The beginning of every new school year brings excitement and buzz, and this year there is even more excitement than usual. We are celebrating SFU’s 60^th anniversary as we welcome several new Board members and a new Minister of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills, the Honourable Jessie Sunner. As I enter my second term as SFU’s president and vice-chancellor, I have been taking some time to reflect on the past five years and all that lies ahead of us.

The dominant discussion right now around the post-secondary sector, amongst colleagues and in the news, is the challenges we face—and I do not take those challenges lightly. We continue to contend with financial challenges and damage to Canada’s brand in the international market. At SFU, we faced a security incident on Burnaby campus over the summer and our emergency response was not as robust as it needed to be. Our Campus Public Safety team is working closely with the RCMP and internal partners to ensure consistent processes and communication, and we are committed to learning and improving from this incident.

That being said, when I think about what lies ahead of us, I see endless opportunities for innovation, creativity and building the kind of institution that will advance the inclusive and sustainable future we all want to see. I also have ideas around how the Canadian post-secondary sector can rally together and advocate with one voice, and plan to focus efforts in this area when I become chair of the Universities Canada Board in October. I believe the future is bright for SFU and for our sector, and I’m looking forward to all that we will accomplish together in the year ahead.

Administrative updates

Leadership renewal

Several senior leadership searches in the VPA portfolio have concluded, and the following recent appointments add strong, experienced leadership across the portfolio.

• Sean Markey began his appointment as dean, Faculty of Environment, effective August 1, 2025 for a 5-year term.
• David Bangsberg will join SFU effective October 15, 2025 as the next dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences. Jeremy Snyder will continue as dean pro tem until David’s arrival.
• Paul Kingsbury has accepted a five-year appointment as vice-provost and associate vice-president, learning and teaching, effective January 1, 2026 and will continue in his pro tem role until his term takes effect.

In addition, on June 12, 2026, Tamara Vrooman will have served the maximum six-year term as SFU’s chancellor per the University Act. I want to take this opportunity to thank Tamara for her dedicated service and tireless advocacy on behalf of the university over the past six years.

Per SFU policy B10.12, we have begun the process to select a new chancellor. According to the University Act, the Board of Governors is responsible for the appointment of the chancellor, on nomination by the Alumni Association and after consultation with the Senate.

In accordance with policy B10.12, a selection committee has been formed and had its first meeting in September. The committee reviewed the selection criteria and we have issued a call for nominations to the Board, Senate and university community.

Enrolments and recruitment

Domestic undergraduate

SFU’s 2025/26 Senate-approved enrolment plan aims for Co-op and non-Co-op undergraduate domestic program full-time equivalent (PFTE) enrolment to total 19,525 students. This is 11% above the number of funded seats from the Ministry, which includes 333 new tech seats for 2025/26. Preliminary registration data for new domestic students intending to start in Fall 2025, as well as actual data for the Summer 2025 semester, show us exceeding this target slightly.

This expected over-utilization of undergraduate funded full-time equivalents (FTEs) is significantly higher than our long-range enrolment plan, which aims to have SFU at 4-5% above the funded target. The new 2025-2030 Academic Plan (impacting enrolment plans for 2026/27-2030/31) plans to address this by gradually reducing over-utilization to 3% above the funded target, using measures such as reduced new intake targets, higher admissions standards and encouraging faculties to raise the relative proportion of instruction delivered by continuing faculty.

International undergraduate

The Senate-approved international FTE target for 2025/26 is 3,165, which equates to 14.7% of all undergraduate FTEs. As the Board is aware, SFU continues to experience challenges related to international student enrolments due to factors including federal policy changes and visa processing delays.

SFU received its Provincial Attestation Letter (PAL) allocation on January 24, 2025. At that time, the undergraduate allocation we received was not sufficient to meet enrolment targets, although SFU has subsequently recently received 400 additional PALs, leading to slightly more optimistic projections. Despite this, we are still projecting a significant decrease of 11.7% in overall PFTEs for 2025/26, driven largely by a shrinking international student population as older, larger cohorts are replaced by more recent, smaller ones.

As outlined in previous Board reports, SFU is developing and actioning an international recruitment strategy. The deterrent effect of government policy announcements continues to dampen international student interest in Canada, and a lack of admissions applications may eventually become the main constraining factor on international enrolment unless we continue to invest in international student recruitment. Further, PAL allocations to date have been based on the number of approved study permits in the previous year. SFU needs to ensure that all PALs are used and that students receive study permits to prevent significant reductions in future PAL allocations.

