Town Hall for Equity Seeking Groups on University of Alberta for Tomorrow

The pressures facing the U of A today are significant and we must take urgent action. University of Alberta for Tomorrow lays out our restructuring plans to meet these challenges and seize the opportunity to change and affirm our leadership in innovation and entrepreneurship in higher education. Guiding this process are the U of A’s vision, mission, and values, including our commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion.

To ensure that EDI is integrated into the planning for the University of Alberta for Tomorrow, it is critical that we hear the voices, concerns and ideas of U of A members of historically marginalized communities.

On August 27 at 11 am, Provost Steven Dew, Vice-President Gitta Kulczycki and I will be hosting a town hall to hear from equity-seeking groups about academic and administrative restructuring. We recognize that timelines are short and thank everyone in advance for taking time to be with us at a very busy time of the year.

Please register using this form for the town hall. Details about how to access the town hall will be sent to you in advance.

To allow for a rich discussion at the town hall, we are opening a set of ThoughtExchanges today to seek input from the following equity-seeking communities: Indigenous people, persons with disabilities, Black people and people of colour, women, and gender and sexual minorities. The information and data collected prior to the town hall will help us to better understand and begin to address the concerns of particular communities during the town hall.

• Thoughtexchange for Indigenous people
• Thoughtexchange for persons with disabilities
• Thoughtexchange for Black people and people of colour
• Thoughtexchange for women
• Thoughtexchange for gender and sexual minorities
• Thoughtexchange for those who prefer not to choose one of the above exchanges

Please select the link for the group of which you are a member. If you identify as a member of more than one of these groups, you are welcome to participate in more than one ThoughtExchange. If you prefer to not identify, please use that option.

All ThoughtExchanges will remain open until 5 pm on August 24.

The feedback gained through these ThoughtExchanges will be disaggregated, anonymous, and preserved for thorough consideration by the leadership teams and UAT working groups (ARWG and SET).

In addition to this town hall and the others that have already taken place, there will continue to be more opportunities over the coming months for all members of the university community to provide input on University of Alberta for Tomorrow.

We hope you will join us on August 27!

Bill Flanagan
President and Vice-Chancellor