President’s Report to the Board of Governors (April 2019)

Click here to view a PDF version of the report.

Celebrating a $300 Million Campaign!

We can all take pride! On Feb. 11, 2019, Carleton officially surpassed the $300-million goal of the Collaborate Campaign. As of April 5, the campaign total was $307,804,432. This total continued to increase until the final Campaign Celebration event on Wednesday, April 17.

Carleton received gifts from 27,973 donors from throughout the community — alumni, parents, faculty, staff, students and the general public.

More than 1,800 alumni and community volunteers participated in campaign activities, including events, fundraising initiatives, mentorship and more. Approximately 25 percent of full-time continuing employees gave to Carleton over the course of the campaign.

The “Here for Good” Collaborate Campaign raised a total of $307,804,432

Donors established 404 new scholarships and bursaries and contributed more than $3.5 million in philanthropic funds for research projects.

More than $17 million of the campaign total was raised through annual giving (gifts under $10,000). This includes most gifts to FutureFunder projects, Giving Tuesday contributions, direct mail response and gifts made through the student-staffed phone program. Of the campaign total, more than $67 million had been pledged through planned and estate giving.

Crowdfunding was a significant component of the campaign strategy. Through the award-winning FutureFunder platform (and accompanying Giving Tuesday campaigns), students, faculty, staff and alumni were able to lead fundraising initiatives for personal and specific projects. Over the course of the campaign, more than 191 FutureFunder projects launched.

Celebrating the successful conclusion of the Collaborate Campaign in Richcraft Hall on April 17

Much crowdfunding was focused around Giving Tuesday — an enormously successful initiative for Carleton. In 2013 (year one), crowdfunding raised $48,000 (with matching) in 24 hours; in 2018, the total was more than $1.2 million (with matching).

To maximize impact, Carleton announced that the campaign goal had been surpassed in a staggered fashion, starting with internal announcements on Feb. 11. On Feb. 12, President Benoit-Antoine Bacon announced the news to attendees of the Mayor’s Breakfast and a news release was posted on the Carleton homepage. Chief advancement officer Jennifer Conley was interviewed on CBC’s All in a Day broadcast.

On Feb. 14, Advancement organized an on-campus awareness initiative and social media campaign. The Ottawa Ice Carvers’ Society created three ice sculptures with the campaign’s “Here for Good” logo and other subjects.

The Ottawa Ice Carvers’ Society “Here for Good” sculpture

A weekly “Thank You Thursday” initiative published online stories detailing specific campaign outcomes and accomplishments. The stories were linked through the Top 5 email newsletter and promoted through social media.

Throughout February, March and April, news was shared with individual donors, alumni and community groups at targeted events, luncheons and meetings.

On March 28, Advancement hosted a campus celebration for faculty, staff and students, who visited a showcase of community-led FutureFunder campaigns.

The final Campaign Celebration was held on April 17. Donors, the university community, alumni and other external partners were invited to Richcraft Hall to learn about campaign achievements, read stories of top campaign champions, and network with other supporters. Further public promotion (advertising, media) will follow.

Chief advancement officer Jennifer Conley and President Benoit-Antoine Bacon

Reputational and Community Highlights

Minister McKenna Highlights Support for Sustainability

Catherine McKenna, Canada’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change and the MP for Ottawa Centre, the riding that Carleton is located in, came to campus on April 5 to announce nearly $400,000 in funding for three energy efficiency and climate change projects, and to highlight federal government support for energy efficiency and climate change adaptation. President Bacon, who introduced the minister, talked about Carleton’s leadership on the sustainability front, including infrastructure improvements, research and experiential learning opportunities for students.

President Bacon and Catherine McKenna, Canada’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change

Celebration of Life for Pius Adesanmi

Family, friends, Carleton faculty and members of Ottawa’s African diplomatic community praised Prof. Pius Adesanmi through tributes, poetry, drumming and singing at a celebration of life at the Carleton Dominion-Chalmers Centre on March 26. Adesanmi, who died in a plane crash in Ethiopia on March 10, was director of Carleton’s Institute of African Studies. “You must know that where I come from in Africa, death is no finality,” graduate student Kagiso Lesego Molope said at the memorial, quoting from Adesanmi’s book You’re Not a Country, Africa. “I merely transitioned to ancestorhood in the worldview of my people.”

