Pathways: Our Commitments to Water, Land, and People
View Our Commitments
In Fall 2022, Nipissing University embarked on a strategic planning journey that engaged more than 600 representative consultations through public meetings, focus groups, and surveys. The many voices of our constituents who spoke about the past, present, and future, led us to six aspirational themes which provide the visionary basis upon which we will transform Nipissing University. Learn more about our commitments by downloading a copy of Pathways: Our Commitments to Water, Land, and People.
Overview
As Nipissing University celebrates its 30th year as an independent degree-granting institution, it is important that we take time to reflect on how we have served our community as a post-secondary educational institution over the past 124 years and how we might envision our future. Our charter, granted in 1992, indicates that we were incorporated to address the specific needs of Northern Ontario. Nipissing University is located on the traditional lands of Nbisiing Anishinabeg within the Robinson Huron Treaty of 1850; we express our gratitude for living and learning on these lands.
As we move forward to build a respectful foundation for Nipissing University's future, the Strategic Planning Steering Committee welcomes the opportunity to work with the Nipissing University Indigenous Council on Education (NUICE) in the spirit of a Treaty relationship. Our joint efforts will be grounded in a decolonizing approach as we engage with members of our campus community and those external to the university.
The Journey
Community Engagement
The Strategic Planning Steering Committee has identified the following list of university constituents with whom we will engage throughout the Strategic Planning process. Engagements may take the form of digital engagement and/or in-person consultations.
- Alumni
- Board of Governors
- Donors
- Faculty
- Indigenous Communities
- Nipissing University Indigenous Council on Education
- Regional Communities-at-Large
- Regional Government/Elected Officials
- Staff
- Students
- University Management Group
Committee Members
The following members of the Nipissing Community are serving as members of the Strategic Planning Steering Committee
- Kevin B. Wamsley (Chair)
- Tyrell Chambers
- Sema Chaudhry
- Mike Couchie
- Romeo Fournier
- Chris Hachkowski
- Heather Hersemeyer
- Kristin Lucas
- Tanya Matthews
- Terra Nevrencan
- Michelann Parr
- Cindy Peltier
- Graydon Raymer
- Steven Smits
- Cristin Talentino
- Lindsey Voisin
Terms of Reference
To understand the structure and breadth of the Strategic Planning Steering Committee’s work, please refer to their terms of reference found here:
Suggested Resources
Senator Murray Sinclair, former Chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, speaks of the need for a continual search for answers to four specific questions that form the foundation of the work we will do:
Where do we come from?
Where are we going?
Why are we here?
Who are we?
The Strategic Planning Steering Committee invites members of Nipissing University’s various communities to reflect on these questions and offer your thoughts, perspectives, and collective wisdom during our consultation. We invite you to review “We Are All Treaty People” and to listen in as Senator Murray Sinclair talks about the four questions
Engagement Data
As part of our strategic planning consultations, we hope to engage with as many Nipissing University Community members as possible. Your thoughts and perspectives are critically important as we plan for the University’s bright future.
The information in these documents reflects the feedback the University received as part of the engagement process and will be used as a launch point for the committee as they create the draft Strategic Plan.
Updates
List of Services
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June 26th, 2023
The 2024-29 Nipissing University Strategic Plan has been endorsed by the Nipissing University Senate (June 26, 2023) and approved by the Nipissing University Board of Governors (June 27, 2023).
Further details regarding a launch event will be forthcoming. Thank you to all those who took part in this important process.
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April 21st, 2023
Dear Nipissing Community,
You are invited to attend an in-person Community Dialogue session on Thursday, April 27 at 1 p.m. in the Nipissing Theatre (F213) where I will be sharing an update on the Strategic Planning process. We will also be hosting a virtual session on Friday, April 28 at 1 p.m. A recording of the virtual session will be available for those who are not able to join us for either of these sessions. A link to the virtual session will be provided early next week.
The Strategic Planning Steering Committee has been hard at work synthesizing data that was obtained during our various community engagements and through the online survey. Summaries of the findings based on the four main questions from the survey (Where do we come from?, Why are we here?, Where are we going?, and Who are we?) can be found here:
strategicplanning.nipissingu.ca/engagement-summaries
The committee has used these summaries to begin formulating the data into key themes. A document outlining these themes will be circulated early next week and the dialogue sessions will allow participants to share feedback on the draft themes.
If you are unable to join us for one of the sessions and would like to submit your feedback electronically, please e-mail stratplan@nipissingu.ca.
Once we obtain feedback from the community, we will be contacting those who opted to participate in focus groups during the online survey. The focus groups will be scheduled during the week of May 8th.
Thank you to everyone for your contributions and engagement in this important process.
Sincerely,
Kevin B. Wamsley, PhD
President & Vice-Chancellor
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March 20th, 2023
Dear Nipissing Community,
As Chair of the Strategic Planning Steering Committee, I wanted to update you on the internal engagements that concluded on March 9th.
In response to our request for feedback, the committee facilitated 16 engagements with Students, Faculty, Staff, the Board of Governors, Nipissing University’s Indigenous Council on Education (NUICE), and Nipissing University’s Alumni Advisory Board (NUAAB). In addition to these engagements, we held numerous in-person meetings with donors and community leaders and received over 300 responses through our digital survey. Over the coming weeks, we will meet with Dokis First Nation, Nipissing First Nation, and elected officials to continue to solicit feedback.
Thank you to everyone who took the time to share your thoughts with us. The creation of this plan relies heavily on community feedback, and the committee is grateful for your thoughtful collaboration.
In April we are planning to bring the community together again to share some of the key themes that have emerged from the engagements. We will also be holding targeted focus groups with folks who opted in as part of the online survey to strengthen our findings. Specific dates and locations for these upcoming engagements are forthcoming, so please stay tuned.
The final draft of the plan will be presented to the Academic Senate in May and to the Board of Governors in June for approval.
If you have any questions regarding the process, please contact stratplan@nipissingu.ca.
Thank you,
Kevin B. Wamsley, PhD
President & Vice-Chancellor
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November 18th, 2022List Item 1
Strategic Planning Officially Launches
The process of developing the strategic plan and the plan itself will aim to braid these concepts for the betterment and strength of the entire campus.
