowhere near all doom and gloom. Thanks to hard work by members of our campus and support from our community, BU had some critical wins over the year that deserve to be highlighted and remembered. And we are set for increased success as we launch into a fresh start for 2025.

Perhaps the biggest ongoing accomplishment is the permanent increase we received to our base budget. Working closely with the province, we secured $7.4 million in new money — the largest single-year increase in the history of Brandon University. This was a textbook case of working together, with the student union, our employee associations and the administration all making our case to the province to reverse the inequality of the previous budget, which favoured Winnipeg institutions, and to highlight the value of regional institutions like BU.

One of the ways our regional nature is showing value is through the fast-growing Indigenous student population at BU. We are up nearly seven per cent among full-time undergraduate students and over 20 per cent full-time graduate students. To help welcome this growth, we are committed to a huge expansion of the Indigenous Peoples’ Centre, and we are optimistic about private and public support. Watch for construction to begin this year.

The highlight for many people is our partnership with the province and the University of Manitoba to create a medical school on our Brandon campus — a game-changer for Westman. Our more intimate and less intimidating learning atmosphere will particularly attract students from smaller rural communities in western and northern Manitoba and eastern Saskatchewan, and they’ll earn a science degree at BU before transitioning to a medical school experience. Programs elsewhere show that students who stay in the same community between their undergrad and graduate degrees are more likely to remain when they graduate. We are thrilled to be a part of the development of a second medical campus in Manitoba.

Lots of hard work went into other successes. We proudly signed the Canadian Military, Veteran and Family Connected Campus Consortium in October, building on our excellent relations with our partners in Shilo. We made some big changes in leadership, including new positions that support Indigenous initiatives, research and graduate studies. We concluded and approved major new collective agreements. And we recently approved an EDI Strategic Plan and Action Plan for 2024–29.

These days, equity, diversity and inclusion is coming under fire. Whether we call it “welcoming and belonging” or “EDI,” we know that differences in perspective and thought is what makes our academic engine run. The vibrancy of our campus relies on our being a hospitable place for people of varied backgrounds, cultures, belief systems, and even opinions. We will continue to strongly support EDI on campus, in particular through Indigenizing our curricula and our collective agreements, and growing events like the PENT summer feast, our Pride presence and other queer support, and Black History Month.

The changing political climate around EDI hints at some of the other challenges we’ve tackled in the past year, and that we expect to face in 2025.

As international relations cool, the federal government keeps changing the rules for international students. We’re just trying to keep up. While this has hit every institution in the country, BU certainly felt that pinch in our most recent fall intake. International student registrations are down by 22 per cent both in the full-time and part-time capacity. Universities Canada is working to convince the federal government that a “trusted institution” approach would recognize good institutions (such as BU) while warning international applicants away from the real problem of institutions who have played outside the spirit of the regulations.

Meanwhile, safety on campus continues to be a primary concern of every member of the BU community. This has been a focus of mine for at least the last 18 months, and we’ve done a lot. We’ve doubled our security complement, added new emphasis to workplace health and safety and to the Safewalk program, and brought back a full-time sexualized violence position, among others. We also worked with the city to improve road safety around campus after two people were hit by vehicles this past fall — along with other close calls. The safety audit that will start early in the new year will take a comprehensive examination of our safety on campus and steps that the university — and perhaps all of us — can take to improve both our actual safety and our feeling of being protected and secure.

These challenges remind me that, as every educator knows, testing is an essential part of learning and development. We cannot avoid challenges; we can only prepare to meet them with our best. Surely there will be new challenges that arise in 2025 to test us. However, we also know that we have a lot to look forward to this coming year.

We’re continuing to mark a big birthday. Brandon University’s 125th anniversary is a milestone to celebrate. We kicked off the party at Homecoming in the fall, and unveiled a pair of videos celebrating all that BU has been and looking toward the future. One big project we’d like to leave as a legacy is the transformation of a parking lot into an outdoor classroom.

Another big project is our science building. While the new medical school gets the headlines, for us at BU it’s only one part of a larger project that includes refreshing and refurbishing our Brodie Science Building to support modern-day research and future learning. In fact, we’re planning a complete gutting of the existing structure to reimagine something new on the inside. Oh, and a full research annex next door. Will shovels hit the ground in 2025? Perhaps not. But major projects like this succeed based on solid planning and fundraising foundations — and that’s something we’re working very hard on right now.

One thing I know that will happen, and it’s just a couple of months away now, is our hosting of the USports men’s national volleyball championships. If you don’t already have your tickets, get them soon. Bobcat student-athletes are also some of the hardest-working and best community ambassadors that BU could ask for and this spring, we’re pitting our fierce competitiveness against the nation’s best. Let’s pack the stands. Let’s cheer on our Bobcats as we go for another banner.

Finally, we know that 2025 will bring renewal to the top of BU, as I prepare to retire. I’ve said all along that being president at Brandon University is the best job in the world. So, looking ahead to the conclusion of my second term is bittersweet. The process of choosing a successor will come with ample opportunity for consultation, discussion, and perhaps even debate. The entire community has a stake in BU, and our next president will be poised to take us to new heights.

I am optimistic for continued successes in 2025 and beyond. There are big years ahead for BU, but what brings me the most optimism is that I know we have the right people to make the most of them. That includes our faculty, our staff, our students and our alumni, of course, but also the many other supporters we have across the country and right here in Westman. Thank you!