First Base

Sorry for the long silence, but I've been busy with the Committee putting the final touches to the discussion draft of the Academic Plan. Radical Recovery: The First Academic Plan for Trent University (2012-2015) was posted this morning on the Trent homepage and can be accessed at:

http://www.trentu.ca/vpacademic/documents/Trent%20Academic%20Plan%202012-2015.pdf.

This version of the draft has been created by the Academic Planning Committee which first met in June 2011 at the start of the planning process. Members of the Committee were elected by the Provost's Planning Group from a slate of nominees put together by the Chairs and Deans during the Spring of 2011. The Committee needed to be representative of the Collegium, but also small enough to meet and act with the maximum of efficiency. Members of the Committee are Gary Boire (Chair); Cathy Bruce (Education); Craig Brunetti (Biology); Jim Buttle (Geography); Sally Chivers (English & Canadian Studies); James Conolly (Anthropology); Doug Evans (Environmental Resource Science); Moira Howes (Philosophy); Joe Muldoon (Secretary); David Newhouse (Business & Indigenous Studies); and Colleen O'Manique (Political Studies).

Since the late summer there have been over thirty-five consultations with as many members of our community as possible. This draft is very much a distillation and articulation of what the Committee has heard since late August until now. But this document is still very much a draft, merely the first stab at charting what directions we wish Trent University to follow over the next three years.

As a first draft, this document also constitutes an invitation of sorts to all members of the Trent community. Nothing herein is written in stone; everything written is necessarily open to debate and further discussion. Our final draft will be presented for approval at Senate and at the Board of Governors, in January and February 2012 respectively. Between now and then we invite you to read, reflect, critique, and to send your recommendations for improvement to apfeedback@trentu.ca. The Committee will then reconsider and revise our draft in light of the feedback received over the next couple of months.

The Committee will continue to engage the Collegium on revisions and recommendations through Faculty Board, Senate, and divisional meetings within the Faculty of Arts and Science, as well as the Schools of Education, Nursing, and Graduate Studies. Dates of meetings will be provided shortly via internal email to Chairs and Deans.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts and critiques as we work as a Collegium to refine and improve our University.