Message from the Vice-President, Advancement and Alumni Engagement

In British Columbia and across our vast world, we are living through interesting times. Now, as always, I am deeply impressed and heartened by the SFU community’s innovation, resilience, and dedication in response to the varied challenges people and our planet are facing.

I am also grateful to you, our partners, for your continued support as we work together to build the inclusive and sustainable future we all want to see.

As SFU prepares to mark its 60^th anniversary this fall, we are changing the world from B.C. with novel answers to far-reaching problems. Researchers are collaborating across disciplines and with other experts in Canada and abroad to help grow our collective impact. We are also creating opportunities for students to play a role in making meaningful change.

In this issue of Engage, we introduce you to Alison Shaw, the inaugural Executive Director for SFU Climate Innovation who is helping to drive one of SFU’s key research priorities. By addressing the global climate emergency at the local level, the Climate Innovation team is ensuring neighbourhoods and communities can make informed decisions and adapt to drought, fire, floods, landslides, and other significant threats.

We celebrate a number of SFU students reaching their potential with generous donor support: Lindsay Begemann and Christian Carson, graduate students with the Aquatic Research Cooperative (ARC) Institute, who are engaging and working with communities to help conserve B.C.’s ecosystems; Tori Meklensek, an exceptional student and varsity athlete, who is leading by example inside the swimming lanes and in life; and Evan Accettola, a new alumnus soon to begin graduate studies, who never gave up on his dream of an SFU education.

Discover how Mechatronics Systems Engineering professor Bruce Fingarson and his partner Edith are breaking barriers for women in STEM. You will also get to know Jim Felter and his late wife, Iris Garland, two of SFU’s most dynamic artistic trailblazers whose remarkable legacy is invigorating learning and the arts for generations.

Thank you for your support in building the SFU that our province—and our world—needs.