{"id":48548,"date":"2018-07-23T13:58:58","date_gmt":"2018-07-23T17:58:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsroom.carleton.ca\/?post_type=cu_story&p=48548"},"modified":"2025-10-17T16:37:26","modified_gmt":"2025-10-17T20:37:26","slug":"resilience-purpose-and-gratitude","status":"publish","type":"cu_story","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/story\/resilience-purpose-and-gratitude\/","title":{"rendered":"Resilience, Purpose and Gratitude"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n
\n\n \n \n \n \n
\n\n
<\/div>\n \n
\n
\n\n

\n Resilience, Purpose and Gratitude\n <\/h1>\n \n <\/header>\n <\/div>\n\n \n <\/path>\n <\/path>\n <\/svg>\n <\/div>\n\n \n\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n

On July 1, Benoit-Antoine Bacon began his five-year term as the 15th<\/sup> President and Vice-Chancellor<\/a> of Carleton University. Bacon brings a depth of experience to the role, having previously served as Provost and Vice-Principal (Academic) at Queen\u2019s University and Provost and Vice-President (Academic Affairs) at Concordia University, as well as Dean of Arts and Science and Chief Negotiator for the association of professors at Bishop\u2019s University. He completed his PhD at the University of Montreal, in his hometown, studying the neurophysiology of visual perception. Bacon\u2019s work in neuroscience gives him \u201cunder-the-hood\u201d insight into the inner workings of the human brain and informs his approach to leadership. \u201cIt is so important,\u201d he says, \u201cto see reality as it really is, and not the way it should be or the way you would wish it to be. Only on that basis can you start to bring about positive and lasting change.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

\"Welcome<\/figure>\n\n\n

What are your first impressions of Carleton, the campus and the culture?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a beautiful campus. Until now, I hadn\u2019t had the chance to walk along the canal and the river to feel their power and beauty. These things matter \u2014 places have power. Carleton gets the balance between the crazy bustle of a downtown campus and the more contemplative feel of a liberal arts college in a small town. You have energy, you have action, you have vibrancy, but you also have space to think.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It feels to me like there\u2019s a realness<\/em> to the campus as well. There\u2019s a community feel, for sure, but a community where you have space to be yourself. It doesn\u2019t feel like a community that would pressure you to conform. I\u2019ve been talking to people on campus and the same values about Carleton come up repeatedly, and these are values that resonate with me: resilience, purpose, sense of community, caring. Everyone I\u2019ve met has been quick to offer help. They\u2019ve been warm and welcoming, but at the same time, respectful of the need for a newcomer to take things one step at a time and to make up my own mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What about the opportunity to serve as president at Carleton attracted you?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a combination of values and possibilities. The chance to join a university that has such a solid foundation, strong purpose and also possibilities to soar … I couldn\u2019t resist exploring it. I wasn\u2019t really looking for a job; I had a good job at Queen\u2019s. But I am convinced that Carleton is the kind of university that\u2019s really going to thrive from now into the middle of the 21st century \u2014 it\u2019s of considerable size without being overly large, it\u2019s young enough to have flexibility and the courage to try new things, it cares deeply about students, it wants to do research that matters, and it\u2019s connected locally but has international ambitions. That was irresistible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What we want to do exactly with these opportunities is something we\u2019re going to have to figure out together as a community, both informally over the course of the year and in time more formally as part of a strategic planning process. The current Strategic Integrated Plan is coming to an end, so we\u2019ll want to bring the community together to renew that plan and map out a future for the next 5 to 10 years. In other words, what are the opportunities and how are we going to seize them? If we get this right, we\u2019ll lay the path for further success at all levels, including financially \u2014 which is always important, to make sure you have the means to fund your aspirations \u2014 but especially our impact on students, on society and in the wider world.<\/p>\n\n\n