FPA Dean André Plourde speaking at the celebration of life for Prof. Pius Adesanmi

Minister Cho Celebrates Accessibility at Carleton

Raymond Cho, Ontario’s Minister for Seniors and Accessibility, delivered keynote remarks in the University Centre galleria on April 1 at a celebration honouring the more than 1,800 students who volunteer at Carleton’s Paul Menton Centre for Students with Disabilities. After calling Carleton “Canada’s number one accessible university,” Minister Cho praised the dozens of volunteers in attendance. “You can change the world,” he said. “Each one of you, you have unlimited potential. We need you to help change the world for the better.”

Raymond Cho, Ontario’s Minister for Seniors and Accessibility, and his wife, Soon Ok, flanked by Carleton officials

Big Interest in Big Data

Data Day 6.0 — the sixth annual conference at Carleton designed to promote collaboration and celebrate the latest development in data science and analytics research — drew record attendance on March 26. Speakers included Anil Arora, Canada’s Chief Statistician, and President Bacon, who co-signed a memorandum of understanding to certify an already longstanding partnership between the university and Statistics Canada. “Business and government are all looking for top data scientists,” said President Bacon, “and at Carleton we’re addressing that skill shortage by developing courses and programs that fit that gap, so that our graduates are particularly well-trained in that crucial area.”

President Bacon and Anil Arora, Canada’s Chief Statistician, co-sign a partnership MOU

Partnering with the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra at Dominion-Chalmers

An Ottawa Symphony Orchestra (OSO) concert at the Carleton Dominion-Chalmers Centre on April 1 — the OSO’s first in the facility — celebrated a new partnership between Carleton and the orchestra that will lead to experiential learning and development opportunities for Carleton students by way of internships, placements and hands-on experiences. “It’s our utmost privilege to host the orchestra on our beautifully renovated stage this evening,” President Bacon said before the performance. “Working together will further enhance arts, culture and learning in the city, enriching both its cultural fabric and the lives of all citizens.” On that occasion, it was also announced that Mara Brown has been named director of the Carleton Dominion-Chalmers Centre, effective April 15. Brown joins Carleton with an impressive professional track record, having most recently worked as the senior operations manager for Toronto’s Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Chamber Choir.

The Ottawa Symphony Orchestra performs at the Carleton Dominion-Chalmers Centre on April 1

FPA Research Month

From Feb. 24 to March 24, the Faculty of Public Affairs hosted FPA Research Month. The month included a series of public lectures, research symposia and panel discussions. Highlights included a lecture by Carleton’s Chancellor and former Treasury Board Secretary Yaprak Baltacioğlu and the Dick, Ruth and Judy Bell Lecture with Senator Kim Pate.

Carleton Chancellor Yaprak Baltacioğlu

Reducing the Stigma of Substance Abuse

Words matter, and the media play a powerful role in shaping perceptions, a group of panelists agreed during a discussion at Carleton on March 21 about the impact of stigma on Canada’s opioid crisis. Organized by Health Canada, the panel featured: Dr. Supriya Sharma, the senior medical advisor to the deputy minister of Health Canada; Carleton Sociology master’s student Charlotte Smith; Rob Boyd, Oasis Program director at the Sandy Hill Community Centre, home to Ottawa’s first permanent supervised safe injection site; and Ottawa Deputy Police Chief Uday Singh Jaswal. It was introduced by President Bacon and moderated by Prof. Sarah Everts, Carleton’s CTV Chair in Digital Science Journalism.

Panelists from a Health Canada event focused on the impact of stigma on Canada’s opioid crisis

Celebrating Outstanding Women Faculty on International Women’s Day

A balanced world is a better world, and celebrating the achievements of women is a step toward a more gender-balanced world. That’s one of the messages shared on the website of International Women’s Day, which is held annually on March 8 and was marked at Carleton with a homepage article highlighting the work and accomplishments of 10 outstanding women faculty members, a small cross-section of the hundreds of women whose research, teaching and leadership contribute to the campus and community year-round.

Left to right: Shireen Hassim, Carmen Robertson, Luciara Nardon, Angela Dionisi

An Ongoing Basketball Dynasty

After leading the Carleton Ravens men’s basketball team to 14 national championships over the last 17 seasons, including this year’s title, Dave Smart has accepted the position of Director, Basketball Operations at Carleton and will be responsible for developing both the men’s and women’s basketball programs and continuing to build a culture of sport excellence. Taffe Charles, who led the Ravens women’s basketball team to its first national title in 2018, will take over head coaching responsibilities for the men’s team. The university has launched a national search for a new head coach for the women’s basketball program.

