Message from the President

In the New Year, we’ll officially open an office in Shoal Point in downtown Victoria to house a new partnership with the Leaders for Life Program; we’ll be continuing to examine ways in which we can take up the challenge of becoming a greener campus; and we’ll see the beginning of some exciting changes on our campus when construction begins on the Learning and Innovation Centre.

One unique aspect of being at Royal Roads is that we can be both old and young; traditional and innovative. In 2008, for example, we celebrated 13 years as a public university and 100 years since coal baron and former premier and Lieutenant Governor James Dunsmuir began construction of Hatley Castle, the Edwardian masterpiece at the heart of our campus!

As I look back on 2008 – and reflect on the role we’ve assumed in the field of post-secondary education since we were created in 1995 – I am heartened to see all we’ve achieved and energized by what the future holds.

Over the last year, for example, we’ve seen new student intake grow by close to eight per cent, making us one of the leaders among B.C. post-secondary institutions to exceed ministry enrolment targets.

In a North American student engagement survey released in 2008, we earned first place - among Canadian universities -  in the category measuring the level of our “active and collaborative learning experience” and second place in the category measuring our "level of academic challenge". We successfully launched an innovatively-designed MA in Tourism Management program and succeeded in having fifty per cent of our grant submissions for faculty research awarded funding by the federal Tri-Council research granting bodies – a very high acceptance rate – and our learners earned over $200K in graduate scholarships for applied research required to complete their MA degrees.

In February, the Government of British Columbia announced it would provide us with $15 million toward construction of a new academic building; the first purposefully constructed building on campus since our transition from Royal Roads Military College. Four months later, we were pleased to be able to announce that Jensen Chernoff Thompson Architects would design this new building and, last month, we held our first dialogue with staff, faculty and students to discuss the context and purpose of this Learning and Innovation Centre.

We’ve created a Fellows Council, made up of 20 distinguished industry and community leaders who are now advising me on ways we can respond to current and emerging labour force and marketplace needs in British Columbia and across Canada.

We also celebrated the establishment of the Todd Thomas Institute for Values-Based Leadership with co-directors Dr. Marilyn Taylor and Captain (N) (ret-d) Mike Williamson.

A series of significant gatherings for ex-cadets took place last year including the premiere screening of Coming Full Circle: Remembrances of Royal Roads Ex-Cadets in May and a special Homecoming event in September to re-dedicate the Mast – now refurbished and in a new location. This latter saw the largest numbers of ex-cadets come to campus since closure of the military college in 1995.

As the only public university in Canada created exclusively to meet the needs of working professionals, we are committed – first and foremost – to learners but we are also committed to preserving the remarkable property that is our campus, and ensuring our footprint is a sustainable one.

To that end, last April, we launched our first capital fundraising initiative – the Royal Roads University Legacy Campaign – to help us transform Royal Roads University into a world-class living and learning laboratory; the centerpiece of which will be the Bateman Art and Environmental Education Centre. We adopted a set of sustainability principles; drafted a detailed Sustainability Plan to guide the university’s momentum toward becoming one of Canada’s first truly sustainable campuses; and introduced Campus Green, a university-wide stewardship team of employee and student advocates who will encourage manageable grassroots projects that minimize waste streams and conserve natural resources.

It was quite a year.

What’s ahead?

In the New Year, we’ll officially open an office in Shoal Point in downtown Victoria to house a new partnership with the Leaders for Life Program; we’ll be continuing to examine ways in which we can take up the challenge of becoming a greener campus; and we’ll see the beginning of some exciting changes on our campus when construction begins on the Learning and Innovation Centre. Our Legacy Campaign will also focus on pursuing cash donations to build the Robert Bateman Art and Environmental Education Centre.

For learners, we're about to launch our first - and, in fact, Canada's first - Doctorate of Social Science program. We will also be launching a revitalized and strategic MBA program and look forward to other new academic initiatives.

Royal Roads University is indeed a place and an institution with incredible potential and opportunity; encompassed in a shared vision among those who work for us, those who work with us, and most importantly, those who study with us.

I wish you and yours a year of comfort and joy; a year of wonder and accomplishment.

Dr. Allan Cahoon, President, Royal Roads University