I hope all of you are enjoying a glorious Fall after a wonderful Summer. 

Many of you reading this issue of the WURA e-Bulletin may be wondering why you received it.  WURA wants to reach out to those retirees who have not joined our Association to encourage you to become a member of WURA. WURA is the acknowledged voice for U Windsor retired faculty, librarians, and senior administrative staff. We have membership on those University Committees that have the interests of Retiree as part of their Committee mandate. In addition, we have a representative on the WUFA Executive and Council.  Of particular interest at this time is the role retirees may play in determining a move to a new pension plan, the University Pension Plan of Ontario.  Please see WURA’s UPP Committee representative, Ihor Stebelsky’s article for further information.
 
As you can see from the articles below, we are an active group, interested in all things to do with the University, Higher Education generally, and the issues that affect Retirees.  Some of us remain active researchers and are volunteer mentors for UWindsor students and new faculty. Our annual fee is a ridiculously modest $25.00.

Check out our website https://www.uwindsor.ca/retirees-association/ and please consider joining Windsor University Retirees Association (WURA). 

 
I want to begin by urging you to consider getting involved in WURA, either by standing for an Executive position or volunteering for one of the WURA Committees.  Of special note, Members are needed for the WURA Pension and Benefits Committee. At this particular time, this Committee is very important for the well being of our Members.  The Committee is currently reviewing our health care subsidy benefits and has membership on the new University Committee Studying the University Pension Plan of Ontario (UPP).  WURA has one representative on this Committee and, because of its importance to retirees, we are petitioning for a second WURA member to be added to the Committee. If the University opts for joining the UPP, we will all have a say in the matter. If more than one-third of retirees drawing pensions vote "no, the University cannot join the UPP. Joining the UPP will have no effect on current retirees, except we will receive our cheques from UPP instead of our current plan administrator. However, to be certain that our interests are protected, we need to keep a watching brief on this issue through our membership on the University Committee. (See an article by Ihor Stebelsky further on in this issue outlining the work of the Committee thus far.)
 
As you will read in an article by Joe Saso below, the University has finally launched the In Memoriam website.  We have been lobbying for this since the DailyNews ceased publishing death announcements in the Spring of 2022.  Thank you to all who wrote in support of the need for the University to acknowledge the passing of our University colleagues. Please note Joe  “gentle reminder” regarding the link from the Daily News to the “In Memoriam” page as well as how to subscribe to the DailyNews.
 
We are soon to have a Joint Communications Committee meeting with the Administration.  Bruce Elman, Veronika Mogyorody and I will meet with President Gordon and Vice President Beckford to continue discussions on the University becoming a member of the international Age-Friendly University (AFU) Global Network and how retirees might contribute to the University, including the role we may play in a potential change to the UPP. 
 
SAVE THE DATE:  The Fall Annual General Meeting (AGM) and Holiday Luncheon and Social is set for November 29^th starting at 11:30 a.m. It will be a hybrid event, in person at the Freed Orman Centre, and online with TEAMS.  Further details will be forthcoming very soon.
 

Bruce Elman

I have a confession to make: when I was the Dean of Law, no two words struck as much fear into my heart as the words “Strategic Plan” or “Strategic Planning”. Other words and phrases – variations and associations with “Strategic Plan” were equally upsetting – “Strategic Plan Update”, “Strategic Plan Report” and so forth.Then, there was the dreaded acronym – S.W.O.T. standing for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.In my experience, Faculty always exaggerate the Strengths and Opportunities and minimize the Weaknesses and Threats, leading to unfulfilled expectations and a great deal of frustration.I always subscribed to Dean Horace Read’s view of the goal of a Law school: “To teach students how to think like a lawyer.”Period. That’s it. Everything that promotes that goal – to teach students to think like a lawyer -- is good; everything that undermines that goal is bad.

