Dear members of the McMaster community:

The beginning of the fall term is always an exciting time. It is an opportunity to reconnect with friends and colleagues and to welcome new students, staff and faculty arriving at McMaster for the first time.

We all have a key role to play in welcoming people to our campus, just as each of us has a role to play in making the university a diverse and supportive community.

Last spring, I asked members of McMaster’s Senate the question: What kind of McMaster do we want to have? In response, there has been resounding clarity that members of our community want a university where everyone feels welcome, where we respect academic inquiry, a diversity of opinions and the right to freedom of expression. We also want a university that helps each of us reach our full potential. Now we must ask ourselves, what does each of us need to do to ensure this is not just our aspiration but our reality?

The purpose of a university is to support the spirit of inquiry, to provide space for and safeguard the widest possible expression of ideas and opinions, and to promote open discussion and the exchange of views, even though those views may be painful for some to hear and may challenge existing positions.

We cannot stand for freedom of expression but refuse to hear the arguments and ideas of others – we must all couple respectful speaking with respectful listening. Creating the space for members to express their views means that the university will not take political positions, which can act to silence debate and opinions. We welcome scholars from countries around the world because universities are places where ideas are shaped, debated and exchanged.

Over the past year, we have unfortunately seen circumstances where members of our community felt intimidated by the actions of others. The targeting of any groups will not be tolerated. In particular, some Jewish students, faculty and staff felt unable to use parts of campus, were afraid of being identified as Jewish, felt targeted by Antisemitism and their grief minimized.

This has also happened to others on campus. Those who support the Palestinian community often felt no one was listening to their anguish and their concerns, and that they were not respected as members of our community.

We have policies and codes that establish the standards and expectations for conduct at McMaster, to ensure everyone is able to speak and that no one is threatened, ostracized or harassed for their views or their identity. We will not permit parts of the campus to be occupied and rendered off-limits to some members of the community. There is no space for discrimination or harassment on our campus.

The words we use and the actions we take have the ability to create a university where we uphold respect, support a diversity of ideas and encourage the same rights and responsibilities for all members of our community.

Last year, the university hosted 14 sessions for students, staff and faculty on Fostering A Community of Belonging at McMaster. To continue to help us better understand how to live and work together when we have differing views, we are launching the McMaster Dialogues this term. These sessions will support informed inquiry. They will focus on bringing people together to address key global issues, including peace and security, climate change, global health threats and the ethical use of new technologies.

No matter where you’re from, what your role is at McMaster, and whether this is your first day or your fourth decade on campus, we have one thing in common: We are all members of the McMaster community and we need to work, study, learn and live together.

I hope each of you will have a successful year.

Sincerely,

David Farrar, President and Vice-Chancellor