Great things are happening at our university – but some things need work.

That’s the overall message the university community has for the strategic planning facilitation team.

Over the past three months, the team has engaged in a highly participatory consultation process to build Memorial’s 2021-26 Strategic Plan.

More than 1,000 university students, faculty, staff and alumni offered their opinions. Almost 60 consultation sessions were held and more than 200 survey responses were submitted. This resulted in thousands of insights, ideas, suggestions, priorities and concerns.

What We Heard

These insights are now available in the What We Heard document and the team is once again engaging the university community.

“We are excited to share our reflections and insights with you now,” said Dr. Ian Sutherland, co-lead of the strategic planning team. “Our ask is that you dig into this document and let us know what we got right, what we missed, what we got wrong and what needs to be improved.”

Consultations have shown the community to be fundamentally optimistic and hopeful. There is a vision of Memorial as the beating heart of an economically prosperous, socially resilient, culturally vibrant and inclusive province.

At the same time, the university community has offered a pause for reflection, identifying critical external and internal challenges.

“We have experienced first-hand your passion, commitment and dedication to our place and our university,” said Emily Wooley, co-lead. “It has been humbling and a true honour to connect with you all and hear your aspirations for our future. We hope you take the time to read about what we heard and provide us feedback to help us make this plan meaningful and impactful for us all.”

Comments can be sent using an online feedback form until Feb. 10, 2021.