After��eight months of consultation with the community, as well as internal and external research partners, the 91��ɫ Senate has unanimously approved the University’s new strategic research plan, "Building on Strength".

“91��ɫ’s new strategic research plan commits to building research on our strengths and provides a strong aspirational vision for the development and recognition of 91��ɫ’s research over the next five years,” said Robert Haché, vice-president research & innovation.�� “I would like to thank the entire 91��ɫ community for your positive response to the consultation process and earnest engagement that made such important contributions to the development of the plan.�� We will continue to invest in the growth and development of our research as a foundational part of our efforts to grow our academic reputation as a recognized leading research-intensive university.”

Robert Haché

The plan supports the University’s research vision to better understand the human condition and the world around us and to employ the knowledge gained in the service of society as described in six intersecting themes:

• advancing fundamental discovery and critical knowledge,
• analyzing cultures and mobilizing creativity,
• building healthy lives and communities,
• exploring the frontiers of science and technology,
• forging a just and sustainable world,
• integrating entrepreneurial innovation and the public good.

The plan also articulates five areas of opportunities that complement past accomplishments, new developments, momentum and timing to provide particular opportunities for building research success.�� They include:

• digital cultures,
• engineering research that matters,
• healthy individuals, healthy communities and global health,
• public engagement for a just and sustainable world, and
• scholarship of socially engaged research.

Through this plan, the University is implementing the objectives set out for research in both the University Academic Plan and the Provost’s 2010 white paper, which identify research intensification as a key University goal and recognize research as a core endeavor that broadly enriches the institution. The plan is meant to be a living document, responsive to the University's successes, as well as being sensitive to a rapidly evolving landscape.

Through a strategic combination of broadly based and focused investments over the course of the next five years, 91��ɫ will continue its impressive development as a leading Canadian research university whose scholarship enhances our culture and improves society.

To view the full plan, click .

Republished courtesy of YFile– 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin to research stories on the research website.

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The community consultations are an important part of a process to develop the plan. More than 150 members of the 91��ɫ community attended the open forum to discuss the plan that will articulate the priorities and vision for the��future of 91��ɫ research over the next five years. The open forum provided an opportunity for community members to learn more about consultation process and the goals for the plan.

More than 150 members of the 91��ɫ community attended the open forum, which was held in the University's Senate Chamber

In addition, there was a lively, open��and engaging discussion that saw participants share their thoughts��and��concerns.����

Among the comments��offered by��those present at the open forum was the aspiration that the new Strategic Research Plan would help improve 91��ɫ's research reputation. Participants articulated the need to develop a strategy that empowers researchers by providing them with appropriate opportunities to focus their attention on research. Many of those welcomed the transparency of the open consultation process, highlighted the need for inclusiveness in defining research areas and stressed the importance of equitable research support.��

“91��ɫ's new Strategic Research Plan will help us achieve our vision of becoming a more recognized research intensive University – an ambition reflected in the White Paper and University Academic Plan,” said Haché.����

Haché chats with a community member

He explained that the goals of the consultation process are to engage the 91��ɫ community in an open, collaborative and ongoing discussion about the University’s core research values to develop a plan that is meaningful to the community.

Haché was joined in the open forum by 91��ɫ President��& Vice-Chancellor Mamdouh Shoukri, Strategic Research Plan Facilitators Celia Haig-Brown, who is a professor in the Faculty of Education, and Gary Miller, and instructor in the MBA program at the Schulich School of Business and Schulich Executive Education Centre, along with members of the .

As part of the ongoing nature of the consultation process, 91��ɫ students, staff and faculty are invited to continue the discussion with Haché through upcoming workshops and community chats. The workshops will seek to examine 91��ɫ’s core values with respect to research, understand perceptions and prioritize commitments to the support of research.��

The workshops will be held on:��

To RSVP for the consultation workshops, . For more information on the community chats and the Strategic Research Plan, .

