Acadia 2025: June 2023 Review

TABLE OF CONTENTS

The Acadia 2025 Journey

Strategic Vision

The Strategic Framework: Differentiating Acadia Acadia 2025: Phased Implementation Plan

Caring for our students and employees

Caring for our planet

Revitalizing our academic core

Maximizing our impact

Sustaining our institutional future

Acadia 2025: Midway Review Dashboard

Beyond Acadia 2025: Outlook and Opportunities

“Education is a powerful agent of change, and Acadia 2025 provides us with an opportunity to explore innovative ways of delivering transformative education for the 21st century.”

Dr. Peter Ricketts President and Vice-Chancellor

The Acadia 2025 Journey

Acadia University, situated in Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley, strives to provide equal access to education to all students and encourages rigorous academic exploration. Throughout its history, Acadia has played an important role in the social, economic, and cultural development of the region, province, and nation. Our alumni have found success in various academic disciplines and professions across the globe.

The present success of Acadia University is deeply rooted in its strength and stability. As we approach our third century, we are confident in our resilience to face an unpredictable future where change is the only constant.

In 2020, we introduced Acadia 2025: Transforming Lives for a Transforming World as a strategic plan to navigate and respond to the ever-changing world. This five-year academic and institutional plan was developed with two years of input, consultation, discussion, and debate from the Acadia community and beyond, pre-pandemic. Its aim is to ensure that our education model continues to thrive well into the next century.

As we reach the midpoint of our five-year implementation period, it is crucial to reflect on our progress towards our goals and identify areas that still require attention. However, with the disruption and rapid changes brought about by COVID-19, it is equally important to assess the relevance of our objectives in the short, medium, and long term.

We must ensure that our accomplishments have a positive impact and that our pending goals are still significant in achieving our ultimate objective of establishing Acadia University as a unique and prestigious institution in the Canadian post-secondary education landscape, as stated in Acadia 2025.

Education is a powerful agent of change, and Acadia 2025 provides us with an opportunity to explore innovative ways of delivering transformative education for the 21st century. We would like to express our gratitude to the entire Acadia family and extended community for your unwavering support and commitment to Acadia University.

It has been an absolute privilege and honour to serve as your president and vice-chancellor as we work towards transforming lives for a transforming world.

Sincerely,

Dr. Peter J. Ricketts President and Vice-Chancellor

Strategic Vision

Acadia University is the top choice for students seeking a transformative university experience dedicated to unleashing their potential to prepare them for a transforming world.

The Strategic Framework: Differentiating Acadia

The post-secondary education landscape in Canada is highly competitive, with institutions contending for students and funding against essential priorities like healthcare and infrastructure. Despite this, Acadia University remains dedicated to providing undergraduate students with a personalized experience that fosters community engagement, environmental stewardship, global citizenship, and entrepreneurship.

Acadia’s commitment to preserving the essence of undergraduate education sets it apart from other institutions that have shifted towards research-intensive programs.

With the rise of technology-based learning tools during the pandemic, Canadian post-secondary students express interest in institutions that align with their digital lifestyle and prioritize mental health and well-being while also providing a fulfilling campus life. However, the pandemic has also demonstrated that in-person experience and engagement are an essential part of high-quality living and learning.

According to a KPMG poll in September 2021 of Canadian post-secondary students:

• 76% believe that universities of the future will look different from current institutions;

• 80% prefer an educational experience that aligns with their digital lifestyle; and

• 88% want online access to their university experience.

Meanwhile:

• 71% of students consider campus life a top priority;

• 82% expect their institution to have a clear plan for going carbon-neutral; and

• 82% wish their institution would prioritize mental health and well-being.

The Acadia 2025 plan was not designed with the COVID-19 pandemic in mind, yet significant progress has been made towards achieving its goals. This progress, coupled with the foundation that has been laid, will help Acadia in attracting students of today and tomorrow whose expectations for higher education have been reshaped by the pandemic.

In 2025, Acadia will be a university that is clearly differentiated within the Canadian post-secondary landscape.

