Dr. Mary Anne Chambers began her appointment as the University’s tenth chancellor just a few months ago. Dr. Chambers has been a lifelong advocate of the transformative value of accessible higher education, including through her past role as Ontario’s minister of training, colleges and universities. She has been a champion of U of G for decades, including having served as a member of the Board of Governors. Dr. Chambers’s diverse experiences and approachability ensure she will excel as chancellor at this unique point in U of G’s journey as an institution.

We are also moving forward with the Strategic Framework Refresh initiative. After hearing creative ideas and thoughtful perspectives from our first set of community consultations in 2021, it was clear that there is appetite for a bold, visionary plan that provides clear direction through actionable tasks and accountability measures for this next chapter in our community’s story. We have begun a second round of focused consultations with students, staff, faculty, alumni and partners, and I look forward to engaging with you on a first draft of the plan.

You can read more about new beginnings throughout this issue, including One Health, alumna Dr. Roberta Bondar and Arrell Scholar Nasrin Husseini. On a personal note, I was humbled to be formally installed as president and vicechancellor at the end of March. Although I was appointed to the position last August and served in an interim role before that, the installation gave me pause to think about the priorities I will advance during my term. Together, we will build on U of G’s “genius” toward a better University and a better world.

Finally, this month marks the return of in-person convocation ceremonies at the University. For the first time in more than two years, U of G graduates, including many from the classes of 2020 and 2021, will cross the convocation stage. This moment marks many a new beginning: our newest alumni will take all they have learned at U of G to pave new paths, start bold initiatives and Improve Life meaningfully for themselves and the world around them.

I wish you each a wonderful summer and hopeful, new beginnings—wherever or whenever you should need them.

Together, we will build on U of G’s ‘genius’ toward a better University and a better world

Warmly,
Charlotte A.B. Yates
President and Vice-Chancellor

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The world has changed dramatically since March 2020. Our campuses have been quiet; while essential services and research are ongoing, most classes moved online.

There is little I have missed more than running into students and colleagues while waiting for coffee at the Bullring and University Centre. Over the past few months, I have invited students, staff and faculty for coffee virtually. I have appreciated the candour with which community members have shared accomplishments, obstacles and lessons from the past year.

What is most apparent in our discussions is the compassion: students checking in on peers’ mental health, instructors holding additional online office hours and staff keeping colleagues inspired with humour. And I have seen that compassion extend to the broader community.

When we called for volunteers for the community vaccination clinic at the University Centre, the response was overwhelming. As of May, U of G has vaccinated over 22,000 people with the help of hundreds of volunteers. U of G’s partnership with Guelph-Wellington-Dufferin Public Health and the Guelph Family Health Team is truly helping Improve Life.

Our mission to Improve Life has also seen U of G researchers and alumni make important contributions toward prevention and recovery efforts. Drs. Lawrence Goodridge and Ed McBean are developing a wastewater test that facilitates early detection of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. To address vaccine hesitancy, Dr. Maya Goldenberg is providing expertise on building trust in public institutions and health providers. And alumnus Attilio Di Fiore, B.Sc. ’92, is president of ATTWILL Vascular Technologies, a company testing a tablet-based COVID-19 vaccine that would not require transportation in cold temperatures like injection-based vaccines.

The University has also made strides on our long-term goals. Consultations to support the Strategic Framework refresh are well under way. The University’s budget plan was reviewed to ensure it will offset sector-wide challenges caused by the pandemic and maintain our legacy of fiscal sustainability. We have also implemented plans to further equity through the President’s Advisory Committee on Anti-Racism and the launch of the Indigenous Initiatives Strategy Report.

As U of G nears the end of the academic year, my respect for our community and my optimism for where we are headed continue to grow. As we look to the fall, I am confident the compassion that has fuelled our resiliency will guide the eventual return of more students, faculty and staff to our campuses.

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As I begin my role as president and vice-chancellor this fall, I have been impressed and humbled by the support that our community members have provided to each other under new and often very difficult circumstances.

As we emerge from this crisis – and we will emerge – we will draw upon U of G’s tremendous strengths. This institution enjoys an excellent reputation as a top comprehensive and research-intensive university that prioritizes the whole student experience, student success and student well-being. We also benefit from strong and long-standing relationships with government partners, donors, alumni and the broader community.

