Program Review

We are determined to ensure that the University offers programs that are competitive by national and international standards. To that end, we have introduced an extremely rigorous system of program review.

Beginning with programs in Agriculture, and Pharmacy and Nutrition, we have embarked upon the systematic review of all of our graduate and undergraduate programs. This initiative is a critical part of our accountability agenda and a necessary step in the renewal of the University. With the help of external reviewers drawn from across Canada, the United States and beyond, we will evaluate our programs against the standards of the best in the world.

Building on Strength

The second element of our academic agenda is our determination to identify priorities and to build on strength.

Each college has now submitted a college plan outlining priorities and identifying how new appointments will further these priority areas. At the University level, we have identified two new areas for emphasis.

First, a new program in biomolecular structures will offer students an opportunity to better combine the study of the physical and biological sciences in the context of an examination of protein structure. This initiative will involve building the kind of expertise that is in keeping with the construction on our campus of the Canadian Light Source synchrotron. This is the nation's largest science project, and we intend to see the University of Saskatchewan become a leader in scientific discovery that draws upon synchrotron research.

[The residents of this city and province will know that the Canadian Light Source is now under construction. I am pleased to report to you that the construction phase is both on time and on budget. The steel framework of the building can be seen across the city. More than $26 million of the $37 million in procurement contracts let to date have gone to Saskatchewan companies. The project recently received $9.4 million from the Ontario government and other provinces are expected to follow soon with more investment.]

Biotechnology

We have also identified biotechnology as one of our priorities. We have created a virtual college of biotechnology led by the Dean of Graduate Studies and Research, and it is our intention to be a world leader in the study of agricultural biotechnology. One of the most exciting features of this study is its interdisciplinary character. The science of biotechnology, the social science and the ethics of biotechnology will all be studied in our new virtual college.

New Tenure and Promotion Standards

Another area of emphasis in our plan for academic renewal is that of academic standards. For the past several years, committees inside the University responsible for making tenure and promotion recommendations have suggested that we revisit our standards. Committees of Council have also urged that we change our standards to better reflect our academic goals, especially those of research intensiveness and the fostering of the teacher-scholar model.

This spring the University Review Committee tabled a proposed set of new standards that will identify clearly our expectations in the areas of research, teaching and service. These standards are being carefully examined inside the University and will be the subject of further review and discussion. Our goal is to have a set of standards that is rigorous by the national and international norms that are applicable to advance degree and research-intensive universities such as ours.

Research

I have already made reference to the Canadian Light Source synchrotron. Let me now summarize a few of the other important research developments on our campus.

We are currently preparing ourselves to take full advantage of major new national funding opportunities for researchers -- the Canada Research Chairs Program, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and the Canada Foundation for Innovation program that has been extended for an additional five years.

The University of Saskatchewan has received 39 new research chairs under the Canada Research Chairs Program. This research and salary support will enable our University to build on its research strengths and to develop areas that are important to the future of the University and the Province. Since the allocation of these chairs is based on Federal grant success, we will be redoubling our efforts to achieve success in winning these grants.

Our University is working on several fronts to build a stronger research culture and to boost both internal and external awareness of exciting new U of S research findings.

From Brain Awareness Week which this year drew a crowd of more than 2000, to a U of S-based space weather research project analyzing data from an international space radar network to medical research on spinal injury and drug treatments for tumor cells to social science research on Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal relations, our scholars are contributing to better understandings and to better solutions to new and old problems.

I shall mention quickly two more firsts for our University:

• We received one of only 22 Federal CURA grants to set up a community-university institute for social research. Community university research funds applied research that is of value to local communities and that is conducted in partnership with them. This grant alone will result in a very sizable increase in University research that is funded by the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
• The U of S was also awarded 2 of 23 awards in a national competition aimed at boosting the number of women in faculty positions in the Natural Sciences and Engineering. These new colleagues who will join us this summer will be members of the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Department of Physics and Engineering Physics.

In summary, academic renewal, the teacher-scholar model, and research intensiveness are our watchwords of the day and our signposts for the future. We are committed to being worthy successors to our founders who built so well for the people of Saskatchewan and Canada. We will carry their dreams and your dreams for this special University into the future.