Fall Message from Interim President and Vice-Chancellor

Dear members of the Carleton community,

Welcome back to another exciting and inspiring academic year. Fall has always been my favourite season on our beautiful campus: the leaves are starting to change colour, there’s a crispness in the air and, best of all, our students are back, bringing the energy and enthusiasm that reminds us why we’re all here.

I hope everyone is feeling refreshed and had an opportunity for downtime with family and friends over the summer. Some members of our community were busier than others, including the Carleton alumni who were part of Canada’s record-setting performance at the Olympics in Paris and three members of the Carleton family who were appointed to the Order of Canada for their leadership in public policy, finance and technology. Congratulations to these outstanding individuals for this well-deserved recognition and for making our country proud.

So much has happened since the winter term! In May, Carleton hosted business, government, academic and community leaders on campus for important conversations about climate change at the Carleton Challenge Conference. And Carleton researchers were active over the summer, working on projects to address some of the world’s great challenges. Three faculty members recently received significant support from the federal government’s New Frontiers in Research Fund to support multidisciplinary research exploring how gut microbes can break down “forever chemicals” in the environment, tracing the earliest signatures of life on Earth, and foregrounding the voices of the precariously housed for equitable climate adaptation.

Our campus itself continues to evolve. You may have noticed that work has begun at our main gateways, with new signs coming by October. There’s a stunning new pedestrian and cycling bridge over the Rideau River beside the O-Train bridge, which we hope to be back in service soon! Construction to renew the quad and south-east staircase is underway, as is demolition of the P9 parking garage. And stay tuned, as well, for a refresh of the university’s homepage, with updated brand elements and new capabilities.

Renewal is also underway on Carleton’s Board of Governors, where a new chair, Beth Creary, succeeded Greg Farrell on July 1. I’d like to thank Beth for taking on this new role, one she is very well suited for after a long and successful career in law and business, and to thank Greg for his years of exemplary service and leadership.

There’s a lot to look forward to this autumn, including orientation activities for our first-year students, varsity team games such as the annual Panda Game against the University of Ottawa’s football team on Sunday, Oct. 6, and Fall Convocation on Saturday, Nov. 9, a chance to celebrate our next class of graduates.

In closing, I’d like to wish everyone well as we settle into classes and our fall term routines and continue our mission to challenge what’s possible and make the world a better place through teaching, learning and research.

Sincerely,

Jerry

Jerry Tomberlin
Interim President and Vice-Chancellor
Office of the President