\"Resilience,<\/figure>\n\n\n

At Carleton, we talk about the university\u2019s \u201ccapital advantage\u201d \u2014 the distinct benefits of being based in Canada\u2019s capital. What are your thoughts on this idea?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re located in a city that matters, both nationally and internationally. There\u2019s not only one way to matter, but to be a national capital is certainly an advantage \u2014 to have the federal government right here, to have all the embassies right here, to have all the national organizations, including research organizations, right here. This should be exciting for students, this should be exciting for faculty, and we should always be thinking about how to leverage this advantage. Suppose you\u2019re a university that\u2019s on the seacoast \u2014 it would be absurd not to take advantage of the sea, to seriously get into that kind of research. You need to leverage your habitat. Our capital advantage is the ability to leverage all those organizations, all those levels of government, all the institutions that are here \u2014 to bring them to campus, reach out to them, partner with them. That\u2019s incredibly powerful for our students and faculty here on campus, and can also help us develop connections and partnerships globally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We also talk about \u201cHere for Good,\u201d the theme of our fundraising campaign and the university\u2019s mission to contribute to the greater good of society. What are your reflections on this phrase?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are two intertwined meanings for me in this beautiful little phrase. The people I\u2019ve spoken to so far emphasize what I think of as the second meaning: we\u2019re here to do good, to promote good, to bring our planet closer to heaven in the metaphorical sense, and I think that\u2019s important. Our pursuit of social, economic and the common good speaks to our research impact and involvement with the community, to Carleton being a force for good in Ontario, Canada and beyond. This is excellent. We\u2019re here for purpose<\/em>, for impact<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s another value that I think precedes this: when you say you are here for good, it\u2019s a statement of resilience, it\u2019s a statement about standing your ground. I perceive Carleton as a resilient place. Resiliency is a quality we need to foster in our students. They\u2019re going to face a very uncertain future. If you have resilience, you can successfully face the challenges that come your way. Rather than crush you, they will build your strength, they\u2019ll led you to reason and they\u2019ll lead you to purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s what \u201cHere for Good\u201d means to me. Resilience and purpose. And that is so important because it\u2019s the path to gratitude, to meaning and to joy.<\/p>\n\n\n

\"Resilience,<\/figure>\n\n\n

What challenges do you see on the horizon?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Life is hard and there will be always challenges to individuals, to institutions, to societies and now to the planet. This is a stressful time at all these levels. You can see it in the incidence of mental health and addiction issues, in the rising mistrust in institutions, and of course in climate change and the tensions of living together in a global world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The university can help meet challenges at all these levels and can be part of the solution, but we need to recognize that our sector itself has entered a time of rapid disruption. It will be a very challenging decade ahead. It will require adaptation. People expect more and more from universities and, for a number of reasons, for lack of a better term, the \u201cbusiness models\u201d that have prevailed for 100 years are under threat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other industries based on the delivery of content, like we are to a degree, notably the media and the music industry, have faced severe disruption and have only partially adapted. If you had said to a number of media executives back in 1989, \u201cYou are under severe threat, there\u2019s something called the internet that\u2019s only five years away,\u201d they would\u2019ve laughed you out of the room. The coming together of technology and globalization changes the landscape: anyone in the world can get course material delivered to them from anywhere in the world. The good news is that this disruption will bring opportunities as well for those that can anticipate, prepare and seize them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019ve got to keep your eyes open, see reality as it is and try new things to be able to adapt to new realities before it\u2019s too late.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What \u2014 and who \u2014 are on your mind as we head toward the fall semester and the new academic year?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I want to thank Alastair Summerlee, who stepped up and took on a challenging one-year interim presidency. He set the table for me in a number of ways and was very generous during the transition. I\u2019d like to thank the members of the hiring committee for their courage in selecting me and for their trust. And I\u2019d like to thank Nik Nanos, the new chair of Carleton\u2019s Board of Governors, for his support and for our partnership \u2014 and I\u2019d also like to thank all the people I\u2019ve met so far for their guidance, advice and warm welcome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m grateful to be here and very much looking forward to the fall. I\u2019m using the summer to get ready for all the conversations I\u2019ll be having with people from all corners of the Carleton community, so we don\u2019t have to start from scratch! I want to gather as much information as I can to understand this wonderful place as much as I can. I don\u2019t want to have any preconceived ideas of what needs to be done, so come the fall there will be tremendous opportunity to engage with the community, to meet people, to get ideas and advice and to set the course together towards a shared vision.<\/p>\n\n\n

\"Resilience,<\/figure>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On July 1, Benoit-Antoine Bacon began his five-year term as the 15th President and Vice-Chancellor of Carleton University. Bacon brings a depth of experience to the role, having previously served as Provost and Vice-Principal (Academic) at Queen\u2019s University and Provost and Vice-President (Academic Affairs) at Concordia University, as well as Dean of Arts and Science […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":410,"featured_media":48577,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"cu_story_type":[28],"cu_story_tag":[],"class_list":["post-48548","cu_story","type-cu_story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","cu_story_type-community-partnerships"],"acf":{"cu_post_thumbnail":"blueprint"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/48548","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/cu_story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/410"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/48548\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":98537,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/48548\/revisions\/98537"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48577"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48548"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"cu_story_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story_type?post=48548"},{"taxonomy":"cu_story_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story_tag?post=48548"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}