President Shoukri's address to Senate                                  

    Address to York University Senate                                      

    26 February 2009                                                        

                                                                                                                                         

    Good afternoon. My remarks today will not be the usual variety of      

    university news and topics, because the state of our affairs here at    

    York is not usual, nor is it sustainable.  I want to speak to you today

    about the future of our University.                                    

                                                                            

    We are all here today because we believe in York.  We believe in what  

    it stands for: accessibility to the very best education, equity, social

    justice. We believe that this place has great strengths and even      

    greater potential.  No other university in Ontario ” maybe in Canada ”  

    has the potential that York has.  But before we can realize that        

    potential, before we can build the York University of the future, we    

    must address the shared challenges we face, as well as the threats to  

    this institution that are holding us back.                              

                                                                            

    There is a lot of good work happening here, but it's being overshadowed  

    by recent events.  York is at a critical point in its history and we    

    need to change.  We need to address the issues that threaten our        

    institution and our academic reputation.  As the University's academic  

    governing body, I call on you to rise to this challenge and to help    

    deliver the change York needs.                                          

                                                                            

    We have just endured the longest university strike in the history of    

    English-speaking Canada. Our students have returned to class and to    

    examinations, only to be faced with a barrage of disruption, hostility  

    and even intimidation from their fellow students. This state of        

    affairs is unacceptable to me, and it should be unacceptable to you.    

    Intimidation, bullying, and discrimination will not be tolerated here,  

    and we are taking action to protect the rights and the safety of all    

    students and staff.                                                    

                                                                            

    If these challenges were not enough, the world is entering the greatest

    economic downturn since the Great Depression. Tens of thousands of our

    fellow Canadians are losing their jobs.  Parents have told me what a    

    struggle it is to send their children to university; students have told

    me how difficult it is to juggle part-time jobs with their education    

    and how worried they are about their prospects for summer jobs.        

                                                                            

    The Government of Ontario has put us on notice that it will be looking  

    for savings in university operating grants.  Along with most other      

    universities, our endowment payouts - which benefit students and        

    faculty directly - are dwindling. Our budgets - which were already    

    being cut by two per cent per annum - will have to be cut further.  Our

    pensions are facing a shortfall and will have to be topped up to meet  

    our legal obligations. The strike has cost us many millions of dollars  

    in direct costs. The costs in lost opportunities cannot be measured.    

    Our applications are down 10 per cent, our first-choice applications    

    are down 15 per cent.                                                  

                                                                            

    The academic budget is under unprecedented pressure, and that pressure  

    will only increase.  We're still working through the details, and we    

    need to do further consultations with the Deans on cuts in the academic

    units, but it's clear that tough choices will have to be made in every  

    unit and department on both the academic and administrative sides.      

                                                                            

    At this point, we've identified targeted cuts to the administrative    

    side of the University. Cuts totaling more than $10 million over two  

    years that will help offset some of the pressure have already been      

    applied on the administrative side.  We have deferred important        

    infrastructure projects, and senior university administrators have      

    voluntarily accepted a salary freeze at the 2008/09 level.              

    The point is that we're in this together - every part of this          

    University is feeling the pain.                                        

                                                                            

    We hope to provide the community with an update in late spring, once    

    the budget for 2009-10 has been further developed.  And we need the    

    community's ideas on how to maintain the quality of faculty and        

    students as we make tough decisions on the budget.                      

                                                                            

    But at a time when our community should be pulling together, we turn on

    each other instead - academic disruption, intimidation, sit-ins,        

    name-calling, shouting people down, banging on the doors and windows of

    Senate or the Board of Governors or student clubs.  Then we run to the  

    media and tell anyone who will listen how bad York is.                  

                                                                            

    Is it any wonder our own students are disconnected?  Or that turnout at

    our student elections is so low?  Or that our students and their        

    families are voting with their feet?  Our public face is not            

    demonstrating the core values a university should stand for:            

                                                                            

          Freedom of speech - especially for those with whom we disagree    

          Mutual Respect                                                    

          Reason                                                            

          Discourse                                                        

          Objectivity                                                      

          Being able to teach - and learn - without disruption              

          Being open to other ideas and other people.                      