Graduate

The graduate enrolment plan is established for regular and specialty graduate programs. Regular graduate programs generally charge a semester tuition fee, while the specialty programs generally charge a per-credit tuition fee. In 2024/25, SFU received Ministry funding for 2,927 graduate PFTEs (including Co-op) and generated a surplus of 332 PFTEs. Including all graduate programs, we were 11% above the Ministry’s graduate-funded targets.

Due to demand for graduate programs and our focus as a research-intensive university, the Senate approved plan for 2025/26 was for 3,390 non-Co-op activity FTEs (AFTEs), with approximately 60% of AFTEs allocated to regular programs and 40% allocated to specialty programs. Due to changes in program classification in the Faculty of Education, for 2025/26, we expect a dip in speciality fee AFTEs and an increase in regular fee AFTEs.

It is important to note that international students admitted to graduate programs now require a PAL. Currently, we do not anticipate the university’s PAL quota for graduate students (which is separate from its undergraduate quota) to constrain new admissions, as long as graduate PAL allocations do not decrease over time. As on the undergraduate side, however, the landscape for international education generally is difficult to predict.

Government relations

Over the summer, the President’s Office continued to advance SFU’s strategic priorities through targeted government relations and diplomatic engagement.

Highlights include:

• Submitting recommendations to the federal pre-budget consultation process focused on innovation, research infrastructure and transit, highlighting the Burnaby Mountain Gondola as a national prosperity project. 
• Engagement with key provincial and federal stakeholders to continue elevating the Cedar Supercomputing Centre expansion, as well as SFU’s leadership in climate innovation, core research infrastructure and AI research and adoption.
• Strong advocacy on financial sustainability and the SFU School of Medicine with the provincial government, including a meeting with B.C.’s Jobs and Economic Growth Minister Ravi Kahlon to discuss the role research universities can play in helping government shape its upcoming industrial plan. 
• Ongoing meetings with the cities of Burnaby, Vancouver and Surrey to ensure opportunities for engagement and collaboration.
• Missions to Ottawa and Victoria in September and October to advance SFU’s priorities and hold meetings with key government stakeholders.

Advancing strategic priorities

There is work occurring across the university to advance the What’s Next strategic priorities. Several key examples are highlighted below.

Uphold Truth & Reconciliation

• The First Peoples’ Gathering House officially opened on Burnaby campus on Sept. 12. In the morning, I was honoured to join SFU representatives, as well as representatives from the Tsleil-Waututh, Kwikwetlem, Squamish and Musqueam Nations, provincial government and City of Burnaby, to officially open the House. A community open house in the afternoon featured an Indigenous cultural celebration, open to all SFU students, faculty and staff. Thank you to all those in the Indigenous Council Office and across the university who brought this project to life and to all the Indigenous students, faculty and staff who have advocated for this space over the years.
• SFU will accelerate its work to further Reconciliation and support Indigenous youth to thrive thanks to a $5M strategic investment from the Mastercard Foundation, in recognition of the university’s outstanding impact in advancing education for Indigenous young people. The generous gift will support work already planned or in progress, including breaking down barriers to success for Indigenous students—a new initiative being co-created with Indigenous communities and SFU to develop a seamless and supportive journey for Indigenous students to, through and following their SFU studies. The intention is to establish an Indigenous-led, intergenerational model which can be shared with universities across Canada and beyond to fundamentally change Indigenous student admissions and support.

Engage in Global Challenges

• SFU placed 35^th overall in the global Times Higher Education’s (THE) 2025 Impact Rankings, the rankings that measure progress on the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. SFU placed within top 50 worldwide in several categories, including Sustainable Cities and Communities and Climate Action; within Canada, SFU also placed within the top five in several categories, including Affordable and Clean Energy, Sustainable Cities and Communities, Climate Action and Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure.
• For the fifth consecutive year, SFU has ranked as Canada’s top university for innovation and entrepreneurial spirit according to the World University Rankings for Innovation (WURI) 2025 rankings. SFU was also ranked third in Canada for industrial application and third for its responses to global challenges, and this year the university jumped up three spots in the global ranking to place 12th in the world for innovation. 
• Four SFU scholars have been named to the Royal Society of Canada (RSC), the nation’s top academic honour. Computing science professor Jiangchuan Liu is SFU’s newest RSC Fellow, while public policy professor Kora DeBeck, health sciences professor TJ (Travis) Salway and resource and environmental management (REM) professor Tammara Soma become members of the society’s College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists. In addition, SFU health sciences professor Zabrina Brumme was elected as a Canadian Academy of Health Sciences Fellow and REM professor Mark Jaccard was awarded the Order of British Columbia, the province’s highest honour, for his outstanding contributions to global climate action. Congratulations to all!
• Two training programs led by SFU researchers have won a total of $3.3M in multi-year funding through NSERC’s Collaborative Research and Training Experience program. Funding was allocated to environmental science professor Ruth Joy, who is leading Canada's first national training program in marine bioacoustics to protect whales from noise pollution, and molecular biology and biochemistry professor Peter Unrau for the BEST program, which trains sensor scientists to research and develop new technologies to detect, manage and mitigate rapidly evolving dangers stemming from climate change, infectious diseases and biodiversity loss.