Republished courtesy of YFile– 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

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Robert Haché

“I am pleased to announce the members of the Strategic Research Plan Advisory Committee,” said Haché.�� “I am looking forward to working together with the members of the committee and the University community to develop a new strategic research plan that articulates our values and vision for 91��ɫ research and provides direction for accelerating strategic research planning initiatives across the University over the next several years.” ��

The committee has a mandate to��advise the VPRI on all aspects of the consultation with the 91��ɫ Community and in the development of the plan, which will articulate a vision and aspiration for 91��ɫ research over the next five years. The goal is to provide the community with a draft reflecting the discussion near the end of 2012, with��a final version going to the Senate of 91��ɫ for approval in spring 2013.

The Strategic Advisory Plan Advisory Committee planning and consultation process is being facilitated by Gary Miller, Instructor in the MBA Program at the Schulich School of Business, as well as at the Schulich Executive Education Centre��and Celia Haig-Brown, Professor, Faculty of Education.

The advisory committee members include:

• Robert Haché, vice-president research & innovation, Chair of the SRP Advisory Committee
• Walter Tholen, associate vice-president research, vice-Chair of the SRP Advisory Committee
• Celia Haig-Brown, professor, Faculty of Education and Strategic Research facilitator of the SRP Advisory Committee.��
• Thaddeus Hwong,��professor, cross-appointed to the School of Administrative Studies and School of Public Policy��& Administration.��
• Mark Lievonen, Member of 91��ɫ's Board of Governors and president of Sanofi Pasteur Ltd.
• Doug Lindeblom, director of Economic Strategy��& Tourism, Regional Municipality of 91��ɫ
• Rhonda Lenton, vice-provost
• Janine Marchessault,��professor, Department of Film, Faculty of Fine Arts, and Canada Research Chair in Art, Digital Media & Globalization
• David Mutimer,��professor, Department of Political Science, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies (LA&PS), director of 91��ɫ Centre for International & Security Studies and Chair, Academic Policy, Planning and Research Committee
• Laurie Wilcox,��professor of psychology and biology, member of 91��ɫ’s Centre for Vision Research
• Danielle Zanotti, CEO, United Way of 91��ɫ Region, external member
• Joanna Pearce, PhD candidate, Department of History, LA&PS
• Martin Singer, dean, LA&PS
• Joan Steigerwald, professor, Department of Humanities, and the graduate programs in Science & Technology Studies,��Humanities and Social��& Political Thought. ��
• Jim Whiteway, Canada Research Chair in Space Engineering��& Atmospheric Science and��professor of Space Engineering in the Faculty of Science & Engineering.��
• Georg Zoidl, professor, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health and Department of Biology, Faculty of Science��& Engineering and Canada Research Chair in Molecular��& Cellular Neuroscience.
• A member from Glendon College is still being sought

Haché, in collaboration with the Strategic Research Plan��Advisory Committee, invites all members of the��University community to be an engaged part of a comprehensive consultation process that will help 91��ɫ continue to move forward in research excellence and scholarship.

To share your thoughts on the Strategic Research Plan consultation process, click .

To view committee member’s biographies,��.

Republished courtesy of YFile– 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

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VPRI will be advised in the consultation process by a Strategic Research Plan��Advisory Committee comprised of individuals from the University and community, whose membership will be announced shortly.��The goal is to engage the community in a discussion of��goals and values to provide shape to��a��strategic research plan��that will set the vision for the continuing development of research at 91��ɫ for the next several years. The expectation is to provide the community with a draft of the plan before the end of 2012, with��a final version going to Senate for approval in spring 2013.

“The establishment of a new strategic research plan will help to advance research intensification broadly at 91��ɫ and identify areas of opportunity for growth and development,” said��Robert Haché (left), vice-president research & innovation. “The plan will help to foster the support of research excellence across the University while providing a strategic framework for driving our research reputation forward in areas of opportunity.”

In order to create a document with the broadest possible support, VPRI��is inviting��all members of the 91��ɫ community to contribute to the development of the strategic research plan by sharing their points of view throughout the consultation and development process.�� The��University community is invited to participate in workshops, focus groups, town hall meetings and other events being organized or through��an online form that is available .