Acadia 2025: Phased Implementation Plan

PHASE I: Student success and building resources 2019/20 – 2020/21

Priority Goals:

Create transformational student experiences focused on academic and personal success

Achieve optimal rates of student enrolment to ensure institutional and campus community sustainability

Embrace a 21st-century liberal education model that is central to Acadia’s vision and mission

Ensure that environmental stewardship and sustainability are signature institutional features of Acadia University

Msit No’kmaq – advance Acadia’s contributions to truth, reconciliation and decolonisation

PHASE II: Building and sustaining 2021/22 – 2022/23 Mid-plan review

Priority Goals:

Enhance support for teaching and learning excellence

Create new partnerships and collaboration to drive regional development and educational opportunities

Determine a date for and make measurable progress towards achieving net carbon neutrality

PHASE III: Investing for the future 2023/24 – 2024/25

Priority Goals:

Enhance infrastructure renewal and campus development to meet priority needs and reduce our accumulated deferred maintenance deficit

Establish a culture of sustained fundraising and giving

Ensure Acadia’s research activities and outcomes are known regionally, nationally and globally

Incremental Goals:

• An inclusive and supportive community campus culture

• A campus culture passionate about professionalism, inclusion, service excellence, and leadership

• Caring for our community health and wellness

• Acadia recognized for leadership and impact in rural and coastal research and innovation

caring for our students and employees

Enriching the Acadia learning and working experience

For generations, Acadia has been known for delivering a personalized and rigorous learning experience to its students. Alumni often recall the individual support they received from faculty members, who remain closely involved in their students’ success. By embedding principles of mutual respect and high-performance expectations within a campus culture that values and celebrates equity, diversity, and inclusion, Acadia ensures that its experience will continue to be transformational and desirable.

Over the first three years of the Acadia 2025 plan, significant milestones were achieved in creating a campus environment centred on care for students and employees.

• Implementation of a modern student information system

• Measures to enhance campus safety and promote inclusivity and diversity

• Appointment of senior executive position for EDI and key staff members to support equity and inclusion

• Introduction of a permanent work-fromhome arrangement for eligible employees

caring for our students and employees revitalizing our academic core maximizing our impact sustaining our institutional future caring for our planet

• Pledge to address anti-Black racism and promote Black inclusion in higher education by signing the Scarborough Charter and publishing the Report of the President’s Anti-Racism Task Force

• Improved support for Indigenous students and creation of an Indigenous Education Advisory Council

• New career service created for students as part of an expanded experiential learning program, with support from Acadia Alumni Association A new student-led initiative at Acadia focused on equity, anti-oppression, and violence prevention. Axe Oppression speakers included Claudine Bonner, Vice-Provost of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, Sophey Morris, Acadia Pride Coordinator, Roudraksh Jankee, International Education Program Intern, Allison Smith, Sexualized Violence Response and Education Coordinator, Darlene Copeland, Indigenous Student Programming Advisor, and Cameron Smith, BEd student and lead event planner.

Beyond its campus, Acadia will be known by its Mi’kmaw neighbours and Canada’s Indigenous Peoples as a place where truth and reconciliation matter, and by regional entrepreneurs, artists, and athletes, as a place where they can achieve their dreams of success.

Acadia will be an acknowledged leader in reducing its environmental footprint and will be known as a leader in teaching all students how to be stewards of our environment.

Opportunity Status

Carbon net zero is within reach by 2030

Carbon footprint assessment

Consultant review underway, with comprehensive energy master plan to achieve net-zero recommendations to be received in Fall 2023

2021/2022 Scope 1 and 2 emissions were 16,478 MT eCO2 – a reduction of 39% from 2005

Leading, educating, and researching in environmental stewardship, climate change, and sustainability

At Acadia, we strive to instill a sense of environmental responsibility and stewardship in every student, empowering them to become sustainability ambassadors and agents of change in their future careers. Our location in the Acadian Forest region and Mi’kma’ki, alongside the Bay of Fundy, offers an ideal learning environment for students to comprehend how their lifestyles can contribute to reducing our carbon footprint. We also encourage the incorporation of Indigenous traditional knowledge and ways of knowing into non-Indigenous culture and decision-making.

Since implementing Acadia 2025, we have taken significant steps to reduce our carbon footprint and enhance environmental education for our students.