Dave Smart and Taffe Charles

2019 Reputation Research Report

The first comprehensive study of public perceptions of Carleton in more than a decade is under way. The main goal of the project is to collect data from a variety of sources that will inform the renewal of the university’s Strategic Integrated Plan. The data will also be the basis of an examination of Carleton’s brand in 2019 and beyond. The Strategic Counsel, one of Canada’s leading market-research firms, has held a series of interviews and focus groups with internal stakeholders. Next steps include interviews with opinion leaders from all three levels of government, post-secondary leaders, local business representatives, Ottawa-area school board guidance counsellors and external consultants.

Academics

New programs

Three new graduate programs in the School of Linguistics and Language Studies have been approved by Carleton’s Quality Council and are currently under review by Ontario’s Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities: an MA in Linguistics, a concurrent (Type 2) Graduate Diploma in Linguistics, and a PhD in Linguistics, Language Documentation and Revitalization. The new programs will reflect the evolution of linguistics from a theoretical model of linguistic knowledge to an interdisciplinary field concerned with language in cognitive and social domains.

An innovative interdisciplinary Master of Arts and graduate diploma in Migration and Diaspora Studies has also been approved. This will be the first program in Canada to combine Migration Studies and Diaspora Studies in one master’s degree program, and one of the few internationally to do so. Carleton’s Migration and Diaspora Studies Initiative focuses on the social, economic, cultural and political implications of the movement and transnational settlement of people.

Experiential Learning Fund

Launched by the Office of the Provost and Vice-President (Academic) in October 2018, the $50,000 Carleton University Experiential Learning Fund provides faculty, instructors and learning support staff with financial support to integrate experiential learning components into academic courses or programs at Carleton. In February 2019, seven faculty were awarded funding to develop or enhance course or program level initiatives with experiential learning components.

For example: Profs. Matthew Sorley, Cheryl Harasymchuk and Anne Bowker (Psychology) are developing experiential learning modules that can be integrated into any first-year seminar offered by the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences; Prof. Julia Wallace (Physics) is introducing a new experiential learning component to her third-year modern physics course, where students will undertake a six-hour hands-on experiential learning activity at the Ionizing Radiation Standards Lab of the National Research Council in Ottawa; Prof. Melissa Frankel (Philosophy) is developing a new fourth-year seminar where students will consider the philosophy of education and survey specific approaches for teaching philosophy with various age groups. Students will then lead philosophical discussions with students at a local elementary school.

Courage, Curiosity, Teapots and Snakes: Stories of Teaching at Carleton University is a collection of 67 short stories of teaching and learning from the perspective of Carleton’s faculty members, contract instructors and teaching staff. The book was launched in February 2019 and is available for sale through the Carleton Bookstore.

Patrick Lyons, Carleton’s director of Teaching and Learning Services, speaks at the launch of Courage, Curiosity, Teapots and Snakes

Students Zeinab Fashwal and Elle Reid speak at the launch of Courage, Curiosity, Teapots and Snakes

Carleton is undertaking a formal review of Carleton’s Learning Management System (cuLearn) and ecosystem of educational technology tools to determine how to best meet the both current and future teaching and learning needs of the institution. This review includes substantial consultation with stakeholders, including students, faculty, contract instructors, teaching assistants and staff members.

The Carleton University Achievement Awards recipients were announced in February 2019:

• Teaching Achievement Award: Jeff Dawson and Andy Adler, Cheryl Harasymchuk, Kahente Horn-Miller, Michael Windover and Peter Coffman, Benjamin Woo
• Professional Achievement Award: Martha Attridge Bufton, Erika Banski, Robert Collier, Erica Fraser, Kim Hellemans, Marylynn Steckley, Nigel Waltho
• Contract Instructor Teaching Award: Robert Helal, Gerardo Kanter, Tiffany MacLellan, Zahra Montazeri, Hugh Reid
• Contract Instructor Teaching Innovation Grant: Milica Stojmenovic
• Research Achievement Award: Peter Andrée, Onita Basu, Mark Boulay, Sarah Casteel, Robert Coplan, Angela Dionisi, Burak Gunay, Rowan Thomson, Matt Webb, Alex Wong

Research and Innovation

Multidisciplinary Research Catalyst Fund

Carleton has strong research core strength in discipline-based areas such as Particle Physics, Public Policy, Aerospace and Forensic Psychology. Perhaps even more importantly, Carleton also has extraordinary research strength distributed across multiple faculties. For example, researchers from all five faculties work on “Big Data” applied to their own disciplines. As granting agencies are initiating new programs to support multidisciplinary research (e.g., the New Frontiers in Research Fund), Carleton must capitalize on these multidisciplinary strengths.