Guided by our overarching mission – to Improve Life – I plan to focus on four key areas that will further build on those strengths.

First, we will continue to strive for excellence in research, in teaching and learning, and in student success. We will continue to build international relationships, including attracting top international students. For all our students, we will emphasize experiential education that provides real-world opportunities to enhance their learning and research.

Second, we must ensure the financial sustainability of the University today and into the future. Fundraising will continue to be a top priority for faculty support, capital projects and student awards.

I will also emphasize the importance of collaboration and interdisciplinary thinking as one of our deep strengths that can spark innovation in academics, research and operations.

A deep commitment to equity and diversity is foundational to our commitment to excellence. I aim to build a diverse and inclusive community through numerous initiatives including anti-racism training for students; a new Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Fund; fundraising for scholarships for students from Black, Indigenous and people of colour communities; and a new EDI Action Plan. This work will be supported by a new president’s advisory committee focused on anti-racism and by Indira Naidoo-Harris, our AVP diversity and human rights.

In pursuing these priorities, I will rely on our strong connections with community members, including our Gryphon alumni. While we may be apart for now, together we will remain united in improving lives.

Dr. Charlotte Yates
President and Vice-Chancellor

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Who would have imagined how quickly and completely our world has changed this year – and continues to change under this unprecedented situation?

COVID-19 has brought untold suffering and tragedy to many people, in many ways, around the world. For myself and for all members of the University of Guelph, this has been a time to reflect on the lives of others most affected by this pandemic, here in Canada and in all the many countries that are home to our growing alumni family.

For me, there are two potential lessons – and, dare I say, some reassurance — that have been underlined by this pandemic and our collective response to it.

First, an ever-changing world is one that invites discovery. Answering questions, and finding new questions to answer, underpins university research, learning and innovation that improve lives.

there are two potential lessons – and, dare I say, some reassurance — that have been underlined by this pandemic and our collective response to it

This novel coronavirus has spurred U of G into new avenues of inquiry and discovery.

Our researchers have adapted their expertise to develop coronavirus tests, to study and predict disease progression, to devise virus-killing surfaces and to ensure supplies of personal protective equipment for front-line workers. Instructors and students have adopted new modes of teaching and learning so we can continue to fulfill our vital educational mandate. (Even the University president has attempted to master DIY video-making technology in recent months.)

Second, and perhaps more important, this uncertain world has shown us again why hope matters. Hope has shown up in the many extraordinary ways that our community has pulled together in the face of this crisis. From students working on the front lines to campus members making needed facemasks and donating to food banks, the entire University community has come together in amazing ways to face COVID-19 and to continue delivering on our mission to Improve Life.

Faced with uncertainty, we have demonstrated time and again this year why U of G matters to the world – and how discovery and hope will get us all to the other side of the COVID-19 curve.

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In a rapidly changing world, employers are looking for employees with core skills including critical thinking, problem solving, communication and creativity. It’s those adaptable skills that will enable university graduates to think and collaborate across disciplines, to master new technologies, and to anticipate and lead change.

“Through experiential learning – co-ops, internships, volunteering – more than half of university students gain experience in applying what they learn to the workplace.“

Through experiential learning – co-ops, internships, volunteering – more than half of university students gain experience in applying what they learn to the workplace.

It’s working: More than 90 per cent of Ontario university grads – and 95 percent for U of G alumni – find employment within two years of graduation. For all Ontario university grads, including U of G alumni, nearly nine out of 10 find employment in or related to their field of study within two years.

And it’s working not just for those graduates but also for the wider economy.

Canada’s universities account for about $35 billion in direct expenditures and employ about 250,000 people, according to Universities Canada. U of G’s own economic impact is worth an estimated $1.5 billion to the Canadian economy and generates employment of more than 16,000 FTEs.

Universities are engines of innovation – gaining new knowledge and applying that knowledge in numerous ways. In our rapidly changing economy, that’s key to remaining competitive and thriving. From artificial intelligence and quantum computing to vaccine development and clean energy, innovations developed in universities in partnership with businesses and other organizations help to power economic growth.

