SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY
BURNAE3Y 2 ./ B.C.
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Text of an address to the university community by
Dr. Kenneth Strand, President of Simon Fraser
University, Monday, September 8, 1969.
First as a "new President" let me welcome all new students, new
staff and new faculty to Simon Fraser University. As an "ex-Acting
President" who has returned let me welcome all returning students,
faculty and staff.
At the outset, I wish to state that while I am willing to "come to
the Mall"
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annually, it is not my intention to "report to the Mall" at any
time demanded. If the Mall serves any purpose, it is as a forum for the
immediate communication of ideas -- not for the solution of problems.
Last year when I spoke to the University community at this time, I
had served one month and nine days of a one-year term as Acting-President.
My expezience was limited, my time horizon short , and my address thin.
When I took office as Acting President the university was in a state of
crisis largely because many of the basic administrative policies which
should have been established in the early days of the university had not
been adopted. This legacy of inaction required that highest priority be
given to the basic policies dealing with faculty employment conditions
and to regularizing administrative techniques. Although new policies
have been adopted in such areas as promotion, dismissal, tenure,
pensions, and admissions, there is still much to be done in the area of
general administration. For example, the policy on sabbatical leave
is unfinished, and an adequate salary policy has yet to be devised. An
early task will be completion of these unexciting but necessary policies.
In addition, certain of the policies that have been adopted should be reviewed
and improved. I now intend to set priorities for the completion of basic
policies And a general review of those in operation.
A necessary review of educational policy was not initiated in the last
year, in part because time was short, but more importantly because it
could not or, in my judgement, should not be initiated by an Acting President.
As Acting President I felt obligated not to initiate certain policy changes that
would commit the President in areas where he should have freedom of action.
Now that the university has a permanent president and the nucleus of
an adequate administrative structure, we can focus on the broader question
of the educational philosophy of Sin-ion Fraser University. It is time for a
reaffirmation of the educational philosophy of-this university. As I see it, Sin-ion
Fraser's first commitment is to exciting; high qulity undergraduate education
in
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areas of Arts. Science and Edic','
flri.
J wish to comment on
the
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pressures that oppose this objective, the areas where the university
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is falling short of this goal and the implications of this commitment.
One pressure that can work against this goal is .' over-emphasis
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on graduate studies in departments
Let there be n(j misunderstanding,
graduate studies are necessary to the undergraduate program but in. the
proper balance We should not produce an overabundance of Ph. D's simply
for the sheer joy of teaching graduate students, particularly if this is done
at great expense to our undergraduate program.
Another pressure that can work against this goal is the notion that
the university can be all things to all people. This pressure and a
university's inability to make the choices necessary to set integrated
goals is what spawns a multi-versity. I wish to state cate.gorically
that I am opposed to a multi-ver.sity.
Several of the more important areas where the university is falling
short of the goal of high quality undergraduate education, if my observations
are correct, include a lack of balance between the professional emphasis
within disciplines and general education, between departmental autonomy
and general university welfare, between the university as a place of study
and evolution and the conception of the university as an instrument of .
social change or revolution.
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In this context I do not use the words "professional emphasis" to mean
professional schools such as schools of medicine or law, but rather the
present orientation of some departments toward professional training with
insufficient attention given to general education. It is my observation,
perhaps incorrect, that as a by-product of the way this university was
founded the course structure of many departments is organized as if the
basic premise was that a first year student would emerge seven years
later with a Ph D. in that discipline
I call on departments to conduct an auto-critical,
review
of their course
offerings and to assess their relative emphasis between professional
training and general education, and to provide more choices for students
desiring a broad educational background.
I call on Departments and Faculties to move toward integration, in
areas where there is overlap of interests and disciplines, and on Senate
to develop a philosophy of purpose and procedures to accommodate the
necessary innovations and improvements to our acadmic programs
An implication of our goal is that we cannot afford secialiation to
the exclusion of broad human perspective -- whether it be in the social
or physical sciences Nor can we afford to be so international or eclectic
that we overlook the critical importance of careful study of Canadian -
culture and institutions.
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Can4da has its own particular culture and problems and these must
be distinguished from the problems that characterize the United States,
England or Europe As a scholar, it was the particular nature of the
Cänadianeconomy thatattracted me to this Canadian university. As
a teacher I was disturbed by the lack of scholarly studies in many
important areas. As a president of a Canadian university I encourage
individual scholars on this faculty to address themselves to Canadian
studies.
