As part of our bicameral governance structure, both the General Faculties Council and the Board of Governors dedicate their time and passion to making the best decisions for our university. MacEwan’s Board of Governors met last evening and made several significant decisions.

Electing our first chancellor and conferring honorary doctorate degrees are major steps in our journey as an undergraduate university. I am happy to announce that MacEwan’s 50th anniversary year will be marked by these two remarkable milestones. Following these decisions by the Board of Governors, we are moving ahead with formal announcements and celebrations later this spring. I look forward to celebrating both events with all of you virtually. I want to express my thanks to those who served on the selection committees and were instrumental in bringing forward recommendations on our first chancellor and honorary doctorate recipients.  

The Board also voted on MacEwan’s budget plan for 2021/22 and approved our 2021/22 Investment Management Agreement. The Board has approved a balanced budget of $183.7 million for the upcoming nine-month fiscal period. The Board also approved the 2021/22 to 2023/24 Financial Plan both of which were endorsed by the General Faculties Council.

I am incredibly pleased that we were able to develop a budget that sets MacEwan on a growth path. The 2021/22 budget was built on a set of principles that focused on program quality and delivery, with an emphasis on student access and experience. Many of you joined us this winter as we engaged in conversations about MacEwan’s future, and this budget will set the stage for a new strategic vision. The 2021/22 budget positions us well to contribute to the provincial Alberta 2030 strategy in a way that reflects MacEwan’s strengths in the post-secondary ecosystem.

With this budget we are able to continue investments in campus development activities for the library, science labs, support services to students, faculty offices and workspaces. We are able to continue investment in our academic tenure tracked hiring strategy and our plans for a new academic building as we grow to our strengths.

This budget reflects investments that will expand student supports in scholarships, awards and bursaries and in technology enhancements to support teaching and learning. We are also investing in expansion of work integrated learning opportunities for students. As I shared in my last column, work integrated learning is the focus of the investment management agreement with the province which ties outcomes to five per cent of our funding. The university is well-positioned to achieve the metric target outlined in the IMA. This will be publicly posted when approved by the Minister of Advanced Education later this month.

This budget also prepares us for a fiscal timeline adjustment as we move our fiscal year in line with other post-secondaries and the province. The fiscal year will now be April 1 – March 31 and will allow us to plan in a more predictable way.

Thank you again to our Board of Governors and members of the General Faculties Council for your work to support continuous improvement in governance and sharing your energy and passion for shaping MacEwan for an optimistic future.

The past year has been a difficult one with the combined challenges of the pandemic and previous cuts to our budget. To be able to reflect on where we can build on MacEwan’s strengths, how we can implement the Alberta 2030 strategy, and how we begin to build a strategic vision for MacEwan’s next 50 years is truly an exciting prospect.

On behalf of the senior leadership team, I want to acknowledge and thank everyone in the MacEwan community for their work. I know it is thanks to the hard work of our faculty and staff that we are able to move through the challenges of this past year and on to MacEwan’s bright future.

Sincerely,

Dr. Annette Trimbee
President and Vice-Chancellor