Access, Community and Belonging at the U of A

Vice-Provost Carrie Smith shares how the university community is unlocking frameworks and tools for sustainable change.

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Updated January 8, 2025

The new year marks a strategic renewal in the landscape of equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) at the University of Alberta. Beginning in January 2025, the portfolio of the vice-provost (EDI) will be known under a different name: Access, Community and Belonging

At the U of A, meaningful change starts with intentional conversations and language. This change honours the experiences and knowledge of students, staff and faculty who have demonstrated how our university can better support the flourishing of its members and their participation as an integral part of a dynamic and living democracy. Our recalibration toward Access, Community and Belonging builds upon the approaches that have worked well, while applying our learnings. Through this change, we will expand the strategies, frameworks and collaborations that can help this university meet our goals while offering the resilience to face the significant challenges of the present and those we have yet to even imagine.

Word Cloud generated from consultation notes captured during the action planning process, from November 1, 2023 to May 1, 2024, representing ~1000 touch points with U of A members.
Word Cloud generated from consultation notes captured during the action planning process, from Nov. 1, 2023, to May 1, 2024, representing ~1,000 touchpoints with U of A members. See full size »

This change may feel sudden. But as is the case with all transformational work, efforts have been ongoing and members of our university community have been imagining what comes next for some time, in different spaces within and beyond the institution itself. Throughout 2024, more than 1,000 U of A members participated in engagement sessions and co-creation workshops that led to the development of Changing the Story: An Integrated Action Plan for Transforming our Vibrant and Interconnected University Community. During these conversations, people framed their hopes using terminology drawn from a wide range of communities, movements and aspirations. The words “access, community and belonging” emerged as three concepts most often repeated. They articulate a formidable aspirational goal: As we strive to ensure equitable opportunities for participation, we seek fairness in access for all members of the U of A in a community where everyone feels they belong. 

The new title for the portfolio, along with the Integrated Action Plan, was put forward to the General Faculties Council (GFC) for discussion and consultation on Nov. 18. On Dec. 13, the Board of Governors supported the portfolio renewal and voted to approve Changing the Story.

The strategic renewal of the portfolio along with the values-based practices, approaches and actions offered in Changing the Story are an invitation to embrace a wider range of frameworks to deepen our impact. Some of these include: 

  • Human rights to uphold protected grounds and ensure psychological safety.
  • Intersectionality to understand overlapping barriers and systems that reduce access.
  • Universal design to create inclusive spaces and learning experiences.
  • Interculturality to celebrate and bridge differences.
  • Pluralism to balance identities and viewpoints, creating just and peaceful spaces of recognition and belonging.

These and many other frameworks as well as allied approaches — such as those offered by Braiding Past, Present and Future: University of Alberta Indigenous Strategic Plan or Forward Together: The University of Alberta People Strategy and activated by our commitments to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action — will allow us to address specific challenges with precision and attend to overlapping barriers with holistic and manifold approaches. Over the next weeks and months, we will be building resources, releasing new and updated learning modules and offering U of A members opportunities to come together to further explore different pathways and what they mean to you. As we continue to engage, discuss and imagine together how to realize the change, I hope it will offer not a sense of endings, but of openings.

At the November 2024 meeting of GFC, the Graduate Students’ Association and the University of Alberta Students’ Union asked members to reaffirm our university’s commitments. I am grateful for their leadership and to GFC for approving the motion. It is in this spirit that we offer a renewed commitment to engaging in individual, collaborative and collective efforts that support dignity and identify and address inequities and barriers to access. As we move forward in 2025, we will work together to integrate and enact the core principles of mutuality, reciprocity, responsibility and interdependence in all that we do as we strive to transform our vibrant and interconnected university community.

The Office of Access, Community and Belonging has a busy Winter 2025 ahead, with many opportunities for university members to engage. Visit the ACB website, or sign up for the ACB Newsletter for more information as it becomes available.

I’m looking forward to continuing our discussions on access, community and belonging this year.

Carrie Smith
Vice Provost (Access, Community and Belonging)

Access ensures equitable opportunities for all to succeed and flourish by dismantling barriers.
Community emphasizes connection and shared purpose.
Belonging creates an environment where individuals feel seen, valued and supported.

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