Vice-President (Research and International) Rafik Goubran

To be ready for these new external funding opportunities, to encourage Carleton researchers to collaborate, and to ensure that the university promotes its multidisciplinary research, the Office of the Vice-President (Research and International) has launched an internal competition: The Multidisciplinary Research Catalyst Fund. This initiative provides resources and support to enable multidisciplinary research teams to achieve a demonstrable increase in research impacts that go beyond individual researchers. These multidisciplinary research teams address important challenges that society faces and have a potential to achieve transformative outcomes in terms of impact on society, potential to generate economic development, and benefit to Canada.

Carleton received 31 applications for the program from all faculties. The calibre of the proposals was inspirational and demonstrate the strength of the university’s research collaborations. Of the 31 applications, 10 will be funded at the full amount of $50,000 and a further nine applications will receive partial funding to initiate some of their proposed activities. The funded proposals are in the areas of accessibility, workplaces of the future, migration policy, connected autonomous vehicles, digital tools for global endangered languages, urban futures, a carbon-free future, the economic future of work and labour transitions, aging autonomy, and future telecommunications.

Left to right: Prof. Steven Cooke, Prof. Halim Yanikomeroglu, Prof. Peter Liu

An interdisciplinary group of Carleton researchers has received $1,100,000 from the Foundations for Innovation Program of the International Development Research Centre. The group is led by Bjarki Hallgrimsson, director of the School of Industrial Design, and Dominique Marshall, chair of the Department of History. It will manage and co-ordinate calls for gender inclusive technological design in science, technology, engineering, arts and math projects in low- and middleincome countries.

Richard Ernst, a Scientist-in-Residence in Carleton’s Department of Earth Sciences, has received $600,000 from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada as part of the Collaborative Research and
Development grants for his research on huge volcanic events. This funding is in addition to the $300,000 Ernst has received from three sponsors: Anglo American/De Beers, First Quantum Minerals and Rio Tinto.

In January, Engineering Prof. Halim Yanikomeroglu was named as a fellow of the Engineering Institute of Canada to honour a lifetime of dedication and contributions to engineering in Canada. Yanikomeroglu is an internationally renowned expert in wireless communications. In 2018, he received the IEEE Communications Society Wireless Communications Technical Committee Recognition Award, and in 2017 he was named as a Fellow of the IEEE.

Engineering Prof. Peter Liu was recognized as an IEEE Fellow for his contributions to system identification and networked teleoperation. The IEEE Fellow is a distinction reserved for select members who display “an extraordinary record of accomplishments in any of the IEEE fields of interest.”

Carleton researchers Joseph Bennett and Steven Cooke are leading a partnership with Environment and Climate Change Canada on a new initiative to tackle the global biodiversity crisis. The collaboration will develop techniques to better characterize interacting threats, and will explore the benefits of data sharing and synthesis to help improve biodiversity conservation.

Associate Vice-President (Teaching and Learning) David Hornsby was elected Vice-President of the International Studies Association’s governing council for 2020-2021.

Associate Vice-President (Teaching and Learning) David Hornsby

New Buildings and Infrastructure

Several major construction projects at Carleton will wrap up in 2019-2020. Once completed, these buildings will enhance the university’s ability to attract world-class researchers, form strategic third-party partnerships, offer a state-of-the-art business school and have upgraded infrastructure in place to handle the additional energy demands on the campus heating plant. Capital projects totalling $212.8 million are currently under way.

Health Sciences Building

Occupancy of this spectacular $52-million research and teaching facility took place in December 2017, with floors one, two, three and five completed. The vivarium on the seventh floor is now 99 percent complete, with certification expected shortly and occupancy planned for fall 2019 The fit-up of floors four and six is ongoing as the original design left these two floors unfinished to allow for future program growth. Project completion is scheduled for summer 2019.

Advanced Research and Innovation in Smart Environments (ARISE) Building

The ARISE Building was substantially completed in November 2018. Phase 2 is now underway and includes the fit-up of the facility at a cost of $8.5 million to be completed in summer of 2019. Future occupancy will support strategic priorities regarding research and economic development in the fields of Clean Technology, Health Technology, and Information and Communication Technology.

