Story by Ramona Lumpkin, PhD
Submitted on 1 October 2010
In my first few months at Huron I spent many hours asking students, alumni, staff, faculty, Board members - everyone I met who was attached in some way to the College - "What does Huron mean to you? What are its values? Its strengths? Its needs?" And in my address when I was installed as Huron's 15th Principal in November of 2001, I summed up these early impressions. Huron seemed to me, to a remarkable degree, to be cherished by those who work here, those who volunteer on its behalf, and those who are or were its students. It's a place defined by community - something not unique to Huron but increasingly rare in today's universities. It's also a place of academic rigour, where students know they'll be challenged and will earn a degree that's recognized and respected. They will work hard for that degree, but they'll be guided by faculty who value excellent teaching and by staff who care deeply for student success.
At the same time, along with these stories of Huron's achievements, many people spoke to me about their anxieties for the present and future of our College. The higher education environment in which we operated was characterized by a growing emphasis on the applied and the vocational, declining levels of public funding, rising student debt loads, deteriorating physical plants, and strained university finances. Ontario's universities also had to cope with special challenges such as the pending elimination of OAC / Grade 13 and the need to revise our programs to accommodate a new high school curriculum.
And so we asked each other nine years ago: Will Huron be able to preserve its vibrant academic community in the face of these changes? Will we draw adequate numbers of students to the study of the liberal arts and theology? Will we attract and retain sufficient numbers of faculty who are dedicated scholar-teachers? Can we maintain our buildings and grounds in good repair? Can we continue to afford the model of education we so passionately cherish?
I took heart at that time from all the evidence I found in Huron's history of its capacity to change and adapt. The College was by no means the same institution in 2001 that it was in its founding year, 1863. It had moved sites, become co-educational, added a Faculty of Arts and Social Science to its Faculty of Theology, grown in size, evolved in mission, and reinvented itself many times over. As I remarked in my installation address, the need to change had been met with the courage to change at each critical moment in our past, and I had high hopes that such would be the case in our future.
Now, nine years later, I can say with considerable pride and no small measure of relief that my optimism was indeed well founded. We've not only continued to attract students to our programs but have in fact witnessed a 40% growth in enrolment. The associated growth in revenues has helped us balance our budget in each of the past eight years, with annual surpluses going in part toward maintenance and renewal of our physical plant. While a number of long-term and beloved faculty and staff have retired, we've recruited gifted new members to our ranks. Our endowments which support student programs and services have more than doubled in value, and alumni giving to our current "Touch the Future" capital campaign has increased four-fold over the previous campaign. Further, the exceptional quality of a Huron education, which we sometimes lamented was one of the country's best-kept secrets, has been publicly recognized through our stellar results in a survey published annually in Maclean's magazine. These results speak to the dedication of faculty and staff colleagues with whom I've had the great privilege of working to ensure that Huron would not only survive but would flourish. They also speak to the devotion of our many supporters, both alumni and friends, who care deeply for the College and give countless hours to our enterprise.
As of October 1, I assumed the position of President and Vice-Chancellor of Mount St. Vincent University in Halifax. As of October 1, one of Huron's most respected and dedicated faculty members, Dr. Trish Fulton, former Dean of Arts and Social Science, will serve as Interim Principal until a new Principal is appointed to serve beginning July 1, 2011.
In leaving this place and its people, whom I have learned so deeply to love, I'll return once again to the words of my installation address, when I accepted the principalship "with humility and joy, promising to you my best and knowing that our College's well-being will depend on the work that we all do together. I believe that our future, like our past, will tell the story of an institution steadfast in its fundamental purposes, but at the same time vibrant and changing to meet the needs of the society it serves."
Then as now, my closing words are, "Thank you for this opportunity to be a part of your work."
Yours sincerely,
Ramona Lumpkin, PhD
Principal
2001 - 2010
Huron University College