Letter to the Editor: U of S a Leader in Aboriginal Education
- Ilene Busch-Vishniac | December 14, 2013
The University of Saskatchewan has embarked on a visioning exercise that places a great deal of importance on the contribution that Aboriginal people play in our province and throughout the country. The Vision 2025: From Spirit to Action is a work in progress, a document open to change. It is part of an extensive consultation process leading ultimately to a version that will guide the university's plans and actions over the coming years. It is open to varied perspectives and will evolve to reflect the voices in our campus community. It was presented as a draft for discussion precisely so that much conversation and consultation could ensue.
The U of S has the largest fraction of self-declared First Nations, Métis and Inuit students of any research-intensive post-secondary institution in Canada. We have a unique opportunity to improve Aboriginal success within the post-secondary education context. However, it is not a quick fix. We are already making great strides as our enrollment rates and retention numbers continue to increase year after year. There are many obstacles to progress, but as a university we are working together, finding solutions to these challenges.
Professor Wheeler's assertion that "I got rid of the Aboriginal Advisor to the President" is not true. I have two highly skilled individuals coordinating Aboriginal initiatives across our campus. A Director of Aboriginal Initiatives and a Director of First Nations, Métis and Inuit Relations. I meet with both regularly and routinely seek their guidance in matters of concern to the Aboriginal community. In one case this reflects a change in title to the Special Advisor to the President and a change in formal reporting structure so that we can better coordinate our myriad of activities for First Nations, Métis and Inuit students.
Along with our outstanding faculty, employees and students to influence the academic agenda, the recent appointment of Blaine Favel as our Chancellor will indeed have a lasting impact on our future directions and something that deserves a mention.
I often reflect on the leaders of tomorrow that are being educated at the U of S. I feel keenly the need to prepare them for kind of world that will exist in the next several decades. Saskatchewan will continue to thrive as a place of ever-growing diversity and the time is now to encourage the talented students throughout the province, certainly including those in our First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities.
Over the past 40 years our university has been a leader in the field of Aboriginal education. Through programs like Indian Teacher Education Program (ITEP), the Saskatchewan Urban Native Teacher Education Program (SUNTEP) and the Native Law Centre the U of S established itself as one of the best places in Canada for Aboriginal research, scholarship and artistic work. The U of S will continue to support these programs and the important role they play.
We want our story to be about people from around the world working, studying and learning together, respecting one another in a common educational endeavour.
I would welcome your input into Vision 2025: From Sprit to Action. You can send your feedback by visiting the U of S website.