Through an extensive process of broadly-based consultations, VPRI will arrive at a plan that sets well-defined goals within an aspirational vision that is strongly supported by the University academic community, as represented by Senate.

The goals of the strategic research plan��consultation process are:

• To engage in a collaborative, University-building exercise that articulates a clear valuation and appreciation of research at 91��ɫ��and its integration into all aspects of the��fabric of the University;
  ��
• To build a strong, broadly accepted aspirational vision��for��the development of research based on a comprehensive consultation process with the University community and external stakeholders;
  ��
• To appropriately identify and articulate areas of opportunity in the strategic development of research across the institution.

Haché, in collaboration with the Strategic Research Plan��Advisory Committee, invites all members of the��community to be an engaged part of a comprehensive consultation process that will help 91��ɫ continue to move forward in research excellence and scholarship.

For more information,��click .

Republished courtesy of YFile– 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

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Leblanc teaches governance, law and ethics in the School of Administrative Studies in 91��ɫ’s Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, and is an adjunct faculty member at 91��ɫ’s Osgoode Hall Law School. An expert on corporate governance, he has made Canada’s Top 40 Under 40 list for vision, leadership and achievement, and has recently been added to the Canadian Who’s Who.��This year, he was��named among "People to Watch"��by the National Association of Corporate Directors in Washington.

Left: Richard Leblanc

At a ceremony in Toronto, he and five others received this year’s for exceptional contributions in the areas of instruction, course and curriculum development, and student engagement.����

This is Leblanc’s second teaching award. In 1998, students voted to present him with the inaugural Seymour Schulich BBA Award for Teaching Excellence.��

The OCUFA award recognizes teaching in a very��broad sense. “It is particularly meaningful for me,” says Leblanc, "because colleagues as well as students nominate you." In this case, letters of support came from faculty colleagues, teaching assistants, deans, librarians, and current and former students.��

Like three other recipients at the awards ceremony, Leblanc acknowledged the influence of a parent. “My father was a high school teacher. You don’t realize how much kitchen conversation has on your career choice and the passion you bring to teaching. My father would talk about teaching, grading, curriculum. I was exposed to all that.”����

But Leblanc also gave his audience four or five pointers on what makes a good teacher from a he compiled early in his career. The co-author of Inside the Boardroom says he’s had more response to that list than anything else he’s published.����

Institutional support is one of the requisites of good teaching, Leblanc says. For him, the OCUFA award validates the higher quality of teaching possible in smaller classes. Leblanc teaches large and small classes, and students from his small classes in particular strongly supported his nomination, he observed, because he came to know them in a way he doesn’t know students in large classes.

In her citation, Patti Ryan, political science librarian at 91��ɫ’s Scott Library and a member of OCUFA’s teaching award committee, said Leblanc is “both an exceptional teacher and an extraordinary leader in his field.”����

Those who have experienced the “magic” of Leblanc – students, alumni, colleagues, teaching assistants, administrators, librarians and clients – consistently describe him as engaging, energetic, enthusiastic and exciting, said Ryan.��

Ryan also cited LeBlanc's achievements in course and curriculum development. At 91��ɫ, he has developed or redesigned seven innovative courses in the areas of law, corporate governance and business ethics. He also played a key role in establishing curriculum for a new master’s of financial accountability program, described by one supporter as a “groundbreaking curriculum not currently offered anywhere else in the world."

Outside the classroom, Leblanc has made a powerful impact on the lives of his students and colleagues. They cite his generosity of spirit and dedication to mentorship, said Ryan. Whether he is supporting the work of part-time colleagues, taking time out to meet current and former students, or sharing his expertise with the professional community, LeBlanc consistently exemplifies the spirit of good teaching and lifelong learning.��

“Your pedagogical accomplishments, unwavering commitment to students and to the academic and professional community, and your passion for your work make you a most deserving candidate for this award,” concluded Ryan.

Republished courtesy of YFile– 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

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