          And yes, social justice.                                          

                                                                            

    But we cannot demand social justice only for ourselves and for those    

    who think like us. Social justice is for everyone, or it is for no    

    one. York has a history of social activism, but the events of the past

    weeks - intimidation and shouting each other down - have nothing to do  

    with social activism.                                                  

                                                                            

    That is why I am asking you today, as Senators and key representatives  

    of the academy, to make your voices heard and say, "enough is enough." 

    I want to give a couple of examples of how the academy can contribute  

    to open dialogue on tough issues.  At other universities in this        

    province, faculty members participate as guest speakers at lecture      

    series organized by student clubs.  These events tackle the very same  

    issues we are struggling with:                                          

                                                                            

          Islamophobia                                                      

          Anti-Semitism                                                    

          Racial profiling                                                  

          Overcoming stereotypes                                            

                                                                            

    The goal is not agreement or endorsement of each others' ideas, it is  

    to create safe spaces where people can come together to articulate      

    their views - without fear and without being shouted down.              

                                                                            

    I'll give you another example happening right here at York. Next week,

    the York Centre for International and Security Studies is hosting an    

    event that will examine the idea of academic boycotts. Speakers will  

    explore the topic in a reasoned way in an academic forum. These two    

    examples share one common element: faculty involvement.                

                                                                            

    Our faculty needs to become more involved in leading these              

    conversations. Students look up to their professors.  They look to you  

    for direction.  You are in a position to mentor and guide them and to  

    teach them how to talk with passion about things that anger us, but    

    without anger, without hate, without fear. I am asking you to help us  

    fix our community, because this truly is our problem.                  

                                                                            

    We talk a lot about diversity here at York, but somehow we have allowed

    that diversity to divide us.  We need to focus now on unity, on our    

    common values and on what makes us a community.  We must identify the  

    challenges and work as a community to address them.                    

                                                                            

    We talk about educating citizens of the world and about developing      

    critical thinkers, but we must do more.  We must teach a sense of      

    responsibility so that our graduates can contribute to the life of      

    their times.                                                            

                                                                            

    I believe we have two major tasks ahead of us.                          

                                                                            

    Our highest priority is to protect the quality of the academic          

    experience on campus.  That means protecting the quality of our        

    teaching and research, the quality of our faculty, and the quality of  

    our academic resources - libraries, labs, and infrastructure - in a    

    very difficult budgetary situation. Realizing that additional budget  

    cuts will be needed, we are mindful of the need to ensure that these    

    cuts will not compromise the future of our academic enterprise.        

                                                                            

    While developing the next phase of our Integrated Resource Planning    

    project, we have started an initiative to help our decision making in  

    the short-term aimed at:                                                

                                                                            

            *Reviewing the current budget allocation model        

            *Identifying the percentage of our budget that is    

             allocated to the academic enterprise and bench-marking it      

             against that of other universities, and                        

            *Providing alternative models that ensure linking the

             budget allocations or cuts to our academic priorities. The    

             results of this project will inform our decision making in the

             short term.                                                    

                                                                            

    To move forward on protecting and advancing our academic enterprise in  

    this difficult time we need your ideas.                                

                                                                            

    The other priority is an urgent need to commit ourselves to fixing the  

    way we relate to each other. We must build trust, deal with each other

    in good faith, and communicate in an open and honest way.  We must      

    replace the tension and negativity with reasoned dialogue, so that we  

    can talk to each other and to the wider world.                          