Co-generation Facility

Construction of this $25-million project ($5 million was funded through an Ottawa Hydro incentive program) better equips Carleton for the building growth on campus that has resulted in increased burdens on the existing steam plant and electrical service capacities of the heating plant. This project expands the heating plant to accommodate the installation of a combined heat and power (co-generation) system to support increasing needs in the most economical manner. Completion is expected in fall 2019.

Nicol Building (Sprott School of Business)

The work on the $65.1-million Nicol Building is progressing as per the approved schedule, with anticipated completion in fall 2020. In early April 2019, the third-floor slab was poured. The 100,000-square-foot building will include public assembly space, electronic and interactive classrooms of various sizes, student resource rooms, office space, space for entrepreneurial programming and shell space to accommodate future program growth. This project is funded, in part, from a $10-million donation from the Nicol family. This facility represents a unique opportunity for the Sprott School of Business to enhance its visibility and brand.

Sexual Violence Education, Prevention and Response

Since January 2018, more than 5,000 members of the campus community received sexual violence response training, including specialized training for varsity athletes, Campus Safety Services officers and Fall Orientation leaders. This training encompassed more than 125 hours of workshops and brings the total number of trained members of the Carleton community to 8,000 since August 2017.

Carleton equity advisor Bailey Reid (far right) speaks at the opening of the Equity Services office

Carleton continue to enhance its communications regarding the education and prevention of sexual violence. Equity Services maintains a stand-alone website outlining sexual violence support and sexual assault services (carleton.ca/sexual-violence-support). Information regarding sexual violence support, including how to disclose an experience of sexual violence in both an emergency and a non-emergency situation, is highlighted on the Current Student website, the MyCarleton Portal and in the Carleton Mobile app.

In order to educate Carleton’s community about supporting survivors of sexual violence, the OVPSE and Equity Services have developed, and continue to develop, print and online collateral for faculty, staff and students with input from the Sexual Violence Prevention and Education Committee. In September 2018, all faculty and staff received the Responding to Disclosures of Sexual Violence reference document as part of the Supporting our Students package, which includes advice on how to handle a disclosure of sexual violence, as well as information and resources for survivors. This was also provided to all faculty and staff when it was first created in January 2018 and is used in all Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Training sessions.

In April 2019, the Sexual Violence Prevention and Education Committee (SVPEC) will be tasked with implementing the Campus Sexual Violence Prevention Strategy. Many of the feedback items identified throughout the extensive consultation and review of Carleton’s Sexual Violence Policy over the past nine months were used in the creation of this strategy, which is a living document.

Carleton remains committed to maintaining a positive learning, working and living environment where sexual violence is not tolerated. The university encourages all students, staff and faculty who experience any form of sexual violence to contact the Carleton Sexual Assault Support Centre at (613) 520-5622 or by visiting the office in room 3800 CTTC Building.

As part of a recent government announcement on March 19, 2019, Minister Fullerton unveiled four immediate actions for universities to undertake to protect students and address the serious issue of sexual violence affecting post-secondary students. These elements, including a review of the sexual violence policy and annual reporting to the Board of Governors, are already in place at Carleton. The university also established a Sexual Violence Prevention and Education Committee (SVPEC) with a task force mandate to create a campus atmosphere in which sexual violence is not tolerated. Carleton looks forward to using the announced increase of investment in the Women’s Campus Safety Grant to provide additional intersectional, innovative and individualized supports for everyone on campus.

Enrolment and Recruitment Update

Ontario Statistics

Close to 2,600 prospective students and their families participated in March Break Open House events and campus tours this year. Carleton is currently planning its Spring Open House on May 11, 2019 for students who have received offers of admission. The Spring Open House will feature the student experience and student services.

Recruitment officers visited 12 college campuses in the winter term to meet with prospective students currently studying in Ontario colleges. New this year, Carleton offered two online live chat sessions with prospective college students on Feb. 25 and 28, 2019, coinciding with winter breaks at Ontario colleges.

Recruitment officers will be visiting multiple cities in California, Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Virginia and Vermont throughout April. They will also be participating in an International Education Fair in Vancouver.

Carleton will host the Ontario Universities’ Guidance Dialogues on May 3, 2019. Guidance counsellors from across Ontario will visit campus to meet with undergraduate recruitment representatives from all of the Ontario universities.