Seneca RED Fall 2021 Alumni Magazine - 18

IN
18 RED 2021
DECEMBER 1966 DR. WILLIAM T. NEWNHAM was
hired as Seneca's first president. He was
also employee No. 1. There were no
campuses. No programs. No curriculum.
He was handed an empty box by the chair
of the board of governors with the
following words:
" This is Seneca College. Take it, find a
building, renovate it, develop courses and
an administration, hire teachers and enrol
students. And we want it to be the finest in Canada. "
In April 2020, the Seneca community was in deep lockdown
with the pandemic just weeks old in Ontario. Everything - all
programs, services and operations - were being delivered remotely.
And President David Agnew repeated the symbolic exercise,
handing the Seneca community, with slightly different words, an
empty box. Under the title of Au Large, one of Dr. Newnham's
favourite expressions meaning " to the horizon, " the community was
asked to fill that box with their vision of the post-pandemic Seneca.
" Seneca Au Large has one purpose: to position Seneca to continue
to thrive and excel in the post-COVID-19 world, " said President
Agnew. " Building on our great history and present, each initiative
provides an opportunity for students, alumni and employees to
contribute by answering basic questions on just about everything
Seneca does. For each activity, program, approach or service,
should we continue, change or stop doing it? "
It was also a call to learn from the pandemic experience of students,
employees and the community, both good and bad, to divine
what should be preserved going into the future.
Consultations for Au Large lasted through the summer,
engaging hundreds of employees and students who contributed
ideas, participated in consultations and volunteered to be part
of ongoing committees.
" Au Large tapped into a deep and passionate vein of creativity
and innovation across Seneca, " said Renata D'Innocenzo, who
heads up the secretariat implementing the Au Large initiatives.
She is also Vice-President, Students and Strategy and Chief of Staff
to the President.
" As transformative as the Au Large initiatives are for Seneca,
more important is seeing the tremendous engagement of the community.
Au Large is bringing us together to work more inclusively
and collaboratively - Au Large isn't just about what we're achieving,
but how we're doing it. "
Emerging from the Au Large process were three pillars.
1. The Equitable Seneca, building a school free of racism
and discrimination.
2. The Sustainable Seneca, embedding sustainability principles
throughout the institution.
3. The More Virtual Seneca, bringing choice and flexibility to
academic programming and services.
In some areas, changes were implemented immediately. In others,
progress will be made over the coming months and years as the transformation
takes hold.
" We are embracing new approaches and perspectives and, in
some cases, transforming decades-old ways of operating, " said
Ms. D'Innocenzo. " But transforming we are. "
The Equitable Seneca
A consistent message on equity issues that came from all quarters
is that high-minded words were not enough. The time for action
was long past.
An Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) committee was established
with representatives from across Seneca, charged with
advising the president on the journey to the equitable Seneca.
Helping advance Seneca's EDI initiatives is Rema Tavares, Manager,
Equity, Diversity & Inclusion. (Read more about Ms. Tavares
on page 12). Her position oversees Seneca's EDI initiatives and will
help guide our vision to become the equitable Seneca.
" Research shows that when people can't be their true, dynamic
and intersectional selves, it can cause mental and even
Seneca RED Fall 2021 Alumni Magazine

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