                                                                            

    I have also heard from the community that we need to explore the        

    fundamental issues underlying our labour relations.  We will have a    

    task force on relationships on campus once arbitration is resolved in  

    late spring.                                                            

                                                                            

    These are our two urgent tasks: enhancing and protecting the academic  

    enterprise at a time of extreme financial restraint, and fixing the way

    we relate to each other.  These are difficult at the best of times, but

    these are not the best of times.  I must be very clear when I say that  

    these two tasks are highly interdependent: unless we fix the way we    

    relate to each other, we will not be able to protect the quality of the

    academy. York needs your leadership, your willingness to embrace      

    change and our combined collegial efforts at this crossroads in our    

    history.                                                                

                                                                            

    Given York's location at the heart of the GTA, given our potential, I  

    continue to believe that our future development must focus on making    

    York a more comprehensive university by building on our 50 years of    

    success.                                                                

                                                                            

    Universities in the 21st century must have a culture of planning if    

    they have any hope of maximizing their potential.  York can no longer  

    afford new growth without corresponding new funding.  The Deans will be

    instrumental in the decisions affecting their faculties, and in this,  

    they will work closely with their colleagues and the students enrolled  

    in their programs.                                                      

                                                                            

    Strengthening research is integral to our University Academic Plan and  

    to our success in achieving our goals.  This means defining areas for  

    strategic growth in light of the University's vision. If we get this  

    right we will emerge even stronger in the new economy; if we get this  

    right, we will realize our full potential.                              

    I would like to conclude by recalling - lest we forget! - that York is

    now in its 50th year. In light of our financial circumstances, the    

    events to mark the 50th will be more modest than originally planned.    

    But this is an important opportunity for York.                          

                                                                            

    Our 50th should be the start of York's new beginning.  We have a unique

    opportunity to acknowledge the achievements of the past 50 years as we  

    look to the next 50. This is the time to recognize our academic        

    achievements and the contributions of our students.                    

                                                                            

    The vast majority of the more than 90 U50 initiatives are academic      

    events enhanced by the U50 umbrella.  You should also know that the 50  

    th media activity is largely the result of sponsorship provided by      

    donors.  I also want to remind Senators that the Foundation has already

    achieved $180 million of our $200 million target.  All of this money    

    goes to support endowments for students' scholarships, faculty chairs,  

    and to support infrastructure.                                          

                                                                            

    Many of you will be aware of the announcement the University made      

    recently of a special 50th Anniversary Bursaries and Awards program.    

    This program is designed to help our students right now as they deal    

    with the financial hardships of the extended school year.  This        

    expendable fund will help our returning students on a needs basis      

    starting immediately and into the fall academic term.                  

    The goal for this fund is $5 million.                                  

                                                                            

    While assisting returning students is a top priority, we also know that

    the economic climate is making the goal of higher education a challenge

    for students just beginning their academic careers.                    

                                                                            

    With this in mind, I am pleased to announce that a great friend of the  

    University - who prefers to remain anonymous - has come forward with an

    additional gift of $2.5 million.  This will create 500 awards for      

    incoming students, valued at $5,000 each.  Awards will be made over a  

    two-year period starting in the fall of 2009.  Combined, the 50th      

    Anniversary Bursaries and Awards program and these new Entrance Awards  

    will help minimize financial barriers to qualified students.            

                                                                            

    Finally, I would like to thank Senators and all the members of the York

    community for their continuing commitment to York and its students.  I  

    have spoken at length about our challenges, but let's not forget the    

    good things happening here at York.   

                                  

    Earlier this month, Professor Hamzeh Roumani was awarded a 2009 3M      

    National Teaching Fellowship.  This prestigious fellowship recognizes  

    excellence and leadership in Canadian university teaching.  Professor  

    Roumani is a senior lecturer in the Department of Computer Science &    

    Engineering. 

                                                           

    You probably heard about Bridget Stutchbury's groundbreaking work on    

    the migration of songbirds.  This was the first time songbirds have    

    been tracked for their entire migration.  It turns out scientists have  

    dramatically underestimated their flight performance. 

                  

    And last Saturday, the York Lions women's volleyball team defeated      

    McMaster to claim the provincial championship. 

                         

    These are the types of stories we should be focused on - stories that  

    demonstrate our excellence in teaching, research and student life.      

    These are the types of stories that people should think about when they

    think of York University. 

                                              

    I began by saying that York has the potential to be great. We have the

    greatest opportunity of any university in the province. Let's work    

    together to achieve that potential.  I ask all of you to do your very  

    best to ensure that we remain true to our historic mission - so that we

    can build our common future.   

                                         

    Thank you.