Dear members of the McGill community,
We are delighted to be writing to you together for the first time in our shared role as Acting Provosts & Vice-Principals (Academic) over the period during which McGill’s Provost and Vice-Principal (Academic), Christopher P. Manfredi, takes up the leadership of our university as Interim Principal and Vice-Chancellor.
We feel privileged to be in this new role. It has allowed us see and sense, first-hand, the effervescence on our campus that has accompanied our return to academic and student life following two years of limited engagement on account of the COVID-19 pandemic. Like you, we are excited about our resumption of university life, and we share in the joy that comes with reuniting with old friends, colleagues, and students, and with meeting new ones.
Our capacity for flourishing in all aspects of academic and campus life at McGill, including our ability to engage in what our Interim Principal described, in his message to us shared last week, as “the rigorous pursuit of innovation, ideas, and inquiry, unbounded by orthodox perspectives or received wisdom,” requires respectful and inclusive learning and working spaces.
For this reason McGill has, in recent years, redoubled its efforts in domains such as: promoting equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI), advancing Indigenous reconciliation, challenging anti-Black racism, addressing Islamophobia and Antisemitism, establishing mandatory consent education, enhancing support for survivors of sexual violence, and responding to harassment and discrimination. We have also deepened supports for members of our community in these realms. We urge everyone to reach out as would be helpful (please see relevant resources listed below). Our university has advanced all of these initiatives while remaining vigorous in its pursuit of academic excellence and its protection of academic freedom.
This moment is opportune to celebrate the arrival of Professor Celeste Pedri-Spade, McGill’s first Associate Provost, Indigenous Initiatives. Prof. Pedri-Spade will have the lead role in advancing and overseeing McGill’s continued responses to 52 Calls to Action set out in the 2017 Report of the Task Force on Indigenous Studies and Indigenous Education. We are thrilled to have Dr. Pedri-Spade join the McGill community and extend to her the warmest of welcomes!
As each of you moves forward over the coming academic term, please keep in mind that, while McGill is a place known for its academic rigour, it also a site that prioritizes personal health and wellness. There is no shame in asking for support or in taking a pause to regroup when necessary. Please take care of yourselves.
Here’s to a fulfilling academic year ahead! For students, do take full advantage of all that campus life at McGill has to offer while you pursue your academic goals. And for faculty and staff, please accept our best wishes for professional growth, and our sincere thanks for the contributions you make, each day, to the McGill community.
Our very best to all.
Angela Campbell & Fabrice Labeau
Co-Acting Provosts & Vice-Principals (Academic)
Resources:
For all members of the McGill community:
- Policy against Sexual Violence
- Policy on Harassment and Discrimination
- Office for Sexual Violence Response Support & Education
- Office for Mediation & Reporting
- McGill Equity Education
For Students:
- Student Wellness Hub
- McGill Office for Religious & Spiritual Life (MORSL)
- Office of Student Accessibility & Achievement (formerly known as the Office for Students with Disabilities)
For Faculty & Staff