Report to Community
Dean's message
What an incredibly transformative year it has been at the Faculty of Nursing! As I reflect on this first year of our 2024-2030 Strategic Plan Toward Tomorrow, I’m filled with pride looking back at what we’ve already accomplished together so far.
This marks my first Report to Community as the official Faculty of Nursing dean and I recognize that we’ve all had to navigate a year of change and transition. What has remained steadfast and grounding through it all is our shared vision for nursing excellence through leadership, innovation and resilience.
I’ve always believed that Toward Tomorrow is more than just a plan - it’s our commitment to you and the future of nursing education and health care in Canada. As you’ll see in the stories and highlights in this report, we’ve made great advances in each of our four strategic commitments to better serve our students, faculty and staff and local and global communities.
We’ve increased access to future-focused education through our continued expansion of our Rural and Indigenous Community Route programs in Alberta. Not only did the first cohort of students start studies in Drayton Valley last fall, our first graduating class in Wainwright celebrated convocation this past spring. We also launched a new lottery admissions process for our BScN program which is a bold, proactive solution to the nursing shortage issue across Canada.
With both an appointment and renewal of Canada Research Chairs (CRC) in addition to a UCalgary Research Excellence chair last fall, our nursing researchers are amplifying our impact in research and innovation. Our Health Systems Transformation Initiative (HIVE) continues to spark transdisciplinary innovation and collaboration across campus and in the community. Foundational to all of these highlights is our continued commitment and focus on Indigenous education, mental health and well-being and all of you living our values of inclusivity, compassion, respect and courage.
As UCalgary marks its 60th anniversary in 2025, I encourage you to look back but also forward to the future where we continue to forge transformative experiences for the next generation of nurses and empower them to shape the future of health care. Enjoy the read!
Dr. Catherine Laing RN, PhD
Dean, UCalgary Nursing
We take seriously our responsibility to answer Call #24 from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action (2015), calling on nursing schools to teach about the historical and ongoing impacts of colonization on the health and well-being of Indigenous Peoples in Canada.
The Four Elements Indigenous Framework centers Indigenous ways of knowing, doing, connecting, and being; enlivening the UCalgary ii’taa’poh’to’p conceptual model. Through the ongoing development of the Four Elements curricular themes, we commit to embedding them in our undergraduate and graduate curriculum, faculty development and faculty culture.
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The 2024-2025 Report to Community was created by the UCalgary Nursing Advancement Team.
If you have any questions or need more information, please contact us.