51猎奇入口

Following a highly successful Board-Senate retreat, I am encouraged at the strength of SFU鈥檚 bicameral governance system and look forward to working with both SFU's Board of Governors and the 51猎奇入口Senate to strengthen our governance models even further. As we look ahead to the summer months and several key milestones for SFU, including the start of our first School of Medicine cohort, the executive team continues to remain focused on advancing SFU鈥檚 vision, priorities and values through strategic and thoughtful work at all levels of the university.

Administrative updates

Leadership renewal

51猎奇入口has begun the search for the vice-president, finance and administration (VPFA) in accordance with the procedures set out in policy GP 29. The search committee has been formed and a community consultation is underway. The process, led by executive search firm Boyden, is expected to continue through fall 2026.

We announced the appointment of Kevin Oldknow as the principal, Surrey campus and senior advisor to the provost, for a three-year term starting September 1, 2026. This new role was developed to build on the Surrey campus鈥檚 strengths while putting a more academically integrated leadership structure into place, in alignment with the Academic Plan. 

In addition, we recently shared with the community that Elio Luongo will become SFU鈥檚 13th chancellor, following the end of Tamara Vrooman鈥檚 term in June. Elio is a prominent alumnus and long-time supporter of 51猎奇入口and we look forward to welcoming him to this critical role for the university. I also want to thank Tamara for her service on the board and support of 51猎奇入口during her six years in the role.

Enrolments and recruitment

Following the board鈥檚 approval of the 2026-27 enrolment plan and review of 2025/26 enrolment results at the March meeting, there are no new enrolment updates to share. We look forward to providing an update on summer enrolment results at the June meeting.

Government relations

SFU鈥檚 Government Relations team advanced our advocacy program with strategic meetings in Victoria and Ottawa, including meetings with B.C. Premier David Eby, finance minister Brenda Bailey and several cabinet ministers and political staff in Health, Post-Secondary, Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation, and Transportation. We discussed priorities such as post-secondary sustainability, the 51猎奇入口School of Medicine, the Cedar Supercomputing Centre expansion and the Burnaby Mountain Gondola. These productive discussions highlighted SFU鈥檚 role in supporting economic growth, innovation and healthcare. 

51猎奇入口also continues to closely monitor developments at the provincial and federal levels. Don Avison鈥檚 public post-secondary review report was due to the province on March 31, and the post-secondary minister has informed us that the government will need time to review the report before it is released publicly. 

Federally, there were two developments with direct implications for SFU. First, the Carney government secured a majority in the House of Commons following three by-election wins in Ontario and Quebec. A majority means the government's legislative and economic priorities will move faster, including the newly launched Building Communities Strong Fund, which is now in federal-provincial negotiations to set the terms and conditions of future agreements.

More immediately relevant to SFU: the federal AI Sovereign Compute Infrastructure Program opened its application call on April 15. 51猎奇入口and Queen鈥檚 University recently announced a partnership to design and build a national, sovereign, secure and sustainable high鈥憄erformance supercomputing system that will keep Canadian data and intellectual property in Canada; the VP Research and Innovation Office co-developed and submitted a joint application with Queens for the program. This is a critical funding opportunity that 51猎奇入口has been actively positioning over the past year in Ottawa. 

Finally, 51猎奇入口provided a pre-budget submission to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance in advance of Budget 2026. Our submission, along with all other submissions to the committee, will be posted publicly on the Government of Canada website.

Advancing strategic priorities

There is work occurring across the university to advance the What鈥檚 Next strategic priorities. Several key examples are highlighted below.

Uphold Truth & Reconciliation

• The 2025-26 academic year marks a milestone for SFU鈥檚 long-term commitment to Indigenize the university and ongoing implementation of SFU鈥檚 Aboriginal Reconciliation Council report, Pathways report and Truth and Reconciliation Commission鈥檚 calls to action. Three new, interconnected Indigenous governance circles are now up and running with regular semesterly meetings under the oversight of the Indigenous Executive Lead.
  • The Indigenous Caucus convenes all Indigenous students, faculty and staff to build community and connection university wide. The next convening will take place on June 19 to celebrate International Indigenous Peoples Day. 
  • The Internal Indigenous Council is made up of representatives from faculty, staff, students and other Indigenous advisory bodies within SFU. This council advises the Indigenous Executive Lead and 51猎奇入口senior leadership and will oversee the development of the next Indigenous Strategic Plan.
  • The External Indigenous Council invites representatives from the nine host Nations of SFU鈥檚 three campuses as a space for consultation and guidance, building good relations and fostering partnership and collaboration to properly honour the territories and governments where we operate.  
• This September, we are very excited to be holding a Naming Ceremony at the Burnaby Campus. It is an honour to have earned the gift of names in H蓹nq虛蓹m铆n虛蓹m and Skwxwu虂7mesh Snichim from the Kwikwetlem, Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Nations. Our team is working with the Nations to ensure 51猎奇入口follows proper protocol to unveil signs and start using the new names for campus and four of its signature Indigenous spaces. 
  • One of the spaces receiving gifted names is the First Peoples鈥� Gathering House. The House has now been in operation for eight months and has quickly become a hub for SFU鈥檚 Indigenous community. We have hosted over 70 events so far and are increasingly seeing interest from host Nations and external organizations, and are looking forward to welcoming the annual summit of the National Indigenous University Senior Leaders鈥� Association to the House from November 3-4 as co-hosts with UBC. The conference will focus on university policies around anti-Indigenous racism and Indigenous identity.
    

