Last Wednesday, November 23, Davis Campus played host to the November President’s College Council Town Hall meeting, where a number of initiatives were discussed by Executive, followed by an open Q&A session by employees.
The meeting began with quick introductions, first with Dr. Mary Preece introducing herself in her new capacity as President and Vice Chancellor of Sheridan. Mary also welcomed Karam Daljit back to Sheridan as Interim Vice President, Financial Services for a six month term.
Come From Away
Mary expressed her excitement about the Broadway-bound musical, Come From Away, first developed at Sheridan through our Canadian Music Theatre Project incubator. The show is currently playing at the Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto, where 400 employees, alumni and friends of Sheridan were in the audience on November 22 to experience the show together.
Brampton University Campus
Mary responded to a question that was sent in advance regarding Sheridan’s prospects for becoming a university, in light of the announcement that the Province seeks to establish two new universities in Ontario – one in Brampton and the other in Milton. Mary confirmed that these two opportunities are separate and both can move forward. The question of Sheridan transitioning into a university is a policy issue and our work on this front continues. The call for proposals for new campuses in Milton and Brampton (which are expected to be joint university-college submissions) will not detract from this work. Mary confirmed that Sheridan is open to joining the new bids, should they make financial, strategic and programmatic sense for Sheridan. Sheridan has been in exploratory discussions with a number of partners including the Brampton Board of Trade, Ryerson, and University of Toronto Mississauga.
Davis A Wing
The new building under construction in Brampton, which will be home to our Skilled Trades programs is on schedule. The work to bring IT needs into the building will be complete by the holiday break in December. The third floor classrooms will be in use by January, while the Skilled Trades programs will undergo a coordinated move over the summer of 2017 to occupy the ground floor teaching spaces. All employees at the current STC building in Oakville have been designated a new home campus. Work spaces and move dates are now being coordinated to align with people’s job duties.
Hazel McCallion Campus Expansion
The third, fourth and fifth floors of the building will open for classes in January. Furniture and technology continue to be installed. The bookstore, cafeteria and other non-teaching spaces will open later in 2017.
New Degrees in Progress
In response to a question from the audience, Mary noted that Sheridan has two new degrees that are pending Ministry approval – one in Mechanical Engineering and the other in Community Safety. In addition, a degree in Electrical Engineering will be put forward to the Sheridan Board of Governors for input and approval early in 2017, which is required before Sheridan can present it to the Ministry for review and consideration. Sheridan has also received Ministry approval for a new degree in Creative Writing which will accept its first cohort of students in September 2017.
Anti-Abortion Protest Group
In response to a question asking why the CCBR protest group continues to appear at Sheridan, Mary explained that as a publicly-funded institution, Sheridan is interested in supporting freedom of expression, even though she fully recognizes the distaste that some people have expressed for the topic and the way that it is presented. Mary noted that Sheridan will continue to notify the community as we learn of the group’s arrival on campus via email, social media and onsite signage. She discussed the rights of the Sheridan community to counter protest in a peaceful manner.
Start & Stop
Mary asked the group what they’d like to see Sheridan start doing or stop doing to improve their lives at work. A number of suggestions came forward for new initiatives such as better English language training for students, more effective rodent control and increased opportunities to hire international students to work on campus.
In response to a question asking about opportunities for leadership training, Mary noted this as a priority at Sheridan, with offerings available through the Centre for People and Organizational Development, as listed in the employee learning calendar.
Areas for improvement included better sound proofing in offices and cubicles, improved communication on Sheridan’s new lockdown procedure and clarity on parking rates and options in Mississauga and for 15-day passes. More information will be provided in next week’s Insider in a dedicated post about parking, which will also address the needs of employees who may be moving campuses as a result of the opening of the new building in Mississauga in January 2017.
Looking Forward
Mary was asked what she’s looking forward to most in her new role at Sheridan. She cited her outward facing role in the community and the opportunity to work with many external stakeholders, while being careful not to over commit Sheridan and yet still make a difference.