Having had the opportunity to speak with many of you in our campus community over the last few weeks, I understand the concern you have in respect to the Alberta Provincial Budget, the Letter of Expectation from the Ministry of Enterprise and Advanced Education (EAE) and how it will affect the University of Lethbridge's budget. We in senior administration share your concern and fully realize that this is a challenge for our institution, and something we will have to work together to move through.
From the outset we decided that it was very important to develop a process to guide us through the budget reduction consideration in a thoughtful and transparent manner, in keeping with the fundamental values of the University of Lethbridge.
One of the key ideals of the
U of L has always been to engage our community, especially when we are facing difficult times. This situation is no different than previous challenges that have been met and overcome with the views of the collective community guiding the way.
This is just the starting point for us, and we will continue to be active in seeking out conversations with our various communities as we go through the process of identifying how best to approach budget reductions within the context of the values of our institution.
Ultimately, the values that shape our deliberations will be based on the contexts of our existing plans, including the Strategic Plan, Academic Plan and Research Plan. In moving forward, the University of Lethbridge will not alter the strategic directions that have brought so much success to the institution and positioned us as one of Canada's emerging comprehensive universities and Alberta's Destination University.
It will be a difficult budget process but it will also be a thoughtful, strategic process that will be in keeping with the University's established vision.
There has been much talk in the media about the budget numbers and how they may or may not affect certain institutions in the province. We have been very careful not to speculate on what our budget reduction process may yield because speculation can be a very damaging thing when you do not fully understand the entire context of the process. We are not in a position to speculate at this point because we have yet to go through the process that will put us in the best place to make the necessary budget reduction decisions.
I hope the community appreciates why we have taken the time to move through this in a systematic manner.
By now, many of you have read the Letter of Expectation as administered by EAE. We have encouraged your input to help us craft a response to that letter, and I look forward to taking your thoughts with me on April 11 when I meet with all of the presidents of Alberta's post-secondary institutions, the minister and deputy minister of Advanced Education.
A consistent theme throughout the Letter of Expectation is the continued support of the Campus Alberta model and its ideals. As a longstanding partner in Campus Alberta and in many ways a driving force of the Campus Alberta initiative, I have the utmost confidence that we will be able to effectively communicate to the province the priorities of the University of Lethbridge.
We have a challenge in front of us, but it is one we will approach with great resolve and with the knowledge that the decisions to be made will be done in a thorough, open and thoughtful manner.
This story first appeared in the April 2013 edition of the Legend. For a look at the full issue in a flipbook format, follow this link.