Engage in Global Challenges

• On April 30, a representative group of Canadian youth presented AI policy recommendations to the Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation, Evan Solomon and other decision-makers in Ottawa. The event is the culmination of Gen(Z)AI, a national youth-focused citizens鈥� assembly on AI and online harms led by SFU鈥檚 Dialogue on Technology Project (DoT) at the Centre for Dialogue, which engaged one hundred 17-23 year old participants over eight months through in-person forums in Vancouver, Montreal, Toronto and Halifax. This initiative reflects DoT鈥檚 broader work advancing participatory and inclusive AI governance, and supports SFU鈥檚 commitment under its AI Strategy to share knowledge and foster meaningful public dialogue on AI.
• Vice-President, Advancement and Alumni Engagement (VPAAE) Erin Morantz and members of the Alumni Relations team were recently in Asia, where they hosted an 51猎奇入口60th Anniversary Reception, a dinner in Hong Kong, an alumni reception with roundtable discussions and dinner in Singapore and various meetings with notable alumni and donors in the region. 
• 51猎奇入口will host the Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences鈥� Congress next year, welcoming scholars from across Canada and beyond to 51猎奇入口campuses. Congress is a vital space for research exchange, teaching innovation and public scholarship, and 51猎奇入口is proud to support this national gathering of the humanities and social sciences community.
• 51猎奇入口celebrated remarkable success in the recent Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI) funding. The university received two major CFI Innovation Fund awards鈥攐ne for more than $7 million to scale up clean energy projects at the 51猎奇入口Clean Hydrogen Hub, and the other for $5.3 million to lead particle research at the ATLAS Tier-1 Data Centre. 51猎奇入口is also partnered in another four awarded projects. 
• 51猎奇入口has signed a new memorandum of understanding with Siemens Canada to advance research collaboration on clean hydrogen technologies and expand opportunities for innovation, training and industry-academic engagement. 
• SFU鈥檚 Sustainability and Climate Office has relaunched the food forest space next to the Applied Sciences Building. As one of the four signature projects outlined in the SFU Sustainability, Climate and Resilience Strategy, this space will act as a prototype and hub for SFU鈥檚 emerging land-based learning and research initiative. The space will be used by faculty and instructors for teaching and will strengthen land-based learning opportunities for students; it will also create research opportunities for faculty by providing a test site on the Burnaby campus. 

Make a Difference for B.C.

• We were proud to host Universities Canada鈥檚 annual membership meeting in Vancouver this year, bringing university presidents together to address ongoing challenges and opportunities in the Canadian post-secondary sector.
• The School of Medicine continues to advance key priorities ahead of the start of our first student cohort this August
  • Admissions: In March, the 51猎奇入口School of Medicine welcomed 205 medical school applicants to the Burnaby campus for Multiple Mini-Interviews (MMIs) as part of the admissions process. MMIs assess competencies such as communication, ethics, problem-solving and professionalism through a series of structured interview stations. 77 assessors and more than 40 School of Medicine staff volunteers, alongside university partners, came together to create a thoughtful, welcoming and well-organized experience for applicants. Applications will now move forward to committee review ahead of final admissions decisions in mid-May.
  • Health partnerships: Health partnerships alongside our clinical site directors are performing in-person physician clinic site visits with possible preceptors who may be interested in supervising and mentoring students in a clinical setting. These visits are helping us confirm strong learning environments, and recommended sites will be shared with the program office for final decisions on where SoM learners will be placed. 
  • Donor relations: VPAAE Erin Morantz joined David Price, dean of the SoM, at an alumni-hosted Kelowna reception to introduce the School to a number of influential people in the community.
• This May, 51猎奇入口participated in , a technology conference attended by more than 35,000 global founders, investors and leaders. 51猎奇入口hosted a booth in the Climate Innovation Zone and participated in several events with strategic partners including HTEC, Moment Energy, BC Hydro and Corix. Additional involvement included a panel with myself and Photonic Chief Product Officer Paul Terry, an SFU-hosted panel on clean power, sovereignty, quantum and AI moderated by Vice-President Research and Innovation Dugan O鈥橬eil and participation in additional panels related to hydrogen and agritech. As part of the event, 51猎奇入口and Invest Vancouver also hosted an event at the Surrey campus for foreign investors and senior trade delegates. The delegation toured SFU鈥檚 Smart Manufacturing Hub, WearTech Labs and Alternative Energy Conversion Lab, highlighting B.C. as a competitive place to invest, collaborate and scale. 
  • At the Web Summit, 51猎奇入口was proud to announce the 51猎奇入口Innovates Venture Fund: a collaboration between 51猎奇入口and InBC, a provincial Crown agency and strategic investment fund. This new fund will support 51猎奇入口researchers, students and alumni who are building early-stage companies in sectors with significant economic potential, including life sciences, deep technology and cleantech.
• We celebrated five 51猎奇入口alumni who are making an impact in the world at this year鈥檚 Outstanding Alumni Awards on April 16. It was a lively and inspiring event where we celebrated the vision, creativity, generosity, and leadership of exceptional alumni who truly embody SFU鈥檚 bold spirit: Grace Chiu (BA 鈥�11), Don Murray (MSc 鈥�90, BSC 鈥�88), Janie Chang, (Certificate in Creative Writing 鈥�11, BA 鈥�83), Igor Faletski (BSc 鈥�07) and Dr. Janna M. Andronowski (BA 鈥�09). Congratulations and thank you to all our alumni who continue to drive positive change in our communities.
• The Confederation of University Faculty Associations of British Columbia (CUFA BC)  the Paz Buttedahl Career Achievement Award to Mark Jaccard and the Ehor Boyanowsky Academic of the Year Award to Tammara Soma, both professors in SFU鈥檚 School of Resource and Environmental Management. CUFA BC鈥檚 Distinguished Academics Awards recognize faculty members whose research and scholarship have made significant contributions to the public interest. Congratulations!
• 51猎奇入口and Thompson Rivers University (TRU) have established a partnership to advance innovation, research, graduate studies and workforce development across B.C. The new memorandum of understanding supports collaboration in strategic priority areas for B.C., including AI, cybersecurity, wildfire management and emergency response, health and Indigenous language revitalization.

