Community members familiar with the Macdonald Campus know it as home to the Faculty of Agriculture and Environmental Science (FAES). What they may not realize is how much it has to offer the rest of the University as well, something that the Task Force on the Future of Macdonald Campus is working to address.
Task Force members from across University Faculties and units were brought together this spring under the leadership of Angela Campbell, Provost and Executive Vice-President (Academic); Fabrice Labeau, Vice-President, Administration and Finance; and Salwa Karboune, FAES Dean and Associate Vice-President of Macdonald Campus. Among its goals, the Task Force aims to help McGill’s Montreal Island campuses grow their academic offerings and increasingly unite them, in line with the priorities established by McGill President Deep Saini.
New round of broad consultations
Over the summer, members of the Task Force solicited input from stakeholders McGill-wide, and consulted with peer institutions across Canada that have multiple campus sites. With the new academic term now underway, Task Force members are reissuing and expanding the call for ideas, including through a Sept. 18 Town Hall for all McGillians.
“We are asking everyone to share ideas for how we can increase and enhance academic programming, research activities and student life at Macdonald Campus,” said Campbell.
“Getting a wide range of submissions will nourish our exploration of how we can most effectively elevate the student experience, teaching and research at Mac. This requires a consideration of financial planning, transit, infrastructure and, of course, good use of McGill spaces,” she said.
New connectivity to the West Island
Questions about how McGill uses space are not new, notably because of the dynamic nature of research and teaching.
“We have outstanding researchers and students at McGill, but our capacity for excellence is stymied to some extent by infrastructure and space challenges. We need to find ways to address this so that we can all realize our full potential,” said Campbell.
“The Sustainability Park is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that is going to help in this respect, but we can do even more. Mac presents us with a great opportunity.”
The Montreal landscape has also changed in a helpful way.
“The construction of the REM and the recent opening of the Anse-à-l’Orme station favours boosting our presence at Mac through more flexible and frequent public transit to the West Island,” said Labeau.
Preserving the ‘Mac Spirit’ while expanding
Karboune emphasized that the Task Force is looking for ideas that build on the campus’s space and strengths, while preserving the distinctive character and close-knit community.
“At Mac, we have access to both traditional laboratories and outdoor research spaces, across our fields, farm, forest, aquatic environments and living landscapes, which complement and intersect with one another. This allows us to give students hands-on training they can’t get anywhere else, all with a strong sense of community and shared purpose,” said Karboune.
“That sense of belonging and connection is at the heart of the Mac Spirit. This exploration seeks to uphold that spirit, while realizing the full potential of the campus as a multi-Faculty hub, expanding opportunities for colleagues and students to join us more frequently,” she said.
McGill’s complex and varied spaces
Even before the COVID pandemic, use of space for learning, working and research had become increasingly complicated for many Quebec universities, and McGill was not spared. Periods of growth forced many to rent spaces for offices and classrooms. Then came the pandemic, which allowed for some activities to be undertaken online. In many cases, however, that is not a long-term replacement for in-person activity.
“There are some activities for which it is not an option at all, including many types of research or applied learning,” said Labeau. “And those types of university activities also tend to fit poorly into rental spaces. Just think of work that involves specialized equipment, chemicals or medical and therapeutic procedures.”
Input from the broader community is essential, he said:
“Creating spaces that work well for users is very much a team effort. It relies on ongoing conversations between colleagues in Facilities Management and the academics, students and staff who use those spaces every day.”
Visit the Task Force’s webpage for details, and to find the link to submit ideas and to take part in an online town hall on Sept. 18.