Reimagining the Public University in a Time of Crisis – SFU National Dialogue, March 31–April 2, 2026

Simon Fraser University’s Community-Engaged Research Initiative convenes a three-day national dialogue (March 31-April 2, 2026) to explore how public universities can respond to polycrisis, including climate disruption, democratic strain, inequality, public health challenges, and financial pressures. Scholars, community leaders, policymakers, and students will generate insights and strategies for a position paper on collective action. The symposium addresses how universities can act as pillars of democracy and public well-being, advance climate justice and health equity, and prepare students for navigating a fractured world. Co-keynote addresses by Dr. Jessica Riddell and Nisga’a scholar Dr. Amy Parent will be followed by a fireside chat with interdisciplinary scholars on reimagining Canadian universities. This initiative advances NCDD’s mission by modeling cross-sector dialogue on universities’ civic responsibilities, strengthening democratic engagement through community-embedded scholarship, and fostering interdisciplinary exchange for collaborative solutions to pressing societal challenges.

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Simon Fraser University's Community-Engaged Research Initiative (CERi) is convening a three-day national dialogue April 1-2, 2026 (with a public event March 31) exploring the evolving role of the public university amid intersecting crises, including climate disruption, democratic strain, widening inequality, public health challenges, under-regulated AI, and financial pressures facing post-secondary institutions. The symposium brings together scholars, community leaders, policymakers, and students to reflect on how higher education can act not only as a site of analysis but as a civic institution embedded in the communities and futures it helps shape. With support from SSHRC, SFU CERi, SFU Public Square, and the SFU Office of the President, the dialogue aims to generate concrete insights, shared principles, and cross-sector strategies that will be translated into a position paper articulating key recommendations and pathways for collective action.

The two-day symposium at the Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue addresses guiding questions, including how universities can act as pillars of democracy and public well-being during polycrisis, what role they should play in advancing climate justice and health equity, and how engaged scholarship can prepare students with skills, networks, and strategic capacities needed to navigate a fractured world. Participants are strongly encouraged to attend both days to support the depth of conversation and collective momentum, recognizing that meaningful exploration of universities' responsibility in this moment requires sustained engagement beyond single-session conversations. The dialogue format reflects understanding that systemic crises demand cross-sector collaboration, interdisciplinary exchange, and community participation rather than isolated institutional responses.

The public event on March 31 at SFU Harbour Centre features co-keynote addresses by Dr. Jessica Riddell, founder of the Hope Circuits Institute and professor at Bishop's University, and Dr. Amy Parent, Nisga'a scholar and Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Governance and Education at SFU. Following keynotes, speakers will join a fireside chat moderated by Dr. Tara Mahoney featuring Dr. Nat Hurley, Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences at Memorial University of Newfoundland; Dr. Adel Iskandar, Associate Professor of Global Communication at SFU; and Dr. Rackeb Tesfaye, Knowledge Mobilization Lead at Bridge Research Consortium. This moderated dialogue invites participants to reflect on how Canadian public universities can be reimagined to respond meaningfully and responsibly to pressing societal and global challenges, grounded in both realism and possibility, imagining the future not from scarcity but from hope, collective responsibility, and transformative potential.

To join the waitlist for the April 1-2 symposium or register for the March 31 public event, visit https://www.sfu.ca/ceri/events/national-dialogue.html