News

Dear CUE Community,

Welcome once again to the Wednesday Update. For those who are new to these updates, they started as a way to communicate with our community while we are mostly off-campus during the pandemic. I typically alternate between written and video posts each week, trying to keep it relatively brief and focussed on current important topics and information.

Budget

While our Board of Governors is ultimately responsible for approving and monitoring our budget, it is the role of administration to prepare that budget for their consideration. The expectation is that the annual budget will meet the operating needs of the university and provide for a small surplus. This past week, under my direction, CUE’s administration has been addressing many of the challenges we face in our next budget for 2021-2022. As we encounter a decline in revenues due mainly to the pandemic, we have had to make some very difficult decisions in order to reduce our planned expenses for the upcoming year. Despite the challenges, CUE remains in a strong financial position overall, and we will continue to ensure that the preservation of the student experience, along with our other important functions in research and service, remain the focus of our efforts. To this point we have done well in our efforts to avoid significant layoffs, and while there are never any absolute guarantees, retaining our wonderful employees is important to me as we move forward. One way of doing this is to delay some of our planned new hires. I will provide more information on our budget plans once the Board has approved it in February, but for now I would simply like to thank all of our Budget Officers for their sincere efforts to find savings wherever they have been possible.

Supporting mental and physical health

You may recall in my last few updates I’ve mentioned the work on campus to support the mental health of our community. This Thursday is Bell Let’s Talk Day and we are running a worthwhile  event that is open to everyone. CUE Wellness has partnered with the Office of Extension to bring us a 30-minute guided relaxation session on Thursday at noon. I’m sure we can all benefit from relaxation and I hope that you will consider attending. Registration can be found here. I would also like to remind our staff and faculty of the Sexual Violence Prevention workshop next week on February 2nd from 1-3pm where you can learn more about the resources available at CUE and how to support students who have experienced sexual violence.

Reappointment

Finally, earlier today our Board of Governors announced my appointment for a second term as CUE’s President and Vice-Chancellor, a term that will run until 2027. I have been grateful for the opportunity to lead our university to this point, and have appreciated the support of our Board, my faculty and staff colleagues, our alumni, our donors and friends, and especially our students. In the coming weeks I’ll be publishing an ambitious leadership agenda as we move towards 2027. Concordia University of Edmonton is on the right path, yet there are many areas still in which we might distinguish ourselves. I’m excited about what the future might hold for us.

Stay home, stay safe, and stay healthy.

Best,

Tim Loreman, PhD.

President and Vice Chancellor.