- About Joy
- Priorities
- Conversations
- Statements
- 2022
- Dr. Yabome Gilpin-Jackson named SFU’s first Vice-President, People, Equity and Inclusion
- Chris (Syeta’xtn) Lewis joins SFU in advisory role on Indigenous Initiatives and Reconciliation
- A World of Difference: How universities must evolve in a post-COVID world
- Russian invasion of Ukraine
- SFU: What's Next?
- Celebrating National Indigenous Peoples day
- Please join us for the annual appreciation BBQ
- SFU begins process to become Living Wage Employer
- Staying engaged in an increasingly polarized world
- SFU: What's Next? - Message from the President to Faculty and Staff
- SFU: What's Next? - Message from the President to students
- Search Announcement: Provost and Vice-President Academic
- Statement from the VP, PEI: Addressing Racism and Hate at SFU
- 2021
- Welcome new SFU students
- UPDATED Jan. 6: My response to Dec. 11 event in SFU dining hall
- Celebrating Black History Month
- The University’s Role and Contributions to a Just Recovery Over the Next Decade
- Inspired by meetings with SFU Faculty and Staff
- Looking forward to Summer and Fall
- Opinion: This is why SFU is backing the Burnaby Mountain gondola
- External Review of December 11, 2020 Event
- Facing the future with hope
- President's statement on TransMountain Expansion Project and support for a fire hall on Burnaby mountain
- The road ahead
- Stronger Together: SFU, the pandemic and lessons for a better future
- SFU to observe moment of silence at 2:15 PM today
- Taking action: Reconciliation at SFU
- Join SFU President Joy Johnson for a tour of Burnaby campus
- Message from the President: Residential school findings
- Dr. June Francis appointed Special Advisor to the President on Anti-Racism
- My response to the open letter from SFU faculty and staff
- Resources and ways to support scholars in Afghanistan
- BC Vaccine Card
- Masks required on all SFU campuses, vaccine card required for residence, athletics, dining, events and others
- Vaccine declaration and follow-up screening at SFU
- Return to campus planning updates
- Welcome Back
- Work to review contract vs. in-house cleaning and food services
- National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
- SFU and SFSS united in commitment to climate action
- Inclusion benefits us all
- Moving forward with kindness
- SFU commits to full divestment from fossil fuels
- Safety on SFU's campuses
- Thank you!
- Temporary shift to remote learning January 10 – 23, 2022
- 2020
- Statement on academic freedom
- Welcome back faculty and staff
- Welcome back students
- Statement on scholar strike
- Reflections on my first 30 days
- Taking care of ourselves, taking care of each other
- Equity, diversity and inclusion commitments
- Statement on SFU's Athletics Team Name Change
- Finding connection in times of adversity
- Wishing you a safe and restful holiday break
- Op-ed: SFU helping drive social, economic innovation in time of crisis
- 2022
- President’s Distinguished Community Leadership Award
Op-ed: SFU helping drive social, economic innovation in time of crisis
Op-ed published in Business in Vancouver on December 29, 2020
At the close of a very challenging year, it’s important to take stock of the lessons learned during the worst health and economic crisis in living memory.
For me, the pandemic has been a powerful reminder of the ways in which our individual destinies are linked to the well-being of everyone in the wider community. And although we have a long way to go before COVID-19 is behind us, I believe we can build on that lesson to chart a better post-pandemic future.
As Simon Fraser University’s (SFU) new president, I have seen the spirit of self-sacrifice at work throughout the university over these last few months.
This effort, and the acts of generosity and public service by so many across B.C., is inspiring. It has given me renewed hope that we can summon the will to tackle some of the biggest challenges ahead of us.
SFU can play a major role in this larger effort by marshalling our resources to support the many communities we serve, including the business community with whom we’ve nurtured lasting partnerships over many years of collaboration.
Through our extensive co-operative education programs, SFU is providing local business with access to on-campus talent and, in turn, providing our students with hands-on, relevant experience. Through workshops organized by SFU’s Beedie School of Business and the City of Surrey, we are helping local businesses adapt to a fast-changing marketplace. Workshops like these have been a huge success with participation from across the business community. We’re also partnering with Mitacs to offer a Business Strategy Internship Program that awards students with funding to help businesses succeed.
SFU is also helping to drive social and economic innovation that strengthens communities while expanding our economy. For example, through SFU VentureLabs, we’re helping new companies scale up science and technology innovations, many of them related to the pandemic. With VentureLabs’ support, A&K Robotics is developing a robot that can disinfect large areas of floor and high-touch surfaces, and Curatio, a health networking company, is working on a new social media platform that gives COVID-19 patients the tools they need to recover from home. And with plans for a new Quantum Algorithms Institute hosted on our Surrey campus, SFU is also helping to shape B.C.’s overall economic direction by cementing the province as a global leader in quantum computing.
Just as we look back at turning points in history to explain our present, future generations will judge our response to COVID-19 to help understand theirs.
It is my fervent hope that when they do, 2020 will be remembered not only for the pain and dislocation the pandemic has caused, but also as a pivot point that brought us together to help build more resilient, prosperous and sustainable communities.