Fall 2011 Convocation Address
Mr. Chancellor, members of the platform party, Chairman and members of our Board of Governors, university colleagues, families & friends of the graduands, and, the reason the convocation is assembled here today - graduands.
'Convocation' is not only an 'ending' but also a 'beginning'. It's called – change! A change that comes as a consequence of what you have accomplished during your time here at Kwantlen. A change that is associated with career choices and, I hope for many of you, further educational choices. Never has it been more essential to understand the essence of this change and the other changes that will predictably follow than it is today in higher education, in society, and in choosing among career paths in what is now a global labor market where organizations are looking to establish highly skilled and competitive workforces that are sustainable through time.
With these thoughts in mind, I would ask that you reflect momentarily on the world for which you have already begun to prepare.
On September 2nd, 2011 the United States reported that the U.S. economy added no jobs in August 2011 and that the jobless rate was unchanged at 9.1% - the outlook was no better for September. What the report did not say was that the jobless rate for individuals with a Bachelor's degree was at 4.6% and that those individuals could reasonably expect to earn 60% more during their working life than individuals who did not hold a minimum of a Bachelor's degree. The situation is not much different in Canada and other western nations. With each passing year, more jobs emerge requiring a post-secondary education and a degree and displace existing jobs that have until now been filled by those who have not had the opportunity to attain some meaningful level of post-secondary preparation.
It is also the case that we are witnessing a growing gap between the continuing high levels of joblessness and the short supply of skilled and talented people. The separation of income levels between the unemployed and the skilled and talented is a part of this still emerging state of affairs.
So, what messages are imbedded in this information for you?
The first message is quite simple. You've made one of the most important and best decisions of your life – pursuing a higher education. It has a high degree of street currency today and will have an even higher degree of street currency in the years ahead. That's the good news!
And what of the next message?
Well, that's pretty easy too. Having begun, you're not finished. You may never be finished as long as you are active in your chosen career. For lifelong learning has finally come into focus after many years of philosophical debates about the future and the need for it in the midst of the steady growth of requirements for continuous re-certification in more and more career fields.
A few years ago I wrote an article for a national publication titled, "Why Change," in which I shared my views about the factors driving the changes that were sweeping through the higher and further learning system of the United Kingdom and the European Union as Lord Ronald Deering was bringing his massive inquiry into the UK system to a conclusion in July of 1997. Much of this followed on the heels of the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989, bringing a shift in the post-secondary education system of the European Union as former Eastern Bloc countries harmonized their respective vocational and university systems with those of the Union.
While not much has changed in terms of the factors stimulating change, what has changed is the rate and magnitude with which changes have continued to accelerate over the intervening years.
In this article, I offered the following factors as the likely root causes of change. In this there was wide agreement.
- Government deficits and debt – a problem of international proportions then and an even bigger problem today
- The transition from joblessness to work – a continuing problem in Canada and the international community
- The demand for a skilled, competitive, and sustainable workforce in a world that has transitioned from an 'information society' to a 'knowledge society' to an 'innovation society' in just over 10 years
- Competition – a dominant feature of the global economy which, in this new world that is increasingly dominated by the demand for innovation, places a premium on higher education
- Harmonization – of economies and monetary systems, trade and commerce, educational standards and credentials – all on an increasingly global scale
- Communications and information technologies – a pervasive influence that is subsumed in each of the preceding factors – it is worth noting that the majority of new students who enrolled at Kwantlen this year were born after 1991 and have known only a technology-driven society
Education is feeling the effects of these changes too. As new graduates you will not be alone in your efforts to cope with change.
This acceleration in the rate and volatility of change directs our attention to the related expectation about the acceleration of learning and related changes in our universities.
Let me give you one brief example of what I mean.
Deloitte Canada recently released what it determined are the top 10 issues facing higher education institutions. Here's what they identified as the major challenges:
- Institutions that are over budget and underfunded – as funding declines, cost management will be key
- Intensified rivalry – competition for students heats up
- Setting priorities – there is a danger of making decisions in the dark … not uncommon
- Moving at the speed of cyberspace – technology upgrades are needed across the board
- Rethinking infrastructure – a renewed focus on asset optimization
- Linking programs to outcomes – where training and education and market demand intersect
- The best and the brightest – attracting and retaining talented faculty
- A sustainable future – enhancing environmental performance
- Education for all – tackling diversity, accessibility and affordability
- Regulations and reporting – new responsibilities require better disclosure
So, what do we do? I think there are three basic steps that have to be considered.
The first is to identify and comprehend the factors contributing to the changes in our lives and institutions like Kwantlen.
The second is to determine the direction change will probably take and to create new designs to accommodate the probability of change. This means new designs that are innovative, responsive, collaborative, appropriately resourced, and incorporate measures of accountability. This implies the adoption of dynamic and logical decision-making models that are guided by a clear sense of purpose and direction relative to the alternatives that are attainable by the university – and, of course, by you.
The third step is probably the most difficult of all for us – the courageous consideration of the consequences of not changing at all.
In this regard, I'm going to leave you with two quotations.
The first from a preeminent economist and Canadian scholar – John Kenneth Galbraith – later known as Mr. Harvard and an economic advisor to every US president since FDR.
Galbraith, in his dry wit, observed:
"Faced with the choice between changing one's mind and proving that there is no need to do so, almost everyone gets busy on the proof."
Another scholar, centuries removed from Galbraith put it plainly when he wrote:
"If you would attain to what you are not yet, you must always be displeased by what you are. For where you are pleased with yourself, there you have remained. Keep adding, keep walking, keep advancing."
From all of us at Kwantlen, best wishes for much success in all of your future endeavours.
