Vancouver and SFU, then and now
Planning a downtown campus began in earnest in 1979, and a storefront office opened at 822 Howe Street in February of 1980. From there SFU moved to leased space shared with BCIT at 549 Howe Street, while both institutions sought ways to build a campus suited to the particular teaching, research and outreach needs of their students and faculty.
On May 5, 1989, Simon Fraser University at Harbour Centre officially opened its doors in the Spencer Building at 515 West Hastings. The founding of the downtown campus was a turning point in the history of the institution and of the city of Vancouver.
Twenty years later there are many accomplishments to celebrate and an opportunity to reflect on the way forward as we prepare to bring SFU's School for Contemporary Arts into a magnificent new building on the Woodward’s site, a brave experiment in urban renewal.
Simon Fraser University suffered serious retrenchment in the early 1980s, experiencing staff lay-offs, faculty cut-backs, declining enrolments. Many of the founding faculty and department heads expressed concern that the bright promise of innovation signaled by the bold architecture and visionary curriculum of the 1965 campus was fading. What the young university needed was a bridge to the future, and it could not build it alone.
The realization was profound that the university could flourish only through partnership with the community and those who governed it, but partnerships are built on the perception of mutual benefit. To develop a shared agenda, which would be the foundation of many ongoing alliances, SFU came down from the mountain and began the ongoing conversation with community, government and business leaders that continues today.
Every year since the opening in 1989, those who work and study at the Vancouver campus have come together for a few moments of celebration and encouragement at 10 am on May 5. This year the invitation is wider and the conversation will be shared among the campus founders and community and university leaders. While there is much to celebrate, there is also much to discuss as SFU and Vancouver face the challenge of the economic crisis in a global economy.