Two years ago the Trinity Western University’s President’s Office released a document called Design a Decade: Envision the Century. It was sent out to over 1,000 people with a purpose to engage in a conversation about TWU. Focus groups of 20 to 40 people were formed and feedback from these sessions was gleaned for major themes and ideas.
TWU president Dr. Jonathan Raymond said he wanted the participants to get their fingerprints “on the clay of the university.” The information gathered was poured into a document, which was released this past fall. Under a simplified title, Envision the Century is a document of direction for TWU in the next nine to ten years.
“There is a lot we can do to build a reputation,” Raymond said.
ETC holds a vision of a university that increasingly moves forward in its excellence as a people, as a place, as God’s provision and in its priorities, said Raymond. ETC also asserts that educational vitality is supported though infrastructure, resource management and advance momentum.
One highlight of the ETC is that the university wishes to “decrease dependency upon tuition revenues and increase financial awards to make a TWU education more affordable for students.” Four years ago, 1.2 million dollars in financial aid was available for TWU students. That number has jumped to 5.5 million.
“We want to increase that,” Raymond said. “[We are] working on strategies to close the gap [and] attract endowment money for investments that bring a yield.” Raymond hopes to raise endowment funds to 120 million in the next decade. “If you don’t ask, you don’t receive, and we’re starting to ask.”
Part of this asking is the development of an estate registry. The President said that the university was aware that people had willed part of their estate to TWU but as to how many people and for what amount, they were unsure. They are just getting started but already have received confirmation on 63 million dollars in gifts.
The ETC also has the goal in mind of, “Establishing design guidelines for developing eco-friendly learning communities of architectural integrity that reflect the aesthetics and culture of British Columbia.” New buildings on campus will be no more than three stories high so that the community can experience the mountains that surround it. Thermal heating will be used in order to keep with environmentally-friendly practices of resource usage.
These aspects will be seen in the design of the Live-Learn building, set to go up in 2011. This building will be home to the art and communications departments and will be a combination of academic and residential spaces. Highlights include a student art gallery, art studios, a dark room and a digital design lab. This is part of the initiative to develop a signature design for the Langley campus. If the Live-Learn centre is a success, there may be three more similar developments on campus in the following years.
Eventually he would like to see more practical retail spaces near campus such as a grocery/convenience store and more mini-cafeterias. Also, the university owns 71 acres of land on the opposite side of Glover Road. Raymond hopes to push this to 200 acres and that one day the area will be turned into Graduate and Seminary housing, accommodating young families and new faculty. There may also be some academic buildings and athletic fields.
Raymond would like to see an alumni inn built as well, a place where graduates of TWU could stay with their families at a very affordable rate in order that they might revisit the campus and attend special events. The inn would provide jobs for students as well as the possibility of practical experience for those in the School of Business.
Ten years ago the design of the university was centred on the number of students attending TWU. Raymond has shifted the focus. “What would it look like if it was Christ-centered?”
Envision the Century can be found online at www.twu.ca/governance/office/envision-the-century