• Hosted the 2023 Envirothon for 55 high school participants from across Nova Scotia

• Set up a public Level 3 EV DC fast charging station — opened in 2020

• Signed the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Accord in November 2021 — first Canadian university to do so

• Became Canada’s first Organic Campus in September 2022

• Established a science laboratory focused on Mi’kmaw traditional knowledge

• Introduced a Master of Environmental Science program

• Participated in the United Nations COP26 and COP27 conferences

• Acadia’s GHG Scope 1 and 2 emissions were 16,478 MT eCO2 in 2021/2022, a significant reduction of 39% from 2005 emissions, which were 27,179 MT eCO2

Executive Chef Peter Welton and President Peter Ricketts are shown at The Growcer, which is a unique hydroponic vertical food system situated steps away from Acadia’s dining hall.

our impact sustaining our institutional future caring for our caringplanet for our planet

revitalizing our academic core

Compelling and impactful programs, experiential learning, and inspired teaching to prepare graduates for 21st-century careers

At Acadia, students are empowered to explore their academic interests and push themselves beyond their disciplinary boundaries with the help of a supportive faculty. The university’s liberal education model prioritizes academic inquiry and encourages students to design their own programs, combining majors and minors from different faculties and engaging in communitybased research.

Meanwhile, Acadia is committed to fostering a culture that nurtures faculty research, attracting established and up-and-coming scholars to join its ranks.

• In Fall 2023 will offer a Bachelor of Science in Nursing thanks to provincial investment and Cape Breton University partnership

caring for our students and employees revitalizing our academic core maximizing our impact sustaining our institutional future caring for our planet

• Established a Master of Science program in Environmental Science

• Three Tier II Canada Research Chairs approved for Dr. Lesley Frank, Dr. Emily Bremer, and Dr. Zoe Migicovsky

• New Law and Society program created

• Jarislowsky Chair in Trust and Political Leadership created through a $2 million endowed donation from the Jarislowsky Foundation — part of a network of five Chairs at liberal education universities across Canada

• New Doctor of Psychology degree developed to address new professional credential requirements

• New Biochemistry degree developed in partnership with regional bioscience industries

• A new course transfer agreement as part of the Maple League of Universities: students can now earn credits for both on-line and in-person classes from any of the four member universities

• Acadia recognized as one of the Top 50 research universities by Research Infosource Inc. for three successive years

Dr. Emily Bremer is conducting research on the physical activity, physical literacy, and overall health of children and adolescents with disabilities who are part of the S.M.I.LE. program at Acadia.

Opportunity Status

Bachelor of Science in Nursing

Online Professional Certificate in Maritime Security

Teaching and Learning Centre

Curriculum development and instructional design

Government approval and funding announced in May 2023, in partnership with CBU with first students enrolling in September 2023 — will eventually lead to a stand-alone Acadia BScN degree

Partnership established with Irving Shipbuilding Inc. and the International Association of Maritime Security Professionals (IAMSP). Courses finalized and first cohort expected in 2023

New position of Vice-Provost Teaching and Learning Excellence established to lead the new Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL)

Enhanced support to faculty through the CTL and Open Acadia, together with the Maple League Virtual Teaching and Learning Centre

Acadia’s faculty will be known as leading researchers in their disciplines, and the value to students, alumni, and potential employers of its liberal education model will be widely recognized.

Opportunity Status

Acadia’s growth in research funding is sustainable

New MOU with Town of Wolfville and Acadia Students’ Union

Community Clinic concept for new SUB

Rural Innovation Centre

Acadia is top undergraduate university in Atlantic Canada in corporate research income

New MOU will be signed in June 2023

Clinic is part of the Nursing proposal in order to provide experiential learning opportunities for students; also for Education and Psychology counselling students

Repurposed to provide enhanced support for start-ups and incubating early development of businesses and entrepreneurs

All labs are fully occupied by partnerships between Acadia and regional industries, including wine and beverage, tick and insect control, medicinal cannabis, and food and nutrition

Huestis Innovation Pavilion

Acadia will be a model partner to the Valley region and its communities, welcoming community members to participate fully in its campus and rewarding students for engaged learning.

students

maximizing our impact

Engaged research, innovation, and collaborative initiatives for community, cultural, and economic development

and employees revitalizing our academic core maximizing our impact sustaining our institutional future caring for our planet

Acadia has a rich history that dates back almost two centuries. The community’s unwavering determination to establish a place of higher learning has had a profound impact beyond the Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia. Throughout its existence, Acadia has played a critical role in driving economic, cultural, spiritual, and artistic development in the region while also expanding its reach globally. Notably, one of our alumni, Dr. Charles Huggins (Class of 1920), was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1966 for pioneering work in detecting and treating prostate cancer. Acadia’s graduates and scholars have made significant contributions in various academic and professional fields worldwide.

