Reimagining the Public University

Reimagining the Public University is a national community-engaged research project focused on the question: In this moment of intersecting crises, what is the responsibility of the public university?

Across Canada, universities are being asked to adapt to a rapidly changing landscape. Declining international enrolments, post-pandemic shifts in teaching and learning, the rise of generative artificial intelligence, and growing concerns about research security are reshaping the sector. At the same time, universities are navigating broader societal challenges in climate change, democratic fragility, and widening inequities in health and opportunity.

With governments undertaking reviews of the post-secondary sector, this is a defining moment for public universities in Canada. As institutions with a mandate to serve the public good, universities are uniquely positioned to support civic life, democratic dialogue, and collective responses to complex challenges.

Yet it remains an open question who will shape the university of the future.

As an initiative grounded in community-engaged research, the project responds to this moment by inviting those who care about the future of public universities to help shape it. This includes students, faculty, senior leadership and community organizations. Designed as a multi-phase, collaborative process, the project builds on the momentum and insights of our National Dialogue held April 1 to 2, 2026.

The purpose of the symposium was to generate concrete insights, shared principles, and cross-sector strategies that clarify how universities can respond meaningfully to systemic crises. We heard from students, scholars, senior administrators and community leaders about the tensions as well as the opportunities that arise during moments of multiple crises. As a next step we will:

Synthesize national dialogue insights into public-facing outputs, including a policy-oriented position paper, blog series, podcast, and public art installation
Widen engagement to include broader publics through a participatory digital platform and targeted outreach strategy
Create spaces for ongoing exchange, experimentation, and co-creation with institutional and community partners
Center student needs by supporting meaningful participation, leadership opportunities, and pathways that connect students to decision-making within the post-secondary sector

Over the coming months, we will develop an engaged-research strategy and digital platform to invite broader public participation and better understand how universities can serve the communities in which they are embedded.

In the meantime, we will share initial outputs from the national dialogue as we build partnerships across institutions and communities.

If you would like to be part of this work, we invite you to join our project mailing list.

March 31st Public Event: Reimagining the Public University

On March 31st, 2026, SFU CERi and SFU Public Square co-hosted a public event as part of the Ideas in Action Series sponsored by the President's Office. The event featured dual keynote addresses by Dr. Jessica Riddell, founder of the Hope Circuits Institute and professor at Bishop’s University and Dr. Amy Parent, Nisga’a scholar and Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Governance and Education at SFU.

Following the keynotes, our speakers joined SFU and visiting faculty for a dynamic fireside chat hosted by Dr. Tara Mahoney, Research and Engagement Manager at the SFU Community-Engaged Research Initiative (CERi). The conversation featured Dr. Nat Hurley, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at the Memorial University of Newfoundland; Dr. Adel Iskandar, Associate Professor of Global Communication at Simon Fraser University; and Dr. Rackeb Tesfaye, Knowledge Mobilization Lead and Senior Scientist at the Bridge Research Consortium (BRC), bringing together diverse scholarly perspectives from across disciplines.

Watch the recording here.

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