In a series of regular posts, called “Growing Boldly – Insights,” leaders are sharing their perspectives on topics connected to MacEwan’s strategic vision process.

As we talk about our future, the idea of “place” inevitably makes its way into the conversations. Here, Myrna Khan, vice-president of University Relations, looks at how our location is connected to MacEwan’s strategic vision.

What makes MacEwan University different and why that matters – also known as our unique value proposition – is something I spend a lot of time thinking about. When it comes down to it, how we communicate what makes us unique and how that uniqueness manifests itself within all of the different groups we engage with – including prospective students, alumni, donors, government and community – is at the heart of my job as vice-president of University Relations. 

There’s no question that we see MacEwan’s focus on students as a huge part of our identity. I would argue that place is equally fundamental to who and what we are. 

I think about MacEwan’s early campuses in high schools, leased elementary school spaces and former grocery stores, and about campuses that came later that were embedded in south and west-end neighbourhoods. I think about the very purposeful decision to create one central downtown campus. We positioned ourselves in a place that inherently connects us to communities, businesses and culture. Where those connections are literally just outside our doors. Where our faculty and students can grapple with social, public and business challenges that can make a real impact, many which may at first seem local, but actually have global implications. 

Social innovation, collaboration and community-engaged scholarship are integral to who we are and to the transformational experiences our students have here. And those things happen because of where we have been, where we are now and how we engage with our students. 

There’s no doubt that our experiences over the past year will definitely inform what “place” means into the future. Downtowns everywhere are struggling in this moment, and it would be naive to think that things will go back to exactly the way they were before. But every situation presents both challenges and opportunities. MacEwan has always played a role in the vibrancy of our downtown. We bring thousands of people to the core every day – our students make up a quarter of the daytime downtown population – and those people support businesses, work with community organizations and support initiatives throughout the centre of our city. We will be critical in our downtown’s recovery post-COVID – and in setting the course for what the next chapter of our city will look like. 

From where I sit, now is the time to lean into our sense of place. To take what seems to happen at MacEwan naturally and bundle, build and grow those things intentionally as part of what makes MacEwan special and unique. To act as a convener of diverse perspectives, especially in divisive times. To be even more deliberate and intentional about the unique opportunities that our place as Edmonton’s downtown university affords us, and the impact that acting on those opportunities can have on a regional, provincial, national and global scale. To carve out a niche for ourselves by acting on the responsibility we have to the community around us. 

I think because of the time we’ve all spent apart that we are missing and yearning for a sense of place right now, and I think that means that when we can come together again it will be with a new intentionality and intensity. Our place presents us with the opportunity to make a larger impact than we might imagine, and it’s not something we can afford to take for granted.

From Myrna Khan, Vice-President, University Relations