That economic growth also helps ensure community well-being. A thriving community or country is one with the economic resources to provide social services and supports for all, including the less fortunate members of society.

Investing today in our public university system yields future returns for our students and, ultimately, ensures value for all of us.

Franco Vaccarino
President and Vice-Chancellor

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Environmental sustainability is in this institution’s DNA. From our founding colleges to today’s campuses, wise resource stewardship has been a constant in our research and teaching. Experts here study everything from the effects of pesticides on pollinating insects, to use of DNA barcoding to monitor biodiversity worldwide, to sustainable ways to feed this planet’s growing population through our Arrell Food Institute.

“We’re also genetically hard-wired at U of G to work across disciplines, a necessary trait for meeting this global challenge.”

Straddling disciplinary borders is a hallmark of our ever-growing Bioproducts Discovery and Development Centre, where plant scientists and engineers collaborate to create new, green alternatives to fossil fuel-based products, especially plastics. Across campus, food scientists are designing greener food packaging. You can read more about these and other U of G plastic mitigation projects in this issue of the Portico.

Beyond environmental issues alone, sustainability extends to other essential aspects of our lives, including food and water, health, community, culture and learning. They’re all elements that sustain us and our way of life, today and tomorrow.

And those elements also cut across disciplines here at the University, including the College of Business and Economics, whose theme is developing and inspiring leaders for a sustainable world. Under that mantra, we aim to encourage business grads to use their education as a tool to improve life for people and the planet.

Take Matt Wittek, who finished his commerce degree here in 2003. He now runs Cupanion, a company whose reusable products are intended to help rid the world of plastic waste.

Or consider Dave Hallman, who completed studies across campus in agricultural engineering in 1992. His company, EarthBin Products, makes in-ground waste containers made of durable, recyclable plastic that are intended to help improve waste management. In a nice example of closing the loop, the company has installed 12 of the bins around Hallman’s alma mater.

Through graduating leaders of tomorrow and through leveraging our strengths in research, education and operations, U of G can build a more sustainable campus and help point the way to a more sustainable future, here and around the world.

Franco Vaccarino
President and Vice-Chancellor

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The movie is about the adaptability of the human spirit – a favourite theme of mine. We often fear the unknown, and still we are driven to explore, whether the journey takes us outward to Earth’s limits and beyond, or inward to the mind.

This issue of the Portico takes us outward and inward.

For many Canadians, the North helps define us as a country. “We the North,” say the Toronto Raptors – or, since a recent marketing shift, “North Over Everything.”

Viewed from Yellowknife, Iqaluit or northern Labrador, the GTA is hardly the North. Only a small percentage of Canadians can claim any real acquaintance with northern Canada.

But as a country, we claim Northern-ness as a vital part of who we are. That means that we also bear responsibility for the Canadian North.
From its environment to the heritage and well-being of its inhabitants, that part of our country is undergoing rapid change. How to protect and preserve the North? By understanding the causes and effects of those changes, and by finding ways to continue adapting to them.

That’s the goal of researchers and scholars whose varied projects are discussed in this Portico issue.

At the same time, our researchers are also exploring another kind of frontier: artificial intelligence.

Through machine learning, we aim to enable computers to learn in ways that mimic what humans do from birth.

Smarter machines are intended to improve life for humans and to help improve prospects for our growing planet – for instance, by enabling the kind of precision agriculture envisioned under U of G’s Food From Thought project and Arrell Food Institute.

Learning about machine brains also promises to tell us something about the nuances of our own complex, unpredictable and adaptable brains.

By understanding how machines think, we stand to learn more about the workings of the human mind – arguably the most important tool we have for meeting tomorrow’s challenges on this planet, or on any other.

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Ask Bonnie Mallard, a pathobiology professor in the Ontario Veterinary College and one of the principals in U of G’s Food From Thought project meant to feed a growing world in sustainable ways.

This year she won a Governor General’s Award for Innovation for developing a tool called High Immune Response technology that improves dairy cattle health while ensuring food safety and quality.

Her moment to shine at Ottawa’s Rideau Hall this past spring was well-deserved recognition of an advance that will transform our quality of life in Canada and abroad.