So, I am probably not the best person to review the University’s new (2023 – 2028) Strategic Plan entitled, Aspire. Together for Tomorrow. But here goes. The main thing that struck me about the Plan is its complexity – complexity in its structure, not in its contents. Here’s what I mean. Aspire begins with the usual “Mission, Vision, and Values”. The “Mission”: “To empower positive change through regionally and globally engaged inquiry, learning, scholarship, creative activity and research.” This is pretty much what one would expect. The “Vision”: “As a locally engaged, globally connected institution, the University of Windsor will enable people to transform their circumstances. As partners, leaders, and learners, we will engage in impactful research, relevant teaching, creative endeavours, and inclusive relationship building to foster positive change.” Perhaps a touch grandiose and somewhat verbose, but its sentiment is in the right place. The real problem with both the statements of "Mission" and "Vision" is the phrase "positive change”. At the most basic level, one could ask “positive change in whose opinion?” Or “in what time frame?” We all know of so-called “advances” that some years later turn out not to be such an advance. Most strikingly, one could question whether the change is entirely positive. Most change, even if pronounced “positive” by someone, will have some, potentially serious, negative effects. (Just watch some of the ads on television for the latest drugs. The ads proclaim “you cannot live without this drug and, by the way, watch for the following because it may also kill you.") So, how will the University know the “change” it wants to create is actually positive and who will make that determination?

What I can get behind here are the “Values”. The Report underscores nine “values” and most can be associated with the students -- a throwback, perhaps, to Alan Wildeman’s “Student-Centred University”. Some of these values: “Academic excellence”, “Engagement with students”, “Prioritizing people”, “Equity, Diversion, and Inclusion”, and "Indigenization Truth and Reconciliation”. Then there are some more general values: “Trustworthiness” -- I am personally very high on this value, “Openness to change” – good in theory, difficult to put into practice especially in a university, and “Environmental Sustainability” -- who's not in favour of environmental sustainability? Finally, “Community Impact” – a value that Windsor Law, with its clinical outreach programs, has embraced since its inception. If I were the Dean of Law, I would say to myself – let’s stick to the values! I can put those into action.

Well, back to the complexity. The “Strategic Framework” of Aspire has three parts: “Foundational Commitments”, “Strategic Priorities”, and “Strategic Opportunities”. The “Foundational Commitments” have “Six Themes” such as “Establishing and Implementing an Institutional Data Strategy”, “Continue to Foster and Build Welcoming, Inclusive and Engaging Physical and Virtual Spaces”, and “Improving institutional Processes and Coordination of Services”. Now, I am not opposed to any of these or the other three I haven’t mentioned, I just think that they are a touch mundane and pedestrian. I would have preferred a foundational commitment that stated something like: “Every Student is unique with individual dreams and aspirations. We commit to encouraging students to fulfill their dreams and we undertake to facilitate their efforts to do so”.

After the “Foundational Commitments” come the “Strategic Priorities” – six in all – which forms the guts of the Plan. One priority deals with "Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity"; another with "Health, Safety, and Environmental Sustainability". There is one on "Truth and Reconciliation" and another on "Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion". The two I am most, personally, drawn to, however, are "Local and Global Partnerships and Community Engagement" and "Ensuring a High Quality, Relevant, Teaching, Learning, and Student Experience for Everyone". 

Finally, what are the “Strategic Opportunities”? Honestly, I am not sure because the specific opportunities are not identified. This is the best I can do – taken from the Report: “Our goal is a systematic, streamlined, and transparent approach to identifying and supporting initiatives to maximize their impact”. It seems that the "Strategic Opportunities" are down the road.

So, there is some complexity here and some lack of definition. But, what comes next? According to Aspire, what follows are more strategic plans – the “Strategic Academic Plan” and the “Strategic Research Plan”. Those are then followed by nine plans, frameworks, or strategies and those are followed by Faculty/AAU/Service Unit Plans. In other words, what comes next – more complexity and . . .  more uncertainty . . . and (and this was my real aversion to strategic plans) more time spent on planning, benchmarking, measuring, and reporting rather than on what we should be striving for: exceptional teaching; innovative research and evidence-based scholarship; and meaningful public service.

Here's a hypothetical: An alum comes to me. She is a specialist in insolvency and bankruptcy. She wants to endow a Chair in Insolvency and create courses in the area. Money, she says, is no object. "Insolvency" is nowhere in our Strategic Plan. Do I tell her: “You’ll have to give me a few days to determine whether this initiative fits within our Strategic Plan” or do I say “Let me have a lawyer draw up a Donor Agreement for you to sign. It will be ready tomorrow.” I know what I would say . . . but what do I know?

Editor’s Note: Aspire. Together for Tomorrow may be found at this link: https://www.uwindsor.ca/president/326/aspire-together-tomorrow and can be either viewed or downloaded. The Windsor University Retirees’ Association (WURA) is pleased to announce that President Rob Gordon will address the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Association on Aspire. Together for Tomorrow on November 29^th. The Meeting will start at 11:30 a.m. and will be followed by the Holiday Luncheon and Social live at the Freed Orman Centre and online (link to follow).
 