As part of its strategic plan, Acadia aims to expand our impact both locally and globally while also collaborating with First Nations communities to address the post-secondary challenges highlighted in Canada’s Report on Truth and Reconciliation.

Acadia University has continued to maintain its reputation of fostering community partnerships and global recognition for its faculty, despite the impact of COVID-19 on universities, businesses, and community organizations.

• Acadia University fostered partnerships that promote education, diversity, and excellence

• Acadia collaborated with Glooscap First Nation to create the Indigenous Speakers Series, which provided students and faculty with information on Mi’kmaw traditional knowledge

• Acadia’s partnership with the Canadian Alliance for Skills and Training in Life Sciences (CASTL) addresses the shortage of skilled bioscience professionals

• Dr. Sandra Barr, an internationally renowned geoscientist, received the 2022 Bancroft Award from the Royal Society of Canada and was inducted into the Nova Scotia Science Hall of Fame

• IPCC Co-Chair Dr. Hans-Otto Pörtner, 2022 Honorary Doctorate recipient, delivered inaugural Fred Gilbert Lecture

• Dr. Nelson O’Driscoll was awarded the 2022 Maine Council on the Marine Environment Visionary Award

• Dr. Rob Raeside received the J. Willis Ambrose Medal from the Geological Association of Canada in 2021

• Students Olivia Stephenson and Leah Creaser were awarded prestigious 3M scholarships, and Kirsten Lawrence received the Frank H. Sobey Award

• Acadia hosted first President’s Sustainable Development Goals Week panel in March 2023

• Volleyball coach Michelle Wood, Dr. Lesley Frank, and Dr. Peter Ricketts were each awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medals

revitalizing our academic

sustaining our institutional future

Optimizing enrolment, fundraising, and campus infrastructure renewal

maximizing our impact sustaining our institutional future caring for our planet

As Acadia University approaches its bicentennial, its sustainability is a top priority. Enrollment of students is crucial for maintaining healthy funding, vibrant campus life, and social and cultural growth. Attracting and retaining top faculty members is essential for building on Acadia’s rich tradition of leaving a lasting impact as a smaller institution. Despite the pandemic, Acadia in 2020 concluded its largest and most successful fundraising campaign, Campaign for Acadia

Strategic steps must be taken to prioritize the well-being of students and employees, care for the environment, continuously revitalize academic programs, and make a local and global impact through research and engagement for a sustainable future.

• Successful conclusion of the Campaign for Acadia in 2020, raising $86.8 million

• Appointment of Acadia alumna Nancy Handrigan as Vice-President Advancement

• Appointment of Dr. Claudine Bonner as Acadia’s first Vice-Provost of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

• Stronger partnerships established with Nova Scotia’s First Nations and Black communities

• Renewal of important campus infrastructure, including Raymond Field, Andrew H. McCain Arena, Huggins Science Hall, and the David Huestis Innovation Pavilion

• Acquired Acadia’s largest ever government grant of $22 million to support investment in infrastructure and technology renewal and modernization

• Multi-year Strategic Enrolment Growth Plan initiated in 2022 to increase student enrolment and retention to reach the goal of 4,000 full-time undergraduates by 2025, with 20% being international students

core

Taking photos on the Acadia sign has become almost a rite of passage for students.

Opportunity Status

UniVillage concept and affordable housing project moving forward with external partners

International student recruitment

Centre for Student Success

Deferred Maintenance projects

Accessibility changes to meet 2030 obligations

Long-term enrolment strategy

Meetings with Advanced Education and Housing departments have commenced; project is dependent on Provincial student housing strategy

New staff positions have been filled with new target markets and opportunities within existing markets identified

Approval received from Nova Scotia government to assign portion of deferred maintenance grant. Fundraising campaign underway with financial targets and time line

Plan for use of the $22 M grant approved by provincial government

Deferred maintenance grant projects underway; additional funding will be required from the provincial government to meet the plan

Despite the pandemic, on target to meet the Acadia 2025 goals

Acadia will be an excellent place to work, and its campus culture, rooted in inclusiveness and equity, will provide students with a learning environment in which they can excel.

Acadia 2025: Midway Review Dashboard

The strategic plan has a total of five strategic directions, 15 goals, and 79 objectives. Assessing progress is based upon one of three categories assigned to each objective, and shown in the following charts.