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.1 hope within the next year to see a Canadian Studies program
ins tituted. Students and faculty will, 1 hope, support this program.
Another question we must re-examine is the implicit premise of
infinite expansion of SFU. Given the emphasis on high quality undergraduate
education there are naturallimits to size of the university. My own
prefererke is for a relatively small university -- not much larger than;.
it is at present. This raises the question of internal balance and
enrollmnt restrictions. I would like to avoid what is known as "the
edifice complex" and concentrate on the amenities that would make
• this an educational community rather than an educational way-station..
A reassessment of the tri-mester system is also called for. The
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original objectives of the tri-mester system and the chief advantages
claimedfor it were:
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1. Maximum flexibility for students in determining the pace
of their education.
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Maximum flexibility for faculty in utilization of their
research semester..
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Maximum use of facilities over the calendar year.
The ideal pattern to achieve these. goals would consist of identical
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course offerings and enrollments in all three semesters; a condition
that has not and cannot be achieved.
The objective of maximum flexibility for students in determining the
pace of their education makes enrollments difficult to forecast. For
instance this fall 4100 students sent in cards stating they intended to
return whereas, to date, 3700 have returned, a difference of 400 . The
objective of maximum flexibility for faculty in utilization of their research
semester makes future course 'offerings difficult to schedule. These two
factors, plus a curriculum with a minimal number of required courses,
results
in a registration process of immense complexity. We will move
immediately to an effective system of pre-registration This will require
firm advance planning by departments and a firm commitment to future
course offerings in order that students may plan their schedules with
assurance that courses will be offered.
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Furthermore the hectic pace of the tri-mester system directs attention
mostly to immediate problems at the expense of reflection and longer term
considerations. This increases the likelihood of administrative problems.
Furthermore the constant turnover on faculty committees results in loss
of continuity, inaction, and frustration.
Another disadvantage of the
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tri-mester system-as it operates at S. F. U.
is that it probably results in higher operating costs. As Acting-President
I authorized a study of costs which will isolate the additional cost of the trimester.
When this. is done every attempt will be made to obtain the necessary finances
to operate the tri-mester system. If this is not successful, then a hard look
at the advantage of the system relative 1
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• I suggest that there are also some less obvious disadvantages to the
tri-tnestèr system. One is destruction of the sense of community that
results when one-third of the faculty is absent every semester. Another
disadvantage is the lost opportunity to utilize the summer semester for
less conventional approaches to education. Consider what might be possible
if the. summer semester was limited to a core of courses to be offered every
summer and if the freed time, space and resources were utilized for planned
experimentation, innovation and interaction with the community. . --
This brings me to the question of financed. University financing
essentially consists of two separate questions -- the amount of money
and predictability of the amount of money (capital and operating) that
will he available in the future. Our biggest financial handicap is lack of.
predictability. For instance, this year the total operating budget for the
three universities for the present year was known in February, but. the
share available to each university was not known until June. Mo.reover
even that share is not now firm; five per cent of the total grant is being
held back until November to be allocated on the basis of enrollments.
This uncertainty precludes orderly development of admissions, recruitment
and course scheduling and the implementation of new ideas and programs..
An immediate policy objective is to work with the other universities in
an attempt to obtain from the government a predictable method of university.
financing as well as more adequate financing.
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Before leaving I would like to speak to the current controversy over
several tenure decisions and the CAUT visit. First, under the policy of
academic freedom and tenure adopted by the faculty last year, the role
of the President is de-limited. A democratically elected committee is
primarily responsible for the final recommendations that go to the Board.
In several of the widely publicized cases, the decisions are not yet final.
Opportunities for further consideration are still open. I am always
Willing to meet with any individual faculty member who feels aggrieved.
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Finally the visit by two officials froth CAUT was not an "investigation"
but rather an informal visit in conjunction with a regional convention
of Faculty Associations. Until internal procedires have been exhausted,
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especially in cases where appeals are not yet complete, nor opportunities
for further consideration exhausted, neither the university or any individual
involvedbenefits from emotional reactioi or uninformed speculation.
In closing, let me state that I regard last year as the year when SFU
paused to regroup itself and the coming year as one whe.n it can begin
moving forward again.
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