Provost ‘optimistic’ about State of the Academy
Provost and vice-president academic David Wilkinson spoke to an audience of 200 staff, faculty and students Oct. 22 in Convocation Hall.
McMaster faces a considerable list of challenges in the next few years, but Provost and Vice-President (Academic) David Wilkinson says there are many opportunities for the University to flourish and remains, “incredibly optimistic about the future.”
Wilkinson made these comments during the annual State of the Academy update on Wednesday, speaking to an audience of about 200 faculty, staff and students from across McMaster.
During his address, Wilkinson identified a number of forces impacting planning at McMaster including increased global competition, provincial funding constraints and expected demographic shifts, but stressed that the University is well-positioned to respond to these challenges.
“Post-secondary education is undergoing enormous transformation and some might think Universities are broken. I fundamentally don’t subscribe to that view,” said Wilkinson “There are lots of challenges, but there are also tremendous opportunities. I remain incredibly optimistic for the future and I hope you share this optimism.”
Wilkinson talked about several key developments including McMaster’s Strategic Mandate Agreement and the Capital Expansion Process, a provincial government program that will provide funding to post-secondary institutions for capacity-building projects.
The Provost also updated the McMaster community on progress around Forward with Integrity and outlined the priorities of the Provost Council for the coming year.
A video of the State of the Academy presentation will be posted in the coming days.
For detailed statistical information see the 2013-14 Fact Book complied by the Office of Institutional Research and Analysis.