 

 

 

Joe Saso

There has been some interest expressed in information pertaining to the current enrolment situation at the University. The chart below, provided by the Office of Institutional Analysis, shows enrolment numbers from 2000 to 2022.

Chart #1: Student Enrolment from 2000 to 2022.
 

Year	UG Fall Intake	UG FT (1)	Grad FT	Total Enrolment
2000	3,185	8,976	673	12,834
2001	3,285	9,671	642	13,598
2002	3,411	10,199	824	14,434
2003	4,571	11,790	985	17,346
2004	3,522	12,132	1,089	16,743
2005	3,294	12,308	1,106	16,708
2006	3,375	12,291	1,205	16,871
2007	3,319	11,529	1,312	16,160
2008	3,437	11,494	1,476	16,407
2009	3,273	11,389	1,543	16,205
2010	3,285	11,645	1,658	16,588
2011	3,322	11,639	1,674	16,635
2012	3,454	11,804	1,906	17,164
2013	3,431	11,802	2,301	17,534
2014	3,191	11,589	2,439	17,219
2015	2,836	10,882	2,678	16,396
2016	2,774	10,565	3,045	16,384
2017	2,842	10,542	3,536	16,920
2018	2,910	10,572	3,934	17,416
2019	2,988	10,716	4,053	17,757
2020	2,782	10,772	4,304	17,858
2021	2,695	10,591	4,925	18,211
2022	2,735	10,196	5,755	18,686

1. Enrolment in the “UG FT” refers to Undergraduate Continuing Full Time Enrolment and, therefore, this column does not include “UG Fall Intake” numbers.

 
Readers will note that the Fall Intake enrolment in 2003 rose by 1160 students or 31% over 2002. This was the so-called Double Cohort Year. The elimination of OAC led to a spike of more than 100,000 students graduating provincially in 2003.  The last OAC class and the first Grade 12 OSS class graduated in the same year. Undergraduate Intake spiked in 2003 at most Ontario Universities. Not surprisingly, this also resulted in an increase in the Full Time Undergraduate Enrolment in 2003 and the next few years following 2003.
  
Perhaps more striking, Graduate Enrolment has increased significantly over the past two decades. As one can see from Chart#1, Graduate Full Time Enrolment went from 824 students in 2002 to 5,755 students in 2022. That is an increase of seven-fold in that 20-year period of time. I was able to extract some interesting information from another table (Chart #2 below) on the Institutional Analysis website.  Although the numbers are limited -- from 2015-2019 only -- there are some obvious trends. Between 2015 and 2019, Domestic Graduate Full Time Enrolment rose by 163 students or about 13% . If one combines the data from Chart #1 with Chart #2, we see that from 2015 to 2019, Graduate Full Time Foreign Enrollment rose by 1212 students or about 80%. 
 
Chart #2 below indicates the Graduate Intake from various geographical regions during that time period. The implications of Chart #2 are, also, apparent. Intake of Foreign Graduate students from certain regions has become very important for the vitality – and, one assumes, the financial viability -- of the University:
   

COUNTRY	2015 GRAD FT	2019 GRAD FT
Canada	1,193	1,356
Bangladesh	27	93
China	629	466
Iran	45	91
India	516	1,778

 
And what are these students studying? Again, no surprises. The areas of study that have experienced the highest number of non-Canadian graduate students are Engineering, Computer Science and Business Administration.

This information is public knowledge and if further details are of interest, I invite you to visit the Office of Institutional Analysis website noted above.

That is Enrolment – By the Numbers!
 

 Our Fall 2023 Annual General Meeting (AGM) is scheduled for November 29
at the
Freed Orman Centre
with
Our Special Guest 
Dr. Robert Gordon 
University President

This is to be an in-person meeting and available on-line via TEAMS
 

The Windsor University Retirees’ Association (WURA)
Presents
 
HOT TOPIC #2
 
“The University’s Response to the Auditor General’s Report: Did It Satisfy Bonnie Lysyk?”
 
With
 
Gillian Heisz
Vice-President
Finance and Operations
University of Windsor
 
Monday, November 27^th, 2023 – 1:00 p.m. On Zoom
Further Information and the Zoom Link to Follow
 
Be There -- Keep your mind sharp!!