An update on UFV’s values and mission

At a recent town hall, President Joanne MacLean gave an update on the UFV visioning process. If you missed the town hall, you can watch it online. Here is a synopsis of where the vision process is to date.

UFV’s core values

Using community input gathered in November’s online thoughtexchange forum, the Visioning Steering Committee reached consensus on four values that are central to our daily life at UFV:

Community: We cultivate strong relationships, acting as a hub where all kinds of communities – educational, scholarly, local, global, and cultural – connect and grow.

Excellence: We pursue the highest standards in everything we do, with determination and heart.

Inclusivity: We welcome everyone, showing consideration and respect for all experiences and ideas.

Integrity: We act honestly and ethically, upholding these values and ensuring our mission is delivered without compromise.

Mission almost-accomplished

A mission expresses our core purpose, who we serve and the impact we have. For the UFV mission, the Steering Committee was presented with a set of statements that were highly rated in the November thoughtexchange. The Steering Committee was asked to play with the concepts and phrasing until they arrived at a strong statement of UFV’s mission.

Although consensus on a single mission statement has not yet been reached, the Steering Committee coalesced around the idea of “building community” and agreed that it was fundamental to UFV’s purpose. The other two concepts under discussion are:

Transforming lives: it speaks to the potential higher purpose of the education we provide and is a nod to our Halq’eméylem coat of arms motto; but does it presume that all lives need transforming?

Engaging minds: it is more solidly grounded in our unique purpose as a place of higher education; but does it adequately represent our focus on the whole student?

The steering committee is set to meet again and will further refine the components of UFV’s mission. Feedback on the work to date will also be considered and can be submitted by email to visioning@ufv.ca.

Creating a vision for our future

UFV is now embarking on the final phase in the visioning process: defining a new vision statement. Vision relates to the future we want for UFV. Our new vision will provide an internal aspirational statement helping inform our goals and our plans for the university going forward.

We appreciate all the input the community has provided so far. Please share your thoughts on the future of UFV between now and January 21 by answering two questions on vision through thoughtexchange.

The vision working committee will also be holding visioning workshops in February, giving you an opportunity to have a conversation about our future with other UFV community members. You can register for a workshop here.