The Fall 2010 semester marks the beginning of the year when the University of Windsor will pass a milestone. It is the year we will see the one hundred thousandth student graduate. While this is a milestone for the University, and an occasion to celebrate the efforts of students, faculty and staff, we recognize we have not done it alone. It has also been made possible by our alumni and friends who donate their money and volunteer their time; our community and partners who provide a variety of supports such as study placements for students in a wide range of academic programs; and of course our governments who provide funding for our country’s excellent postsecondary education system.
Given the number of stakeholders involved with postsecondary education, there is no shortage of analysis of universities and how they are changing. There is debate about the influence of the private sector on university research, about the impact of the internet and technology on how courses are delivered, about the cost of a university education - only to name a few. Universities are large public institutions, so it is no surprise that there is great discussion about what they are doing and how they run.
In a 2009 study by the Canadian Millenium Scholarship Foundation, an analysis of aggregate numbers across all disciplines and occupations suggested that people with a university education have lifetime earnings that are close to three quarters of a million dollars higher than those with only high school education. Furthermore, university based research contributes ideas and innovations to all sectors of the economy. And a university education is also a window of time when you can broaden your knowledge in anything from history to literature, mathematics to biology, or physics to philosophy. It has been said that an educational system isn’t worth a great deal if it teaches people how to make a living but doesn’t teach them how to make a life.
But as universities are changing and debated, one thing that is constant for the University of Windsor is our mission to enable people to make a better world. A milestone of one hundred thousand graduates lets us pause and think about just how much our own University has meant for the lives of so many people and for the world. This issue of VieW lets us connect the fulfilling of our mission back to the contributions of our alumni and friends. By the time the incoming class of 2010 graduates, there will have been over one hundred and ten thousand people holding one of our degrees.
Through investments in scholarships for students, facilities, and programs outside of the classrooms, our donors and volunteers are lining the track as each new student crosses the finish line.
On behalf of the University of Windsor, I thank all of our supporters. You deserve to share the limelight and share the pride.
Alan Wildeman
President and Vice-Chancellor
VIEW Magazine is produced by the University of Windsor Office of Public Affairs in tandem with the Office of Alumni and Donor Communications. Our goal is to connect and inspire the UWindsor community through news and stories that build pride in our alumni, current students, faculty, staff, donors and friends.
