THUNDER BAY — Wrapping up her first year as president and vice-chancellor of Lakehead University, Gillian Siddall took time to reflect on the accomplishments of the institution on Friday.
Participating in three convocation ceremonies, where hundreds of students crossed the stage to collect their degrees, Siddall said the past few days had been "beautiful," including her installation ceremony with Fort William First Nation on Wednesday.
Siddall spoke about the rally for Palestine held by students and faculty at convocation. She specifically noted her pride that participants were not disruptive to Lakehead University graduates.
"First of all, we absolutely support the right of students to express themselves freely and to gather to do so.
"We want to be transparent about our investments, and that group is scheduled to meet with our board of governors at its next meeting, which is next month. They'll have an opportunity to speak directly to the board, including me about what their concerns and questions are."
Siddall said she is happy to be back at Lakehead.
"This university is a gem in the Ontario post-secondary system. It's the only comprehensive university in Northern Ontario, and that provides such an amazing opportunity for our students to choose from a wide range of disciplines and be with students who are studying in a wide range of disciplines."
Siddall is especially proud of the growing partnership with the University of Guelph for a veterinary program.
"The whole idea of it is to recruit students from the north for the north. So they would, we hope, come back and serve as vets here. There's much need for vets in Northern Ontario and so we're very excited about that project."
She explained that students enrolled in the future program would do their first two years in Thunder Bay and finish their final two years in Guelph, with the hope of students returning to their home city to work.
There is hope to break ground on that project in approximately a year.
Siddall also discussed the school's future and the five- and 10-year strategic plans, noting that the community and board members' visions are aligning.
The university has "a focus on reconciliation, and that focus, I think, was made clear in the installation process . . . a continued focus on experiential learning for students on community, a great focus on community. We already have lots of community partnerships and we want to continue to develop those."
Siddall added there is interest in expanding the schools' accessibility to more remote communities in Northwestern Ontario.
"I think the pandemic showed us all how quickly universities can make a change when they have to and gave us all the opportunity to explore and refine online teaching. While I don't think Lakehead is going to become an online university, I think there's great value in face-to-face learning.
"It provides more flexibility for students, and I think even more importantly, it allows students who are in more remote communities to study to have access to our programs without having to leave their communities.
"We punch way above our weight in terms of research and the way in which that research translates into really positive impacts for the community for Thunder Bay and for Orillia, and we're very focused on community partnerships and on partnerships with the First Nations in the region."
