January 19, 2010
Elements of Trent University Vision for Discussion
Founded in 1964, Trent University has always understood itself to play a unique role in the Ontario and Canadian university system. Our vision for the future seeks to strengthen its distinctive qualities and what they have to offer the local, national and international communities in the 21st century.
Part I (Elements of Vision)
- We honour our legacy of commitment to the individual student and thepioneering academic programmes both of which inspire outstanding scholarly research.
- We honour our sense of place; the natural environment, emblematic architecture and educational vision of Trent.
- We make original and socially responsible contributions to the communities around us and internationally.
- We participate in the full spectrum of theory and practice in research and study.
- We are committed to the dynamic interplay of research and teaching for faculty and students both in the classroom and beyond.
- We attract diverse faculty and students who have a commitment to the learning experience and are responsive to its challenges.
- We nurture an intellectual and social community by valuing the collaborative participation of all members of the university and by means of our academic and institutional structures.
Vision/Mission Engagement Discussion
January 16, 2010
Part II (Contexts of Vision)
We honour our legacy of commitment to the individual student and thepioneering academic programmes both of which inspire outstanding scholarly research.
Trent was founded on a vision of undergraduate education that saw each student as an individual who would flourish in an instructional environment of close interaction with faculty and their peers, in both formal and informal situations Seminar teaching and college life are two hallmarks that have characterized that vision.
Innovative interdisciplinary programmes further exemplified the revolutionary alternative to learning that Trent offered. Trent quickly established a reputation for excellence in hallmark programmes. Such interdisciplinary programmes were, and remain, grounded in the strength of the disciplinary programmes that nurtured them. Trent fostered from its earliest days outstanding disciplinary programmes in the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences.
This ethos continues to attract outstanding faculty who are national and international leaders in their fields of research.
We honour our sense of place; the natural environment, emblematic architecture and educational vision of Trent.
It took a radical vision to put an award-winning example of Canadian modernist architecture on the banks of the Otonabee River, on the outskirts of the city of Peterborough, Ontario. This ‘sense of place’ is a powerful force in drawing faculty, staff and students to Trent.
We make original and socially responsible contributions to the communities around us and internationally.
A core value of Trent is to contribute to making the world a better and more equitable place. The encouragement of wide ranging intellectual inquiry, and experimental research in the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences and interdisciplinary fields; the active encouragement of faculty, staff and students to be leaders in asking difficult and unconventional questions, and to take new and imaginative paths in seeking answers; the recognition of the validity of Indigenous knowledge and ways of knowing; the social justice and principles of advocacy that ground the Trent community; and the commitment to make our campuses models of social and environmental sustainability exemplify this ideal. We seek to be and to nurture a community of engaged citizens, attendant to their responsibilities to act in local, national and international arenas in a socially responsible and just manner.
We participate in the full spectrum of theory and practice in research and study.
At Trent, intellectual inquiry covers the full spectrum of knowledge from that which is purely theoretical to that which is directly and practically applicable. It is fundamentally united, however, in the basic principles of a liberal arts and sciences education: analysis and critical dissection of arguments and/or aesthetic expression; the considered judgment of the relative worth of ideas; and utilization of superior written and oral communication skills. The educational experience of students in all fields of study at Trent is shaped by these ideals. Such a confluence of learning assures that our students are able successfully to pursue a wide range of meaningful careers and professions upon graduation.
We are committed to the dynamic interplay of research and teaching for faculty and students both in the classroom and beyond.
Trent faculty take it as a central principle of their professional roles that teaching inspires research, and research inspires teaching. Trent students are the beneficiaries of direct involvement in faculty research, and more indirectly having opportunities to interact with international experts in their fields who choose to teach at Trent. Learning experiences extend to fieldschools, year-abroad programmes, exchange opportunities, short-term field trips, special lecture series, informal discussion groups, service learning and community based education opportunities, hands-on workshops, practicums and social gatherings. These are only some of the plethora of opportunities that extend the educational experience at Trent.
We attract diverse faculty and students who have a commitment to the learning experience and are responsive to its challenges.
The paths to learning are many and diverse. Trent students find their way on to those routes from a wide array of communities, backgrounds and experiences. Once there, they find themselves guided by faculty and staff who understand the responsibility and the joy of sharing knowledge and nurturing inquiring minds, a task that demands an ongoing reflection on pedagogical development. They find an environment that recognizes the creative capacity of students to imagine what they want to learn and how they can grow as individuals. Students who make a commitment to learning find an inspiring, challenging and secure environment at Trent supported by wide-range of student services and peer support to help them achieve their best.
We nurture an intellectual and social community by valuing the collaborative participation of all members of the university and by means of our academic and institutional structures.
