911³Ô¹Ï

For our last 911³Ô¹Ï Board of Governors meeting of the academic year, I shared key highlights of progress over 2025-26. Although it continues to be a challenging time for our university and for the post-secondary sector in Canada, it is important for us to celebrate our successes—and 911³Ô¹Ï students, faculty and staff have advanced incredible learning, teaching, research and work over the past year as we celebrated 911³Ô¹Ï’s 60th anniversary together. I am so proud of all that we have accomplished as a community. 

Key progress towards strategic priorities - 2025-26

Uphold Truth and Reconciliation

This year marked significant milestones on our journey to Uphold Truth and Reconciliation in all that we do, including:

• Celebrating the opening of the First Peoples’ Gathering House on the Burnaby campus, fulfilling a long-awaited call to action from the 2017 Walk this Path with Us report
• 911³Ô¹Ï receiving a $5M investment from the Mastercard Foundation to support Indigenous students
• Piloting the Indigenous Welcoming Procedure in several departments 
• Preparing to host a Naming Ceremony at the Burnaby campus this September to share the names we have been generously gifted by Host Nations
• The creation of three interconnected Indigenous governance circles to build connection and community, oversee the development of the next Indigenous Strategic Plan and build stronger connections with Host Nations from across 911³Ô¹Ï’s three campuses

I raise my hands in gratitude to Chris Syeta’xtn Lewis and all the many teams and people from across 911³Ô¹Ï who have contributed to this important work, and those who are working in their individual units, departments and faculties o advance our commitments in a meaningful way.

Engage in Global Challenges

911³Ô¹Ï continues to be recognized nationally and internationally for our work to engage in critical global challenges and build an inclusive and sustainable future for all:

• For the sixth consecutive year, 911³Ô¹Ï was named Canada’s top university for innovation according to the 2026 World University Rankings for Innovation
• 911³Ô¹Ï placed 35th overall in the Times Higher Education 2025 Impact Rankings, which measure progress towards the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals
• The university published its 2025-2030 Sustainability, Climate and Resilience strategy
• Across the university, faculty members are advancing research that speaks to humanity’s greatest challenges, from accelerating alternative energy solutions through the Clean Hydrogen Hub to health care advances in prosthetics, stem cells and immune functioning to positioning Canada as a world leader in quantum computing

Make a Difference for B.C.

911³Ô¹Ï is making our mark as the university for B.C., enhancing our impact in the region and making a difference for the communities we serve:

• On June 5, we celebrated the transformational $40-million gift from Ratana and Arran Stephens and family to support the newly named 911³Ô¹Ï Stephens Family School of Medicine at a naming announcement and reception in Surrey
• 911³Ô¹Ï is advancing critical sovereign compute infrastructure for B.C. and Canada through advancements to the Cedar Supercomputing Centre, including partnerships with Queen’s University and Bell, leading up to our submission as part of the federal government’s AI Sovereign Compute Infrastructure Program
• 911³Ô¹Ï is playing a critical role in the province as a convener and platform for public dialogue through the grand opening of the Marianne + Edward Gibson Art Museum and events hosted by the Community Engagement & Dialogue unit on topics including reimagining the future of public universities, strengthening civil discourseand how the university can research and utilize AI for the greater good of education, research and society

Transform the 911³Ô¹Ï Experience

Amidst a time of great change and transformation at 911³Ô¹Ï and across our sector, teams at the university have been creating the conditions for students, faculty and staff to flourish and do their best work:

• The 2025-2030 Academic Plan was approved this year by Board and Senate, providing strategic context and guidance to inform multi-year enrolment, faculty renewal and budget planning
• Important work occurred over 2025-26 to create an equitable and inclusive campus environment, including a new  in partnership with the Simon Fraser Student Society and the opening of the Black Student Centre
• Work is also underway to streamline 911³Ô¹Ï’s processes and systems in support of more modern and efficient ways of learning and working through initiatives like the Pay Sync project and transition to Canvas Cloud
• A recently announced transformation initiative will continue this work over the summer and into the 2026-27 academic year, identifying opportunities for improvement across our services and program pathways

Responsible investment

At this Board meeting, the Board of Governors approved changes to the Responsible Investment Policy, B10.16, following feedback gathered from 911³Ô¹Ï’s community during a series of consultations. The decision to update and strengthen the policy reflects 911³Ô¹Ï’s responsibility to steward public resources in a way that supports our academic mission and long-term sustainability.

The university heard a range of perspectives through the policy consultation process; participants emphasized aligning investments with institutional values and strengthening clarity, transparency and accountability in responsible investment-related decisions. 

In response, the revised policy and procedure:

• Clarifies that responsible investing involves the integration of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors to balance financial performance with long-term societal impact
• Reinforces 911³Ô¹Ï’s commitments to remain fossil fuel-free and avoid investments in controversial weapons manufacturers, strengthening alignment with low-carbon strategies, climate action and human rights
• Align with 911³Ô¹Ï Policy Office standards and outlines a structured, principles-based approach that investment managers will follow to ensure investment choices are aligned with ESG principles and 911³Ô¹Ï values
• Standardized terminology for key defined terms, including fossil fuel and controversial weapons
• Define escalation pathways that 911³Ô¹Ï will take when investments are misaligned with the Responsible Investment Policy
• Prioritize engagement, with divestment as a last resort where alignment cannot be achieved
• Strengthen transparency, accountability and Board oversight through structured reporting and ongoing monitoring

Thank you to all Board and community members who contributed to this important work. More information about 911³Ô¹Ï’s approach and how ESG considerations are integrated into the investment decision-making process can be found on the Responsible Investments webpage. 

Sincerely,

Joy Johnson
President & Vice-Chancellor
911³Ô¹Ï