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I am delighted to be back at ���ϳԹ���Դ and looking forward to the coming years and the many challenges and achievements that undoubtedly lie ahead of us. To feel the excitement of this moment, one doesn’t have to believe that exponentially accelerating change is moving the world towards some sort of technological singularity. Higher education—not only in Ontario, but more broadly around the world—is in the midst of a very significant transformation.

I write this over the Atlantic, returning to Canada after a brief visit to ���ϳԹ���Դ Bader International Study Centre at Herstmonceux Castle in East Sussex, England. The purpose of this trip was to extend my conversation about the future of ���ϳԹ���Դ to include our community there. While the centre may be geographically remote from ���ϳԹ���Դ main campus in Kingston, its mission is of central importance to our university.

When I launched the Principal’s Conversation last fall, my hope was that our university would emerge from the 2019–2020 academic year with a clarified

Dear ���ϳԹ���Դ Community,

“Universities acknowledge that they have a responsibility to engage with and respond to the aspirations and challenges of the world and to the communities they serve, to benefit humanity and contribute to sustainability.”

Graduation is the culmination of the months and years of effort ���ϳԹ���Դ students put into completing their programs, and the tricolour community is celebrating the more than 2,000 students who are reaching this milestone this fall. While in-person convocation ceremonies have been postponed due to COVID-19, ���ϳԹ���Դ is congratulating graduates with a video message that also recognizes their perseverance throughout the pandemic.