The purpose of higher education is perhaps more important now than ever. The pursuit of knowledge production, mobilization, and consumption is a response to the complex issues of our time and necessitates a need for citizen scholars—those who embrace knowledge and its power to do good. In this realm, universities have a critical role to play in stepping up to a social mission of creating and fostering spaces for academic discovery and knowledge creation, preservation, and sharing.
In this moment, Carleton is well-positioned to articulate a refreshed and invigorated academic and research mission. This Academic Plan is a response to the university’s Strategic Integrated Plan (SIP) and its call for specific strategies and plans that will allow us to attain our goals and to continually reach higher. The SIP’s strategic directions of Share Knowledge, Shape the Future; Serve Ottawa, Serve the World; and Strive for Wellness, Strive for Sustainability provide foundational premises upon which the Academic Plan is structured. The first of these directions in particular focuses on the university’s core mission—teaching and learning; research; the student experience; and organizational excellence.
We recognize that teaching and research are interconnected at the post-secondary education level: research informs teaching, while teaching brings insight to research for students, researchers, and professors. Over the past four years, Carleton’s externally sponsored research funding has increased significantly across all disiplines, reaching an all-time high in the most recent year. Our commitment to collaboration and multi-disciplinarity in research has positioned us well to support this growth and to take national leadership in areas of strategic local, national, and international importance.
Today’s knowledge production is infused in our classrooms and, in turn, becomes the next generation’s teachings. Knowing that the worlds of research, teaching, and learning are irrevocably intertwined, this academic plan addresses these components in interconnected ways.
Our pedagogical and research activities are underpinned by fostering a culture of innovation and a strong network of supports that are integral to the experience for members of the Carleton community.
These foundational supports help to create a Carleton experience in which students, faculty, and staff are welcomed and respected, and encouraged to reach for what is beyond an easy grasp. This challenge will lead to true learning and to the innovative research that strengthens our mission as a university.
While this Academic Plan is an extension of Carleton’s SIP, it is also meant to be further developed and implemented in tandem with the Kinàmàgawin Indigenous Strategy; the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan; and other plans and strategies that constitute Carleton’s overarching approach to academic excellence. In addition, there is overlap between some statements, meaning that some strategic initiatives and actions will serve to meet several objectives at once.
As you read this plan, we invite you to consider ways in which you can collaborate with colleagues, departments and Faculties to contribute to the objectives articulated in this document.
Sincerely,
Jerry Tomberlin
Provost and Vice-President (Academic)
Rafik Goubran
Vice-President (Research and International)