Before that moment, of course, came years’ worth of work involving numerous campus and external researchers. Bonnie herself has published more than 100 articles in peer-reviewed journals and spoken about her work hundreds of times at scienti c meetings.

Her example highlights a truism about research and innovation. While we tend to focus on the end result, it’s the process that matters more than the nal product or service.

At some point, Bonnie had a bright idea. But that spark also needed the fuel of excellence. That fuel is a blend including several key ingredients, as follows:

Discipline. Research calls for dedication, rigour, consistency and attention to methodology.

Perseverance. The “aha” moment normally arrives only after a lot of slogging and hard work.

Focus. Researchers need to maintain a laser focus on excellence.

Luck. Research involves serendipity. Researchers need to stay open to chance and be willing to follow detours.

Failure. We often regard failure as a bad thing. But accepting failure means you’re more willing to try things, to take risks and to nd the road to ultimate success.

Viewed this way, excellence becomes the process – a way of life, a way of thinking and doing. It’s the necessary fuel that, along with the spark of innovation, drives our researchers to Improve Life.

Franco Vaccarino
President and Vice-Chancellor

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But there’s something else humming through those endeavours.

From a laboratory on the main campus, to a classroom at the Ridgetown Campus, to the green atrium at the University of Guelph-Humber, look and listen closely, and you can sense a purposefulness. Learning and discovery matter both for their own sake and for their power to improve life in the wider world.

Making the world a better place is a central idea at the University of Guelph, one that shows not just in what we say but also in what we do. Across the disciplines here, we aim to improve life. By focusing on the whole student, we produce not just graduates but also engaged citizens.

In teaching and in research, we seek ways to engage with the wider community — whether that’s here in Guelph, elsewhere in Canada or around the world.

Our campus members explore the natural and physical sciences, touch hearts and mind through the arts, and integrate culture into study and learning.

We emphasize ethical and sustainable business practices, and we look to engineer solutions for the immediate and wider worlds. We aim to help feed a growing world in sustainable ways.

And we strive to nurture caring, interconnected campuses that value diversity and embrace inclusiveness.

At U of G, we look at life in all of its full and nuanced forms — truly the only way to make sense of our rapidly changing and ever more complex world.

Universities are among the few places in our world where we encourage opportunities for reflection and thoughtfulness, and where we can harness reflection and thought to help make that world a better place.

For faculty, staff and students on our campuses, and for our alumni and partners in other places, our underlying purpose is improving life. I invite you to explore this issue of the Portico to experience that sense of purpose for yourself.

Franco Vaccarino
President and Vice-Chancellor

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We live in a fast-changing world, one that often seems to value quick reaction over deep reflection. Who has time to slow down in a world where we measure time in tweet- and Instagram-sized chunks?

Certainly we all have to be more nimble and ready to take advantage of short-term opportunities. Like driving along a winding road, you need to follow the twists and turns from minute to minute. That’s reactive thinking, or adapting to the here and now.

But those kinds of opportunities aren’t the only ones that matter. Often the really important issues are bigger and more complex. Defying quick and easy solutions, big problems require us to think longer-term and in more strategic ways.

Reflective thinking rises above the here and now to consider not just what we’re doing but why. Is there a better road to your destination, one that will help you avoid all that white-knuckle steering in the first place?

Feeding our growing world is one of the grand challenges of our day. How will we provide enough food for the nine billion people expected to share this planet by mid-century, all while sustaining the planet’s ecosystems?

We can grow more food, but that’s only part of a much bigger and more complex answer. Relying only on growing more food is reactive thinking, like steering along that winding road.

Reflective thinking is transformative thinking. Finding better routes to our destination will involve transforming how we feed the world.

That’s the point of Food From Thought, a new long-term project at U of G funded by a $77-million investment from the federal government. I invite you to learn about this digital revolution in food and farming systems in this issue of the Portico.

Meeting this century’s pressing food challenge will take the creative efforts of many bright minds. Universities such as the University of Guelph are places where this kind of reflective thinking needs to happen.

It’s food for thought but, more importantly, Food From Thought.

Franco Vaccarino
President and Vice-Chancellor

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