Make a Difference for B.C.

• We were excited to open the Marianne and Edward Gibson Art Museum on SFU’s Burnaby campus on Sept. 20. This unique and accessible new space will contribute to culture, connection, learning and community engagement across SFU and British Columbia, in honour of Dr. Edward Gibson’s legacy.
• The School of Medicine (SoM) continues to make progress towards its first intake of students in areas including accreditation, curriculum and partnerships. In October, at a joint announcement with the Province and the City of Surrey, we shared that the School of Medicine is now accepting applications, and also announced the School's permanent building location in Surrey City Centre.
  • Accreditation: The School of Medicine’s medical doctor program has received preliminary accreditation from the Committee on the Accreditation of Canadian Medical Schools. On August 21, we submitted a separate application for Postgraduate Residency Programs to the Canadian Residency Education Consortium; after the application is reviewed, official results will be communicated to SFU by December 2025.
  • Curriculum: With several key faculty leadership roles in place, preparations for Case Based Learning case development have been made, with workshops to begin in September. The School has also acquired its main program management system, with implementation to be completed by early December.
  • Technology and partnerships: Interviews are underway with physicians in Surrey, North Delta and Langley communities to identify a School of Medicine Clinic Site Director who will be responsible for overseeing clinical learning experiences at the community level. Planning and implementation are underway for admissions and Customer Relation Management systems, as well as assessments for digital learning technologies.
  • Indigenous Perspectives: In July, the Indigenous Perspectives team hosted a workshop with key partners to further develop Indigenous admissions processes. They also met with Chiefs, councils, and members of Katzie, Kwantlen and Tsawwassen Nations to start fostering important relationships in a reciprocal manner. The team is helping to draft an MOU and action plan between SFU and the First Nations Health Authority and beginning to plan for Indigenous Pathways to Medicine programs.

Transform the SFU Experience

• SFU was excited to welcome more than 5,000 new undergraduate students this fall term, and the engagement team in Student Services prepared a robust agenda for Welcome Day on September 2. Throughout the day, students connected with peers, learned about academic and student support resources and participated in faculty programming. This event plays an important role in helping domestic and international students transition into university life, fosters a strong sense of belonging and community and introduces students to SFU’s inclusive community, commitment to academic excellence and the opportunity to build meaningful connections from the very start of their SFU journey.
• VPAAE and the President’s Office continue to meet regularly with donors and prospective donors in order to help them stay connected to SFU and to highlight the role they play in helping students to thrive. Recent events include “Conference of the Birds,” in celebration of the work of community changemaker and 2024 President’s Distinguished Community Leadership Award co-recipient Arran Stephens, an RBC Luncheon where we discussed our long-term relationship with RBC, SFU’s leadership in climate initiatives and opportunities to further our partnership, a luncheon with the Society of Notaries Public of BC to thank them for their ongoing support of SFU’s Applied Legal Studies program, and meetings in Seattle with a principal gift donor and SFU Outstanding Alumni Award recipient, as well as a private charitable foundation with the potential to support SFU opportunities.
• We are excited to welcome Nobel Prize-winning chemist Thomas Cech as the inaugural President’s Distinguished Visiting Scholar, a position created to recognize academics who have been trailblazers in their field and enable distinguished scholars to spend time at SFU. This fall, Cech will co-teach a molecular biology and biochemistry course and provide advice and mentorship to faculty members, further enhancing the SFU experience for community members across the Faculty of Science and the university.
• In late June, SFU released the Inclusion Experience report, which prevents findings from a series of questions featured in the university’s Demographic and Diversity Data Survey. The report findings underscore SFU’s strengths in fostering respectful interpersonal relationships but also highlight significant opportunities to enhance institutional support for well-being, inclusion and cultural diversity aligned with the Equity Compass.

Sincerely,

Joy Johnson
President & Vice-Chancellor
Simon Fraser University