2022 Board of Governors Leadership Scholarship Recipient Announced and Celebrated at December 9 Meeting
Last Board meeting of 2022 held at Catharine Parr Traill College
The Trent University Board of Governors held its second regular meeting of the academic year on December 9, 2022 at the University’s downtown Traill College, where governors received an update from Dr. Michael Eamon, principal of Traill College, on developments at Traill including the new amphitheatre and newly renovated junior and senior common rooms.
The meeting had the following highlights:
Update from the Board Chair
In her introductory remarks, Board Chair Debra Cooper Burger highlighted occasions where she has represented the Board including a reception during the Northern Nationalisms conference held at Trent in honour of the late Shelagh Grant and attended by Her Excellency The Right Honourable Mary May Simon, Governor General of Canada, and former Trent University chancellor. Ms. Cooper Burger also represented the Board at the reception for Trent’s Public Sculpture Initiative, and the Baggataway Cup Championships where the Excalibur men’s lacrosse secured their first-ever first-place finish.
2022 Board of Governors’ Leadership Scholarship Recipient Announced
The Board received a presentation from this year’s Board of Governors’ Leadership Scholarship recipient. Amanda Prosser is a mature student in the Trent/Fleming School of Nursing’s compressed Nursing program, and a recent graduate of Fleming College, who is currently working part-time as a nurse at Peterborough Regional Health Centre.
“Academic excellence is incredibly important to me. I just graduated from Fleming top of my class before coming to Trent and I really want to remain at the top of my class,” said Ms. Prosser in her presentation to Governors. “It’s because of the generosity of people like you that I’m able to take the time I need for readings and to prepare for exams.”
Chair Cooper Burger shared that she experienced a similar journey during her time as an adult learner and she thanked fellow governors for their generous contributions of $21,500 to the scholarship that supports students like Ms. Prosser.
2021/22 Audited Pension Financial Statements
The Board also approved the 2021/22 financial statements of the Contributory Pension Plan for employees represented by OPSEU Local 365 and exempt administrative staff of Trent University, based on external audits. In the opinion of the auditors, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Contributory Pension Plan as at June 30, 2022.
President’s Report
The Board of Governors also received an update from Dr. Leo Groarke, president and vice-chancellor of Trent. In his report to the Board, President Groarke referenced highlights from 2022 including developments like the launch of the Virtual Museum for the Spanish Civil War, release of the Champlain Report, a $2.5 million donation by the Joyce Fund to support student bursaries, and a recent trip to Vietnam to strengthen research collaborations and celebrate the growth of the Trent co-founded International Institute for Environmental Science (IIES) which, since it launched in 2015, has grown to 22 member institutions from 10 countries.
President Groarke also lauded the success of the University holding the top spot as Maclean’s #1 undergraduate university in Ontario for 12 consecutive years, and the accomplishments of the Excalibur lacrosse teams and Excalibur rower Grace VanDenbroek, who was named Ontario University Athletics’ women’s rower of the year