Trent is committed to the principles of inclusivity and community, both as an ideal and a lived reality. The manifestation of these values requires a trust that the contributions of all members of the community—alumni, administrators, students, staff and faculty—are recognized. We seek to know each other as a diverse community of individuals whose lives and worlds extend well beyond Trent. We share ideas across academic and professional fields, and we make time and create spaces to meet informally and formally to ensure that we know who we are and to nurture the potential we all offer to our shared goal of making Trent all that it has the capacity to be.
VISION WORKSHOPS AND INPUT
- Two Information Sessions in November – LEC Pit (about 70 people)
- Eleven Workshops Nov-Dec – Traill, Symons, Oshawa (about 120 people)
- Trent Radio Call-in Shows (2, about 20 people)
- President’s Open Forum for Staff (2, about 90 people)
- Week-long Virtual Workshop (about 74 submission in first 24 hours)
- Drafting Subcommittee – is becoming the ‘Synthesis Committee’
- December Committee Retreat and Integration with other Review Cttees (about 30 people)
- Other input: President’s Community Tours (5, about 40 people), President’s Office Hours for Students (3, about 20 people), President’s visits to departments/units (10), Open Door Policy (about 35 people)
Notes on Vision Renewal Information Session
November 16, 2009
The second Vision Renewal Review Committee Information Session was attended by approximately 40 people in the LEC Pit on November 16, 2009. The presentation began with a brief slideshow with the membership of the Vision Renewal Review Committee, the dates of upcoming Vision workshops, the workshop questions that were created to inspire discussion at the workshops, and the anticipated timelines of the Vision Renewal process.
- People were invited to participate in the available workshops and to encourage colleagues and others to participate. Faculty, staff, alumni and students were encouraged to share various and diverse perspectives and opinions in order to create a renewed Vision. Some ideas expressed at the information session included:
- A Virtual Workshop has been designed to accommodate those who are unable to attend workshops and for those who prefer the on-line format.
- Early workshop reports indicate that they are enjoyable and successful in providing feedback and input which will be useful in informing a draft Vision Statement.
- A draft Vision Statement is targeted for the end of this year following a Committee Retreat scheduled for 15 December. The draft will be developed by the Drafting Subcommittee of the Vision Renewal Review Committee, who will be tasked with synthesizing workshop feedback. Another feature of the Retreat day is an attempt to begin integrating the work of the Strategic Direction Advisory Committee and the Changing Academic Structures Advisory Committee.
- It is anticipated that draft Vision Statement(s) will be available in the new year, for review by the entire university community, as well as the wider Peterborough community and key partners.
- A final University Vision Statement (and perhaps, a renewed Strategic Directions document) will be provided to the Provost’s Planning Group and shared with all units to initiate the integrated planning process in March 2010. All unit-level integrated plans will be shared and reviewed, and then used as the foundation to inform an Institutional Integrated Plan (June 2010). The Institutional Integrated Plan will be reviewed by governance structures such as the Senate and Board of Governors.
- The work of the Vision Renewal Review Committee, the Strategic Directions Advisory Committee, and the Changing Academic Structures Advisory Committee are an essential first-step in the overall integrated planning process which will span a 3-5 year timeline:
- Year 1 - Institutional Integrating Planning
- Years 2 & 3 – Implementation Phase
- Year 4 – Measurement of success (Reflective Phase)
- Year 5 – Unit Planning process starts
Notes on Vision Renewal Information Session
October 19, 2009
Approximately 30 people attended a Vision Renewal Review Committee Information Session in the LEC Pit on October 19, 2009. Following a brief powerpoint presentation that outlined the committee membership, the process of vision renewal, and the expected outcomes, a number of comments and ideas were considered to improve the process and prepare for vision renewal and further discussion:
- The willingness or availability of people to attend workshops was discussed. One idea was to try to meet students, staff and faculty where they are (knock on doors, go to venues or groups, sport groups, TCSA etc.)
- A type of survey option was thought useful that would gather information quickly and consistently. This might include a series of questions that could be written or oral. It was suggested that questions gather information such as:
- What are Trent’s strengths?
- What do you think Trent’s strengths will be in the future?
- What might some obstacles be to get to the future?
- When creating the vision it was thought important to take what is implicit at Trent and make it explicit.
- Alternative visions could be created in order to stimulate deliberation and bring differences to the table. It would most likely be useful to have a champion for each vision to present the ideas but not to be vested in the outcome.
- The notion of differentiation was discussed and the need to capture within the vision the various needs that Trent works towards satisfying such as government, community, students, staff, faculty etc). There will need to be a discussion around how we capture all of it.
- The idea of the drafting subcommittee was reviewed.
- The possibility of a day-long ‘retreat’ for the committee to review all materials/input before commitment to a draft vision or alternate visions.
- Discussion about the role of deliberative bodies, such as Senate, Faculty Council and Faculty Board, involved consideration of interaction and feedback for the results of activities the Vision Renewal Review Committee and the Special Advisory Committee on Academic Structures.
Download Powerpoint presentation used at the Information Session (1.3 Mb PPT)
Download Vision Background Information (24 Mb PDF)
