Message from the President

A University is its People

As knowledge creators, learners, teachers, innovators, supporters, and advocates – the people that form a university community and their relationships to one another are the source of its transformative potential. Our stories about how we understand ourselves, what we do, what we think we are capable of, and where we have struggled both as individuals and as communities are all important in how we envision truly transformative institutional change.

During the Aspire: Together for Tomorrow strategic planning process, we heard many stories about the University of Windsor as a place of uplift, where we work to create excellence, opportunities, and possibilities, and where students’ lives can be transformed. This plan is built on a commitment to better celebrate, support, and recognize people so that they can lead, learn, serve, and thrive – continuing to build that transformative potential.

There is no single story of an institution. There are many communities, and their stories are not always equally heard. Aspire has been an important opportunity to begin to build the bridges and spaces for us to hear one another better. I am proud of the honesty, integrity, and commitment people brought to this process and the leadership that reflects. This plan builds on that progress.

These stories also challenged us. They reinforced our role and responsibility in the national journey toward Truth and Reconciliation. They brought into focus the urgent collective need for action on climate change and environmental sustainability. They emphasized the importance of continued action to ensure justice, equity and inclusion on campus and beyond. They reminded us of the importance of openness to learning and building trust. These are challenging paths, but full of opportunity.

As a locally grounded, globally connected comprehensive university, we are an institution of and for the Windsor-Essex region. We are also the university for its future. Our capacity to evolve and change, to inspire curiosity and innovation, and to bring cutting-edge scholarship, creative activity, student experience and global perspectives to the table are critical. This capacity helps shapes the outlooks, aspirations, and skills of each new generation of graduates while supporting our local communities and regional economy. Here, the local is transnational. Our success and the region’s success - our neighbours’ learning and our own - are interdependent.

Aspire begins with a fundamental commitment to our people and the relationships among them: students, staff, faculty, alumni, and communities. This commitment must be our compass as we strive to be a university that serves its students along with its communities, and where people, learning, insight, and innovation thrive every single day.

Robert Gordon, PhD President & Vice-Chancellor University of Windsor