Met The objective has been achieved but may require ongoing operational support to be maintained

Partially Met The objective is well in progress and delivering results but not yet fully achieved

Not Met The objective has not been met or is in too early a stage to assess

While these are qualitative assessments, they provide a sense of where progress is or is not being made under each component of the plan. The final plan report will need to focus on more quantitative analysis utilizing data from Colleague and other sources to measure the key performance indicators.

Overall progress

For the total strategic plan, 28% of objectives have been met, 54% have been partially met, and 18% have not been met.

18% of objectives have not been met

28% of objectives have been met

54% of objectives have been partially met

Note: Acadia has made considerable strides in accomplishing its objectives under the Acadia 2025 plan, despite the difficulties posed by the pandemic and consequent disruptions in our operations from 2020 to 2022. While certain goals, such as managing enrolment growth and significant infrastructure projects, may require external resources, numerous objectives should be at least partially achieved by 2025. It is essential to continue to prioritize ambitious aims like the net zero carbon campus plan, which are currently in the preliminary stages of implementation.

Strategic Directions and Goals

To assess the progress of each strategic direction and goal, the objectives under each are assessed to provide a breakdown of the progress made to date. An overall chart is provided for each strategic direction and then a chart for each individual goal. Strategic direction 1

caring for our students and employees

Goal 1.1

Transformational student experiences that focus on student academic and personal success

Goal 1.2

An inclusive and supportive campus community culture

Goal 1.3

A campus culture that is passionate about professionalism, inclusion, service excellence, and leadership

Goal 1.4

caring for our students and employees revitalizing our academic core maximizing our impact sustaining our institutional future caring for our planet

Caring for our community’s health and wellness

Goal 1.5

Msit No’kmaq – advancing Acadia’s contributions to truth, reconciliation and decolonization on and off campus

maximizing our impact sustaining our institutional future caring for ourcaringplanetfor our planet

Goal 2.1

Environmental stewardship and sustainability are signature institutional features of Acadia University

Goal 2.2

Make measurable progress and establish a target date for achieving net carbon neutrality

revitalizing our academic core

Goal 3.1

Revitalizing our academic core through compelling and impactful programs, experiential learning, and inspired teaching to prepare graduates for 21st century careers

Goal 3.2

caring for our students and employees revitalizing our academic core maximizing our impact sustaining our institutional future caring for our planet

Teaching and learning excellence

maximizing our impact

Goal 4.1

New partnerships and collaborations to drive regional development and educational opportunities

caring for our students and employees revitalizing our academic core maximizing our impact sustaining our institutional future caring for our planet

Goal 4.2

Acadia is recognized for leadership and impact in environmental, rural and coastal research and innovation

Goal 4.3

caring for our students and employees revitalizing our academic core maximizing our impact sustaining our institutional future caring for our planet

Acadia’s research is impactful regionally, nationally and globally

sustaining our institutional future

Goal 5.1

Achieve optimal rates of student enrolment to ensure institutional and campus community

Goal 5.2

Build a culture of fundraising to continue beyond the successful completion of Campaign for Acadia

Goal 5.3

enhance infrastructure renewal and campus development to meet priority needs

Beyond Acadia 2025: Outlook and Opportunities

The implementation and adoption of specific goals in Acadia 2025 have been met with varying degrees of success. Some achievements have been made quickly, while others have faced frustrating delays due to unforeseen circumstances encountered by post-secondary institutions and the global economy since March 2020.

The urgent need to adapt to new operating procedures, such as online course delivery and remote work, has made it difficult to meet rising performance expectations from students, faculty, and external communities with limited resources.

Despite these new realities, Acadia 2025 is making steady progress towards achieving its goals, creating a promising opportunity to act upon when resources become available or can be obtained from conventional sources. This progress will play a significant role in Acadia’s ambition to distinguish itself in the Canadian post-secondary education landscape and its ability to maintain healthy and consistent enrolment rates for the next century.

Acadia’s Move-In Weekend 2020 was unique as it brought together students from the Atlantic Bubble with those from out of the region who had already undergone a two-week self-isolation period to curb the spread of COVID-19.

Acadia University is making great strides towards achieving its objectives, setting itself apart as a leader in the Canadian post-secondary education arena, and ensuring a thriving learning atmosphere for future generations.

acadia2025.acadiau.ca