Reimagining the Public University in a Time of Polycrisis: A National Dialogue

But what if higher education is not simply a system in crisis? What if it is one of the last remaining public institutions whose mandate is hope?

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—climate change, democratic fragility, and widening inequities in health and opportunity.

These overlapping pressures form what many scholars call a “polycrisis”: a set of interconnected challenges that cannot be addressed in isolation.

Yet moments of disruption can also create a space for renewal.

This is the spirit behind Reimagining the Public University, a national dialogue and public-facing initiative led by Simon Fraser University’s Community-Engaged Research Initiative (CERi), in collaboration with SFU Public Square and the Office of the President. Supported by funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), the project invites scholars, students, community partners, policy leaders, and post-secondary institutions to reflect on the future of public universities in Canada.

Rather than focusing solely on institutional challenges, the initiative asks a broader question: What role should universities play in helping societies navigate complexity and uncertainty?

Public universities have historically served as places of inquiry, learning, and civic engagement. They are spaces where ideas are debated, knowledge is created, and communities come together to make sense of the world. In times of social upheaval, these functions become even more essential.

Reimagining the Public University seeks to highlight this role by reframing universities not simply as educational providers, but as critical civic infrastructure—places that support democratic dialogue, cultivate collective care, and generate long-term social transformation.

The project begins with a public event on Tuesday, March 31, featuring keynote talks by Dr. Jessica Riddell, author of Hope Circuits and Dr. Amy Parent, Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Education & Governance in the Faculty of Education at Simon Fraser University. This evening session is followed by a two-day national dialogue that willexplore imaginative ways to address climate change impacts, democratic threats, health inequities and education for the future.

This conversation is particularly timely. The Government of British Columbia is currently conducting a review of the province’s public universities, creating an important policy context for thoughtful reflection on the role post-secondary institutions play in society.

By bringing together diverse voices—from academia, government, and community—the initiative aims to contribute constructively to this broader conversation.

Ultimately, Reimagining the Public University is grounded in a simple but powerful premise: public universities remain vital democratic institutions that are pillars of civic life. At a time of polycrisis, they can help societies build the intellectual, civic, and moral infrastructures needed to navigate an uncertain future.

Rather than asking whether universities will survive the current moment, we will ask a more powerful question: how can the university evolve to serve the public good more boldly than ever before?

Join Us!! Public Event and National Dialogue

Stuart Poyntz, CERi Scientific Director

Tara Mahoney, CERi Research and Engagement Manager

Co-Chairs, Reimagining the Public University Symposium

Note this event is supported by SFU’s Office of the President, Public Square and CERi, (Community Engaged Research initiative) and with funding from SSHRC.