- 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
External Review of December 11, 2020 Event
In December I commissioned an external review of the events that occurred the evening of December 11 on Burnaby campus, which led to an RCMP response. I know that many members of our community have been seeking to understand what occurred in greater detail. The review has been completed and the summary is available to the SFU community.
The summary includes more information about the events that led up to the RCMP being called. These details were not released previously due to safety and privacy concerns. We are releasing them now with permission of the individual who reported concerns to Campus Public Safety that evening.
The external review concluded that the Campus Public Safety response adhered to current operating protocols and procedures. Six recommendations were provided. I have been discussing the recommendations with various groups and, following their input, we will determine an action plan in response. A summary of the review is available here.
Although the response followed current protocol and procedures it is important that those standards are also reviewed to ensure they meet our current needs and approach to safety on campus. We must go beyond the application of current protocols and review our current policy and approach to safety on campus. The university will be undertaking a broad consultation to hear from our community about what safety on our campuses could and should look like. You will hear more about this in the weeks to come.
For our students, faculty, staff and alumni, this incident has been about far more than the events of one evening. It has reinforced concerns about racism on our campuses and that SFU needs to continue to take real and meaningful action to address systemic anti-Black racism and increase inclusion of Black and Indigenous people and people of colour. SFU’s leadership team and I are deeply committed to taking action on these broader concerns. Over the past three months I have had many conversations with faculty, students, staff and equity-deserving groups. I greatly value those conversations and will continue to make space for dialogue and push for forward progress.
This event was traumatic for many in our community, especially Black students, alumni, faculty and staff. Please reach out for support if you need it. Counselling and other supports are available to students, faculty and staff:
- Students: Health and Counselling Services 778-782-4615 or MySSP 1-844-451-9700 (see additional self-help resources)
- Faculty and staff: Employee and Family Assistance Program: Homewood Health 1-800-663-1142
- Multifaith Centre: 778-782-3180