Update from the President #5August 29, 2025
Hello colleagues. Weytkp. Bonjour.
To those returning from summer vacations and study leave, welcome back. To all, please do enjoy this forthcoming long weekend. While this is a cherished holiday time in Canada, its origins remain in the recognition of the fundamental role of workers in society and acknowledge the ongoing efforts to ensure fair treatment and dignity for all.
Today I am sharing a leadership announcement, insights into this week’s Senior Leadership Team gathering, and progress with UniForum data gathering.
Leadership Announcement
I am pleased to share that Scott Blackford has been appointed Interim General Counsel following John Sparks’ retirement. Scott brings extensive legal expertise and an understanding of TRU’s governance and operations that will serve us well in this period of transition.
Safe in all seasons
We have four distinct seasons in Interior BC, and it is important that we are prepared to be safe year-round. Recent tragic news from our summer months has raised concerns about student safety, especially for newcomers to Canada and those unfamiliar with local waterways.
While TRU provides water safety information at orientation and offers safety awareness education year-round, we want to ask if more is needed. The safety and well-being of our students is our highest priority. We are committed to strengthening how we prepare students for the realities and potential dangers in the outdoor environments around us throughout the year.
This week, TRU World provided enhanced water safety education for international students arriving here for the start of the academic year and the remaining summer weeks. Our immediate goal is to ensure that new students have critical safety knowledge from the outset of their time at TRU.
More broadly, we want to ensure that we are doing all we can throughout the year. I have asked our senior leaders to launch a 100-day initiative to strengthen student safety education further. This will include the creation of a season-focused safety think tank — All Seasons. All students. Safe.
The group will bring together TRU faculty, staff, and students, along with regional safety partners, to identify existing support, evidence-based measures, and make recommendations to the TRU executive team. Thank you, Sara Wolfe (Associate Vice-President, Students) and Reuben Onyango (Director, International Student Services, TRU World), for co-leading this initiative.
Senior Leadership Gathering
Earlier this week, I convened all members of the TRU Senior Leadership team for two full days. We met with openness and resolve to come together as one university, building our Future TRU. Anchored in our academic priorities in use-inspired research and education, we began preliminary planning for the actions needed to address TRU’s budget challenges.
There is an ambitious goal: to turn our university's unprecedented financial challenges into a strategic transformation, positioning TRU for success for decades to come.
The latest financial report for the current financial year was released this week and shows we continue to face difficult realities, including an immediate budget shortfall. We also have the prospect of larger deficits ahead if we do not act. This context will require difficult decisions.
Planning is underway to begin sharing the latest information starting next week, and then through to Senate committees and the Senate itself. I acknowledge that the timing is not ideal, given the start of the fall term. I remain committed to being open and transparent. Options will be built in so that information is available both in-person and online, as well as synchronously. We will share updates regularly as this work progresses.
TRU is striving ahead — strong, brave, caring, and committed to our purpose. We are one university, uniquely located within Secwepemcúl’ecw, serving our region and contributing to global futures.
UniForum Progress
Our future TRU is one in which there are optimal services for our education and research, and our colleagues leading these core activities. We are challenged, however, because we lack a clear understanding of our distribution of administrative services and activities.
We need to identify what we are doing well, where we can improve our services, and what we can learn from other institutions. Having a clearer picture helps us make more informed decisions in service units, faculties, schools, and for our university.
On August 12, we started our first cycle of data collection for UniForum — an internationally validated program that helps universities better understand how support services enable our academic mission. I have read past and recent critiques of the program. From my perspective, this scrutiny is welcome and consistent with our mandate as universities – to apply a critical lens, to be curious, to find and test solutions. Senior leaders, including myself, are available to address questions about this initiative and will do our best to provide answers.
For now, the needed work on the UniForum data collection project is well underway. My sincere thanks go to all who have contributed time and energy to provide the data that will guide future decision-making by TRU. I know this has added extra tasks to already full schedules. Your effort matters. By contributing your knowledge, you are helping TRU gain a clearer understanding of how our services operate, where we excel, and where improvements can be made to support our academic mission in use-inspired research and education.
A New Home for the President’s Office
I so appreciate the good words coming when we see each other around the TRU Kamloops campus, in Williams Lake, and online. Every day, I learn so much from impromptu and planned discussions. Being present and open matters to me as president.
With this in mind, in the coming weeks, the President’s Office will move from its current location in the Clock Tower Building to the House of Learning. The move will also include the provost’s team. My sincere appreciation to Library colleagues and our University Librarian Tania Gottschalk.
Together, we have found a way for the relocation to happen with minimal renovations while retaining an HOL location for all colleagues currently based in the building. This move during the fall term relocates the President’s Office to a more central and accessible location, enhancing its connection to students, faculty, and staff. It also frees up much-needed space in the Clock Tower for other purposes.
In my August TRU Talks time, I invited creative ideas about future possibilities for the Clock Tower to be a place of belonging. That invitation will also be included in the upcoming September 10 TRU Talks session.
Since My Last Update
In the last week, I have been privileged to join discussions about the Indigenous Centre with construction beginning soon (thank you Carmen Love, and all teams), stopped to chat with Ian as he and his team watered plants and lawns, and travelled with our TRU team (TRU Kamloops, TRU Williams Lake) to meet T’exelc and advance partnership agreement discussions.
Yesterday, it was inspiring to meet with incoming international students. More than 320 students from 56 countries and across 65 programs attended the event at the CAC Ballroom. Sincere thanks to all Faculties and Schools, student services, and all members of TRU World.
Best wishes for the weekend ahead everyone.
Kukwstsétselp,
Airini
Professor of Education
President and Vice-Chancellor