Transform the 51猎奇入口Experience

• SFU鈥檚 inaugural  fundraising campaign raised more than $376,000 over a 24-hour period. In a single day, 652 donors鈥攊ncluding more than 90 dedicated faculty and staff鈥攋oined forces to make meaningful gifts toward all of SFU鈥檚 faculties and business units. Engagement included 730 total gifts made, 250+ new donors, 300+ alumni donors, 9 new payroll gifts, 18 retiree donors and 25 new monthly donors. Participation and engagement from across SFU鈥檚 campuses and social channels made a real impact.
• The Advancement and Alumni Engagement team closed another record-breaking fundraising year, exceeding its goal by more than 30 per cent. As of March 31, 2026, AAE raised $72,554,491 / 131.9% of its $55M goal for fiscal year 2025/26 (compared to $55.9M+ raised for the same period last fiscal). In all, 3,936 donors provided 20,512 gifts in support of 51猎奇入口students and initiatives.
• As part of SFU鈥檚 ongoing commitment to equity, accountability and evidence-informed decision-making, the university will administer the Demographic & Diversity Data Survey in fall 2026 as part of the survey's biennial process. This will be the second administration of the survey, following its initial launch in fall 2024. This survey is part of SFU鈥檚 broader institutional equity data imperative and serves as a key tool to support regulatory requirements and national programs (e.g., Canada Research Chairs, GP 19, collective agreements), inform decision-making on equitable program and service delivery and measure progress on SFU鈥檚 strategic equity and inclusion priorities. The EDI Data Taskforce is currently leading the work to support the fall 2026 administration, including considerations related to governance, data use, privacy and institutional alignment.
• The Office of the Vice-President, People, Equity and Inclusion held SFU鈥檚 annual Faculty and Staff Awards in April, recognizing several categories of exceptional commitment to SFU. Thank you to staff, faculty, instructors and researchers who were recognized by their peers and colleagues for their incredible contributions to the university.
• Student Recruitment and Admissions, in collaboration with faculties and service units, hosted the annual 鈥淜now Your SFU鈥� event in April. This event welcomed newly admitted domestic and international undergraduate students to the Burnaby campus, encouraging them to confirm their admissions offers while exploring campus and engaging with various service areas and faculty representatives. This year鈥檚 event achieved the highest attendance in recent years, with more than 1600 students RSVPing for themselves and their guests; it marks a pivotal milestone in our recruitment cycle, serving as a key conversion activity for students to accept their offers.
• 51猎奇入口continues to advance initiatives that support student well-being and on-campus food security. In March, 51猎奇入口hosted its Community Burger Day at Mackenzie Caf茅 on Burnaby campus, where 100% of proceeds from Triple O鈥檚 burger combos were donated to the SFSS Food Pantry. This all-day event reflected the successful return of Triple O鈥檚 to campus in late 2025 and raised $5,000 in support of the Food Pantry, contributing directly to efforts that address food insecurity within the student community.

Sincerely,

Joy Johnson
President & Vice-Chancellor
51猎奇入口