WATERLOO NEWS:.
André Roy, dean of the University of Waterloo’s faculty of the environment, gives Huntsville council a rundown of the Huntsville campus’ upcoming endeavours during a special council meeting Jan. 13.
Alison Brownlee
HUNTSVILLE – The creation of a University of Waterloo citizen advisory group in underway.
André Roy, dean of the university’s faculty of the environment, told Huntsville councillors there were changes afoot at the Forbes Hill Drive campus during a special council meeting the post-secondary research facility on Jan. 13.
“In August, I looked around the university to see what the mission statement and mandate (were) that we had for Huntsville. There was nothing actually written,” said Roy.
The university decided to establish an internal committee to create a mission statement as well as a management structure and activity guidelines for its Muskoka campus.
The committee includes members of the faculty of the environment as well the faculties of engineering and applied health sciences.
“We wanted to have faculty members from outside the faculty of the environment because this facility is to be used by more than just one,” said Roy.
A draft mission statement should be ready in four weeks, said Roy, and the university will present it to the town for feedback.
Student experience and research will be the primary focus but he said the document would also incorporate community and professional involvement with the campus.
“All the activities will be congruent with what the faculty of the environment and the University of Waterloo has set as its mandate,” said Roy.
Research activities based out of the campus will focus on the Muskoka region, Huntsville and Algonquin Provincial Park.
Roy said there will be two guiding committees to ensure the university’s campus fulfils its new mandate as outlined in the mission statement.
One will be an internal management committee and the other will be an advisory board. The advisory board will include seven to 10 people from the town, the chamber of commerce and citizens interested in the environment, for example.
The university is still hammering out the terms of reference for the advisory board but Roy said the intent is to have it established this spring.
The board would provide advice to campus management as well as the town regarding areas of focus for research.
“It is something that would be very beneficial to all of us in terms of knowing where the facility is going and some sort of periodic reporting,” said Roy.
The campus is also hoping to get some feedback from the advisory board regarding potential activities held at the campus, including professional workshops and lecture series, said Roy. The activities would help open the university campus to the broader community.
“We are looking forward to an (information) exchange with you, especially through the advisory board, in regard to the range of activities. We’re thinking a lot about outreach,” he said.
“I think that is something that is not only necessary, but something that has to be done in terms of making sure there is a real connection between this facility and the region.”
Roy later said advisory groups such as this play an important role because they can bring first-hand knowledge of an area and also highlight the priorities of a region.
They can also strengthen the relationship between the institution and the community, he said.