A message from Dr. Annette Trimbee, president and vice-chancellor.

We spend a lot of time at MacEwan thinking about our choices: How should our academic offerings evolve? What do students need to thrive? How should we invest? Who should we partner with?

In the course of this work, we often find ourselves trying to balance our academic purpose with responding to the needs of our community in a rapidly changing world.

Universities occupy a unique space. We confer degrees and other credentials that are recognized and valued by governments, employers and community members. Maintaining that respect is vital. Our students graduate having learned from faculty with deep expertise, empowered by the academic freedom and flexibility to decide what to teach, how to teach it, and what research to pursue. While these freedoms might seem outdated to some, they are exactly what enable universities to remain adaptable to emerging societal needs.  

Faculty at MacEwan are experts in their disciplines who continually examine the curriculum, structure and approach of their courses against the backdrop of complex global problems. They want their courses to be meaningful, engaging and memorable. They want to stimulate thought, growth and development in the students who take them. They want students to feel, upon completion, a sense of understanding and connection in the world beyond the classroom.

One societal development, for instance, is the emergence and adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in people’s lives and workplaces. Without question the technology is transformative, and it’s likely every student who attends MacEwan this fall will have a degree of familiarity and experience with AI. This has already stimulated conversations about its implications for teaching, learning and research. You can expect that everything from our courses, to our pedagogy, to our student experiences will evolve.

Yet this isn’t a new phenomenon.

A dwindling number of us lived through it, but – believe it or not – some of us can recall a time without the internet. When internet availability went mainstream it was incredibly transformative, offering students vastly better access to increasing amounts of information than ever before. That didn’t end the relevance or need for universities. Rather, universities recognized the realities that came with the technology, and evolved their teaching and research activities accordingly.

Looking back over time, universities have remained meaningful and valuable components of society in the midst of many major, transformative shifts. The rise of elected governments and democratic institutions ... the development of the scientific method ... the industrial revolution ... the invention of radio ... the spread of the now-ubiquitous personal computer.

Universities have endured and continue to shape, train and nurture the development of generations.

A key reason for this longevity is that a university education, at its best, is not about indoctrinating students or having them memorize facts.

Acquiring a basket of advanced skills – critical thinking, problem solving and adaptability – instilled by professors with deep expertise, is at the core of a university experience.

Undergraduates who go through that experience at MacEwan come out different on the other side. They have learned how to be great at learning. They can think creatively. They are more resourceful, with a new kind of confidence.

And, as we often hear about MacEwan graduates, they are ready to hit the ground running. Far from being products of an “ivory tower,” they are employable and prepared to contribute. That’s in no small part due to high-calibre faculty, who are supported by a unique institutional climate that fosters curiosity, courage and evolution. 

The aspects of a university which, from the outside, can make it appear antiquated are the same forces that enable it to remain adaptable, innovative and relevant.

Dr. Annette Trimbee
President and Vice-Chancellor